The Heights of Carillon 1758

With the planned Vietnam campaign at the club postponed due to illness I decided to take my Habitants & Highlanders Carillon scenario along as one of the replacement games.

The scenario is based on the battle in July 1758 for Fort Carillon between the British under James Abercrombie and the French under Montcalm.

The British advanced from the woods to find the French manning a defensive positions on the heights between them and the fort.  The French had built some basic breastworks and abatis defences which combined with the slope of the heights provided a formidable obstacle to the British, especially as the latter had no artillery as yet.

The battlefield

The British skirmish line advancing from the woods

The French manning their defences

The French right flank

The British continue their advance

The Provincials advance on the British right

The Provincials reach the bottom of the heights

With the British poised to launch their first assault the French chose to take the initiative, La Reine and a unit of Marines stormed over their own works and down into the advancing Massachusetts Provincials.   After a single French volley the militia fled and the French turned and charged into the flank of the advancing column of the 42nd Highlanders.

The French engage the militia

Unfortunately only La Reine charged home into the Highland column and the latter's massive superiority in numbers took its toll.  But with the French repulsed, the 42nd chose to fall back to regroup which, combined with the fleeing militia, left a hole in the centre of the British line.

Adapting to this unexpected turn of events, the British chose to launch a two pronged assault with the British line on the left and the Provincials on the right.  Volley after volley was exchanged with the French defenders and the British had the weight of numbers which began to show with the French taking serious casualties and their units slowly falling back from the defences.

The 46th on the left and the 55th on the right stormed over the abatis and into the remaining French and a vicious melee began.  The French couldn't repulse the assault and gradually fell back to the centre of the heights and tried to form a second defensive line.

The French form their second defensive line

The British organised themselves and, led by their largest units, the 44th and the 42nd Highlanders, they advanced on the French line pouring volley after volley into them.  The French returned fire but their line became gradually more ragged and, when the British charged home the fight was quickly over.

Battle for the Heights of Carillon, July 1758

For the first time in too long I actually hosted a game at the club last night. I chose a battle from the French & Indian War, the Battle for the Heights of Carillon (or Ticonderoga if you prefer) from July 1758.

The game gave me an opportunity to dust off my 15mm Essex figures and use my new Terrain Warehouse Vauban defences to use as Fort Carillon along with my own breast works for those on the heights. I chose the Habitants & Highlanders rules by the Canadian Wargamers Group as they are easy to pick up and allow for some manoeuvring on the table.

Whilst both sides had similar numbers of units the British had a number of substantially larger ones including, in particular, the 42nd Highlanders. The British objective was simply to reach the fort, of course the French were to have other ideas.

The main challenge for the French was that, whilst they were able to place works on the heights, there was sufficient room on the table for them to be outflanked by the British. Indeed, with the French safely behind their works, the British did start to try to move to the Northern side of the heights. They deployed with some provincials in front in skirmish formations followed by the British line but with a signficant part of the force, including the Highlanders, moving to bypass the heights.

Ben, playing Montcalm the French commander, decided to be bold and advanced one brigade out over the works to swing round and attack the British flank. He also advance to challenge the British skirmish line which, with some spectacularly bad luck with the dice, crumbled. The British were then pinned by the French, unable to advance past them without exposing their flank, and left to attack the main French position on the hill.

Despite the French advance there was some interesting replay of history with the 42nd attacking up the hill against determined French resistance; however, they took some substantial casualties and, in the end, their army morale broke and the game was a victory for the French (as it was historically).