The British Are Here! - The Battle of Concord, Part 2

This is a continuation of last week's post, which covered the beginning of Bob's Battle of Concord. Last week, we left off with a rolling battle north of Concord between the British Regulars and Colonial Militia units, a defense force in Concord, and my Light Infantry moving back into town.  

Carl and Frank had their hands full north of the river as they kept trying to push towards the final stores of colonial supplies. Unfortunately, while they did manage to push the colonial forces back several times, they could never make a decisive thrust. They were ultimately repelled. Carl and Frank decided to cut their losses and start marching their troops back to town so we could regroup and head back to Lexington. 

It soon became apparent that our escape plan was about to become much harder. A unit from Sudbury arrived and took up position on a rise watching over the path the British would need to use. 

As an aside, the line of lichen clumps represents a small (and rather scummy) stream. 

The battered British detachment made its way back over the river and into Concord, harried by colonial units. The militia were forced back by grenadier units across the water. 

The British rearguard made preparations to begin marching out of town. 

The above picture shows the British positions as the game entered its later turns. My light infantry detachment finally got back into town (without seeing a single bit of combat so far). A combined force of light and grenadier units started to engage with the Sudbury militia that had a vantage point over the British exit route. And the rearguard continued to form up.

A exchange of fire saw the Sudbury unit chased off. Luckily for the colonists, the only place the militia could retreat to was in the same direction as the British were heading! 

More colonial units kept marching onto the board, placing themselves between the oncoming British. My Light Infantry was tasked with leading the British column out of Concord, so it was up to me to break up the oncoming Americans. 

Another overhead shot. British flankers have been sent out to chase the Sudbury unit away. The small, single-man militia units that can be seen are blinds working in pairs - one is the actual unit, one isn't. Only by getting British units close enough could these blinds be revealed. 

The colonists started coming on so thick that they were blocking each others movement. Of course, this also meant that a unit retreating from a charge would stop immediately. My light infantry was stuck in the face of a colonial horde, either firing or charging to try and force them back. 

While the British were able to force the American units back, more kept appearing on our flanks, which meant we had to send out our own flankers to keep them away. Our march was quickly becoming bogged down. 

Concord was almost abandoned, with the colonial militia supplies still burning. What British companies still remained in town prepared to hold back the colonial units threatening the rear. 

Finally, we reached the game's last turn (with the sun finally setting outside the store's window. We decided to call the game a draw. While the British had managed to destroy 3 out of the 4 supply locations, they weren't going to get back to Lexington without getting absolutely mauled. There were 5 large units of colonials between the British and the exit off the table, with more coming from behind and from the side. Bob decided that the result was much like the historical outcome, with the British arriving at Lexington battered and bloodied, have not expected such fierce resistance from colonial militia.

And that was the game! Another great effort by Bob with his fantastically painted miniatures and great terrain.