Rescue at Chhapra - August 10th 1857

The British forces were exhausted, hungry and demoralized yet after their 30 mile march towards Chhapra, there was a glimmer of hope. They had been beaten at Ganghara, but even worse was Robert Cadden had been taken captive. Anderson Ward was a long time friend of Robert and the two had grown up in school together, so the wound stung hard. More importantly this was another chance to not only get closer to Delhi, but crush the morale of the 7th Bengal who had enjoyed their recent victory. It seems the 8th Bengal had split off from these forces to cause trouble elsewhere.

"Major" Bernard Haycroft had now arrived with reinforcements from the 7th Royal Fusiliers and the force was prepared to engage. They'd learned the location of Robert from an Indian local who had seen him being dragged through the streets of Ganghara followed by the ragged Mutineers. He'd mentioned that other regiments had now joined the Mutineer cause, useful information for certain. Specifically the 25th Bengal which had avoided their disarming at Benares and deserted on masse, met up with elements of the 3rd Bengal Cavalry to assist.

The early morning sun was beating down on the troops as they moved towards their designated location, victory and a good spot of breakfast was on their minds.

The Army Lists

British Forces

7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers)
Rank II Officer - 6pts - "Major" Bernard Haycroft
British Regulars with Rifled Muskets - 10pts
British Regulars with Rifled Muskets - 10pts 

4th Sikh Infantry (Punjab Irregular Force)
Rank II Officer - 6pts - "Sergeant Major" - Nicholas Atkins
Loyal Native Infantry with Muskets - 3pts 
Loyal Native Infantry with Muskets - 3pts

86th Regiment of Foot (Royal Country Down)
Rank II Officer - 6pts - "Captain" Fredrick Burnside
British Regulars with Muskets - 7pts 

Total -  51pts

Mutineer Forces

25th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry (Volunteers)
Rank II Officer - 6pts - "Subedar" Sukhinder Basran
Well-Ordered Sepoys - 4pts
Well-Ordered Sepoys - 4pts

7th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry
Rank 1 Officer - Bhaskor Rai - 3pts 
Sepoy Skirmishers - 7pts

3rd Bengal Light Cavalry
Rank II Officer - 6pts - "Jemadar" Abhik Salimullah
Mutineer Cavalry - 6pt

Rank I Officer - 3pts
Badmashes with Big Choppers - 4pts

Prison Guard
Rank I Officer (N/A) - Rishabh Ghani - Required by mission
Sepoy Rabble (N/A)  - Required by mission

Total - 49pts

I'm using the mission "Rescue" within the Sharp Practice rules which proved perfect for the situation. The Mutineers can only deploy one unit per turn, as this simulates their rushed defense against the attackers. Meanwhile the British can deploy from either deployment point (one behind the building where the prisoner is being held) or their main deployment. They must protect the main deployment point, if it is lost the game is over.

Just outside of Chhapra, Robert Cadden is being held.

Under the watchful guard of some 7th Bengal Native Infantry

View from the southern approach
 

 The 25th Bengal Native Infantry patrol the perimeter

The 7th Royal Fusiliers march under command of Bernard Haycroft

And upon sighting the Mutineers make a hasty advance towards nearby outcrops 

The 25th Bengal Native Infantry spot approaching British forces and react

Nicholas Atkin's leads the 4th Punjab onwards

Sukhinder Basran's 3rd Bengal Cavalry scout on ahead of the Mutineer main force
 

Armed with the Enfield P1853 the Fusiliers open fire at incredible range


British firing line, with Sikhs advancing on the left

Accurate shots hit their marks and the 25th flinches

Sepoys from the 7th Bengal formed as skirmishers push ahead of the main line

And let off precision musket fire!

Robert's captors rethink their position and barricade the building


The 3rd Bengal Cavalry advance and pressure the British line


"Form Square" Nicholas Atkin's bellows at the Sikhs

Forces continue to trade shots


"Nows the time men!" Seeing the forces engaged Frederick Burnside leads the 86th towards rescue


Mutineer Cavalry making a charge at the British

The Fusiliers promptly fall into square, thwarting the impending charge

Local Badmashes spot the lone British and think they'll be easy pickings...

The 86th move to nearby cover upon seeing the oncoming rabble

"Present, Fire!" British shots hit their mark and cause the Badmashes to stagger


With the cavalry pulled up and turning back the Sikhs form into line quickly in preparation for a volley


The 3rd Bengal draw back up alongside the faltering 25th Bengal Native Infantry

Badmashes charge in eager for British blood

The 86th showing discipline under pressure, fire another volley

The Sikhs eager, fire their first shots

The Badmashes falter and come to a complete standstill in the face of British Musketry

The 25th starts panicking, as Sukhinder takes a musket ball in his leg

Abhik Salimullah is also hit and struggles to hold onto his horse!

Badmashes in full retreat, another volley breaking their will to fight

The Mutineer line hesitates upon seeing friendly forces fleeing

3rd Bengal Cavalry taking shots from two directions, trys to get out of harms way

"Cease Firing!" The Sikhs reload and prepare to advance

Roberts captors decide to try and make a desperate push for the 86th's position

Abhik Salimullah with his men rout

"Retreat men!" Mutineer line falls apart

Rishabh Ghani orders the men to fall back and leave the Prisoner

The 86th advance towards the building for the rescue

Mutineers taking some parting shots

The 86th Royal Country Down pull Robert out from his cell and setup defensive positions

The full British force arrives and prepares to move out

Well that was the most one sided game of Sharp Practice I think I've ever played! The end morale was 10-0, yikes.

The game was fairly even to start with both sides causing pressure, but once the 86th appeared the command flags very strongly favored British activations. They were able to get off constant volleys and really pile the shock onto Mutineer units. Unfortunately the 25th Bengal suffered some very bad luck and seemed to keep getting killed before they could get into an effective musket range. By that time they were too badly shattered to cause any significant pressure to the British line. The Badmashes were so close to making contact and failed a 4 inch charge, causing them severe issues. Likewise the 3rd Bengal Cavalry had to pull back after British formed square, then really struggled to activate and approach from a different angle. The Mutineers couldn't really afford to play defensively due to the extra range of Enfield Rifled Muskets (appropriate I think!)

Nicholas Atkin's had a good showing taking over command of the Sikhs effectively pinning the cavalry and getting his men in order when needed. Thematically the game played out fairly well, if a bit anticlimactic. It really did snowball badly for the Mutineers, who proceeded to take 4-5 morale point drop in one turn due to units falling back and officers being hit. After that it was kind of a done deal. I would have liked for the 86th to have really struggled taking the building, but the Prison guard were essentially useless after the rest of their army broke. With that said the British do finally get a victory on the board. 

It will be a while now before I can continue with the next story in this series as I'll be travelling overseas, with that said there is no plans to stop the campaign. By the next battle the whole project should have a host of extra units painted, more terrain, elephants and some doolies. The Mutineers are about 90% done with a few units being finished up. The British I'd say are about 50% of the way there.

I'll be continuing to update the blog with project news and relevant ramblings, so keep an eye out for that.