Landing at Plurieux, 1794

We recently played a scenario depicting an expedition to supply weapons to the Chouan Rebels in Brittany during the early days of the French Revolutionary Wars. A British frigate and some landing parties were accompanied by Royalist (emigré) French marines and light infantry. They crept in under cover of a fog, hoping to evade the guns of the nearby coastal fort. It worked for a while, but the frigate ended up striking her colours after taking a prolonged pounding as the fog lifted. The supply train was nearly delivered when the French cavalry caught it. If the Royalist marines had only formed square, the Chouans would have had their supplies - as it was, they ended up in the hands of the Republicans.

We played using a computer-assisted version of the Republic & Empire rules. The scenario can be found here. Below are some pictures from the game, many courtesy of Dan Schwartz. Figures are all 25mm, by Eureka, Old Glory, Trent, Perry, and Wargames Foundry, with a few of my Prince August home casts mixed in.

HMS Troubador sails in quietly through the fog.

View from the tops of the flat-boats reaching shore.

The Republicans launch their first attack.

The scene on the shore as the supply train gets ready to march.

D'Hectors marines lead the way inland.

The Chouan Rebels struggle in desperate fashion with the Republicans,
fighting to preserve their way of life, their religion, and their tax exemptions.

The Republican gunners pound the HMS Troubador as the fog thins.

The Emigré commander is stoic under fire (or maybe distracted by the baguette he is eating...)

The Republican cavalry breaks through to the supply train - they break ranks and plunder it. No god, no discipline, and not enough to eat!

After d'Hector fails to form square and is ridden down, Waldstein's light infantry, the naval landing party,
and the remaining Chouans cannot stop the destruction - the mission has failed!

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