The Siege of Rome 1849 - a Campaign

Over the last few weeks and months I have been reading Trevelyan's "Garibaldi and the Siege of Rome" and running a few scenarios for the campaign using the excellent Rebels and Patriots rules.

As I've been running the games I've not had the chance to take much pictures and the games themselves have been a bit intermittent as I've been been back and forth across to Norway a fair bit.

However the game still have been good ones and I have been able to use my 28mm Gringo40's Redshirts and Neapolitans as Republican Roman Volunteers and French/ Neapolitans (the uniform is almost identical), and have added some other units too - Bersaglieri from Lombardy and Roman regulars.

After a few weeks of playing the scenarios from the book, representing the initial French advance and failed attack on Rome, last week we moved on to playing actions from the campaign against the Neapolitans.

Bersaglieri de Lombardy advance down the slope at Palestrina towards the Neapolitans, supported by redshirted Republican troops.

At Palestrina the Neapolitans attacked the walled town at two points, managing to capture some houses in front of the town. The republicans attacked at bayonet, driving them back and sending them scuttling back down the hill. 

Neapolitans advance cautiously up the street. 

In our game the Neapolitans began in the village, advancing uphill. The Republicans began on the hill itself, ready to launch their counterattack. 

As the redshirts advanced, the Neapolitan troops broke into the houses to take cover, or took up positions behind cover amongst the olive groves and vineyards. The first shots were fired and the Republicans quickly got to the edge of the village. Without much of a pause a unit of them burst into the first  house and bundled its defenders back out into the street after a brief struggle. The disordered bourbons then fumbled their activation and in panic fired o  their own men, believing them to be the enemy. 

A volley from the now redshirt filled house scattered the panicked unit and it fled down the street, leaving half its number dead and taking the company commander with them!

On the right flank the Bersaglieri were involved in a firefight with some Neapolitan light infantry, neither gaining much of an upper hand. On the left a bourbon unit had taken up position behind a low stone wall but was taking casualties from the republicans. These began to tell and they failed a morale check making them disordered. More casualties were caused and a second morale test was failed but this time badly and they too turned and ran. 

The Neapolitan left, moving up to the wall.

This left just two units of Bourbon troops on the table, facing 4 pretty well intact Republicans. The light infantry holed up in one house and a line unit at the opposite end of the village. With no overall command and separated from each other they surrendered and the game drew to a close.

Historically the Bourbons put up a little bit more of a fight but were defeated and many captured. When brought before Garibaldi they were found to be carrying icons and blessings protecting them from the enemies of the Vatican and fell on their knees begging for mercy from their captors.  The poorly led and motivated Neapolitans couldn't stand against the well led and aggressive Republican troops, especially those led by Garibaldi.  This I represented on the table my making the Republicans Aggressive light infantry and the Neapolitans Green Line. It seemed to work out well. 

The next action will be based on the Battle of Velletri which was fought later in May 1849 and a final game will be based on the French attacking the villas Pamfili and Corsini outside Rome in June. 

I really like the rules and find them prefect for a club night and as a way of playing a period such as this. We're already discussion Hungarian Revolution,  I have stuff for the Crimea and then there are a few adventures in Mexico that could be interesting too.