Toy Soldier Battle of Wormy Ridge

      After the battle of Nords Crossing, the remains of the Brookshire Army marched away to lick it's wounds, leaving the frontier to fend for itself. It was supposed that the Shiak Army would loot Nords Crossing and the immediate area, then march home again. However, after resting (and looting) for several days, the Shiak Army received reinforcements and sent their militia home. General Von Piffle then led his army farther into Brookshire.

  Panic spread throughout the frontier as Von Piffles Army advanced, looting as it went. With General Humphreys dead and the Army gone, who could stop the invasion?

    In one of the local farms near Nords Crossing was a young officer, Major Barnaby of the Rifles.  He had fallen, wounded by canister that broke the Rifles right at their moment of glory an was now being nursed back to health.  When he heard of the Shiak advance, he slipped out of the farm and on a plow horse, went from village to village mustering the local militia.  He soon had 4 units of infantry and two of artillery. The local militia general gladly gave command of this little army to Barnaby.  Barnaby found a nice ridge line with clear farmland in front of it. The road Von Piffle was on cut through the middle of the ridge.  To advance any farther Von Piffle would have to take the ridge.

Brookshire Army on top; Shiak Army on bottom.

Brookshire Army in line. Units are easy to identify by the colors of their coats. Major Barnaby stands in  the middle of the road.

The Shiak Army from the rear. Their one battery is on the road and one cavalry unit in the center.

On the Shiak right the Guards Brigade advances; the hussars go behind the line to try to get around the Brookshires left flank.

On the Brookshires right, the White unit advances off the ridge to engage the enemy; the Blue unit  advances in support of the Whites.

The Shiak Guards close in on the Greys.  The Greys are taking lots of pressure but are holding firm.

Meanwhile the Shiak 1st Brigade is hitting the Brookshires hard.

The Greys fire on the fast closing Hussars, with no effect. The artillery, however, hits one unit  and forces it back.

Meanwhile in the Brookshire center, the Redcoats attack off the ridge and causes 50% losses  on one unit. the Whites attack the Shiak battery before they deploy, causing 50% losses.

The Bluecoats push back another Shiak unit.

The Greys fire on the Hussars again, but miss. The artillery fires on another unit, forcing another unit to retreat, giving the Greys some breathing space.

The Redcoats eliminate the infantry unit to it's front; the Whitecoats finishes off the crew to the battery. On the left center of the picture the Bluecoats have shifted to their  left, and have killed 50% of the unit to it's front and made them retreat.

The Hussars push their attack and the Greys are forced back losing 1/3 of their men.

The Hussars continue their charge and forces the Grey to break.

The Shiak Guards force back the Redcoats, who fall back onto Major Barnaby.

Meanwhile, the Shiak unit rallies and hits the Bluecoats, forcing them back.

The Greys counter attack  forces the Hussars back. The battery fires on the Guards at their front, pushing them back.

The Whitecoats then hits their flank and continues to push them back.

The Brookshire artillery finishes off another Shiak unit.

The Bluecoats hits the last unit of the 1st Shiak Brigade, taking 2/3 of the unit.

The Shiak Hussars pushes the Greys back, and then attacks the battery and overruns it.

The Shiak Guards launch a desperate attack; the Brookshire troops lose heavily  but hold fast.

The last of the Shiak 1st  continues to fight and the Bluecoats lose more men.

The Shiak Guards try but just can't break the Brookshire troops.

The Bluecoats finally finishes off the last of the 1st Brigade.  The Shiak Army has lost  50%  and has to retreat.

General Von Piffle leads the last of his army off the field.

The Brookshire final line. The cannon in the foreground was left by the Shiak Army.

A photo of Major Barnaby after the battle. For his service he has been promoted to Lt. Col. of the Rifles and on his left breast can be seen the medal awarded to him for the battle.

Another shot of Lt. Col. Barnaby.


Somehow this toy soldier deserved to be memorialized for this battle. As a kid I often awarded toy soldiers with medals for bravery.  Maybe it's time to start doing that again. Rules are Bob Condrey's Memoir of Battle.