The Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on 17 June 1775. Mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War.

Bunker's or Bunker Hill is an 1 10 feet high, near the neck of the peninsula on which Charlestown is situated, and which is divided from Boston by the Charles river. Learning that General Gage intended to occupy and fortify it, Colonel Prescott with 1,000 men was sent at night from Cambridge, the headquarters of the colonists, to anticipate the British. But they mistook, strange to say, for Bunker Hill another eminence called Breed's Hill, to the south of it, standing nearer to Charlestown and Boston, and entrenched themselves there before the morning. The eminence commanded the British camp, and, if armed with batteries, would have compelled the evacuation of Boston. When the entrenchment's were discovered, 3,000 regulars were sent to attack them, under Generals Howe and Pigot. Instead of landing at the isthmus of Charlestown so as to take the Americans in the rear, the troops, covered by the fire not only of the British batteries but of the fleet, marched straight up the hill. Two assaults on the entrenchment's failed, but General Clinton having joined the assailants with 400 men, a third was made. The Americans had exhausted their ammunition, and Colonel Prescott ordered a retreat, which was effected in good order, and though only one piece of artillery out of six could be carried off, they encamped at Prospect Hill, a mile from the battleground. As was natural, the loss of the assailants was the greater 226 killed and 828 wounded and missing, as against 115 killed and 337 wounded and prisoners on the American side. The battle had taken place in sight of Boston, whose roofs and steeples were crowded with spectators. These, besides the battle itself, had witnessed a sight which sank deep into the hearts of the American people, the burning of Charlestown by the British soldiers, provoked, it is said, by their having been fired on from its houses.

Orders of Battle

American Commander-in-chief William Prescott

1st Brigade, under the command of Israel Putman's

William Prescott's Massachusetts Regiment (250)
Fyre's Massachusetts Regiment (250)
Bridges's Massachusetts Regiment (250)
Israel Putman's 3rd Connecticut Regiment (200)
Massachusetts Artillery

2nd Brigade, under the command of Stark's

John Stark's 1st New Hampshire Regiment (300)
Reed's 3rd New Hampshire Regiment (300)
Massachusetts Artillery

3rd Brigade, under the command of

David Brewer's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Jonathan Brewer's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Little's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Whitcomb's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Dolittle's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Sargent's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Reed's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Woodbridge's Massachusetts Regiment (150)
Massachusetts Artillery


British Commander-in-chief William Howe

1st Brigade, under the command of Robert Pigot

Clark's Light Infantry (300)
Abercrombie's Grenadiers (300)
5th Regiment of Foot (320)
38th Regiment of Foot (320)
Royal Artillery

2nd Brigade, under the command of Henry Clinton

43rd Regiment of Foot (320)
52nd Regiment of Foot (320)
Light Infantry (80)
Marine Battalion (160)
Grenadiers Battalion (80)

3rd Reserve Brigade, under the command of

47th Regiment of Foot (320)
1st Marine Battalion (400)
Copp's Hill Battery 3 x 28 pounders

Royal Navy Support, under the command of Samuel Graves

HMS Somerset
HMS Glasgow
HMS Lively
HMS Falcon
2 Floating Batteries
Armed Transport Symmetry

Download This Scenario

The Battle of Bunker Hill

How it Played

Sources

My American War of Independence Book Library

10mm American War of Independence Project

My 10mm American War of Independence Project (yes I know, yet again) another new wargaming project. This will be based around the Battle of Bunker Hill.

So this is the start 10mm American War of Independence (AWI) Project.

American War of Independence American Army.  

American War of Independence French Army.  

American War of Independence British Army.  

American War of Independence German Army.  

Painting American War of Independence American.  

Painting American War of Independence French.  

Painting American War of Independence British.  

Painting American War of Independence  German.  

Black Powder Rules.

American War of Independence Battle Reports & Scenarios.  

My American War of Independence Book Library

Useful American War of Independence Links.

American War of Independence Project Pictures
American War of Independence Art 

The rules I will be using are Black Powder and Rebellion Black Powder Supplement.

The core of the army will be built using Pendraken Miniatures.

The Battle of Bunker Hill

American Order of Battle 

Commanders

William Prescott
Israel Putman's
John Stark's

William Prescott's Massachusetts Regiment
Fyre's Massachusetts Regiment
Bridges's Massachusetts Regiment
Putman's 3rd Connecticut Regiment
Massachusetts Artillery

John Stark's 1st New Hampshire Regiment
Reed's 3rd New Hampshire Regiment
Massachusetts Artillery

David Brewer's Massachusetts Regiment
Jonathan Brewer's Massachusetts Regiment
Little's Massachusetts Regiment
Whitcomb's Massachusetts Regiment
Dolittle's Massachusetts Regiment
Sargent's Massachusetts Regiment
Reed's Massachusetts Regiment
Woodbridge's Massachusetts Regiment
Massachusetts Artillery

British Order of Battle

Commanders

William Howe
Robert Pigot
Henry Clinton
Samuel Graves

Clark's Light Infantry (300)
Abercrombie's Grenadiers (300)
5th Regiment of Foot (320)
38th Regiment of Foot (320)
Royal Artillery

43rd Regiment of Foot (320)
52nd Regiment of Foot (320)
Light Infantry (80)
Marine Battalion (160)
Grenadiers Battalion (80)

47th Regiment of Foot (320)
1st Marine Battalion (400)
Copp's Hill Battery 3 x 28 pounders

HMS Somerset
HMS Glasgow
HMS Lively
HMS Falcon
2 Floating Batteries
Armed Transport Symmetry

28 April 2016

And for the time being this completes the American War of Independence British Army

14 January 2016

Some Grenadiers and artillery finished for my AWI project.

14 March 2015

Some Grenadiers finished for my AWI project

February 2015

My carriage is finished

Some ladies and gentlemen for my AWI project

52nd Regiment of Foot completed

21 January 2015

The 43rd Regiment of Foot is finished I really enjoyed painting up this one.

14 November 2014

Some gun emplacements all finished the can be used for FIW, AWI and ACW

6 November 2014

Pendraken Starfort all finished complete with British and American flags which Malcolm Taylor very kindly did for me. However as the fort is in British control I can't see it being captured by the American traitors.

5 November 2014

5th and 38th regiment of foot all based.

23 October 2014

First AWI regiment started 38th regiment foot

August 2014

Warlord Games has released Rebellion! their American Revolution supplement for Black Powder.

29 November 2013

I recently painted Battleground American Civil War buildings.

BD208 Clapboard House

BD208 Clapboard House (2)

BD209 Wooden Church

BD210 Clapboard Two Story House

BD210 Clapboard Two Story House (2)

29 April 2013

I recently painted Timecast North American Buildings.

32/001 Henry House

32/002 Brian Farm - Gettysburg

32/003 Dunker Church

32/004 Fair Oaks House

32/005 Stone House

32/006 Lee & Gordon's Mill

32/007 Bennett's Farm

February 2012 

I entered Pendraken Painting Competition 2012 with their PS35 American Civil War (ACW) buildings which had painted earlier in the year.

3 December 2012

My attempt to build a American Civil War (ACW) blockhouse which can be also used in the American War of Independence (AWI). And to be honest I'm rather pleased with how it turned out. You can see the full construction guide here.

9 Mar 2011

I scratch built all of my snake fencing you can find the complete guide to building these fences here.

Blitzkrieg Commander Rules

Blitzkrieg Commander IV is an exciting wargame that allows you to recreate battles of the Second World War using miniatures on a tabletop.

• Suitable for any scale miniatures, from 2mm right up to 28mm.
• Simple command system that emphasises the fog of war.
• Effective mechanism for casualty resolution.
• Flexible figure ratio meaning one base represents a platoon.
• Minimal setup time, simply assemble your forces and play.
• Contains 49 army lists covering all nations and theatres.
• Includes 15 scenarios.
• Suitable for solo, two player or multiplayer games.
• No supplements, everything you need to play WWII games in one book. 
• Quick Reference Sheet included.
• Fully bookmarked, easy-to-use PDF.

Blitzkrieg Commander is one of the most popular WWII rulesets of the past decade with over 5000 copies sold so far. Our overriding intention with BKC-IV was to show a natural evolution from BCKII, retaining the best elements of BKC-III but at the same time remaining true to both the BKC tradition and the Commander series of rules mechanisms.  In addition, we’ve added new game mechanisms, incorporated several widely used, tried and tested ‘house rules’, as well as tidying up the army lists.  

The design of BKC-IV will allow players to choose between a more formalised and higher-level game, back (almost) to BCKI and BKCII in many ways; or to play a much more granular game, almost but not quite down to a skirmish level or 1:1 level game.  We have also added (by request) more Example Tables, for ease of play and quick reference.

The significant changes are:

• An enhanced and expanded Reconnaissance section – making Recce a more important and integral part of the game.
• Introduction of Snipers and their effect on the battlefield.
• Changes to the way Infantry Anti-Tank Weapons work to make them more cost effective and realistic.
• Changes to the Artillery Barrage rules – to remove a potential for imbalance.
• The correction of an anomaly around Naval Guns and FAOs.
• Adding a new Tactical Doctrine for Guerrillas/Partisans, with additional features to make playing an insurgency or resistance style game possible.
• Re-working and clarifying the Scenarios.
• Adding to, re-wording and editing the list of Special Characteristics.

Rather than a printed QRS supplied with the rules, we've put a pdf download on the Pendraken Forum, for people to print off as many copies as they like.  Along with this we'll be creating a series of pdfs containing a variety of expanded Optional Rules – including Perilous Terrain, Armoured Trains and Refugees amongst many others.  More of these Optional Rules will be added to the archive going forward, as will more Army Lists (an ANZAC list is already on the work-bench!)

If you are a long-standing BKC player or a new convert to WW2 gaming or even a ‘refugee’ from another set of rules, we believe that BKCIV will give you a fast to play, enjoyable and realistic table-top WW2 gaming experience.remains true to the BKC you're familiar with, but with a bit of a refresh on the text.  All of the core elements remain in the game and everything should run much the way it always has.  Things that you may find work slightly differently include:

These rules are available directly at Pendraken Miniatures and also available through my shop East Front Miniatures, Blitzkrieg Commander Rules and Supplements.

Blitzkrieg Commander is one of the most popular WWII rulesets of the past decade with over 5000 copies sold so far across Editions 1 and 2.  This 3rd Edition remains true to the BKC you're familiar with, but with a bit of a refresh on the text.  All of the core elements remain in the game and everything should run much the way it always has.  Things that you may find work slightly differently include:

• Scale - Established at '1 base = 1 platoon' 
• Terrain (movement, visibility and cover) - Revamped and simplified in places.
• Basic Actions - Now set out in defined actions list.
• Unit Abilities (including profiles) - Revamped.
• Command Units - Revamped and can now fight and be knocked out like other units.
• Close Assault - Streamlined.
• Off-table Support - Streamlined.
• Engineering - Streamlined and moved to command phase.
• Recce Actions - Streamlined.
• Exceptions & Special Rules - Extracted into formal 'special abilities' for units.
• Army Lists - Revamped and increased.

If you know and love Blitzkrieg Commander already then BKC-III should hopefully feel familiar but fresh to you.  For those new to these rules, grab yourself a copy and see what everyone is talking about!

Blitzkrieg Commander Wargaming Rules by Specialist Military Publishing is an exciting wargame that allows you to recreate battles of the Second World War and and Spanish Civil War using miniatures on a tabletop. Command anything from a company right up to a division and get a result in 2-3 hours without becoming bogged-down in detail. Suitable for any scale miniatures from 2mm right up to 28mm (including 6mm, 1/285, 10mm, 12mm, N Scale, 15mm and 20mm) and no re-basing required. 

The rules are available as a 140-page A4-sized book (either a perfect bound hard-copy full-colour book, a print-on-demand monochrome book or a full-colour electronic PDF document) with over 45 pictures that illustrate how to play the game. These feature real miniatures as you see them on the gaming table not diagrams that belong in a physics textbook! You also get a double-sided A4-sized quick reference sheet. This is 2nd Edition of the game (dated 2009), released on 21st December 2009 and brings the game into line with Cold War Commander. The first edition of Blitzkrieg Commander is still available. 

The game can be played at one of two levels: 1 base = 1 Platoon (the scale the game was designed for) or 1 base = 1 Squad or Individual Vehicle. The ground scale is 1cm = 20m or 1cm = 10m respectively. One turn represents up to 30 minutes of real-life action. 

Main Features

The main features of the game include: 

• Command system that emphasizes the fog of war in a simple but effective manner 
• The same mechanism for casualty resolution throughout 
• Rules for infantry, tanks, recce, artillery, aircraft, engineers, fortifications & weather 
• Flexible figure ratio meaning a base of infantry represents either a section or a platoon 
• Minimal setup time - simply assemble your forces and play 
• Unique points system that allows for unequal forces but an equal chance of victory 
• 44 well presented army lists for 19 nations covering 15 theatres of war 
• 15 generic scenarios suitable for any nation & theatre 
• Suitable for solo, 2-player & multi-player games at home, club, or tournament 
• One double-sided quick reference sheet included 
• No supplements - all you need to play in one book

Theatres Covered

• Spanish Civil War: Spain 1936-39 (Nationalists, Republicans) 
• World War Two: Early Far East 1937-41 (Japan, Russia) 
• World War Two: Poland 1939 (Germany, Poland, Russia) 
• World War Two: Finland 1939-40 (Finland, Russia) 
• World War Two: Norway 1940 (Germany, Norway) 
• World War Two: France & The Low Countries 1940 (Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands) 
• World War Two: North Africa 1940-42 (Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Balkans 1941 (Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia) 
• 9. World War Two: Early Eastern Front 1941-42 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain) 
• World War Two: Far East 1941-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Japan) 
• World War Two: Tunisia 1943 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Mid Eastern Front 1943 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Spain) 
• World War Two: Italy 1943-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Late Eastern Front 1944-45 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia) 
• World War Two: Western Europe 1944-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany) 

Blitzkrieg Commander is an exciting wargame that allows you to recreate battles of the Second World War and Spanish Civil War using miniatures on a tabletop. Command anything from a company right up to a division and get a result in 2-3 hours without becoming bogged-down in detail. Suitable for any scale miniatures from 2mm right up to 28mm (including 6mm, 1/285, 10mm, 12mm, N Scale, 15mm and 20mm) and no re-basing required. 

The rules come as a 120-page A4-sized book (either a print-on-demand monochrome book or a full-colour electronic PDF document) with over 50 pictures that illustrate how to play the game. These feature real miniatures as you see them on the gaming table not diagrams that belong in a physics textbook! You also get a double-sided A4-sized quick reference sheet. This is the 3nd printing of the game (dated 2006), released on 22nd January 2007 and contains the amendments from the 2nd Print Errata, plus an updated FAQ, both available from the Downloads area of the site. The amendments are a handful of stat changes to the army lists, so nothing major.

The game can be played at one of two levels: 1 base = 1 Platoon (the scale the game was designed for) or 1 base = 1 Squad or Individual Vehicle. The ground scale is 1cm = 20m or 1cm = 10m respectively. One turn represents up to 30 minutes of real-life action.

Main Features

The main features of the game include: 

• command system that emphasizes the fog of war in a simple but effective manner 
• the same mechanism for casualty resolution throughout 
• rules for infantry, tanks, recce, artillery, aircraft, engineers, fortifications & weather 
• flexible figure ratio meaning a base of infantry represents either a section or a platoon 
• minimal setup time - simply assemble your forces and play 
• unique points system that allows for unequal forces but an equal chance of victory 
• 43 well presented army lists for 18 nations covering 15 theatres of war 
• 15 generic scenarios suitable for any nation & theatre plus a simple campaign system 
• suitable for solo, 2-player & multi-player games at home, club, or tournament 
• one double-sided quick reference sheet included 
• no supplements - all you need to play in one book 

Theatres Covered

• Spanish Civil War: Spain 1936-39 (Nationalists, Republicans) 
• World War Two: Early Far East 1937-41 (Japan, Russia) 
• World War Two: Poland 1939 (Germany, Poland, Russia) 
• World War Two: Finland 1939-40 (Finland, Russia) 
• World War Two: Norway 1940 (Germany, Norway) 
• World War Two: France & The Low Countries 1940 (Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands) 
• World War Two: North Africa 1940-42 (Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Balkans 1941 (Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Yugoslavia) 
• World War Two: Early Eastern Front 1941-42 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Spain) 
• World War Two: Far East 1941-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Japan) 
• World War Two: Tunisia 1943 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Mid Eastern Front 1943 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Spain) 
• World War Two: Italy 1943-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany, Italy) 
• World War Two: Late Eastern Front 1944-45 (Germany, Hungary, Romania, Russia) 
• World War Two: Western Europe 1944-45 (America, Britain & Commonwealth, Germany) 

Blitzkrieg Commander Downloads

BKC 

Sources

Pendraken Miniatures

The Commander Series

Pendraken Painting Competition 2015

The 2015 Pendraken Painting Competition had a huge 229 entries, our 2nd highest turnout in the five years we've been running it, so that's to everyone who has taken the time to paint up an entry.  Every year the standard gets higher and higher and the judges have had such a difficult decision on their hands.

The Judges never seem to have an easy job on their hands, and this year was no different.  There were several close categories, and we've got a few tied 2nd places this year as well!

Just for info, each judge had 6 points in total to award.  3 points went to their 1st place choice, 2 points to their 2nd place, and 1 point to their 3rd choice.  The points from all 5 judges were added together to give us our winners and runners-up.

And so, without further ado, the winners are:

Foot - Pre-20th C. (29 entries)

There were come very nice entries in this category and the points were split over several of the entries.  In the end it was the tidy colourful work and careful detailing that caught the judges eyes, but things were so tight that we almost ended up with a tie for 1st place!  It's worth mentioning though, that Streetgang's entries split the opinions and the points, so he almost missed out on winning a prize!

1st place: Roman Shieldwall, by Streetgang - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and 5 painted buildings from Escenografia Epsilon!

2nd place: SYW Grenadiers, by ali657 - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

Foot - 20th C. (14 entries)

This category had a smaller number of entries compared to the others, but it was still a strong showing.  There were some nice camo patterns attempted on several of the entries, but in the end it was the clean and tidy work that pushed the winners over the finishing line. 

1st place: US Paras in Normandy, by BH62 - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a £30 voucher from Last Man Last Bullet!

2nd place: WWI Middle East Brits, by WeeWars - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

Mounted (26 entries)

This was really one of the standout categories in this year's competition, such a high level across so many entries that it really had the judges scratching their heads.  It was so close in fact that we've got a three-way tie for the Runner-Up position, all Late Roman figures as well.  Again, Streetgang's multiple excellent entries split his points and meant that he missed out on 1st place!

1st place: Late Roman Cataphracts, by barbarian - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and any kit from Severn Models!

Joint 2nd place: Late Roman cavalry, by irregularwars - wins £5 Pendraken credit!

Joint 2nd place: Late Roman Cataphracts, by streetgang - wins £5 Pendraken credit!

Joint 2nd place: Late Roman cavalry, by streetgang - wins £5 Pendraken credit!

Vehicle (39 entries)

This category had a mix of entries, from bold camo schemes to more subtle detailing, but there were two entries that really caught the judges attention and picked up the majority of the points.  The Winner in this category is the first of two entries that picked up a maximum 15 points from the judges, so well done to that man!

1st place: Vietnam Air Cav, by Matt of Munslow - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and 5 painted buildings from Escenografia Epsilon!

2nd place: Panther, by BH62 - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

Fantasy & Sci-Fi (31 entries)

The Fantasy and Sci-Fi category was a similarly tight category, with only five entries picking up points and three of those fighting it out for the prizes.  Special mention has to go to Ironduke for the sheer number of entries, both in this category and others!  In the end it was some nice detailed animal work and some very nice highlighting that took the prizes.

1st place: Mounted Samurai Apes, by Ironduke - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a 2 player Starter Set from Hawk Wargames!

2nd place: Goblin Red-Paws, by celtofkernow - wins £10 Pendraken credit, and a PHR Starter Army from Hawk Wargames!

Open - Single Base (54 entries)

This category saw an excellent turnout, with a great mix of ideas and styles on show.  The variety of the entries is always something we enjoy seeing at Pendraken HQ and it's one of our personal favourites!  Picking the best out of over 50 entries was always going to be a difficult task, but in the end our judges had two clear favourites.

1st place: Kublai Khan, by Matt of Munslow - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a copy of our new Warband Fantasy rules!

2nd place: Lee with his dog, by maciek - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

Open - Army! (36 entries)

All of the judges agreed that this was the hardest category of all to decide on, with so many outstanding entries on show and the judges finding it very difficult to pick just three for their points.  Loads of 10mm figures, all nicely painted on the table, what's not to like?!  After the dust had settled though, there were three entries battling it out for the prizes, with the eventual winners just edging ahead of third place.

1st place: Sub-Roman British, by streetgang - wins £20 Pendraken credit, and a 6 month subscription to Wargames Illustrated!

2nd place: WWI Austrians, by golem - wins £10 Pendraken credit!

So congratulations to all of our winners, we'll be contacting you each individually to get your prizes sorted out, probably after we get back from the WMMS show on Sunday.  We'll also get your Winner's medals added to your profiles!

We'd like to thank our Judges for giving up their time to judge the competition, it's always a difficult task going through all of the entries, so we're grateful to them for their time.

And of course, huge thanks to everyone who has taken part this year, I hope you enjoyed taking part and you've managed to chip away at your lead mountain!

Coming up next will be the Aart Brouwer People's Choice Award, where all the entries who achieved at least a point (plus a few of my own favourites!) will go into a public poll to decide a winner.  The voting on this will run for one week, with a closing deadline of Thursday 12th March.  The winner of this category will receive a £20 voucher for loads of Minibits goodies and also a Scourge Starter Set from Hawk Wargames!  Please make sure to place your votes here:

And finally, as a special bonus for everyone who entered, we've got one more prize to give out!  This participation prize will be given out to one randomly selected person who has entered this years competition.  The Winners and Runners-Up will be taken out of the pot first, and then we'll draw a name from the hat to find our winner!  The lucky person will receive £10 worth of Pendraken goodies, along with a Shaltari Tribes Starter Set army from Hawk Wargames!  We'll announce this at the same time as the People's Choice winner, so stay tuned!

My entries for the Pendraken Painting Competition 2015.

Categories:

Foot - Pre-20th C. - Min: 3 / Max: 16 figures on a single base, and pre-1900.

Gallic Skirmishers

The 5th Regiment of Foot

1st Marine Battalion

Foot - 20th C. - Min: 3 / Max: 16 figures on a single base/movement tray.

Mounted - Min: 3 / Max: 10 figures on a single base/movement tray.

Vehicle - Single vehicle on or off base.

Fantasy & Sci-Fi - Anything Fantasy or Sci-Fi oriented, on a single base/movement tray.

Amazon Warband

Open - Single Base - Anything which doesn't fit into the other categories, with a max base size of 100x100mm.  Includes single figures, artillery bases, command stands, etc.

Barbarian Catapult

Siege Tower with Gauls

Gauls with ladders

Amazon Command

Working Party

Ladies & Gentlemen

Carriage

Star fort with outer ditch, 16th to 19th Century

Open - Army! - Armies, Units, Dungeons, whole table setups, anything!

Gallic Army

AWI Army

Forum Discussion

Pendraken Miniatures