This document provides a playthrough summary of a fictional invasion of the Isle of Wight in the Napoleonic wargame Vectis. Over the course of 12 turns spanning 4 days, French forces land on the island and engage British defensive forces. The French make early gains but the British resistance stiffens. By the fourth day, the French have captured most of the island except for pockets of British resistance, though the British mount a counterattack to retake one position. An epilogue describes the positioning of forces at the start of the fifth day with both sides reinforcing their lines.

1. Vectis
Example
campaign
play through

2. Vectis is a Napoleonic hex-and-counter
wargame from Draken Games that
simulates a fictional invasion of
England’s Isle of Wight by the French.
The following slides show the progress of
an actual Vectis playtest. The fictional
vignettes used in the Vectis rules are all
based on what happened to various units
during this playtest.
Please note that the graphics are much
simplified from the actual game!

3. Dawn of the First Day – position after the initial invasion. Three battalions of French light
infantry surround Sandown Fort: the rest of the invasion force press inland. The British are
yet to react.

4. Noon of the First Day – position at the start of Turn 2. The British forces have started to
deploy in response

5. Late afternoon of the first day - position at the start of Turn 3. Sandown Fort has fallen. The
British cavalry is counter-attacking along the Eastern Downs and further south, while a
defensive line has formed before Barton Wood. French cavalry and artillery is about to enter
the fray.

6. Dawn of the second day – position at the start of Turn 4. The Bembridge garrison has held off
a first attack. The British cavalry charge has been repelled, and French light infantry moves
into position on the eastern bank of Blackbridge Brook. To the west the British deployment
continues, with Royal Marine reinforcements moving forward. The second wave of French
infantry landed before nightfall and is now ready to enter action.

7. Noon of the second day – position at the start of Turn 5. Bembridge has fallen and the French
are now in advance across the east of the island. The British cavalry forms a defensive screen
east of the Medina, while advance units of French cavalry in the south attempt to outflank the
still-deploying British infantry. In the north battle is joined along the line of Blackbridge
Brook. All French forces are now ashore.

8. Late afternoon of the second day – position at the start of Turn 6. The British cavalry pulls
back west of the Medina. French infantry take the river’s east bank, with one guard battalion
forcing a crossing. To the south the French cavalry continues a flanking move, occupying
Shorwell. Both sides suffer losses in the fighting around Blackbridge Brook, where the French
succeed in forcing a crossing.

9. Dawn of the third day – position at the start of Turn 7. French infantry succeed in pushing
another battalion across the Medina while the cavalry swings north to contest the Western
Downs and threaten Yarmouth. Intense fighting still around Blackbridge Brook and Barton
Wood.

10. Noon of the third day – position at the start of Turn 8. British counter-attacks regain the west
bank of the Medina and the Yarmouth Castle garrison has repelled an attack by cavalry. The
French flanking manoeuvre continues, with cavalry engaging the British reserves in Parkhurst
Forest. The French continue to make ground around Barton Wood.

11. Late afternoon of the third day – position at the start of Turn 9. British cavalry still holds the
line of the Medina but the French now occupy the Western Downs unopposed. The attack on
Yarmouth is abandoned and all French efforts in the west concentrate on clearing the British
reserve blocking the advance on Newtown and West Cowes, with French infantry also
converging on Newport. Continued French gains in Barton Wood.

12. Dawn of the fourth day – position at the start of Turn 10. The British position west of the
Medina is outflanked and crumbles, with French light infantry moving off the downs to attack
the Newport/Carisbrooke defences from the south. The French assault on Barton Wood
continues to overwhelm the defences. The British reserve in Parkhurst Forest holds and has
repelled the first wave of attacks.

13. Noon of the fourth day – position at the start of Turn 11. The last British unit in the south –
heavy cavalry isolated for a day and a half – finally falls. The Newport/Carisbrooke defences
hold despite pressure from the south and east. Only one British unit now remains active east
of the Medina, a beleaguered artillery battery in Barton Wood. The Parkhurst Forest reserve
continues to repel French attacks.

14. Late afternoon of the fourth day – position at the start of Turn 12. Carisbrooke Castle and the
last unit in Barton Wood both fall, driving the British to a last line of defence around Newport
and the southern edge of Parkhurst Forest.

15. Nightfall of the fourth day – position at the end of Turn 12. A late British counter-attack
retakes Carisbrooke Castle. French infantry makes progress towards Newport but fails to take
the town. The British positions in Parkhurst Forest hold. However French forces take East
Cowes and its blockhouse unopposed.

16. Epilogue: the fifth day. The French pull back to the line of the Western Downs, with a concentration of
artillery and infantry in the centre, near Newport. The surviving cavalry is positioned on the left flank.
Broken units will reform in occupied towns and garrison them in the short-term. The British establish a weak
line holding the north west of the island. Reinforcements will be routed through Yarmouth and Newtown,
with the aim of strengthening the line and possibly threatening the French left flank. Survivors from broken
units will reform in West Cowes with a view to being reconstituted as a reserve force.

17. Vectis is available for purchase from a variety of sources.
A PDF version can be downloaded from the following locations:
http://www.wargamevault.com/index.php?manufacturers_id=2773
http://www.wargamedownloads.com/cat.php?ItemSubcategory=56&pics=
http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=264402
The game can also be bought in book format from :
http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?contributorId=264402
More information and all the latest news about our products at www.drakengames.com