American Civil War Action using Pickett's Charge.

As is usually the case with me the scenario is not from a Civil War battle but from Napoleon vs the Russians. The Union taking the French and the Confederates taking the Russians.

The objective of the game was to take either the village on the T junction or the redoubt on the hill on the Rebel right flank.

Potential ADC’s were allocated, five to the Rebels and six to the Union requiring 4 to 6 to be in command and 1 to 2 Hesitant. Hesitant Brigades are limited in what they can do. I also set the game up as two divisions and made the players take it in turns dicing, hoping to instil a little friction between them when it came to allocate the ADC’s on their throw.

https://toofatlardies.co.uk/product/picketts-charge/

To start the game the Rebels set up first. This was to signify the union recce. I have to put it out there now that things took a bit longer for this game because only myself and Nathan have played these or 

General d’Armee II (GDA2). Steve M, Matt and Tom were Picketts Charge virgins. Some amendments such as the skirmishers (plus my own take as well) and the casualties were taken from GDA2. I hope Mr Brown is not too offended. I may incorporate others at a later date, perhaps he’ll offer me a job, hee, hee.

Anyway, The Rebels deployed along the entire front with their cavalry on the left. Due to the recce the Union forces were able to deploy as they wished. They decided to keep the Rebel right flank in place by putting their cavalry brigade, which included a battery of 12-pdrs and dismounted cavalry. I had decided that dismounted cavalry would be treated as skirmishers.

For information - each skirmisher stand had one D6, at effective range 4,5 and 6’s were required. At long range 5 and 6, less any modifiers for cover etc. Two hits were required for one casualty. It seemed to work OK.

Onwards. The Union main thrust was in the centre and they pushed up along the road in column. They used their ADC’s to reroll Brigade activation and to Double quick their movement. Meanwhile on the flanks the Union forces were holding the Rebels in place with probing attacks.

The lead Regiment on the road was taking a pounding as the rebels in the centre used their ADC’s to ensure the centre brigade remained active by using one ADC for a Command reroll. Hoping that the activation would take place they also added two ADC’s for Artillery Assault Fire. I can’t go into all the different options available for your ADC’s, you’ll have to buy the rules.

A note about the use of Artillery Assault fire. Neither Nathan nor myself could find any restriction on its use. I am inclined to amend the use to every other turn or low on ammo, or fatigue casualties for continued use. More things to think about.

Needless to say, casualties mounted on the front regiment, and after a few turns of abuse, it was forced to disperse. This caused a Faltering Brigade test on the next turn (my interpretation and my game). Adding a command reroll, Matt, our union commander threw a 2, Withdraw. Thinking he couldn’t do any worse he rerolled, and you’ve guessed it got a 1. Catawamptiously Chewed Up, the whole Brigade was forced back 300mm and took two casualties per regiment in the brigade.

With the centre in disarray Tom was forced to reroute his infantry brigade to the centre. Luckily his cavalry was strong enough to keep Nathan occupied. Matt used his other brigade to pressure Steve on the Rebel left pushing him back.

With the Judicious use Of ADC’s, One for command reroll and three for Rally. Matt threw a 6, well in command, and then another 6, so three casualties removed from each of the regiments. This put them into a good state.

The damage had been done though, and despite getting back into the fray and all the pressing now in the centre by two brigades, and the flanks, the Union attack just wasn’t in a state to carry out the mission.

Attacking forces will always take more casualties than the defenders and if the dice had gone better for Matt this could well have been a closer thing. The joys of throwing dice. Some you get and some you don’t. For Matt, he wanted to try the rules as he has figures, and this was an opportunity to try them, even with my amendment’s.

He said he liked them and went home with a copy of the QRS and other stuff I had written. A convert. I like them and will play them again.

A note about David Brown’s scenarios. I have played various sets of his rules from WW2 to ACW and things in between and his scenarios have always left me thinking, I may have lost or I may have won, but if something had happened differently, or someone had done this rather than that, then the result could have been very different. In short you seem to be ensured a balanced battle.

My thanks to our Union commanders, Tom and Matt (who took the ribbing in good heart. He did come back to the pub after all), and Nathan and Steve M who fought valiantly to keep the Rebels in place. Also cheers Nathan for helping go through things with some whilst I was explaining things to other players.

Any misinterpretation or misuse of the rules were entirely my fault. It was my game.

Steve L

For those who may be interested.

Rule Set – Picketts Charge (mostly)

Figures – AB and Blue Moon. As always, I would like to thank Nick S and Mr Steve who painted my figures for me.

Trees were from Buffers near Axminster, and Amazon

Roads and Rivers – Search Fat Frank on EBay.

Snake Fences – also on EBay. Search 15mm snake fence.

Walls – I’m pretty sure they came from Pendraken and came ready painted but I can’t remember the link.

Hills –totalsystemscenic.com.

Battle Cloth – the now defunct Tinywargames

15mm BRIGADE FIRE & FURY v2 : Chantilly (Ox Hill)

This game was my take on the Battle of Ox Hill or Chantilly, following the Second Battle of Bull Run or Manassas.

Map of the Battle of Chantilly (also know as Battle of Ox Hill) on September 1st, 1862, depicting events from 5 to 10 PM - U.S. Library of Congress.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chantilly

After the Second battle of Manassas, Union commander, Major General John Pope fell back. General Lee then started his advance pushing Jackson forward. Unusually, Jackson napped, and so his advance was delayed. Because of this the Union troops managed to put up defences. Pope then pushed divisions forward to intercept Jackson. This scenario depicts the union attack on Jackson's forces just as a driving rainstorm hits the area.

The forces arrayed were around 4,500 Union to 6,500 Confederate but the Union did have eight guns whereas Jackson kept his in reserve “JUST IN CASE”.

The game was, 'capture the flag', each side had one and a requirement to inflict as many casualties as possible. This had to be done in ten moves. As an extra problem rain comes in on turn 4. On a D6, 1 – 2 meant no fire. The forces were set up on the table as per the scenario and then I told the commanders to let rip.

The rebels pushed forward through the woods on their left in HUGE attack columns. I want everyone to know that they were HUGE as this important later. At the same time, half a dozen SMALL units advanced to meet them.

On the rebel right they pushed forward into the cornfield to support their skirmishers (I made up some rules to cover this). The Union forces moved forward in strength to cover this. Their guns were arrayed to cover the open ground to the right of the cornfield and their target flag.

With the Rebels moving forward in force the Union plan of advancing and taking the Rebel flanks went to ‘ratpoop’. The Rebel attack columns on their left came up on the Union forces and charged in.

Initially they made good progress managing to push the Union forces back but one of the Rebel columns was repulsed.

On the Rebel right their skirmishers were attacked by a Union brigade and wiped from the field and then there ensued a series of actions which resulted in the Rebels being pushed from the cornfield back into the woods. Matt, the Union commander on the left, managed to do this with of a series of D10 throws of ten. Although this put them into low on ammo it was enough. The Rebels then moved their forces to the left being chased by the Union's troops.

With the refocus of forces the Rebel commander on the left, Nathan, tried to charge again, but he met me. For the second game in a row, we fought tooth and nail. He managed to push me back exposing himself to enfiladed fire from my guns. The charges kept coming but with my, I have to say lucky, and Nathan’s, not so lucky, dice throws he was unable to take my position. Then Rebel reinforcements arrived from their right changing the whole situation.

However, time was running out and despite a lot of charging the Rebels just could not out dice those superior Union commanders. This is, of course, in my completely unbiased opinion. The games ended with a big push from the Rebels, but it just wasn’t quite enough and the games ended in an honourable draw.

So many firing units failed to fire because of the rain and this added a whole new dimension to the game. I liked it.

My thanks to Matt, Mike and Nathan for their company and the comradely banter. It was a fun game to play and umpire.

Table was 6 ft x 4 ft.

Cloth by Tiny wargames

15mm figures a combination of Blue Moon and AB.

Gus Murchie Memorial Christmas Game Part 1 - 15mm Brigade Fire and Fury V2

15mm BRIGADE FIRE & FURY v2 : Stones River

Gus Murchie Christmas Game 

Every December the club normally puts on one massive game for all the members to participate in.  This year as our membership has seen a very healthy increase we decided to put on two large games instead of one massive game.  The decision was to set both games in the American Civil War and the honour of organising the 15mm game went to myself (Steve L) and Mr Steve.   

Cheatham Enters the Fray - Brigade Fire & Fury Version Two

This scenario was taken from BFF Great Western Battles Scenario Book. It is the later part of the Battle of Atlanta July 22nd, 1864.

For the purist I apologise for the absence of the railway. I have put it all away pending laying of new track in the future.

Our game started with the Rebels off board and the Union Troops arrayed behind the fortified positions. As the Rebels were attacking, they held the initiative for the entire game. 

Our Union players were Roger on their left flank and Mike on the right. 

For the Rebels, Paul on there right flank and Bob on the left.

The initial moves saw the Rebels advance all along the front and a fair amount of counter battery fire which saw guns on both sides silenced and damaged. As the advance continued the Rebels held back on the left but advanced rapidly through the woods on the right. This gave the impression that they had committed all their forces. In response to this the Union commanders decided to pull their units from behind the second line of defences to reinforce their left.

On spotting the redeployment of Union forces the Rebels committed the rest of their units and pushed forward on the left. On turn three, when the Union reserves arrived, they moved to the right to cover the Rebel advance.

The Union centre was held in position by threatening Rebel units just out of musket range. Meanwhile on the Union left the Rebels burst out the woods to attack the prepared positions. After fierce combat the union units were pushed back, the Rebels moved to the fieldworks, held position, and brought up their only mobile field piece. They now had a foothold on the Union left.

With the Union left held, the Rebels concentrated on the Union right moving up in force and readying to charge the just deploying Union reserves. The Rebel charges went in throwing good dice, a 10 and having lots of plusses, a score of fourteen. The Rebel commander was elated and then the Union leader also threw a 10, not the victory the Rebels were expecting.

On the Rebel right they now arrayed massive fire power at a very silly range and throwing a 10, blew away a complete Union unit. On both flanks the pressure from the Rebels was telling, inflicting heavy casualties and the Union forces reached the magic 30 stands loss. 1 victory point to the rebels. 

Union forces were now forced to pull back to the second line of defences, but it was too late. Rebel pressure on both flanks told and the game was called with an overwhelming Rebel victory. 

As an umpire this was an easy game to adjudicate as only one player had never used the rules. The other players helped, and I didn’t really have to make any decisions. 

My thanks to the guys for making my life easy.

For those who may be interested.

Rule Set – Brigade Fire and Fury Version 2.

ACW troops – AB and Blue Moon figures and I would like to thank Nick S and Mr Steve who painted my figures for me.

Trees were from Buffers near Axminster, Devon, and Amazon.

Roads and Rivers – Search Fat Frank on EBay.

Snake Fences – also on EBay. Search 15mm snake fence.

Walls – I’m pretty sure they came from Pendraken and came ready painted but I can’t remember the link.

Hills – Not seen but were under the cloth were from totalsystemscenic.com.

Battle Cloth – tinywargames.co.uk

Hardee's Attack, Atlanta, 22 July 1864 - Fire & Fury Brigade ver.2

This club game was based on the Confederate attack on the Union force undertaking the siege of Atlanta. The rules used were Fire and Fury Brigade (ed2), and the figures were 28mm.

The Confederate plan was to turn the flank of the Union force at Bald Hill, which was a crest commanding the eastern approach to the city. Hardee's Corps undertook a night time march and came out of the woods to the south of the Union Force.

https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2018/12/18/clash-at-bald-hill-atlantas-bloodiest-day/

This is where the game started. The game was fought on an 8' x 4' table, a line of hills along the north edge, Bald Hill situated on the western end and the south side was mainly woods.

The Union force started with G.A Smith's division behind fortifications (facing east and slightly refused at the end) in front of Bald Hill.

Two other divisions, Fuller and Sweeney, were held off table and represented Union forces coming down from the north in support.

The Confederates come steaming on in march columns with artillery at the rear (historically the artillery got held up in the woods). They were safe as most of the Union artillery faced west or covered the woods. They came on in the same formation as the historical battle,  Manley on the left, then Cleburne, Walker and Bate.

The Union response was to re deploy Smith's division to face off the Confederates. In classic F&F, the guns were attached to brigades. Manley and Cleburne formed up and demonstrated at the edge of the wood, while two brigades swung around the fortification to attack the now depleted defences.

In the centre Sweeney started to set up a battle line and Walker went straight for him with artillery giving supporting fire from a hill.

On the right Fuller and Bate also went for each other but Fuller did give support to Sweeney.

The battle was now fought as two separate engagements. On the left, although the Confederates took some casualties, they pinned down Smith's force, at the same time however two brigades swept over the fortifications and rolled up the line. There was a general retreat up to Bald Hill. On the right both sides were attacking and counter attacking in a close range tactical game.

It was however on Bald Hill where the game hung in the balance, Smith, who up to then had been cursed by the dice god came good. He rallied all of his units, silence fell over the Confederates. Their units were now in a bad way and there was no way they could pull off another attack.

The Union Line had held, much like in the real battle.

The rules played well, some players had played the rules before and helped those not familiar to pick them up. After a few turns the game flowed well as the rules are easy to learn. In addition they have a good historical feel and give a good ACW game.

Many thanks to those who played the game and made my umpiring an easy job. Paul (Smith), Nathan (Sweeney) Si (Fuller), Laurence (Bate), Bob (Walker), Tim (Celburne) and Steve M (Manley).

Technical Stuff

Due to a lack of information, I used the Army Generator found at the rear of the rules. With a bit of tweaking of course. Units size was reduced by half to fit the figures available as this meant the unit frontages were half, I decided to play the game using the 15mm scale play sheet. This worked well, however units, especially the Confederates, were more brittle.

Figures used were 28mm mostly Redoubt and Renegade also Celburne brigade was provided by Stephen H, many thanks. 

Abandoned Confederate defensive works in front of Atlanta

Editors Note: The next meeting of the DWG is our annual Gus Murchie Memorial Game when the whole club comes together to play one 'big game' to end our year on and celebrate the seasonal festivities in proper form, and this year we're off to WWII Normandy!

ACW 15mm using Brigade Fire and Fury 2

Editors Note:
This post covers one of the three games played in early March 2020 and was submitted prior to the announcement that the club has now closed until further notice due to the COVID-19 Lock-down and the prohibition on social gatherings.

We look forward to a resumption of normal life as soon as possible, extend our sincerest condolences to those who have lost friends and family during this time and encourage everyone to stay safe, stay home and protect out National Health Service.

The Scenario

This game was based upon the Battle of Raab. Archduke John of Austria was being pursued by Eugéne de Beauharnais, Napoleon Bonaparte’s stepson . In this game the Austrians were replaced by the Rebels and the Union troops replaced the French.

Battle of Raab, 14th June 1809

The Rebel army was made up of half Veteran and half Experienced and Green units, whilst the Union troops were either Veteran or Crack.

The number of stands was the same for both sides so it was all about using quality against defended positions.

The town counted as full cover and the farm was fortified. The river was fordable but disordered all troops on crossing. Guns could only cross via the two bridges but the horse battery with the cavalry could cross to the right of the fortified area.

The Game

The deployment and first move were made using cards to simulate mist coming off the river. On revealing the units we found the Union deployed on their right with the cavalry division and two crack infantry divisions. The two other divisions were on the left next to the main bridge leaving the centre completely free.

The Rebels deployed in and around the fortified farm and on both hills to gain height for their guns and waited. The rebel guns opened fire on the advancing union columns causing light casualties. As the union forces advanced on their left the rebels surprised their opponents by coming to meet them. Shaking into line both armies clashed exchanging fire and charges. In a very ballsy move a rebel brigade left the farm and crossed the small centre bridge in an attempt to attack the unions in the rear.

On the union right the fast moving cavalry and infantry headed around to attack the rebel left. The rebels held the hill and dished out fire from their guns in the fort and on the hill without slowing them down. Once again the rebels awaited their destiny.

At this point the action was all on the rebel right flank and they managed to force the union forces to
straighten their lines, a euphemism for falling back. These actions had, however caused severe damage to the rebel units as well as to the union. The rebel problem was that their units were not all that good. With that Union attack now seemingly stemmed the rebels sent what spare units they could away to their left to help stem the next onslaught

Eventually the union troops arrived on the confederate left and the cavalry dismounted and started using their machine guns (repeating rifles) to try and pin down the defenders of the fortified farm but they were faced with artillery and infantry and were gradually whittled down. The fast moving union infantry then burst through the woods and attacked the rebels lined up on the hill. The rebels fought bravely but against superior quality troops they were eventually pushed back. However it has to be noted that a rebel brigade did repel a massed attack from three good union brigades before finding themselves suddenly all alone on the hill, whereupon they fell back in good order onto the town.

As this was going on, the union forces on their left now launched a second attack and got to grips with the rebels and forced them back towards the town.

At this point the Confederate leaders gave the order to fall back to the next town down the road and a slight union victory was declared.

I would like to thank all participants for playing the game in such good humour. The scenario was interesting for me because the accepted rule is that the attacking forces should outnumber the defenders. In this case the quality was meant to negate the quantity issues. It did seem to work so I was happy.

This is Steve Land production, generously corrected and added to by Mr Steve. Thanks to you sir.

Figures from AB and Blue Moon. My thanks to Nick and Mr Steve for their efforts in painting them for me. Battle Mat by Tiny Wargames. Buildings by Empires at War. The trees are a mix of Ebay buys and from Buffers Model Railways. The hills were from Total System Scenic (TSS). Roads and rivers are from Fat Frank. The rails fences I got from ebay.