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Saturday, October 16, 2021

Brawner's Farm - An Australian Rebel

The Battle of Brawner's Farm saw action on the gaming table a second time.  Again, like Game #1, the battle unfolded remotely.  Rather than umpiring a two-player game pitched against two American players, in this contest I faced off against an Australian opponent.  Peter (Grid based wargaming) accepted the challenge to participate in a remote game.  

Peter and I managed a collaborative game years ago refighting the French & Indian War.  We teamed up with a combination of strategic play using a board game and tactical resolution using miniatures.  The campaign can be found at Montcalm & Wolfe.  Who still recalls that series?

With the 18 hour time zone difference, we decided upon a two-player game with me commanding one of the combatants.  Peter, from Melbourne, chose to command the Confederates under Stonewall Jackson.  I took command of elements of King's Division including Gibbon's Iron Brigade.  After guiding players from afar in the first Battle of Brawner's Farm game (see Battle for Brawner's Farm), I thought I saw opportunities for the Federals to gain a victory.  Well, not so much for gaining a victory as fighting not to lose the battle.  

Initial situation
How did I do?  Let us see...
Federals are marching toward Groveton
 on Warrenton Turnpike.
Gibbon's Iron Brigade wheels off the turnpike and begins
 to deploy on the eastern edge of Brawner's Wood.
Jackson arrives with 26 and 60 GA as Rebel guns
 swing into position on Stony Ridge.
Federals build an artillery fire base on the turnpike.
Baylor arrives to support Jackson
at the copse of trees in the center.
Gibbon draws deeper into the woods.
Confederate guns command the open field.
Rebels move up to support the guns as Gibbon sends
 a regiment and gun out to the east.
Federal troops preparing for action.
In a costly mistake, Federal guns move toward Brawner's.
They will be lost...
Rebels charge off the hill destroying one gun section.
Gibbon reinforces his right.
Has Doubleday's position been turned?
The center Federal regiment takes heat from guns
on the heights as a Rebel regiment attacks.
Rebels attack Doubleday after preparatory fire
from Brawner's Farm. 
One Federal regiment heads for the rear! 
Flushed with success, has the Confederate regiment
 advanced into a Hornet's Nest?
Yes!  Rebels are ejected from the woods.
On the Rebel left, Confederate reinforcements
 arrive in strength from Stony Ridge. 
With Rebels lining the high ground,
 can the Iron Brigade hold?
Situation about 7:30pm
With their left turned, Federals reel as casualties mount.
While the Iron Brigade holds on the Federal right preventing
 the Rebels from attacking Dogan's House, Doubleday's brigade
is destroyed in Brawner's Wood.  Gibbon is forced to retire. 
With Doubleday destroyed, the guns fall silent and Jackson and his Confederates are victorious at Brawner's Farm.  Congratulations to Peter for a finely played battle.  The Federals were regularly dancing to the Rebels' fiddle and mistakes early on cost the chance at victory.

Is the scenario too hard for the Federals to succeed?  Should Federal troops be allowed a reinforcement of either Patrick's Brigade from the west or Hatch's Brigade from the east to offer more balance?  We will see but first I would enjoy tackling the scenario again as written.  Better play on my part may yield a different result.  

This game was Peter's first try at a remote game and a new set of rules.  Despite the 18 hour time difference, I thought the game played smoothly with Peter jumping in and acclimating quite quickly.  After one or two turns, it was down to making decisions and rolling dice. 

Thanks, Peter!  Maybe I will taste victory next time?  I expect more from the Iron Brigade.

54 comments:

  1. Excellent stuff Jon. I'm checking this out on Peter's blog too. I must say, the concept works very well - and allows players from all over the world to take part. I must get a game in at some stage. What rules are you thinking of using next?

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    1. Hi Darren. Yes, the concept of gaming remotely has been working very well. Technology has allowed our far-flung wargaming enclaves a chance to come together.

      What is next? I do not know. Any ideas or requests?

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  2. Thanks Jon so much for the game. All your preparation material and setup helped make the remote game a most enjoyable experience. I think the Federal position is a difficult one.

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    1. You are welcome! Getting to see a face behind a write I have followed for a long time is a great pleasure. The Federal position may be tough but not impossible, I think. I have thoughts on a slight adjustment or two.

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  3. Great game, makes me want to dig out my ACW collection for a game

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    1. Thank you! If this provides a little inspiration to pull out your ACW toys then great!

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  4. Another fine looking encounter Jon - is this based on a real battle - if so, then the Federals should only be allowed the troops and reinforcements they had on the day. If its an imaginary action, of course, the scenario can be adjusted as one sees fit!

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    1. Thank you, Keith!

      Yes, Brawner's Farm is a real battle and the prelude to the Battle of Second Manassas. For the Federals in King's Division, Patrick's Brigade was on the march toward Groveton right behind Doubleday's Brigade. If I allowed for the arrival of Patrick, the Rebels would be very cautious about attempting their outflanking maneuver on the Federal left to the west of Brawner's.

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  5. Thanks for the aar, the situation is difficult for the Union, the replay concept allows them work toward a 'groundhog day moment' ------if I can use an old pop culture reference. Good looking troops & table!

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    1. You're welcome and thank you for your encouragement!

      While not everyone enjoys refighting the same battle, I enjoy the repetition. I learn a little bit with each replay.

      If the Federal troops keep getting beat, it will be like reliving Groundhog's Day. Where is Murray when you need him?

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  6. this looked like an intense fight, Jonathan. a dramatic rebel spoiling attack and your opponent certainly played to the Rebels' strengths! win or lose, this game looked like alot of fun.

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    1. Steve, it was a hard fight especially for my Federals. Peter seemed always a half step ahead or more. I made mistakes that hopefully I can avoid in the future.

      The game was fun and a pleasure to meet Peter (almost) F2F.

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  7. Interesting to see how well the remote gaming is going.

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  8. It IS a small world after all.
    Congratulations to Peter on the win and to you for the valiant fight.

    Oddly enough, when dealing with the timezones and the other side of the world, its sometimes easier since it may be a different day but be daylight on both ends while with someone 1/2 way around its 12 hours its a matter of night and day.

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    1. It is a small world. You are spot-on about timezones. Get far enough apart and you seem closer. It was actually easy coordinating a game with Peter. While 18 hours apart, my early afternoon was morning for Peter but he was a day ahead.

      Peter offered up a challenging fight, for sure. A fight for which i was no match.

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  9. Impressively done again, Jonathan! You've got the remote gaming down to a science.

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    1. Much appreciated, Dean! I am working on the technology and making a little progress with every game.

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  10. Interesting! You kept both brigades in the center, though you did send an isolated unit out to the right flank. I imagine keeping them in the woods reduced casualties, but that it also allowed the Rebels to concentrate on them. Very interesting to see the differences in how you and I ran the Federals.

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    1. Hi Jennifer. Yes, I tried a different approach. I saw the casualties Doubleday suffered while advancing on the left in the open and wanted to avoid that carnage, if possible. In the end, Doubleday, under my command, was still shot up badly.

      The woods offered little protection from artillery fire. In your game, I overlooked that artillery negates one point of cover. While your troops in the woods received some protection from artillery, mine did not and Peter's artillery was deadly. Really deadly!

      We both need to go back to the drawing board and try to formulate a winning strategy for the Federal troops.

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    2. Gahhh, painful. Perhaps the objectives should be changed up to make the game more of a fighting withdrawal. Like requiring the Rebels to reach the back line in a given time, or the Federals to keep a given percentage of their army intact.

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    3. Both good thoughts! I think in my next test, I may try your original plan on the left with more aggression.

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  11. Great looking game Jonathan. A 20 hour time difference must have been difficult. Obe of you must have been knackered.

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    1. Thank you, Ray! Time differences were so burdensome at all. My start time was 2pm local and Peter's start time was 8am local. I gamed with your countrymen at 6am local for me. Now that is an early start especially when I wake up the house cheering my victories!

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  12. Seems to be a tough nut to crack for the Union. Not being familiar with the scenario details, any chance of softening the Confederates with a concentrated artillery bombardment, pre-assault?

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    1. Your thoughts on Federal artillery tactics are sound. I was too hasty on the left and ought to have set up the guns along the turnpike facing Brawner’s. On the Federal right, I tried gaining artillery superiority but the Rebel guns simply shrugged off my bombardments. Next time, I try your plan.

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  13. Nice game. The 18-hour time difference is almost workable, two more hours would be even more comfortable. They have daylight saving down south now, which makes another hour difference.

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    1. Thanks, Lawrence! A time difference of 18 hours is workable, for sure. A twelve hour difference would pose much more of a logistics problem.

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  14. If you feel like 'one more go', the scenario and its puzzle still has life and may not be a million miles away from balance.

    In both games, the Union artillery failed to deliver, so maybe that is the part of play where better outcomes may follow.

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    1. Hi Norm. You should know by now that I usually feel like one more go. I enjoy refighting a scenario multiple times. Good point about Federal artillery effectiveness. In both games, Federal artillery underperformed. Perhaps, if the guns are up to the task, the balance can be shifted toward the men in blue?

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  15. Another great remote game Jon and good to see Peter getting involved too. I think a re-fight is in order. Keep up the good work.

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    1. Thanks, Steve! Yes, very good to get Peter engaged on this gaming frontier. Hopefully, I can talk him into giving remote gaming another go.

      I would enjoy a refight.

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  16. Looks like a good game was had by all, and that you have remote gaming worked out.

    Maybe the scenario is ok as is it, maybe the victory conditions for the Federals need to be tweaked in so much as survival and delaying any Confederate advance is enough?

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    1. Thanks, Anthony! You make good suggestions. I plan to play one more time with scenario as written before tweaking victory criteria.

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  17. Great game, colleagues, congratulations! It is very interesting to follow your games and learn about the periods of your history. Lots of well-painted figures on the table - very beautiful!

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  18. Looks like the artillery failed, that is usually how it fails to perform for me, many a time I haven't bothered to deploy it.😕

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    1. My artillery let me down and scoring a hit against the Rebels guns seemed very difficult. Those Wily Webels...

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  19. Another tough fight for the Federals. Well done introducing more to the world of remote gaming. Catch up soon 👍

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    1. Another tough fight but I think the Federals can make a better showing. Yes, another player takes the leap into a remote game.

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  20. Interesting refight. People are commenting on the arty but my knee jerk memory of the battle was that there wasn’t all that much artillery as the ground was rocky and woody so it came down to infantry; thus allowing the Iron brigade to make its name by running away while being shot to pieces. 😀
    Kinda like what happened here? But maybe less iron and more tinfoil.

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    1. Hi Stew. You are correct. Guns were distributed primarily in two, two gun sections for the Rebels and three, two tun sections for the Federals. In total, there was not a lot of artillery but there presence was felt. While our tabletop Iron Brigade did not run away, it was shot to pieces. Some things never change.

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  21. Sounds like a tough ask for the Federals in reality and in your game, still sounds like fun though!
    Best Iain

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    1. Tough but fun. We will see how it goes in a refight on Saturday.

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  22. Great looking table and AAR. Having refought this a couple of times on the table.... the Rebs bulldoze their way over the Federals. Extra blue reinforcements might be necessary!

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    1. Thank you, John! I have one more game on tap with a new Federal commander. If he is more successful than I then no reinforcements may be needed.

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  23. Go Pete! Sorry Jonathan, I have to support a fellow Aussie!
    Another fine remote game and report. As ever, most enjoyable viewing and reading.
    Regards, James

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    1. Good to see such loyalty toward a countryman. Glad you enjoyed the battle report and thanks for dropping by!

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  24. I wonder if dice gods were kinder to the yankee guns that successful counter battery fire might offer the Union infantry a safer unmolested trip toward the CSA lines?

    Regardless, enjoyed this scenario once again. Hope we get to see the third outing as I’d like to see what new generals come up with.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to game with Peter from across the Pacific. I wonder that too about better dice but then I always wonder about that.

      See the latest battle report for third edition.

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