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| Jackson stands upon Henry House Hill. |
Having fought the Battle of Young's Branch (First Manassas) several times with similar results, I figured time to try something different. The early morning fight on Matthews' Hill replicated the historical outcome precisely. That is, Rebel brigades of Bee, Bartow, and Evans were broken and in rout. The Federals saw Burnside wrecked and Porter with losses but still ready to fight. The trouble in these historical, early results was that the Confederates had not dealt sufficient punishment to the attacking Federals. The Federals were able to consolidate and mount attacks upon the Rebels dealing with each arriving Rebel brigade to great success.
In each of our tabletop refights, the Federals pressed on denying the Rebels a chance to form up. What if the Confederates were able to take advantage of the lull in the fighting between the defeat on Matthews' Hill and the Federal attacks upon Henry's Hill? Let's put the two Confederate Armies (and Federal Army) into their historical positions of about 12:30pm and see if their chance of obtaining the historical result improves.
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| Situation at 12:30pm |
Battle Briefings to write and QRS to update before the action begins anew.
This should be interesting Jonathan. Do you have the participants lined up and ready to go?
ReplyDeleteI hope so! Participants are lined up for two games this week. Interested?
DeleteI would love to Jonathan and when I have some free time I'll definitely be trying to invite myself into one of your online scenarios.
DeleteI will be watching...
DeleteWill be interesting to see what happens in this portion of the historical refight Jon. I know you are a great believer in being able to draw insight or learnings from refights of actual battles....what did all the Union victories suggest to you about the actual First Battle of Manasses, which, if I am not mistaken, was actually a Confederate victory?
ReplyDeleteMy wish is for an interesting and challenging contest too. What did I learn from the previous Federal victories? I learned that the Rebels may have been lucky to stop the rout before seeing their entire army melt away. I think fatigue from the flanking march may have played a larger role than first realized. McDowell won the battle in the morning but lost it in the afternoon.
DeleteGood basis of a ‘What If’ situation and the topography naturally lends itself to an interesting action.
ReplyDelete‘Determined to stay and fight, Jackson ordered his men to lie down behind the cannon and await reinforcements. Many of the Union shells overshot the cannon and exploded near the Virginian infantry, terrifying the raw recruits. Despite the shelling, by choosing the reverse slope of Henry Hill, Jackson displayed brilliant tactical insight.’
Taken from We Shall Meet Again - The first battle of Manassas (Bull Run) July 18 - 21, 1861 by JoANNA M. McDonald, published by Oxford.
The book goes through the battle in various phases, with maps for each phase, which might typically be only 15 minutes apart.
Your set-up is covered page 84 ‘Lull in the infantry battle, Henry Hill, 12.30 to 1.30 PM.’
Sounds like an excellent book Norm. I'm never quite sure why more commanders didn't make better use of reverse slopes and lying down too?
DeleteThanks, Norm! Looks like my force dispositions closely match the positions shown in your book.
DeleteNot utilizing reverse slope is a surprise to me too.
DeleteGood to read about your adaptations Jonathan. I'll be interested to hear how they work. Hoping they don't skew the game.
ReplyDeleteI will be interested to see how giving the Rebels a bit of a lull affects the battle outcome.
DeleteAlways interesting to view your variations on a theme!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Good!
DeleteAll sounds good to me Jon, looking forward to see how it all plans out.
ReplyDeleteHappy to have your approval, Ray! We will see how it pans out on Tuesday.
DeleteShaping up for a splendid set to, look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteI hope the battle provides a little entertainment for the recruits.
DeleteNow we’re talking! Given the numbers, seems to me the rebs’ only chance is a fighting withdrawal aimed at buying time for Jackson and Cooke to form up and consolidate on Henry. Admittedly, this is a bit different as Bee and the others have already been wiped out but the concept is more or less the same.
ReplyDeleteMike, the Rebels still have a few formations marching to the field. Will these reinforcements reach the battlefield before the crush of Federals strike? That is the question.
DeleteLooking forward to this AAR Jon and to see what, if any, insights you might gain:).
ReplyDeleteGood! I look forward to battle as well. Perhaps having Jackson already in position will improve Confederate chances.
DeleteAll that rejiggering shows how difficult it is to recreate an historic event accurately. Hat's off to you gentle folk who try.
ReplyDeleteJoe, if we did not enjoy such activities, we would not try.
DeleteHats off to your approach to hosting games! Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sir!
DeleteInteresting, looking forward to the outcome
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteAnother really interesting game Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteI hope so!
DeleteJackson probably needs more cannons. He had a pretty good cannon line. 😊
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea to refigure the scenario to allow the CSA to be in a good defensive position. Lulls in fighting happened on real battlefields all the time but seldom in our miniature games.
While First Manassas served as a rally for the CSA early in the war, they forget that for most of the day they were losing, and really the USA snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. probably hard to simulate.
Good luck with this version! I'm LOVING this series of ACW games. 😀
Jackson managed to gather 13 guns on Henry House Hill. For those used to batteries in the Napoleonic Wars or later ACW, 13 guns does not seem such a great number. By the time the other batteries make it to the field, Jackson can field his 13 guns if he so chooses.
DeleteQuite right, Stew! The Federals won the battle in the morning and then lost it in the afternoon. We will see what happens this time. I expect four or five players in this iteration on Tuesday followed by a one-on-one game on Thursday. I know you are busy, busy fella but if you are interested in another try, let me know. I am sure I can round up opponents for you.
But can he get them into position fast enough? I guess that’s the question that will be answered. How many guns does your cannon represent?
DeleteI AM interested in another try of course. But I’m pretty booked up for now. So I’d rather save up my hubby points to cash in later. Especially if you’re planning on doing a Gettysburg scenario in the future. 😀
Each gun model represents between one and three sections depending upon army organization.
DeleteSave up your points for Gettysburg. After First Manassas, I begin looking into Gettysburg scenarios.
I know the playthrough of this adjusted scenario per the above gets reported on in your next post, but a has been said above, I really do enjoy how you delve into ulterior ideas that might have been applied on the day if hindsight were a thing.
ReplyDeleteDai, I enjoy seeing your appreciation!
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