Quick upon the heels of the four-player remote game on Thursday (see Hammerin' Sickles), Monday saw a return to Hood's attack at Gettysburg. This session, likewise, mustered four-players but a different group. In Monday's battle, four of the Rejects took to the field of battle. The players are:
USA
CSA
Would the battle turn out in a narrow Federal victory as in Game One or would we see a new approach and outcome? Let's see if we can answer this question.
On to battle!
Having launched a sweeping attack over Big Round Top to clear enemy skirmishers, Law leads off the attacks against the Federal positions in earnest. Almost immediately, attacks drive off the US Sharpshooters in both Devil's Den and Big Round Top. That was very quick work! From Little Round Top, Vincent responds by sending a few volleys into Roberston's Texans and Law's Alabamans.
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Finding Big Round Top devoid of Federals,
the Confederates press on. |
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| Making short work of Federal skirmishers. |
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| Rebels taking fire from Little Round Top. |
Robertson, with his brigade split by Houck's Ridge sends a request to Hood to take command of 3AR and 1TX in Rose's Woods. Hood moves the two regiments up and into the woods. Ward counters by sending one regiment from Houck's Ridge down into the woods. The bulk of de Trobriand's Brigade remains on watch positioned on Stony Hill and The Wheatfield. Tensions rise as the two lines stare into the woods. Will Hood launch an attack before Anderson and Benning are brought up in support? Will de Trobriand attack first? |
| Battle lines extend from Houck's Ridge west to Stony Hill. |
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Anderson remains in reserve
back by Emmitsburg Road. |
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| de Trobriand awaits on Stony Hill. |
Hood does not get that chance! De Trobriand attacks the Rebels in the woods. De Trobriand leads two Union regiments into the woods against the 3AR. The Arkansans are driven back with heavy loss. Anderson brings his brigade up to support the Arkansans and attempts to take back the woods. |
de Trobriand strikes!
Five hits given, one received. |
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| Arkansans are driven back. |
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| Anderson brings up support to the east of Rose Farm. |
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| Early on, the battle lines begin to take shape. |
Back to the congested fight along Plum Run, the Rebels have trouble bringing their might to bear. Undaunted by his earlier loss in the woods at the hands of de Trobriand, Hood gathers 3AR and 1TX and attacks up Houck's Ridge. Having sustained volley after volley from Plum Run and Devil's Den, the Federal defenders collapse as Hood reaches the heights. Smith's four guns are overrun. The Confederates have a toehold on Houck's Ridge! |
| Hood grabs a foothold on Houck's Ridge. |
Returning to the escalating fight at Little Round Top, Vincent assembles the 44NY and 83PA for a counterattack along the saddle between the Round Tops. With the 4ME pouring in fire from above, the Federals attack down the slope toward Plum Run. Their target? The 5TX. Outnumbered by more than two to one, the crack Texans scatter in the attack. The Federals, successful, now find themselves in a ravine along Plum Run.  |
| Vincent sends his troops racing down the hill! |
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| Vincent's attack drives off the Texans but at what cost? |
Having driven off the enemy, the Federals discover they have attacked into the bottom of a fishbowl encircled by Rebels. With the Alabamans on the heights above and coming up along Plum Run, the Federals find themselves in an uncomfortable position. Taking fire from many sides, Vincent's two regiments waver. Benning brings up two regiments to deliver the coup de grace. Benning attacks! The Union salient collapses as the survivors are driven back onto Little Round Top. In the chaos, Robertson pushes his Texans past Little Round Top to strike deep up Plum Run. Houck's Ridge is assailed from multiple threats while the Rebels ready an assault upon Little Round Top. |
| Like shooting fish in a barrel. |
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Rebels bring up overwhelming support
as they prepare to attack. |
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| Vincent is thrown back with heavy loss. |
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| Robertson leads his Texans on a deep push up Plum Run. |
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| Preparing for the assault upon Little Round Top. |
Flushed with success from beating back Vincent's men, Benning continues. Advancing up the barren heights, Benning strikes the 16MI standing atop Little Round Top. The Michiganders are destroyed and Vincent, himself, falls. Benning has Little Round Top. No time for congratulations. Weed's Brigade has arrived onto the battlefield along the Millerstown Road and scales the heights to thwart Benning's success.
With the 20ME providing flanking support, Weed leads two Union regiments into the fight. In heavy fighting, Weed and his two Zouave regiments are sent tumbling back down the slopes. For the Federals, Little Round Top is lost.
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| Benning takes Little Round Top! |
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| Weed and his Zouaves attack! |
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| Fighting over the high ground is fierce. |
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| Little Round Top remains in Confederate hands. |
Seeing the loss of Little Round Top, Birney realizes the Federal left has been turned. Time to disengage from the enemy and fall back to Millerstown Road. Disengaging in the face of an enemy is never easy. This day is no different. The Rebels keep the pressure on as the remnants of de Trobriand and Ward retire. For the Federals holding this front, their battle is over.  |
| Pressure on Houck's Ridge |
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| and the Wheatfield. |
The fight for Houck's Ridge and Little Round Top ends with the Federal army in disarray. While Houck's Ridge is still held, seeing it fall to the Rebels is only a matter of time. |
| Situation at end of fight. |
Congratulations to Surjit and Lee's Confederacy for their well-executed attacks upon the Federal positions. Richard and Ray put up a good defense but, today, a good defense was not enough. The Rebels put pressure on early and maintained that pressure throughout the battle. There was a lot of action in only three turns of battle. Battle decided in three turns? Yep. When the armies are positioned within striking distance to begin, heavy fighting erupts from the get-go. I thought the tension high with tough decisions to make at almost every point.
After concluding the battle, the post-game discussion focused on how to tackle the puzzle differently. The players will get to test those theories when we refight this action.
Thanks to all of the players. Today's action was an enjoyable one, without doubt! I can't wait for the rematch.
Excellent game and report Jonathan. The Confederates played an excellent game and got everything absolutely right. The stunningly quick demise of the sharpshooters really heralded an evening of us Federals being on the back foot and making poor decisions. A tactical choice in the way we defended seemed to continually pass the initiative to the Rebs and left us vulnerable. However, this doesn't take away from an entertaining time and opponents who played very well. Well done Jonathan. I look forward to testing out some tactical revisions next time.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Richard(?)! The Rebels played a very good game. I saw things that could have been played differently. It will be interesting to see any adjustments that players make in a refight.
DeleteLosing both sharpshooter units at the start was a loss especially allowing Devil's Den to fall so quickly. That set the tone. In the previous game, the sharpshooters in Devil's Den actually repulsed a Confederate attack allowing enough time for the position to be reinforced.
Sorry, the comment was from me.
DeleteWith the same sides being kept it will be interesting to see if a different attack forms... especially as they heard how we might replay things differently.
We shall see.
A replay will be very interesting. You may have picked up on any quality differences between your troops and the enemy's.
DeleteAwesome report as always!
ReplyDeleteThanks much, Michal!
DeleteWow, that game played very differently from our earlier one. Congrats to the rebs and commiserations to the feds.
ReplyDeleteIt sure did! The players in each game emphasized a different tactical doctrine. In your game, firepower was preferred to close combat. In this battle, players opted for close combat over firepower.
DeleteWow! Three turns?! Stunning stuff. Well done Surjit and Lee.
ReplyDeleteCold steel won the day? Risky but quick. I’m still scarred from David’s unlucky charge at 1st Bull Run 😆
Chris/Nundanket
Three turns, indeed. This battle was conducted with more aggressiveness than in your contest. There were a lot of close assaulting in dense formations. Many casualties too! Several fallen generals as well.
DeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteYou obviously have the remote gaming off to a tee!
Two battles, same scenario, different players, different result - both sounded finely balanced with the result able to go either way!
Neil
Well, Neil, I have gotten in a lot of practice over the last two years.
DeleteAdd to your list of differences, the use of different tactical doctrines as I mentioned to JBM above.
Another hard fought encounter and well done the Rebs on their victory
ReplyDeleteExactly. A hard fight, well done by the Rebels.
DeleteThat was another humdinger of a game, Jon, well done to all involved and I look forward to seeing the rematch!
ReplyDeleteThe game was another tense battle, Keith. We will see what lessons are learned in the next iteration.
DeleteThanks again for running such an enjoyable game. Surjit and I were in total agreement in our pre game planning for a change. We had to be aggressive and get stuck in with bayonets as quickly as possible. Surjit took the lead with Law and Robertson so he was in the thick of the fighting from the begining. Our plan was for Bening to then exploit the gap between the Federal brigades. I was worried when I saw the federal setup, but we stuck to the plan and it worked just as we hoped. The Union commanders put up a stuff resistance, but we kept the pressure on at every step and it paid off. I am looking forward to replying this next week to see how it goes a second time.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! Thank you for joining in!
DeleteYour Rebel plan worked very well. Sticking to your plan paid dividends as Richard notes that the Federals felt wrong-footed much of the game. That is a good place to have your opponents; off-balance! Using Anderson to pin de Trobriand and much of Ward's Brigade while your other three brigades attacked worked very well, indeed. I look forward to seeing how the Federals counter your next plan of attack.
Well that's a very different result, still sounds like great fun!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Great fun for me! The Rebels probably enjoyed it too.
DeleteAn enjoyable refight. These ACW games are really weakening my resolve to not venture into another period. Your collection looks great in these games Jonathan, and 10mm seems perfect for ACW.
ReplyDeleteLawrence, glad you enjoyed the battle report. For me, 10mm is the perfect figure size for fighting large ACW battles. Let’s see if we can weaken your resolve a little more.
DeleteAnother great game but with a different outcome this time. Well done to all. Looking forward to the rematch!
ReplyDeleteThe scenario and players produced another great game. Always fun to watch the battle unfold as players adapt to their opponent's actions and fate.
DeleteThe rematch will be interesting. I wonder if that will also be over in 3 turns.
ReplyDeleteHaving it all over within three hours will be up to the players and dice. Last week's game took five hours to finish.
DeleteA bold attack by the Confederate command they dared and won in grand style.
ReplyDeleteThe Confederates stuck to a solid plan and it worked.
DeleteAnother splendid outing and ‘Houck's Ridge’ I love these evocative locations in a counts. Thanks for putting the links up to the participant’s blog pages.
ReplyDeleteAnother splendid outing, for sure! Watching the battle unfold as players' plans reformulate on the go is great fun. As for the blog links, it is tough to tell the players without a card (or link).
DeleteA great game to observed through the AAR . It looked bad from the troubles of the Union skirmishers early on. Hat's off to the Southern commanders.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, thank you for showing/hosting/ reporting on the game.
Joe, glad you enjoyed the AAR. You're welcome!
DeleteFor the players (and myself), chronicling the action through a recap is useful and appreciated. I wonder how much non-participants get out of a "foreign" battle report.
Yes, the loss of the skirmishers on Turn 1 was a blow to the Union. In Game #1, those skirmishers put up quite a fight and slowed the Confederate attack.
Very impressive game, Jonathan! Probably, indeed, this is the most optimal scale for games of large battles. Cool!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Valentine! 10mm is a perfect size for fighting large battles.
DeleteWell another very entertaining action and well done to all involved, especially the Confederates for their agressive play from the off, which paid dividends in the end. With these games they remind me of say Staff College exercises where you are looking at one battle, or portion there of and are exploring the options faced by both sides. Fascinating stuff:)!
ReplyDeleteGood! Glad you found the account entertaining. Replaying the same scenario is akin to a Staff College exercise. Players learn something with each replay and decision-making improves over time. Fascinating exercises for me too.
DeleteWe will see how the Rejects handle a replay next week.
They played it well, and just ran over us from the get go. Revenge though, shall taste sweet!
ReplyDeleteTaking out your skirmishers at the start was a blow, for sure. I look forward to see how the Federals adapt in the next game.
DeleteStill loving the ACW reporting. Have these games matched your imagination as you stood upon the battlefields? I think your scenarios have done a great job of showcasing the history but still being a fun game. 😀
ReplyDeleteGood! At least one more battle report to come when the Rejects reconvene next week for a replay. What have learned from walking the battlefield? Main revelations emerge from the geography. That is, distances, lines of sight, elevation changes, and terrain. Playing this scenario reinforces what I saw with my own eyes that I could not imagine from topo maps alone.
DeleteAnother good looking run out for the battle Jon 👍
ReplyDeleteIt was, indeed, Matt! The result was not to the Federals' liking, though. They will try again on Monday in a rematch.
DeleteAnother great game, clearly, and excellent report! Intersting how different approaches give very different results..
ReplyDeleteDavid, it was another good one. Glad you liked the report. I suppose if they come on in a different way, getting the same result would be curious.
DeleteGreat read Jonathan. Poor old Dan Sickles, I hope he didn't lose his leg again. I will be interested to see what you do when you get around to playing Anderson's attack...I strongly believe that if all his division had gone in (i.e. if the advance hadn't broken down with Posey) it would have been a near run thing because things were pretty thin on Cemetery Hill.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mark! Yes, poor, old Dan Sickles indeed.
DeleteAn interesting read . . . I have read books about Gettysburg and Shiloh, and have come away impressed with the landscape at both fields as well as the bravery (and opposite) of the men involved in each battle. To that point, your terrain looked rather busy/congested. One gains an appreciation of how difficult the field was and how this impacted upon the fighting. Evidently, the rules in use employ a number of status markers. I also noticed unit ID tags. In your opinion, do these markers and tags detract from the overall experience of the wargame? Or do you see them as a necessary "evil"? On a somewhat related note, have you considered posting a video report, such as offered by BigLee and Madaxeman of a future wargame report? To be certain, your narratives and pictures are very well presented, but I wonder if a video version would be possible?
ReplyDeleteCheers & thanks for your prolific postings.
Thanks for taking the time to post (whoever you are!). You ask interesting questions.
DeleteIs the battlefield congested? Do you ask from a position of terrain, number of units, or both?
There are definitely a large number of units in a relatively small space. That is out of necessity due to the battle being recreated at the regimental level. On terrain, any congestion is due to the actual ground and the need to show the terrain clearly from the eye of the webcam. The hex terrain may add a sense of congestion as well. Being an old, hex-and-counter wargamer from way back, I find the presentation pleasing. I realize, all may not.
As for markers detracting from the overall experience, for me, they do not. In fact, for remote wargaming, I think it paramount that all players (and umpire) have the information needed on table to make their quick decisions. Unit IDs and status could be removed from the table to rosters but that would lengthen playing time as players and umpire refer back to these rosters continually. Having everything out and on the table makes sense to me. Again, everyone may not agree but for me, it works efficiently especially in the heat of battle.
On creating a video, I have a face for radio and a voice for the written word. For now, I will stick to the written word. Besides, I find the written word much more satisfying and easier to formulate coherent responses.
Coming in late to this discussion, I had not had time to read this before our game yesterday. I am impressed at the similarities in Confederate strategy, quickly taking the high ground with mass concentrated attacks. The difference I see is Devil's Den was neutralized, whereas in our game it was just bypassed and isolated. Again, just three turns. Super report!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vol! I was surprised at how quickly the high ground fell in our game.
Delete