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Sunday, July 30, 2023

Hammerin' Sickles, Again!

Following my umpiring of a remote battle with the Rejects last Monday (see Hammerin' Sickles, Again), I had a chance to play a Face-to-Face (F2F) game over the same ground on Thursday.  Vol (A Miniatures Hobby Room) made the hour drive from up north for an afternoon's gaming session.  Vol also brought along a custom gatehouse he built for the Gallia castle he sold to me a few weeks ago and a Show & Tell of a pair of beautiful 1/700 sailing ships.  The gatehouse will make an appearance in another post.  Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of his meticulously built ships.  Next time!  Actually, I had to run upstairs at the last minute to grab the camera before the game began.

Today's action is a replay of Hood's Attack at Gettysburg.  The game is Vol's first Fields of Honor introduction.  After a brief overview of troop dispositions and rules, we began.  As a reminder of the battlefield layout, the battlefield stretches from Emmitsburg Road in the west to the Round Tops in the east bracketed by Millerstown Road in the north and Bushman's Farm in the south.

Battlefield geography and place names.
Initial army concentrations.

Army deployments.
Hood is on the attack with objectives of Little Round Top, Houck's Ridge, and reaching Millerstown Road in order to turn the Federal left.  

Let's see how the battle played out.

The Confederate attack opens with Robinson, at the head of the Texans, storming across the saddle between the two Round Tops.  The 83PA is in the Texans' path and they do not stand long.  The Pennsylvanians fall back to the open area on top of Little Round Top to join the 44NY.  Suffering from the initial blows, the disordered 83rd passes through the ranks of the 44th.  In the valley below, the 4TX drives the 4ME back from Plum Run.  Seemingly isolated, the US sharpshooters cling to Devil's Den.

With threat from the Texans in Plum Run, Ward sends two regiments down from Houck's Ridge in a counterattack along the marshy creek.  The resolve of the Texans is too great.  Ward's two regiments are driven back to the north along Plum Run.

Robinson's Texans drive the enemy back to Little Round Top.
Ward counterattacks the 4th Texas at Plum Run.
Ward's Federals are repulsed in the fighting along Plum Run.
Federal regiment removed from play.
With reports of Rebels approaching Houck's Ridge from the southwest, Smith's four guns on Houck's Ridge make preparations for the attack they expect.  To support Smith's guns, Ward sends one regiment into the woods to the southwest.  De Trobriand brings his brigade up onto line on Ward's right in the wheatfield as his exposed position on Stony Hill takes fire from Hood's artillery.
Hood's guns target Stony Hill.
Out of Rose's Woods erupt Benning and his brigade of Georgians.  As they scale the heights of Houck'e Ridge, the Georgians are hit by canister.  The canister blast does not slow the attack.  Unsupported, Smith's guns are overrun in minutes.  The southern most heights of Houck's Ridge are in Rebel hands.  Below, in Devil's Den, the sharpshooters hang on repelling attack after attack.
Smith's guns prepare canister.
Benning leads his Georgians up Houck's Ridge.
Smith's guns are overrun.
Benning presses on.
Situation about 5:30pm.
Back at the fight for Little Round Top, Robinson brushes aside Vincent's Federal infantry positioned on the barren cap.  Both the 44NY and 83PA are carried away in the attacks.  Robinson takes the heights!  Vincent's Brigade is broken.  Vincent moves to join the 20ME positioned on the lower eastern slopes of Little Round Top. 

Along Plum Run, the 16MI is attacked by regiments from both Robinson and Law.  The green 16MI is overwhelmed and scatters.  Only the 20ME remains of Vincent's Brigade on Little Round Top.
Robinson seizes Little Round Top!
With the heights in Rebels hands, the 16MI
is the next victim in the Rebel attack.
Another Federal regiment removed from play.
With Vincent broken,
Little Round Top is firmly in Rebel hands.
Back on Houck's Ridge, the battle rages.  Ward draws up two regiments to counterattack Benning along the ridge before the Rebs can establish a foothold.  Through the rough terrain, Ward's attack fails to dislodge the Rebels.  In a ferocious counterattack, Benning, at the head of two regiments strikes Ward a severe blow.  Having one regiment destroyed in the clash, Ward and his survivors fall back to the north.

Ignoring the casualties suffered in the attack, Benning grabs a nearby regiment and throws both in against Ward.  In heavy fighting in the woods on the ridge, Benning prevails.  Ward falls from his horse, mortally wounded.  The guns are overrun and his brigade broken.  
Ward attacks Benning on the ridge. 
Ward is repulsed.
Still another Federal regiment removed from play!
Benning presses on.
A Federal gun is lost.
And another Federal gone.
This is embarrassing.
Ward's Brigade breaks as Ward, himself, falls.
With news, that both Houck's Ridge and Little Round Top are in enemy hands, de Trobriand attempts to salvage an increasingly dire situation.  Seeing Anderson leading his brigade to the east to swing toward the Round Tops, de Trobriand strikes.  Driving in Robinson's Arkansans in Rose's Woods, the Federals see some success.  The Arkansans suffer heavy losses and are pushed back.  As de Trobriand reaches Rose's Run, Anderson realizes the danger to his flank march.  Forming his brigade up in line of battle, Anderson attacks.  De Trobriand's attempt to turn the enemy left stalls.
Jon searching for any opportunity on the Federal right.
De Trobriand attacks!
Anderson counters.
With Little Round Top and Houck's Ridge in Confederate hands, two brigades broken and two generals dead on the field, Birney orders a general retreat back to the north.  Not much left to save from this debacle.  For the Federals, this fight is over.

Victory to the Rebels!  Congratulations Vol!

Armed with a packet of brand new D10s, Vol and his Rebels tore my Federal defenses asunder from the get-go.  My Federals were on the backfoot almost immediately.  Little Round Top fell in the first hour of fighting with seeming ease.  Houck's Ridge fell in the second hour of battle.  The only rays of hope for the Federals were the sharpshooters' rugged defense of Devil's Den and de Trobriand's brief attack upon the Rebel left.  All else, ought to be forgotten.

Being new to the rules and, really, not having gamed in a long time, Vol picked up the rules and play of the game quickly.  He is a vigorous attacker and my hapless Federals had a very tough time passing morale tests throughout the game.

Great fun especially to see a long, dormant wargamer dive into the action with vigor.  We completed three turns in about three hours with heavy fighting throughout.  You should have heard the laughter as Vol snapped a photo every time I lifted a Federal regiment from the table.  Yeah, very funny!

Can I redeem Federal honor in a rematch?  We will see.

Thank you, Vol! 

55 comments:

  1. Another fine and interesting game. The rules are getting a good workout. Do you think the rules favour an aggressive attacker? Or was it just luck of the D10?

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    1. Good! Glad you enjoyed the report. The rules favor the attacker in certain situations and penalize it in others. With a D10, there can be a wide spread of results with a run making for a string of successes or a string of failures. Combat is a risky business. Besides, doesn’t fortune favor the bold? Vol was bold and it paid off and he did not have to contend with Federal reinforcements.

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  2. Great read Jon! Pretty much like I remember it. Much better report than mine too. Sorry if I laughed too much (not really 🤭). It was a fun game that I'm sure I would have enjoyed just as much if it had gone the other way. After all, I had fun the last time we played, when you destroyed my American fleet.
    We need rematches for both!

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    1. Happy to see that you approve of my “No Spin Zone” with the battle report. Besides, I had not much to work with in spinning this defeat in a favorable Federal light. It was a fun game regardless of the outcome. Your photos and laughter at every Federal removal was pretty funny to me too. Hmm. Perhaps the Federals found their noses dead into the wind in this contest too? We should refight at least one of our battles. Thanks a lot for the game!

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  3. Always pleasure to see new report sir!

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  4. Fascinating stuff JF- the whole set up is very good and the games intriguing.

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    1. Much appreciated, John! In scenario design, I try to provide puzzles for each player to tackle. Clearly in this refight, the Federals had the tougher puzzle…

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  5. Another great win for the Confederates. This game seemed to mimic the Rejects game last week. Hope its not the same in the rematch later on today?

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    1. It sure was! Yes, very similar result to your fight. Will today’s result be different?

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  6. Wow, another exciting game out of this scenario. What happened to the 20MI? Couldn’t see it in the narrative - which I read through twice by the way! Lol.

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    1. Indeed! You need to search on the 20ME. Vincent was overrun so quickly that the Mainers had not much chance to get involved.

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  7. Well, that seemed to be short, but bloody, Jon! Apart from the sharp shooters in Devils Den, the Union seemed to be overwhelmed every time they came into contact with the Rebs.

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    1. Very bloody, no doubt. The Rebels had brigades teetering on the brink. While three turns may seem short, a lot of action occurs in a single turn. Whether attacking or defending, my dice were no good.

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  8. I was going to ask how different you found the scenario F2F as oppose to remote? One obvious difference is the number of hands in the pictures!
    Neil

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    1. A two-player F2F game plays more quickly than a multi-player remote game. It is harder for me to play and adjudicate than to only adjudicate. Yes, hands (and me!) in a photo is something rarely seen in a remote game. Also there are no screenshots on which to look back for reference.

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  9. Wow a stunning victory for the Rebs, seems they never let up on their early momentum and kepy the federals on the back foot

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  10. Vol definitely seemed to go all in here which served him well. I like the idea of a D10 as opposed to a D6 as it seems to me that results even out a lot more in the long run.

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    1. He went in with gusto! Funny that some like D10s and others hate them. For me, it depends upon the game and the dice application.

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  11. Well and truly hammered there Jonathan. Coincidence maybe but I have always found I do better when playing the Confederates in attack mode than when I take a defensive posture. Do the little lead men let out a Rebel Yell I wonder.

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    1. PS. When Dave wrote his a original ACW rules they used a D8 which we found better than D6.

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    2. Truly and completely hammered. In the game with the Rejects last week, Lee asked if there was a positive modifier for the Rebel Yell. I said that if he knew what it sounded like and wanted to demonstrate, I would allow a bonus. He declined…

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    3. I considered converting to D8s here too to reduce variability but sticking to D10s for now.

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  12. The Rebels had a juggernaut like quality about them here. Well done Vol. Tough luck Jonathan.

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    1. I was on the back foot from the opening volley. I should have used Reserve but did not in Vol’s first ‘training exercise’.

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  13. Ouch! The Federal army has been unlucky for two games, time to bring out new dice for them.The AAR seems to show FTF versus remote gaming run similar in results. Good reason as always.

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    1. Yes, that smarted! The Rejects come to the table for a return engagement later today. Let’s see if the outcome is any different from last week. F2F and remote games play almost the same.

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  14. Another fine AAR there Jon and the annotated photos at the start certainly helped me orientate myself as I read through it. A bit one sided to say the least but you both had fun which is the main thing!

    To be honest I've never been a fan of D10 based games, with the swings being too wild for me. Personally to give a great spread I prefer 2D6 with relevant modifiers, such as in Bloody Big Battles, which tend to even things out. Of course you can can a double 6, but that comes with negative consequence too going forward.

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    1. Thanks, Steve! As for the annotations, I listen to critique and can adjust…

      On D10s, see Lawrence’s opposite viewpoint above. For me, it really depends upon the application and the level of variability desired. As for 2D6s, there are fundamental errors in using those when modifiers are involved.

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    2. I know I was really put off D10's when playing In Her Majesty's Name games, as in all of our games, it boiled down to who could roll a '1' at the end out of the few remaining characters left standing. Not satisyfing at all so we ditched the rules despite the superb background fluff etc. Compare this to Barry Hilton's War of the Three Kingdoms rules which use D6, D8, D10 and possibly D12 and he has got the mechanics right so you feel the choice of dice doesn't grossly affect the outcome.

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    3. Dice are simply a tool. It takes a craftsman to use them properly.

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  15. Just read it on Vols blog and now on yours, either way a crushing victory, I'm sure it was fun and you've got yourself a lovely gatehouse at least!
    Best Iain

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    1. Yes, at least I got a gatehouse out of it! I wonder if Vol would build, paint, and rig my unstarted Anglo-Dutch project in exchange for a string of tabletop victories?

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    2. Hahaha, uh no!
      In all seriousness though, with your excellent eyesight and painting skills, you should be painting them. I will consider rigging them for you. We can discuss it.

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    3. I was really only (half) joking.

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    4. Anglo Dutch, that sounds good Ray on don't throw a 1 is showing off a new ruleset for it, very interesting period!
      Best Iain

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    5. It is interesting and I have the fleets!

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  16. If the Rebs had done so well historically, the Union would have been in trouble! Interesting. Thanks!

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    1. That is the truth! Historically, Hood went down as a casualty almost before the attack began. He failed to share his attack plan with his brigadiers. The Confederate head was lopped off with a resulting deterioration of control and purpose. Not the case in our games.

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  17. So currently 2:1 to the Rebs. This is not making me feel any better about mine and Dave C's defeat!

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    1. Wait until you see the next game's results played today (Monday).

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  18. Well, that was thrilling! It is fortunate that history didn't play out that way (although the real thing was very, very close itself)! Good to see some FTF gaming in addition to the remote.

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    1. Good! My play was not so good, though. Replayed the battle with a different group today and the result was quite different. Getting in a few F2F games is a nice change of pace. I met a new local gamer as a bonus.

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  19. Nice AAR Jon. I read
    Every
    word.
    Promise.
    While It's true that i skim most AARs, I do like the ACW ones of course and pay more attention to those. When you go back to the SYW or ECW or the JRW (that one I made up) I'll go back to skimming.

    I got a primer from Vols Blog; 3 turns? LOL. I guess games can go super short when 1 player is constantly rolling hot and the other is constantly rolling not. 😁
    Someday, I'd like to see the gatehouse with the rest of the castle.

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    1. PS: forgot to add: I like that you and Vol are able to get together and think it's a cool think about blogging that can bring good gamers together. 😁

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    2. Thanks! Your read it all? Amazing! Yes, the battle lasted three turns but a lot can happen in three turns. Yesterday's game with the Rejects latest three turns too before a decision was reached.

      Blogs and the friendships created are wonderful things. We have made many friends in the last ten years through blogging. I will get to the gatehouse and castle soon.

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  20. Good AAR. Wasn't it a little easy for the Confederates - or was that just lucky dice? 😉

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    1. Thanks! Too easy? The casualty counts show high losses for both sides but the Federals suffered more units lost which counted against army breakpoint. As the Federal commander, there was as much lucky dice as unlucky dice. The Rebels’ throws were lucky and the Union throws were unlucky. Perhaps I need to consider a diceless system?

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    2. Oh, I don't know...could be an Option...😏

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    3. I was wondering if you made a typo and meant to type "Optio" rather than "Option" to lead me down the game engine equivalent of your almost diceless game engine. Really, I was trying to be funny. That one fell flat. Splat!

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  21. Actually it didn't. I was the one trying to be funny. Splatto!

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