My God, We Are Attacked!

Having wrapped up the five game Cheriton series, time to turn my attention to the next battle to tackle.  With at least one request for a return to the ACW, that is what I will do.  With First Manassas and Hood's attack at Gettysburg in the logbook, I thought a Western Theater battle would offer a different and interesting challenge.  The early Western battles featured fighting in woods and few battle-hardened formations.  Thumbing through books on the shelf, I settled upon the Battle of Shiloh for consideration.  Rereading Jay Luvaas' Guide to the Battle of Shiloh and O. Edward Cunningham's Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862, I gained enough perspective to develop a scenario.  Helping out was Brad Butkovich's This Bloody Field scenario book.  Butkovich's Sherman Attacked! will lay the foundation for my battle interpretation in addition to studying several hex-and-counter wargame treatments of the battle.  I have four such games to use in this study.

Since the full battle is too large for a full battle recreation via a normal remote session, I settled upon the early morning attack on Sherman at Shiloh Church on 06 April.

While scenario preparation is still in work, the battlefield has been laid out on the table.  Hopefully, the battlefield image below stands up to scenario development.  For now, the battlefield looks like,

For a brief overview of the situation Sherman faced, the Confederate attack began early on Sunday morning, 6 April, catching many Federal troops unprepared in their camps.  The Confederate plan was to drive Federal forces away from the Tennessee River and cut off their line of retreat.  Sherman's division was one of the first Federal formations to be hit, as it was encamped near the main approaches to Pittsburg Landing around Shiloh Church.  Despite being caught off guard, Sherman's men were not completely surprised.  A patrol sent out very early in the morning had engaged Confederate forces and alerted the division.  When the main Confederate assault began around 7:00 AM, Sherman's troops were able to form battle lines to receive the attack, though they were initially out of position.

Outnumbered by about two to one, Sherman personally led his division with "poise and coolness" throughout the day, riding along the lines to direct the defense.  He was wounded twice and had three horses shot out from under him.  The Confederate forces pushed Sherman's division back, forcing Sherman to give ground throughout the morning.  By afternoon, Sherman's remaining regiments were low on ammunition and had taken heavy casualties.  Despite putting up stiff resistance, Sherman's division was eventually pushed back to the area around Jones Field by late afternoon.

Will our latter-day Sherman manage to repeat this fighting withdrawal?  Stay tuned.

Cheriton, It's a Wrap!

Last week witnessed the fifth replaying of the 1644 Battle of Cheriton.  Game #5 saw an encore performance by most of Game #1's participants. The first game saw Mark, Chris, and the Two Daves take to the field.  In the last game, Mark, Chris, and Dave B were joined by Tony to complete the foursome.  The three players in the first game all swapped allegiances for the game giving each a view of the battle from both sides of the table.  Army dispositions and player commands are shown on the following game map.

Initial army and player dispositions.

So far in this series, Waller has seen three victories, one draw, and no losses.  The single draw was awarded as time ran out.  By general consensus a draw seemed reasonable.  Could Hopton break this chain of Parliamentarian victories?

Haselrigge's Cavalry Wing forms up.

To review the action from prior games, please see the links below,

Game #1

Game #2

Game #3

Game #4

With four games already chronicled in the Battle Log, a reasonable body of work is available as a baseline for assessing game flow.  All of these previous actions saw the battle develop in a predictable manner.  Well, developing in a predictable manner after we witnessed how Game #1 played out.  By the way, it was Game #1 that saw the single draw.  Still, that first battle developed similarly to all of the following battles.

Whereas Waller begins holding the high ground on the South Spur, in all five games, Waller orders Potley's infantry down from the heights to take the fight to Hopton.  All recognized the importance of making a push toward the hedge-lined lane bisecting the battlefield while commanded shot units begin to contest Cheriton Woods.  

Battle lines as the action begins.

Both armies advance.

Parliamentarian Center enters the "arena".

Royalist foot push toward the hedge as well.

View from behind Royalist Left.

While both infantry centers make a beeline to reach the protective barrier in the center of the battlefield, Waller orders Balfour's Right Cavalry Wing to sweep around behind Roundhead lines in order to support Haselrigge's cavalry on the Left.  Confined by Cheriton Woods on the right, infantry to the left, and an open yet rough heath to the front, all of the Roundhead players chose to bring Balfour over to the Left in support of Haselrigge.  Now, this redeployment takes time but all make the same choice.  

Balfour redeploys...

by bringing his cavalry over to the Left.

As infantry converge upon the hedge in the center, Haslerigge strikes out toward the enemy's Right Wing.  In a series of charges, countercharges, and pursuits, Mark dismantles Lisle's (and Forth's) cavalry.  Royalist cavalry are sent reeling with at least one cavalry unit fleeing the field.  Losses are high for both armies but Haselrigge emerges victorious and controlling that sector of the battlefield.  Seeing the destruction of his right, Hopton sends Stuart's cavalry over to shore up that wing.  

The fight for the center...

as Haselrigge dismantles the Royalist Right.

Help is on the way!  Is it?

The fight over control of the hedge in the center intensifies as firefights and charges are the order of the moment.  Casualties mount as the battle ebbs and flows.  The Royalists make some headway only to be repulsed while the Roundheads see similar results.  The battle in the center is hotly contested and the ground is still up for grabs.

Fighting along Broad Lane.

Fighting in the heath.

Bard moves his infantry up to drive off the dragoons.

Paulet leads a Royalist foot over the hedge...

but the cost is high.

One Royalist foot regiment destroyed
as Paulet scampers to safety. 

As a second Royalist regiment is driven back and the purple coats come across the hedge, Bard's grey coats move up to contest the ground.  Bard successfully drives the enemy back but his advance exposes a flank.  Seizing this opportunity, Haslerigge leads a charge over the hedge and into the unsuspecting Royalists.  Unable to respond, Bard's regiment is cut to pieces.  Now Hopton's Right is gone.  Definitely gone!  Stuart attempts to stem this tide with one of his horse units but it is overwhelmed.  Not only has Hopton's Right been pulverized but the Center also looks lost. 

Bard's grey coats counterattack driving the enemy back...

but are put to the sword by Roundhead cavalry.

Skirmishing continues in Cheriton Woods.

Hopton's Right is gone and Center is in disarray.

Waller controls the field.

With word reaching Hopton that enemy cavalry are seen moving up to exploit these multiple successes, Hopton sees the writing on the wall and orders the remnants of his army to disengage.  For Hopton, this battle is over.

Roundhead cavalry coming up in support.

Hopton orders his army back.

With a score of 9-2 remaining on the Army Breakpoint Clocks in Waller's favor, Chris and David concede the battle.  The battle ends in a major Parliamentarian victory.  Congratulations to Mark and Tony for a battle well fought.  Fine play by all but there is no question as to the victors.  The action on this day was the most decisive of the quintet.  Very fun to watch this battle unfold and the way in which the Roundheads handled their troops.  Impressive guys!     

What have I learned from these five games?  For starters, Cheriton looks a tough ask for the tabletop Hoptons just as it was for their historical counterpart.

After five games, time to put away the ECW armies and contemplate a new challenge.  Next up will see a return to another civil war with a look at an early battle in the American Civil War, Western theater.

Saving Me From Myself!

Yes, occasionally, the Hand of Fate must reach in to keep my plans on track.  Today witnessed one of those timely interventions.  Not the outcome I wished but, nevertheless, one of my 2024 goals remain mostly unblemished.

Which goal remains intact?  Well, my goal of reducing the Lead Pile.

At the beginning of the year, I set out to reduce The Lead Pile by painting more figures than I purchase.  As the graphic above illustrates, 636 painted figures have gone out from The Lead Pile while only a mere 114 unpainted figures have slipped into inventory.  Good progress, for sure, but I really have not even managed a slight dimple into the size of this beast.

Thinking I have shown respectable restraint, several recent lots on eBay tempted me to stray from this goal.  Several lots of 18mm SYW figures containing mostly artillery showed up in my eBay feed.  With low starting bids, I placed bids for both the British and French lots.  I ended up winning both lots for a song on Saturday.  

Now, I had a little regret about blowing up my goal of purchases but who can pass up such bargains?  Well, certainly not me!

After receiving a combined shipping invoice from seller and making payment immediately, imagine my surprise on Sunday morning when the seller issued a cancellation of my purchases.  The reason given was "Out of stock or damaged."  Really?  The photos look fine and in stock.  What do you suppose happened?  I have my hunch but will give the seller the benefit of the doubt..

Anyway, this cancellation has helped in keeping my painting goal on track, for now.  While these lots contain more artillery than realistically needed, I would have enjoyed thinking about a box of lead inbound.

Sometimes, the Hand of Fate delivers a heavy but necessary blow.

Cheriton: Bledsoe vs Freitag

Yes, another battle report in the growing series of refighting Cheriton on the table.  In fact, this week has seen two refights of the ECW clash between Hopton and Waller.

The first game this week took place on Sunday.  Sunday's contest was the first game in a very long time that I hosted a F2F contest.  The gaming table looks a little foreign without webcams on either side of the table, a big screen TV at the far end, and another person in the room!

Today's opponent was Jake from Dartfrog's Adventures in 6mm.  If my memory is correct, it has been since before COVID that I last saw him.  Boy, how time flies and life intervenes.  Since Jake has been away from the table for so many years, much of our time was spent exchanging stories and catching up.  The rules, themselves, have evolved since Jake last played, too, so the game was really a training exercise and a chance to push lead across the table after a too long absence.  Jake opted to take command of the Royalists while I stepped into Waller's shoes.

Since the session was as much about Jake's many travels as actually playing the game, I offer a selection of photos from the action with very brief commentary.

Waller orders his infantry down from the heights...

while Haselrigge brings his cavalry up on the left.

Haselrigge deploys in depth as Potley moves
his Roundhead infantry up in the center.

View from above Cheriton Woods looking west.

Potley's infantry moves up toward the hedge...

as Roundhead cavalry prepare for action
before smashing into Forth's cavalry.
The enemy are sent reeling back!

Commanded shot exchange pleasantries in the woods.

Waller's infantry reach the hedge first!

Potley sends infantry over the hedge
as the enemy runs to the rear!

View from above Cheriton Woods looking west
as Waller's infantry drive deep into the Royalist line.

With Hopton attached, his bluecoats give a volley
and then chase the enemy back over the hedge! 
This is too little too late!

Hopton sees the writing on the wall. 

With his center pierced and his cavalry all but destroyed,
Hopton concedes the field to Waller.

Waller victorious!

Yes, Waller racks up another victory at Cheriton but winning and losing is not important.  Getting together with an old friend is what counts.  Still, the battle was good fun and Jake is right back up to speed with the rules and I am current on what he has been up to over the last four years.

Hopefully, our next game will not be four years in the making.