Sedgwick REJECTed at Salem Church

In a reminder to just how far I have fallen behind in duties to write and post battle reports, the calendar shows that the following game was played on 14 September with five of Postie's Rejects.  Gaming in September has picked up after a more relaxed summer and I am behind the curve already.

Armies arrayed for battle.

Anyway, the game on the 14th featured five Rejects taking their seats at the remote table to refight the 1863 Battle of Salem Church.  Lee (three brigades of McLaws' Division of Kershaw, Semmes, and Wofford) and Dan (McLaw, himself, Wilcox and Mahone's Brigades) would command elements of the Rebel Army while Richard (Sedgwick, Russell and Wheaton's Brigades), Steve (Newton's Division of Shaler and Browne), and Ray (Brooks' Division of Brown and Bartlett's Brigades) would take the helm of Sedgwick's Federal XI Corps.  After two weeks and three more Salem Church battles in the books since then, let's see how much of this battle I recall.

The Rebels await the attack they know is coming.

With the Rebel Army lined up in a mostly north-to-south line passing through Salem Church on the Orange Plank Road, the Federals waste no time in bringing the fight to the enemy.

Rebel army is poised to respond to the attacks.

Brown launches a frontal assault against the Rebels
hunkered down in the dense woods.

One of Wilcox's regiments is driven out of the woods
 and Rebel guns are overrun.
Payback is a B*** and Brown is stopped by canister.

The attack at Salem Church stalls.

Russell leads an attack against the enemy in from of Perry Farm.

The Rebels are thrown back into the farmstead but before

that attack can be carried out...

Bartlett attacks Wofford on the Federal Left.

Despite some success,
 Kershaw's large Brigade is stirred into action.

Kershaw advances from his defensive positions
to put Bartlett under pressure.

Bartlett looks vastly outnumbered!

In fact, he is!
His brigade is thrown back with heavy casualties.

Bartlett is spent.

Seeing another stalled attack, Sedwick looks elsewhere.
Federals are reinforcing success north of the Orange Plank Road.

Russell and Browne coordinate attacks
 against the Rebel held Perry Farm.

Attacks on the right grind down gaining little ground.

With Bartlett wrecked and attacks against Salem Church and Perry Farm going nowhere, Sedgwick orders his Corps to disengage and head north to cross the Rappahannock before that escape route is severed.  This fight is over, but Sedgwick lives to fight another day as he moves to join Hooker.

Butcher's Bill

The Butcher's Bill shows a relatively low number of destroyed regiments in both armies, but first impressions are deceiving.  Brook's Division has suffered the brunt of the heavy fighting.  Bartlett's Brigade is wrecked and Browne's Brigade is teetering on being wrecked, itself.  For the Confederates, Wofford's Brigade is wrecked from the tussle with Bartlett, but the Federal Left has collapsed. 

Congratulations to Dan and Lee for fighting back the Federal hordes!  Still, with the relatively light casualties across both armies, I reckon that the fighting could have continued.  Sedgwick (Richard) assessed that continued fighting here against Reels in the woods would only precipitate wrecking his entire Corps.  Given that he still had an escape route available before that door was slammed shut, Sedgwick opted to disengage and move north across the Rappahannock.

This battle only saw two game turns played.  That was a lot of fighting and decision making contained in only two turns.

Thank you, Gentlemen for an engaging session!  The Rebels are 1-0, thus far, at Salem Church.  Is this a fight the Federals can win?  Stay tuned...

We Interrupt Scheduled Programming...

to bring out a late development.

As hinted at in the previous post, today's post was meant to run out a battle report from the Salem Church game with the Rejects' game from ten days ago.  Instead, I squeezed in a Zoom tutorial today between last Sunday's game with Matt and tomorrow's game.  Today's post highlights this Zoom tutorial.  This last-minute development brings the count to three Salem Church battles this week, alone.  

Andy (Muskets & Magnification blog) mentioned that he had been going through my back catalog with a particular focus on remote gaming.  The idea of playing a remote game over Zoom appealed to him and he wondered how I did it.  After exchanging a few emails, we set Friday for a test session.  In this session I hoped to share how to set up and use Zoom to log into and play a game remotely.  Since Salem Church is still out on table, I suggested that once we get the technology working, we give the game a try.  My expectation was that we might only go through a few activations to demonstrate the functionality.  We ended up playing two full turns.

Armies arrayed for battle.

Once we had Zoom working and switching cameras mastered, we dug into the demo with Andy leading the Federal Army.  Now, Andy was using his phone so views from the webcam were small.  Quite small.  Nevertheless, Andy took to playing both over Zoom and to the rules quickly with dice being thrown on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sedgwick opened the battle by ordering divisional artillery forward to pound the Rebel positions around Salem Church.  One of Wilcox's regiments was destroyed supporting Confederate guns in the woods.  Then, the Federal army advanced toward Salem Church with the Orange Plank Road as its axis. 

Federal artillery opens up.

Sedgwick on the move!

The Rebels respond by placing Semmes' Brigade on Reserve in the center and then advancing Kershaw and Wofford on the Rebel Right.  If the Rebels can turn the Federal Left, perhaps, the Union general advance will pause.

Rebels respond...

by advancing Kershaw and Wofford.

Wofford screams through the woods to hit elements of Bartlett's Brigade.  Casualties to Bartlett are heavy.  One regiment is destroyed having been pushed back, caught in retreat, and scattered.  A second regiment falls back upon supports after having been handled very roughly.  The situation is not looking good for Bartlett especially seeing a Rebel regiment on his flank.  As Bartlett reforms, Brooke turns his divisional artillery onto the flanking Rebels who are now in open ground.  Within minutes of success, those Rebels are pounded by artillery fire.  For now, the Rebels stand their ground! 

Wofford attacks and drives back the enemy.

Federal artillery pound the flanking Rebels!

With pressure mounting upon Bartlett, he orders his brigade back but not before Kershaw crashes into a Federal regiment caught in the open.  Coming out on the short end of the close combat, Bartlett's men are driven back.  A second round of artillery fire from Brooke's guns destroys the Rebels on the flank.  The Federal Left holds!

Kershaw attacks!

Seeing Bartlett falling back and Kershaw moving up, Brown counterattacks from Williams' farm.  Seeing initial success, Brown is ultimately driven back when he, himself, is counterattacked.  On the Federal Right, Wheaton moves his brigade up into the woods toward Golin Run. 

Brown driven back!

Well, after completing two full turns, we decided that this was a good introduction to both Zoom and playing a game over Zoom.  Although Andy was confined to watching the battle unfold on his phone screen, I think this exercise was a success.  Encouragingly, Andy claims that he would like to try this again despite his dice letting him down on more than one occasion.  Hooray!  Another possible conversion into remote gaming!

Thanks, Andy, for a very enjoyable session!  That was good fun!  Until we meet on the remote battlefield again.

Oh, and I still have two Salem Church battle reports to write but I did finish up basing five units this afternoon.

Prelude to Salem Church

The first Battle of Salem Church is in the books after a short/sharp fight on Monday.  How did Sedgwick fare?  That is a tale for another time.

Sedgwick on the attack!

Today's post is but a brief update to the Blog List to test that I can follow up with another successful post after having changed my url from "http" to "https".  While my url had been "http" since inception, the HTTPS Redirect toggle ensured that my "http" was redirected to "https".  Since the populated "Original feed" url in Feedburner is a fixed entity, that redirect may not be honored.  

Heavy fighting at Perry Farm.

To guarantee that you pick up your own blog in Blog List and that others can find you after using the Feedburner bypass, the Blog List entry in the gadget must match the "Original feed" path in Configure Proxy page.  If your Original feed path shows "http" then the Blog List entry must reference "http" as well and vice versa.  This works similarly for following other blogs in the gadget.  Your url entry in the Blog List gadget must match the author of the other blog's url if that author is using the Feedburner bypass.  If another's recent post is not appearing in your Blog List and that person has used the Feedburner bypass, try editing that Blog List entry by changing either "http" to "https" or from "https" to "http".

Clear as mud?

Let's see if PWJ still updates after switching to "https".  Yep!  Looks good in my Blogroll.  How about in yours?

Counterattack at Bir Kalifa

Peter, at Grid Based Wargaming..., among all of his other wargaming irons in the fire, has been looking for a ruleset to bring his 6mm WWII collection back to the table.  The rules currently under review are Lock n Load Publishing's Tank on Tank WestFront.  Despite the title, Peter commandeered these rules straight away and pushed them to the Western Desert.

Since the rules are downloadable from the publisher's website and only contain a handful of pages in length, I was able to read through the rules and familiarize myself with both rules and Peter's scenario beforehand.  With the rules being simple and geared toward fast play, Peter guessed that we would get in two games into our allotted gaming session.  He was right!  

For Game #1, I took command of the counterattacking Afrika Corps near Bir Kalifa.  The German objective was to either destroy every Allied unit on table or exit three units off Allied side of the table within nine turns.  We used the solitaire rules for Action Point allocation.

Let's see how I did internalizing the rules and bringing that cursory knowledge to the table.  Germans are attacking from left to right.  

At start deployments with Allies holding the high ground.

Germans make a general advance toward the road and Bir Kalifa.
Wespe is positioned on the high ground to the rear.

As the Germans gain the road,
they attack one of the Grants set up in the broken ground.
Combined arms destroys the Grant!
Oh! This is a bloody and unforgiving game!

The remaining Grant on the Allied right engages a Pz III,
The German is destroyed.
The German righthand brigade shifts farther to the right.

As artillery supports coordinated attack against the remaining Grant,
two A13 Cruisers shift out to the right. 
In heated battles, the Grant is destroyed as is a PZ III.
On the German Right, a pair of Grants pulverizes a Pz IV.
The Germans lose an HQ in this attack but one of
the Pz IVs swings around to flank the enemy position.

Having knocked out two units to one in the previous turn
and seeing reinforcements trickling onto the battlefield,
the Allies counterattack the PZ IV on the road.
With artillery support from the newly arrived Bishop,
the Pz IV is destroyed. 

Action is furious in the center!
The Germans lose another Pz III on the road while the Allies
lose both an A13 and another Grant!

Desperate fighting continues!
Germans lose another Pz III in the center as the German 
flanking attack sends another Grant to the Dead Pile!

That was the end of Turn 8 of nine turns.  Scanning the battlefield and seeing armored rubble strewn everywhere and no way to either eliminate the remaining Allied tanks or exit three units off the table, the Germans call off the counterattack.

Victory to Peter and the Allies!

Wow!  What a bloody and unforgiving game!  There is little subtly here.  You are either dead or alive.  Unfortunately for my German attacking column, most were in the Dead Pile.  At the end of battle, the Germans still had two Pz IIIs and the Wespe.  The Allies could still field two A13s and the Bishop.  Peter presented an impossible task for the German Turn 9.  Congratulations, Peter.  Well done!

That was Game #1.  For Game #2, we reset the table and swapped sides.  Think I performed any better in Game #2 with the shoe on the other foot?  Well, that is a tale for another time.  Perhaps not told by me!

Thank you, Peter, for an entertaining session!

Last Stand at Domyoji

After my rematch with Richard on Monday (see Sanada's Death Ride at Domyoji), I enjoyed another rematch with Peter (see first game at BatRep: Domyoji 1615 Game #2) on Thursday.  As in my rematch with Richard, Peter and I swapped sides to try our hand at commanding the other army.  Peter would take command of the Osaka Army while I took the reins of the Tokugawa Army.  Peter's riveting account of the rematch can be read and enjoyed at Rematch of the Battle of the Tombs.  I wonder if we saw the battle similarly?

Let's find out!

As a reminder, opening dispositions are as illustrated in the map below:

Initial dispositions

Tokugawa Army advances toward the enemy.

Wasting no time, Susukida attacks!
After disordering the enemy with arquebus fire,
Susukida leads an attack with his Samurai
but his attack is repulsed with heavy losses.

Losses were heavy on the defender as well.
Susukida follows up by sending his Ashigaru forward.

Persistence pays off!
The Tokugawa Right is driven back. 

Osaka Ashigaru pursue scattering the remnants of enemy
 Ashigaru spear and sending the Teppo reeling backwards.
Katsushige's Samurai are destroyed!

Still Osaka Ashigaru pursue swinging around to hit
one of Tadaaki's Ashigaru spear.
Likely surprised by enemy coming onto a flank, 
these spearmen retreat passing through Tadaaki's command.

Osaka continues pursuit but the rampage is finally halted
when the spearmen crash into a solid wall of spears and then...

Susukida's spearmen are forced to retreat. 
The Tokugawa Right has collapsed!

Emerging from the ford through the Ishigawa River,
Takamasa leads a cavalry charge into the enemy rear.
This outcome was never in doubt.
The Osaka spearmen are cut down.  No chance of escape.

Ack!  What a start to battle!  The battle has only begun, and the Tokugawa Right and Center have been laid wide open by Peter's successful attacks.  With the loss of the Samurai and suffering from three sequential pursuits, I am already down five points on the Breakpoint Clock.  How do I recover from this mess?

I grab a tourniquet, stop the bleeding, and attack, I guess!  Well, before I can regroup, Peter's Osaka Army beats me to the punch!

Kitigawa's Ashigaru spearmen attack from the woods
trampling Masamune's Teppo before they get off a meaningful volley.

What the Osaka may not have foreseen was the ability of
Masamune's cavalry to counterattack.
Osaka Ashigaru are driven back in disorder.

In pursuit, the enemy falls under the hooves of
Tokugawa cavalry and are destroyed.

Masamune's success leads to a chain reaction from the enemy.
First, Sanada leads a countercharge but is repulsed...

Then, one of Sanada's body of Ashigaru spear attack.
They, too, are repulsed!
Perhaps this battle is turning around?

On the other side of Emperor Ojin's Tomb,
Masamune attacks with both Ashigaru and Samurai.

Osaka Teppo are driven back from the tomb.
Tokugawa fail to pursue!
The Osaka Army is being pushed back
nearly to the gates of Osaka Castle!

Battle lines drawn with much of the Osaka Army
pushed back to the brink.

OK!  Even though the Tokugawa Army took some tough licks at the beginning of the fight, the situation looks to have stabilized, and the Tokugawa are taking the fight to the enemy.  Now thoughts turn to whether I can drive them from the field. 

Peter has other plans!
Kitigawa's Samurai attack both of Masamune's foot.

Kitigawa's Samurai scatter the Ashigaru and
send the enemy Samurai scurrying away to the rear.

What remains of the Tokugawa Left is in retreat! 

Kitigawa's Samurai catch Masamune's Samurai
but heroic actions compel the Osaka to retreat!

Back on the Tokugawa Right, Tadamasa and his Samurai
 cavalry charge into Susukida's Samurai foot.
Weakened from earlier fighting, Susukida is sent packing.

Tadamasa pursues and Susukida's Samurai retreat off table. 

Back on the Tokugawa Left, Kitigawa has not given up his
pursuit of Masamune's Samurai. 
This time, Masamune's Samurai are caught and dispatched!

Even with the Tokugawa Army nearing the breaking point,
the Osaka Left has been vanquished and the
Center has been pressed back to the brink.
One good shove might break the enemy!

Unfortunately for Tokugawa, Osaka gets the next shove! 
Tadaaki's Ashigaru are pushed back. 

Masamune charges in leading his Samurai horsemen.
Sanada is forced to recoil but...

he countercharges when Masamune fails to pursue.

With Ashigaru spear in support, Sanada's charge is repulsed.
Masamune fails to pursue again!

Sanada orders one more attack to break the Tokugawa line.

This time, success!
Masamune and his Samurai turn to flee and Tokugawa Ashigaru
 are scattered as Sanada's Ashigaru advance into the gap.
The Tokugawa Army is broken!

Well!  That did not end as I expected!  I thought that the Tokugawa Army might have the upper hand until...they did not!

Great game, Peter, and very well played.  Thank you!  The Butcher's Bill shows that Tokugawa suffered more losses than the Osaka.  Peter's opening attacks really caught the Tokugawa Army off guard and reaped a pile of points as they slashed their way through the enemy battle line.  I thought I had the battle turned around near the end, but it was not to be.  Controlling both tombs, Peter is awarded a Major Victory.

Butcher's Bill

Game duration was about two-and-a-half hours.  

With this defeat, the five-game series shows the score as three victories for the Tokugawa Army against two victories for the Osaka Army.  What looked like a tough situation for the Osaka Army in the first three games, proved to be winnable in the final two games.  Richard and Peter learned a lot from their first games and put those lessons to work.  I may not have learned as much...

Anyway, this was a terrific series of battles, and I enjoyed them a lot.  Thanks to everyone taking a command in one of the games.  What is next on table?  Not sure but my WotR rebasing is almost complete, and I have a few new ideas to test out next time these Medieval armies take to the table.