Game 80 : Gettysburg!

This is all new and a first. Gettysburg, in 15mm, from first contact! This project was started in 2010. Gordon already had a collection of ACW figures and he wanted to increase it to use at the Situation room. Bryan & Graham also had smaller collections that did not get much use and these were kindly donated to the project. This game was the first outing.

Never one to do small scale, this was Gettysburg on a scale of about 1:25. It is large! The scale is Regimental, the Regiments going into Brigades, Brigades to Divisions and so on. The command and control rules cover all of this interaction.

We started from first contact for a couple of reasons. One was that it had never been done by us, the games were always some cameo within the larger scale battle and it also allowed players to get used to the rules again with out being overwhelmed with numbers. It had been about a decade since any of us had played ACW.

We use rules based on Fire & Fury, but heavily modified. I find the original rules too inflexible in some areas, such as command & control. We used modifications we had used since 1995 and I altered them further by introducing 5 classes of troops, comprehensively within the system, and many more weapon types.

So enjoy the few pics. We hope to continue the development of our fun and see that the ACW get the outings they deserve as they do look spectacular!!

This is where Early would arrive, to the north of Gettysburg itself. The hill behind Gettysburg is Cemetry Hill.

This is towards the southern end of the battlefield and shows the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield and Little Round Top in the back of the pic.

The first moves. I had to be inventive about the first contact to give the Union Cavalry space to do a fighting withdrawal. I used the other end of the battlefield and made this up to represent the area around MacPherson's ridge (if my memory still works!). Heth arrives and find Buford blocking his way.

Buford slowly gives ground, but Confederate numbers and the eventual outflanking force Buford to yield the ground.

From the south, I Corps is marching to aid Buford. When they arrive, necessity forces them to be committed piecemeal. In fact the committing of troops by both sides takes some disciplined planning or you will find that traffic jams become the norm and the flanks especially become vulnerable.

Now on to the main table. Heth is fully deployed and advancing. Pender will arrive shortly. Behind the cavalry (left on the pic) I Corps, specifically the Iron Brigade, is deploying to block the advance.

The Iron Brigade is deployed. Heth decides that a frontal assault is foolhardy and premature. Hill orders Pender to start flanking the Union positions. The Union also receive intelligence that the Confederates are also arriving from the northwest to the right of their position. Need more men!

Union I Corps is now facing off to the north and west. Rhodes is advancing through Gettysburg itself which hinders both sides. Hill is shaking out Pender into the battle line and moving Heth further to his right. Ewell, with Rhodes is pressing from the northwest and Early is also about to arrive.

Pender decides to advance directly on Cemetry Hill. Progress would be stymied by the Iron Brigade and second division of  I Corps. This attack would be called off until more preparations were made.

A view of Cemetry Ridge where most of the artillery from I Corps now has a firing line. An artillery duel would take place with the Confederates who currently held artillery superiority as Longstreet had also arrived with his artillery.

This is the to extreme right of the Confederate line, to the south. Here Cutler & Rowley, from I Corps are forced back by 3 brigades of Heth who have re-deployed to attack and open up this flank and drive the Union troops to the right of pic which would take them to the southern end of Cemetry Ridge.

Then we stopped. We had fought to about 4.00pm on July 1st. The Union III Corps was about to arrive from the south and the XII Corps had just arrived from the south east. So far the game was fairly historical, not surprising given where the troops actually arrive. On the Confederate side, Pettigrew, from Heth was worn. Hill & Heth lost 2 batteries of guns.

The Union fared slightly worse, as they did historically. Buford was worn, Cutler & Rowley from I Corps were also worn. I Corps also lost a total of 3 batteries.

It is hoped to continue the game from where we stopped with the same core players. More players are always welcome and their is plenty of troops to go around.

The good weather helped as did the free flow of a certain type of beverage!! Next stop is back to Napoleonics in northern Italy, early in the wars.

Game 79 : Arras, sort of, France 1940

This game was a sort of Arras. Brits were deployed wherever they wanted and given the unusual intelligence of the German entry point, the only one!
The idea was for the Germans to just "travel" along the road to the far objective until they came under fire. This worked OK, maybe the Brits fired too early, but the fog of war produces these what ifs where decisions have to be made quickly.
The Brits were defending with 2 Brigades of Infantry, one Guards and a Brigade of Tanks plus 2 support battalions, one of anti-tank guns and the other a reconnaissance regiment.
The Germans had 2 Infantry Regiments supported by a reconnaissance & motorcycle battalions. The Germans also has 2 companies of armour.
The Brits would be reinforced by a Brigade of Infantry and a machine gun battalion. The Germans would be reinforced by a Panzer battalion.

The battle was fought down the main road that went through 2 villages, one after the other. The Germans are seen deploying after coming under mortar fire. The German issue is not to be outflanked by the hidden Brits. The Brits have to wonder if this is the main German force and so should they break cover?

British reconnaissance gingerly breaks cover to advance. The Brit Matildas rule the roost in this game but the mark I Matilda is so so slow!! The Germans have to rely on "critical hits" to do any damage. The Brit armoured cars are the reverse, motorised tin cans best describes them!

All, yes all the German armour moves down the road to try and support the German infantry into the outlying areas of the first village. This village would be the focus of the fighting for the entire weekend.

German infantry tries to open their right flank by attacking Brits in a wood that have limited numbers. This attack initially went well, but the arrival of Brit armour turned the tide and the Germans had to halt the attack just on the point of success. A flanking manoeuvre to the right of the pic would eventually allow the Germans to take this wood as the Brits retired to prevent themselves from being outflanked.

Three pics of the protracted fighting in the village. Brit Guards take forever to force back, but it was the amount of German support weapons, mainly the number of MMGs that allowed the Germans to eventually take the village. What was certain was that the Germans were in no condition to take the second village! It was a really fun gun. The troop density allowed manoeuvre, attacks followed by counter attacks, all to end up in a draw!!

Rogue's gallery. We also enjoyed the weather and the beer that was a necessity in these games! Next stop is Gettysburg!!!! Yes, the first ACW battle, many years in the planning. It is also in 15mm as a considerable number of 15mm figures existed when the project started. More on this when I post on the battle. It uses troops from three collections that have been put together and will use base Fire & Fury for mechanics; but with many detailed changes. We'll see what happens...……...

Game 78 : Montebello 19th June 1800

We're back in Northern Italy at the beginning of the campaign. Both sides have deployed an Advanced Guard, both of which are keen to engage and make a reputation.

The battlefield is what can be best described as a straight "up and down" consisting to 2 villages. The actual village of Montebello is in the far distance, just visible at the end of the table. This view is the view the French get when advancing.

This is from the middle village above, looking at the French approach. The village also has a stream that runs directly behind it and is perpendicular to the battlefield. It is an impediment to artillery who must cross at the only bridge directly behind the village.

The Austrians start with a Division on table and will be reinforced by a further Division on turn one arriving from the board edge on the single road. The French start with all forces available. When all troops are arrived, the sides have rough parity in infantry, the Austrians an edge on gun numbers and the Austrians have a very large advantage on cavalry.

We used the system of variable morale where troops do not know their exact class until a first morale test is taken. I'll put the table in at the end of this account. As it is early war, columns of Attack, for both sides, do not exist.

The French only have a single cavalry regiment and so are forced to attack without cavalry support on at least one flank. Here Austrian Dragoons launch themselves against French infantry. The game was nearly over before it started as the Dragoons nearly rode down the infantry!!

On the other flank, the entire French cavalry of one regiment engage double their number of Austrian Hussars. The result of the fight was a draw, but the casualties sustained by the French cavalry meant it would retire for some time to regather its strength.

This is on the French left where there is some hilly terrain near to the village which is off to the right of the pic. Having to use lines as the only real combat formation, these manoeuvres and resulting combats became protracted. Nothing happens at great speed!!

This is from the Austrian right, the village to the left and the hills, mentioned above, to the right. A general firefight with exchange of volleys is taking place, each side hoping that the other side will have a unit fail morale and retreat and hopefully provide an opportunity.

This is the Austrian left. The French are advancing in lines and are also preparing to assault the village. The Austrians are holding the line but their casualties are mounting faster.

This gives a good view of the whole fight which was occurring along the whole front. The Austrians are being forced back on both flanks and are about to lose the village. At about this time, the Austrian commander realised that he would need to retire to extricate his forward forces and so a retreat began which was covered by the reinforcing Austrian Division. Getting troops into the fighting line at the right time and the right place is difficult when the only real combat formation is the line. It takes ages!!

The game is about to be called. The French have taken the lead village and the Austrians have successfully ordered the retire order. We had already played about 36 turns at this point and we declared a French tactical victory and the Austrians would use nightfall to retire in order. A very historical outcome and interesting game using virtually nothing but fighting lines.

French Formations	Losses %			Austrian Formations	Losses%
	Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery		Infantry	Cavalry	Artillery
				Zach
Lannes	-	-	0	O’Reilly	-	-	29
1st Brigade	15	-	-	Brigade	21	-	-
2nd Brigade	14	-	-	Brigade	-	28	-
Victor	-	-	4	Ott	-	-	43
1st Brigade	6	-	-	Brigade	11	-	-
2nd Brigade	5	-	-	Brigade	17	22	-
Murat
Cavalry Brigade	-	46	8

The casualties reflect the fighting where the French initially outnumbered the Austrian Infantry. The French cavalry played no  part in the battle after turn 2!! The Austrian artillery did suffer badly, eagle eyed French gunners.

 

d10 Roll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
AUSTRIAN
Line Infantry	2nd	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	Seas	Seas
Grenz	Mil	Mil	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	Seas
Jaegers	1st	1st	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet
Artillery	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Sea	Vet
Cavalry	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Sea	Seas	Seas	Vet
FRENCH
Line Infantry	2nd	1st	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet
Light Infantry	1st	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet	Vet
Foot Artillery	1st	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet	Vet	Vet
Horse Artillery	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet	Vet	Vet	Vet
Hussars	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Seas	Vet	Vet	Vet

This is the morale table. Prior to establishing the exact morale, units use the rating under the "5 column". This happens when units fire early in the battle before having to take a morale test.

 The gamers at leisure!! Next, it is back to a WWII jaunt.