New Beginnings

Wargaming-wise, it has been a bit of a "lost summer" for me and my regular gaming friends. Due to a variety of reasons we were not able to meet with any regularity. Then, to really complicate matters, we lost our rental space that has been the home to our gaming group since the 1970s! Luckily, a new space was found quickly and we have moved to a newer home.

We are looking forward to gaming in our new home and we are assessing the usefulness of extending our venerable old gaming table from 14 feet length to @ 18 feet of length. The argument is that it will give us more open space on the flanks of our battles. The reality is that it will be a strong, too strong I fear, temptation to add more units to our games... we will see what happens! :)

We should start playing more regularly in October now that we have secured our new club location and our children's soccer seasons are finishing up. Nothing like rushing from coaching a bunch of 5 year old soccer stars to go sit at a wargaming table to throw your Saturday off kilter!

Here are a few cell phone photos from our farewell game played at our old club on September 13th. I have lost my notes about the game that we played. All I can tell you is that it was a section from the Leipzig battle. My Saxon friends were on the left of our line and I tried, unsuccessfully, to hold the village on the right of our lines.

Slodka Woda Pictures

Here are a few photos, many are blurry, of the recent Napoleonic game.

Looking in from the French left wing. 

French units approach town.

French artillery moving towards deployment area to right of village. 

French right wing prepares to advance.

Russian 3rd Brigade flanking Slodka Woda.

Russians sheltering behind village.

French (Polish) light cavalry trying to look threatening to advancing Russians.

Same unit.

Armonde's men trying to stave off the Russian advance.

Russians from their 3rd Brigade.

Russian dragoons charging Armonde's artillery while the French cavalry hurls itself into the Russians.

French cavalry just prior to dispersing due to Russian musketry.

Slodka Woda Report

Rules: General de Brigade Deluxe

Turns: @14 Turns played

Time: 10:30am to 3:00pm

For once, trying something a bit different worked out pretty well...

Rolling for objectives provided a bit of mystery as each side wasn't quite sure what the other fellows were up to as our units began to maneuver. The Russians, it was later revealed, rolled a 2 and a 6 giving them the target of the hill on the French left side as well as the imaginary point in the center of our rear area. The French had to take the farm on our right wing and take the imaginary center point marker at the rear of the Russian lines from rolls of 2 and 5.

Prior to battle each side had used our point allotment to build the forces brought to battle. Both sides chose two batteries of artillery while the Russians added much more cavalry than the French could afford. The French had 1 more battalion of infantry. The French had this...

France

CiC = Free

2 batteries = 2 x 90 = 180

7 line infantry = 7x50 = 350

3 legere veteran = 3x72 = 216

1 Light Cavalry (12) veteran = 54

brigade general = 4x50 = 200

                            -----------------

                                     1000

GdD Lagrange

1^st Brigade  GdB Armonde

1 Bn Legere (Veteran)

3 Bn Ligne (Line)

2^nd Brigade GdB Bouchard

1 Bn Legere (Veteran)

2 Bn Ligne (Line)

1 Battery/3 Sections 8lb Foot Artillery (Line)

3^rd Brigade GdB Corbineau

1 Bn Legere (Veteran)

2 Bn Ligne (Line)

1 Battery/3 Sections 8lb Foot Artillery (Line)

Cavalry Brigade  GdB Desjardin

8^th Chasseurs a Cheval (Veteran) (12 Figures)

While the Russians had something like...

General

1st Brigade
3 Line Infantry

2nd Brigade
3 Line Infantry
1 Battery/4 Sections 8lb Foot

3rd Brigade
3 Line Infantry
1 Battery/4 Sections 8lb Foot

Heavy Cavalry Brigade
Dragoons (24 figures!!)

Light Cavalry Brigade
Uhlans (12 Figures)

With our objectives in mind, Gary led Corbineau's brigade to take possession of the Koza Farm. With no Russians there he was able to take it within a few turns. It took him a few turns because he neglected to use the Tactical March Rule that would have allowed him to take the farm in 1 to 2 turns with a rapid move. That would have allowed him to sweep around the Russian's left wing much more quickly.

Meanwhile, Armonde's and Bouchard's brigades moved forward with each soon deploying their artillery to pound the Russian infantry brigades to their front. The Russian 1st Brigade set itself to hold a line from the town to the hill while the 2nd Brigade, supported by that heavy cavalry(!), pushed against Armonde's troops. 

While that was going on, the Russian 3rd Brigade and Light Cavalry moved to threaten Armonde's left flank by setting up artillery on the road. This forced me to withdraw Armonde's units and allowed the Russian 2nd Brigade to move into the area between Slodka Woda and the woods on our left. A lengthy firefight ensued between Armonde and Russian 2nd Brigade while the Heavy Cavalry deployed as the Russian's "second line". As that was happening, the Russian 3rd Brigade moved through the woods and took the hill on our left. The Russian Light Cavalry continued to move further around our left wing.

Back in the center, Bouchard's artillery and skirmishers were shredding the Russian 1st Brigade while Corbineau finally got new orders that allowed him to push around our right wing and begin to add fire against the flagging Russian 1st Brigade. Soon, the Russian 1st Brigade began to suffer broken units and failed a Brigade Test. Unlucky from a French perspective, since the Russians retreated right onto our second victory location and quickly reformed.

On the left wing things were coming to a conclusion. Under a hail of musketry and artillery, one of the infantry battalions in Russian 2nd Brigade DISPERSED. Normally, this would be good news for the French! However, in this case it only opened up the hole that the Russians had been waiting for. The Russian Dragoons swept forward to win the day. But luck was with the Frenchmen, for a while, as the Russian cavalry twice failed to close due to the shockingly good fire fire the French poured into them. However, with a unit so large that it could absorb casualties and still be a threat, the Russians charged a third time and smashed Armonde's artillery and forced his infantry into squares. As this was occurring, Desjardin's horsemen were involved in a series of charges against the Russian 3rd Brigade and their Light Cavalry. These charges delayed the Russians for a while but Desjardin's troops were DISPERSED as a result. 

At this point the battle ended as a narrow Russian win because they had moved onto both victory points while the French had another 2 turns of work to do to take our second victory point.

Napoleonic Scenario: Slodka Woda 1807

Action at Slodka Woda 1807

An utterly fictional scenario for General de Brigade

I needed to put together a scenario quickly for this week's Napoleonic gaming at the club. So, I took the easy way out... a points game using GdB Deluxe. Each side gets a CiC and 1000 points to compose a force. This meeting engagement will take place in Poland during the 1807 Campaign and pit my French against Mike's Russians. 

Continuing with the idea of leaving the scenario open-ended, I whipped up a chart to determine victory conditions. By keeping those objectives secret, I hoped to build a bit of tension for the players as they tried to complete their missions while, possibly, denying the enemy his objectives.

Each side gets an AVERAGE Commander in Chief and 1000 points to buy all other officers, infantry, cavalry and artillery.

Each side rolls to determine 2 objectives to be designated as their victory conditions.

1. Seize, and hold, village of Slodka Woda.
2. Seize the victory point in enemy rear area. Center of enemy rear 24” from table edge.
3. Destroy 1 enemy brigade through casualties or rout.
4. Destroy all enemy artillery through casualties or rout.
5. Seize the Koza farmstead.
6. Seize, and hold, the high ground on the enemy side of the road.

Battlefield Map

Terrain Notes

The Village – Slodka Woda will hold 1 battalion of 24 figures and counts as COVER -2. Village can be reduced to NO COVER with 8 points of artillery damge.

The Hills – All hills are GOOD TERRAIN and do not modify movement in any way. Line of sight is blocked by hills.

The Woods – All woods are DIFFICULT TERRAIN. All woods are light woods with 6” visibility.

The Roads – All roads offer x2 speed for INFANTRY units in MARCH COLUMN that spend the entire move on the roads.

Ware Bottom Report

Ware Bottom Church Report

Played: June 14th 10am to 2:45pm

Length: Played @12 turns

Commanders:  USA Jeff (Hawley), Gary (Howell), Carl (Plaisted) vs. CSA Mike (Lewis and Terry) and myself (Ransom and Corse)

Mike led the Confederate side while Jeff acted as the Union commander. The battle began with Lewis and Terry's Confederates occupying the hasty works/rifle pits/skirmish line on the Union side of the creek. When the game opened, both sides surged forward as the Union attempted to seize the line back and the Confederates tried to reinforce the thinly held ground just over the creek.

Luck was not with the Confederates as the Union troops repeatedly unleashed crushing volleys while the Southerners seemed suffered many rounds of poor shooting. Combined with local superiority of numbers, the Federal fire quickly whittled down the Confederate brigades. The brigades of Ransom and Corse moved into the middle and then failed to do much thereafter. Corse's brigade suffered badly in the firefights with Plaisted's Union men and spent much of the game with most of the brigade's units FALTERING. This took away any hope of Corse's men driving a wedge between Hawley's and Plaisted's Union brigades. 

The battle quickly degenerated into a lopsided firefight as Lewis's CSA brigade was torn asunder by Howell's blue coated regiments. By the end of the battle, Lewis was dead and his brigade wiped from the table. Corse's brigade was in bad shape and teetering on breaking. With the grey clad line battered and wavering, a general withdrawal was called for by the Confederate commander.

This was a Union victory with light casualties on the Federal regiments (less than 10%) while the Confederates suffered badly (@ 25 to 30%). 

New Scenario: Ware Bottom Church 1864

  It was my turn to put on the scenario at our club this past weekend. At the last game I volunteered to lay on the next battle. I had decided to do an ACW game but became stumped as to what battle the game should be set in. It turns out that leaving it until a few days prior to the game does not help one create a better scenario! I found a nice framework for a series of battles from the Bermuda Hundred campaign. I suggest you stop in at Wargames Vault (http://www.wargamevault.com/index.php) if you want to find this nice little packet called "In Command: Bermuda Hundred Campaign. The background info given below came straight from the packet by Potomac Publications. All the rest of this mess is my own doing...

Scenario: Ware Bottom Church

Scale: 28mm

Rules: Guns at Gettysburg

NOTES:
This scenario is the result of a lot of sketchy details combined with some educated guesses. My short research turned up little in the way of a “real” map of the battle so the battlefield is conjectural. The CSA units involved are a guess as to who was actually fighting Terry's Union men on that day. Overall, it's likely a pretty good representation of the northern portion of the battle but it could stand much more research!

Most of the brigades have been modified from their historical composition for the sake of making putting units onto the wargame table. CSA brigade strengths are fairly realistic but regiments have been combined to create our standard size units. The USA brigades likewise have realistic overall strengths but some of their regiments have been divided to create “standard” units. Union units marked (f) on the Order of Battle are fictional units created to represent proper brigade strength while conforming to our wargaming unit organizations. See

The ground is likely a bit more difficult than we are representing in that it was likely a bit more overgrown and wet than our game table.

Ware Bottom Church 

20 May 1864

Bermuda Hundred Campaign

Background:
  For the campaigning season of 1864 Ulysses S. Grant planned to defeat the Confederacy by powerful offensives all along its extensive borders. One of the most important missions, the capture of the Rebel capital, was given to Major General Benjamin Butler. Butler’s newly formed Army of the James was to land at Bermuda Hundred, a peninsular close to the Confederate capital, and strike
swiftly inland while Grant occupied the attention of the main Confederate field army under Lee. The initial landings went according to plan and within a few days the Federals were in a position to threaten the important rail junction of Petersburg as well as Richmond.

Unfortunately for the Union cause Butler became confused about his objective and spent almost a week in fruitless skirmishing with a growing Confederate resistance. By May 12 Butler was at last prepared to advance on Richmond, he left a covering force facing Petersburg and moved with the remainder of his forces on the Rebel stronghold at Drewry’s Bluff. On the Confederate side General Pierre Beauregard had been trying of organize a creditable defense ever since the Union landing. At first almost nothing stood in Butler’s path should he strike at either Richmond or Petersburg, but taking advantage of Butler’s vacillation Beauregard slowly built up a respectable force of veteran brigades. As the Federals blundered towards the Drewry’s Bluff fortifications Beauregard had gathered enough strength to begin thinking about taking the offensive. An audacious plan to destroy Butler’s army was conceived, Beauregard would attack frontally while another Confederate force under Major General William Whiting would move on the Federal rear from Petersburg. These actions resulted in the battle of Drewry’s Bluff on May 16. Although Whiting never did manage to seriously threaten the Union rear, Beauregard’s attack so frightened Butler as to cause him to withdraw his army back towards their entrenchment’s at Bermuda Hundred.

On May 20 the Confederates assaulted the Union lines at Bermuda Hundred, overrunning the outlying rifle pits the Rebels almost broke through, however hard fighting and Federal reinforcements eventually beat off the attack. Nonetheless the result underlined the fact that Butler’s army was now confined to its defenses and no longer a serious threat to the Confederate capital. Butler argued that he was keeping valuable enemy forces occupied which would otherwise be facing Grant in his overland campaign. This was untrue however and by May 27 Grant required men more than Butler and began the reduction of his army, a corresponding reduction took place within the Confederate lines and the surplus sent to reinforce the Army of Northern Virginia. In Grant’s words, Butler was “in a bottle strongly corked.”

Scenario:
Our scenario depicts a portion of the battle at Ware Bottom Church on 20 May 1864. The Confederates have attacked the Union picket line at Ware Bottom Church and the Union troops of Alfred Terry have promptly moved to regain the line. Our game will represent the Union counter attack against Hoke's Confederates. The objective for each side is possession of the picket line/rifle pits running from Dr. Howlett's house and to the south.


Special Rules:
1. Each side sets up 24” into the table. The Confederates may use the brigades of Kemper and Hoke to occupy the recently taken picket line. All other CSA units must observe the 24” set up rule.

2. There is a line of shallow “rifle pits” and hasty works along the creek that was created by the Union skirmish line

2. We will use a modified version of the Divisional Redeployment March (rule 14.16) as our Tactical March. Any BRIGADE may move 24” provided that they remain more than 24” away from ANY enemy unit for the entire move. The Marching Brigade must have all of its units in March Columns and on MOVE orders.

3. Skirmish lines MUST have a minimum of 3 inches between figure bases; otherwise it is counted as Extended Line. Exception: If a stand cannot sit on a terrain piece then it may be closer than 3 inches to an adjoining stand but it must be made clear of the intent. This rule is being enforced to maintain ground scale and spacing.

Terrain:
Woods – For sake of game play, all woods are considered light woods and are classed as DIFFICULT TERRAIN. Units in woods receive -2 Cover modifier when being fired upon.

Farms – The “field” part of the farms represents the farms in this game. The buildings are decorative and offer NO benefits. Any unit in the “field” receives a -1 Light Cover modifier to represent fences, farm buildings, and other “cover” in and around the farm. It costs 2” movement to enter or leave fields.

Hills – These hills are more representative of low rises in the terrain and do not cause movement penalty. The hills do block line of sight.

Wood Fences/Hedges – Provide -1 cover and is DIFFICULT TERRAIN to cross in either direction.

Picket Line – This chain of hasty works and rifle pits provides -2 Cover and is DIFFICULT TERRAIN to cross in either direction.

Creek - DIFFICULT TERRAIN. Provides not added cover. Infantry may cross and Artillery may cross if limbered.

Federal Units

Tenth Army Corps

First Division

Brig. Gen. Alfred H. Terry

First Brigade Col. Joshua B. Howell
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
39th Ill.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
62nd Oh.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
67th Oh.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
85th Pa.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
86th Pa. (f)	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate

Second Brigade Col Joseph R. Hawley
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
6th Conn.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
7th Conn.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
3rd N.H.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
7th N.H.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
8th N.H. (f)	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate

Third Brigade Col. Harris M. Plaisted
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
10th Conn.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
11th Me.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
24th Mass.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
100th N.Y.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
105th N.Y. (f)	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate

Artillery
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Class
1st Conn.	2 Guns	10lb Parrot	VETERAN	RIFLE
5th N.J.	2 Guns	12lb Napoleon	VETERAN	SMOOTHBORE
M, 1st U.S.	2 Guns	3” Rifle	ELITE	RIFLE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Confederate Troops

Hoke’s Command

Maj. Gen. Robert. F. Hoke

Corse’s Brigade Brig. Gen. Montgomery D. Corse
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
15th Va.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
17th Va.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
29th Va.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
30th Va.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate

Ransom’s Brigade Brig. Gen. Matthew W. Ransom
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
24th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
25th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
35th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
56th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate

Kemper’s Brigade Col. William R. Terry
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
1st Va.	20	RM	REGULAR	1st Rate
11th Va.	20	RM	REGULAR	1st Rate

Hoke’s Brigade Col. William G. Lewis
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Skirmish Rating
6th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
21st N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
54th N.C.	20	RM	VETERAN	1st Rate
1st N.C. Sharpshooter Btn.	15	RM	VETERAN	Sharp Shooter

Read's Artillery Battalion
Unit	Size	Weapon	Morale	Class
Richmond Fayette Va. Art.	2 Guns	12lb Napoleon	VETERAN	SMOOTHBORE
Blount’s Va. Bty.	2 Guns	12lb Napoleon	VETERAN	SMOOTHBORE
Hampden Va. Art. and Farquier Va. Art.	3 Guns	3” Rifle/12lb Napoleon	VETERAN	MIXED

General set up prior to battle