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

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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

Pretzen Report

Pretzen 1807 Report

Played: April 12th 10am to 2:30pm

Length: Played 16 turns

Commanders: Mike (von Netting and Dohorov) and Jeff (Ushakov) vs. Gary (Ferey), Carl (Amey), and myself (Vivies, Artillery, and Durousnel)

So, with a quick moving game in mind, we played out our battle on Saturday April 12. Mike began the battle as the sole Russian commander as Jeff was a bit late. Each side set up 24” in from the table edge while the 3 objectives were lined up along the center line of the table. Not very complicated and certainly not very original!

Starting positions and general course of battle.

It became obvious early on that each side was employing a similar strategy. Both sides rushed to gain the village in the center while attempting a right hook to flank the enemy. As it turned out, the Russians won the race to the village and seized control of it while Vivies deployed his Legere battalions into a skirmish screen to spar with the village occupants. In concert with this, the French guns deployed to the righ t of the village to hammer away on von Netting's Russians while Ferey pressed the Russian flank.

At the other end of the French line Amey's troops were trying to hold the hill against Ushakov's larger brigade. The fact that Ushakov had artillery support and Amey's men did not quickly began to tell. Amey's units suffered a series of lucky Russian volleys and heavy fire from the Russian guns. Soon, the Frenchmen began to waver under the weight of fire.

By turn 6 it was becoming apparent where any reserves would go as Ferey and the artillery was battering von Netting's Russian brigade at the same time that Ushakov's Russians were beginning to push Amey's Frenchmen backwards. The Russian reinforcement proved to be a single Hussar Regiment (VETERANS) while the French drew 2 Chasseur Regiments (LINE). The Russian cavalry galloped towards von Netting's wavering wing while Durousnel's Chasseurs moved as quickly as possible to support Amey's crumbling brigade.

As soon as they arrived on the wings the cavalry units went onto ASSAULT orders and formed to charge. The Russian cavalry charged into Ferey's troops as a battalion of the 46e was FALTERING. This put the French battalion into flight as it RETREATED while the Russians pulled up before hitting the hastily formed squares of the remaining French units. This charge stalled Ferey's advance for a long time as the French had to organize themselves against the lurking cavalry.

Menawhile, true to my form, I attempted to charge the flank of the Russian Lithuanian Musketeers with both Chasseur regiments and both failed to charge! This gave the Russians time to form squares which relieved some of the pressure on Amey's shrinking battalions. The Russians began to break off from Amey's brigade as they organized to repel cavalry. After reorienting themselves, the Chasseur brigade charged the Russian artillery on the hill. After a weak blast of defensive fire the artillery was swept over by the French cavalrymen. Ushakov's units were now pinned in between the remnants of Amey's infantry and Durousnel's cavalrymen to their rear.

Such was the situation when von Netting's units finally began to succomb to the ongoing fire from the French artillery and Ferey's volleys. While von Netting's brigade did not break, which would have emptied the village and ensured a French victory, it was now a shambles and it would soon be compelled to leave the field.

At this point the battle was declared over. The French cavalry and Ushakov's infantry were jointly occupying the hill on the French left wing. Amey's brigade was retreating back towards the French center having lost @ 50% strength. Vivies' units were still sparring with von Netting's infantrymen in and around the village. Ferey had swept von Netting's men off of the right wing hill and were ready to press on towards the Russian's center.

The battle was judged to be a minor Russian victory since they still held the village and everyone felt that the numerous Russian squares could, sloooowly, push the French cavalry off the hill. Due to the relatively small number of units involved the battle was a tense affair as each shot, morale check, and move had a bit more importance. For once, I think we remembered enough of the important rules during the game that nobody felt like we missed out on something that may have been a “game-changer”.

If Gary shares some of the photos that he snapped then I will try to post them later...

Pretzen 1807 Scenario

Here is a fictional scenario set in 1807 prior to battle at Heilsberg. It is a very simple scenario designed to provide a quick game. As usual, this scenario was designed for our favorite set of Napoleonic rules - General de Brigade (Deluxe). A short battle report will follow...

Encounter near Pretzen1807

This fictional encounter is set after the miserable winter campaign of 1807. It supposes that the French (weak) 2nd Division of Soult's IV Corps encountered units of Titov's 3rd Division from Dohturov's Infantry Wing while the French were probing for holes in the Russian lines prior to the Battle of Heilsberg. Both sides quickly become aware that holding the small village of Pretzen would be very useful in controlling the road into Heilsberg. With this in mind, both sides act quickly in an attempt to grab the village and other important terrain features.

Each side will potentially get a small reinforcement of via a dice roll against a reinforcement chart. Any reinforcements will enter at the center point of that side's table edge. The reinforcement roll will happen during the orders phase of turn 6. Each side makes only one % roll to determine reinforcements.

Reinforcements Roll %

1-33 Light Cavalry “Brigade” (no lances) with one unit of 12 Figures VETERAN with AVG Brigadier

34-66 Light Cavalry “Brigade” (no lances) with one unit of 12 Figures ELITE with AVG Brigadier

67-00 Light Cavalry “Brigade” (no lances) with two units of 12 Figures LINE with AVG Brigadier

Terrain Notes

The Village – Pretzen will hold 1 battalion of 24 figures and counts as COVER -2.

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.

Victory Conditions

The victory conditions are fairly straightforward. There are 3 objective points and whoever controls 2, or more, of those points will be the winner.

Russian Units

GL Vasily Titov

Brigade GM Brisemann von Netting
Chernihov Musketeers Col. Panchulitzev
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE
3rd BN	24	LINE
Dniepr Musketeers Col. Gurih
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE
3rd BN	24	LINE

Brigade GM Nikolai Ushakov
Lithuanian Musketeers Col. Lebiadnikov
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE
3rd BN	24	LINE
Taurida Grenadiers Col. Danzass
1st BN	24	ELITE	1st RATE SK
2nd BN	24	VETERAN	1st RATE SK

Division Artillery
Foot Artillery
Battery 1	3	ELITE
Battery 2	3	VETERAN

Cavalry Brigade GM Ivan Dorohov
Olviopol Hussars Prince Drucki-Sokolniki	12
Isoum Hussars Col. Andrei Tolstoi	12

French Units

GdB Claude Carra Saint-Cyr

Brigade Vivies – GdB Guillaume Raymond Amat Vivies
24e Legere Col. Pourailly
1st BN	24	VETERAN	1st RATE SK
2nd BN	24	VETERAN	1st RATE SK

Brigade Amey – GdB Francois Pierre Joseph Amey
4e Ligne Col. Boyeldieu
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE
28e Ligne Col. Toussaint
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE

Brigade Amey – GdB Claude Francois Ferey
46e Ligne Col. Richard
1st BN	24	LINE
2nd BN	24	LINE
57e Ligne Col. Rey
1st BN	24	VETERAN
2nd BN	24	VETERAN

Division Artillery
Foot Artillery
Battery 1	3	ELITE
Battery 2	3	VETERAN

Cavalry Brigade Durousnel – GdB Antoine-Jean-Auguste-Henri Durousnel
7e Chasseurs a Cheval Col. Hippolyte Pire	12
20e Chasseurs a Cheval Col. Bernard Pierre Castex	12

. . .

Danzig Report

Played: June 20th 10am to 3:30pm
Length: Played 16 turns
Commanders: Mike (Russian) and Jeff (Prussian) vs. Eddie (CiC, Rabbe, and Coqueugniot) and I (Breyer, Robert, and Jeanin)
General de Brigade Deluxe

Our game based on the Russian attempt to relieve/resupply the besieged garrison at Danzig was a victory for the French side, but only by the narrowest of margins. Eddie commanded the French side while Mike and Jeff led the Allied troops. Having a strict deadline (3:30pm) pushed the Allies to strike rapidly in order to have units in the "victory zone" by the appointed time. This dispensed with the usual, lengthy, opening bombardment that has become standard fare in our games.

General course of the battle

While Jeff struck quickly with Von Rembow's and Loptev's brigades, Mike struck out on a rapid march to turn the French right wing. In support of the flank march, the guns of HMS Falcon hammered away at Rabbe's and Coqueugniot's brigades as they sheltered in the sparse cover of the woods. This allowed the three Russian brigades to move to the road virtually unmolested.

The Prussians of Von Rembow, supported by fire from Fort Weichselmude, drove the Saxons of Breyer back into the woods. Von Rembow's brigade soon came under fire from the French batteries on Holm Island and "Fort Vistula" which stalled any momentum that the Prussian attack had. The Prussian cavalry was hit several times before it tried to charge the French Chasseurs a Cheval who had moved to fill the open flank to Breyer's left. The Prussian charge was hurled back as the Prussian horsemen ROUTED and were lost for the rest of the battle. Meanwhile, Rabbe's Gardes de Paris were holding Loptev's brigade at bay with a succession of hard-hitting volleys (Eddie constantly rolled 9 or higher when firing) that left the Russians disorganized and unable to press home an attack.

While Breyer's, Robert's, and Rabbe's were holding off two Allied brigades, the French brigade of Coqueugniot was left to watch the rapid march of three Russian brigades on the French right wing. Luckily for Coqueugniot's troops, the HMS Falcon had moved to a position were it could no longer hit them (the ship had done exceptionally well given the range that it was firing at) and the Russian commander had trouble getting his troops making the flank march to turn and head for a new objective point. It took Mike 3 or 4 turns to roll well enough to give each of his three brigades new orders. That was just enough time for Coqueugniot's men to move to a position along the stream and defend the bridge. Once the Russians got moving again they began to launch a series of furious charges at Coqueugniot's brigade. Much to everyone's surprise, the Russian attacks were repulsed and the battered French line continued to hold.

At this point there was a bit of a lull as both sides regrouped and positioned themselves for the final act. The Russian flank force soon renewed the assault with a new round of charges that pushed Coqueugniot's brigade back and opened the road for the Cossacks to begin sweeping behind the French lines. Luckily for Coqueugniot, Rabbe's brigade was able to stave off the charges by Leptov's brigade. If Leptov's attack had carried through then it is likely that Rabbe's and Coqueugniot's men would have been routed or captured by the Russians. Von Rembow's Prussians were pressing closer to Breyer's Saxons but they were suffering under combined firing from Breyer's brigade and the artillery at Holm Island and "Fort Vistula".

In a last effort to decisively win the day, the Cossacks launched a charge at the small Chasseur a Cheval regiment that had moved to block access to the Allied "Victory Zone". Though outnumbered by the Cossacks the Chasseurs were able to break the Cossacks and drive them back (lucky roll in Melee Resolution!) at the cost of the Chasseur unit DISPERSING due to casualties. This combat had slowed the advance of Berlizeev's and Leontyev's brigades just enough so that there were only 3 Russian units in the Victory Zone when 3:30pm came to pass. With three Russians in the Victory Zone, Eddie rolled a die 6 and the resulting roll of a 5 gave the victory to the French!

In all, it had been a tense and competitive battle throughout the day. Both sides were rolling exceptionally well during the shooting phases which left many of our units teetering on the edge of rout or dispersal. The HMS Falcon was a considerable force, until it was finally driven off by the combined efforts of three batteries, given the fantastic rolls that Jeff made each time the ship fired.

If you feel moved to attempt this scenario just be sure that the Allies have a real chance to march directly across the table from deployment zone to victory zone in a short time. Our games usually run about 12 - 15 turns so the distance on our table was 6 turns worth of movement. This gave the Allies time to fight and still make it in time. The ship could fire across a bit more than half of the table and the forts had a similar range.