Base Instincts

If anyone has been missing the epic 6mm ACW games that have featured regularly on this blog, allow me to deliver a quick apology. Flocking all the bases of both armies (400 bases ? 500 ? God knows ...), plus basing a couple of new divisions from scratch doesn't seem like quite such a brilliant idea in hindsight. I have to admit that Ian did raise an eyebrow when I said, " Yeah, no trouble ... I'll do that ..."  My own eyebrows will never raise again, being thickly matted with glue and flock and permanently arranged to give me a hunted, despairing expression.

In my defence I can only say that these figures turned out to be a bit er, .... small and fiddly to work with.  Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible, but that could be a while yet.

Randolph’s Ferry - Conclusion

As the sun came up on day three, November 12th 1862, my Union army was exhausted having taken nearly twice the number of casualties as the Rebels over the previous two days of fighting. Overnight we had both made some small adjustments to our lines with Dave conceding half of West Ridge to Thomas’ men and allowing Sheridan’s division to keep a precarious foothold on the extreme west end of Black Elk Mountain.

Sunrise - General Thomas readies his corps for a third day of fighting (looking due west from behind West Ridge).

Crucially though, although all units recovered to good morale overnight, Dave had more units permanently removed from play than I had. At the start of every game each of our armies are given a ‘Army Demoralisation Level’ (DM) in this case it was 6 for the Union and 7 for the Confederates. If at any point during play the number of simultaneously broken units of one side equals or exceeds their DM the game ends immediately in a victory for the other player.

Dave allowed me to move my HQ and wagon park forward overnight to reduce the three mile hike my wagons had been making to re-supply McCook - very sporting of him!

We allowed some very limited SP recovery during the night turn but this card still came in very handy when Dave played it to help reinforce Cleburne's veterans on Black Elk Mountain.

The fighting resumed at first light but with many of my brigades seriously depleted I had cancelled all ASSAULT orders and replaced them with HOLD or ENGAGE. Brigades with ASSAULT orders are committed to closing with the enemy and attacking with the bayonet but my troops simply did not have the strength points left to succeed at this. I decided therefore to hang on and let Dave take the initiative in the hope I could break his army with rifle and artillery fire.

 The fighting resumes - Thomas and McCown square up for round two on top of West Ridge.

Dave however had decided that his best chance of victory was to order assaults with Cleburne’s division on Black Elk Mountain and McCown’s on West Ridge. The Rebs came forward and soon both sides were hotly engaged once again.

 This card helped Cleburne's veterans to clear Sheridan's division from its foothold on Black Elk Mountain.

The Rebs are now firmly back in control of Black Elk Mountain having pushed Sheridan's men back towards Stone Creek.

Cleburne’s veterans succeeded in ejecting Sheridan’s men from the mountain and soon Thomas too was under pressure, his men just managing to cling on to the eastern edge of West Ridge. At this point I was seriously considering throwing in the towel as a win now seemed out of my grasp but the troops kept at it and suddenly I realised that Dave was only one DM point away from breaking!

The Union front line on West Ridge is broken once more in the continuing 'see-saw' battle.

The boys in blue break but there are plenty of supporting brigades coming up and those running down the hill quickly reform once out of range of the Rebel guns.

Davis' brigade plugged away all morning at Breckinridge's Confederates and were eventually rewarded with the sight of a broken enemy brigade fleeing their entrenchments.

The end came at 9.30am (turn 46) when Wood’s brigade of Cleburne’s division were broken by fire on the slopes of Black Elk Mountain taking the Confederate DM to 7. Incredibly, and against the odds, Rosecrans had achieved a victory – Bragg’s army was defeated and Franklin was in Union hands…

Game over - Wood's brigade break and tip the Confederates over their army DM level. By co-incidence Wood's brigade also broke on day one during the fighting at Mt. Zion Church - I guess they don't make veterans like the used to!

 Thomas' men stream over West Ridge to liberate the town of Franklin from the Rebel yoke.

 The situation at the end of play (click on the map to zoom in).

The armies will now retire to winter quarters where a major re-fit is planned ready to resume campaigning in the spring. In the meantime keep an eye on the blog as we hope to play another AWI game and maybe try something new as well!

Randolph's Ferry - Turns 36-41

On the first day of this scenario Ian had to rethink his plans in the face of Bragg's unexpected line of heavy fortifications. He had a major success in driving away Cleburne's division from Mt. Zion Church, and after a bit of a false start came up with an effective artillery strategy -  parcelling out long range guns across the entire front, and deciding to push 12 pdr batteries right up close to our lines in support of any assaults. Crittenden's big attack had failed in the morning of day two, and now it was McCook's turn to put pressure on the Rebel left at Black Elk Mountain.

McCook's men engage the Rebs on the slopes of the mountain.

McCook did not have assault orders as his mission was to keep Bragg occupied while the main Union attack on West Ridge was driven home. But he engaged us ferociously - General Breckinridge was shot dead at 4:30pm as he rode up and down to inspire the thinning grey ranks to hold the line.  Dibrell's dismounted cavalry brigade was soon put to flight, leaving Robertson's isolated horse artillery battery holding off the attentions of a whole Yankee division on the extreme Rebel left.




Robertson's battery - temporarily out of ammo but standing firm
 and seemingly bulletproof !

McCook's corps is now miles from the Union wagon park and re-supply is a headache.
If Ian hadn't routed my rifled guns I would be lobbing shells at this lot !

It was now mid-afternoon and Thomas' corps had struck the Confederate centre and overwhelmed the artillery positions. There followed a couple of hours of classic, dramatic Civil War back-and-forth infantry action to secure the bloodsoaked soil of West Ridge.


Thomas storms the West Ridge breastworks - it's all or nothing, Rosecrans
doesn't have enough resources remaining to try again ! 

The Federal troops that overran the guns are themselves routed
 as Confederate reserves move up.

Fresh Yankees take their place ...... Union Generals Fry and Negley
both take risks, and Fry is wounded.

Tactical card played by Scribner's brigade at 4:00pm, resulting in a loss
of a massive 6 strength points from Mercer's Reb brigade.

  

Scribner's men subsequently rout - but Spear's brigade comes up and it's the turn
of the weary Rebs to skedaddle. 

'A' grade corps commander, General Hardee, takes a mortal wound in the chaos of this see-saw struggle and in the end Union forces dominate the crucial West Ridge as twilight causes the fighting to fizzle out. They have also managed to get a foothold on Black Elk Mountain as a second night descends on the battlefield. Bragg's reserves have now been forced into a desperate new defensive posture to deal with whatever the Army of the Cumberland may throw at them on day three !

Confederate line across the old Pine Trail

Loring's division forms a new position around the perimeter of Franklin, close
 to the HQ of an increasingly nervous General Bragg !

Nightfall - Nov 11th (day two)

As we concluded turn number 41 (yes, count 'em, 41 turns!) and prepared for another night turn
the Confederate DM level stood at a precarious 5.5 ... just one and a half points from total defeat.
The Union level was a much safer 3.5 and stands as a tribute to Ian's tactical skill in turning around what looked like am impossible situation for the Army of the Cumberland ! 

Randolph’s Ferry – Turns 28-35

At the start of our fifth playing session on Wednesday night I think we were both feeling that the game had reached a stalemate as it looked very unlikely that I could make any headway against Dave’s entrenched Rebel line. Crittenden’s corps had been convincingly repulsed by Polk’s men at Ranes Farm and was now in full retreat with 4 broken brigades, fortunately for me these brigades started to rally as soon as they were out of range of the Confederate artillery.

The final moments of Crittenden's attack - due to poor command die rolls it took some time for the order to disengage to filter down to brigade level.

Crittenden's new line at the Conrad House - all but one of his brigades have rallied. For a while the Union DM level reached 4.5 - at 6 the Union army would have been defeated.

By now it was early afternoon and Rosecrans needed a new plan (and a bit of good luck) if the Union flag was every going to fly again over the town hall at Franklin. I realised that Crittenden’s corps was too weak to make any further assaults and he was ordered to hold a line at the Conrad House whilst detaching Rousseau’s fresh division and sending it back to Thomas. The plan now was for Thomas to attack Bragg’s centre at West Ridge but for this to have a chance of succeeding, McCook would have to pin the Rebel left at Black Elk Mountain.

A single brigade of Wheeler's cavalry hold the extreme left of the Confederate line near Leggetts Mill. The remainder of his division can be seen in reserve behind Black Elk Mountain.

McCook's corps start to move forward towards Black Elk Mountain. Most of his brigades suffered casualties in the fighting at Mt Zion Church on the 10th and are no longer in condition to assault the Confederates but they can still mount an effective diversion.

Another view of McCooks men advancing - due to a slight screw up I was late deploying skirmishers and they had little effect on Wheeler's dismounted troopers.

The front line is now close enough to engage in a fierce fire fight with Breckinridge's infantry. I have moved all my available batteries within cannister range to support the attack. This may lead to ammo problems later as my wagons are having to make a five mile round trip from the wagon park to re-supply the guns.

With so much of the Union army in motion Bragg was desperate for information. This picture shows three Rebel couriers converging on his HQ at Franklin with urgent reports from all corners of the battlefield!

Thomas’ three divisions now moved forward across ‘the valley of death’ between Laurel Heights and West Ridge, the area dominated by the Confederate Grand Battery. The Rebel guns exacted a heavy toll on the Union infantry and soon four of Thomas’ nine brigades were shaken and unable to advance but the remaining Federal troops pushed forward determinedly right up to the enemy line.

Thomas' corps (in the foreground) begin their advance towards West Ridge. The troops on the other side of the Old Pine Trail (right distance) are McCooks.

The view from the extreme left of Crittenden's line as Thomas goes forward in the background. Crittenden has taken the precaution of ordering Palmer's 'green' division to entrench in case Polk attempts a counter-attack.

Thomas' men are starting to take casualties from the Rebel 'grand battery' on West Ridge.

Rousseau's division is on the left with Fry's on the right. The Confederate position looks unassailable.

It seemed an impossible task to get a brigade up the slopes of West Ridge to eject the Rebel guns from behind their entrenchments but in the end it all came down to one simple die roll – 4,5 or 6 and Dave’s guns would be safe, 1,2 or 3 and Morton’s brigade would be in the redoubt!

Against the odds Morton's brigade charges forward and takes the Rebel works. A great cheer goes up from the Federal infantry...

Well, the boys in blue did do the impossible and two of the Confederate batteries were immediately routed, Bragg’s centre was suddenly looking decidedly less secure.

The situation at the end of Turn 35 (3.00pm November 11th) - this is now officially the longest running table game we have ever played!

One of the great things about our rule set (even if I do say so myself) is that it recreates the see-saw nature of Civil War battles and this game has certainly rocketed out of the doldrums to become another nail-biter. At this stage the game could go either way…

Randolph's Ferry - Turns 20-27

Turn 20 was a night turn - we have some rules for re-deploying at night but unless there is a hotly contested area we don't often need to employ them, preferring to negotiate and horse trade to get what we want - and of course attempting to behave realistically !  All morale and  ammunition levels were fully restored, a few new orders were allowed to reach their destinations, but no strength point recovery was permitted.

Cleburne's division, roughly handled by McCook's Corps at Mount Zion Church, was able to retreat across the slopes of Black Elk Mountain and go into reserve near Franklin. McCook himself drew up a new line menacing the Reb's left flank, to which Bragg responded by extending his entrenchments westwards on the Mountain and transferring Wheeler's combat-weary troopers to the extreme left.

Midnight behind Confederate lines - looking NE from Bragg's HQ at Franklin
towards the Union lines at Mt. Zion Church.

The Rebs catch some uneasy sleep in the fortifications at Rane's Farm.

Wheeler's threadbare cavalry division watches Leggett's Mill for any
sign of an enemy flanking manoeuvre.

McCook's corps spends the night west of the Church, looking like they
mean business for the morning.

As the early morning mist began to clear on November the 11th, Ian started to put the new Union battle plan into motion. To my surprise McCook stayed put, and it was Crittenden (augmented with one of Thomas' Divisions) whose corps launched a heavy attack on the extreme Confederate right. To much Southern amusement it was Palmer's 'green' troops who were first to come up against our entrenchments. No need for embarrassing detail - let's just say those Ohio farm boys really know how to run . . . .

Crittenden's corps forms up to attack south of the Conrad House .....

..... and benefits from a timely tactical card.

Battle is joined - a Federal corps level attack in echelon. Palmer in the
foreground, Van Cleve just beyond.



Green troops against entrenchments ? It's not going well .....

Wood's division is the last to strike the Rebel line.



A bloody close-range firefight ensued with both sides having plenty of artillery in position to add to the carnage with cannister. As you would expect, our rules make it slightly harder to hit men in entrenchments, and there is a bonus to their morale die rolls. This is not an insurmountable advantage if you have large numbers of troops to throw against them - which Ian certainly had - but he just didn't have luck on his side and the attack faltered quickly. Union brigades with 'assault' orders could not maintain good enough morale in the hail of fire to press home with the bayonet.

On the opposite flank the bulk of Thomas' Corps is moving to support McCook and it seems likely that Rosecrans plans to attack there next if Crittenden fails.

General Thomas (centre) pushes the divisions of Fry and Negley westwards.
None of these brigades have been engaged yet.

- Click to enlarge -
Situation : Turn 27 : 11:00 am : Day Two
(Union reserve artillery batteries now distributed among corps)




Randolph’s Ferry – Turns 15-19

The action now focused on the area around Mt. Zion Church where McCook’s corps had been ordered to assault the Rebel line. It was at this point that Dave chose to reveal that Cleburne’s division, defending the church, was his one ‘veteran’ division. This didn’t unduly worry me as our rules don’t give any advantage to veteran troops when deployed in defence and the Confederates had orders to stand.

Mt. Zion Church - the focus of action for the remaining daylight hours.

I was quietly confident that McCook’s boys could dislodge the unsupported Rebel division as they had an advantage of over 2:1 in numbers. The men closed to within 300yds of the enemy line and both sides loosed off deadly volleys of musketry whilst my two artillery batteries poured canister into Cleburne’s right flank. My leading brigades now declared their intention to ‘ASSAULT’, this meant a further volley from the enemy followed by an assault morale throw. Willich’s brigade of Johnson’s division successfully drove off Colquitt but Sill’s brigade was held despite the presence in the front line of Phil Sheridan the divisional commander. Sheridan was my only ‘A’ grade commander on the field and as a result of taking this risk he was carried away cursing with a ball through the leg.

Sill's brigade in the foreground failed to dislodge the enemy brigade opposite them. Sheridan's command stand has a red 'broken' marker next to it to show that he has become a casualty - this changes the divisional command grade from an 'A' to a 'D'!

 

This card was useful during the volley firing phase of combat.

 The Confederate line starts to waver.

Further volley’s and assaults followed over the next two turns but eventually the Federal weight of numbers told and Cleburne’s ‘veteran’ division dissolved into a sea of grey clad fugitives running for the safety of Black Elk Mountain. However, it was now the turn before nightfall and too late in the day for McCook to exploit his stunning success.

McCook's corps are now firmly in possession of Mt. Zion Church.

Playing this card wasn't enough to save the Rebs!

Cleburne's division are shaken...

...and then start to run away!

Meanwhile Rosecrans had continued to concentrate his forces and Thomas’ corps was now in the area of Hendrick’s farm where he could easily support McCook or move to the centre or left as required. Rosecrans had also decided to withdraw Barnett’s exposed artillery from Laurel Heights as it was losing the contest with the entrenched Rebel artillery on West Ridge.

The Rebel artillery reserve on West Ridge were particularly effective in counter-battey fire against my guns on Laurel Heights causing a 'tactical withdrawal' to a position out of range.

Thomas' corps move up to support McCook.

 The arrival of two gunboats at Randolph's Ferry - these each have the same combat effect as a rifled battery but are currently out of range of the Confederates.

The next turn is a ‘night’ turn and both commanders will get to make some minor adjustments to their lines. This scenario does not allow for any SP recovery over night so all casualties will be carried forward into day two although all units will recover to good morale.

The situation just before nightfall at the end of turn 19 (click on the image to zoom in).