"Neil Thomas ACW" Topic

Over the weekend I tried out an ACW game using the rules in 'Wargaming: An Introduction'. My experience was slightly disappointing.

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I rallied, tweaked the rules a little, and tried again this evening. The result was a lot better (even if the photos weren't).

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I see one of your problems with the rules was the lack of effectiveness of a charge. Surely that is a reflection of the period? Charging formed troops who can get in several shots at you whilst you are running proved to be a disastrous tactic in the ACW, especially if those troops had the benefit of cover. "Softening up" the enemy with artillery and your own firepower was essential if you were to have any hope of taking a position by frontal assault- look at what happened to Pickett's Charge.

Nice looking games

I have to agree – in the ACW a charge against steady and unshaken infantry was almost never successful – you have to, as noted by Dave, "soften them up" with some artillery or infantry fire before you charge in

On the other hand, there were some very successful charges during the war. Hood's brigade at Gaines' Mill, Meade's division at Fredericksburg, Barksdale's brigade at Gettysburg, Thomas' infantry at Missionary Ridge are some.

A rule that makes frontal charges a waste of time does not allow for these. I'm a fan of Neil Thomas' rules but that doesn't mean I agree with everything he's done.

Maybe the way he handles charges will make more sense in future games. My reservations were that he makes it so difficult to do that he may as well just have said 'No Charges' and be done with it (or 'No charges, unless the following apply …). This would certainly be within the way he seems to design his rules.

I shall see how further games pan out.

Foot charges would usually end in the target falling back before contact or the assaulter stoping short to shoot. Needs a "test of nerve " test

martin

he may as well just have said 'No Charges' and be done with it

The ACW rules in his 1-hour wargames book say that very thing. Troops – including cavalry – cannot come to a base to base melee.

I've played maybe half a dozen games with these rules – I really like them. I do not recall any successful charges in any of those games, but that may change as my fellow gamers and I become more familiar with the rules (and I paint more units for the table!). There's always plenty of movement back and forth as units take casualties, draw back, rally, and get back after it. But mostly units bog down in firefights. Managing to avoid traffic jams and having support available to relieve front line units really matters. It all seems roughly consistent with the Civil War history I've read.

Thanks for posting these reports – its always interesting to see what others do with these rules.

"its always interesting to see what others do with these rules."

Actually i'd be interested in seeing what you've done with them :)

In the second post I outlined the changes I made for the game. With regard to being able charge, the rules have it less likely the lower in quality the troops are. This makes earlier armies, with more militia troops, less likely to try and initiate a charge, whereas the reverse would seem to be true; it was the later armies that seemed reluctant to close. Longstreet gets around this by differentiating between skill/training and enthusiasm. In keeping with the simple Thomas approach I'd either make the charge roll a basic 5 or 6 regardless of quality, thus making it a lottery regardless of year and army, or actually make it dependent on the year – a 4-6 in 1861, 5-6 in 1862-63 and a 6 in 1864-65. Not necessarily strictly accurate, but certainly within the spirit of the original rules.

Fair enough, KK. I'm a Luddite when it comes to this sort of thing, but I'll do my best to take pictures and post next game I play.

That's a great idea – varying the possibility of a charge by the year – that sounds historically accurate to me (realizing there are always exceptions in reality).

The major change I've made is to limit rallies to two per unit per game – that is, a unit can recover up to two stands per game. I just don't think unlimited rallies are realistic, and at some point the game has to end. Along that line of thought, my friends and I have limited our last two games to 15 rounds, and that gives us a good three hour game – enough time to maneuver a bit, but no one can dwaddle too long. I've also added credit of +1 here and there when brigadiers are attached – to the charge, morale, and rally rolls. Other than that, so far we've basically played the rules as written.

I think I'll try to get in a game this weekend…

A friend suggested a simple way to make charges less likely as the war progresses – you roll a D6 and need to score greater than the final digit of the year in which the game is set – 2+ in 1861, 3+ in 1862 and so on. Delightfully elegant, I thought.

I'm about to read the rules and will keep your helpful movement rules in mind.