Last night the Corlears Hook Fencibles played a game of the morning fight at McPherson's Ridge, the first day of Gettysburg. The scenario came from the free scenario of the new book of Gettysburg scenarios, Summer Storm. We've been playing Bloody Big Battles a lot lately, which is a grand tactical set of rules. Each base is often 1,000 troops / 24 guns or more, each unit a large brigade or a division. I've played it at lower levels before but decided to go for broke this time with each base representing 83 troops or a pair of guns. I threw in a couple scenario specific rules but otherwise used the rules as is. I wanted to see how they held up and I wanted to play this scenario. I thought it worked pretty well.
Here's the table set up at the beginning and some opening Confederate moves. As we started play I decided to change the ratio from 2 to 3 guns per base and removed one of the Union guns. Had I done this sooner I might have scaled back the off-table Confederate artillery too.
Bill played Archer and Ken was Davis for the Confederate side. Rick had Reynolds and Meredith while I played Cutler. There was a special rule for a sniper hunting Reynolds but Rick kept him well out of harm's way all game. Reynolds survived the fight. Davis got off to a rapid start, flanking Cutler's right flank regiment, dropping troops with withering fire. In the center, the Maine artillery battery was flanked. A hail of fire dropped gunners and horses. For once I forgot to put casualty figures down.
After the long holiday layoff everyone was rusty and the game moved slowly, especially the first turn. The Confederates forgot to use their off-table artillery on their first turn. After that it hammered our position every chance it could.
Archer came under fire.
Cutler moved regiments to oppose the 42 Miss in the railroad cut, to keep them from reloading their cartridge boxes if nothing else.
Back on the right flank the 76 NY could not manage to rally and move. Every time they rallied, the Confederates would disrupt them again. But after the first rapid moves, the 55 NC moved slowly, though keeping up a steady fire. 56 PA fell back. One soldier looked around and saw Davis and his staff nearby. A shot dropped Davis, who was carried off the field with a wound that would keep the president's nephew out of action for months.
Back in the center 14 Bklyn cut into the Confederate ranks.
This stirred the rebs up and a mob came on with cold steel, catching some of Brooklyn boys before they could escape over the fence behind them. The Maine artillery pulled back too.
The fight for the railroad cut heated up.
The rookies of the 147 NY charged through rifle fire but were driven back in had to hand fighting.
On the right flank, the end came to 76 NY.
While this was happening, lead elements of the Iron Brigade came up to enfilade the railroad cut, supported by the surviving Maine artillery.
The Iron Brigade regiments charged after shot and shell tore through 42 Miss.
Meanwhile the rest of the Iron Brigade advanced against Archer.
The aftermath of the railroad cut fight seen from behind the Confederate left.
The 95 NY now went down in ahil of lead.
Archer lurched forward and drove the Iron Brigade back a short way. The fight continued.
On the Union left numbers began to tell against the rest of Davis' brigade.
Archer's brigade began to have some trouble when 14 Bkln retruned to the fray and threatened their left flank.
Back on the Union left, 6 WS defeated 55 NC in a bloody assault. This was late and I neglected to take pictures. We had played 7 of 10 turns. It looked like a marginal Union victory won at great cost.
Union losses were 1,079 and 3 guns, with another 166 who quit the field.
Confederate losses were 830 and Davis wounded, with 166 who called it a day.
The lion's share of the losses came from Cutler's and Davis' brigades. I made up some brigade fatigue rules and they aren't tough enough. Both of these brigades should have lost their starch earlier. I'll have to give it a look if we keep doing regimental level fights.
It took us 3 and a half hours to play 7 turns, which I chalk up to holiday slows.
We had some minor errors. The 14 Brooklyn were marked for a number of turns as spent, when I realized veteran troops take 3 hits before that happens. They lost the spent marker and came back into the fight. On the other flank, the raw 55 NC didn't get marked as spent for several turns after they took their first hit. This was fixed and soon the tar heels were in trouble.
The scenario is a crackerjack one. It did use up every fence I had, plus others made by Bill and I made 2 feet of new fences the day before. Throwing in stone walls and hedges almost made it. Sharp eyes will note that I don't have the right troops, what with Zouaves standing in for 14 Brooklyn chasseurs, etc. They're close enough, from the right war.
is a naval wargamer who likes the smaller scales, so who better to show us how to paint small-scale ironclads?
