"The Ideal ACW Campaign to Wargame?" Topic

I'm curious what you all think is the ideal campaign of the War from a wargaming perspective. Not your favorite, or the biggest, or the most important to the result of the War, but the one with the broadest variety of common wargaming scenarios.

My very rough criteria, that I'm using. Curious if you know of any that fit.

1) Multiple "average" sized battles between roughly balanced forces of infantry + arty, ideally with some cavalry also participating. Reinforced brigade to reinforced division in size, these would be the blueprint battles for the standard evening Wargame.

2) A bigger battle to be the capstone of the campaign, ideally with all three arms. Corp to Army sized

3) Cavalry vs Cavalry engagements, along with cavalry used during broader battles. Personal preference.

4) Interesting skirmish or company level engagements

5) At least some of the battles described above take place in what we'd consider a stereotypical wargaming terrain board, majority clear terrain with some woods and hills. Not all the battles in swamps/forests/significant use of fortifications. For ease of gaming.

6) Room for strategic decisions on the campaign gameplay level, and interesting (if not famous) commanders leading the forces.

7) Documented reasonably well in the ORs and in secondary sources.

Something that hits all of the above would be awesome, but there's gotta be something that hits most. I fear the cavalry and terrain stipulations might be the hardest.

The Shenandoah Valley, 1862.

Compact quality v, quantity. Ya gotta love any campaign where an entire division was rendered hors de combat cuz they got lost.

Valley campaign of 1864 would be my vote. New Market, Piedmont, 2nd Kernstown, and Fisher's Hill would all fit criteria (1); Cedar Creek hits (2); tons of cavalry and skirmish action; the Valley was not overly wooded; and extensively documented.

Grant's Vicksburg land campaign, after running the guns could provide many great scenarios. There is a mini board game that I saw recently that recreated it very well.

Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign
1862 Peninsula Campaign
Missouri at various times.
Grant's Vicksburg Campaign
Gettysburg Campaign, starting with Brandy Station
Antietam Campaign includes the battles for South Mountain, Harpers Ferry and ends with Shepherdstown.
link

Both Valley Campaigns

Though if you want to deviate from a single area

I tried linking all the battles where Sherman and Cleburne faced each other – lots of variety of types of actions

Shenandoah '62. The classic, the best! Hands down!

You can't go wrong with any of these. I personally would do the first Valley Campaign. We did it using the "Shenandoah" campaign system that I got from the old "Zouave" magazine.

I also have their "Peninsula" campaign. They are designed not by historical OB (but it should work with historical OB). I think it was on a point system. But it has been a while since we used it. You move on a strategic map. The roads had squares you moved on. Then when you run into each other, you fight with miniatures on random terrain.

The most interesting thing about the battles in Missouri and Arkansas is that the typical roles are reversed. The Union is the smaller army with better leaders and the Confederates have more troops with poor leaders. Lots of mounted troops.

When I had my ACW armies, they were for Missouri and Arkansas, for all the reasons mildbill states. Ironically I've never been to those states, but did grow up near Gettysburg.

Old Contemptible has it right. If you can still find a copy of that Shenandoah Valley campaign set that the old Zouave magazine produced, that is the best way to go. Our group did that campaign twice and it was fantastic each time. There's not much in the way of components, but the system they came up with works really well. We actually thought that the planning/strategy sessions where we were looking at the map and waiting for the referee to say what forces we found were nerve wracking, but fun.

I've often thought that Jackson's Valley Campaign would be interesting.

What about Sturgis' raid into Northern Mississippi. Small US corps size vs. division CS size.
Or Smith's raid against Lee culminating in Tupelo. Corps vs. Corps.

I'm going to go against the grain with suggestions that you use the Western Theater. I think the period after Stones River and before Chickamauga is an interesting contest. Another choice would be after Chickamauga to Atlanta. I have run campaigns for both of these periods and it offered ample opportunities for smaller and larger battles and cavalry actions too.

I'd have to agree with the Shenandoah Valley in either 1862 or 1864 as a good choice--a confined area, more open ground than you normally find for the ACW, forces in your described range, and very well mapped and documented. And of course once you have a campaign map for one, the other becomes feasible. There's also some smaller-scale stuff in 1863 which is seldom gamed.

Not that many of the other proposed campaigns wouldn't work, but they might require more effort.

Hood's 1864 Franklin-Nashville campaign could be interesting. I've thought of doing that myself using the Multiman Publishing Great Battles of the Civil War game for a map.

Just to be different: Wilson's Creek, 1861.

Ya gotta love Wilson's Creek.

What about the 1862 New Mexico campaign? I've always felt quite curious about it, due to its suitable to campaigning features: limited number of troops on both sides, scarcity of supplying resources, predefined pathways from one point to another, umpredictability of an eventual third force (Apaches and Kiowas)… Has anyone ever tried to game it?

Lluís

Double-blind Wilderness campaign. Best campaign I ever took part in.

B

Hi All.

"Shenandoah Valley campaign set in the old Zouave magazine"

Which issue please?

Thanks in advance.

It wasn't in a specific issue. It was a stand-alone product you ordered from them.

Thanks everyone! Ordered a couple books and downloaded the relevant ORs for the Shenandoah Valley 1864, should be fun.