The first part of a ACW campaign using the Longstreet rules. SPAV took the Union side & yours truly the Confederates. Each Brigade force is commanded by a Commander, who can have self defined attributes & a number of units. At first consisting of 3 Regiments of Infantry, 1 of Cavalry & 1 Battery of Artillery. As the Campaign progresses, units will take losses, some being removed & new units will be added to the force. The timeline & battles are a fixed number between ears 1861 to 65. As commander of a force you will receive 'glory' in the form of promotions & Epic Points awarded after battles. Your performance has no outcome on how the war ends, the emphasis is on 'how much glory you gain'. Anyway the rules are nice & straight forward.
SPAV has visited the States & loves New York. As such his Union Brigade consists of New York troops...
Colonel Jethro Bull (Mexican Veteran, Drillmaster)
3rd New York Irish
5th New York Zouaves
10th New York Zouaves
11th New York Artillery
3rd New York Horse
I went for mix bag of Confederates commanded by a very distant, little known Scottish relation of the great General Lee.
Colonel 'Throbby' Lee (Wealthy, Fire & Brimstone Preacher)
3rd Texas Volunteers
1st Mississippi Foot
2nd North Carolina Foot
1st Texas Cavalry
10th North Carolina Heavy Artillery
A bigger table would allow for a lot more movement. The small hamlet of Simpsons Creek would be on one side, small hills cover the middle & a large wood on the other side. The Union would come in from the north, the Rebs from the south.
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| The battlefield |
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| 'Colonel' Throbby Lee leads forward the Rebs |
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| The Texas Cavalry takes the field |
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| Forward the Zouaves! |
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| Two Reb Regiments would storm the centre. |
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| Union Cavalry |
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| The two NY Zouave regiments would attack the Rebel left |
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The Brigades advance, however the gap between the lake & shack would prove
to be a bottleneck. |
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| The Union Battery was ineffective against the Rebs. |
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| The Reb Battery deploys & proves just as ineffective. |
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| BOOM! |
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| The NY Irish face off against Mississippians |
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| Gradually the Rebs take some losses |
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| A nicely timed card ruins the Union Round |
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| The Reb guns find their range |
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| The Rebs slowly inch towards the Yankees |
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| The 'fates smile' & in charge the Mississippians |
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| However Irish hold & repel them |
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The Reb attack is taking shape.
However SPAV has misjudged his unit frontage, squeezing his Zouaves
through the gap would be tricky.... |
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| Whilst under constant bombardment from the Reb guns... |
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| The firefight between the Irish & Mississippians continues.... |
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| SPAV dawdles in front of Reb guns & takes more losses.... |
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| The Texans storm in.... |
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| Reb Attack! |
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| A nicely timed card & it's advantage to the Rebs |
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| The Texans charge home, I'm banking on this one... |
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On the other side, the Irish are starting to wobble.
Time for both Reb Regiments to charge in.... |
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| A big win for the Texans... |
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| ...& for the other Rebs! |
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| Losses for the Union troops & then a mandatory withdrawal... |
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| Boo! it's not the huge losses I was looking for... |
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| The Union Cavalry are brought across to steady the Union line. |
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| The NY Zouaves leg it!!!! |
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| Extra die rolls for canister at this range, losses for the North Carolina Regiment |
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| 'Throbby' Lee urges forward his men!!! |
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| SPAV desperately tries to form a new Union defensive line... |
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| OOOPs! I finallly remember I have some Cavalry & start them moving... |
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| Whoop! Whoop! In go the Rebs again... |
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The odds stack up against the Union troops.
I play extra cards to enhance the Rebel attack, adding extra dice to the attack |
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| The combat dice are to the Rebs advantage... |
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| The Union guns are sent packing.... |
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| The Irish leg it & the Union Cavalry threaten a charge.... |
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| The North Carolina Regiment takes the centre ground. |
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Whooooppee!
The Rebs are winning |
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| I bring the Texan Cavalry across, SPAV is not amused... |
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| Not liking the the position of the Union forces, SPAV decides to withdraw from the field. |
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| The memory of my troops destruction in our last game enhances his decision. |
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| The final positions |
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| A first victory for the infamous 'Throbby' Lee!!! |
Not a classic game, but it enhanced our knowledge of Longstreet. I have secret feeling that SPAV loves his Zouaves & doesn't want to lose them in battle... I'll have to target them more in our next game.
We now set about the post battle process. Dice are rolled, campaign cards drawn & charts studied. 'Throbby' Lee is promoted after gaining some Epic points. The Texan cavalry is raised to veteran status. The remaining Reb Regiments all seem to take 'alarming' losses to disease & attrition whilst in camp. However they all receive a similar amount in replacement covering the losses.
Colonel Jethro Bull is not promoted & the attrition rolls are just as bad for the Union. But on the bright side, extra guns are added to the NY Artillery & an extra Regiment is added to the Brigade. 6 Bases of the 32nd New York Infantry.
Roll on 1862!!!
