Longstreet 4 Player Campaign Game 2 - Battle of Cow Run

So Game 2 of this four player Longstreet Campaign sees Dave and I win the scouting role and electing to defend. The two scenarios combined together are the Railway Embankment and the Outflanking.

I line up my Tennessee men along the railway with plans to place my guns on a nearby hill supported by cavalry and my reinforcements. Dave defends the tree line and a stone wall. Our plan is to hold the first attack and then counter charge the Bluebellies. The Yankee tactic is to blast the railway embankment with artillery while charging the Rebel right.

Here’s our forces...

Alan - Colonel Firefly from Massachusetts (European Service & Artillery Officer &

Friend in the State House) 44 Bases

5th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry S R 5 Bases

9th Massachusetts Infantry S R 6 Bases

14th Massachusetts Infantry E R 8 Bases
21st Massachusetts Infantry E R 10 Bases
4th Boston Light Cavalry E R 6 Bases

2nd US Cavalry E R 5 Bases

4th Battery Light Artillery 1 x 6lbr 1 x Howitzer
7th Auxilary Art Coy 2 x Howitzer

Dave - Colonel Leghorn from Alabama (Scout & Cavalry Officer & Indian Wars) 36 Bases

3rd Alabama Infantry E R 7 Bases + Hero

1st Alabama Infantry S R 7 Bases

14th Alabama Infantry S R 4 Bases
2nd Alabama Infantry E R 8 Bases

1st Alabama Volunteer Cavalry S R 6 Bases

1st Battalion Alabama Artillery 1 x 6lbr 1 x Howitzer
2nd Battalion Alabama Artillery 2 x 6lbr

Peter - Colonel Clampett from Tennessee (Drillmaster & Artillery Officer & Personal Physician) 38 Bases

14th Tennessee Infantry E R 8 Bases + Hero

7th Tennessee Infantry E R 7 Bases

Walkers Legion E R 8 Bases

2/22 Tennessee Cavalry S R 4 Bases
2nd Tennessee Cavalry E R 6 Bases

Baxters Artillery Company I Batt  2 x 6lbr 1 x Howitzer
Baxters Artillery Company II Batt 1 x Nap 1 x LR

Stu - Colonel Zook from New York (Political Savvy & Indian Wars) 40 Bases

52nd New York Infantry German Ranger or Sigel Rifles S R 3 Bases

53rd New York Infantry D'Epinuil Zouaves S V 6 Bases + Hero 'old Reliables'
57th New York Infantry National Guard Rifles E R 5 + Hero
66th New York Infantry Governors Guard E R 10 Bases
140th Pennsylvania Infantry E R 10 Bases
2nd New York Volunteer Cavalry S R 4 Bases

Harris Light Battery B 1st New York Light Artillery 1 x 6lbr 1 x Howitzer

Let the game begin!

Colonel Leghorn won the scouting roll and chose to defend. The Rebels were well placed behind a railway embankment and a stone wall, in woods and with a nicely placed hill in their centre the perfect spot for a battery or two.The Yankees to the left below just lined up. Colonel Zook's plan was to attack the Rebel right and centre and place all their artillery on the long hill on their own right.

Turn two and the Yankees move forward and the Rebs place their guns on CowHill on the centre of the battlefield, the creek in the foreground near the railway line is Cow Run...

The Rebel right in the foreground they are deploying toward the centre of the battlefield to link up with Cow Hill and their armies left. In the background wave after wave of Colonel Firefly's enthusiastic Yankees advance covered by the hill and fields...

Turn three the Confederates stay to the plan and deploy two batteries onto Cow Hill, beyond the road Yankee artillery can be seen on the move while their infantry advance...

Overview of the battlefield on Turn four the Yankees to the left the Confederates to the right, the 6mm figures look good manoeuvring about the table...

The Yankee right one battery on the long hill is already in action two more are about to unlimber. The measuring stick on the left is the range of musketry and Zook's Yankees are carefully staying out of the range of the defenders...

Meanwhile the Yankee left is moving into charge range. The cover helps them and the Rebel infantry fire is of limited effectiveness...

Turn five and the Yankees bring the gun crews on Cow Hill under fire wiping out a battery as they kill two bases of guns, the return artillery fire is poor even though colonel Clampett is on the spot to direct the gunners

Turns six to ten for some reason I forgot to take many pictures! Perhaps I was thrown off when I split one beer and caused another froth up...not a good night! anyway during these turns the Yankee left launched two successful charges and Colonel Firefly's boys in blue got the better of the Rebs. Colonel Foghorn Leghorn wasn't helped rolling a SIX when the 'They Couldn't Hit an Elephant...' card was played against him on turn eight and he lost a whole turn.

The Union right tried charging up Cow Hill and splitting the Rebel army but they were unlucky as Colonel Clampett's reserve Regiment, Walkers legion arrived in the nick of time to assist the gunners.

The Rebs of Colonel Leghorn straightening their line around turn ten...

The Yankee right turn nine near the top left the 140th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment can be seen after an unsuccessful assault on Cow Hill...

Last turn, eleven and the game ends in a Confederate Victory, the Yankee's thinking discretion is the better part of valour decided to withdraw from the field of conflict and lick their wounds leaving the ground in Rebel hands. Maybe their commanders feared a Rell Yell inspired Confederate counter attack?

 Overall view of the Rebel left at the end of game...

Cows Hill turn 11 the gunners were lucky the reserve Rebel infantry were able to deploy themselves to be art on any Yankee charge! Lesson learned artillery by itself is not impregnable against large units of infantry armed with rifled muskets...

Three pictures of the Yankee left and Rebel right were still in good shape and Colonels Firefly and Foghorn were squaring up against each other as the battle ended...

Battle Summary:
Break Point was 37 Bases

Losses:
USA 20 Bases
CSA 9 Bases

Epic Points:
Alan 5 Campaign Total 11
Dave 4 Campaign Total 13
Pete 4 Campaign Total 9
Stu 2 Campaign Total 5

Campaign Game 3 looks interesting as our forces develop. There are now a few Veteran Regiments but more importantly some units have been whittled down to only a few bases, one being down to just two! These will prove brittle in battle and we're all waiting until 1863 when we can start to create Provisional Regiments!

The Big Gun AAR - The Great Antipodean Adventure

The Background

Sunday the 20th of May 1932 and the All for Australia Party's 17th Volunteer Rifle Company entered Beaconsfield Park with the intention of recovering the old 18lber Gun kept there, little did they know the Anglican's of the 2nd Sydney Regulars where attempting the same mission... 

Captain Bruce Beatty signals his men forward along William Street adjacent to the Beaconsfield Park in search of heavy ordinance known to be there...

Battle:                         The Gun

Location:                     Sydney NSW

Date:                            20^th May 1932

Commanders:             

Weather:                     Fine Still Mid Afternoon Visibility 48”

Notes:                         Orders for both sides that can’t be changed:

                                     ‘seize the gun in the park and return with it’

The Forces

All For Australia Party 17^th Volunteer Rifle Company.

Ford 'Randwick' Armoured Car with 5 Volleys

Crossley Truck

Unit ID. Name	Figures	Officer Grade	Unit Initiative	Morale	Volleys		Notes
Command Section	2	3	3	4	5
Section 1	8	3	4	4	8
Section 2	8	3	4	4	8
Section 3	8	3	4	4	7

Anglican League 2^nd Sydney Regulars

Crossley Armoured Car with 3 Volleys

FordTruck

Unit ID. Name	Figures	Officer Grade	Unit Initiative	Morale	Volleys		Notes
Command Section	2	3	3	4	6
Section 1	8	3	4	4	8
Section 2	8	3	4	4	5
Section 3	8	3	4	4	7

The Game...AAR

I'm going to let the pictures tell the tale here with some inspiring captions!

Turn one and both side enter in line abreast formation and head straight for their prize, the 18lber Gun!

 Turn two and the antagonists close to point blank range...the initiative on Turn three would be telling... 

Turn three and even at close range as both sides are moving and their are no elite or regulars in the line and their fire is surprisingly ineffective!

 Turn four and the now stationary troops start to hit the mark, amidst the hail of lead the Anglicans hitch the vital Gun up to their Ford truck...

A period picture of the Randwick Armoued Car in action...it was a frightening beast the Anglican survivors later stated...here it is seen scoring telling hits on the Anglican truck with its HMG, it hit the motor and front tyres, during the barrage the driver to fled!

 After stalling for a turn due to a random event the Anglicans Crossley Armoured Car races around the All for Australia boys flank...

The Anglicans getting the worst of the fire fight make a last ditch attempt to recovery the gun unhitching it from the damaged truck...they would push it away from the action. A call went up '"The Lord's with us lads!" the only thing for sure was many of these lads would soon be meeting their Lord!

The Anglican truck Driver Bruce Jones after fleeing his vehicle which was riddled by bullets from the Randwick Armoured Car is in the foreground of this picture, a random event delayed his rally attempt as he settled down for a brew or two purely for medicinal reasons of course!!!!!!!

Sergeant Bruce Anthony on the right of the All for Australia Party's force egged his men on against the Anglicans Crossley, "Come on lads lets show this Tin Can what our Molotov Cocktail can do...pass me the matches...who brought the matches...no matches errr..." the attacked failed!

The Randwick Armoured Car meanwhile circled around the Anglican line and mowed down their Commander Colonel Bruce Brady and his entourage with its last volley...drunk Driver Bruce Jones standing in the line of fire survived and next turn he reboarded his damaged Ford truck and limped away from the action in it! Hidden by the trees in the picture the 17th Volunteer Rifles score hit after hit decimating the Anglicans lines...

The Anglican Cossley Armoured Car retires its munitions spent and shocked at the daring if ineffective Molotov Cocktail attack!

A period picture of the carnage, Captain Bruce Beatty Commanding the 17th Volunteer Rifle Company commented to his Aide "Crickey I haven't seen butchery like this since we took on the Box Heads while taking the Hindenberg Line during the Great War..fun isn't it!"

Overview at the end of when we called the game during Turn 9 with three to go the Anglican Leagues force was obliterated it was a forgone conclusion that the All for Australia Party's  men were guaranteed the recovery of the 18lber Gun!

Another good run through of the rules. We are going to tweak some of the Modifiers for fire and Morale. Next game we really need to wind back our units Morale levels, in this game three sections simply stood firm even with over 50% casualties and were just cut down in place. Interestingly even though our units were within charging range no one wanted to risk a melee. Next game will be the real thing as we think we've got A World Aflame to a sweet spot! I'll write up a summary of our customisations soon in a separate post.

Thanks for looking! I've got a Longstreet AAR I still need to write up!