This game was put on by Steve Clarke with a view to using as many of his 15mm ACW troops as we possibly could in one action !
A first for Graham and as its been a while for us too, we were a bit rusty on the rules to start with but as they are so intuitive, it came back to us pretty quickly.
Steve had the Union and Graham and I shared the Confederate command, me on the Rebel right.
The Rebels arrive on the battlefield, guns in the centre,
and on the Hill on the Rebel left,
Steve's Union infantry go on the offensive and cross the river
in strength
both centre and right of the line
Rebel gunners open fire to break up their attacks
This battery is over on our right and covering a ford
also we have a battery in a prepared position right of centre.
This is a view of the Union battery on their extreme right opening fire
The assault continues
and Union cavalry watch the infantry effort
Rebel infantry advance to the fence line
as the guns continue their pounding
The Rebs build up their strength in the fields facing the main Union attack
The Union troops are firmly across the river and the centre bridge now lies behind their lines
Reb cavalry on our right sweep forwards
Some accurate fire by Graham results in a Union commander eating the dirt !
These were the boys who caused that !
Birds eye view at this stage of the battle.
The river had been deemed fordable all along its length so infantry could get across anywhere
The Federals have moved up another battery beside the centre bridge
Wherever we look, the Union army looks powerful
Now a Union brigade is ordered forwards on their left against my troops
However, the Rebel cavalry are unsettling the Union lines
Firmly across the river in strength now, the Union troops roll forwards
A Federal attack column charges over the rail fences
Initially, the Rebs are pushed back
Graham now gets his troops lined up for a counter attack in the centre
as my cavalry boys continue to confuse the enemy - here Union cavalry have dismounted in the woods trying to keep track of them
Steve keeps coming with a big regiment of infantry
The Union cavalry get off a desultory shot at the Rebel cavalry but without much luck
Some of my cavalry have managed to catch the Berdan's Sharpshooters in the flank
and a big melee has developed in the fields in front of our entrenched gun battery
In and amongst the confusion, another Rebel cavalry unit gets in behind the Union lines
A big fire fight erupts in the centre
as Steve's large regiment slogs it out with Graham's regiments.
Now Graham is counter attacking across the river on our left
Graham has driven a wedge into the centre and the Union forces are getting split in two
Another Rebel yell as troops surge forwards
Steve's big regiment are wilting under pressure
and despite their early success, the Union regiment which attacked our fence line now finds itself surrounded on three sides
At this point, I unleashed the Virginians on our right and they punched their way through two enemy units
The Union boys pull back faced with so many enemy
and the centre is cracking
The Union regiments are now falling back on the river line
and those pesky rebel cavalry have now attacked two enemy units in the flank at the same time
just as my right flank infantry push through the woods forcing back the Berdan's Sharpshooters
Graham has now pushed an attack column through the centre against the enemy guns
as his troops on the left drive back the Union from the left bridge
Our extreme left unit is still locked in combat with determined Union infantry
Their guns in the centre have been shot to bits by Graham's attackers
My cavalry are now chasing the dismounted Union cavalry troopers
as other Rebel cavalry join in the attack on the Berdan's
With our cavalry continuing to cause mayhem behind their lines
and their troops being pushed back all along the battlefield
Steve sounds the recall and orders a general retreat.
Two exhausted gamers after a hot day in Steve's conservatory.
And just a reminder : these are the rules that give us so much fun !
Great to see Steve's 15mm ACW troops in action again. We did dice for reinforcements (which would have been troops from my collection but they never came on so they stayed in their trays throughout). Probably just as well as we had plenty on the table without them !
