"Battles with Model Soldiers" - "Game 2" - Setup and Game

..it was this version
I had on almost permanent loan from
the library as a much younger
Steve the Wargamer; now in my
collection

Back in the day I was glued to this book almost as much as I was "War Games", an absolutely pivotal moment for me was the chapter 'Three Basic Battles' where Don played a simple game three times, each time introducing new troop types.. seems stupidly simplistic now, but at the time, for me it was exciting stuff - it showed how a wargame worked, what the thought processes were, and what was being done - sounds stupid I know, but back then not a lot of us knew what a wargame was, or how it was done..  55 years later and I'm still here... 

So it was that in March 2010 I played Game 1 [clicky] as I was right at the beginning of the American Civil War project, and these three games had featured American Civil War forces, it had seemed like a good idea to use the scenario as a simple play test of the 'Regimental Fire and Fury' rules I was proposing to use for the project..

Fast forward (or rather slow forward given it's taken 10 years!) and in the interim I came to the conclusion that I simply couldn't devote the time and energy required to learn how to play 'Regimental Fire and Fury' well ..  they are a lovely set of rules, but simply too complicated for my tastes..  every unit had several moral grades, several strength possibilities, several choices of armament - just too much to keep track of, and I don't play often enough not to have to re-learn the rules every time I play them.

So I tried Ross McFarlane's [clicky] "Hearts of Tin" a few times (I like them), but then a year or two ago DG and I were playing one of the One Hour Wargame scenario's and we decided to use the rules direct from the book - after the game we had one of our usual excellent back and forth's about how we could 'improve' the rules, and as a result now have a set that I like very much... at their heart they have a dice driven activation mechanism, that with one small change, also makes them excellent for solo games..

...and then a recent post by Norm [clicky] finally stung me into action.. time to play game 2!!

Game 2 then - same battlefield as Game 1, just add cavalry for this game.. Union at bottom, Confederates at the top..  a lone Union supply wagon realises they have got caught up in the middle of something they don't want to be mixed up in... 

End Turn 1 (in each case following):

Infantry have deployed to march column to allow quicker movement. The Union cavalry are better placed to occupy the wall and have darted forward..  the wagon is legging it...

End Turn 2:

With the benefit of a better initiative the Confederate cavalry has reached the wall but currently still mounted... the Union cavalry opens fire but at that range have little chance of doing any serious damage...

End Turn 3:

Confederate cavalry have dismounted into the shelter of the wall - both sides are attemting an outflanking manoeuvre..

End Turn 4:

Fire-fight! Neither side can summon up the enthusiasm to charge home... Union shooting is good..

End Turn 5:

That Confederate outflanking manoeuvre is looking good - in the meanwhile though the lead continues to fly with varying levels of accuracy..

End Turn 6:

The Confederates have drawn off at least one of the Union regiments but can they take advantage of it?

End Turn 7:

Fire-fight.. the Confederate zouaves have broken and run..

End Turn 8:

The departure of the Confederate zouaves triggers an advance by the Union infantry regiment, funnily enough the Confederate infantry do the same - in a one on one fire-fight with a zouave regiment they are already disadvantaged (I give zouave regiments a +1 on firing)

End Turn 9:

The Confederates know they've lost - this was about the sixth or seventh turn in a row where they lost initiative..  the Confederate cavalry pull back before they are broken..

End Turn 10:

The Union cavalry mounts as faces off - not as stupid as it sounds as the two units were within a point of each other in terms of strength.

End Turn 11:

It's not obvious but there has been a fierce cavalry melee in this turn - both sides have inflicted casualties, but neither have inflicted enough, and so have withdrawn to draw breath

...and at that point the Confederate commander ceded the day, and the battlefield, and withdrew...  a fun little tussle!

...and just for fun, and because the battlefield was already set up I also played a "Game 4" with two infantry and the artillery...  there's a surprising amount of fun to be had on a four foot table and just a small handful of units...   given we're on lockdown, and I'm working from home, it's also nice to just swivel my chair round and do a game move when I feel like it!

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