Dawn Attack - Move 1 & 2

"Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there"

Iron Maiden - Fear of the Dark
...apt I thought for obvious reasons! 😏

Without further ado then - let's on with the game...

As per the scenario setup the Confederate commander dices for when his columns are spotted - for the southwestern (bigger) column the Union outposts are obviously vigilant as they are spotted on a 1 and a 2.

To the east they are not quite so observant - throwing a 3 and a 4.


The above pictures show the setup at the beginning of the game - the southwestern column above and the eastern column below, bathed in a (photo editor inspired) gloom..

The Union outposts are the dismounted cavalry I completed recently..

Move 1:

Confederate movement:

In Regimental Fire and Fury movement and firing is diced for with a D10; DG and I always use two D10's when a roll is required (dividing the result by 2) as we found the results were just two variable using one dice; the variance can be huge…

For the first move then, both columns threw "well handled" and moved the full distance..

Union movement:

First outpost started heading towards the camp - you can almost see the dust is heels are kicking up in the following.


Move 2:

Confederate movement:

The southwestern column stumbles in the dark - it must be that gap between the fields that has slowed them down - they get a "tardy" result (move half). The eastern column pushes on - there's a possibility they may overrun the Union outposts...

Union movement:

First outpost has almost reached the camp - the second outpost is activated. The two outposts covering the eastern approach have yet to see anything..

Dawn Attack - Scenario setup #2

Before I launch into the next part of the scenario introduction, I have decided to amend the scenario introduction described in the previous post (#1)...

I was in two minds when I originally decided the orders of battle, as I only gave the Union commander two regiments of foot (albeit with gun). Further thought however (I blame the rush of oxygen to the brain while cycling to work), reinforced my opinion that if we were to have a closer game, then the Union commander needed reinforcing. The Teasers are remarkably elegant and the orbats that Charles Grant provides are an integral part of the Teaser, just as much as the back ground and the mechanisms. In this case a read of the mechanisms gives the clue as to why in the original teaser the side occupying the camp has a significant numerical advantage (12 units versus 8 for the attacker) - the mechanisms in question are described lower down..

Accordingly, I have added another regiment of foot to the Union OOB, and added an additional building to the camp, as follows (as usual, click on any of the pictures for a gratifyingly bigger view):



Updated legend is now as follows:

1. The gun (deployed)
2. 3 stands of infantry - 8th Ohio
3. 2 stands of infantry - 8th Ohio
4. Artillery crew/limber
5. 3 stands of infantry - 67th Ohio
6. 2 stands of infantry - 67th Ohio
7. 2 stands of infantry - 14th Indiana
8. 2 stands of infantry - 14th Indiana

It may well be that this is still not enough, but I have some scope to "trim" the scenario further by adding additional troops to the Union OOB - an additional gun..

This is how I'm tracking where everyone is by the way - an A3 sized print of the village allows me to put the relevant troops where they are quartered - much easier to track..

..and without further ado, here is the rest of the scenario setup...

Orbat:

For simplicity I left all troops as basic ie. trained, with no exceptional colonels etc etc.

All infantry are armed with a rifled musket, with bayonet...

I’m going to treat the bigger of the two Confederate columns as a “brigade” which in Regimental Fire and Fury means the impetus dice applies to both units (providing they are in command) giving greater control, the other column will be treated as an independent.

The Union regiments will act as independents, until (or should that be if??) they manage to form a cohesive line when I will consider brigading them.




Scenario Introduction Part 2

As each grid is alerted, each stand of infantry within the grid throws two dice which will decide its action as shown in the tables below. The artillery (crew and limber) are considered a single element.

Tables:

Infantry dice score:
2	Break and run, unarmed : cannot be rallied*, retire to the north (NB. North is bottom in the picture of the camp.
3	Break and run, armed. Take the shortest route out of the camp. May be rallied when out of camp if not attacked.
4	Stand for three periods during which they will run if attacked, but may be rallied. Throw again after three periods.
5 & 6	Stand two periods then throw again. They may defend themselves if attacked.
7	Stand two periods, then deploy out of camp moving north.
8 & 9	Stand two periods then deploy out of camp by the shortest route
10 & 11	Stand one period then deploy out of camp by the shortest route.
12	Deploy out of camp by the shortest route in the next period.

* Bases are considered disordered so dice on standard "Disordered Troops" column to rally..

Artillery dice score:
.	Limber	Crew
2	Horses bolt	Gunners run
3	Horses bolt	Gunners retire de-moralised north but may be rallied out of camp.
4	Half the horses bolt, the remainder controlled by gunners who take six periods to prepare the gun for movement. Will break and run if attacked.
5	Horses retained, gunners take six periods to prepare guns for movement but stand and fight or fire if attacked in the last three periods.
6	Horses retained, gunners take five periods to prepare for movement but will fight or fire if attacked in the last three periods.	Gunners move to man gun.
7	Horses retained but guns cannot be moved.
8	Horses retained, gunners take four periods to prepare guns for movement but will stand and fight or fire if attacked after the first period.
9 & 10	Horses retained, gunners take three periods to prepare guns for movement but will stand and fight or fire if attacked.
11 & 12	Horses retained, gunners take two periods to prepare guns before moving out of camp. Will fight or fire if attacked.	Gunners run

Horses bolting and troops running

• When horses bolt, or troops run, they move at 2/3 speed through the camp in the direction indicated by throwing a direction dice (alternatively throw two dice - with 12 being 12 o'clock or due north and so on round the clock face, one o'clock being the only direction to be unrepresented).


• On meeting an obstacle (tent/house/barn etc.) they will go right or left (odd or even dice throw) and continue in the original direction.


• Any bolting or running moves are compulsory and are done before normal moving at the start of a period.


• Any unit or person in the way must be able to move out of the way or in the case of bolting horses, they will be run down.


• Similarly, in the case of running infantry, anyone in the way must throw a D6, three or more being required to avoid being swept up in the rout.


• Each period the bolting horses may throw one dice, a six being required to halt them. Once out of the camp, the horses move at normal speed and continue in the same direction by-passing all units.

Optional Rule(s)

• Any Confederate unit attacking into the camp will move at half speed, but will have no penalty for disorganisation, whereas all Union forces fight disorganised in the camp (half points for firing/-1 in melee).
  
  This one is harsh, and was present in the original scenario. More than anything else I believe it explains the numerical superiority of the defender in the original scenario.
  
  Given the far lower superiority in numbers in my scenario however, the Union commander is going to be fighting at enough of a disadvantage that I can leave this one out. If he was to have more troops, then I would consider bringing this one back in..
  
  
• The original scenario has the option of suspending half movement when the columns are spotted - the assumption being that it is dawn. An alternative, to slow down the Confederate approach - is to assume dawn finishes as they reach the camp..
  
  
• The original scenario has the option to cause the attacking Confederate columns to be sent off in random directions (as a result of confusion in the dark) - I'm not using them..

Winning/Losing Conditions

Straight from Mr Grant

"The Union force will have won if it rebuffs Confederate and defeats him causing him to withdraw, while Confederate will win if Union is decimated or driven from the table".

Next post move 1...

Terry Wise...

I've just read that Terry Wise, another of the old guard, has passed on...

I think I've had a copy of his book "Introduction to Battlegaming" in my possession since I bought it in one of the second hand bookshops in Canterbury when I was at university back in '82, but I remember religiously borrowing it from the library every month as a youngster at least ten years before that....

...of all the wargaming books that I used to read from the library in those days (and heaven knows there weren't many wargaming books) this, and Featherstone's "Wargames" must have been on almost permanent loan to me!

The original announcement is here:

http://theminiaturespage.com/plus/msg.mv?id=149106

The Vintage Wargaming blog is planning to run some of his classic articles - one to watch:

http://vintagewargaming.blogspot.com/2010/08/terry-wise.html

...I'll hoist a beer in his memory, and remember the pleasure he gave me from his book, in the garage tonight - sad news...

Dawn Attack - Scenario setup - #1

Dawn is about to break

A Union force comprising two regiments of foot, and a section of artillery (one 12pdr Napoleon) is camped around the gulley dominating a major road. They have been told to expect a Confederate attack but they are not expecting it to be so soon – they have placed a number of outposts (4) to act as pickets.

The Confederate force comprising 3 regiments of foot moves onto the table in two columns from east and south west in period one. Dice for which regiment is in which column but there has to be a minimum of one regiment in each.

All movement is at half move distance only, because of the darkness.

The Confederate commander throws one dice for each half of his force to determine in which period (1 to 6) the nearest outpost sees them (2 outposts per column).

If a Confederate column can reach the camp before any of the outposts can see them (using half distance movement as before), they are considered captured and the alarm is triggered when the force touches the edge of the camp. Otherwise, the outpost starts moving towards the camp (infantry rate) on the turn indicated.

Once an outpost sees the enemy approaching, or the Confederates reach the camp, it may be considered to be light enough for all units to move at normal speed.

The outpost must reach the camp area before any movement may begin in the camp. From the point at which the outpost reaches the camp, the warning spreads inwards through the camp at the rate of 10 cm’s per period.

All movement within the camp area is half speed.

Union forces units are laid out in the camp as shown in the following. The grid is 10cm square.

Legend:

1. 3 stands of infantry – 8th Ohio
2. Artillery crew
3. The gun (deployed)
4. 2 stands of infantry – 8th Ohio
5. Artillery limber
6. 3 stands of infantry – 67th Ohio
7. 2 stands of infantry – 67th Ohio

As each unit is alerted, that is, when it comes into the gradually expanding arc of ten cm’s a period, it throws two dice which will decide its action.

I'll describe these actions in the next post.

Credits: This scenario is of course a re-working of Charles Grant's excellent "Dawn Attack" Teaser [click here] from the October '78 issue of Battle magazine.

Bengal Lancers

I want some of these - but in 15mm - need to start doing some research!

..these are from John Moher's website at http://wargaming.info/