The Restoration of the Grand Wargaming Project - Some Life Changes (Skip the First Half Please if you have Strayed Here !)

 

It has been a long time since I posted here. Nobody reads this blog which is good so I will self indulge. I like it as a record of a big hobby idea that hasn't really died. I hate starting things and not finishing them ! Not so with life - it will have an end. My thoughts have very much been on how to fill what time I have left usefully  

Over the last four years a lot has happened for me both personally and professionally. Simply put following a bit of a rout on all fronts I have rallied my tiny troops and their supplies at a new location - a 17th Century farmhouse in Dorset with a nice garden. A lot of space for an unmarried man to rattle around in. This stuff happens unfortunately so time for a rethink.  I have plenty of space - a study, painting room and a large flagged hall (which used to be the farm kitchen) in which I reckon I could fit a decent size table. I'll come back to that and what I want to do with Hasty Works and the whole ACW project. 

I have had some other priorities to attend to just lately. The sale of another property, getting my parents who are both not suffering from dementia in their mid 80's into residential care, moving twice personally and finally washing up at my new base in Dorset. After getting back on an even keel with life I have undertaken some strategic planning as to how I spend my own time for this "final extended session" of play. After four years retired and aged 57 I decided I wasn't really firing on all cylinders and that I had a bit more to "give". I applied through the Department of Education for a teacher training place at University. Back to College at 57.  I polished my shoes, buffed up my CV, located some qualifications, convinced a couple of people to provide a reference and queued up for a series of interviews in competition with some vibrant young people less than half my age. I fixed on Primary Education as this seemed to offer the opportunity to teach a broad range of subjects at a foundational (business critical !) level. Most importantly I can take on an annual responsibility for the education of a whole class of small humans. I have time to impact perhaps ten classes over a decade and beyond dependent on my continued fitness and energy levels. You teach "everything" - Maths, English, Science, History and Geography, Music, Art, Physical Education, a bit of French maybe (Sacre Bleu mon Empereur !), IT, Design and Technology and I think now "Citizenship" is on the cards. 

So this September I am heading off to Bath Spa University for 3 weeks and then a day a week to study for my PGCE for a year to gain "Qualified Teacher Status". I had a choice really between there and Southampton but there is something about the South West rather than the South Coast. It's always good at my age to be out of the orbit of London. Cambridge wouldn't have me back on the basis I got a "Desmond" back in the last Century. Not sure I would want to teach in the Fens in any event. So for 4 days a week I will be apprenticed in a classroom somewhere within a 45 minute drive of my village so that covers really Dorset down to the coast and up into Somerset - possibly as far across as East Devon.  It's very exciting - I am specialising teaching 7 to 11 year olds. I am though having fun at the moment learning phonics for the ever so litt'luns. 

There is some method in my madness. Fully 1 in 3 Primary Schools in England have no male teachers at all and only 1 in 7 teachers are male and it's not getting any better. This at a time when there has been lot of criticism of and discussion of the crisis facing "boys and young men". Well, it's agreed that it helps if boys are confident when entering secondary education and feel that learning is very much something for them. I also believe this as a truth from the pedagogy. Both boys and girls benefit from having both male and female teachers as good role models. For boys coming from a home with no male role model and then being taught only by female teachers it's easy to see how, education aside, they might not "see" themselves as wedded to learning. I know my own reading habits, attitude to learning, hobbies, basic confidence were pretty much set by the time I was 11. I was reading, running, singing, sailing, swimming, playing the piano, drawing birds from my binoculars and moving airfix and Britains figures around a table and rolling dice.  If you went to a library in the 70's and you discovered Donald Featherstone and your collection of Toy Soldiers now had endless possibilities. It just strikes me that all of the things I have done through life I was pretty much interested in and doing by the age of 11. I was on an allotment planting seeds when I was 6 and I watched my Dad cook for me when my Mum was at work on a Saturday. That was a ritual. 

I have spent the last year tutoring disadvantaged pupils at a number of schools in groups of 1-3. Typically 9-11 year olds in the two year run up to their first formal exams. I have a good idea now that I really enjoy teaching and that it will be sustainable and rewarding through into my 60's. Every hour spent teaching at the moment I walk away with something else to think about. Not about how I feel it went - but objectively looking at the session from their point of view. It's rigorous. Once I got  my first little thank you note - misspelt in unsharpened "HB" with a crossed out and redrafted doodle of a smiling potato head man there was no looking back. 

So I have four weeks until University starts, again, for me. You can see why I haven't been wargaming, or in fact birdwatching or growing vegetables for a while. I have been refitting and repurposing myself. It was needed. Enough -  I'll get back on topic. Enough of me. 

So literally where we and when was it  ? Week 1 of August 1861. On the eve of a First Mannassas with a hiatus to paint up the forces needed to get that battle ton the table. The system or campaign rules for working SPI's War Between the States 1861-65 for the Strategic war together with tabletop battles using Volley and Bayonet had been tested and proven. The war was very much underway with some stories emerging. The death of Lyons at the battle of Rolla in Missouri despite a small union victory. Missouri had come out for the confederacy but the combined forces of the Missouri State guard were no match for a smaller Union force stiffened by US regulars. The pursuit then of Price, South towards safety. In the East the first tentative moves of the Union main army into North Virginia. The reinforcement historically early by the Army of the Shenandoah of the Army of the Potamac. A face off between two green forces numbering some 30,000 bayonets each. Frenzied recruitment on both sides. An Ocean of a land continent the size of Western Europe - a battlefield stretching thousands of miles from the semi tropical swamps of Florida to the grass plains abutting Canada and from the Atlantic seaboard of the Carolinas to Oklahoma in the West. All with Virginia as the cockpit of the war. Richmond and Washington no more than a good day's ride apart. 

So I have had a think for two years and I want to make now some changes. I do like Volley and Bayonet but it is not a system designed specifically for the ACW. It is focused at the Brigade level and works for large battles. The look on the tabletop just wasn't doing it for me. All of the units in their "blocks" require you to imagine the individual regiments and battalions. There is little in the way of formations - the modelling of morale and movement is somewhat stylised. It's not too late andwith the campaign just started I make a quick change. 

I have decided that the link up from the map to the tabletop will now be the Fire and Fury ruleset. I just prefer the look and the way they play. Here are some key considerations for me :-

(1) Each brigade is modelled as a set of bases that accurately show the size of a unit. So a division of 4,000 men (an I4 counter on the map) would convert fully to 20 bases on the tabletop (each base representing 200 men at 10 mm scale. That could be modelled as two brigades of ten bases or three brigades of perhaps 5, 6 and 9 bases. Divisions will retain their integrity - brigades can be sloughed off  but within a counter different units might take unequal casualties. There is always the capacity to fold together brigades for the battlefield. There is room for variation. Casualties on the battlefield are modelled by the loss of bases rather than simply strength points on a roster with each brigade looking identical in modelled form from the start to finish of a battle. I can track individual battalions within divisions with greater detail as to their losses and morale and experience from game to game. Those effects really play out in the detail of the rules - to move, shoot and fight. There is a real friction but graded. I can have specialist regiments within Brigades e.g. Zouaves;

(2) Larger brigades can be modelled as separate battalions where needed. The formations allow for brigade lines (all battalions/regiments in line) or supported lines. Brigade lines can support other full  Brigade lines or Brigades can be split into their Battalion components to support themselves. The look is just better - At a glance a strong unit can be told apart from a weaker unit. You can read the battlefield - there is a capacity for gaps. Units are visibly outflanked - Lines can be "refused" - broken units can be represented as a rabble. Battalions and Brigades can fit to linear features such as sunken roads, hasty works and stone walls;

(3) During an actual battle there is less need for bookkeeping for unit strength. Each brigade has a label which shows its casualty progress as a collapsing balloon and this can be affected by both training or experience  (see below) and recent morale affects  (so fresh, worn and then spent but nuanced to allow for reliable, unreliable or spirited, unspirited). There is the potential then  to add another layer of morale indicators based on performance - e.g. a new unit, following a long march, perhaps a leader has been lost in the last battle; 

(4) The system for modelling weapons appears more accurate with smoothbore, mixed muskets and rifled muskets and different cavalry weapons. I prefer the range and modelling of artillery;

(5) There is a system for the progression of units through Green, Experienced, Veteran and Crack. That affects their ability to manoeuvre in a much more nuanced way and their performance with ranged fire (green troops suffering a penalty and most importantly when closing for and engaging in melee. There are reasons other than for combat to attach to a unit. Simply put to get a poor unit moving to where your want it. I will alter my rules for Militia. The old PT/NE status I had running on a sixth month counter system I can scrap and this  avoids some long term bookkeeping.  Once a unit has been in a combat and fired or taken casualties - seen the elephant - it can always  lose its Green "tag" once blooded and can become "Experienced".  I can have the usual rules for advancing to "Veteran" by battlefield promotion over time. I can develop a simple system for gaining the "Crack" status based on exemplary battlefield performance. I will keep it fair. Militia I can always apply Unreliable to allow for an earlier collapse through Fresh. Worn, Spent as they lose stands. Militia that has suffered a prior defeat can become dispirited. Usually regular troops will be reliable. There is an amount of nuance that I can apply fairly. Essentially though I will lose the need to bookkeep for months to track "Training" with an automatic loss of penalties. Units can become smaller but harder to crack - large units can remain unreliable running from the battlefield but presevering their size;

(6) The scale on the battlefield is somewhat smaller 1" is 60 yards rather than the 100 yards for Volley and Bayonet. Turns are also modelled as 30 minutes rather then an hour. In general my bases are 20 mm in width rather than an inch so my whole scale will come down further by 20 % ( an inch is 2.5 mm). So my measuring unit will be 2 cm representing 60 yards. My current table plan for First Manassass designed to take in all of the fords along Bull Run is some 12 feet in length x 6 feet representing an area  8 miles x 4 miles to the Volley and Bayonet scale.  Using a full 12 foot x 6 feet table I will now be limited to representing an area of about 6 1/8 miles x 3 1/4 miles. Still enough I think to lay a good rectangle along bull run. A  brigade of say 2,000 men with two battalions each of 1,000 in a supported line will occupy an area on the battlefield 10 cm wide and 6 cm deep. That's 300 yards x 180 yards. As a single line the brigade could cover a frontage of 600 yards along a linear feature like a stone wall at Fredericksburg.  A line was two deep so that does represent on average 2 foot per man but of course there were number of file closers and officers, orderlies and so on.  It does seem about right; and

(7) To the extent that I cannot fit the whole of a historical battlefield I can just model this with tabletop arrival rules with the turn system. Or use two tables ! When the corps system develops armies will be dispersed across areas of hexes on the map - converging for battles and some of them multi-day affairs. The main thing is to produce an interesting battle with units recruited, grown, equipped and led on the map in the SPI mini-monster board wargame system and then thrown onto the tabletop. I am as much interested in the look and feel of those battles to tell a story as with 100 % accuracy. The hex game itself is utterly detailed down to supplies, economy, manpower and politics. The battles should be fun and a light relief to decide the issue for a hex. 

(8) There really is the ability to model some "Exceptional" leaders from their counters to the battlefield. I will need to generate divisional leaders but it's clear in the early war that the Corps or Army system was not in operation so I can think about that over time. The Fire and Fury rules for First Mannasses or Bull Run make it clear that there are just 3 on table command figures (for Beuregard, Johnston and Macdowell) and that individual brigades have a smattering of Exceptional leaders who provide a small advantage that is just a  die modifier. 

Essentially it's workable in my mind - some hard work to rewrite the living Order of Battle but that is really the component brigade parts from divisional counters which can be tweaked when used. The counters on the map all stay the same as generated.  There is one more thing - the Battle of Rolla which was my first engagement  with very few troops. I think less than a full division on each side - really just 3 small brigades or so a piece - that should be capable of being modelled far more easily using Fire and Fury and equally there is always the option (if I can be bothered) to scale down to the Regimental rulesets with Battalions becoming the building blocks on the battlefield. Battles in the West can be modelled at the regimental scale. I will take a view. 

So it is about look and nuance - detail and ease of record keeping. Overall I think it enhances my capacity to tell stories through the campaign from the largest to the smallest. So this is the new look for a 1500/1600 man brigade.

Top left is a Union Volley and Bayonet base modelled as 6 bases within a movement tray. Whether representing 3,000 or 1500 bayonet strength  the look would be the same with no ability to model a brigade line of battalions stretched out, two men deep or indeed a supported lined with different sized battalions. It's literally one size fits all. A 3 " by 3" block with a frontage of 300 yards.   So in this case 1,500 men - a 3-4 on its label for 3 strength points of 500 men and a 4 for morale - with an added PT/NE if militia or otherwise and a time counter of 6 months to lose this. I was doing a lot of my unit modelling with named regiments within each counter built into brigades. Less capacity for unit story telling through modelling and battlefield experience. No capacity to represent a field column and awkward for modelling a column along a road. Little nuance with morale. In front I have shown the same 1,600 men as Confederates - first in a single brigade line of 8 stands. A frontage of some 480 yards across 16 cm. Secondly as a supported line with two battalions of 800 men representing a frontage of 240 yards. It seems to me that Volley and Bayonet is designed for the brigade columns of the Napoleonic Wars. Fire and Fury has been written for the reality of the American Civil War. 

Further my Confederate Brigade will always be Green for its first battle suffering a -1 for manoeuvres -1 for its musketry role and -1 on a charge. The Green status I will lose after the first battle but I won't allow Militia to ever progress to Veterren. As militia I will probably model the brigade as "unreliable" initially and possibly after continued battlefield losses as "dispirited".  I think Militia should always be "unreliable". So its initial morale profile on its label might read Evans Green 8/7/6 (For Fresh, Worn Spent) - if remaining as militia the unit would lose its Green status gaining Experience but after battlefield losses in succession and some casualties it might be dispirited and of weaker strength (after 30 % casualties but recovering 1/3 of its losses). So a base might then read say Evans Exp.  6/-/5. If the unit won a couple of battles it might have recovered 2/3 of its casualties but remained as "unreliable" being Militia. The base would read Evans Exp. 7/6/5 having the capacity to avoid a further casualty and becoming worn before suffering a -2 penalty as spent when testing to change formation or advance. 

A fresh battalion has a + 2 modifier for manoeuvre checks (which also affect rallying from broken to good order). So the same unit as regulars and at the same strength initially could be Evans Green 8/6/4 - reliable trained troops to a degree. That unit can suffer a casualty without losing its fresh status. The harsh penalty for a spent brigade does not apply until the unit has suffered fully 50 % casualties. After a couple of battlefield losses with 30 % casualties and recovering 1/3 of those it might be now unreliable and have a label reading Evans Exp. 6/5/4. Conversely with a series of battlefield wins despite losses (recovered at a higher rate) and a promotion in status beyond mere experience for both the troops and its commander and a shot in the arm to morale its label might read Evens Exceptional Commander, Veteran, 7/5/3. A spirited unit. Capable of withstanding heavy casualties with a + 2 modifier for its veteran status and exceptional commander. No negative modifier for its musketry and a + 3 modifier for charging with a mighty "Rebel Yell". So much more nuanced and if the brigade contains a regiments of the Louisiana Tigers I can paint 4 of the bases as confederate zouaves with striped trousers and straw hats - some distance from their being raised on the docks of New Orleans. 

The downside to this reconfiguration of my campaign to include more detail but hopefully some ease of bookkeeping  is that I still need to churn out plenty more bases. I think it represents though better looking battles going forward and more storytelling. Lines withering under fire visibly. A greater capacity for a battlefield reputation to grow and roll. More capacity to tell the story of leaders within units with more actual implications overall for influences on battlefield gameplay. 

So that's the plan for the campaign. I need something to leven the effort of a year's study - I have the room, I have a new home. I just need to set aside an evening and an weekend afternoon a week to the project and I can find out what happens to Price in Missouri and the units right now facing off across Bull Run in Northern Virginia on August 7th 1861. 

Next stop an updated living Order of Battle and the Order of Battle for the Confederates and Union forces at Bull Run. See you hell in Billy Yank ! see you in hell Johny Rebb ! 

Union Order of Battle for First Manassas or Bull Run

I am back into planning mode for the next tabletop encounter in my American Civil War Campaign. Above I have laid out the counters for the union side under McDowell's command from the hex that has attacked Manassas Junction. I am referring quite often to the Atlas of the Civil War edited by James Mcpherson. You can pick up a soft back A4 sized version of this relatively cheaply on Amazon which was very useful. 

In case you think I am organised a quick shot of the current state of my study should disavail you of that notion. I have managed to find a way to fit in three 6 x 2.5' pop up tables together with my desk and armchair so that I can continue painting and keep the WBTS map set up to play out individual campaign turns. I  do not have room for the production spirals which I keep on roster. I have a system with marked up bags for the counters and of course my full webpage rosters which does allow me to move the maps around the house squatting where I am welcome. Production is now taking place on the roster with counters being assigned to ziplocks. The main front room with its dining table and lounge area in front of a tempting open fire which can take a sizeable battlefield table will be off limits this side of Xmas. I have retreated to my study ! In some ways it's a cosier existence. I need to get some more themed pictures up. 

Lots to work through. 

I thought I would determine a date for my battle in the first week of August and opted for D6 + 1. A throw of "4" results in a date of 5 August 1861. A little over 2 weeks from the real event on 21 July 1861. I have already determined with a dice roll that the battle will commence with a Union attack somewhere at 11 am. 

So the union counter Order of Battle begins with the commander  McDowell *** 2-0 who sits on top of  the First  Corps HQ counter. As a *** Corps general McDowell  can command up to 3 divisions using the HQ together with 1 further division all in the same or an adjacent hex (only when using the HQ).  In this case he is stacked directly however with I9, I6, I6, I6. So three fairly average sized divisions of 6,000 men and one oversized division of 9,000 men. I am going to allow each divisional counter on either side a divisional commander for tabletop purposes only which we can name for now and which will operate under normal V&B rules (adding 1 to morale if attached). As the divisional leaders will not operate as counters on the map if they suffer a casualty I will treat that as a wound that takes them out for the rest of battle only rather than applying any additional jeopardy for the campaign. Should a side attach a Corps or Army level commander and suffer a casualty (McDowell, Beauregard or Jo Johnston) then we can roll for medium to long term consequences. This will allow both sides to order and operate their forces on the tabletop and give me a good game.

All of the Union troops present are Green, so morale 4 and "Poorly Trained  No Elites" at this stage. The only veteran original counter in the East for the Federals is the I3 for the 6-5 US regulars in Washington (which might be modelled as 2 x 3-5 on the tabletop. The simplest way to fill out the Order of battle would be to have two brigades in three of the divisions (so 2 x 6-4). This would require the least amount of actual painting. Looking at the actual Order of battle for the Union at Bull Run there were in fact 5 divisions. One had no brigade structures so was a collection of volunteer regiments or battalions as it were and the four organised divisions (First, Second, Third and Fifth Divisions) had 4, 2, 3 and 2 brigades (respectively). So broadly 3 brigades for each Union division would be more accurate. An average Brigade strength was about 2-3,000 men dependent on the strength and number of constituent regiments. A full strength civil war regiment could be as many as 800-1,000 men at the beginning of the War and especially on the Union side. I think then in order to have a decent number of manoeuvre units for the Union on the table I am going to model each I6 counter as 3 x 4-4 PT NE brigades. The I9 brigade I could have 4 brigades as 2 x 5-4 PT NE and 2 x 4-4 PT NE. That gives me 13 brigade stands in total to produce. 

In terms of artillery I am going to give each division its own brigade of artillery and retain a Corps artillery stand with the McDowell. The Corps artillery will be rifled (2-5 R-F PT) and the Divisional artillery can alternate between "heavy" and normal smoothbore field pieces (2-5 SB-H PT and 2-5 SB-F PT). The Field, "F" pieces can be parcelled out as Designated Guns "DG" as a point for two brigades. I think I will retain the artillery stands as they fun to have on the tabletop. 

I need then 4 divisional commanders  to operate as command bases and some brigade commanders to attach as names to each of the 13 brigade stands. Heintzelmen is currently in the West chasing Price across Missouri so if we used the 4 remaining historical Divisional commanders from Bull Run these will be Tyler, Hunter, Runyon and Miles.  I will fill out some colour and background for each of these divisional commanders as I assemble them the stands for the tabletop. Some familiar household names will appear as Brigade Commanders the war commences.

Union Army of Northeastern Virginia (effectively a Corps organisation under the rules) 

McDowell - *** Corps Commander -  "1" rating. Technically a "0" rating. McDowell should not provide any improvement to a unit's morale during the battle if he attaches to it but he can of course assist with rallying etc. I think I will however allow him to attach with a value of "1" as it may be fun to put him in jeopardy ! The real worth of on map counter commanders is their ability to organise and move units. 

Artillery Reserve (Maj.  William Barry) 1st United States Artillery 2-5 R-F PT (No exhaustion)

First Division - Brigadier General Tyler - "1" rating Exhaustion 7 

First Brigade (Col. Erasmus Keyes) 1st, 2nd 3rd Connecticut & 2nd Maine 5-4 PT NE 

Second Brigade (BG Robert Schenck 2nd NY Militia, 1st and 2nd Ohio 4-4 PT NE

Third Brigade (Col William T Sherman) 13, 69, 79 NY and 2nd Wisconsin 5-4 PT NE

Fourth Brigade (Col Israel Richardson) 1st Mass, 2nd & 3rd Michigan, 12th NY 4-4 PT NE  

Divisional Artillery Brigade (Col Romeyn Ayres) 3rd United States Artillery 2-5 SB-H PT 

Second Division - Colonel David Hunter - "1" rating Exhaustion 5 

First Brigade (Col. Andrew Porter) 8,14 and 27 NY 4-4 PT NE

Second Brigade (Col Hobart Ward) 1st 4th Michigan, 11th NY 4-4 PT NE

Third Brigade  (Col William B Franklin) 5th, 11th Massachusetts, 1st Minnesota and 4th Pennsylvania 4-4 PT NE

Brookwards NY Artillery Brigade (Col Brookward) 2-5 SB-F PT

Third Division - BG Theodore Runyan - "1" rating Exhaustion 5 

First Brigade (Col Orlando Wilcox) 1st, 2nd 3rd New Jersey & 41st NY 4-4 PT NE

Second Brigade (Col Ambrose Burnside) 2nd New Hampshire, 1 and 2 Rhode Island 4-4 PT NE 

Third Brigade (Col Oliver Howard) 3rd, 4th, 5th Maine & 2nd Vermont 4-4 PT NE 

Rhode Island Artillery (Col William Reynolds) SB-F 2-5 PT 

Fourth Division - Colonel Dixon Miles  - "1" Rating Exhaustion 5

Above : Colonel Dixon Miles at Harper's Ferry  (see attribution at site footer) 

First Brigade (Col Louis Blenker) 8, 29, 39 NY 27th Pennsylvania 4-4 PT NE

Second Brigade (Col Thomas Davies) 16, 18,  71 NY 4-4 PT NE 

Third Brigade (Col Calvin Pratt) 31, 32, 38 th NY 4-4 PT NE 

Divisional Artillery Brigade (Col Charles Griffin) 5th United States Artillery 2-5 SB-H PT

That gives me a painting target of a further 11 Union 3" square brigade stands and 4 more artillery stands together with their limbers if I want the whole look to be good ! In terms of 20 mm square stands with 4 infantry figures that 44 and stands or 176 figures. I will also need 4 divisional command bases and a Corps style command base (3 figures). I wondering whether to switch to round bases for commanders. 

My next post will be on the scenery while I crack on with the above this side of Xmas.

See you in hell Billy Yank ! See you in Hell Johnny Reb ! 

Week 1 August 1861 (Union Turn) - First Major Clash in the East

 

Above : Henry Halleck (see site footer) 

"I will not attempt to hamper you with any minute instructions" Henry Halleck to John Pope in respect of the capture of island number 10

So "Old Brains" is installed as Chief of Staff in Washington early and it's time for the chit draw for the first turn of August 1861. Union threats are starting to brew in both the East and West. In North Virginia  a strong force of 27,000 men organised as a Corps under McDowell has crossed the Potomac and has been organising itself for several weeks. This strong force is preparing to attack around 29,000 men gathered under the combined leadership of Beauregard and Jo Johnston at Manassas Junction. 

In the West a number of further threats are brewing. An advance guard under McLennan is at Cairo with options to move on Polk at Union City. In Missouri a battle hardened force of 7,000 cavalry and infantry under Heintzleman remains at Rolla and could continue to press Price and the remnants of the Missouri State Guard who have slid across to Ironton. On the Ohio River Stoneman has arrived in theatre to take command of the departmental garrison at Evansville. From there the Union may attempt to a swift invasion of neutral Kentucky. 

The clock is always ticking for the Union politically under the Strategic victory point situation. The Union must capture four victory point cities East of the Mississipi by August 1862 or the Confederates will clock up victory points each turn and eventually be able to successfully roll against the tables for a victory or Foreign Intervention to bring the War to an early close. As a reminder the main target cities for the Union are Richmond, Nashville, New Orleans, Memphis and Atlanta. The second tier of cities include Charleston, Chattanooga, Corinth, Knoxville, Mobile and Vicksburg. This should inform the axises of attack for the Union. Clearing the Mississippi should be a key aim for the Union and from both ends if possible. Seabourne assaults could be attempted for each of Charleston, New Orleans and Mobile. Finally an overland campaign through the heart of the confederacy to take Nashville and then to cut the central rail line and take Knocksville, Chattanooga and Atlanta could be attempted. The Confederacy will always have limited resources that must be husbanded and cannot defend in strength everywhere. In some ways however both the Strategic targets and the availability of Headquarters organistions and competent leaders with initiative will guide the Union sides' progress. 

Kentucky's neutrality is an annoyance. If the Union moves through into the State its legislature will declare for the Confederacy however a swift campaign could then take place to secure the main cities and the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. The Personnel Point bonus to the Confederacy is not massive.  It effectively provides roughly 60 Personnel Points to the Confederacy over 6 months in comparison to 30 for the Union so the difference is not that great. This is really not more than a couple of divisions. Cessation will however deliver 6 towns and cities to the confederacy which will  produce Production Points. This resource is set to take a leap up in October as the cotton harvest is brought in. This could be worth a small boost to the cause until they are taken back. Given that the Confederacy is unlikely to invade the Kentucky themselves for fear of losing that advantage and giving a gift of yet more resources to the Union has time to gather its forces before a swift invasion. 

On balance in the West for now I think that Heintzelman should continue to pursue Price and then combine with McLennan to seek to knock out Polk and dislodge the Confederate stronghold at Union City the top of the Mississipi. I have noted from the rules that despite Missouri declaring for the Confederacy the railcnet in Union still belongs to the Federals. 

Strong naval forces will be arriving in theatre in a matter of months so early 1862 could be the time to attempt the invasion of Kentucky. In fact a river bourne invasion would not immediately violate neutrality if aimed at Nashville bypassing Kentucky and using the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. I think it better to move swiftly on the key cities that would contribute to the Confederate cause, hold territory and threaten Nashville. Nashville would be the first major strategic loss for the Confederacy. 

On the  Confederate side the other hemisphere of my strategic brain keeps coming back to the simple maxim that the Confederacy does not need to "win". It just mustn't "lose". The Confederates have there a new nation - it simply needs to dig in and hang onto it for now. Concentrating forces and blocking potential moves and reinforcing key strategic cities is the aim of the game. For example why attack Ivrvin McDowell North of Manassas ? Richmond and some of the small towns and cities such as Fredericksburg and Lynchburg, Charlottesville and Gordansville  need to be defended but there is no immediate strategic advantage to throwing McDowell back across the Potomac. Better to continue to consolidate forces and focus on having an advantage when attacked. The topography of Virginia presents the Confederates with a series of East/West rivers providing natural defensive lines. 

Initiative Chit Draw

I use my wife because I can feel myself hoping that the Union remains stalled in North Virginia - I have to paint those bases at some point ! Also I think I know what each Chit looks like now even if reversed. Again I swear that my wife is a zealous abolitionist and Lincoln loving Republican. The Confederates opt for the safe "2" in parenthesis under the WbTS boardgame rules. Of the remaining 3 options - "0", "1" and "3" Jane picks the "3" from the cup. The Union takes the initiative and has 3 guaranteed initiative moves which is remarkably useful given the very low initiative of Union commanders to get anything done independently. 

Union Moves 

(1) Heintzleman ** and the I5 and C1 counters he is stacked with continue the pursuit of Price backed by (2) the supply train.  They move across to A2415 and A2414.  Heintzleman can order a division and a brigade as a ** Divisional commander so moving the supply train to ensure that he can engage in combat healthily when he catches Price will cost another chit initiative.

(3) One of the I5 divisions at Harpers Ferry has moved to join Banks at Baltimore. Incidentally the Federal  Naval Transports are nearby. The Northern papers trumpet the potential for seaborne invasions along the East coast of the Confederate States alerting the Confederacy to the potential danger. Should the Confederates then use valuable resources to garrison each city on its coastline ? I have been toying with the idea of building up garrisons where I can to create a fighting reserve that can react to threats. The arrival of a substantial force threatening key cities such as Charleston or Atlanta would require a significant reaction that would then of course weaken resources elsewhere. The Union has the advantage of the Sea, the Ohio river and eventually the Mississippi (if it can take it) creating a contiguous exterior line of communication from where it can assault at will. This is Winfield Scott's Anaconda plan in its full glory. 

There are of course the potential for initiative moves for the union as well. 

Only Stoneman at Evansville makes his initiative roll (he gets a “2”). I think he needs a larger force to move into Kentucky than the 6,000 militia and garrison he currently has. Potentially he can take some militia with him to create a depot when he does move but he should take at least a strong infantry division to have any chance of success. This will be the thrust towards Nashville when it is ready. 

The more you "run the board" for the Union  to generate threats to the Confederates the more you realise that the Confederates are constrained strategically to defence and possibly counter punches  e.g. in the form of raids in strength in the North or to retake territory in the West. The experimental political victory point rules I have adopted from WbTS are particularly elegant at capturing this "mood" to proceedings.  

Combat Phase 

Heintzleman is not yet in a position to attack Price. Again Mcgruder has a series of increasingly agitated telegrams from Lincoln demanding that he march on to Richmond by destroying the confederate main battle army right in front of him. 

Will there be any progress in the main battle theatre in Virginia ? 

The union rolls a 1 which is good for  McDowell's initiative of 2. McDowell is stacked on a Corps HQ and as such can attack with all 4 divisions with him - the 3 x I6 counters and the I9 counter - 27,000 bayonets. Facing him are Beauregard and Jo Johnston with fully 29,000 men. Finally the slow preparations of Union have resulted in a clash. 

This is the mid-sized encounter I have been looking forward to as a tabletop project to take my gaming resources forward  - a clear step up from the  Battle of Rolla. I will need to (1) design and dress the tabletop. (2) Draw up Orders of battle and organise units within my divisions - naming the stands and regiments and (3) decide on how I deal with the battlefield rules for the day and the arrival of units and so on. There are a number of rules questions for me to consider. The battle should be large enough however for me to properly divide up the forces into “divisions” or forces and assign wings or a strategy under the Road  to Glory system. I will allow each side sufficient battlefield divisional commanders within their counters as well as the *** and **** generals present as overall Army/Corps sized commanders. 

Painting wise I will need to produce probably half a dozen more 3" infantry  stands for either side to be able to play this but ultimately I will need upwards of 30 stands a side for the biggest battles in any event. In terms of 20 mm square bases I should now just get the production line rolling again. I have taken delivery of some very nice Black Hats and Zoaves that could make an appearance. I am good for cavalry. Stuart will be present with a small brigade of cavalry however there are no cavalry on the Union side. I will need probably a fairly significant amount of artillery unless I model this at Divisional Guns. 

In terms of scenery I think I need two “tiers” of hills so some foam board shapes that can sit under my cloths will win the day. My existing collection of hills can then just produce the second tier or standalone hills. Henry Hill was of course the focal point of action at Bull Run on 21 July 1861 but it needn't be in this encounter.   I also need a stone bridge and possibly just more trees again ! I am not sure yet how big to make the tabletop.

To keep things simple there is a good map for a Bull Run Scenario on the Volley and Bayonet  internet pages. But this really covers an area dictated by what the two sides on the day actually did. In reality both sides tried to turn the left flank of the other by an attack. This was called off on the Confederate side to defend against the Union assaults of Henry Hill. All reserves arriving at Manassas Junction by rail were eventually thrown this way (notably Jackson's first brigade) prior to general assault by the Confederates leading to a Union collapse. 

I have also ordered a second hand copy of Eastern Battles which supports the Fire and Fury system. That should also have a map and order of battle I can lay onto my counters. This is the moment that the troops become real and take on a character and identity. There is a wealth of information available on the internet obviously. I am taken by the concept that the Union has a multitude of potentially fords and crossing points along Bull Run from which it can attack. The overall concept for the scenario could be the the Confederate needs to make its deployments and then the Union axis of attack will be determined. There is no need for complex rules for the arrival of a strategic reserve by rail as the Confederates have been concentrated at Manassas junction for several weeks. 

The full table itself could be up to 12 feet long x 6 feet  deep depending on how I orientate it. I want take in all the potential river crossings if I can. This is a great project within a project and one that will take me beyond Xmas I expect to get on the table. The key for me is to keep the battle fresh, fair and give both sides a good chance. Most of the troops will be very raw and unproven. Both sides will though naively see the opportunity for that “knock out blow”. The object of this whole campaign for me is primarily to have fun, create some beautiful tabletop battles and essentially tell a story. I should also gain some understanding of the big picture and learn some history as go along. 

I ordered a small piece of astroturf last week to have a go at some crop fields given that the battle will take place in August. My battle of Rolla was lacking in corn ! Spray painted a corn colour the Astroturf  should be quite good. The rules for corn fields block line of site until they are trampled by a crossing brigade. Perhaps I can have two versions - one for the corn standing and one for the corn trampled ! 

Time to retreat to the study/modelling room for a couple of weeks to get this on the table ! I doubt the Great Republican will allow a 12 foot x 6 foot table to appear in the "Front Room" this side of Xmas competing with the tree and dining table. 

Overall I am very excited now again to deliver a larger battle that will deliver a result in the grand campaign. Who will go limping back to the capital on this occasion as the Summer of 1861 draws to a close ? Will the Union sweep on to Richmond or will this first foray into Virginia end in the debacle of the “Great Skeedaddle” as it did historically.

There is one final thing I can decide on with a simple dice roll. The V&B House Divided campaign rules have a system for determining the start time for the fight (see Rule 8 Battles here). In August sunset is at 5 am - adding to that a roll of D6 the Union attack will not take place until 11 am. As sunset is at 7 pm the Union forces will be limited to 8 turns of action on the first day. It is possible that we could be in for a multi-day battle

See you in hell Billy Yank. See you in hell Johnny Reb ! 

A Postscript to the Battle of Rolla on Logistics

 

Above : Civil War Wagon Supply Train (see site footer) 

I have come back to the strategic table and map to update one or two items before plunging into the moves for week 2 of 1861. It occurred to me that I had not settled on supply issues relating to combat. In the Boardgame War Between the States any force engaged in combat may need to expend supply points present actually on the map (so in a freestanding dump made by supply train, a supply train itself or a depot). 

The tables for supply point expenditure in combat cross reference both the size of the force and the intensity of the battle to determine how many supply points a force will need. I am not using the board game combat but fighting on the tabletop.  On that basis I have decided to create my own combat supply table using an average amount of expenditure of 0 to 3 points based on the size of the force (1-10 points, 11-30, 31-100 and 101 +). 

The tricky consideration is what detriment to apply if a force is "out of supply". These need to be simple and workable.  My proto-rules are as follows :

(1) An artillery battery or battalion will have supply to fight for D6 turns which can be ticked off on the roster. This will also apply to "designated guns". I will roll during the first turn that an Artillery unit fires and add a tick box to the roster. 

(2) Infantry will have D6 turns similary in which they can fire normally after which time they will not be able to apply the stationary bonus. Again I will roll on the first turn a unit fires

(3) For multi day battles the brigade will have a 50 % chance only of receiving D3 replenishment on each new day. 

On this basis I have re-rolled for combat supply for the battle of Rolla. Lyons (deceased) force needed supply. I have deducted the rail transport points for moving the supply train with 2 points (3) to their forces original jumping off point and have deducted a point. This avoids the issue of Lyons needing to have used a command to move the supply. I have decided that a supply train that moves with an on map commander can be included in the campaign game command span for the ** rating along with other units. So a divisional commander can command a division, a brigade and a supply train. If a supply train moves independently it will need a separate command. 

As well as the adjusting the rail points for the union and the location of the St Louis supply train I have allowed both side to review positions and to consider if they need to create a sensible depots. 

A G2 has been removed in Fort Monroe to create 10 point depot sucking up two floating points that are there without a depot. Depot number "8" has been placed on the board.

It seems crazy to use infantry rather than garrison points to create a depot but I think it is needed and the points can soon be replaced. 

The union will create a further depot at Harpers Ferry to support the 10,000 infantry stationed there. I will reduce both counters to I4 and place 10 supply points on the map.  There doesn't seem to be a corresponding way to set up a depot in Winchester for the confederates. 

War Strategy 1861 - Scott's Annaconda Plan and the Victory and Political System for the Campaign

 

Above : Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan 

Before I dive into the minutiae of the July 1861 strategic turn for my campaign (essentially supply and recruitment) I thought it might be useful to pause and appreciate the historical planning and deliberations on both sides and how this will relate to the rules the campaign taken from the boardgame War Between the States. I have written before about how the Union has to take the battle to the confederacy in order to satisfy its war aim of bringing an end secession through coercion and manage public opinion and outside politcial pressure. Initially it is clear that on the Union side the plan was simply to advance on to Richmond after defeating the confederacy's  main field army in one large engagement. We could call this simple strategy "On to Richmond" ! 

Given the small number of troops in the field and the overwhelming size of the confederate States and disparate nature of political leadership (the cotton states were not entirely wedded to the idea of a Central government and ceding all of their resources to Richmond) this was always was a somewhat naive plan In any event the result of First Manassas or Bull Run on 21 July 1861 soon disavowed the leadership on both sides that this was going to be a short war. The Confederate States provide a theatre of operations larger than Western Europe. In July 1861 the Unions attempt to invade Virginia and force a resolution of the war with 35,000 men was naive. Tecumseh Sherman who was to play such a key role as Grant's trusted lieutenant later in the war privately ridiculed the notion of a call up of 75,000 volunteers for 3 months by stating that "you may as well try and put out the  flames of a burning house with a squirt gun. By the Autumn he was personally bombarding Washington with requests for 200,000 men to deal with fighting in Kentucky alone. He was declared unfit for duty and temporarily removed from his command on the grounds of sanity. He was of course proved a prophet in terms of the utter scale of what was required on the part of the union to bring about a total victory. Eventually and throughout the course of the something in the order of  2 million troops took up arms for the Union and 800,000 for the confederacy.   At the outset of the war the numbers in the field were roughly equal which belies the notion of the "Myth of the lost cause". For the union to achieve and early victory and avoid huge battlefield casualties over 5 years it would need to rapidly take fortified cities in the South which generally requires a battlefield advantage of 3 to 1. At the peak of 1863 the Union only ever had an advantage of 2 to 1 to conduct an offensive to take the a piece of ground the size of Western Europe. 

The reality remained that all the South really had to do to "defeat" the unions strategy was to essentially hang on and fight a defensive campaign. There was a good chance that the North would grow weary of the war and sue for peace once its cost in blood and treasure was fully appreciated by the Union public. 

The Union however did settle on a strategic plan to crush the Confederacy at birth thanks to its its first Generalissimo, and hero of the Mexican War Winfield Scott and it was good one. I have not seen anyone articulate an alternative plan that would have produced a quicker result. The so called Annaconda plan had three elements. Firstly to blockade and occupy where possible the Confederate coastline to prevent the  export of trade goods and the import of war materials such as the rifled musket. Secondly to cut the Confederate States in two with a thrust down the Mississipi from St Louis to the coast. Such a thrust would cut off states such as Arkansas and Texas from the union and again hinder the import of war materials through the Southern Gulf coast. Finally to surround and constrict or apply pressure to the Confederacy including its capital Richmond through the use of the Union's overwhelming manpower in the form of field armies. Whoever created the contemporary print above failed to appreciate the real detail of the plan. There was no real ring of union armies out somewhere West in the Indian territory. The head of the "Great Snake" should be menacing the upper reached of the Mississippi South of St Louis close to the beginning of the war. Geography in a way neatly defines the Union strategy and initially at first it is one that I will aim to follow when wearing my Union forage cap. 

It is worth reviewing how the game itself "War Between the States" deals with Victory as obviously this will further dictate how I set about matter when playing the Union. I am going to use the "Experimental Political Rules" from the 2006 rule book along with all or any amendments in those living rules on the Decision Games website. The system in essence "appreciates" the Unions conundrum and the potential for war weariness bringing early closure to the war. A loss of momentum in the war can very much lead to the loss of the border states, foreign intervention on the part of Britain and France (economic) and potentially an outright  confederate victory. I am really pleased with the way the strategic and political considerations of the war are modelled and how this will direct my thinking for both sides from the map to the tabletop. 

The first way for the Union to win is through a "Historical Victory". If the Union holds each of Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Atlanta and Richmond prior to the end of the 200th movement turn in April 1865 (the surrender of Lee at Appomattox Court House) then the Union wins. If not then the Confederates achieve their independence in part or full I guess. This then present some clear war aims for both sides. We do not have to wait until April 1865 or the capture of 5 key cities to resolve issues. There is a variant that tests the position at 11/64 on the Northern Election. If the Union holds four of the five cities the game ends in Union victory and if less than two the Confederates succeed as presumably Lincoln is thrown out of office for a "peace party" or candidate. I am not yet sure if I will adopt that variant given the way in which the main cities are in play in the "experimental poltical rules" (see below). There is nothing to prevent though the variant historical victory rules being played with experimental political point rules. It all adds complexity and at the end of the day the Union has to set about taking those key Confederate cities out of its supply chain. 

The second victory track using the "Political Point" system is far more nuanced. Both sides accumulate points based on war achievements and conditions. The difference between those two scores produces a number which can be rolled against using a D6 on a chart for each of 1861/2, 1863 and 1864/5 by either side making a political appeal. This of itself costs increasing political points for repeated appeals. To give an example in 1861/2 if the Confederates have just 3 political points in their favour or more then the table reads as follows :-

1 F, 2 F, 3 F, 4 Mc, 5 Kc, 6 C

Where F is Foreign intention, Mc is Missouri joining the confederacy, Kc is Kentucky joining the confederacy and C is an outright confederate victory. I will deal in full with the issue of Kentucky and Missouri neutrality and the potential for each to join the Union or the Confederacy in the early stages of the war in a separate post. 

Foreign intervention is a real possibility on the tables if the Confederacy is doing well during 1861/2 with only a slim chance in 1863 if the Confederacy is doing really well. The confederacy will then be recognised by both Britain and France, all import supply points through unblocked ports are doubled and the games ends in 2 years (26 cycles of a strategic turn and four movement turns). This is a fantastic mechanic. If the Confederacy can achieve recognition through some early gains in 1861/2 it can boost its resources and cut short the war. I expect this represents the Great Powers bringing the Union to the table to negotiate a peace out of their own economic interests. The reality was of course that after Antietam and the Emancipation Declaration there was little prospect of a Britain in particular coming to the aid of the Confederacy. Queen Victoria had wept on reading Uncle Tom's Cabin and Britain had been waging a war on the High Seas against the slave trade since 1821. This is again modelled with the Emancipation Proclamation being an option for the Union. The Confederacy gains 5 political points but any  possibility of foreign intervention is prohibited. 

Only a score of + 3 or more in the confederates favour can produce the small chance of an outright  confederate victory in 1861/2. As the war continues the potential results for the Confederacy both improve and the political points difference required to achieve those results. As an example if the confederates are on "0" in 1864 an appeal to the political tables will give them a victory win a roll of 3-6 on a D6. There are a multitude of results in between on a complex matrix. 

At the other end of the scale as the Union racks up larger political points scores it can bring Kentucky or Missouri into the Union or of course achieve an outright Union victory. In 1861/62 with a score of 16 + points the Union end of the table reads as follows :-

1 U, 2 U, 3 Ku, 4 Ku, 5 Mu, 6 Mu 

The Detail then of how each side can score political points in order to seek to gain political advantage or to bring an early end to the War should drive the strategy of both sides. Rather than write reems I will just set it out. As the campaign progresses I will include an updated political point tracker with the unit counter/Volley and Bayonet bases tracker that I have already created. 

Victory Appeals 

Each player can make one free appeal at any stage to the political matrix charts to attempt to secure a victory. A secondary result of foreign intervention or securing Kentucky or Missouri all qualify as failed appeals for the purposes of the points system. Subsequent appeals on the matrix cost points in increasing amounts such that by the fifth attempt the points cost is 16 points.  From the union point of view then there is an art in timing those appeals after a degree of traction has been achieved with other war wins.

Union Political Points 

The amended rules very much expanded the territorial ambitions of the Union beyond the 5 key cities some of which are worth 2-10 points. The other target cities worth a point are Charleston SC, Chattanooga, Corinth MS, Knoxville, Mobile and Vicksburg. A point is also award for the first capture of a confederate fort. A further two points are awarded for taking a basket of smaller cities on the Trans-Mississipi which makes that small theatre of some relevance (so perhaps my criticism of the orientation of the Snake is uncalled for !). There is a point up for grabs for occupying and destroying lead and salt mines in South West Virginia and also for cutting the strategic rail line which runs from Lynchburg Virginia to Cleveland Tennessee. There is also a point available each and every strategic turn that the Mississipi is free of Confederate ironclads, fortifications and river flotillas and every city on the Mississippi is in Union hands i.e complete control of the Mississipi will start a ticking points clock. 

There are battlefield points available for eliminating Corps and Army Headquarters counters (ceases in 1865), causing a Union headquarters force to retreat via combat with 20 per cent or greater casualties and for every 75 counter strength points eliminated by any method (I presume this would include supply attrition as well such that an Army forced away from supply or besieged would be a result for the Union). 

The Union player receives points for the capture and parole of Confederate leaders, for failed Confederate political appeals and also for subsequent Confederate drafts or conscription. 

I love the nuance and detail in this political point system. It should drive the battlefield and political strategy of the Union in a way which makes sense of the geographical and historical context. The tug of relative fortunes is further enhanced by the Confederate political points system. 

Confederate Political Points 

The amended political points systems for the confederacy are genius and display an in depth understanding of the war on the part of the rules writers of War Between the States. 

There are huge points up for grabs for a Confederate capture of Washington (50 !) and ten each for Baltimore, Cincinnati or St. Louis. Further there is a point up for grabs for the capture of a union fort (Fort Pickens then looks like a welcoming target in the South) and for each strategic turn that any one or more of the four target Union Cities are unable to trace a rail route back to the Northern edge of the map. This creates the possibility for aggressive action on the part of the confederacy. Raids in force into Maryland or Ohio or limited cavalry actions. A result from an invasion of the North such as the Gettysburg campaign to chip a few points back prior to an appeal to the political matrix. 

There are similar rules for battlefield victory points, five points from the Emancipation Proclamation,  points from the parole of captured leaders, for  failed victory appeals and from Union drafts and conscription. The rules around drafts and conscription model war weariness very effectively. 

The icing on the cake for me are the points up for grabs if the Union does not pursue an aggressive invasion of the South. These operate almost like a pendulum the intrinsic balance of which is loading against the union as the war progresses. In some ways then the union is on a timetable of conquest and the confederacy if it wishes to bring the war to a close cannot endlessly trade space for time in the hop of hanging on until April 1865. The various points to set our war progress fulcrum or timetable are as follows :-

• Beginning 1/62 if the confederates occupy  and connect by road or rail any one or more Union Cities other than the four target cities they receive a political point each turn while that condition persists. In three short strategic turns then if the Union failed to oust the Confederates an Appeal to the political matrix could result (on a one in 6 chance) in a Confederate victory !
• From 8/62 there is a political point each turn up for grabs if the Union has not captured at least four confederate political point cities East of the Mississippi; 
• Similary from 10/63 for 7 political point cities East of the Mississippi; 
• from 10/64 for 8 political point cities East of the Mississippi; and
• if the Union player fails to capture the six trans-mississippi political point cities by 6/64 strategic turn the Confederate player gets the two points instead of the Union.

Mathematically I have not gamed out in my head the  interplay of all of these factors and points however the essence of the "timetable" system to my mind really does capture the sense that the Northern public were going to tire of the war if they could not see an end in sight. It is not a question of the sides simply tallying up points to see who "wins". The points present the opportunity to make a claim against the victory matrix (which in itself can cost points) in order to secure the political victory. 

The whole system models then party and public pressure or delight at strategic progress or battlefield results, foreign intervention and war weariness. I love this system as a whole and hopefully it should not produce a "crazy" or a-historical result or drive a-historical actions. It seems to both encourage the two sides to be doing the sorts of things they ought to have been doing or politically they needed to do and prevent either side from just "sitting" back and allowing the other side any measure of initiative. There his the potential for the tempo to shift for small strategic issues to play out in the "bigger picture" of the war.

If I need a reason to invade to invade Virginia I have one. If I need a reason to resist the invasion of Tennessee rigorously I have one. The Mississippi or Memphis and Vicksburg cannot be given up lightly by the confederacy. The North should be wary or raids in force into Union border States. 

The whole point of a war-games campaign is to tie the tactical horse of battlefield success to the strategic cart so that the two add meaning and richness to each other. The survival of armies in the field in the Western theatre will matter. The loss of a hex with a rail link or access to a waterway will matter for more than mere movement to the next battle. I am very excited about the way the political system in the board game could influence my thinking both for the creation of field armies, their composition and how I use them. If I ever needed a good reason to paint a couple of thousand miniatures I have one ! 

See you in hell Billy Yank ! See you in hell Johnny Reb ! 

The Confederate Deployments in the East - July 1861

 

Into the home straight now for the initial deployments. I am wondering whether (a) anyone will ever see or read this or (b) make a comment. I won't bore you with the IT details but I have had problems with every website I have ever built with people being able to find them or leave a comment etc. Initially this is for me - a record or my project so if I ever get to January 1862 and have done two dozen tabletop battles and things are going swimmingly with the system I will hire an IT consultant so that it shows up on Google and can be read and commented on. 

Back to the final deployments in the War Between the States Decision Games/Volley and Bayonet mash up. We are with the confederates in the East. I quite like the look of major deployments on the big map being shown by my generic  Johnny Reb sized 20 mm square command stands. July 1861 and the centre of both political and martial life in the South has centred on Virginia. It is the most important City in the confederacy from a military/industrial point of view hosting the famous Tredeger ironworks (which in turn hosts the American Civil War Museum - a trip for me someday). The ironworks provided fully half the cannon for the Confederacy throughout the war as well as the iron plates to armour the "ironclad" CSS Virginia which battled in the Hampton Roads. Richmond was of course the capital of the Confederacy and the "seat" of the President Jefferson Davies. 

There are three substantial deployments in the East for the Confederacy at the commencement of hostilities. The main forces of course concentrate early on at Manassas Junction to oppose McDowels early invasion "Old Virginia". Beauregard **** (3-3-1) is in command of a Corps HQ counter so will be able to command three divisions attached to the counter and one additional leader (who in turn may command additional divisions) or another division. So 4 or more divisions dependent on whether another ** or *** leader is coupled to the command. The command rules are quite complex and I have adopted the historical variant in the Decision Games "living rules" as presumably this will produce either a more balanced or historically accurate simulation. The basic version allows for random draws of leaders from leader pools which leaves too much to chance. 

Along with Beauregard at Manassas junction are a 4-3 division and two further 3-3 divisions and 1-4 Cavalry brigade and four supply points in a train counter. There are also five 2-4 brigade counters.As far as the divisional counters go I do not think it good to reduce the the 3-3 divisional counter to two very understrength 3 pointy brigade bases for V&B on the tabletop. As a preference each will be represented as a single 6-4 PT NE base. The 4-3 counter can break down to two 4-4 PT NE bases on the tabletop. I have represented this in the photo below - fully 10,000 bayonets ! The final five two point counters can appear as 4-4 PT NE brigades. 

The cavalry brigade is presumably Stuart's cavalry across from the Valley. Still over in the valley at Winchester Jo Johnston **** (3-3-1) commands a 4-3 division and three further 2-3 brigade counters. Without a headquarters unit he is limited to his command span of 3 which will allow him to command the 4-3 division and two of the further brigade counters. You are not allowed to simply "merge" unit counters in the Boardgame as I understand the game so command and control and the use, generation and husbanding of leaders and HQ counters becomes crucial. In the Volley and Bayonet campaign the initial "corps" raised in Winchester is the Army of the Valley and has a better trained brigade (5 morale and not poorly drilled at the outset). I am assuming this includes the VMI and locally well drilled militia in Jacksons brigade. I don't think the counter mix is going to allow me to present a 6-5 elite division without leaving just 2 spare base points (1 counter point) from the 4-3 divisional counter. I am going to reduce the 4-3 counter to a 3-3 counter initially which will model as the "first" or "stonewall" brigade/division on the tabletop - so 6-5 and not poorly trained and including elites. One of the three 2-3 counters can then be bumped up to a 3-3 which would be a 6-4 PT NE on the tabletop leaving two further 4-4 PT NE brigades. I think my Mannassas concentration will amount to a maximum of 13 brigade bases representing about 31,000 men which seems historically correct. This will be dependent on the Confederates getting a chit move (guaranteed moves) score of at least I think 3 or 4 and/or attempting a 50 % roll against Jo Johnston's initiative (3). I have described my debates over whether to allow rail or road movement as a reinforcing reaction to a battle within a weekly cycle. I will revisit the issue and cross that bridge I guess on turn one. Historically we know that the Confederates were able to force march and use rail transport to concentrate at the Manasses Junction by 21 June. Presumably the 3rd weekly turn of our 4 turn cycle in July. 

Will the Union attack at the outset and risk a full-scale battle ? Historically McDowel was unable to resist the pressure from the public and Lincoln to undertake an early adventure. It took 3 or 4 days to cover the twenty or so miles to Manasses junction (with stops for berry picking and picnicking of rations en route) but a single night in the "big Skedaddle" to stream back across the Potomac into the boulevards of the capital. The union has to attack at some point to fulfil its war aims and bring its greater material to bare. 

The final deployment is of Magruder ** (2-1) who can command a division and a brigade counter on the peninsula at Yorktown. The boardgame gives the confederates one 3-3 counter at that location which I expect should be modelled as a single full strength brigade 6-4 PT NE.

Again I will distribute appropriate artillery on the tabletop which I will then track as we go along. I think on average  7-9  + counter strength points  (14-18 brigade base points) should support a divisional artillery brigade and where there is a concentration equating to a "Corps" (with or without an HQ but definitely when a leader is present so an organisation) then we might include a command artillery brigade as well. 

There are 5 further locations with militia concentrations varying from 2 to 8 points - In the West Virginia mountains near Romney and also near Staunton, at the rail head at Aqua Creek, Richmond and Norfolk. There are small garrisons at Fort Sumter and Fort Pulaski protecting Charleston and Savannah respectively and Forts Hatteras & Clark off the coast. 

I can now set up and photograph the maps and counters and describe the war aims/victory conditions for the North initially and their expected strategy. 

(1) Polk at Memphis - The "Sword over the Gown" (2) Remaining Confederate forces in the West and (3) the Volunteer Call Ups and Supply

 

Above : Leonidas Polk - Bishop and slave owner (see site footer) 

Leonidas Polk the Episcopalian Bishop when asked if he was giving up his Bishopric to take up a senior position in the Confederate command responded "No - I am buckling my sword over my gown". Polk was the former West Pointer, then Bishop and large slave owner appointed by Jefferson Davis at the outset of the war to command "Department Number 2" which comprised Kentucky and Tennessee. 

Now in uniform he committed one of the greatest blunders of the War deciding to push North from Memphis and to occupy Colombus Kentucky. Kentucky which had declared its neutrality at the outset of the war promptly invited the Union forces to "expel" the invading Confederate forces. The Confederates were unable to secure Kentucky's secession or even occupy its territory convincingly at any point.

We find Polk in fortified Memphis on our map commanding a small cavalry division and two small divisions of regular infantry as shown below - some 2,000 cavalry and 6,000 infantry. Without an HQ counter Polk will be able to directly command two divisional counters under the variant leader campaign rules for War Between the States. So that's a guarantee of two of these counters moving if Polk is commanded using one of the Confederates assigned initiative points. The remaining counter could also take up an initiative point from the weekly "chits". Alternatively the points could be saved for movement elsewhere and Polk's own initiative of "2" could be rolled against to see whether he is able to move two divisional counters. This would I guess simulate delay and prevarication of a number of weeks. The limited resources of movements represented by the weekly chit draw of moves from a cup presents a very real limit on the available strategic resource or planning juice at either sides disposal. 

The above counters would model as two 2-5 Cavalry bases which would dismount as linear infantry. I expect the two divisional counters should be stands as 6-4 PT NE with an assigned artillery brigade or "DG" assigned artillery with each base and a 1-5 Artillery battery base. Polk has a supply train with 2 supply points. The counter would represent the wagon corps and supplies of food and ammunition. There is also river transport available to Polk. 

The remaining confederate forces in the West are as follows :-

• 6 militia counter points at Little Rock Arkansas together with a supply train loaded with 3 supply points. I expect that I would model these as three bases 4-4 PT NE with "DG" and a battery artillery base or a brigade of appropriate guns.
• There are small contingents of Militia or small garrisons stationed at towns or in fortifications at Mobile on the Alabama coast, Pensacola Florida, Fort Morgan and New Orleans. There is further river transport at New Orleans. 

Resources for the confederates in the West are limited. The production spiral will provide 8 militia strength points immediately in July, 15 garrison points in August and 15 infantry and 6 cavalry points by September some of which can be sent to the Western theatre. The production rules require resources to be spread (not necessarily evenly in some cases) between departments. 

The confederates begin the war with a bank of 200 supply points and begin with 40 further supply points each strategic turn from their Major cities and a handful of supply points imported through seaports. We can discuss the Union "Anaconda" strategy for blockades and denial of the Mississippi in a future post as the campaign commences. 

It terms of the personnel points the first Confederate call will produce 80 points in July which will tail off through the year. Both sides face tough choices as to how to call up or draft further troops to keep their war machines supplied. These political decisions can impact negatively on the victory system which relates to war events both on and off the battlefield. A negative reaction to drafts or a positive reaction to deferring that decision can result in the European powers joining the side of the confederacy or e.g. Missouri or Kentucky seceding. 

So in July 1861 the confederacy should begin immediately with 80 personnel points and an augmented bank of roughly 255 supply points (40 from the Major Cities and a further 13 from import points - Pensacola and Norfolk begin the game blockaded). I love the Production Spiral in the campaign for the boardgame and I will adopt the system wholesale to both generate new brigades (create)  and to restore to strength existing ones (augment) or change (convert) garrison and militia points into regular infantry points.  As an example a single infantry point (1,000 men or 2 points for a V&B base on the table top) costs 3 personnel and 2 supply points. So a full strength  tabletop brigade base at 6-4 which requires a 3-3 counter to be placed on the board would cost 9 personnel points and 6 supply points. It's the raw man power which seems in short supply for the confederacy. 80 in a single hit in July 1861 is the biggest number of personnel points that the confederate states ever get - even the first draft will yield only 60 points. In comparison the Union receive 100 at the start of the first call track (it reduces by 10 each month) and 90 for the second. The confederates second volunteer call only attracts 50 personnel points.

By far a more efficient way to generate regular infantry is to return militia points to the spiral and expend just 1 supply point. They will appear as regular infantry counters with an identical points value 4 months (strategic turns) later - so initially then in November 1861. Further whole infantry divisional counters can be placed back on the spiral to be augmented with further points at a cost of 1 personnel point and 2 supply points. Overall if new Militia is raised it would cost the same once converted to infantry however it would appear in 5 months rather than 8 months. 

Other units such as ironclads, siege guns and naval bases are eye wateringly expensive for the confederacy. There is a harvest in the Summer or Autumn after which the confederacy gets a seasonal boost to supply points (3 per City retained for example in September 1861 which would produce an additional 200 points. This does not compare however with the way that the Industrial North churns out 150-300 supply points turn after turn throughout the war. 

Now I have looked at the deployments in the West for both sides I can draw my attention to the Eastern Theatre. The major theatre of the war throughout the four years of war. The first and last major battles of the war were fought in the East with Virginia as the front line. 

Overall attrition and Union Order of Battle for St Louis and Missouri under Nathanial Lyons - July 1861

 

Above : Union Parade (see site footer) 

I have probably seen off any potential readership with the level of detail in respect of deliberations around the rules for my campaign thus far. As a simplification I have discussed evolution of a system for using the minor monster board war game "War Between the States 1861-65" to run an American Civil War campaign with individual combats being generated for the tabletop using Volley and Bayonet from each weekly move. I have worked out over the last week the broad strokes for interaction between the game mechanics themselves and the tabletop. The translation in particular of divisional strength counters on the tabletop into the brigade manoeuvre units for the tabletop and the interaction of leader counters and how to account for things like artillery typically not represented in the Board Game but just modelled in. 

This post will deal with a final rules point on attrition and then we can get stuck in to describing some of the forces on the map both in terms of counters on the strategic map and potential tabletop brigades and placing them under command.  I have had to be a little flexible to make it work. 

Attrition of Units 

I can still see a number of potential problems but not enough to delay starting to play with my current draft ruleset. One issue I am wary of is that casualty levels in battles could  be too high or too low between the two systems to balance the production and attrition of force levels. This is crucial for the confederacy who should be troop starved over time but not initially. 

I think mathematically the modelling should work. On the tabletop individual divisions have an exhaustion point dependent on their "mean" experience (Green through to Veteran and Crack) of between 40-60 % Once the total number of strength point casualties have been incurred on the tabletop a division will melt away and be unable to take further part in the action. If this happened on average at a 50 % level for a division and then a decent percentage of casualties were recovered overnight ( perhaps on average 50 % of the actual strength point losses dependent on whether you retain the battlefield) then total battlefield casualties (which could include dead, wounded and injured) could total c. 25 % of a  total division strength for a major encounter. This might seem high but there were other killers in Civil War field armies - disease could account for a full 5-10 % of all the troops over time. You were more likely to die of the measles than of a mini-ball on campaign. Equally desertion was a problem on both sides. The Army of Northern Virginia suffered a loss of 40-50 % of its potential troop numbers from desertion and sheer straggling from exhaustion in its first invasion of Maryland prior to the battle of Antietam in the Autumn of 1862. At those that reached the battlefield were resilient. If the attrition levels appear far too high I will simply increase by a small increment e.g. 10 % the post battle recovery rates. Ultimately this is a game and not a simulation and there or thereabouts is good enough. 

Above : Civil War Hospital 

Opening Forces for the Union 

My Civil War campaign will begin in July 1861.  There is a detailed deployment for the Union's opening positions with counter strength and location. As well placement of counters I will need to keep a separate master roster for each counter of its component battalions and artillery. I have read that for V&B campaign rules divisional artillery can either remain as independent battalions or be embedded within the individual brigades as dedicated guns at a rate of 2 stands being augmented DG for each strength point of Divisional artillery removed.  I will play it by ear but the main point is that an artillery battalion should be provided to each substantial division from the outset and in some circumstances corps artillery where that headquarters component exists as a counter on the map. The V&B campaign rules give a good indication of artillery types dependent on the stage of the war.  

The Union forces and resources then begin the game as follows :-

• The Union has a supply level of 350 points initially but receives an additional supply amount of 25 points for the cycle 7/61 through to 1/62 in addition to those points provided by Cycle Turn Record Track. 

Forces in St Louis under Lyons 

• The Union Missouri Depot is located at St. Louis near to the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. 
• Brigadier General Nathanial Lyons ** (4-2) begins the game at St Louis arriving there in command of the 2nd US infantry Regiment at the outset of the war to ensure that Missouri remained in the Union by force if necessary and in particular to deny the arsenal to the local confederate troops. 

Above : General Lyons 

• On the map at St Louis is positioned XX 3-3 which we can roster as a Regular Infantry Brigade 6-5 (a higher morale and not PT/Poorly trained NE/No Elites deisgnation to represent battalions of the 2nd US Infantry Regiment/Regular US troops. The confederates will also get some stiffer troops at the outset and one or two early upgrades to create units such as Hood's crack Texans. I have ordered a bonny blue flag in 10 mm. Coming back to US army regulars there were at the outset of the war 16,000 regulars, most of them stationed in the West to deal with frontier issues with the indigenous population of the region. While some officers resigned to join the  confederacy the rank and file Federal US Army mostly just took up the Union cause. Only commissions could be "resigned" as such. I am not aware of how many private soldiers might have absconded to take up the confederate cause. The V&B campaign allows the Union side 12 strength points spread across 3 separate 4 strength point brigades with morale 5. Given the counter mix I will model these as 2 brigades of 6-5 troops - one in the East and one in the West, 
• The other troop points at St Louis are all Militia (12 points of them) so 12 x Militia 1-2 points. For Militia as with all "green" troops I have decided that these will not automatically lose their PT/NE designation which is usually dropped after 6 months for new infantry brigades (i.e. those raised at the outset as regular infantry). Militia will only lose the PT/NE status once augmented through the Campaign Production process to become regular volunteer regiments. This is a cheaper way to produce masses of volunteer infantry battalions and the delay as the counter is paroled back onto the production spiral to re-emerge in a few months will represent the training in camp. I can decide whether those units should emerge without PT/NE status. That might seem sensible although they would still be "Green" for the purpose of Divisional organisation (i.e.  operate on 40 % exhaustion levels). For now the counters will represent collections of Militia units from across Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. 
• So this totals a further 12,000 troops. Once Militia counters are "Placed" they retain integrity. The total troop numbers in St Louis were historically around 15,000 troops for the Union at the outset. I will split the points into three Militia 4-2 counters. Should they get caught in battle as Militia troops one counter can produce two brigades 4-4 PT NE and the remaining two counters a further four similar understrength brigades representing collections of volunteer militia regiments. Militia do not attach to Corps headquarters as "divisions" in the strategic game and it is likely that the points will simply get augmented to form regular volunteer infantry divisions in due course. 
• There is also an X 1-4 cavalry counter which probably represents elements of the 1st US Cavalry which appeared in the theatre shortly before the battle of Wilson's Creek. On the St Louis Corps which is described for the start of the V&B campaign has a small 2-5 cavalry brigade attached as Corps troops. These will operate as Light Cavalry under the rules and dismount as a linear base. With one point they can operate as skirmishers. In any event they begin equipped with rifled carbines which roll 3 dice at a long range of 3 ".
• Finally as we have the equivalent of around two divisions in troop numbers (15,000) we can assign a 2-5 SB-H PT (heavy smoothbore - probably Napoleon 12 lbs) and 2-5 SB-F PT (Field smoothbore) to the XX 3-3 counter and the remainder of the militia counters respectively. 
• Further West in Jefferson City at the confluence of the Missouri and Osage Rivers sits an XX 3-3 counter which I will model on the battlefield as a single 6-4 PT NE Brigade for now but without attached divisional artillery unless I took an option to split out the 2-5 SB-F PT attached to the St. Louis based Militia as dedicated guns. I could add a DG to the the XX 3-3 in Jefferson City and a further 3 sets of DG designations to the Militia brigades. Or I could just add a single DG to one of the Militia and retain a divisional 1-5 SB-F PT battery (each strength point breaking down into two DG. 
• Other resources at St Louis include an RT 40 counter. Unarmed riverine transport which can ferry troops or affect a crossing point acting as a ferry. There is also a mobile supply train counter stocked with 2 on board supply points. The rules for the supply web are faily complex. Essentially supply can be broadcast by rivers and rails lines but as soon as an army strikes away from those arteries even by road they will require local supply with them in order to prevent attrition and to give meaningful combat. I will need to provide a battlefield effect to model being out of supply having regard to the board game rules. 

Above : Wilson's Creek 

Historically Lyons is heading for a run in with the  Missouri State Guard under Sterling Price at the battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10 1861 leading the Union's "Army of the West". Quite a moniker for what was around 5,000 volunteers at that point. The 2nd US Infantry was despatched to the East as it fought at First Bull Run. 

Lyons did not survive the  battle was an early and rare success for the confederates in the West. If he lives beyond the end of the August 1861 turn we are already in the realms of the A-historical and counter factual. "What if Lyons survives ?". He has an initiative of 4 and a combat modifier of + 2 making him a very useful divisional leader both on the map and tabletop. A ** general can lead a division and a separate brigade - so two counters only I believe under the map rules. In this situation I expect that Lyons would command the higher cohesive infantry XX 3-3 counter as well as the cavalry X 1-4 unit. That's useful in the Western theatre in any event.