ACW Sharp Practice Campaign part 2

When we left it the Confederates had gained control of Sequatchie and pushed the Union forces back out of the town.

For a couple of turns both sides gathered themselves, the Union marched to area 10 then marched back again in dense fog while the Confederates recalled their cavalry from scouting to form up for battle.  While it didn't slow down the troops movement it did manage to throw off all the explorer and scout rolls, meaning the Confederates lost sight of the Union force.

A sudden realisation of the proximity of the main Confederate force led to Major Trump attempting a ruse de guerre.  He managed to gather enough grey uniforms to outfit 2 units which he despatched under Captain Lambert to attempt a flanking attack by pretending to be the lead elements of the Confederate main force.  Meanwhile the rest of his force, under his leadership, would attack and draw off the defending troops.  That was the plan anyway.

The main force was delayed due to the severe movement penalty caused by an orchard (-1 pip per dice is bad if you keep rolling 1's and 2's).  It took them 3 turns to get through, resulting in dawn arriving before they could get out of the trees.

Sequatchie was under curfew as the Confederates consolidated their hold.  Faint noises were heard by the pickets, but no alarm was raised.  The early dawn light changed that though as the guards saw blue uniforms in the orchard.

 Major Trump heroically led his men from the rear, appearing out of the orchard and realising they had been spotted.  How did he know you may ask?

 Because the Confederates were firing at him, that's how.  The fire was largely ineffective, but it did drop the odd man here and there as well as starting the slow accumulation of shock.

 More Confederate infantry appeared, supported by the single unit of cavalry.  Could the Reb cavaliers make a difference on the day?  Who knows, well I do but I'm not telling.

 More Union troops struggled through the closely packed widely spaced orchard.  It's amazing how many 1's Colin can roll for movement.  In the meantime the front troops opened up with an uncontrollable volley on the Confederates.  Their rifles soon gained the upper hand against the muskets of their opponents, but the exhileration of seeing the enemy falter was too much as they ignored their officers cries and kept firing straight ahead.

 This gave the dreaded grey-clad horsemen the chance they needed and in the galloped.  Sam Colts equalizers blazed away and many blue shirted infantry fell.  As the smoke cleared the result was plain to see.  Several horses and riders were down, but the Union line was smashed asunder.

 The cavalry were driven off, but at what cost?  The Union formation was broken, with two groups routing back in disorder.  The resulting force morale rolls resulted in the Union command falling below a viable point and Major Trump was last seen heading off for a round of golf.

As it all fell apart on the left, the flanking force finally arrived.  "Too late" was the cry as Trump galloped away, muttering about fake news and alternative facts again.

The Union plan was scuppered by three things.  First up was the inability of the troops to move through the orchard.  They came on slower than a slow thing.  Then, once the flanking force was available, it's command counter only came out once in several turns.  Flank attacks don't work if they don't actually get around the flank.  Finally it was the uncontrolled volleys that spelt doom for the Union.  Being unable to react to the appearance of the Confederate cavalry cost Colin with two rolls for groups breaking and one for a formation breaking costing him 5 force morale points.

The final score for the campaign was Major Major went from being an "Upstanding" officer to being a "Plucky" fellow and gained influence with his Corps commander.  Major Trump started as "Outstanding" but is now seen as a "Likely" candidate, although with reduced influence at HQ. The Confederates ended up with 3 dead and 10 wounded out of 54 men, Union had 8 dead and 7 wounded out of 66 men, including the two Sequatchie militia units.

So there it is, a quick campaign resolved in 2 battles which made it simple for me.  Maybe next time I'll get to play one.

Later folks, maybe with a picture or two of things I have painted.

ACW Sharp Practice Campaign

Sorry for the extended absence, I have been struggling with a few things and it has kinda knbocked me for the last few months.  However, yet again morale has been improved by regular beatings from my boss, ahem, I mean wife.  So I have done very little painting or gaming, although I have managed a few boardgames here and there.  I will do another post (hopefully tomorrow) with some pictures of the few bits I have done up.  Good news is that I have finally got a date for the operation to put the tube in my stomach.  April 21st is op day, so I probably won't be celebrating Her Majesties 91st birthday.



One thing I did manage was to run an ACW campaign for Sharp Practice using the Dawns and Departures supplement, which I can highly recommend. 


The scene was set when I found a pair of willing victims"volunteers" in Panjo and Colin.  Panjo is an out and out rebel at heart while Colin is happy so long as he gets to use his figures.  Below is the map used for the campaign, there is also a road running from area 2 to area 23 down the centre squares.

Panjo had the mission of securing the town of Sequatchie to facilitate the advance of the Confederate main force.  He started in area 23 on turn 1.  His force consisted of the following units and resources

1. Major John Major, a handsome, strapping fellow from a military family stricken by hard times
2. Captain Jefferey Thomas, an average sort from a well-to-do military family
3. Lieutenant Ray Mawbry, ugly as sin but loaded with cash from Daddy's cotton fields

These fine fellows commanded five units of 8 infantry supported by a single unit of skirmishers.  Panjo spent his 24 support points on an exploring officer, a physic, a musician, a mule train, spirits and tinder, a unit of 8 cavalry and a status 1 leader for them(Lieutenant Oliver Coleville).


Colin had the ambiguous mission of "stopping the rebs", without knowing what they intended.  He started in area 2 on turn 2.  To do this he had the following force

1. Major Donald Trump, an average fellow flush with cash from the families factories
2. Captain David Lambert, a large chap and former gentleman ranker
3. Lieutenant Richard Hudson, thouroughly dislikeable and a downright cad

They commanded a force of five units of 8 infantry supported by a single unit of skirmishers. Colin had 26 points to spend and bought an exploring officer, signal stations, a physic, a transport cart, an additional status 2 leader(Lieutenant John Ford) and upgarades for his original 3 leaders.

The map below shows the map moves for turns 1 to 7, with Panjo neatly sidestepping Colin and attacking the Sequatchie militia in turn 7.  The use of the Confederate cavalry as scouts gave a decided advantage to Panjo as he had a clearer view of what was going on.  A random event in turn 7 allowed a double move, so Colin was just able to get to the town before the end of the day, but a determined Confederate attack forced the Union forces back in disarray.  Colin lost his transport wagon and 5 wounded men to the victorious Rebs.  Can the Rebs hold long enough to win though?

I will finish off the report tomorrow, this is long enough for one post.  Sadly there are no pictures of the Battle of Sequatchie, which resulted in Major Trump referring to the result as "not real news" as he had some "alternative facts" about the battle...........

Ramblings and a BIG ACW game

I've been a bit lax updating here, so this update includes an eclectic mix.  Gaming has been rather lax of late, primarily because I am still feeling like a zombie half the time.  Sadly the rest of the time I am feeling worse. :(

Anyway, I am staying upbeat as much as I can(although I'm getting fed up waiting for news from the hospital now) and so I have been managing to pop along to the Monday night games.  I don't last too long there, but it's nice to get out for a bit.  Mostly we have been continuing an ongoing Twilight 2000 roleplay that we do for about 4 session each year.  They started this game long before I joined the group (about 20 years ago) and we are still running about trying to get back to NATO lines.  It's a laugh to get back to it though.  Last week we did another game of Blood age as Zob had a meeting to go too.  I left before it finished and was winning at that time so, despite the results once Zob came back and took over for me, I am claiming it as a win. ;)

I was taken out for a day last weekend as Nathan and Panjo took me up to Reveille in Bristol.  A pleasant local show, although the set up is a bit "old school" in lots of small rooms as opposed to the usual "everything in one big hall".  I picked up some tufts(to replace the ones my wife threw away accidentally), some Gripping Beast Dark Ages Warriors and some Perrys light cavalry.  We were only there a couple of hours but it was a pleasant trip and we had a good day.  I bought something else but can't remember what it was right now??????  Comments about age, senility and other such abuse will be ignored!

Union troops mass on the table

Back over the bridge boys!

 Yesterday was the Christmas game at the Devon Wargames Groups monthly meeting.  This year Chas had set up an ACW game using Regimental Fire & Fury in 25mm.  The various members pulled their collections together and set too on a large T shaped table.  I only stayed for about 2 hours but saw the masses gather and the game was just heating up as I left.  Over 2000 figures were on the table and each player had a characteristic that had some some of effect on the game.  As an example, Nathan's men hated him and got a bonus if he wasn't attached!  Bit like real life really. I'm sure that JJ is organising a post on there as I type this, so keep an eye out for better pictures and a more detailed report.

"Them dang Rebs is here sarge!"

The rest of the players

Devons mostleast wanted gather

Devons own Jon "David Bailey" Jones in action

Right, that's it for this post.  I will put up another one in a  minute with the painting efforts on it.  Back in a sec.

February is here, so is the rain!

Hello again.  It's been a while since I last posted and I can only apologise.  This post is mainly about the feeble amount of painting that I have done in the last 3 weeks. My painting has been seriously affected by the size of Gus' wargames collection.  He had downsized prior to his planned move to Cyprus, but still had a large and varied collection.  He also liked doing multiple periods in multiple scales.  Napoleonics in 6mm, 15mm and 25mm for example.  I am gradually selling it off for his widow though, while I am at it I would like to thank all those who have bought some of it.  It's much appreciated folks.

Anyway, back to painting.  I didn't get much done.  First up were another 8 zombies from the never ending Zombicide horde.  A nice mix this time, including an abomination, a fatty, a couple of runners and 4 walkers.  Only a few more hundred to go!  The orange ones are berserkers, which can't be shot as they are armour plated. 

I have also managed to get a bit more 15mm WW2 done for Chain of Command.  Some early war German vehicles this time, to go with the platoon that I have yet to paint.  Some nice, cheap and cheerful Zvezda models provide the armour.  The Stug appears a little big, but it will do.  The other two, a Pz38t and a PzII are cracking models and all mine for less than £3 each.  They are backed up by a pair of Battlefront Kfz15 cars, transport for the infantry that is still in a box.

Just to make a change, I rebased some of my old, original Peter Pig ACW figures.  These were the first figures I ever bought at a wargames show, way back when Peter Pig first released their ACW range and I went to the Portsmouth show for the first time.  Still lovely figures, but my painting has certainly changed since then. 

A new unit has also joined the ACW, again from Peter Pig but their current new range this time.  Much brighter painting and a nice addition to the force.  I now have the bulk of a starting Union force for Longstreet, I just need to get some cavalry done to complete it.  Then its on to the Confederates.

Well, that's it for my painting.  I told you it was a slow month.  This month I aim to do better.  I am just waiting for the bloody rain to stop so I can undercoat some figures.  Its surprisingly warm for February, but its a lot wetter than usual, as can be seen from the floods all over the south-west.  :-(

Longstreet ACW game.

Longstreet, the latest game in the Honour series by Sam Mustafa, has finally arrived in sunny Devon.  Gus' hosted the first game of a campaign last week, but I stupidly forgot my camera.  Net result of that game was a Union victory, but that was due to a final gasp all out attack that broke the Confederate army.  Nathan commands Johnny Reb while I lead Billy Yank.

Monday saw us gather again at Gus' for round 2, with the Rebs attacking a Union position.  The aftermath of the first game saw Nathan gain a big veteran cavalry unit and an extra gun, giving him a force of 3 infantry units(19 stands), 2 cavalry units(13 stands) and 2 batteries of artillery(4 guns).  I had 4 infantry units(28 stands), 1 cavalry unit(5 stands) and 1 battery(2 guns).  As I was defending I had my newest unit(8 stands of infantry) off table until turn 6!  

Initial setup

 The initial set up had Nathan massing on the left and a single cavalry unit on the right.

CONFUSION!

The first move was nothing special as Nathan advanced towards the Union lines.  Turn 2 saw me spring a confusion card on the Rebs, with their 3 gun battery suddenly deciding it needed to be on the other side of the advance and cutting across in front of 2 units of infantry.  This slowed the advance of the centre, but sadly I wasn't quite able to get in a flank volley on the limbered guns.

Turn 4 and the Rebs close in

 Turn 3 and 4 was spent on moving again, with Nathan moving his troops into position to charge and me moving my 3rd infantry unit into a position to cover the line in case they broke through.

the gathering storm

 Turn 5 and the Rebs charged, with all his infantry and both cavalry units making contact with the valiant blueclad defenders.  Luckily I had a sneaky "Fresh Fish" card in hand, which turned out to be crucial.  It makes all recruits on the other side hit at -1 and, as all but one unit of Nathans were recruits, it saved the day.

Fight 1.  TWO-ONE to the blues

 Fight 1, one unit of cavalry and one of infantry against a solitary Union infantry.  The two dice show the respective "score" of hits in the fight.  Purple for Union and green for Confederate.  Win for the defenders of truth, justice and Mom's apple pie.

Fight 2.  5 to 1!

Fight 2, two Reb infantry against another Union unit.  Same dice as before, but a much bigger swing this time. 

Fight 3.  The cavalry clash

Fight 3, dismounted Union cavalry against a Confederate veteran cavalry unit.  This was a much closer fight, but I just managed to swing it 2-1 again.

Rebs bounce back

So that saw off the initial Reb charge, with Nathan losing 1 stand from each unit and me holding the line as the Rebs fell back.

Sneaky flankers

Nathan then got sneaky and moved his cavalry around the flanks, doing his best to isolate my units and potentially get in a flank charge.  Luckily I had an ace in the hand as my reinforcements arrived and pushed back one of his cavalry units.

Reinforcements

Unfortunately his other cavalry got around my dismounted cavalry and I was forced to fall them back.  Nathan then sprang confusion and marched them forward again, into open sight of his guns, who all missed!

Its all going wrong on the right

As I fell them back and turned to face his cavalry, he managed a single hit with his artillery, reducing my cavalry to a single stand which was removed and counted as broken.  Bah.  Then his cavalry charged my guns, winning the fight and destroying a gun.  Sadly I then ran out of cards, ending the game with a Confederate victory.  I had broken more of Nathans troops than he had of mine, but he still won the game and gained a promotion for himself.

Nathan the Reb

Despite losing, I got myself in the papers, two more units became veterans and I also gained another unit of infantry and one of cavalry.  Nathan also got some units become veterans and gained another infantry unit.  The biggest problem I have now is that I only have 1 gun, while he has 4!

Gus the host

The game was thoroughly enjoyable and I will be buying my own set of rules and cards very soon.  The command mechanism is very good, with the Confederates having a bonus in the early years of the war, but losing their edge as the years progress.  We have 1 more battle where the Rebs have the advantage in cards, then we get to 1863 and the playing field gets even.

I can recommend these rules to anybody who likes ACW games, but it is the campaign system that really sets them apart.  You get points for charging with 10 stands or more, so Nathans big charge with all his troops gained him lots of epic points.  It makes you play aggressively as epic points are what determines the victor, not the battles.  This may seem strange, but it is all about you as the commander, not your troops.

Thanks to Gus for putting on the games and to Nathan for playing them.

Off now to try and paint something.  The mojo is definitely lacking in the painting department at the moment. Keep rolling those dice.

Busy busy busy

Its been longer than I had thought since I posted here.  I have played a few games since my last post, I have painted more figures and I have watched some rugby.  I have also been feeling pretty sick in between these, so things have fallen a bit behind schedule.

The table we played on

Games played since my last post have been many and varied.  Tuesday last week saw four of us gather at Casa del Stumpy again.  The usual trio of Nathan, Gus and myself were joined by the sizeable addition of Pingu.  ACW Black Powder was the order of the day, but I forgot my camera again.  I guess the only thing that could be worse than forgetting your camera would be to take it and then leave it there when you are going away on holiday on the Thursday, but who would do such a thing?

Rebs smash into the Blue Line

 Luckily Nathan managed to take a few photos, so I have nicked some from his blog.  The game went well, at least it did for Gus and I commanding the gallant defenders of the Union.  Despite being militia, untried and outnumbered, Gus' brigade managed to see of the rebellious Southerners despite their repeated charges and advantage of numbers.

Reb Cavalry vs dismounted Union Cavalry

What really happened was every time Gus fired or fought he managed to roll a 6, disordering the Reb unit.  Every single time.
 This meant that despite their superiority in capability and numbers, the Rebs tended to be fighting at a disadvantage due to the defender holding behind either a wall or fence.

Union reinforcements arrive

In addition to Gus and his jammy dice, Pingu managed to roll very low numbers for the Confederate generals, so they were failing orders and the additional brigades didn't come on it time to help.

So, the battle ended with the Rebs skedaddling back to their Southern homes while the Union boys held the ground and had some sippin' whiskey.

The quiet left flank

The game was enjoyed, but I am still not convinced that Black Powder does it for me.  I prefer Fire and Fury for ACW, Maurice for AWI and They don't like it up 'em for Colonial.  Nothing bad about the rules, they just don't do it for me I'm afraid.

Panjo looks at Gus with disgust after another 6!

 After the quick resolution of the wargame, we adjourned downstairs to play Pandemic.  This co-operative game requires the team to work together to counter the spread of nasty germs and virus type things.  We managed to win both games, the first with 1 card left in the deck, the second with 3 cards left, so we are getting better at it.

 
The next gaming was on Monday night this week, where the next round of the Dux campaign was taking place.  Nathan was still gathering replacements from the defeat he had suffered at my hands and the other Saxon lords decided to leave my lands alone and raid the other British territories.  Colin took on Andy, giving him a sound thrashing and capturing his Lord.  We are not sure what this means in terms of the campaign, but I am thinking either pay a ransom or get a new Lord for Andy.  Zob took on Pingu and, despite failing in the mission, managed to scrape a 1 point win.  This is Zob's first victory and finally gained him some loot.


Next Monday's game is Dux for me, with the most victorious Saxon lord (Colin) taking on the most victorious British lord (me!).  This could be a decider for Colin as he is rapidly gaining more men and has already gathered a large amount of loot.  I can see a Warlord appearing out of the Saxon mists, waging war on one of the British lords in an attempt to set up his own kingdom.  Unfortunately for me Colin has gained extra skirmishers as well as 2 extra warriors.  Things could be bloody on Monday night.

Saturday sees the ACW commanders gather again, but this time to go to Market Larden up in Evesham.  This gathering is being organised by members of the Wyvern Wargamers, with 30+ people getting together to play various Too Fat Lardies games.  I am looking forward to this as a day out with the lads doesn't come around that often anymore, due to work and family commitments from one or more of us each time.  So onwards and upwards, expect to see many photos (if I remember the bloody camera) and random musings next week.

Rugby has had a good few appearances in my schedule too.  No2 son and myself went up watch the Premiership final and a cracking day out it was.  Thoroughly enjoyed it, good entertainment and the boy went to the bar as he is now old enough to get 'em in.  Admittedly I was only on coke, but its still nice for somebody else to get the drinks.  The game was good too and I think the Tigers would have won even if Dylan Hartely wasn't sent off.  Last Saturday we went up and watched the first Lions match in the pub.  Another good game and he went and got the drinks again.  The cost of 2 pints and 2 cokes has prompted the (temporary) arrival of Sky Sports in this house though.  £25 for Sky Sports or £16 at the pub for each of the remaining 9 matches, the maths is easy.  So this morning we watched the Lions playing the Western Force team in Aussieland.  Not as good a showing from the Lions and I can only hope they get better as the week passes by.  Bring back the scrummaging master that is Adam Jones!  Dan Cole is good, but he's not that good.

Well that's it for now, off to paint some more Napoleonics.  I have now done over 1200 15mm figures this year, which is about as many as I did all of last year I think.   Keep rolling those dice folks, and support the British and Irish Lions......unless your an Australian.