Wargamer's Digest November 1978 - "Johnnie Reb"

Wargamer's Digest

I was digging through some of my old magazines and came across this gem. It is a copy of Wargamer's Digest from Nov. 1878 (Vol. 6, #1). The magazine contains a scenario of  Seven Pines, written by Dean West. It's interesting in that "Johnnie Reb" wasn't yet published at that time, and was still a few years away. It is a battle report from a game run at GenCon XI " as a demonstration of "Johnnie Reb", the new ACW rules designed by John Hill and soon be released by Heritage Models".



The cover of Wargamer's Digest.



The first two pages of the article. Dean did a great job writing this article
and I would consider it quite ahead of it's time for wargaming in 1978. John and Dean really
stress realistic terrain  (you should see some of the other pics in the magazine), limited intelligence,
accurate OOB's and sceanrio design.

"Johnny Reb" ..continued

We are still having fun playing the Chickamauga scenario. Here are some more shots from our 15mm ACW game in progress. The CSA attack on  their left has failed and they are now sending troops through the gap in the middle. It looks like it's going to end up being a big fire-fight in the woods.

This shows the Union line holding the crossroads
and the CSA advance in the middle. The Yanks
have managed to pull back in order and they will
be a tough nut to crack. The good news for the CSA is that
they have some artilley moving up!



Close-up shot of the Unon rear line. So far these troops
haven't fired a shot!

The toughest unit in the US army today! They have held all day
against furious CSA assualts and have just launched a counter-attack! This was
the unit on the extreme USA right flank. They have just about destroyed an
entire CSA brigade!

15mm "Johnny Reb" Chickamauga scenario - part 2

A CSA 6# gun at Stone's River Battlefield a few
weekend's ago.

The CSA breakthrough in the center! Will they be able to take advantage of this?

Beatty's brigade marching towards the cross-roads. These troops are
badly needed by the Union and will be in thick of it in a few turns.

The Rebel artillery has finally come into action!

An overview of the battle so far. The CSA breakthrough has
occured by the white farm house. Some routed Yanks can
be seen running down the road!

28mm Gladiators!

These are some lovely 28mm Wargames Foundry Gladiators that I painted a few years ago. I had been planning on buying every blister in the range and painting up a bunch of these guys. I was also going to design a set of quick play, hex based rules to fight matches in the arena. Well.....this was one of those wargaming projects that didn't get any further than what you see here! It never got off the ground and I decided to sell off these figures on ebay a while back. Have you ever started a project / period and then abandoned it?
I know that I've done it several times: Pirates, Spanish-American War, Gladiators and Seven Years War (28mm). Ha!

28mm Wargames Foundry Gladiators!

From a different perspective...

Chickamauga, GA, Sept. 19, 1863 - Johnny Reb 15mm ACW Scenario

This is a classic "what if" scenario included in the old "Johnny Reb" boxed set. Historically CSA Gen.

Breckinridge was recalled by Bragg and not allowed to develop his massed flank attack on Gen. Negley's USA division. This scenario allows gamers to see what might have happened if he had been allowed to develop his attack. I really enjoy hypothetical scenarios, since the gamers don't have the benefit of hindsight. I took these pictures before the game started, and they show the starting positions of the troops. I will post some pictures of the game in action soon!

The starting CSA postions in this scenario.

Stirwell's brigade holding the line! Beatty's brigade
can be seen marching off in the distance.

The last Union unit on their right flank. In the many times
we have played this scenario, this is always a key unit!

Stanley's artillery holding the road on the right flank.

Helm's CSA brigade advances! These are old 15mm
(more like 18mm) Vulcan Forge figures.

The "hot corner" of the table - turn 1.





25mm War of the Roses

War of the Roses - I have been painting WOR figures for a few years now. This has really been a "back seat" project and I have just been squeezing in painting units when I can. My army consists mainly of 25mm Wargames Foundry, Old Glory and Front Rank figures (and a few Dixon Flodden figures). We are using slightly modified Medieval Tactica rules by Artly Conliffe. These rules are easy to play and work very well. I can definitely recommend them!The main modifications are that we are little more flexible in the way units can maneuver on the table-top, and we field slightly larger units. Our average foot unit size is 32 figures (4 stands of 8 figs per stand) and the average mounted unit is 18 figures.

We have been using the "Flower of Chivalry" booklet by the Canadian Wargamers Group (by Bruce McFarlane) as a guide for our OOB and unit organizations. This is really a great book and resource if you are interested in the Medieval period. I have been mainly painting units for the Lancastrian army under the Duke of Sommerset at the battle of Tewksbury, May 4th, 1471. My friend, Titch, has been painting the Yorkists. We are about done with this project and we each only need to paint a few units of longbowmen. I still have two boxes of plastic Perry Miniatures units I need to get from Titch and I am looking forward to painting these! Here are some pictures of a recent game in action:

25mm War of the Roses action taking place on my gaming table!

Two armies deployed for battle. This is really my Lancastrian army and a friend
of mine has the Yorkists. We have been planning a big convention Tewkesbury game soon! On occasion
I like to get out my Lancastrians and have them fight amongst themselves!

A unit of Front Rank knights. These are really nice figures, but slightly
larger than the Old Glory and Wargames Foundry figs.

The skirmish for the farm! Some shire archers and mecenary handgunners
fight for control of the field and farm.

Front Rank Burgundian pikemen on a bridge.

The Battle of Budweis heats up!

The Austrian grenadiers had to commited early
in order to stabalize the Austrian left flank. They were
very successsful and helped turn the tide of battle
in this sector. Here they are punching through the orchard.

The French are having trouble on the their left flank. Their cavalry was
routed and all they have left are these two infantry units
and a little artillery. The Austrians are pushing hard and it will
be interesting to see if the French can break the middle before
they are outflanked on their left.

The big French push in the center. They have thrown all their
weight into the middle! The Austrians have been barely hanging on!

The Bavarians have been shot up by the Austrian artillery and a unit of
Jaegers just across the river.

A second view of the big French push in the center.

A picture from the French side. This is an old unit of
15mm Naismith figures. They are"true" 15mm figs and
still have a lot of charm.

The Battle of Budweis

The Battle of Budweis

Here are some more pictures from my hypothetical scenario, the "Battle of Budweis". This picture shows some of

the starting positions of the Austrians (right) and the French (left). The Austrians are essentially delpoyed

in a line from the top end of the table to the bridge. They do have a few units in Budweis. The French are deployed all along the front, but have some units in reserve to ad some weight to

wherever they decide to attack.

Budweis - a view of the Austrian position around the town and bridge. Their
objective is to prevent the French army from capturing this bridge.

This is a picture of the overall French and Austrian starting positions. The French are
deployed along the left edge of the table. Their cavalry is on their extreme left flank and the Bavarians
are on the right.
The Austrians are deployed along the right side of the table. They are essentially
deployed in line from the bridge to the top of the table. This picture also shows some of my gaming room
and general mess!

The French - a view from the French left flank. I love the windmill!

15mm Napoleonics: The Battle of Budweis



The French commander went straight for the Austrian middle. Here we have some
French infantry units advancing in colomn towards the heart of the Austrian position.



The Battle of Budweis

Here are some pictures of the 15mm Napoleonics game we played. The scenario

was a hypothetical encounter set during the Aspern & Wagram campaign of 1809.

The French, (with Bavarian allies) were pushing towards Vienna and needed to capture an Austrian held bridge over the Elbe River. So the stage was set... Here are some pics of the opening moves!



Austrian massed guns defending the bridge. They have just started shelling
the Bavarians advancing against them at long range.

Cavalry action on the Austrian right flank. The French commander has launched attacks at the
Austrian middle and right flanks. The Bavarians have been only demonstrating against the Austrian left flank.

15mm Napoleonic Figures

15mm Napoleonic Figures

I haven't taken these guys out of their cigar boxes in long time! Here are some

pictures from my 15mm Nap. collection. They are organized for the 1809 Danube campaign, so

I have mostly French, Austrians, Bavarians and a few minor German states. Our gaming group started with

"Empire" years ago, and then moved to "Napoleon's Battles", when it was released. I now play using my

own home brewed "DBA" style horse and musket game.

!5mm Battle Honours French Old Guard

A unit of French line infantry. Old Glory figures.

One of my favorite French cavalry units. These are old Naismith figures.

BA Austrian Hussars



An old unit of "Empire" Austrian line infantry. Most of my buildings
are from "Architectural Heritage".



Battle Honour 15mm Austrian line infantry advance!

Bavarians...the infantry is from OG and the artilley is BA.

An overview of the Bavarian deployment, showing some of the game we are setting up!

Terrain Building: A light trench

Building An Earthwork:

This was something that was easy to do and turned out OK. I used a few scraps of the fine textured pink/blue styrofoam (not the corse white styrofoam) and carved out a section that looked like an earthwork. I then glued it to a thin piece of cardboard and let it dry overnight. I then painted the entire piece with many layers of dark brown paint, and then added some sand to the mix. After the sand had dried I dry brushed several lighter shades of brown over the entire earthwork and added some green flocking. Overall I think it turned out OK, and I'm looking forward to building a few feet of these! The only significant mistake I made was to spray the earthwork with a matte finish. The finish ate away some of the styrofoam and I had to go back over it and repair / repaint a few patches.

The 2nd Delaware holding the earthwork. These are mostly 15mm Freikorps figures.

Another picture of the earthwork and defending Union infantry regiment.

Johnny Reb Scenario: Pitzer's Run, Pennsylvania, July 2nd, 1863

Pitzer's Run Scenario

We played this scenario this evening and had a great time. This is a small scenario from the original "Johnny Reb"

scenario booklet that came included with the rules. Pitzer's Run is an introductory scenario perfect for

teaching new players the "Johnny Reb" rules. The historical setting is the second day of Gettysburg, where Gen. Sickels orders Col. Berdan to scout into Pitzer's woods near the flank of his Corps. Berdan and his men, the 1st batt.,1st USSS and the 3rd Maine enter the woods and encounter two CSA infantry regiments, the 10th and 11th AL.

The scenario - this is a small battlefield - only 2x2 ft.
It fits nicely into a corner of the gaming table!

The Union 3rd Maine. This is a 15 figure unit mostly consisting of old
Frontier 15mm ACW figures. Essex mtd officer.

The battlefield - showing the wooded terrain, stream and troops.

The Union - I realized that I didn't have a 1st USSS (Berdan's) painted so
I had another small unit already painted that served in their place for today. This scenario
inspired me to go down to Wargames soon and pick up a unit of Berdans Sharpshooters to paint!

The encounter in the woods. This picture shows the rebel position beter. Most of the rebs
are also Frontier figures.

The wargame - we removed the trees for ease of play and allowed the players to deploy their troops in secret. We then placed the troops on the table and used sighting rolls for visibility. I thought it would be difficult to teach two new
players how to play with the hidden picket rules. I am teaching my sons how to play!

The 1st USSS advances over the steam. This turned out to be a mistake, since they became
isolated from their supporting unit. The Union player had been first firing for the first two turns but wasn't
able to inflict many casualties due to poor die rolling and poor sighting rolls! This caused him to advance in frustration to get a little closer in range.

The turning point! After a few turn of shooting at each other in the woods, the CSA saw
a great opporunity to charge the  isolated 1st USSS.

The CSA coordinated charge with both units routed the 1st USSS, but fell short of impacting the 3rd Maine in line. The scenario ends when one unit is removed and the players agreed that the USA would withdraw from the woods after seeing the 1st USSS rout.

A picture of the routed 1st USSS with the 3rd Maine still holding the line!

The 3rd Maine facing the 10th and 11th AL. The rebs are in disorder and it might be
the perfect time for a counter-attack!