RICHMOND IS A HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL: FEBRUARY CLUB GAME DAY

Players gather at the start of the day.  The table as seen from the Confederate side: Richmond is in the foreground and Yorktow/Bethel (the Union entry) is at the top of the photo. River operations were on the left (as you look at the picture): a big table for a big game (picture courtesy of Mark Nichipor)

Last Saturday, our club gathered for one of its game days, which are large Saturday games held once or twice per year.  This February, the game was a replay of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, which included both naval and land operations. The Confederates (other than those starting on the Bethel/Yorktown table) would be hidden (represented by markers, some of them dummies).  Before I go too far, let me add that I got caught up in my role (as Union Commander) and wound up (once again) taking no pictures, so all images in this report are courtesy of AJ (of AJ's Wargaming Blog) and Mark Nichipor (of Come on My Brave Fusiliers Blog).  Both of these excellent blogs have game reports as well that I highly recommend.  All further photos courtesy of AJ.

(Left) The architect of the scenario, Charlie (also this year's club president) briefs the players on the situation. (Right) Ralph, author of the rules (Steady Boys!), briefs players on the finer points of play. Most of the superb terrain and about 2/3 of the figures were Ralph's (Charlie provided the remainder). Bob, in the background behind Ralph, was also one of the referees and provided the balloon (Balloonist Bob?). I was McClellan (Union Commander for the day), and AJ was Johnston (the Confederate Commander).

You may clix pix for BIG PIX to see the map better (and all other images). The situation and the Union plan.  The game boiled down to the Union needing to threaten Richmond, ostensibly by pushing its siege train to the Outer Richmond area (a day-of-game change flipped the Richmond table to the other side of the outskirts, in case you notice a difference between the map and the photos).  My plan was to have the main effort be an attack down the axis of the rail line, concentrating two union corps (II and VI) reinforced by the siege train, with a supporting operation by a single corps (IV) plus the Cavalry reserve division across the remainder of the table. We had one division starting on transports, which would land at pier #1, but also remain open to other options as they arose.  The reserve artillery was broken out and assigned to reinforce main effort commands (II, VI, V Corps). The second transport (we had two) was left empty as a decoy.  We retained our best Corps (V) in reserve, plus one division of III Corps, which we would release once we had broken out of the Bethel/Yorktown table to supercharge the attack. In terms of game management, I had a group of players who had volunteered to act as corps commanders and be well versed in the rules and the plan ahead of time. They would assimilate and guide walk-in players who came the day of.  For people with entirely too much time on their hands, you can peruse the orders (plus the Union OOB) I issued to the core union players  (US Army veterans will recognize the bastardized operations order format).   Here is how the day went...

Translating the plan to the actual table: the initial deployment.  We had no way of knowing how the Confederates would be distributed. It turned out that they were defending forward in force, so we were faced with multiple solid lines of Confederates that we would need to break through. 

The attack grinds forward led by the Union Artillery followed by assaults on weakened Confederate units. After stubborn resistance, the first lines of Confederates are overcome, and II Corps is breaking through to the Malvern Hill table towards the rail station, but another Confederate line is waiting. The balloon was able to provide deep spotting of enemy forces (a neat touch), double what could be done by ground units (who could spot 24").

The situation as we near the end of the day...II Corps, which had been leading the attack, is starting to wear down.  It expands the break out into the Malvern Hill table to hold the left edge, while VI corps, in better shape, continues to push down the main axis of advance. IV Corps, having worn down another line, is about to make a push for the bend in the river (the corner of the table to the right). Although it has been more of a slog than anticipated, the operation is still going according to plan. Losses have been particularly heavy in artillery, but the attack is moving into Phase II (the main effort to break through on the Malvern Hill table). Accordingly, the lead division of V corps (with six fresh batteries) is committed to continue the attack. The union still has two more fresh divisions in depot to bring out (with six more artillery batteries between them). We would run out of time before we could get to these stages of the game--thanks to the stubborness of the Confederate defense. As an aside, you will note the little red box and arrow above...

...one last magnificent effort by the Confederates here achieved a local success, one of those dramatic high water marks. A counter attack by two Confederate regiments punched through the advancing union line next to the rail station and came within sight of the Union siege battery, which would have been obliged to displace in the next turn while local forces responded to the threat. Appropriately enough, the game ended on this moment, though, with the Confederates punching back in the midst of the Union advance. AJ was an active and worthy generalissimo, as were the players on the Confederate side!

 ...Meahwhile, on the river, the transport operation moved into full swing after Union gunboats finally managed to take care of the Confederate Ironclad (Mark's blog has some good pictures of the boats).  Ross, pictured above, the Union Commodore, came up with the ingenious idea of using the empty transport as a ram.  Given his cold dice in ship-to-ship firing, it was needed  (even though the transport went down, too). 

Based on Mark D's recommendation (III Corps Commander and fellow bloggist), our active transport (above) that was ferrying troops adjusted to the situation and made its way deep down the river to the Outskirts of Richmond...

...where it landed the division of III Corps (minus artillery since we did not have a pier),  ably supported by the gunfire of the gunboats. This drew off confederate forces from the main effort on the Malvern Hill front--two confederate divisions (one infantry and the cavalry division)--which achieved the intent of the landing (and it got more players involved in the game: always a plus!).

A few shots of players during the day.  

Hard tack and coffee during the mid-game break.

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At the end of the day, we ran out of time (as I mentioned).  But there had been plenty of dice rolling and action in the heavy slogging that was done.  Given that eliminated divisions were respawned and put back into play in order to keep players in the game (the ultimate point of the day), it was hard to judge the game conventionally in terms of the distance the Union advanced given that there was no room for maneuver.  The Union was given the edge as far as victory conditions given the losses the Confederates had taken, but I could equally have seen it called a draw or even a Confederate decision based on the limited progress of the Union advance, even under these conditions.  But it's all good.  I was informed that there were something like 25 players in the room at one point. A good outing, indeed!  Again, thanks to Charlie, Ralph, and Bob for putting the day together, to the Confederate players who made the day a challenge, and to the Union corps commanders and players who worked so well together keep the plan on track (sort of).

 Excelsior!