LUNDY'S LANE, 1866: A CHOCOLATE BOX WARS BATTLE

 

A close up shot of Mark's British Intervention Force figures ready for action. 

Greetings, dear readers.  For those who have not yet grown tired of the topic, I have yet another report on a Chocolate Box Wars game.  This one was the second of a pair, following on the "match" game between Mark's Union army and my Russian RTW army in the last report.  This time I went to Mark's place and he hosted. Rather than a pure tournament style game, though, it would be a scenario.  Mark's focus is on the "New World." Among his "other" collections, he has an excellent 28mm War of 1812 collection.  Thus, in CBW he has put together a U.S. (Union) force and a "British Intervention" force. As usual, in this report, you may clix pix for BIG PIX (and I would recommend doing so to see Mark's excellent figures).

Above Left, the US (Union) army ready to be deployed. This would be its second time out after its victorious debut against my Russians in the last game.  Above Right, Mark's British Intervention Force, waiting to be deployed. 

Several special units among the British Force: (Above  Left) a contingent of Confederates equipped with advanced weapons (AW). Above Right, the "Ladies from Hell"--Highlanders-- would be the British elite line infantry (Morale A). 

The battlefield: Mark set up his War of 1812 Battle of Lundy's Lane terrain. We would use the deployment scheme in CBW from this point onwards. 

I should mention a word about terrain, specifically elevation, in CBW. Hills are treated as templates. Units uphill get "cover" from units firing from lower elevation.  To avoid complications, units are either completely on a hill (C), partially on a hill (B), or completely on zero elevation (A).  These are progressive. So a unit on elevations B and C would get cover benefit if fired on from a unit on elevation A. A unit on elevation C would get cover benefit if fired on from a unit on elevation B (think of the border of the hill template as a contour line). This major hill was the center of much action, and this simple but incremental terrain model was proofed and added much to the feel of the game. This hill position was a major challenge (as you will see). The buildings were for show (we moved them out of the way as needed)--the town templates themselves were the fixed terrain that mattered. 

Mark would take his British Interventionists, setting them up for their first battle. 

Above Left: I would take and set up the U.S. Union. Above Right: A long shot of the British Deployment. 

The disks behind the unit are Activation Point (AP) markers, ones that have been assigned to units at the start of the turn. There are others in the Command Pool that are issued from the HQs (which can go to any unit). At the start of every turn, every unit must be assigned one AP, ensuring that all units will be able to act every turn. Multiple APs allow more activations. If assigned to units, they are only for that unit. If in the command pool, they can be allocated to any unit (with varying effectiveness if too far from the HQ). 

The US/Union Deployment. The Iron Brigade served as the Elite Line Unit for the US. Rather than having an Advanced Weapon unit, the US had a Veteran Infantry unit (Morale B) in the Zouves. The cavalry on both sides was light, and I deployed mine as Squadrons rather than a single regiment. I also deployed my light infantry Battalion as Companies one on each wing. My intent was to weight my right in order to take the hill with 4 line battalions while holding the rest of the line with the Iron Brigade and Zouves--the idea being that given their quality, these troops would be able to hold off the British right wing until the attack went in. My artillery I would get onto the only high ground available to me and use it to support the operation with long range fires from there. So much for plans... 

Mark's British Deployment. His cavalry was also deployed by squadron, opposing mine. He split his light infantry companies, as I did, assigning one to each wing. He had two battalions plus his artillery poised to take up a strong position on the hill, with units within supporting distance available. This was going to be a fight!

Oh, perhaps the most important accessory on the table, the "Dice Gulag" was ready to receive under-performing randomizers. 

 Above Left, Mark had the high dice on the initiative roll, and so opened the ball, taking the "Active" side first. Above Right, first contact (and blood) went to my US light infantry on the right wing, hitting its counterpart for two hits. The AP markers had an "X" on their reverse. When spent, you flipped them over. In the above, you can see that my light infantry had two spent AP markers at that point, meaning that it had activated twice. The red cross markers are hits. Infantry stands take four hits to eliminate, artillery and light cavalry three. 

An overview of the initial phase of the action as the armies move towards one another. It was clear that Mark was going to make a stand on the hill, spotting his very dangerous Advanced Weapon infantry and his artillery there. 

A detail of the early action on the U.S. right (the main effort).  I made the mistake of deploying the center line battalion in line, which forced me to veer the left and right battalions away in order to advance. Not a major disaster, but a lesson learned in the management of larger formations. Mark's light infantry have occupied the town and dished out two hits to my light infantry, evening the score there. Mark, seeing me coming out on the wing, swings out his infantry battalion to cover the flank approach. Meanwhile, the left battalion of the main effort, suffering the long range (deadly) fire of the advanced weapons infantry and the artillery on the hill has lost a stand and been reduced having barely crossed the start line!

A detail of the early action from behind the US left/center. The Zouves have deployed and the Iron Brigade is making its way forward. The light company has faced off against the British light company, which has occupied the town. The artillery and the Zouves have inflicted hits on the lead British battalion, which Mark has pulled back to get out of the line of fire with the intent to later rally off the hits.

A detail of the left end of the US line. The cavalry squadrons would face off here and neutralize each other. My major concern here was to use my cavalry in a defensive, counter maneuvering fashion to protect my artillery. My light infantry company was also deployed with the intent of covering my artillery from any action coming from the town. There would be some minor cavalry skirmishing out here, and eventually my light infantry company would roll a stupid good result and take out the British infantry company in the town (which I would then occupy)...but that was late in the game. 

Speaking of dice, in this game, my dice rolling was insanely streaky. I would either roll a pack of 1s and 2s, or all 10s, 11s, and 12s (the game uses 12 sided dice).  Mark wisely limited the number of dice available to me, so rather than overflowing the Dice Gulag, I consigned my dice there for various "time outs" and then brought them back when I needed them. Mark, on the other hand, had incredibly bad luck with his rally rolls, although he was still adept at doing just enough at times to bring units back before they lost a stand. 

The Battle intensifies.  My main effort claws its way up the hill. I put three hits on the British battalion covering the British left, which Mark manages to get back on a "Retire and Reform" action, saving it (and keeping me from inflicting a fourth hit that would have killed a stand and reduced it). I keep on putting hits on the artillery, never killing it, but degrading its fire and forcing Mark to spend APs to rally it rather than fire.  Meanwhile, given the hammering that the left hand battalion in the attack had taken I have had to push another line battalion up, the one that was in the line to the right of the Iron Brigade, to continue the advance. Mark counters by swinging a battalion into a position on the flank of the artillery, delivering heavy supporting fire against my attack. Another of my attacking battalions is reduced. My center battalion on the hill has just managed to get into the cover on the hill (the cemetary), but it has three hits and is one away from being reduced! Mark has rallied off the hits on the battalion on his right, which is ready to come back into the line. My light company has managed to clear out the British light company from the town on the edge of the hill. The Crisis of the battle has arrived!  

Looking at the situation at that point from behind the British Right. Ignoring the incoming fire from the British line, which is inflicting hits on the Iron Brigade, my left wing infantry (Iron Brigade and Zouves) plus my artillery, all deliver desperate long range fire against the British battalion that is positioned to sweep my attacking units in front of the hill. They don't kill a stand, but they put multiple hits on it, degrading its ability to operate and reducing its fire effectiveness. Will I be able to continue this suppression, and will this be enough and sufficient to cover my advance? 

Meanwhile, back out on the right and on the hill, I manage to rally off the hits on my center battalion and push the reduced battalions up. With the expenditure of multiple APs to move, I manage to get my right wing battalion up onto the hill and flanking the Confederate Advanced Weapon battalion. My light infantry take the town. One of my reduced battalions on the hill is one hit from being eliminated. You will notice that all of the AP markers are "X" side up--this was a maximum effort maneuver. I have no more actions left, and the next turn would determine the results. (I'll also mention here that when I did then shoot, I rolled something like 12 to 15 dice without getting a hit: that streaky thing). So we rolled into another turn...

...and we then reset the turn again (Note the AP markers with no "X"s showing). Mark got the initiative, and was the active player...and then, a terrible noise erupted from behind the British line: the skirl of the pipes! The Highlanders, that Mark had positioned so well, were going into action!

They smartly swung to the left and headed straight for the Union infantry that I had so laboriously maneuvered on the flank... 

...and with one crashing volley put four hits on them, taking them from a full strength battalion that was on the on the verge of sweeping all before them to a reduced battalion of one stand! 

The dead pile was now tipping against the U.S...what a scrap!

With a combination of key reactions during Mark's active phase, and surviving the punches delivered during the rest of the British initial activation, I switched to the active player myself, and had husbanded enough APs to still have some in my command pool and with key units. And my dice got streaky hot again, at just the right time. The fire from my reduced battalion and the full battalion in line on the hill, plus the light company, managed to take out the pesky Confederate Advanced Weapon battalion, unhinging the position (although the Highlanders were still in a good position holding the new end of the British line).

But with the Iron Brigade and Zouves now online, I was able to advance and do multiple activations (the veteran and elite ratings make these more likely) and deliver enough firepower to take down the reduced British battalion that had been supporting the artillery, as well as the other British battalion that had been holding the right end of the British line. It was not without cost, however, as another of the U.S. infantry battalions on the hill had gotten wiped out. Nevertheless, this broke the back of the British force and the day went to the U.S.: Mark's Union force has (once again) come out on top.  

My convivial host, Mark. I certainly can't say that I "outplayed" him. This was a good fight that just happened to go my way this time around.  The lessons learned from this game are similar to the last: I mentioned having to be "bloody minded" to operate in this system (apropos of the era), and so it proved in this game. Mark made superb use of the elevation increments as I was being beaten about the head and shoulders as I clawed my way upwards on the hill position. I had learned from the last game and allocated more units to the main effort, but it turned out to almost not be enough, regardless (I still had to divert another unit into the meat grinder).  This game also saw much more close range action than others. I was able to keep putting enough hits on some of Mark's key units to force him to rally rather than fire (particularly his artillery), and in turn, I had to expend resources to rally off hits to sustain the advance (and even so, I still lost units).  Both Mark and I had to keep making these kinds of decisions: whether it was better to rally off hits, to punch or counterpunch, or to move/and/or maneuver to get into position for a subsequent shot.  This game also brought forward space management. The 1" buffer between units and the straight line moves forced both of us to maintain coherent positions and lines, to think in terms of larger formations and units operating together. It was challenging, but not in a frustrating sort of way.  In other game systems, we would have just jammed as many units as possible onto the hill and from there it would have just been bunches of dice. In this game, we both found ourselves still making tactical moves and adjustments with our units in close combat on the hill. All in all, a pitched battle that took us about 3 hours to conclude: so playable in an afternoon or an evening. In short, the game and battle felt both challenging and "right." We then retired for an excellent repast of grilled steak tips, and I headed home, thinking about the next match!

Excelsior!