Holiday Gaming part 2 - The Glen Campaign

 For my second holiday game I was up at Graham H's where we kicked off our 40mm ACW campaign using the simple rules and map which I knocked up a short while back. 

This was not a detailed reflection of military strategy and tactics...just an mechanism to get some games played in a sort of framework, and it looks like it's done its job!

We drew up our armies, 10 units of infantry, (including a mix of green, regular and veteran types, aggressive confederates and a sharpshooter unit for the union) and 2 squadrons of cavalry and 3 guns each. We also rolled up 3 officers - A major and two captains, each with their own traits. 

Starting off at our depots we wrote orders for our commands and then revealed them. The first move didn't see any action but soon my Union Captain Chambers bumped into Confederate forces under Captain Flash in some woodland near Harlaw. 

As defender, my role was to get my forces off the table ....the table diagonally opposite where I  was positioned and with a mixed bunch of 1 green, 1 regular, a small unit of sharpshooters, cavalry and a gun my job wasn't going to be easy. Graham had two regulars, a veteran unit and a gun in the woods to my left. 

I needed to get off the road and into the woods in my right and get up the table as quickly as possible so I used my sharpshooters and cavalry as a screen to hold off a unit of regulars which I could see coming off the road to block my path. I got my green troops moving and screened my flank with my gun and regulars, opening up with the former at Graham's vets who were moving through the clearings to attack. 

The cavalry dismounted (normally cav can't use the fire order, but this seemed appropriate for civil war period cav), but their carbines didn't have the range to engage, so they moved up. This brought them into range of the confederate regulars who gave them a heavy volley and sent them scuttling back onto their horses. The sharpshooters did more good though and a firefight opened with the rebels, my men picking off troops without much of a reply. 

On the road my gun was now under fire from Graham's own artillery, but they had held up the veterans and allowed my green troops to get deep into my side of the table and up towards their objective. My regulars now turned and fired on the confederate regulars who were closing in and this allowed my gun to limber up and get away - just in time. Id lost most of the crew. The game was now becoming a race to see if I could get my men off the corner zone or if Graham could place his men across the line of advance and block it. 

First off were the cavalry, at 50% they'd lost too much to take part in any further fighting. My green troops  were next, as the door began to swing shut. I got my regulars across and my badly damaged gun and my still fresh sharpshooters just a move or two away, but now Graham had men in place. His own casualties were mounting though and the end of the game was looming. I fumbled my activation for the skirmishers so they didn't get off but Graham had taken too many hits as his gunfire was not causing any casualties. With that the dice was thrown and the game ended. 

I narrowly squeaked a "victory" of sorts....I managed to get enough troops off the table to gain some honour, but Grahams high casualties and lack of hits on my men meant Captain Flash wouldn't be getting the honour of a mention in despatches to Richmond. My men made it back to the main body under General Stuart at Harlaw and I'm sure Captain Chambers would have had some explaining to do.

We worked out our casualties and wrote orders for the next move. Holding the central position General Stuart decided to hold with Captain Chambers at Harlaw. Captain O'Neil was at Kemnay and had settled down for the night with his small force in camp when the pickets sounded alarm.....

To be continued....