#15mm?

[dimestorehobby]

BATTLE CRYing. (Part 3 of 3)

In which unfortunate Generals meet unfortunate demises.

The Union cause could be doing better.

Kimball’s failed “diversion” on the Union right disintegrates completely as his last regiment falls apart. He and his staff take flight, riding hard to cross back to the northern bank of the Greenbrier before they’re unduly subjected to Confederate musketry.

Seeing an opportunity, Confederate General William Taliaferro (in overall command) dashes out with a regiment of infantry, intending to kill or capture the vulnerable Kimball in a bid to destroy Union morale...

...He fails. And while his command is exposed in the open field, Reynolds orders his massed batteries to fire on the hotheaded Confederate. Taliaferro and his men are annihilated. Ungentlemanly, but effective.

Rust assumes command of the Confederate left and center. Seeing more of Reynolds’ men headed east to threaten Johnson and the Confederate right, he sends a regiment to Johnson. Johnson finally pushes the dogged Wagner out of his homestead beachhead, but just as he does Reynolds arrives with fresh Union reinforcements. More bodies pile up on the bullet-riddled farm...

...and finally, a Union sharpshooter fells Johnson after the general’s long and brave defense. Reynolds and Wagner prepare to renew their advance...

...but Johnson has done his duty. He has bought time for his fresh regiment of Confederate cavalry to sweep around the Yankee flank. Wagner and Reynolds are put to route, and Johnson’s cavalry cave the Union left, swooping up the final flag they need to claim victory.

Summary:

I actually played this battle out much longer than it was supposed to. The first side to claim 6 flags was supposed to have won, but in the spirit of fairness I let each round complete before tallying flags--and both sides managed to tie up with the other by the end of each round.

Confederates finally took technical victory by claiming 8 flags to the Yankee 7. However, the Rebs lost two generals during the battle (Union lost none), and their regimental structures were more shot up. A number of Union units finished the battle without ever engaging or suffering casualties. Confederates held their positions, but would be hard-pressed to follow up the win in a campaign setting. Confederate tactical victory with probable Union strategic success.

Thanks for reading!

[dimestorehobby]

BATTLE CRYYYYYYYY! (Part 1 of 3)

A batrep of semi-epic proportions.

Had to lay off painting this weekend due to a sore hand. It was probably sore from all the cool stuff I was doing with...life.

So I decided to bust out a classic and try it solo. Borrowed a suggested mechanic from BoardGameGeek that randomized the Confederate card selections somewhat. Currently being in West Virginia, it felt appropriate to play out the Battle of Greenbrier River and, being a Union man myself, I wanted to see if I could change history. See the pic for scenario setup and historical notes.

Opening turn goes to Union commander Reynolds (not the Reynolds of 1st Corps fame, who was to die at Gettysburg). The terrain and heavily fortified Confederate center made going up the middle a meat-grinder, so I opted to coordinate flanking assaults.

Kimball advances on the Union right flank in a diversionary assault (the real push will be Wagner on the Union left). This plan falls to pieces in nothing flat as incredibly lucky Rebel dice-rolls murder an entire regiment in one turn. Kimball’s opening move is already at half strength.

P.S. I’m not going to give this thing turn-by-turn. Two more posts tops.

[dimestorehobby]

Battle Cry? (Part 2 of 3)

A batrep of diminishing proportions.

Kimball manages to slog across the Greenbrier River with his remaining regiment, but his advance is checked by the quick-thinking Rust, in command of the Confederate right. Rust keeps Kimball pinned from the high ground, and Reynolds’ underperforming Union aides (represented by my failing to pull any cards to move units from the Union center for most of the game) can’t seem to get reinforcements across to improve Kimball’s situation.

Hell-bent on vengeance for the massacre of Kimball’s men in battle’s opening stages, Reynolds’ green union troops advance at the double and kick the snot out of Johnson’s advance guard, which has been delaying any serious Union attempts to force the only bridge across the river. Decimated, Johnson and his aides-de-camp ride hell-for-leather back across the Greenbrier and rush to take command of the collapsing Confederate right flank.

You see, the Union left wing under Wagner has not been idle. Two regiments of Yankee infantry push hard to the Greenbrier’s muddy banks and slosh across. Wagner boots the Rebs out of a homestead on the southern bank, establishing a bridgehead by which he can cover the reinforcements he hopes Reynolds will soon send.

A bloody fight ensues. The Rebs counterattack in force, suffering heavy casualties but inching Wagner out of the homestead and back to the riverbank. Union reinforcements arrive and Wagner resumes the advance, retaking the homestead once more as the bodies pile up. The homestead will change hands four times before Johnson arrives on the Rebel right to take charge and stabilize the situation. The Rebs give a tired but defiant cheer as fresh cavalry rides onto the field. Johnson now has a mobile reserve, if only he can flush stubborn ol’ Wagner, “The Rock of Greenbrier,” off that damn homestead and out into the open where the cavalry can flank him.