ACW: Stones River (1862-1863)

This will have to be an even briefer report than the last, again without any substantial Reflections because of time pressure, but it was a game that deserves to be recorded.

Back in 2018 our good friend Vincent Tsao wrote a scenario for the battle of Stones River.  Now that we are focusing seriously on putting together a collection of American Civil War BBB scenarios for publication, Vincent has kindly agreed we can use his scenarios in it. We therefore gave this one a test run today. It produced a real ding-dong scrap and classic BBB finish.

Only three photos, so you're going to have to imagine a lot of the action.

The battlefield viewed from the Confederate side. Figures are Baccus 6mm from Crispin's collection. The custom battlemat is his work too. Figures on dark bases are Union, light bases Confederate.

We replaced Vincent's original victory conditions with a conventional BBB Objective location formula. White counters mark Objectives - key points along the US line, plus others on both sides' lines of communication. US needs to hold 6 at game end for a draw (roughly the top right quarter of the battlefield) or 7 for a win.

US centre is pinned on Turn 1, can move at a -1 on Turn 2, released on Turn 3. US left wing is pinned for a turn longer. This reflects US being surprised and preempted by the Confederate left-hook attack.

In our game, that left hook didn't go so well for a while, driven back initially with heavy casualties. The US swiftly formed a solid line there that held Phil's Rebs at bay for a long time. When he finally got the upper hand and forced the Union right wing back, it was too late for him to be able to reach the LOC objectives.

Meanwhile, in the centre, Sheridan (pink counter) was doing his historical thing and keeping superior numbers at bay for a long time. After repeated attacks and counterattacks, my Rebs did eventually drive Sheridan's spent command back into the woods and claim the junction Objective, but again too late to take any others beyond it.

For a while, things looked best for us on our right. Breckinridge got across, routed Wood's division, overran an artillery battalion, and inflicted further losses. The bridge Objective looked secure. However, on the last turn, Wood's men rallied and charged, enabling Stanley's newly-arrived cavalry to gallop round behind and retake it. A draw, snatched from the jaws of Union defeat!

It was a stonking good game and seems it will need minimal revision. The victory conditions need refining and it would be nice to add a way to fight the second day for those who want to (the original scenario doesn't cover that). But kudos to Vincent for such a good scenario and many thanks for the entertainment.