What a wonderful Thanksgiving week! I just had an amazing trip visiting Scott in the US. Scarcely stepped off the plane and we were straight into it, wargaming Petersburg. This was to prepare us for the next three days, which we spent touring battlefields:
- one whole day exploring the Cold Harbor operation (not just the Cold Harbor battlefield itself, but also Totopotomoy Creek and some of the other smaller actions leading up to Cold Harbor);
- one and a half days visiting all the most important sites from the nine months of operations around Petersburg (the Dimmock Line, the Crater, Jerusalem Plank Road, Reams Station, Peebles Farm, White Oak Road, Five Forks ...)
- and half a day walking the Muleshoe at Spotsylvania.
The entrance to the mine that the Union laid under Pegram's battery to create the Crater at Petersburg. The skyline depression upper left tells you where the Crater itself is.
Then, when we got back, we fought Petersburg twice more. (Having
wargamed it twice in August as well.) Our three games produced one Confederate victory, one win for the Union, and a draw. Each of the games went very differently. Here's an in-depth photo-AAR of one of them, followed by some reflections. If you decide you've seen enough pics of gorgeous 15mm figures and skip to the end, I won't be offended.
The tabletop battlefield, looking north. Rebels all start in the fortifications around Petersburg, upper right. Grant's Union army starts in a quarter-circle of siege works around the east of Petersburg. Behind the works is the long and vulnerable Union line of communications (LOC), depicted by limbers and dismounted cavalry pickets, running back to the US supply base at the port of City Point via that railroad exit top right. This is balanced by the equally vulnerable Confederate supply lines that converge on Petersburg to then run north and feed Richmond (Richmond railroad not depicted as it is out of play north of the Appomattox river). The red markers on the Weldon Railroad, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Swamp Road and Southside Railroad indicate that these are Union objectives, with bonus points available for cutting them early. Petersburg itself provides an instant US victory if it falls.
Close-up of the defenders of Petersburg. Figures mostly
Old Glory 15mm from Scott's collection. Surprisingly, as Grant confesses in his memoirs, Confederate morale was significantly higher than in the Union army, which had rather lost its stomach for the fight after the Overland campaign.
US left wing poised for the standard opening gambit, an advance to cut the Weldon RR.
The dice are kind: both the lead US corps manage to cut the railroad, while a third moves up on their right to protect the LOC.
Two Confederate divisions surge out of Petersburg to open the railroad again. They drive back Hancock's II Corps with serious losses (see the casualty figure in foreground) but Wright's VI Corps hangs on. The US will claim the maximum two Objectives here.
Situation at end of Turn 2. At this point I called the end of Phase I. The game is divided into three strategic phases, each of 2-4 tactical turns. The US player decides when to end a phase. In the interval between phases, both sides get to extend their fortifications and US LOC, receive reinforcements, and strategically redeploy all their troops. Redeployment is tied to fortifications and LOC.
Turn 3 gets wild and woolly out west. I committed two reinforcement contingents to push beyond the Weldon RR to the next objective line, the Boydton Plank Road (red counter on it, top left). My successful advance in Phase I had restricted where the Confederates could build their works and place their troops; conversely, it had allowed me to build my works reaching out towards the objective. I seemed well placed for another maximum 2 points here.
But determined Confederate resistance and the broken country held me up. At the end of Turn 4, I was still short of the Boydton Plank Road. As the turn clock clicked over for Turn 5, I decided to call the end of Phase 2.
My works and LOC now extend over the hills behind the Globe Tavern (foreground) while the Rebs' works run in front of part of the BP Road. Both sides' cavalry corps have arrived. Sheridan attacks Hampton on the Rebs' right wing (upper left), hoping not only to get the Objectives for the BP Road, but also to break through and reach the White Oak Road beyond it (out of shot upper left). Meanwhile, my infantry upper right and out of shot beyond that is threatening the Southside Railroad.
With so much of my army busy out west, Scott decides it is time to strike in the east. He takes advantage of the redeployment after Phase 2 to put his best troops back in Petersburg and assault the easternmost sector of my lines (historically known as Fort Stedman). Baldy Smith's men hold firm and Mahone is repulsed.
Unfortunately for me, so too is Sheridan. My infantry attacks make no ground either. Time is running out and so are my activations. (The Union is only allowed to activate its infantry units 30 times in total, then the game ends. This reflects Grant's necessarily more cautious and patient approach after the bloody mass assaults of Cold Harbor.)
A rebel's-eye view for a change, from behind the Confederate right wing. There's a lot of bluebellies!
Turn 6, my last chance to get a reward for cutting the Boydton Plank Road. Sheridan and three infantry corps go in.
This time, numbers tell. Hampton's cavalry are driven back; a Confederate division is severely mauled; the BPR objective is taken and the White Oak Swamp Road (top left) lies open.
Lee makes another desperate attempt in the east. His two best divisions attack again. One falters under withering fire (there is Union artillery enfilading it, out of pic) leaving the other to go in alone. The empty case shows that Smith's defenders are now Low on Ammo.
A most sanguinary fight ensues, lasting three rounds of combat. Both sides lose two bases before the Rebs finally expel Smith and his Spent corps from Fort Stedman. The Union LOC is exposed!
Each turn that the LOC is exposed costs the Union an Objective. Fortunately, Burnside's IX Corps is prepared to react to just such an eventuality. Unfortunately, not prepared enough (2 on the dice = No Move).
Turn 8. This will be the final turn as I use up my last activations. Trying to break through to the Southside Railroad, I detonate a mine under the Confederate works - The Crater! - but to no avail.
Back at Fort Stedman, Lee tries to consolidate his success. He pulls his damaged division back to defend Petersburg and sends his stronger one to push Smith back further.
Just west of Petersburg, I am about to brush aside a few spent defenders and cut the Southside RR.
The whole battlefield just before the climax. Top left, I have broken through past the Confederate left and cut the Southside RR. I also cut the White Oak Swamp Road (out of pic to left) unopposed. Top right, Burnside has swung into action and launched a flank attack on the enemy cutting our LOC. This is looking good for a Union victory.
Rebels in the west are now being pretty much overrun.
Burnside goes in and destroys a Confederate division, retaking Fort Stedman and securing the Union LOC.
Confederate half of Turn 8, the last turn of the game, and the Rebs are staring defeat in the face. Rudely ejected from Fort Stedman, the Petersburg garrison attempts one last desperate sally - effectively an attempt at breaking out to reach North Carolina, since all routes west are now cut - and storms the Union siege artillery in its entrenchments on the south side of the city. Can the guns' firepower fend off the Confederates? No! The Union LOC is interrupted once more, the US loses an Objective, and US victory is turned into a draw.
Reflections
Knitting together the Tactical and the Operational. I have now done several BBB ACW scenarios like this that cover a longer period than most tabletop wargames can accommodate, and do so by having designated strategic redeployment phases. The others include The Seven Days' Battles, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor, none of which is longer than a week, whereas Petersburg covers nine months, but the same principle applies. We do seem to have hit on a formula that not only makes this large and protracted operations feasible as tabletop games, it also introduces a whole new level of rich decision-making.
Wargaming the American Civil War. Like any conflict, some wargamers find the ACW fascinating, others find it dull. It's true that the blue and the gray lacks some variety, as both sides are using essentially the same weapons and tactics. However, the opposing armies can still have very different characters (as they did here at Petersburg), which can make for different tactical challenges. Furthermore, with so many battles in four years of war, there are plenty of unique and interesting situations to reenact on the wargames table. I'm learning a lot from designing and playing these ACW games and thoroughly enjoying them.
Battlefield visits. There are several different ways to learn about battles and wars. Reading history books is one. Playing wargames is another. Walking the battlefield and following the course of the action across the ground is another. They reinforce each other. Wargaming Petersburg immediately before and after visiting its various battlefields was a rare luxury and a wonderful experience.
