America's bloodiest day, the Battle of Antietam, got the BBB treatment this week. This was another of Matt's works of art in terms of both his scenario and his custom-made terrain.
"Here they come agin, boys!"
Most readers will know at least a little about this American Civil War battle from 1862 and recognise names from it such as Dunker Church, Bloody Lane and Burnside's Bridge. Famously, McClellan failed to exploit his substantial numerical superiority: not only was his Union army held off by Lee's Confederates on the battlefield, he then neglected to pursue when Lee withdrew.
Matt's game kept six players entertained and produced a classic dramatic finish. I can do no better than show you 14 annotated photos, with a few provoked thoughts at the end.
The battlefield prior to deployment, viewed from the Confederate side. Most of the US force arrives from left of pic but some start top right. There are five Objectives: Dunker Church (center of pic), Bloody Lane (the rail fences above right of the church), Burnside's Bridge (top right), the town of Sharpsburg (lower right) and the road exit below it (Shepherdstown Pike). If either side holds four or more of these at game end, that's a win; otherwise, it is a draw.
Burnside's IX Corps, facing the Confederate right, has to sit still contemplating the bridge for the first three turns before being allowed to move. Note the little Confederate flag pin by the bridge indicating it is a Confederate-held objective.
Most of the Union army (I, II & XII Corps) arrives from the north to attack the Confederate left flank. Figures are 6mm from Matt's collection.
Close-up of the Confederate forces before they deploy ...
... and how Nick O and I chose to deploy them. Nick commanded our left (confusingly, this mostly comprised what was formally the Confederates' Right Wing formation); I commanded our right, namely the troops in Bloody Lane (right of pic) and at Burnside's Bridge (out of pic lower right).
The action kicks off on our left. A couple of US divisions immediately press against the Dunker Church, while others shake out (top left) to try and push through our extreme left flank. Sensibly, we have a few batteries guarding against that (lower left corner). Stuart's cavalry graze in reserve (right edge).
Turn 4 arrives, and with it the first US attempt to assault across Burnside's Bridge. Despite McLaws's men being disrupted by US preparatory fire, their volleys prevent Scammon from crossing.
However, the rest of Burnside's corps has crossed at Snavely's Ford, in the Confederate rear. Problem! The turn before, I had done the Duke of York thing. See that corner of a base, left centre edge? That's my other division that I have just sent north to help out Nick, who is now under a lot of pressure. I'm going to have to turn it round and bring it back. Luckily, I do have some artillery available, which I deploy lower left of pic. That plus US passivity might delay Wilcox & Sturgis just long enough.
Meanwhile, there has been intense fighting around the Dunker Church for several turns, with assault and counter-assault. At one point, Nick had to commit JEB's cavalry to a charge, which was repelled with loss by supporting Union artillery (out of shot on the hill top right). The Union hangs on to this objective.
Time to pan out for an overview late in the game. As it stands, since the US has only taken one Objective, we are heading for a Confederate victory. Lower left of pic, Mark is pressing hard against Nick's left, but is running out of steam and unlikely to reach Sharpsburg. Dave T has committed his last reserve to charge into the cornfield beyond the Dunker Church, but these are his worst troops and Nick will repel them easily. Union hopes therefore rely on taking Bloody Lane (top centre) where Dave W has arrived with VI Cps and Pleasonton's cavalry, and/or Burnside's bridge (where Will is pressing from both directions).
Burnside's men have made four unsuccessful attempts to storm across the bridge. McLaws's men are now depleted, so this fifth and final go is the Union's best chance yet - but my Rebs roll just high enough (9 on 2d6) to stop the assault yet again. Still, the threat is not over, as Wilcox and Sturgis charge up the hill behind the bridge. Can they smash Jones back and exploit into McLaws's rear? No!
Everything therefore rests on Bloody Lane. Smith's division valiantly charges the Confederate guns to distract them, while Slocum's is about to launch its assault on the Objective. This will succeed in expelling Ewell's Confederate division. The Union takes its second Objective, enough for a draw ...
... except that Ewell's men rally and counterattack, with Stuart's gallant cavalrymen charging alongside them. The Union players' firing dice let them down, both charges go in, and Slocum is driven out again. Victory goes to the Confederacy!
Reflections
A Game on a Knife-Edge. On the face of it, this looks like a comfortable Confederate win: the US only ever took two Objectives, the second not until the final turn, when it was retaken immediately. Well, it didn't feel comfortable to us Confederates at the time. Our gray line was stretched pretty thin and constantly felt as though it could give way at any moment. All it would have taken was a couple of unlucky dice at Burnside's Bridge and not only would that objective have fallen but Burnside would then also have threatened Sharpsburg and the Shepherdstown Pike beyond it. Similarly, the masses on the Union right could have overwhelmed Nick's left if he hadn't rolled some timely boxcars. The tension on our side was unremitting; it was balanced by the frustration on the Union side, which was suitably historically handicapped by being rated Passive and not having any Generals represented, so they had trouble coordinating massed assaults. To me, this contrast really seemed to capture the essence of the battle.
Form versus Function. Matt's terrain is beautifully realistic, his unit status markers are little works of art in keeping with it (mounted figures for Disrupted, ammo boxes for Low Ammo, casualty figures for Spent, etc). However, they all blend in so perfectly that it is sometimes hard to tell where woods start and finish, hence who is in cover; it is easy to overlook the fact that eg a unit is Disrupted; and his flags for objectives are tasteful but discreet. This is form prioritised over function. At the opposite extreme, Crispin favours plastic counters (as prescribed in the rulebook), which are almost impossible to overlook but less aesthetically pleasing; and his custom-made battlemats demarcate terrain features very clearly, but are more like maps than landscape models. Somewhere in the middle is my own set-up, using different-coloured wool roving 'puffs of smoke' for status markers (nicely visible, not too harsh) and a mix of felt and models for the terrain. Each has its merits and I am happy to play on all of them.
Scenario Balance. This is one of the most important and best-known ACW battles and a crucial one to get right. We debated appropriate objectives before the game, during it, and since. I'm inclined to think Matt's formula this time is good enough: probably it will usually end in a draw, but when either side does win, they will either have earned it or (as I think we were here) been very lucky!
An earlier version of Matt's scenario is available in the io group files here. (You need to join the group to gain access.)
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