Second go at 2nd Bull Run

Almost exactly a year ago, we fought the American Civil War battle of Second Bull Run. Since then, Matt has tweaked the scenario repeatedly and done a few dry runs until he was ready to run it for us again. This week was the week.

No time for an in-depth report (nor for labelled pics like last week), but the game deserves to be recorded, so here are some captioned photos and then brief Reflections.

I commanded the Union left, Porter's V Corps, seen here on parade before the game. Figures are Adler 6mm, I think (now produced by Heroics & Ros), from Matt's collection. Beautiful custom terrain also handcrafted by Matt. (Still not quite finished but looking great already.)

Likewise a lot of Rebels form up on Stony Ridge before being deployed for the game.

A scan of most of the battlefield. Union will deploy in roughly the bottom two thirds, Rebels in the top third. Flags mark the objectives: Henry Hill bottom centre; Chinn Ridge centre of pic; Groveton to its upper right; Stuart's Hill top centre; Stony Ridge top right; and two stretches of the unfinished railroad in front of Stony Ridge. Three more are out of shot: Sudley Springs Ford (off right centre edge); Mount Pone (just  off lower left edge); and Dawkins Branch Ford (just about visible upper left edge). The Union needs to own 3 or 4 of these at game end for a draw or 5+ for a win. The Dawkins Branch Ford only counts if the Union takes it on Day 1. (This is a 2-day game, 5 turns per day).

Initial deployment. The Union is required to deploy at least one division in Groveton; another two can be there or on the nearby hills. The Confederates have six units they can deploy either in the unfinished railroad, on Stony Ridge, or at Brawner's Farm (top left). Note the three Confederate artillery units on the lefthand end of Stony Ridge. That's 72 guns (24 per base). Infantry and cavalry are 1,000 men per base.

My force arrived on Turn 2. Morell and Buford advance up the left table edge and espy JEB Stuart leading Robertson's cavalry to scout the Dawkins Branch Ford. (Dave W was my Confederate opponent on this flank.)

My other division, Sykes, fans out cautiously in front of Mount Pone. (Bad movement roll.) The gaudy zouave uniforms alert players to the fact that this unit is that rare thing, Aggressive Veterans. Unfortunately all of V Corps is Passive so does not advance as swiftly as I'd have liked.

In our centre, commanded by Nick O, the execution starts early, as the Confederate artillery knocks the first base off the Pennsylvania Reserves. This was an unfortunate choice of deployment, as their muskets were too short-ranged to reply to the enemy, whereas all Nick's other divisions had rifles and could have responded, had they been chosen to garrison Groveton instead.

Dave T commanded our right wing, a mix of III and IX Corps units, facing Will on the Confederate left. Our plan, such as it was, was to get stuck in here early. Here we see three of Dave's divisions advancing to assault the unfinished railroad. Unfortunately (I seem to be saying "unfortunately" a lot) Dave had overlooked the fact that Confederate artillery and cavalry was scheduled to arrive where it could enfilade his assaulting line (bottom right of pic).

Nevertheless, the Confederate line is breached! Three Confederate units are sent reeling back. A few Rebs cling on at each end, though, denying us outright possession of either railroad sector.

This is Turn 4, looking at the Union left. My advance has been so tardy that Morell (lower left) has not moved again. Sykes (centre of pic, astride the railroad) has at least arrived in a position in the woods from which he can enfilade the Confederates who now hold the Ford in force. Unfortunately (that word again) we only have one more turn to take the Ford and claim the objective there. Meanwhile: send more troops! The long columns of McDowell's Army of Virginia snake up the roads (right centre) to reinforce our centre.

And our centre does need reinforcing, as Crispin's Confederate grand battery continues to pound us. Dave T's men hunker down in the left railroad sector and await the inevitable counterattack.

Likewise in the right railroad sector. At least Dave has managed to refuse his flank and stop being enfiladed, but not before his righthand division became Spent.

Back to our left, and time has run out. We won't be taking Dawkins Branch Ford today.

More Union guns rumble up to join the line around Groveton. More reserves wait behind the village. Black hats and white spats - yes, it's the Iron Brigade.

The view from Stony Ridge, behind that increasingly grand battery - now up to 120 guns - as it paves the way for those two big 6-base Confederate units (upper right) assault Groveton.

Looking north from the south table edge across Dawkins Branch Ford. Night has fallen and left a big empty space where my V Corps troops were. That's right, reflecting Union command confusion during the battle, V Corps has to withdraw overnight and reenter on Turn 6.

Now looking east from behind the Rebel centre. Day 2 has commenced. The departure of V Corps means McDowell's men find themselves a little embarrassed in front of these large powerful rebel units in the foreground.

At the other end of the pitch, now looking south. The Rebels in the foreground have driven Dave T out of the railroad cuttings and are trying to roll up our right flank.

Sykes's red-fezzed zouaves return to the fray to shore up McDowell. Miraculously we hang on here.

Similar guts and determination on display in Groveton, where the Iron Brigade shrugs off the grand battery's attentions and repulses the Confederate assault.

Looking right from our centre, the rolling-up of our right flank continues but we haven't collapsed yet.

Unusually, we couldn't fight this to conclusion but had to stop with two turns to go. Fair to say the Union wasn't going to win this win, but also a decent chance that we weren't going to lose either. Regardless of the result, a good game with lots of hard pounding and plenty of whoops of delight or cries of dismay as applicable.

Reflections

Multiplayer Mayhem. We had three players a side in this one. One consequence was that at my end of the table I had little clue what was going on at the other end. Another consequence, perhaps, was that our Union effort wasn't as clearly planned and executed as it might have been. Not that it matters, or not in a bad way, anyway - if anything, it probably accurately recreated the actual Union confusion and lack of coordination.

Simplicity is a Virtue. As mentioned, this scenario has gone through a few iterations of tweaking. In particular, Matt and I discussed the victory conditions at some length, trying to find appropriate ways to encourage the historical Union Day 1 aggression. Some of our ideas were quite intricate. What Matt has settled on now is simple and elegant and produced a pretty historical result without any "straitjacketing".