Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Battle of Belmont 7th November 1861


The battlefield as the two armies prepare to clash.
A few weeks ago(yes, I'm that far behind on my blogging material) one of my friends Sascha and I had an ACW game using the Black Powder rule set with the 66% range/movement effect rule in place and Bill's alternative turn sequence . We took the scenario from a GaG scenario book which was easily adapted to fight BP. The scenario is a relatively small one with one large Brigade divided into two smaller brigades for each side. The battle was very early in the war and fought between green regulars and militia with smoothbore  muskets and a small amount of artillery. Both sides were given the "freshly raised" special rule to reflect their green status and in addition the confederate militia were given the "unreliable" special rule to further show their lack of regular drill plus Union general Grant was given the "High Decisive" quality attribute. The union were also given a higher command rating. A historical description of the battle can be found here.

Sacha took command of Grant and the union forces and I of Pillow and the confederates. Because of the small size each army each regiment really counted and Sascha's first attempt on my flank resulted in a complete route of one of his regiments which really put him on the back foot for the rest of the game. He also had a couple issues moving his forces together even with Grant's abilities due to some unlucky rolls which just made things harder for him. While my command abilities were less then his I had to make fewer commands as I was playing the defence which in the end cancelled out his superior command rating. Sascha made some brave attempts on my flanks, but they were all repulsed and eventually the confederates mounted a counter attack which more or less rolled up the union left flank breaking the union army. It seems this time the rebels changed history.

The game was great fun and Sasha was a real sport who continued to try until his army could do no more. The key to the game is if the union can get superior numbers on to the extended confederates and defeat them in detail before the confederates can stabilize their frontage. Unfortunately Sasha missed a couple command rolls and lost his first assault badly which put him in bad spot as I was able to consolidate my troops thwarting his efforts.

We are both looking forward to our next game together, but that could be awhile due to Sascha's job taking him out of town during the week and family on the weekend so it's likely to be holidays and vacations when I get to see him again.

Thanks for viewing!

Union forces ready to launch what will be a fatal assault for them.
Confederate's guarding the camp preparing to advance.
Repulsed on the right the union probes the left.
Confederates launch a counter attack!
Union left flank beginning to turn.
Confederates hold in the center and press on the union flank eventually crumbling it.
Union forces try one last assault on the confederate left and are thrown back in disarray at which point the order to withdraw is given by the union commander to those who already haven't.

62 comments :

  1. Superb table. Thumb up for the landscaping. Thank you for sharing such wonders.

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  2. Outstanding looking game! Everything is perfect. In my only replay of Belmont using 28s and GaG, results were the same as yours. Grant was stymied before he could launch a coordinated attack. Give Grant a second chance! I, for one, would enjoy seeing a replay.

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    1. Thank you very much Jonathan! We would like to try it again, but some many other scenario's are waiting....

      Christopher

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  3. Awesome!, love the table and terrain... 2 thumbs up!

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  4. Awesome battlefield.
    ...and these scenes
    I admire always these many many details, crop fields, trees, shrubs
    How many square meters of this battle field includes

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    1. Thank you kindly maximex. The table is 8ft. x 5xft.

      Christopher

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  5. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful table:0) The red bushes and the larger trees just add so much finish to the nature of the board. Impressed and inspired! Thanks

    Regards
    Søren

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    1. Thank you very much Soren! First time I tried the red so happy you liked it.:-)

      Christopher

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  6. Always cheers me to see a well laid out table, I shelved my Union 28mm army I am now going down the 6mm road I hope my table is half way as good as that one .
    Regards Furphy .

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    1. Thank you kindly and happy you like the lay out. I'll stay with 28mm as I prefer the scale and also my ageing eyes wouldn't see anything except blue and grey dots at 6mm.

      Christopher

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  7. Great to see the alternative move sequence being used for ACW. Great looking game and superb terrain.

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    1. Thank you very much Bill and yes indeed the alternative sequence you suggested works a treat. I really need to add that to my page header.

      Christopher

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  8. A superb looking table Christopher, from scenery to beautiful figures!

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  9. Wonderful to look at! No worries for the boys in blue. There's always another wave of them!

    I'm curious to hear about the alternative move sequence. One thing I love about DB and Chain of Command is the way they've shaken the turns up.

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    1. Thank you very much Monty! I'll post up Bill's alternative sequence soon, but until then you can find it on his blog http://blenheimtoberlin.blogspot.de/.

      Christopher

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  10. Beautiful looking game, well done, good show gents!

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  11. I know it's already been said, but that is an impressive looking table. So glad you had time to get with a mate and have a game.

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  12. Nice looking game, Christopher!

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  13. That is a simply stunning table Christopher! The best kind of wargame!

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  14. Fantastic! Such a beautiful setup with loads of stunning miniatures.

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  15. A shame I couldn't come over. It looks like an amazing game and I would have enjoyed to see these Union troops to get a proper beating.

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    1. Thank you kindly Nick and it was indeed a shame you couldn't make it, but hopefully you'll make the next ACW game.

      Christopher

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  16. Fantastic looking ACW game Christopher!

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  17. Greate looking game !!! Realy like your terrain very much, gives med much inspiration and ideeas !

    Best regards Michael

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  18. Superb looking game - terrain and figures top-notch as always. Great to hear the use of Black Powder too - and with modifications to suit your needs. Best, Dean

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  19. Haven't played any ACW for ages. Marvellous looking game I must say Christopher....superb.

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  20. Very, very impressive Christopher, both terrain and figures.

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  21. Great looking terrain and figures! I love it! Keep em coming!

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  22. What a beautiful table!! Great report, love the terrain and the minis...

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  23. Beautiful looking game Christopher. I like these small, early war actions (especially the ones in the scrappy Western Theatre). Very cool.

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    1. Thank you very much Curt! Indeed ACW is jammed packed full of large and small fights so plenty to do!

      Christopher

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  24. Hello!

    I am interested in your Citadel / Marauder figures.
    Unfortunately, I could not write to you on the website, where you had listed them.
    because this topic does not fit in here, write me an email, where we discuss further.
    blackkolibri@web.de
    I hope you sell the orcs yet.








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  25. Great after action report. The terrain is just amazing along with the troops on the gaming table. Sorry to heard about your friend working out of town. I have done that several times in the past ten years. In my field you need to go the where the work is. Germany was one of the stop from 2007 -2008. No way to come home on the weekends. 2006 was 308 miles one way on the weekends. Hopefully your friend will find a job close by in the near future.
    Best Regards
    Gary

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    1. Thank you Gary glad you enjoyed the report. Yes. it's tough when a friend has to be away a lot.

      Christopher

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  26. Oh, nice! It's been ages we gamed ACW...I'm digging out a unit for the challenge now :-) Great terrain and figs...

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    1. Thank you very much Mike! I hope to see some of your games again on your blog.

      Christopher

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  27. Amazing terrain, fabulous miniatures!

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