One Hour Wargames - Maryes Heights

Last weekend I played out a solo game of the American Civil War rules in One Hour Wargames using my muddy fields wargaming mat.

I wanted to see how the different units performed on the battlefield. The battle map was loosely based on the Battle of Marye's Heights, December 1862. General Burnside hurled the Army of the Potomac against Confederate defensive works around the town of Fredericksburg. After sustained and costly frontal attacks the Union offensive was repulsed and another period of relative stalemate followed in the Eastern theatre. It would not be disturbed until the Battle of Chancellorsville the following year. 

For this scenario I used a hill, trench and my hasty barricades to form the Confederate fortifications, and selected an Rebel army of three infantry and two artillery units to fend off the Yankee attack.

I then rolled a dice to decide the composition of the Union forces. The 1 rolled resulted in three infantry, two artillery and one cavalry unit to throw at the Rebel strongpoint.

To summarise the battle, the Union attackers divided to flank the Rebel position, but despite supporting artillery fire chipping away at the Confederates, the defences held out. Union volleys and cannon fire could not make a decent impression on their opponents. 

Lessons learned? Units in hard cover (behind barricades, halving incoming damage) are bloody tough, and one infantry unit in cover can take on two enemy infantry units quite effectively, especially as the rules prohibit close combat. My main mistake was to field 5 units with hard cover against just 6 attacking units who only had a small hill to screen their advance. I also learned that artillery is no battle winner - many round of shooting on both sides did absolutely nothing! So much for accurate rifled cannon!

The one main issue I have with the ACW rules in One Hour Wargames regards cavalry's inability to draw swords and put them to good use. For future games I intend to allow close combat in line with Napoleonic cavalry, as their mobility counts for little when they can't shoot a barn door at 10 paces! Infantry units in comparison do far more of the fighting - and dying - making them the most decisive participants in the field.