One Hour Wargames - Take the High Ground

Today my girlfriend kindly offered to play a one hour wargame scenario with me using my muddy fields wargaming mat and my American Civil War armies.

We played "Take The High Ground" on a map that consisted of a marsh, road and small hill. With the limited amount of terrain I currently have this scenario was the most appropriate to use.

We each rolled for army composition and for who would be Red / Blue forces. I was the defending Red Army, fighting with Union forces, whereas my other half fielded a Blue Army of Confederates. I had three infantry units, two elite infantry units (called Zouaves in the Wargames book) and one artillery piece. Facing off against them were four Confederate infantry units, one elite infantry unit and a unit of dashing Rebel cavalry. After my test game (Marye's Heights) I allowed cavalry to charge as per Napoleonic rules, dishing out D6 damage but then retreating 6" once the sabres had been rattled!

The cavalry charging ability was put to good practice, taking a toll on the elite Union infantry guarding the hill. My artillery was also present  on the hill, enabling it to start thinning out advancing Rebels. Having the cannon at the front line also stopped Union reinforcements from blocking its line of sight. The elite units in the game were high priority targets, getting some good volleys off but attracting plenty of attention in return. Union firepower started off very well but Lady Luck eventually favoured the Confederates in the crucial final stages of the game.

To summarise the battle, isolated Union forces on the hill were crushed by a mixture of cavalry charges and elite musketry. Meanwhile Rebel infantry held Union reinforcements up on the main road long enough for their comrades to secure ownership of the hill. By taking the high ground, the Confederate forces just had to dig in and hold out against the Yankee counter attack. At one point both sides had exactly the same strength, but the dice rolls eventually favoured Johnny Reb and my brave boys in blue were seen off. My girlfriend quite enjoyed it, especially using her gallant cavalry to savage my elites. 

Overall a very close game, showing that the dice don't always go your way despite seemingly good visual odds on the battlefield. Severely wounded units can still cause a lot of pain (especially those elites with a +2 damage bonus!). I learned that artillery in the open and close to the enemy can only hold out for so long, and that at the end of the day, it's the poor bloody infantry that secure victory!

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.

Hasty Barricades from S and S models

I've just finished 4 pieces of resin Hasty Barricades from S and S models. They will make a great addition to my wargaming terrain. I'm hoping to combine them with Armourfast houses to represent a 'town' in One Hour Wargaming rules. This would form a potential objective for the armies fighting, and these barricade pieces are the perfect length for my Renedra wargaming bases. I've used a variety of GW paints and inks, with a bit of drybrushing to raise little details. In my experience resin models are a massive faff usually and halfway through painting these up I felt they would look awful. But GW inks like Agrax Earthshade and Athonian Camoushade make the sacks and barrels look the business.

WIP Armourfast Farmhouse 1

This is my first attempt at an Armourfast Farmhouse. To use it for a variety of periods (1700s onwards) I wanted to give it some slight battle damage but still retain the main structure so that wargaming units can hide behind it. The next stage will be strengthening the joins with Liquid Green Stuff and using the same substance to break up the surface of the cream coloured plastic.