The Battle for Telegraph Hill

After the last weeks bash centred around the fight for a built up area, this week I thought it would be good to have something different and with more open terrain. Once again 'Scenarios for Wargames' was consulted and I settled upon Scenario 7: Rear Slope. Essentially the attacking force could only see some of the defenders who were deployed on the forward slop, but had no idea of the terrain or other troops on the rear slope. 

Union OOB
8 x Line Infantry
1 x Light Infantry
2 x Mounted Infantry
4 x Artillery

Confederate OOB
5 x Line Infantry
1 x Light Infantry
1 x Mounted Infantry
4 x Artillery

Deployment
I deployed part of my force as per the scenario, with the main effort by the road, which was the objective. I put a flanking force by the woods and the Northern end of the hill to cover the open flank. The rest of my troops were out of sight and represented by counters.

Dave's plan was as per the picture below:

  

An overview of the table, with the hill to the right of centre running North - South.

The main Confederate postion that was visible to the Union troops.

The Confederate right flank.

The Union troops about to entire the field of battle.

The view from the Union right flank.

Turn1

The Union 1st Bde on the right flank, the 2nd Bde in the centre and the 5th Cavalry Bde all rolled 3 moves and advanced to the snake rail fences as ordered. 

The Confederates moved some units out of view of the enemy, but moved their reserve artillery belonging to the 7th Bde onto the hill. The artillery which could fire missed all of their targets. Typical!

The end of Turn 1.

The Union right flank in the corn fields.

The view from the Confederate 5th Bde towards the advancing Union forces.

The 7th Bde artillery moves onto the hill.

The Confederate left flank looking towards the Union 5th Cavalry Bde by the snake rail fencing.

Turn 2

The Union 5th Cavalry Bde failed their order (and would do so for the rest of the battle!), but the 1st Bde & 2nd bde pushed forward, with their shooting Disordering and causing hits on Confederate units on both wings.

In response, the Confederates moved up their Cavalry Bde to support the 7th Bde skirmishers on the right flank as well as bringing on another unit from the 5th Bde on the left flank. The shooting was more effective, with units in the 1st & 2nd Bde's Disordered.

The end of Turn 2.

Another regiment arrives to bolster the Confederate 5th Bde on the left flank.

The 7th Bde's artillery deployed but failed to hit anything.

The Cavalry Bde moves forward to support the 7th Bde's skirmishers.

Turn 3

Both the 1st Bde & 2nd Bde advanced and adopted a wide frontage to maximise their fire power. The Confederate 7th Bde skirmishers dodged an awful lot of incoming fire, but was Disordered, whilst the Confederate 5th Bde had a unit 'Whipped'. 

The Confederates 5th Bde brought up its final reserves to replace the 'Whipped' unit. Across the line the shooting was poor, only Disordering a unit of the Union 2nd Bde and  causing a hit on a unit of the 1st Bde. Really it could have been better...

The end of Turn 3.

The Union 1st Bde pushes on towards the hill, their objective.

The Confederate 5th bde bravely (or stupidly?) pushes a unit forward to meet the enemy.

The ineffective 7th Bde artillery.

The Confederate right flank facing formed troops and somewhat outnumbered.

The Confederate 5th Bde enjoying a 'Mr Whippy' ice cream, out term for 'Whipped' units.

Turn 4

On the union left flank, the 2nd bde pushed forward via passage of lines to keep up the pressure on the Confederate right flank, leading the the 7th Bde skirmishers becoming Shaken. The 1st Bde also pushed forward, with their shooting leading to one of the 5th Bde's artillery becoming 'Whipped' as well as a unit Disordered and the 7th Bde artillery also Disordered.

Under pressure the Confederate right flank moved back to the woods to try and slow the Union advance, trading space for time. The Confederate 5th Bde moved a unit up to the fence line to try and stabilise the line. The shooting was limited due to losses but only managed to Disorder a unit in each of the 1st & 2nd Bde.

The end of Turn 4.

The beleagured 5th Bde on the Confederate left flank.

The 7th Bde artillery in an exposed position but still with a chance to inflict damage on the Union troops.

The Confederate troops face overwhelming odds.

A view down the Union lines.

Turn 5

With minimal movement, the union shooting was once again very effective, leading to the 7th Bde's artillery becoming 'Whipped' along with the last infantry unit of the 5th Bde. So with more units enjoying their '99p Flakes', it was game over for the Confederacy.

The end of Turn 5 and the game.

What's left of the 5th Bde.

The Confederate right flank seperated from it's centre and left flank.

The queue for the ice cream van.

The Union battle line undamaged by Confederate shooting.

Eric Wayne and his 5th Cavalry Bde that (thankfully) moved only once during the game.

Post Game Thoughts

In the end a rather convincing win for the Union and another poor showing by the Confederacy. Why was it so one sided? Some thoughts that might explain why:

• The Confederate shooting was rubbish. Frankly when they needed to they couldn't hit a barn door! This allowed the Union for the most part advance unmolested and to execute their plan, which they did with admirably.
• The Union saving rolls were once again excellent, with an awful lots of 5's and 6's being rolled. So when I did hit, it had little or no effect.
• The Confederate break tests were rubbish, with my rolls generally being no higher than 6, so adding in the deductions for Disorder etc, led to them becoming 'Whipped'.
• I should have put more troops on the forward slope at the start of the game, to increase my potential firepower. What reserves I had I should have moved up in the first Turn. However that would have taken away the point of the scenario really.
• Both of us thought that it should have been a tougher task than it was for the Union troops, in what was a sort of Gravelotte St Privat style attack. Sadly the Confederate shooting made it a comparative stroll in the park.
• Re-reading the rulebook post game, we have been making a few mstakes of late, but nothing that would have affected out recent games. Still we live and learn.
• We were both surprised at how vulnerable artillery was to shooting, with them automatically failing any Break Tests they were required to make. A bit of an eye opener to be honest.

Despite it being very one sided, we still had fun and had our usual banter and post game chat. It will probably be more ACW for the next game in a week or so, subject to the Covid-19 situation, or we might be able to kick off some ImagiNations gaming, as long as I have enough units painted. So until next time...