ACW – Early Months of the War Scenario

This scenario is the first meeting of the forces that I have been working on to eventually refight the Battle of First Manassas at the Bull Run. The armies that met in the first few engagements – at Big Bethel and Bull Run – had some interesting uniforms and features for the wargamer. Colourful zouave and chasseur uniforms, some Northerners in grey and some Southerners in blue, Stars and bars flags only for the Confederates etc.

In this refight, the Union were successful on their left flank and the Confederacy on their left, leading to a ‘revolving door’ front line. The Confederates also had the better of the fighting in the centre and killed more enemy troops, so on balance the C.S.A had the better of the evening’s fighting.

Louisiana Tiger Zouaves

Player View

Battle of Bull Run Wargame

14th Brooklyn Chasseurs ('Red Legged Devils')

JEB Stuart and the Black Horse Cavalry

33rd Virginia (on right) in blue coats

NY Fire Zouaves

79th NY Highlanders hit in the flank

Boeotian War 378-371 BC – Thebes vs Sparta

Sparta clashes with Thebes in this classic historical match-up. The game was another one of our online club games. This period has proved popular for online games as they are easy to set up and relatively straightforward for players to command their forces.

In this clash the Thebans made good use of marshy ground on their right flank to slow the Peloponnesian advance down and massed their superior cavalry on their left flank to sweep the Spartan cavalry from the field. The centre was hotly contested but a stubborn unit of allied Boeotian hoplites (despite being inferior and unreliable) held out long enough for the Sacred Band to land the knock-out blow to the Lacedemonians.

Player View

Cavalry Melee 

Peltasts

The Theban Phalanx including the Sacred Band

Burma WWII - "The Road to Mandalay"

 

Another online club game, this time set in Burma in 1945.

The British are tasked with clearing some stubborn Japanese defenders on the drive to Mandalay. They have a half squadron of Lees, a battalion of Gurkhas and a battery of Royal Artillery 25pdrs to complete the task. The Japanese have 2 depleted infantry battalions dug in and a company of Chi Ha tanks to frustrate the British. The rules used were Rapid Fire. Unbelievably, the game was decided on a double six role, enabling a Chi Ha to KO a Lee which determined the game in the Japanese favour.

[Please note that there probably weren’t any (or very few) historical encounters between Lees and Chi Has in WWII – certainly not any in which a Chi Ha gets the better of a Lee!]

The British plan takes shape

Gurkhas advance, kukri knives at the ready

Stubborn Japanese defenders dug-in

A dug in Chi Ha

Close support from a mortar

Lees and infantry in close support

A Lee enjoying some battlefield superiority

Player view on the laptop

A suicidal lunge mine attack is embarrassingly unsuccessful!

Chi Ha Shinhotos arrive

A Lee is KO'd by a Japanese AT gun

AT gun and KO'd Chi Ha

Last die roles of the game. A Chi Ha KO's a Lee with a double 6 !

More Greek Madness - The Peloponnesian War

Another club game played online. This time a classic encounter between Athens and Sparta. 

In short, despite doing everything correctly - managing light troops effectively, using higher ground to deploy inferior hoplites, good use of superior cavalry etc. - The Athenians managed to lose the game in the last turn. The Spartan's quality shone through, although the key moment was when the Athenian C-in-C AND key ally generals were killed in melee, leading to a collapse in army morale and a bitter defeat to their historical enemies.

Player view

From behind Athenian lines

Spartiates

Spartan allies

Athenians

From behind the left flank of the Athenian line

The rival phalanx clash

Inferior hoplites fight for control of the high ground