The General - Volume 20, Issue 5

7/23/2019 The General - Volume 20, Issue 5

1/52


2/52

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiviiiiiiiaiiiiiiiIOiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiliiiiiiiliiiiiiiPiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiloiiiiiiisiiiiiiiOiiiiiiiPiiiiiiihYiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiPiiiiiiiaiiiiiiifiiiiiiit

1

iiiiiiiOiiiiiii

1

Continued on Page 3 Co

By

David

B

Solitaire Ratings

1. TheLangestDay

2. Struggle

of

Natio

3.

Waterloo

4 Stalingrad

5.

FurylnTheWesl

6.

RussianCampaig

7. Bulge'Bl

8. Li tl leRaundTap-

9. AfrikaKorps

10. D Day

1.14

1.15

1.22

1.33

1.36

1.78

1.96

1.98

2.03

2.10

By

James

M

By James

S

By

Kevin M

By Michael M

By

Jim B

By

Rod

W

By A, Blumberg and R.

Ha

By

Michael Craig

By R,

Martin, P, O'Neil,

R.

Ha

By Rex

A, M

matches

the Overall

Value

rat ing- which

loosely interpreted

as

that game's rating f

petit ive, face-to-face play - of each title f

RBG.

Before proceeding, it

proves

bene

break out the top

ten

of

our t it les for bo

and Solitaire play:

PBM Ratings

1. Diplomacy

2. Bu lge

'Bl

3.

Afrika

Karps

4

Waterloo

5

Stalingrad

6.

Russian

Campaign

7 Anzio

B.

DDay

9. Ai r Force

10. Midway

REBEL YELL

Confederate Set-Up

for

ULL

RUN

FIRST BLOOD

The Battle

of Bull Run

N ORTH FI ELD, END O F A N ERA

A GUNSLINGER

Scenario

EVERYONE S FAVORITE ATTACK

The Mystical

3-1

TH E BLUE AND TH E GREY

Leaders

in

Intermediate GETTYS URG

Back in

the Letters

to the Editor column of

Vol. 20, No.2, I indicated a willingness to compile

an informal rating

of the

suitability

of

our

RBG

titles

for

solitaire and play-by-mail

activity After

an in

coming t ide

of

some 45 responses by readers,

many

of whom were kind enough to jot

down

their

thoughts

on

the

subject,

I v e not received further

imput

forthis survey, Thus, it

would

appear

time

to

mull

over the

results of this, admit tedly, l imited

data base and

draw

some

tentative

conclusions.

At

the end

of

this Philosophy the readership will

f ind a l is ting

of

ratings

for

each title on

the

War

game

RBG

and

Adventure

Game

RBG for

PBM

and

Solitaire ,

The values represent the collective

evaluation of each game in terms of its ready suit

ability

for

such play. The observant among

the

readers will quickly note

that the

order

of

inclusion

NUTMAIL

How

to Get

Your

Questions Answered

A K IN G S O FF ICER

The Battles of Richard Bolitho

SERIES REPLAY

ULL

RUN

WEST POINT S FINEST

The Commanders at Bull

Run

KING OF TH E HILL

Tactical Analysis

of

LITTLE

ROUN

TOP

TH E

COMPLEAT DIPLOMAT

The

Careful

Knife

The AVALON

Hill

G N R L

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19B4


3/52

Driven

shamefully

from

his home, and his

rightful

throne,

the valiant

Prince Argrath lived

long

among

the Nomad Tribes. After years of lonely exile, fate

h s called him forth to reclaim the lands of Sartar

and wreak terrible vengeance on the people of the

Red Moon.

In the Temples of the Reaching Moon

focus

of

the might of this Scarlet Imperium

the

forces of

empire stand ready

to

withstand

any

aggressor. For

the glory of

the

Living Goddess, you are dedicated to

1 CIII .

I

,

.

. ~ f > - - l {

Yi

... _ - : . . . _ ~ : ; . o J . l l ~

ragon ass is the most highly

acclaimed Fantasy

board

game ever to be

produced. Through

its magic,

the

Players are

transported

into

the

Wars

of

Argrath's Return on the majestic

world

of Glorantha.

Valiant

players are challenged to take up the sword

of Sartar and reclaim its lands, to don the

helm

of the

Red Empire and

destroy the

upstart who demeans

the Red Moon

or to

wield

the

forces of

the

independents in a desperate struggle

fo r

survival.

In a multitude

of exciting

scenarios, these

challenges, and more, are put

to

you. This outstand-

ing game includes a

beautifully

written rule book a

detai led map

and three hundred counters

that

depict

the forces of these realms.

It

presents novel,

innovative

rules in an easily

understandable and enjoyable format. In

al l

of its

withstand

all aggression and expand

the

holdings

o

the

Red Emperor,

the

Immortal Son

of the

Goddes

and

ruler of

her holy empire.

In the deadly hil ls and quiet valleys of the pas

a plethora of diverse peoples care fo r

thei r ow

affairs. Here they stand, they will no t be moved

Their forces stand ever-ready to secure their realm

from

the

threat that most endangers their existence

They are independents, powerful and deadly.

,\,

precisely detailed

and

challenging scenarios

ragon ass

demands that you

face

and maste

challenges in

mortal

and arcane

combat

beyond an

that

can be experienced elsewhere.

ragon ass

truly

a

triumph

in Fantasy Gaming that must b

revelled in to be believed.

ragon ass was f i rst produced

s

White Bea

Red

Moon

an Introduction

to

the world of Gloran

tha. Avalon Hill

is

proud to present this revise

version

of

a truly Fantastic Masterpiece.

ragon ass is

now available

fo r

16.00from

th

Avalon Hill Game

Company

4517

Harford

Road

Baltimore

MD 21214. Please add

10

shipping an

handling (Canadian orders, 20 ; overseas orders

30 ).

Maryland

residents please add

5

state sale

tax.


4/52

III

~ I I

4-10

Knock Russia out of the war

before the first snow falls

These were

Adolph

Hitler's words to his generals

as they assembled to plan Operation Bar-

b ross the code-name for the Nazi invasion

of

the Soviet Union set for

22

June 1941. General

Heinz

Guderian,

master

of

the blitzkrieg

and

original

proponent of armored warfare

in the

Wehrmacht was

ordered

to

lead

a Panzer

gruppe

of

nine tank divisions and dozens of in

fantry divisions over the Soviet

border

on this

fateful day. Their ultimate objective: Moscow.

PANZERGRUPPE

GUDERIAN is a highly detailed

and

realistic simulation of one of the most critical early

campaigns of the Second World War. The

game

is

both

deceptively simple to learn and remarkably

enjoyable and informative to p lay. As the Germ

player, can you recreate Guderian s Light

War or will Soviet

manpower

overcome you?

As

Soviet player, can you stop

the

Nazi express bef

your political

and

cultural

capital

city

of

Mosc

falls?

PANZERGRUPPE

GUDERIAN will answer th

questions and more. The

game

includes a 22 x

mounted

mapboard

on which the 200-plus

ga

pieces fight

and maneuver. In addit ion, an easy

digest instruction

folder

explains the rules in a sim

and straightforward manner.

PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN is rated 4 on a 1 (sim

to 10 (complex) level. The game may be play

solit ir without any serious ditficulty.

PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN is

available

now

S18.00 from the Avalon Hill Game Company, 4

Harford Road, Baltimore, MD 21214 Please

add

1

for

shipping

and handling (20 for Canad

orders, 30 for overseas). Maryland reside

please

add 5 state sales tax.


5/52

Confederate Player: Rex Martin

Union Player: Paul O Neil

Neutral Commentator: Richard Hamblen

Since this is the first

U RUN

replay,

will

t with some comments on strategy. The rules

ze most of the Confederates opposite Cen-

ville until Turn

4,

leaving the Sudley fords

guarded; a Union drive down the Sudley Road

nnot be stopped until the Confederates are freed

meet it. Thegame

is

more complex than a simple

ve through Sudley, however. The Union must

defend Centreville, a massed Union drive has

limitations ofbeing slow and risky (only limited

nglh can cross the fords each turn and the op-

ing armies are equal overall), and lhe Union has

t can

find

a weakspot to penetrate, or

elop several threats backed up by a reserve to ex-

il the most promising. The initial setup is critical

both sides; theConfederates must preserve their

and delay lhe Union, while the Union musl

trale their defenses before lhe Confederales

in their balance.

Finally, J simply cannot resist lhe templation to

en each turn s commentary with n appropriate

rical reference for our battle.

uly 1861

I have pl ayed this game a great deal

Richard during

th e

playtest, bu t never

st Paul on e

of

Richard s primary playtesters).

even though Richard

ha s

punished me

enough

for t aking a

forward stance,

I ll utilize

perience with it now. Thus,

my

setup is f ai rl y

straightforward; in e ss en ce

I m

go in g to

throw

everything

I can across Bull Ru n an d see

ho w

he

responds. I

ca n

t hen ei ther

promote

an offensive,

or

withdraw

to

hold

t he f or d s.

In working my way from west t o e a st , th e place

ment of Evans force an d th e

abatis

made

with

little thought.

Th e

a ba ti s a re

p la ce d t o

insure that

th e road over the s tone bridge is i nterdict ed as l ong

a s p os si bl e.

E va ns h im se lf

masses

behind

these,

r ea dy t o m ov e

west

across t he bridge

if

th e

situation

develops

around

Su d ley Springs as I

anticipate.

Alternatively, he is in p os it io n t o coordinate an

assault

with Cocke

to

clear th e region between t he

runs an d p re ss u re t he w es te rn approaches t o C en

treville.

Now,

a

tough

choice

must

be m a d e - w h o

to sacrifice t o s l ow th e Union development across at

Su d

ley Springs a n d g u ar a nt e e t h at

Smith

comes

on

at Manas sas J unction. I w ill l ikel y l os e

either

th e ir

replaceable Terry or equally irreplaceable Davidson.

On e

of them

must dash

fo r hex

P6

t o s pr in g t he 1st

Virginia C av p as t a ny U ni on

cavalry

in th e area. I

t hi n k t h at

Davidson

th e sacrifice. Terry goes into

AA 8

to slow

any development toward

Poplar Ford.

He will retire

behind

th e abatis after the first Union

move. Of

course,

he

ma y

die if t he enemy decides to

spring

t he s to ne

b r id g e p o si ti on f or t h ei r northern

flank.

Cocke

lies in w ai t t o b e

awakened

by

any offen

position

at

FFI2.

I have seen

some

ferocious ba

develop

in this

central

a re a, a nd

have

arran

Cocke s command accordingly. From h er e h e

progress

toward

Centreville, or cross over Cu b

to

j oi n t he b ul k of

th e

forces

fo r

a frontal adva

h o rr o rs ) o n t he obj ect ive.

Or ,

C oc ke m ay sim

retire

behind

Bull

Ru n

if pressured, sacri fi

small infantry units in th e rearguard while

artillery an d

brigade core retreat.

I must a d mi t

I

rarely

consider this

latter

satisfactory, prefer

to force the Union player that w a nt s t o c ro ss her

fight

Cocke

before

assaulting Bee

an d

Bartow ran

along the

fords.

Cocke is th e

rock

of my left

fl

bu t e ve n h e

expendable.

Th e 1 V i rgi ni a Ca v is positioned to block

threat to Smith s entry. Bee

an d

Bartow will m

to

take

u p p o si ti on s as far

forward

as practica

he deci des

t o d ev el op th e

n o rt h er n p us h, t hi s

l ikel y be south of New M ar ke t. I v e l ea rn e d l

ag o

that,

w it h t hi s strategy,

an y

other positio

merely g ro und up by th e U ni on a dv an ce f

Sudley Springs. In t his case, Evans will harass

die to slow

th e

Union drive. Meanwhile Bee

Bartow will a wa it S mi th an d defend Bethle

Church in a lengthy

withdrawal

while I

p ush

Centreville w it h a ll

s tr en gt h. T hi s

means a g

game, striving to pull his attention from here w h

mount a

frontal

assault

on

th e heights of Centrev

t o g ai n

a

quick

win.

In t he c en te r, my t hr ee b ri ga d es can ei


6/52

6

some losses among sacrifice rearguards) s

damnyankees

attack.

All three ar e se t t o

t he sli ghtest move by t he Union on their

Jackson will cross or no t as the situation

P en dl et on a nd Walton

unl ess somet

develops, will p us h f or wa rd for an arti

wit h what ever he ha s facing me. Earl y

is

cross at

McLean s

joining with Jones to

the eastern approaches. Alternatively as

keep my options open), Jones will se

sacrifice-extracting

as

many

losses

or

time as

possible-to

slow

an y

advance on M

while Jackson shifts so uth . I ve yet to seea

sive develop across McLean s but it neve

be p rep ared . Or he may simpl y sit t here

an y Un io n player attacking

on

my right to

northern flank when Jones separates his f

interdicts the m ai n r oa d.

On m y r igh t tlank my greatest gam

bridge stays up at the railroad UU28) to

my ad van ce u p th e east edge. Ewell an d H

positioned to bring on a thrust by t he U

Division. Should it not be committed h

will follow J on es a nd E ar ly up the right

ready-made r es er ve . S ho ul d all t hi s c om

while he

is

concent rat ing on t he west, I c

as many as e ig ht b ri ga de s c on ce nt ra te d

treville, certainly enough t o cat ch his a

Should

a s I e xp ec t, t he se fa ce t he Y an ke

6th La will t ake t he brunt having gradua

high school in Louisiana

an d

being filled

of

t he Civil

Wa r

episodes

of

these poly

I ve no

doubt

that it will give a good ac

i tsel f). Wit h Harrison s cr ee ni ng , I t ak e

calculated gam ble

an d

place Ewell himself

with a ny as sau lt on the 6th L ouisia na

de finite push, he

an d

his survi vi ng fo

w it hd ra w a cr os s t o take u p p os it io ns o n

bank. In point of fact, Ewell s brigade

is

ex

if he can cause casualties an d discomfo

Union development here.

Now, wit h my posit ions set , I awai t t o

his effort is to be concentrated. Or rathe

any good Union player will develop two

supporting

offensives

to

st retch my l ines

i ng m e in s ev er al p oi nt s

an d

awaiting com

of my reserves b efo re sh atterin g o ne fla

other.

In th e d ar k b ef or e

dawn

th e grey

crossed Bull Run t o t ak e up attacking posi

Rex

deploys north ofBullRun to attac

ville, which unbalances his defense even m

difficult for the Union player to exploitfla

face-down positions, but he stillshould po

units to eitherdefend or escape

if

the Union

He hasalso created commandproblems by

his inactive brigades into

four

groups, m

Beauregard and Johnston can keep mo

region by region critique:

WEST: Evans

and

Cocke restrict the

U

up and menace Centreville,

but

they

are

n

vulnerable. Evans should form brigade t

against bombardment, and Cocke s scree

be A

V proof

to protect the meat of the

b

CENTER Longstreet can escape

if

t

attacks, but Kersahw and Bonham

are

against thefords; theyshould befartherfo

back.

Dawn: On this and the facing page are i llustrated the

ment of

for es

by the opposing comm nders Not sh

limitations of s pa ce are the u ni ts in the fol lo

Rl Richardson and Keyes I Conn 2 Conn 3 Conn

US; R2 -1 Mass,2 Mich,3 Mich,

2

NY,

il

US; BBB35

Me, 4 M e , 5 M e, 2 VI; CCC34-Franklin 5Ma ss, II Ma

Mich;

CCC35-Wilicox

I I NY, 38 NY,

US, D 2

Hampton Legion Letter coded counlers represent:

Bartow 1 Miss 2 Miss 4

Ala

Imboden 7 Ga 8Ga;

B

Va, 5 Va, 27 Va, 33 Va; C-Po rler 8NYM,

4

NYM

NYM; D-Burnside 2 NH

7

NYM, I RI, 2 RI i


7/52

NORTHEAST:

Blocking the Union Mills

Road

,

good, but the bulk of Jones brigade is too far

McLean s Ford to escape

the Union attacks.

rlyshouldbe onehex

backfor

flexibility, sincehe

not

cross at McLean s

the Union

is

present in

ngth anyway.

SOUTHEAST: The trestle is a delicate gamble

t can be valuable to the Union. Its potential is

unrealizedbecause most Union playersdo not

how to use it. Nonetheless, it can distract the

ion player and divert his troops

from

other

reats, so in practice i t usually gives the CSA a

all benefit and the Union a small chance of a

ge benefit. In this case,

Rex is

clearly trying to ,

aw Paul into thesoutheast cornerof the map, fo r

has left the Union three hexes at CCC35, enough

set up the whole 3rdDivision. As if this were not

ough, Ewell is far too vulnerable: his southern

n be trapped and killed, his northern units

n be driven away

from

the trestle the

5 Ala

and

sser shouldexchange positions to strengthen the

sition). Holmes wisely sets u p guarding the

may have to f ig ht be fore he

n

get a

mand to move.

I f

Rex

wanted to attract the Federals to Union

lls, he overdid it; the area

is

a real weak spot,

gerously close to Manassass.

I ve

n ev er p la ye d Rex

before,

bu t

from

ching him play other games and

from

Richard s

of his f ight s w it h R ex I expected to see an

Confedera te commander. I believe

that the

Union

commander, e ve n i f he has

attack , has a s li ght advantage. I can choose my

of a tt ac k, a nd I have an overwhelming

advantage to back it up. Theone drawback

playing against an aggressive commander that

a l ot c lo se r

to

Centreville for h im than it

to

for

me.

Just as I expected (feared), Rex has set up

rything he c an o n the

north

bank.

He

has even

ployed t he t r es t le f or me. (I f I w as

him, I d

place

s o; I think i t s an advan tage to both players.) I

on taking advantage of his southern hospitality

My

Second

and Third divisions will be placed

attack

via th e

bridge, Yates and

Union

Mills

s . I hope to

spook

him w it h the

numbers,

but I

be too surprised if he

no t influenced.

I put Richardson and Keyes

up

at Sudley Springs

they are strong

enough

to be some

threat, but

to use them as a force

of

maneuver .

they draw-probably Evans, Bee and

be less at

the

fords

for

me to face. The

of the army

at Centreville along with

D owell . I

don t

plan on attack ing h er e u nl es s I

get ver y good

odds.

I l l just sit and

watch

him

to move me o ut. If he willing to make low-

attacks,

I ll

certainly let him.

Delighted by the

weak

defense at the trestle

sent two divisions around the Con-

erate right flank

Normal conservative play would be to cross

ongly at Sudley and Poplar fords, open up the

ne Bridge and the crush Cocke, Kershaw and

nham at 10:30; the Confederates would be too 8

ak andout ofposition to stop the Union short of

nassas. However, the opportunity at Union

is

too dazzling: Holmes and Ewell cannot

9

ssibly defend two fords and a bridge

fo r

long.

ul rightly decides to smash through here, but his

ation isflawed. An area by area critique:

0

EAST:

With the game at stake at Union Mills,

is critical. The Union must cross before the

nfederates can reinforce. Paul sets up to get all

e crossings in three turns the

nd

and3rd Divi-

s outflank any delaying defense in the south).

he effectively isolates the

nd

and3rd Divisions

leaving Jones

in

control

of

the Union Mills road.

then ties up Davies in a defensive roleinsteadof


8/52

8

using the 1st Division to drive Jones south against

the anvil

of

the 2nd Division.

CENTER: Abandoning the area west

of

Cub

Run

is

simply

wrong without

changing theforces

involved, Paulhas given up the initiative in the area

to Cocke and has abandoned another road, and

isolates Richardson from Centreville. Sherman,

Schenck and Blenker are too weak to fight alone,

but they are too strong to waste as delaying forces.

A single brigade is enough to delay reinforce

ments are nearby, and theforce savedcouldbe used

to attack Cocke and Jones.

WEST: To save t ime crossing the fords, any

Sudleyforce should exclude slowartillery

andform

eight-point groups tosave timecrossing thesefords;

and have active leaders

in

two hexes (to activate

both sides

o f

both fords). Paul violates

AL L

THREE principles: his force totals 25 points, in

cludes slow artillery, and Keyes is active only when

in Richardson s hex. Theforce should belarger and

more threatening, or smaller and faster it could

save three turns

just

by leaving

G/2

US at Centre

ville. Paul

is

not paying much attent ion to this

group, which brings up an interesting question:

with the game at s take at Union Mills should the

Union cross at Sudley at all?

As

the battle begins, the honors are even:

Re x

has given Paul a weak spot to drive through, but

Paul has broken his army into three isolated

groups. The Union, with the better roadnet, cannot

reinforcefrom group to group bu t the Confederates

can

If

the Confederates can survive the initial

onslaught at Union Mills, the Union position will

degenerate rapidly. Time

is

definitely on the Con

federate side.

u

9:00 AM

Uni on: My onl y moves are to bring on the 4 th MI in

the south, shift Richardson and Keyes, and bring

Porter and B ur ns id e d ow n a he x. T hi s

is

to enable

the artillery to unlimber and fire whe n I attack. I

don t want to attack this turn, since I don t want to

wake up t he Confederat es yet. Johnston needs his

beauty sleep.

Unaccountably, once in position the Union

strike force paused

Paul does not attack With Sudley a sideshow,

this just gives Rex time to reinforce Union Mills:

while the Union will bemoved only two non-critical

brigades, the CSA will move four, p lus one bat

talion and two regiments (and Smith s brigade, ap

proaching by rail). Gambling everything on the

weakspot at Union Mills, Paul is letting it vanish by

default. G/2 US should at least lead the way into

Sudley Ford; apparently Paul has not yet noticed

that it will be a problem.

Confederate:

Paul s

placement

is

curious; his first

turn moves even more so. He has positioned himself

to shatter Ewell and l aunch himsel f across t he run

against an unsupported Holm es , a c ourse that

w oul d le ad to g re at distres s for me s inc e I c an get

nothing into the

area

for

an

hour. The climactic bat-

tle w ould de ve lo p for

the

h ei gh ts a bo ve R us hy

B ra nc h, with my forces c oe rc ed in to a tt ac ki ng a

tough position. Yet he pauses, seemingly afraid

of

awaking the bulk

of

the Confederate forces. I can t

help

but

feel this to be a strat egic error on his part.

However, since he

is

allowing me

at

l east a turn, I

must dispatch Wal ton and Jackson to the region,

t ak in g t he m

ou t of

any assaul t on Centrevil le.

Whatever progresses, I must write

of f

Ewell, whose

entirebrigade will go down in front of the combined

assault

of

the damnyankees.

But t hi s

is

not t he onl y curious circumstance.

Paul has seemingly ceded me the region between the

runs.

Cocke

can,

if

this situation holds, readily roll

u p t he Warrenton Turnpike and spread out Union

forces screeni ng t he westward approaches t o Cen-

t revi ll e. I wonder if he realizes

that

not having to

fight for t hi s posit ion as I am wont to do) has given

m e a s tra te gic advantage in a ny st ru ggl e f or th e

Centreville Heights. Indeed, he seems unsure what

to do in the center, merely con tent t o watch

developments elsewhere. Evans will remain in place

to

see if he decides

to

cross

and

challenge Cocke.

But Terry will gallop west

to

support Davidson and

delay his rather ineffectual threat.

His northern advance

is

so weak and lacklustre

that I f ac e a r ea l c ho ic e w it h t he V ir gin ia C av and

Bee

and

Bartow. With no Union

threat

to the

10:00 AM: Position following Union

Turn.

railline, I think then the 1st Virginia

w

eastward to await opportunities to cross the

p la y g am es w it h his command spans and

flanks. Meanwhile hmmm, I c an s en d

Bartow farther than I ha d thought to totally

any threat t o M an as sa s f ro m t he w es t. S o,

Bart ow march toward t he m ai n road, wh

a ll ow me t o p ro je ct t he m i nt o his for ce as

possible.

I

can t

help

but

feel

that

Paul has erred

strategic plans. He has three distinct forces,

to support each other, wit h his wei ght on

m

But he has not used this weight at its most

t une momen t i .e. , i mmediately). Instea

allowing me to react to it, strengthening t

with both a strong brigade and artillery.

can t save E well, he will c au se a de lay w

damnyankees steamroller him. This extra t

bring my reinforcements within range. Mea

the

rest

of

my

army

sits and awaits develop

In a flash, Beauregard percei ved the th

his right.

This

is

Rex s first move since the weak

Union Mills

was

revealed, and he reacts

w

disdain: everything movable heads

for

Unio

at top speed. Only Evans stays in the North

could go to W

and bottle up P8 next tu

why frustrate Richardson? His continued

a

is the only excuse the Union has fo r delayin

=

9:30AM

Union: Continue moving through Sudley n

for a dip). And I move Blenker and Davies t

positions. Davies has shifted to threaten M

Ford, while 6 NY serves as a rea rgua rd.

h av e p at ie nc e; my motto is, Come big

home . I don t want to make small scale

10:00 AM: P osition following Union Turn. Lener c oded

represent:

A-Porter,

8 NYM .

4

NYM, 27 NY, 2 R

F ra nk li n, 5 M as s, I I M as s, I M in n, I Mi ch ;

C-Howard

Me, 5 Me, 2 VI;

O-Jackson,

4 Va, 5 Va, 27 Va, 33 Va.

Harrison is

AVed,

and

P a lme r ha s r idde n down E we ll.


9/52

win a nd t he n have n o o ne to take advantage of

e v ic to ry . Besid es, I think Ewe ll may b e sitt in g

at

X32 waiting for me t o move ther e. I

am

u sed t o

i ghting my way acr os s t he r iv er, so I l l surrender

slight advantage I h av e n ow .

It s

still a lo ng w ay

M an as sa s. I r ef us e t o be l ur ed by his u ni t D av id

n ) a t P 6;

if

I attack, I l l o nl y be ou t of command

xt turn.

An unnatural stillness lay on

th e

battlefield.

Paul still waits, with time running out. Slowed

y a lack

of

leaders, Richardson s units stop in

P3

stay active in case the CSA evacuates actually,

ne unit should go to P4 lest they stay) . One divi

on leader would makea

difference if

Tyler were

ked with Richardson, Keyes could be

in

P3 and

s units could be in P4.

What

is

he waiting

on ?

I will s im pl y

n ti nu e t o m ov e

into

p os it io n h er e, b ri ng in g t he

threat

to

an end.

He

might

once

have

o ssed h ere w ith o ut g re at loss.

N ow , a ny

crossing

e e ffec ts will c ertainly b e c ostly

fo r

him. If I get

a nd J ac kson

i nt o b ri ga de , m y r ig ht

is

firm

t he f ace

of

his artillery

advantage. An d

his com

of

his c av al ry h er e is virtually pointless.

e area is so constricted that the y a re no t of much

se t o h im u nt il he is across the run. His

other

flank

n ti nu es t o d aw dl e

a lo ng , h ar dl y

worthy of a

a nc e n ow

that

I ve c ommitted Bee

an d Bartow.

i th , wh en he a rr iv es , will p ro ce ed

eastwards

to

ee wh at t ro ub le he can stir u p

o r su pp o rt

he c an

And th e grey

columns

raced

against

time.

With the delay reducing the danger at Union

Rex

shiftsBeeand Bartowback tojoin Evans

a normal delaying action against Richardson.

he weak cavalry and artillery suffice to hold P8

ce even i f the Union attacks, it must pause to

h crossing.

:

No w is the time to

attack.

I found a

s ho ul d n ot

have

moved

to

C CC 27 b ut

ld have stayed on the road at CCC26.

Forming

a nd H ow a rd , F ra n kl i n s

b ri ga de ha s a n

o n H a rr i so n

while

Palmer

rides

down

Ewell.

c en te r force s

move

to

take

u p p os it io ns o n t he

ying ridge line;

i t s n ot

a

grea t position bu t

it

do

for a while. I ll wait for

a n a tt ac k

there

nless he m ak es a

mistake an d

leaves me with a

attack.

D av ie s me an w hile mov es

south

to

eep a w ar y eye

o n J on es .

Keyes

draws

up t o face

e d el ay in g f or ce Rex t hr ew

out;

I can

form

him

o b rig ad e n ex t

t ur n a nd a tt a ck .

My a rtil lery h as

ew sh ots,

bu t

I ll

t ak e w ha t

Rex gives me.

Th e

on Rosser works-good omen. I

p e it

is

a portent of what my artillery will do .

.Striking suddenly if belatedly, th e blue battle

smashed

Dick Ewell s brigade

and

captured

e general at his

breakfast.

The Union attacks; Harrison a nd Ewell go

wn snappily and the 3rd Division moves up to

ear away the 6th La nextturn. Rosser is eliminated

a b om ba rd men t that sho uld have been a 3 1

sault to take the hexand block Ewell s remnants

from the trestle).

The Union advance in the center is a mi no r

under: the attacks are not worth much and could

ve been made just as well next turn, since Jones,

gstreet, Bonham and Kershaw are inactive. The

just allows them to mo ve a turn early,

fore any army leaderjoins them.

Well, the d amnY 1w ke es w he re I w as

i se d, i t was on e

word, an d

low er c ase) fin ally

r uc k. N ow

w e v e s ev er al i nt er es ti ng d ev el op

n ts. A s I fea red , Ewe ll g iv es his life fo r

the

cause,

making

his

u nt ou ch ed i nf an tr y expendable

rearguards.

He

h as a vo id ed t he

Louis ia nans , ob

viously

hoping

to

ta ke them ou t

next

turn

we ll all

hope

f or a n

EX

herechildren since I ll

no t withdraw

them).

Bu t this is a ll a misfire d shot, since

Jackson

an d

Holmes

an d

W al t on a re

no w

in position.

Meanwhile, Jones

an d

Early will mass under

B ea ur eg ar d t o trouble Davies.

he i gn or es t his

movement, t hi s f or ce will brush Davies aside an d

drive north; i f Da vi es r et re at s a s I ex pe ct , t he y l l

follo w a t his h ee ls.

h e shifts force s f ro m t he 2nd

Division, I ve su ce e de d in d ilu tin g any assault this

t urn a nd

will

scamper

b ac k a cr os s t he

ford.

My

center is o cc up ie d w it h m er e s hi ft in g of f or ce s t o

keep his

attention.

On ly the

actions of

the 30

Virginia

Cav is of a ny importa nc e

here.

I can

s pr ing it, it will

interrupt

his

command

spans or

force him to

abandon

t he r id ge s

around 0 0 1 5 .

Either is profitable

f or me,

an d

c ost e ffic ie nt. A s

the re ad e rs mu st

note

by now, I

am

a

proponent

of

maneuver.)

Cocke is proceeding

to

draw

up

on

th e b rid ge

west

of

Centreville.

Langhorne

will p la y his u su al

g am es , f or ci ng h im t o

spread ou t

a b it t o w he re ,

if

I

do

h it h im

an d

bre ak through, he will be unable to

mas s the br ig ade in

short

t ime . Bee ,

Bartow an d

Evans look

t o h av e a q ui et d ay .

Perhaps,

should the

opportunity

a rise , Ev an s

could

be

detached

t o s up

port

any crossing of

Cub

Ru n by

Cocke. To

the

west, Terry

continues

to merely

annoy,

hoping

f or a

shot

at a

commander

or h il lt op , f or ci ng h im t o be

cautious in his advance

an d

placement n ot t ha t he

isn t

mo vin g lik e a sp av ine d sna il h ere in an y case).

As th e

Confederate

attack brigades started

their

advance,

th e remnants

o f E we ll s

shattered

b riga de fle d n o rth

With nearly everyone active, Rex redoubles his

offensivegamble. He sends Johnston to activatethe

center and Beauregard to activate Jones, reinforces

Beauregard and advances Cocke to Cub Run. The

center brigades advance cautiously to avoid defeat

in detail by the strong Union force. At this point,

both sides are offensively overbalanced they can

not disengage and redeploy in time. The game is

now a race to Manassas and Centreville.

At

Union Mills, Jackson has been given

just

enough time to form brigade

at

the trestle, effec

tively bottling up the easiest way across the river,

but the 2nd Tenn remains a weak spot, vulnerable

to a

2-1

attack from Union Mills Ford.

:3

Union:

I

didn t think about

Rex moving back

on

my

right.

It s

a

good

t ac ti c n o

matter

w ha t side y ou

play.

The

slo w c ro ssing

at

Sudley

continues

un

troubled.

In

th e

c en ter, I ma ke minor

adjustments and

at

tack

M unf or d a t 3 hoping

t o e li mi na te

that

n uisan ce result D B2 ,

oh

we ll). Blen ke r ta ke s

th e

point while Sherman l ur ks n ea rb y. By moving

Jones

an d

Early

an d

Ewell, he has left a hole at

McLean s

Ford. I wonder

if

he will l ea ve it open?

I ll

shift

Burnside north

to

see what I can pick up. I

will probably

attack

Jones, e t. a l.

Th e

3 rd D iv isio n fo rms b rig a de

and

smac k s the

6t h L a.

In fan try to

c le ar the approaches; Franklin

takes

the

hill. My

bombardments

miss as Rex

is

playing PanzerBush and staying ou t of range of my

b ig g un s.

Hunter

an d

Heintzelman

are

positioned

t o k ee p e ve ry bo dy a ct iv e.

Wi th my

2nd

an d 3r d

Divisions now

joined,

a f10 0d tide rolls

toward

the

Rebs.

pursued by th e

impetuous

Burnside.

Paul sticks to his schedule: he hits the 6th La

and opens Yates Ford, but passes up the

2-1

on the

nd

Tennessee. Worse, he activatesHolmes, allow

inghim to correct the weakspot. Burnsideprobably

shouldmove up to threaten a crossingnext turn,

driving Ewell s remnants north

is

an accept

alternative. Paul willbe moving his assault colu

into position at all three crossings next turn.

A

good

player will not risk a low-odds at

while he

is

winning but he will

i f

he

is

losing, so P

can boldly offer low-odds targets until his Un

Mills threat gets closer to succeeding. Thus,

leaves Sherman

in

the open to delay, and hepr

ably does not have to retreat quite so precipita

with Davies.

In the west, the CSA retreat has left Keyes i

tive, but Richardson s pieces could at least impr

their positions. Is Paul ignoring this theater? If

that unimportant to his plans, why did he com

any strength to it?

Confederate:

Well, the Louisiana 6th didn t b

him

any

discomfort. B ut , t he

opening

shots of

art iller y duel go to me as he loses a battery.

W

Smith

on e

turn from

a rr iv al , I n o l on ge r t hi nk

I v e

anything t o fear her e.

To

g et a cr os s, he m

risk some assaults, something I

d o ub t t h a

will do. Likewise on my left flan k; w ith Bee , Ba

an d

E va ns r an ge d on

a nd a r ou nd

the crossr

near

Chinn

Ridge. Terry c on tin u es to hang

aro

his f lank. B ut I may

flOW

dispatch th e artillery

in t he area to

support

Cocke if I could figure

to keep it active until it

joined

him). W it h

flanks secure, I can direct my

attention

to

center.

The

i nt er es ti ng c ho ic e I f ac ed t hi s

turn

co

with his move of Burnside s forces

n o rth to

thre

my development acr os s at McL ei ln s. I could

Burnside

hard

by p ut ti n g E ar ly i nt o brigade

surrounding

B ur ns id e f or a

2

and

t hen a

3

tack

on

his

component

parts

why, Burnside

c

even die

an d

save the

Union future

grief). A be

of t hi s w ou ld be

that

I w o uld a lso

pu t

Davies

ou

command,

setting him

up

f or i so la ti on o n t he

turn

when the 30 Virginia drives of f his c

manders. Then

Davies

ca n

b e s w ep t u p by

Ea rly

Jones.

B ut , t hi s

c ours e c ould

commit me to

b

for

that

hilltop,

something I d

rather

n ot t ro

wit h n ow.

After

all, his

southern

wing

is

bothering me, why

should

I t an gl e w it h i t? ) A

natively, I

could

hit Davies

at

2-1,

bu t

the

chan

a d is as te r s ta re s m e in th e fac e, a llo wing a c ro s

at

th e f or d b y B ur ns id e. Instead, I w an t t o s p

th e 1 st V irginia, protect the ford and pres

Davies.

Th e

o nl y way

to do

all is to send E

scampering b ac k t o form brigade on t he f ar s id

cross the cavalry

an d

protect it by s acr if

another

piece of E we ll s b ri ga de i t l oo ks l ik e

time fo r the

Alabamans

to p ay t he piper),

an d

Beauregard

and

J one s north. I do u bt

that

he wi

tack J on es ; t he o dd s h e fac es h ere ru n high risk

loss, w hich w ou ld

open

the w ay to Cen trev ille

Otherwise, my movements before

Sherman

s ycopha nts a re

mer ely t ryi ng t o en ti ce h im t o

b ro il h im se lf in a

dogfight.

I we re

him,

I w

withdraw

t o t he r idg e its elf.

h e in ste ad

att

Kershaw who

is

being

offered

f or a

attack

n o re tre at), I l l swing

around

him

an d cu t

his fo

of f

f ro m t he m ai n r oa d.

Lea ving a

rearguard

t

chewed

up,

I can

take

the

town

in t wo

turns.

decides to s wamp Longs tre et s forwa rd Ist Virg

In fa n try w hich

is

screening

the

30th Cav f

change) with

Sherman,

he ru ns the risk-howe

slight-that it

could

r et re at t o TTl2,

cutting

Davies

an d

threatening t o s pr in g th e Centre

Ridge.

On

the other hand, its demise does no t gre

trouble me s ince I ll m er el y r al ly it in a few t ur

Thus

f ar, I have merely react ed t o his m

men ts. Little b rillia nc e h as b ee n n ee de d

to

cou

h is a c tio ns.

At

the

moment,

I t hi nk I v e got

strategic

advantage. However,

I

am

no

great

sh

a t ta ctica l

considerations on

the

operational

s uc h as t hi s.

Th e

issue re ma ins in

doubt.

Beauregard

posted

Early to hold McLean s

a nd a w ai t

further orders.


10/52

10

11:00 AM: Position following Union Turn Letter coded counlers

represent:

A Early

7 Va Miss 7

La;

B Jones 7 Miss 8

Miss, 5 SC , Miller;

C-Porter,

8 NYM, 7 NYM, G/2 US;

D Franklin 5 Mass

II

Mass 1 Minn; E Howard 4 Me S Me

Vt, 4 Mich, I Mich, 8 NY.

Rex corrects Holmes position

and im

mediately creates another weak spot by putting

Stanard next to Jackson instead

of

in thesamehex

This not only offers a way across the river, it

threatens to trap Jackson against the bend of lull

Run

Burnside s approach gives Beauregard an

unpleasant choice: defending or withdrawing

would take the steam out ofhisattack, butpressing

his advance north would commit him before the

Union Mills threat is resolved.

Rex

responds

by

waffling skillfully. He screens Burnside, advances

slightly and sends Early back to guard McLean s

Ford where he can reinforce Union Mills, Beau

regardor Johnston. The only problem

is thatEarly

cannot move at all until

an

army leader comesback

to activate him.

Rex

is

being bitten

by

hiscommand

problems.

Bee, Bartow and Evans form a wideposition at

the crossroads. This forces the Union to make a

poor

frontal attackor a longflank march, but once

more Rex does not allow for his command prob

lems: Bee and Bartow are slowed down by being

separated, since Bartow must get his command

from Bee. They willlose a turn if the Union tries a

flank march; and the Union attacks and elim

inates Bee, they could easily maneuver Bartow out

of the game.

U

M

11:00 AM

Union: I m

not

willing to

attack

across thefords yet

as I don t have the follow-up

troops

in position. As

I said earlier , it s Come big or stay home. I ll

shift units around t ry ing to keep my opt ions open

on where I

attack.

I keep moving

south on

my right;

it s

still a

turn

or two away until I

attack.

My diversion forces will

spread out looking for

an opportunity.

In the center, I hit the 1st Virginia

and

6th

Alabama-each

at

5-1-going for the kill

on

these

lone (sacrificial?) units. Rats Both attacks miss

and allow them to escape. And my

bombardments

a re only p inpr icks; I m

not

getting the shots I

thought

I would .

The

withdrawa l into the r idge

goes well, with Blenker breaking

to

cover

and

aid

Sherman

in his swipe

at

the 1st Virginia. Davies

begins a slow retreat

to

lead Jones on.

Burnside drove

of f

the Rebels and immediately

called

for

reinforcements

A campaign toforce a crossing has

four

1 bombardmentand spoilingattacksto wea

defense; 2) gambling attacks to cross;

3)

sur

the counterattack; 4) reinforcing and widen

bridgehead. The first three stages are expen

casualties, and the Union divisions canno

much strength and maintain a favorable edg

2nd and 3rd Divisions have 27 units with w

attack

12

defending units (I8 once Smith ar

Paul will need most ofhis strength toforce a

ing at Union Mills.

This turn Paul moves most

of

his troop

position, and Burnside drives the last

of

th

nants

of

Ewell up into Beauregard s group

time fo r Burnside to return to hisdivision: he

weak to deal with Beauregard by himself, a

strength will be needed at Union Mills.

Davies does not need to retreat so far, but

hardly a mistake as long as it continues to

Confederates who might be at Union Mills.

At

Sudley, Richardson starts a flank ma

artfully freezing the Confederates with a thr

attack down the road (however, he should

Pittslvania insteadofstopping at S7). I f he ca

the enemy to the Stone Bridge, he can hit

from

behindand eliminate him, free Schenck

force Centreville and open up the whole cen

the CSA will just stay stil l a turn or two .

DEPARTMENT

OFLOSTOPPORTUNI

Paul misses a neat attack at Union Mills. R

only replaceable infantry, he could attack S

at3-1, advance and trap Jackson against ther

1 2.

A success nearly wins the game, and at

11:00 AM: Posilion following Confederate Turn


11/52

OO P osition f ollowing U nion T urn. L e tte r c oded c ounter s

represent: A-Howard, 38 NY, 5 Me, Willcox, 38 NY; 8 4 NYM,

M AR , 2 V t , 4 M ic h. N ot e t h e M AR , 2 V T

and

4 Mich areeliminated

in subsequent combat.

the Rebels must make a desparate counterattack to

free the brigade.

Confederate:

Pau l s poo r

luck leaves my units

unharmed.

Already h e

is bemoaning

his fate,

but

I

feel ita trifle early to comment on the

luck

in this

game.

After

all , m y

attacks

u p t o t hi s

point

have all

been

minor

with

nothing

at risk, while the

burden

of

attack

is on Pau l. And

his luck

is

m erely a factor of

the o ffensiv e action s h e

must

take.

Turning

to

my

actual

move,

Jones

and

Early

both

go i nt o b ri ga de .

The remnants of

Ewell

earn

respect by retiring in the face of a

5 attack

to

hold

Beauregard s

rear

secure

from

Burnside and his

cohorts. M ea nw hi le , t he c av al ry m ov es

to

begin

spreading

ou t

Dav ies, who faces a

rather

interesting

choice

of

ro utes to g et himself

out o f trouble. Smith

meanwhile arrives and r ea di es t o

march toward

Jackson. Holmes

is preparing

to go into b rigade

next

turn.

he

is

t o s pr in g his

grand

assault, I ex

pect some I-I attacks along my river line any time

now.

The

potential for heavy losses

on both

sides is

im me ns e, w it h e nt ir e br iga de s decimated. This

m ak es it a d ie rolling contest.

And I ve no

idea how

Paul s

luck will h old.

The Confederates cautiously imp ro ved their

positions

without

disturbing th e

dynamic balance in

the

fluid situation.

Rex hastily corrects Stanard s position and

now, with Smith approaching, the end of the crisis

t Union Mills is

in

sight. With things going hisway,

Rex n hardly be faulted fo r caution. Why risk

unstitching a situation that is improving with every

turn? Slowness works in his favor, since time is on

his side; he wants to avoid creating a threat that

might spur the enemyforces into more determined

action.

In the west however, this lethargy leaves Evans,

Bee and Bartow at the

crossroads they

will still

have to lose a turn (to activate Bartow) before they

can start to catch up to a Union f lanking move.

Now it is

Rex

who seems to bepaying attention to

thisfront. The delay in the southeast

is

giving more

and more meaning to Richardson s drive.

=

11:30

AM

Union:

On my right flank,

Richardson

and Keyes

move

toward

the riv er to g et

out o f command

range

of Bartow.

As long as I m ov in g

south and

tying

up

u nits h ere, I m satisfied. However , my

own

com

mand h er e is s li gh tl y

awkward.

Oh for just

one

more

active

commander

i n t hi s g am e.

In

the center, I fall back.

I ve

been out

manuevered wh ich I exp ected )

and

have

not h ad

any successful

attacks

w hich I did

not

e xp ec t) . I

won t

be

outmanuevered

from t he C en tr ev il le

Heights however.

The

39 NY acts as my

rearguard

to

cover the retirement t o t he

slopes-although

Rex

does

not

seem

to

be

troubling

me.

At

l as t I

attack

in the

south. Theattacks are

such

that

any exchang es will kill Reb el defenders also.

Again I move units

around

to

take advantage

of any

opportunities,

and possibly move

north towards

C en tr ev il le . I a ls o r ea li ze no w I blew a chance to

cross at the b rid ge b y attacking Standard and soak

ing of f on

Jackson.

I was just b li nd ed by the

presence of

Jackson

in b ri ga de . I a ls o

managed

to

activate

Holmes

last

turn,

making my crossing this

turn even more difficult. That s

two

oversights in

one

turn;

I ll

have to be

more

careful.

My

rotten

die rolling continues. My

attacks

fail

and the 4

bombardment

misses.

I m only

g lad the

1-2

a tt ack on Hampton

was

an

AB2.

Soone r or

later,

the

die will tell.

The

Union

strategy

wa s losing direction, drift

ing

on

th e t id e of

events.

Paul could wait andmake a better initialassault

next turn, but with time running short he s wiser to

make two weak attacks

in

hopes of disarraying the

defenders. Unfortunately, the die shoots the at-

tacks apart.

Sandwiched between Union armies, Beau-

regard s force is both a threat and a temptation to

the Union player, but Union Mills

is

the critical

f ron t. Burnside should go south and leave

Beauregard to Davies. Instead Davies retreats and

Burnside continues north This is senseless: alone,

Burnside n accomplish nothing except waste time

(and Paul is

just

asking fo r command and rally

problems by splitting the

2nd

Division). This

is

the

price

fo r

failing to deal with Jones at the start.

Paul also leaves the

16

NY Blenker and E/ 3 US

vulnerable tofairly good attacks, which is n error.

An outnumbered delayingforce must be careful to

maintain its strength lest it encourage enemy bold-

ness. Out west, Richardson breaks fo r the Stone

Bridge, but could push a bit faster; the race is on.

OO P osition f ollowing Conf e de r ate Turn. Letter c

counter represents:

A-Richardson,

I Mass, 3 Mic h,

2

NY,

l

This is very dangerous except fo r Richards

Paul s play seems to be losing direction. The p

sure he

is

applying

is

slackening, which allows

to take the initiative.

Confederate:

The first desperate

Union

ass

across the f or ds i n the

south is turned back, tak

down a couple of Yankee units one of which wil

rallied next turn).

Now, Holmes

goes into brig

and

e xc ha ng es pl ac es w it h t he

infantry/artill

force

holding

Union Mills Ford. Meanwhile, Sm

draws near.

Smith

will

take

the northenmost ro

t o k ee p my

options open,

bu t stays

near

to m

onto

the h ill to p

if

it

appea rs tha t Pau l is

actu

going

to

continue Iris mad

assaults

towa

Manassas

here.

In the c en te r, I l l

continue

t o p la y g am es w

my c av al ry . T he se f in e

(and

exhausted)

horsem

shift to

threaten

a couple of

command

Beauregard emulates Ney and takes personal co

mand of the 3 0t h V ir gi ni a. D av ie s continues

delay his retreat

toward

Centreville, so I ll

conti

to

push on up

with

Jones . Perhaps

I

can

o

manuever Davies somewhere along the line and

him of f f rom the

roads to

the town. Too, my ce

will pace his

retreat,

keeping the illusion

of

press

here.

h e p au se s l on g enough somewhere bef

the final Centreville Ridge, I think that I ll launc

3

or

4-1 attack just

to worry

h im n ow

that

inf

try losses

can

be readily

brought

back).

And Co

continues to

lurk

around the bridge.

To the west,

nothing but

march

and

coun

march.

OO

Position following Confederate Turn.


12/52

12

The Confederates also were content

to

wait on

events.

Instead

of

taking the initiative, Re x marks time:

Johnston and Beauregardslow down, Cocke halts

completely and only batteries move to block Rich

ardson (this givesPaul theStone Bridge). With time

on his side still, Re x wants to pu t

off

resolving the

situation in order to lure Burnside north and delay

events around Union Mills. This delicate and

treacherous policy can be betrayed by events or

Paul s whim, andpays theprice

of

slowing theCSA

advance. It is hard to tell, but Rex wouldprobably

do better to press his attack on Centreville.

Re x

makes another mistake around Union

Mills. When a strongerforce moves behind Yates

Ford, Hampton should withdraw one hex. Staying

adjacent just offers a weaker spot

for a

Union

assault.

a

a a

12:00 NOON

Union: I willbe more aggressive this turn-I have to

be. the attacks don t work, I will probably swing

north to crush his center forces. In

the

center I will

give him the chance to attack Davies, but I don t

t hink he will. I attack

Munford

again (Exchange)

and

keep watching for a chance to attack elsewhere.

Sherman holds

the poin t

now

to

dissuade any

foolishness

on

Rex s part while Blenker withdraws.

In the west, both Keyes

and

Richardson ready

themselves to

f orm br ig ade

and

smite

the

Southe rners . A battle for bridge may soon be

begun.

I ll at tack again at Yates and Union Mills. One

of

these a tta cks should work. Hurray Both

work-even

if they were bloody.

Too

bad

about

the

Leathernecks; who told them they

could

attack

ar

tillery and survive. The big thing is that my losses

are possible to ral ly , while his are dead forever . I

rally the 3 Me as the best defensive uni t. Now, I ve

my foothold.

As

the

sun reached apogee,

t he second wave

of Union blue

advanced,

burst

across the

fords and

swept

th e defenders

away

This time the Union makes fairly good attacks

at bothfords, and is rewarded when both succeed

This creates a real crossing with

fe w

CSA reserves

nearby this

kind

of

breakcan

win

thegame

i f

Paul

n

funnel enough strength across. Unfortunately

Burnside is s inking ever deeper in to the mire at

McLean s Ford. Paul is treating Union Mills as one

threat among many instead of his main axis of

strategy. ,

Paul is muchmoreexpert in theSudley area(this

game is his first Union Mills attack). Richardson

and keyes prepare to form brigade and clear the

Stone Bridge next turn (quibble: Keyesshould have

all his regiments with him for soak-offs to use with

the formed brigade). But the strain

of

handlingfive

separate fronts is causing blunders: Miles can be

ridden down, Davies and Sherman can be sur

rounded (Sherman at 3-1 ) and the 16 NY remains

vulnerable.

The success at Union Mills transforms thegame

suddenly the Union has the initiative and the

crisis

is

in the East again. Neither side

is

prepared

for the new situation and both sides mustscramble

to adjust. The side that does so

first may well win

the game.

Confedera te : The damnyankees get a couple

of

breaks on the die

and

come across

at

Yates

and

Union Mills in force. Holmes is my second com

mander to go down before the villeins, at the head

of

his brigade.

To

add misery to the situation, an

EX

also takes down the Hampton Legion. Now, a

fast development to bring Smith onto the hilltop is

necessary. But, I think that it will be

at

least a turn

before he sorts himself out, moves across the fords

SERIES

R PL Y

COM TS CH RT

Turn

Units Attacking

Units Defending

Odds Die Roll

3

Palmer, I Mich Franklin Bgd

Harrison AV

3

Palmer

rides

down

Ewell

Bombardment:

3

D/5

2 RI

Rosser

3

6

3

E/3 Bookwood

I Va I-I

2

3

M/2

Davidson I-I 4

3

D/2,

II I

6 La

1-2 4

4 Howard Bgd,2 Vt,I Mich,

6 La 4

Franklin Bgd, Wilcox Bgd

4 2 W isc,27

Pa

Munford 3

4

Bombardment:

4 E/3 A/2

I Va

I-I 5

4 D/5 2

RI,G/2

Walker 1-2

3

,B6moardment:

4

Latham, Rogers, Heaton /2

I-I

6

4

Stanard,

Walker, Walton

7INY

4

3

5 Sherman Bgd,8 NY,29 NY I Va

5

4

5

Burnside, Bgd,2 RI,2 NH,

6A l

5 2

Palmer

Bombardment:

5

G/2, III,

D/5 2 RI,

D/2

2 Tenn

3

5

5

Bookwood Munford I-I I

5

E/ 2

I Ark

I-I

6

ombardment:

5

Stanard, Walker, Walton

G/2

2

5

6 3 Me,1 Mich, III, D/2 I Ark, 2 Tenn I-I

6

6

2 Vt

Hampton

2

4

Bombardment:

6

2 RI ,

D/5 G/2

Stanard 4 2

6 E/3 A/2

8 SC

I-I

6

6

E/2

8 Va I- I

I

~ B o m t a f d r t e n t :

6 Walker

MAR

I- I

6

6 Stanard, Walton 2 RI

I- I

6 Shields, Garnett, Kemper,

E

2-1

4

Pendleton

7 2 Wise, 29 NY Munford

3

5

7 4 NYM,2 Vt,4 Mich, Hampton 2 2

D/2,

II I

7

MAR,

G/2

Walker, 2 Va 1-4 2

7 I Minn, 27 NY, II Mass, 2 RI Holmes Bgd

I-I

I

Bombardment:

7

D/ 5

Stanard

I-I

5

7 E/3 A/2 Rockbridge 2 2

7

E/2

8 Va 1-2 4

7 l Imboden 1-2

3

7

Jones Bga,

Va

6 NY

4 1

6

7

30

Va rides

down

Miles

Bombardment:

7 Walker, Walton

II

Mass

1-2 5

7

Imboden 3 Mich

I-I

4

7

Shields, Garnett, Kemper,

A/2

2-1 2

Pendleton

8

REG, Burnside, Bgd, 5 Al

3 4

2 RI,2

NH

8

D/5 2 RI,27 NY, NY,

Richardson Squires

3

3

II

Mass, I Minn

Bombardment:

8

l

Davidson

1-2 2

8

M/2 Imboden

1-2 I

8

E/2

8

Va

I-I 6

Note: Grey shaded sections are Confederate attacks.

Result

DE

DE

DE

DB2

DE

DB2

DB2

DB2

AE

AB2

DB2

DB2

EX

EX

AE

DE (Holmes KIA)

DE

DB2 (elim)

DB2

DB2


13/52

and readies himself for the

grand

assault. I continue

to offer him only poor odds-for the hilltop hexes.

He has not shown any proclivity

to

develop

nything rapidly up till now; I don t expect the

Union commander

to do

so.

Jackson

shifts his

to keep the possibility

of

isolation and a

breakout attempt f rom being brought

by the battles for the hilltop. Walker

and

the

vering 2nd Va. retire to the sanctuary of the hill

o, still interdicting Yates

Ford.

Elsewhere, the situation develops around Cen

treville nicely. Have chosen

to

ride

down

Miles with

Beauregard

and

the 30th Va. Cavalry. (I had no

oice really, as by breaking down , the inept Davies

ould have contacted them with a I-I attack

ywhere that made

any

difference anyway.) But

orse for him, these devils on horseback are now

e turn from Centrevil le . I expect to see a mad

amble by the Union forces around Centreville

to

ure the ridge. the 30th survives, they will lurk

somewhere in the

northeast

while

Beauregard turns to

other

tasks. To

add

to Davies

problems, Jone s overruns the I 6NY, opening

other route to threaten the ridge. In the center,

ve broken Longst ree t up in

orde r t o

position

orces to move and spr ing the key hex in the center

his ridge position unless he covers it in strength.

ince Schenck must scramble back in the general

sh, Cocke will cross this

t urn o r

next to draw

up

so. Unless Paul exposes a choice

attack,

I will

end the next turn getting into position and assess

ng his defenses.

To the west, finally a sho t is heard.

Imboden

pens up on the massing enemy , unfortuanely

without eff ec t. Evans b reaks up to cover the bat

teries protecting the bridge; Bee breaks up to cover

vans. This also allows Bee himself to get Bartow

moving

to

the f ray. Now,

more

average

attacks

or

he crosses to the north of the abatis if he wants to

et ,across Cub Run. I still view all this as a

ideshow. The battle will be decided around Cen

treville, and I ve still the initiative here.

Desperately Walton

and

Jackson tried to hold

the line until Smith s brigade, last hope of the Con

federacy, could

reach the

field.

Without i mme diat e reserves to squash the

crossing,

Rex

tries

to

hold the heights until Smith

ets into

position but

he errs. Walton s artiffery is

a weak spot, doubled on the hiff but halved in the

woods.

hardly se ems i mpo rta nt t hat t he 1st

Virginia Cavalry is about to cut Burnside off

from

Union Miffs. paul may weff be able to win without

him.

With the crisis forced upon him, Rex has n o

eedto delay in fact he needs topress his attackin

the center. So he advances and takes down Miles

nd the 16

NY

but does not surround Sheman to

ecisively weaken the Federal center. In the west,

Beefinally goes back for Bartow, but too late the

Union is poised to attack.

~ , . M

12:30 PM

Union: Miles

is

dead. While I don t see the harm (as

he

wasn t an

active leader) , I would have moved

him if I had seen the horses coming. Meanwhile I

keep moving on the right; it s a stalemate right now.

I

wouldn t

surprise me

if

Rex falls back

to

stop

Keyes. But I ready the assaul t across the aba tis

anyway.

The diversion must be real to engage his

attention.

In the cen te r, the 5th Alabama does its

job of

delay. Sherman

and

Blenker fall back onto the

ridge, where we plan to s tand like a stonewall

aga ins t the grey hordes. Unfortunately, I must

divert some forces to face Jones

and t ha t

pesky

cavalry. Davies

is

trying

to

find his way home;

meanwhile Burnside is

on

his way, fighting

through

tenacious rearguards.

Rex has slipped in the

south.

I can get a

3-1

on

the artillery and will take the hill position. The star

is closer now. Keeping Howard s brigade stacked,

I ll move him into the ford. Pope goes with him to

keep

Palmer and

the 14 NYM active.

The

luck is

back

to normal

though; my3-I is a simpleDefender

Ret rea t. I really wanted to dest roy those guns. I

havea

bad

feeling they will come back

to haunt

me.

I rally the I Michigan.

The Yankee charge continued up

the

slopes

and

drove away the artillery

commanding the

crossings.

Paul reinforces through the fords andsmashes

Walton off the hiff.

At

thismoment, healmosthasa

won game. He has superiorstrength and has sprung

the last terrain barrier, and

Rex

is stretched to the

limit

and

has no reserves he can

afford

no losses-

he is very lucky walton retreated). Paul only needs

to build up his bridgehead. Specificaffy, he must

decide what to do at Yates Ford this turn: crossing

t o at ta ck the heights at l ow o dds threatens cas-

ualties that

Rex

cannot afford, but it is risky; shift-

ing north to the othercrossings is safer, but it affows

Rex

to concentrate against Union Miffs Ford this

turn; leaving units

in

Yates Fordforces Rex tofsce

two threats, but the halved units are vulnerable to

counterattack.

Since he has just sprung the trestle and is short

of

troops anyway thanks

to

Burnisde s diversion),

Paul probably should ignore Yates Ford and shift

north this turn, bu t he is not terribly wrong to

occupy Yates Ford instead.

He

does blunderby put-

ting Howard and porter

in

the ford where they can

be attacked.

I f

possible,

you

should always protect

the elements

you

need to raffy every brigade.

With the crisis at Union Miffs, Burnside should

head south or at least guardhis route back. Instead

he attacks

and

affows the

1 Va

Cavalry to block il.

The person to deal wilh Beauregard s worrisome

advance is Davies who faffs back into the woods,

where he migh l as weff be on a nol he r pla ne t he

could al

Ihe

leasl attack

Ihe

troublesome 30 Va

Cavalry).

Clearly, Union Miffs is once more dislracting

Paul

from

the Stone Bridge. He should attack even

though Keyes lacks the soak off un it h e ne eds to

stay in brigade; but instead hegivesRex a chance to

recover. Admittedly this theater no longer appears

very important, but one can neverteff when a minor

advantage wiff turn out to be important.

U

u

.

At

thispoint, with the Union riding a tide of vic-

tories,

we

will

break

thl

replay. We simply do not

havespace available to reprint theentire commentary

in asingle issue). The conclusion

of

this tense gameof

BULL

RUN wili appear

in

the next

GENERAL-

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T

Chest: New Orleans: Hub Hobby; Shreveport: Hobby H

Slidell: Village

Toy

Shoppe

Maryland Baltimore Cross Keys Pharmacy, Games

Gadgets, Greetings

&

Readings, KayBee Toy

&

Hobby Sho

What's.Your Game; Bethesda: Lowens Toys; Catonsville: P

Custom Hobbies lnc.;

Columbia:

Games

Gadgets, Pato

mack Toy Shop; Cumberland: The Book Centers; Potoma

Toys Etc.; Waldorf Doug s Hobby; Wheaton: Hobbies

&

A

Norlh Carolina Asheville Leisure Time; Chapel Hill: B

Arthur; Charlotte: News Stand International, Toy Castle, T

Circus, Whist le Stop Hobby Shop; Concord: JJ s; Durha

Hungates; Fayetteville: Hayes Hobby Shop, Hobbi tt , T

Hobbit; Gastonia: John's Toy Hobby, Leisure Time; Gree

ville: Hungates; Hendersonville: Hobby House; Hicko

Carlisle's; High Point: Bernie's Craft Hobbies Inc.; Jackso

ville: Ron-Cor; King s Mountain:Murray's; Raleigh: Hungat

K K

Toys Inc.; Wilmington: Hungates

Oklahoma Fort

Smith: Game Shop; Norman: Game Sho

Oklahoma City: Game Shop: Stillwater: Game Shop: Tuls

Game Shop, Intellectrix

Soulh Carolina Anderson: Leisure Time; Charleston: Gre

Dragon; Columbia: Dutch Door, Leisure Time; Greenvil

Great Escape, Hobby Center, Leisure Time;

Spartanburg:

J

Hobby-Craft &

TOYS

LeisureTime

Tennessee Clarksville

Lou's Hobby CraftSupply;

Jackso

Shrivner'sToys Games; Knoxville: University Book Supp

Store; Nashville: The Games Store Inc., Phillips Toy Mart

Texas Abilene The Game Peddler; Austin: Baird's Villa

Hobby Shop Inc., King s

Hobby

Shop,

The

Game Peddler, T

Game Player; Baytown: The Game Peddler; Beaumont: T

Game Peddler; College Station: The Game Peddler: Dalla

Intellectrix, The Game Peddler, The Game Player; Eagle Pa

The

Game

Peddler; 1 Paso: The Game Peddler, Fort Wort

The Game Peddler; Friendswood: The Game Peddler; Ha

linger: The Game Peddler; Houston: Nan's Game Hea

quarters, The Game Peddler, The Game Player; Killeen: T

Game

Peddler; McAllen: The Game Player; Nacogdoche

Game Hunters; Pasadena:TheGame Player; Plano:TheGam

Peddler;

San Antonio

Dick's Hobby Shop. Intellectrix, T

Game Peddler; Texas City: Sparky's Toys; Waco: The Gam

Peddler: Wichita Falls: Toys By Roy

Virginia Falls Church: Strategy Fantasy World; Richmon

HighCommand, The

y

Center; Vienna: ExecutiveHobbies

Games; Virginia Beach: Games n Gadgets; Williamsburg: T

Toymaker of Williamsburg

Wesl Virginia-Charleston: Fountain Hobby Center, Lance

Huntington Hobbyland of Huntington; Morgantown

Morgan's; Wheeling: Fullons Hobby Shop, Wheeling Co

Shop


14/52

4

WEST POINT S FINEST

The Commanders at Bull Run

Irvin McDowell

Samuel Heintzelman

MCDOWELL

Irvin Commander-in-Chief, Union Army;

43

years

of

age

in

1861.

Graduating from West Point in

838

and staying

in

the army, he reached the rank

of

Major. In May 1861, he was promoted Brigadier General and given command of all

Union troops south of t he P ot om ac R iver. A ft er F ir st Bull R un , he c om ma nd ed a

division until March 1862, then the I Corps

of

the Army

of

the Potomac also known

as t he I II C or ps of Pope s Army of Virginia) until Second Bull Run, which was to be

his last field command. Exonerated by a

Court

of Inquiry, he stayed in the US Army

in various staff and command positions far from the battlefield until he retired in

1882.

TYLER

Daniel Commander, 1st Division; 6 years of age in 1861. Graduate of West

Point

in 1819, bu t he resigned his commission in 1834. In May 1861, he raised a Con

necticut volunteer regiment and was appointed Brigadier General to lead the 1st Divi

sion of McDowell s army. In 1862, he went west to

command

a brigade inthe Corinth

campaign. He later commanded the District

of

Delaware, until his resignation from

service in April 1864.

HUNTER

David Union leader

of

the 2nd Division; 59 years

of

age in 1861. He

graduated from West Point in 1822, resigned his commission in 1836, returned to duty

as a

Major

during the Mexican War. Stationed in Kansas in May 1861, hewas made a

Brigadier General and came east to lead the division at First Bull Run. He was badly

wounded early

in

the battle bu t recovered. A favorite of the Abolitionists, he held

command in Missouri, then commanded the Union forces arrayed against

Charleston, and in 1864 he assumed command of the West Virginia forces which

Jubel Early was to defeat at the beginning of his Washington raid. Hunter never held

another field command and left the army in 1866.

HEINTZELMAN Samuel Peter Commander of the 3rd Division;

56

in 1861. A

graduate of West Point class of 1826, he to o was a c ar ee

Documents

The General - Volume 20, Issue 5