Cavalry Action, Civil War, "Across a Deadly Field" rules...

  We played a brigade vs brigade cavalry action Friday night. We wanted to see how cavalry worked out.

  The Union had five battalions of eight figure cavalry. 4 regular and one veteran. And an elite 3 section battery of 3" ordinance rifles.

  The Confederates had four regiments of cavalry. 2 veteran and one elite. Each regiment had 12 figures. There was a two section veteran 10pd parrot battery too.

  Well it was a meeting engagement with each brigade coming in on an opposite side of the table. The Rebs got the initiative and moved on and deployed their guns at the crossroads. With a straight shot all the way down the road up to the ford crossing the creek. The parrots were in effective range of the crossing point!!

  The Yanks came on at full tilt.... the front cavalry battalion got blasted by effective artillery fire from the Rebs!! The battalion suffered 2 hits (one stand) and became "shaken" right at the worst place possible!!! On the road over the crossing.. All the follow up battalions had to meld through them and check for disorder!! By turn 3 the Union cavalry was deployed across the creek and was ready to do some damage the the Rebs. The Union and Reb batteries had been shooting at each other all the whole time. To little effect just some moral checks.

  There was several more turns of artillery dueling and maneuver when finally the Union cavalry was in position to charge the Rebs artillery!!! The veteran Union battalion went at the Reb battery and overran it!!! But as they continued their charge they ran into a surprised Reb regiment of cavalry that faced them and counter charged in disorder!!

  The cavalry melee was quick and deadly.. The Union cavalry was shot up and shaken as it engaged the Reb cavalry... That was telling, because the Rebs broke them and overran them back into the open fields from which they Yanks had come!!! The Union cavalry battalion was done!!!

  However it was now the Rebel cavalries turn to be counter charged by a fresh Union cav unit just in place waiting for a good opportunity to take the fight to the Rebs!! It did not look too good for the victorious Reb Cavalry. They were about to suffer the same fate as their Yankee adversaries... Unless the dice gods came to their rescue!!

  At that point of decision we had to call the game... It was late....

  Anyways, the game went very well. Cavalry is fun to use and artillery can be a very useful battlefield tool for dictating deployments and plans!!! Overall, another great game and fun time with "Across a Deadly Field" rules...

  Note; Figures were mostly Old Glory 15mm with a few Essex etc..


The sleepy crossroads...

The Rebel initial deployment...



The artillery dual....

Another angel of the battlefield...

The Union cavalry battalions are getting into postion!!!

The Vetran Union cavalry battalion is about to go in!!!!

The Union charge is almost in!!! Unfortunately my cell phone ran out of power. So this was the last picture...

American Civil War Battle... Fictional Encounter 15mm...

  We got together Saturday evening for another round of "Across a Deadly Field" ACW rules. There were four of us. Two Union and two Confederate players. Each of us had a brigade and some batteries of guns.

 The scenario was two reb brigades with 3 attached batteries were to keep the Yankees on the run and take control of another vital crossroads. The Union had one brigade on the field.Chuck rolled for his brigade and the union artillery battalion of two batteries. He rolled 2 for the guns and 5 for the infantry brigade!!! So on turn two the guns show up. But the vital infantry brigade is floundering about the countryside till turn 5... OUCH...

  The Rebs were deployed on the other side of Cooper Creek and they advanced across that obstacle and almost eye to eye with my Union brigade...fast!! On my turn I quickly deployed from the road, into line. And advanced up to, and past Bates farm.

 The  Reb Virginia brigade shot across the bridge and deployed along the eastern flank of the Yanks. Turn #2 was the start of a lot of rolling fire. The exchanges were pretty effective. The Union artillery battalion arrived and moved and deployed on their first round, and fired to no effect in the 2nd round...

  Turn #3 was again a lot of musket and artillery fire. With some telling morale effects and much damage!! The Yank artillery scored a great blow to the Rebs. And shot up and routed a South Carolina regiment!!! At that time the Virginia Brigade was fully deployed and getting ready to charge the single Yank regiment facing them!! The South Carolina brigade had two of its four regiments fleeing or shaken.. The other two regiments and its battery were shot up but holding fast behind the rock and rail fence. The two exposed Union regiments facing the Carolinian's were dishing out a lot, but were shot up. And a New York regiment broke and ran!!

  Turn #4 was very bad for the Union!! The Virginia Brigade charged the lone Union regiment facing them.. They took a deadly volley from the Yanks and faltered . But The 27th Virginia regiment found its steel and charged home!!! Rolling over and capturing most of the Yanky regiment and even stumbled into the Union division commander... poor guy!!!

 At that point the Union brigade had seen enough and started and orderly retreat from the field... A few miles down the road they ran into the 2nd brigade.... They had been enjoying a nice stroll through the countryside!!!

The South Carolina Brigade in hot action...

Another angle of the fire fight at the crossroads and Bates farm..

The Virginia Brigade moving up fast into the Yanks in the woods!! The Union artillery fires away.. The Yankee reserve waits..

More hot fire at Bates farm and the crossroads..

The bigger view of the battle at hand...

The wavering Rebs of the South Carolina brigade..

The Virginians go into the woods!!! Charge!!!

The Rebs and Yanks in close combat... The Yanks are about to break!!!  The last turn situation... Turn # 4..


Overall the game and rule went quite well. We are getting the hang of the rules and liking them a lot!! Again " Across a Deadly Field" are indeed a good set of rules for sure!!

As for the miniatures. 15mm Old Glory, Minifigs and some Stone Mountain guys too...
Thanks, till next time.
 

Across a Deadly Field... AAR...

  So finally I have gotten the opportunity to try out the new John Hill rules of the American Civil war. I have always liked John Hills ACW rules systems. He has done a great deal for the hobby and the ACW period as well. He will be greatly missed!!

  However, he has given gamers of the world a new jem to play and ponder over. That tomb being "Across a Deadly Field" .ADF is a lot like JRIII, and totally different from JRII and JRII. Though, ADF has taken JRIII to new heights, and have really added some very nice touches...

ADF is indeed a very fun rules system!! At first many Johnny Reb fans will disdain these new rules... There are some new mechanics and the mounting and scale are difficult to ingest at first. I liked the idea of a grander scale and scope of the battle field. But the two stand regiments, and how they looked just did not grab me!!!!

No problem though, the ADF boys came up with a nice viable option!!!! just keep using JRIII scales and measurements for the most part. And continue using your 4 stand units etc... Done!!!! The ADF runs perfectly with the JRIII scales.... As an added bonus, you get to use all the cool game mechanics of ADF with your old favorite regiments... : D

I am not going to go into all the nuances and rules concepts etc of ADF now. That is for you guys to enjoy and find out. All I can say is that using JRIII scales and ADF mechanics make for a very interesting and fun ACW game!! Try them you will like them!!! Trust me.. you will...

Now on to the Battle of Crown Royal Cross roads... Stemware in the land of Dixie there is a great battle taking place. The main armies are facing off and fully engaged. Though, it is a tough fight so both North and South commands are looking for a good flank to exploit or defend!

Thus, are little battle unfolds.  CSA Brigadier General John Aarfwood is moving his brigade to Crown Royal Crossroads to stop a Yankee force on its way there. The Union has sent Brigadier Gen. Charles Zuila Smith and his brigade to take the crossroads and wait for further reinforcements. Since the crossroads are so important to both sides. The divisional commanders of both the US and CSA have come along with their respective commands. To aide and assist their brigadiers if necessary and bolster the troops morale!

Action.... The Rebs came on board along the Hollis Rd and advanced and deployed facing the Yankees coming at them from the north. The  Union brigade of 4 regts and a battery of 12pd Napoleons split off at Mooks Farm intersection. Two regiments took the road southwest. The 12pd's and the other two Yankee regiments formed up a line behind a rock and rail fence south of the Mooks Farm. The 12pd's unlimbered at long range and started taking shots at the Rebs facing them. The Rebs also had 4 regts. and some Napoleons too. The Reb 12pd"s answered the Yankee cannade.

For several turns there was artillery fire from both sides causing a few hits and some moral checks. The Yanks were moving two regts to the flank of the Rebs.... The Rebs faced about a regt. to face this threat. The Yank guns actually momentarily routed a Reb regiment!!! Though, it soon rallied and pulled back into line. The other two Reb Regiments facing the Yanks at Mooks Farm advanced to within effective rifle range! There was several exchanges of fire and eventually one Union regiment routed and next round the two Reb regiments routed after a rough handling!! The Yankee flanking regiments also got off some very good musketry rounds and drove back, and routed the two Reb regiments facing them!!! The Reb battery fired away and left the field in good order.

Well it was a rough day for the Rebs.. The Yanks gained the Royal Crown cross roads and caused a vital crisis in the Rebel battle plan!!!

The game lasted about 10 or 12 turns and it was both Chuck and myself first time playing the rules! We looked in the book a few times for clarifications etc... and used the excellent charts downloaded from the "Cigar box" web sight. The  JRIII, 15mm conversion set....

I have not played ACW in a long time.... Now I think I am going to be playing Yankees and Rebs a lot more often thanks to my new set of favorite ACW rules...

Thanks John Hill and friends...

The Rebs Brigade takes the cross roads.

The Union brigade splits off and deploys.

Those damn Yankees!!!

Those damn Reb's...

The face-off and musketry duals...

Opps.. Confederate regiment routed after some hard hits of artillery...





Some hot action...

Victorious Union troops and a routed Yankee regiment...

Another look at the Union line at battles end... Note Brigadier General Chuck Zuila Smith relishing his victory... Damn Yankees....

Note; Figures are 15mm Old Glory ACW range. Most of the terrain was made by myself or Chuck... AKA... " Chuka Zulu Terrain". Note the three fields pictured in most of the game. we partook our gaming experience at "Randy"s House Of Games" Sacramento. Great place Great Guy.... Lots of stuff and a huge gaming area!!!! Come on down...