July 1st, finale.

Turns 8 and 9. 3:45 - 6:15.

With the battle in the balance (see here for part one and here for part two if so inclined) and the Union aiming to defend below the Culp/Cemetery heights while reinforcements continue to come up, Pender, Early and Rodes' divisions attempt to get to grips with the Union line. The Union left pulls back but the fighting around Gettysburg itself is intense (the victory hexes for this first day scenario are denoted by wooden cubes). 

In the first round of fighting the Union centre is blown out. 

The advantage is with the Rebels after the first round of fighting.

In the second round, the weakened Rebels are fought off and the the Union line pulls back to the heights.

Both sides take a moment to catch their breath.

The remnants of Heth's Division go in against the Iron Brigade but encounter withering fire and are shattered in the attempt. 

The Iron Brigade stands firm.

Heth's Division is no more!

The attack is pressed again.

Battle is joined all along the line.

The fighting is murderous. Both sides take high casualties but Ramseur gains the heights for the Rebels after a successful advance after combat. 

Ramseur makes it onto Cemetery Hill.

Turns 10 and 11, 6:15 - 8:45

A counter-attack is launched. There is high-stakes fighting on Cemetery Hill (so engrossing I forgot to take photos!). The Rebels will not be denied.

In the dying moments of the day the Rebels get three brigades onto Cemetery Hill, which is enough to secure a substantial victory. The cost however has been very high, and the army is spent.

Conclusion

It was a breathless end to a fascinating refight. It was not until the last turn that it seemed possible for the Confederates to achieve a win. In throwing men into attacks towards the victory objectives as night drew near it felt as if the horrendous losses would all be for nothing. The initiative rule which allowed the Rebels to chose the timing of their combat chit and some unfortunate ordering of chit pulls for the Union meant that the Confederates were able to concentrate and prosecute attacks better at the very end of the day and the brave efforts the Union troops had put in fell away at the close due to exhaustion. 

Casualties

The Union had almost three entire corps shattered. 23 points of infantry casualties (c.6900 men), 1 point of cavalry casualties, 72 points of men demoralised and shattered.

The Confederacy for its part had almost four entire divisions shattered. 26 points of infantry casualties (c.7800 men), 1 point of artillery casualties, 52 points of demoralised troops in shattered units and 6 points in demoralised men in units still on-table. 

I think it would be unlikely that the Confederates could hold the ground taken on day one on day two given the high number of units shattered, but overnight rally-attempts could alter that equation if the game were to continue (and I was wrong in my estimation of the Confederate chances to take the heights as well!).

Thoughts on the game

There is a lot to like about Battle Hymn. Apart from the combat rules, everything is pretty straightforward, and the fact that it is chit-pull is great when playing solo. Combat is dice-intensive, and there are quite a few stages to work through. This makes it difficult to predict results, but also gives the combat turns an epic atmosphere. A problem I found was that remembering who has fired and who has not became an issue in later turns. I fear that once or twice I may have fired twice for one unit and not at all for another! Oh well, I will put it down to the chaos of battle....

Next time I play I will use markers to show when a unit has fired as well as using dice to record the hits on each individual unit.

I do have a couple of reservations though - one being that it is very difficult to get rid of artillery. I wonder if there needs to be a rule that ties artillery units to their parent formations so that they will retire if the rest of their formation does. By the end of this game most of the units left on the field were artillery!

But all that aside, I really do enjoy a good Gettysburg game, and this playthrough will rank up there as  one of the most engrossing I have played. 

July 1st continued, 8:15 am - 3:45pm.

The Gettysburg game continues with leisurely turns conducted in the evenings. It has been very enjoyable. Here is a record of what has happened.

Turn 2: 8:15 - 9:30

Heth's Division advances along the Chambersburg pike towards Pleasonton's cavalry who are set up on McPherson's Ridge and block the road. For the Union, I Corps reinforcements are beginning to arrive but are not yet concentrated.

Turn 3: 9:30 - 10:45

Heth's division launches an attack on the cavalry. Both sides take casualties but Calef's artillery and Devin's brigade are shattered in the effort to hold off the Rebels. 

The aftermath of Heth's attack. 

Gamble pulls back towards Seminary Ridge as reinforcements from I Corps come through the town. 

McPherson's Ridge is clear.

I Corps and XI Corps converge on the town. 

Turn 4: 10:45 - 12:00

Heth's Division reorganises after the fight and advances on Seminary Ridge. I Corps prepares for battle as XI Corps marches on. Pender's Division begins to come in behind Heth. 

A period of manoeuvre

Turn 5: 12:00 - 1:15

Heth's Division takes up position on Seminary Ridge. Pender's Division takes side roads in order to come in on Heth's right.

I Corps swings the door to hit Heth's division on its right. 

Breckenborough is shattered and Pettigrew is forced to retreat off the ridge. I Corps takes heavy casualties. 

Heth's men have been made to pay for their hard-marching, but the Iron Brigade has also been hurt.

Rodes's Division is coming in along the Carlisle Road; I and XI Corp organise a defensive line through the town and up to Seminary Ridge.

Turn 6: 1:15 - 2:30

The Rebels come in hard to attack I Corps on the ridge and left of the town. In bitter fighting both sides take casualties, fail morale checks and retreat. Pender's Division hits Biddle's brigade on McPherson's Ridge but is driven off. 

The Rebel yell is heard. 

Both sides are left somewhat dazed by the furious attacks. Early's Division is now also on the field and the Union is under pressure.

The battlefield at 2:30pm.

Turn 7: 2:30 - 3:45

Pender's Division regroups to overrun Biddle's brigade. The Union pulls back from Seminary Ridge and forms a line behind the town so as to force any imminent Confederate attack to come through unfavourable ground. They hope for XII Corps to begin appearing on the battle field sooner rather than later. 

Pender's Division is advancing recklessly to pressure the Union line while the rest of the line is scattered after the fight. 

The casualties so far have been fairly heavy. 

The position at 3:45. Objective hexes are marked with cubes.

The day is in the balance. Can the Confederates take Cemetery Hill and Ridge? It is not an impossibility, but there are only three turns in which to do it, and Union reinforcements under Slocum will be arriving soon. It will depend on how well the attacks can be coordinated and what fate has in store. 

It all lies ahead of us!

July 1st

As all wargamers know, there is only one thing to do on July 1st. In my case the game is Battle Hymn Vol 1: Gettysburg and Pea Ridge. 

Heth's Division comes down the Chambersburg Pike. 

My favourite Gettysburg gaming experience was my first one: a solo play of Rick Barber's Summer Sword. The maps are spectacular, but do require a rather large space. The rules as I recall were simplified from the orginal by a chap on boardgamegeek. A close second was Thunder at the Crossroads with Pat Hirtle. 

This game is slightly more modest than either, being a one-mapper. The artwork is still impressive.

Not sure how far I will get through the game, but I hope to manage a few turns at least before the dreaded boardgame ennui strikes. 

For some reason Gettysburg is one of those battles that just send chills down my spine. Frankly, I blame Ronald F Maxwell, Michael Shaara, Ken Burns, Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton!

Is anyone else putting a Gettysburg game on the table over the next few days?

The mighty Ben Stokes

As a New Zealander who loves 'the thwack of leather upon willow,' it would be remiss of me to not mark the retirement of the great English cricketer, Ben Stokes.

Ashes winner, World Cup winner, 20/20 World Cup winner, he has done it all for England, and on one of those most memorable occasions he did it against us.

It seems to be the way of things for those in the public eye that they move from hero to villain as the commentariat decides. Stokes deserves to be remembered for his mighty feats, not for his failures. His retirement is a loss to all cricket.

Stokes on the way to World Cup glory against New Zealand

What a talisman. 

Market Garden

SP popped over this afternoon for another game so I set up Market Garden for Memoir '44. It has an interesting mechanism to reflect both the Germans having been initially caught napping and the Allied difficulty in maintaining momentum. 

(I have mixed up 82nd and 101st Airborne all the way through this post!)

SP took the Germans again (I sense a theme?) and we got down to business. The Allies start out with 13 command cards and the Germans only 3. The goal is to get 13 victory banners through a combination of destroying enemy units and taking key objectives. 

XXX Corps looking formidable

The 82nd - oops, it seems one unit didn't make the dropzone!

The 101st, with three units equipped with inflatable boats. 

1st Airborne.

To start the Allies focused on activating XXX Corp and 1st Airborne, trying to open the road towards Eindhoven with the one and taking Arnhem with the other. 

XXX Corps drive on Valkenswaad.

The Airborne establish a foothold in Arnhem.

There is little progress for the Americans.

The 101st and 82nd Cautiously approaching Eindhoven and Nijmegen. 

Turn three sees the first signs of organised German defence. An armoured unit is damaged near Valkenswaad. The 101st takes casualties from air attack and a bombardment. 1st Airborne is hit at Arnhem. 

Each Allied unit destroyed sees the Germans draw a new command card immediately and the Allies discard one of theirs at random. The initial 13 - 3 card differential is now 10 - 6.

German resistance catches XXX Corps in a crossfire and blocks the road. 

101st is hit and dispersed.

German counterattacks at Arnhem: note the Tiger approaching the bridge. 

Turn four starts well for the Allies: the 82nd close-assaults Eindhoven and secures a portion of the town.

The Tiger unit is forced to retreat from Arnhem.

But the Germans reinforce Nijmegen, and the prospects of the 101st being able to take it appear remote. 

Turn five sees the fighting intensify for the Americans. More units lost, meaning our command cards discarded and more picked up for the Germans.

 The 1st Airborne are now embattled on two fronts.  

XXX Corps are still fighting their way forward.

Turn six will be our last turn, as SP has a dinner date. The card differential is now in the German's favour, something like 11-8.

The 82nd is half destroyed.

But they still hold Eindhoven.

XXX Corps is bogged down clearing enemy remnants.

1st Airborne is still holding on in Arnhem (just).

And have difficulties to the rear, with heavy enemy presence in the woods.

And the whole scene:

The Germans are leading the victory count 8-6, but the card differential is now 12-6 in their favour. We call the game for the Germans - the Allies have shot their bolt and are just holding on everywhere but in the XXX Corps sector. 

***

Well, it was another entertaining afternoon of Memoir '44. It is a hell of an enjoyable game, even when Monty's gamble fails. This is an interesting scenario, and you really feel the Allied attack stagnating as the Germans begin to inflict casualties and alter the command card differential. I would like to try this scenario again. It's certainly a hard fight for the Allies. 

Thanks to SP for a great day at the table. 

Littoral Commander Australia arrives

Got home from work tonight and there it was, sitting in a box by the back door. It is up to the same high production standards as the first two games of the series. Four large maps (Port Darwin, Kokoda Track, Timor Leste and Solomon Islands), and it seems to have a swag of scenarios. 

I must admit to having less desire to play modern battles at the present moment but no doubt I will get to this in time. 

Well done to Sebastian Bae and the Dietz Foundation.