War Between The States - Turns 29 to 32

Today we completed the first cycle of 1862.

First up is the strategic phase which covers production, leaders and supply.

Union still producing militia, 

but a better use of the now very limited manpower 

would be augmentation of small divisions.  

We shall see...

The Rebs busy augmenting away, 

building the big 10-3 infantry divisions.

They have also started building an ironclad.

The four turns that followed had Union initiative chits of 0,0,0, ....

Forrest attacks the Union force covering Fort Monroe.

With three turns of the Union relying on individual General's initiatives, 

finally General Smith got around to sending some reinforcements.  

But by then it was too late and the Union defenders had been forced back into the fort.  

General Butler, the previous commandant of Fort Monroe and who has since been commissioned to write a 40 volume study on fort construction techniques, wrote a letter to Lincoln offering to put aside his work and return to save Fort Monroe.  Lincoln graciously replied that the pen was mightier than the sword and that when the Rebs saw his work published thry would know that attacking US forts was pointless.

Which brings us to the last turn and Union initiative is 3!

Buell is told to get moving with the Army of the Mississippi.

McClellan is told to get moving with the Army of the Ohio.

And in a significant escalation, General McDowell is ordered to stage a landing,

cutting off the Rebs besieging Fort Monroe.

And down deep south, the Rebs have Savannah surrounded.

There will be some critical die rolls coming up for the Fort Monroe area of operations.  However they will have to wait as holidays are upon us and there will be a break of a few weeks before play resumes.

War Between The States - Turns 17 to 28

Today we completed the first year of the war.

11/61 saw Union action in the West as Lyon tried to clear a way to Union City.

The Reb militia fought hard and long (three turns) 

buying time for the Confederates to secure Union City.

The Rebs also started to surround Savannah,

just in time to stop the Union making a forced march to Augusta.

Finally the way out West is clear,

but now Union City is too well defended.

Union builds for 12/61

The first call for men has just about run dry.

I've just noticed the Rebs are building big cavalry divisions.

The Union have been building small ones...

Steale attacks near Harper's Ferry,

wiping out the Reb cavalry that had so vandalised the railroad.

Beauregard goes to Harper's Ferry, 

but lacks the motivation to engage Steale.

The Rebs had been planning this attack all year.

Good thing the Union had read about it in the West Point Chronicle.

Savannah continues to be surrounded.

What to do in the West?

The line of the Potomac is secured.

Magruder is pulled back to take up Beauregard's position covering the Shenandoah Valley

The build for 13/61

The Union make up for the lack of new men by converting militia to infantry.

The Rebs are just building infantry.

What to do about Union City?

The Union have reinforced Savannah,

hopefully matching the Reb build up.

All quiet along the Potomac,

although the Rebs are wrecking the railway around Harper's Ferry.

All quiet on the Mississippi too.

But in Ohio...

It's Warm Work

An opportunity to try out yet another set of Napoleonic Naval Rules arose at the club last night.

Darren provided the ships, Old Glory 1/2400th and the rules.  Stephen N and Dave, later joined by the high rolling Stephen B, took command of the Spanish fleet.  Darren and I the British.

My squadron.  

Signature shot.

The wind changed and caused me problems.

The wind really changed and did cause me problems.

An embarrassing collison 

Darren's ships, mainly "in irons" due to the repeated wind change 

are being shot up by the last moving first firing Spanish.

Game looked good and played well

but I didn't like the move and fire sequence.

War Between The States - Turns 13 - 16

 The four turns of cycle 10/61 were largely uneventful.  The Union initiative chits were 0,0,0,3.

The Rebs besieged Ft Pickens down on the Gulf of Mexico.  

It would take the Union four weeks (turns) to get there...

I decided there was better things to do and succeeded in grabbing Savannah.

Perhaps it's a bit too early to march on Augusta, but it sure is tempting.

In the West it was mainly consolidation.

The Rebs are intent on holding Union City.

And in the East I got busy repairing the railroads.

The production system at the start of the 11/61 cycle.

We reordered things to align with the cycle dates.

The Rebs are building too, but not so much.

War Between The States - Turns 9 to 12

Yesterday's post was retitled to Turns 1 to 8 as that was the number we had played.  It just seemed longer.

Today we started with the Strategic turn for 9/61 (the ninth four week period in 1861).

Union Builds for 9/61.

Plenty of manpower but running short on supplies.

Reb production.

How ever bad it is for the Union it is worse for the Rebs.

The Union force at Harper's Ferry succumbed to hunger.

The whole of the Union almost ran out of supplies (one of the more fiddly and unpredictable aspects of the game is how much supplies your army consumes each cycle).

On his own initiative General Lyon moved a big division to Cairo.

And in another display of unusual initiative, 

General Steale sailed down and occupied Wilmington.

After securing St Louis, the challenge is now to collect the army together.

The Union river flotilla should put an end to Reb expansion in the West.

Not much is happening.

The Union initiative chits were 0,1,0,0.

The Rebs were busy deploying to defend their coastline.

The Union build for cycle 10/61.  

I'm rather pleased, and surprised, at the amount of cavalry I have been able to build.

The Rebs are expected to be able to field more troops sooner than the Union,

but will it do them any good?

War Between The States - Turns 1 to 8

A classic SPI monster game and when Simon suggested we give it a go I jumped at the chance.

The Rebs start the war by crossing the state border and cutting the railway line near Baltimore.

The Union have no initiative.

The Reb cavalry continue their vandalism of the northern railways.

The Union sail troops to protect Ft Monroe.

And in the West the Union try to cover the approaches to St Louis.

A force has been sailed to Cairo.

(I sent the 3-3 Infantry.  Big mistake, I should have sent a 4-2 militia)

Turn three and the Union just watch the Reb cavalry tearing up the railways.

Shares in railway repair companies surge to all time high.

Out in the West the Union try and keep an eye on the Reb cavalry.

The Union force at Harper's Ferry is hungry.

The noose tightens on the Rebs out west.

The Union force at Harper's Ferry suffer severely from supply attrition.

I had decided it was best to leave them there and hope for the best in the fertile Shenandoah valley.

I didn't have the initiative to move them anyway...

The Rebs have sealed off Fort Monroe.

In an amazing spurt of initiative, the Union trap the Rebs against the river.

In the East very little happens.

But back in the West the Rebs have a lucky escape, but have to leave behind their supply wagons.

The last two turns so the Union with absolutely no initiative whatsoever.  Zilch!