Debriefing of an ACW battle : "Cross Key" (more than 70% PP figures)

[Anatoli]

Hi... 

Here are some pictures of an ACW game we had yesterday : "Cross Key" (june, 8th, 1862), a battle we played with the "De Chair & d'Acier" rules.


US order of battle : 

- 13 inf. units (quality : green) ;
- 6 inf. units (quality : standard) ;
- 3 artillery units ;
- Reinforcement : 2 inf. units (quality : standard).


Confederate order of battle : 

- 13 inf. units (quality : standard) ;
- 2 inf. units (quality : veterans) ;
- 3 artillery units ;
- Reinforcement : 2 inf. units (quality : standard).


Note : an infantry unit = 5 bases.


Here is a picture of the battlefield :








The battlefield, after initial deployment :







US units were superior in number, but the troops quality was, at best, standard (two third of the infantry units were "green" units). They were the attackers.

Confederate army held 2 interesting position at the begining : woods (CSA right side), and a wooden hill (CSA left side). They also had 2 units on their right flank, ready to overflank US forces...


Zoom on left side (from a US point of view), at the begining of the battle (the woods) :













Zoom on center area, at the begining of the battle :


















Zoom on right area (from a US point of view), at the begining of the battle :























And now, the battle !

US forces decided to attack the CSA right area (the woods), which was one of the most difficult area for them to attack due to confederate troops located in woods. It initialy did not go on well at all for the US troops (many losses and units retreating).

So, after 2 difficult game turns, a choice had to be made. And because Union troops had an opportunity to lauch a full offensive on both 3 confederate areas, they decided to launch every forces available in such an action !... They expected to size the CSA left wooden hill quite quickly as it was initialy poorly defended.

To sum up : confederate troop were surprised by the offensive, and had to spread forces from his reserves to the sectors of the battlefield he held. He also decided to send troops to both flanks of the battle area. It proved to be a good idea as several US units had to be send to prevent confederate troops from taking control of the flanks.

At turn 8, CSA troops pushed back all the US units from one flank ; federal units had to be taken from central area to be tranfered to this flank area to prevent CSA forces to overflank them...

As CSA player had not so many troops left on the wooden hill sector (CSA left side), US troops took control of this area after a short, but fierce combat.

In the center area, US offensive failed, and troops had to fall back to their initial positions. They dig on this sector, as they could not expect any reinforcement.

Union troops then strongly pushed forward in the woods (CSA right side), again and again, and confederate forces had to fall back after several turns (and terrible losses for both sides!), because they were lacking fresh troops to reinforce this area.









































































































































































Victory finaly went to the US army, after 11 game turns (more than 5 hours of gaming) of a fierce battle...


Scenery, confederate army and 50% of Union troops are painted by Pierre.



Cheers,

Xavier

[Colonel Kilgore]

That is a gorgeous-looking game, Xavier. As usual!

Congratulations to you and Pierre for putting on such a wonderful show.

I hope you can let us into some of your photographic secrets one day - the way you get those close-up shots in particular is superb.

Many thanks for sharing these inspirational pictures.

Simon

[martin goddard]

Really good work chaps.
Lovely.
How about we make this into a MILL article.
Could you also explain how the rules work in general terms??


martin

[Leman (Andy)]

Brilliant looking game and a wonderfully laid out table full of iconic ACW scenic features.

[Wardy64]

Wow, well done.

D&B

[Anatoli]

Thank you very much, gentlemen... 

I hope you can let us into some of your photographic secrets one day

I am preparing something for the next issue of "The Mill"... Just some few tips and tricks I use when taking pictures...

[Camulogene]

Really good work chaps.
Lovely.
How about we make this into a MILL article.
Could you also explain how the rules work in general terms??


martin

Thanks Martin

Broadly speaking, it's a card driven game, using a normal 54 cards deck.

Cards may be used for units activation, or/and as "events" cards. Movements and fighting rules are very simple, with the tabletop mentally grided in 10 big areas.

The key rule is the morale system, which forces players to make each turn crucial choices..

The goal is to play mass battles, in a short time (about 4 hours per game), and with a clear outcome.

Pierre

[mellis1644]

What a wonderfully looking game. ACW always makes for a great looking game.