Battle of Antietam in the Grand Manner - Fire & Fury Brigade Second Edition

The festive season for 2021 got off to a grand start in fact a 'grand manner' start as I and friends travelled up to Chez Clive in deepest, darkest North Devon this week for an all day game of Fire & Fury Brigade Level, Version Two in glorious 28mm recreating the desperate fighting at the Battle of Antietam or Sharpsburg depending on your preference on September 17th, 1862.

Confederate and Union soldiers lie dead together on the battlefield in front of Dunker Church, Antietam

The battle was the climax of General Robert E. Lee's Maryland campaign and resulted in his invasion being halted as General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac launched a furious attack on the Confederate defensive line behind Antietam Creek in front of Sharpsburg, that saw the bloodiest day in American history that left 22,717 men dead, wounded or missing on the field of battle and the Union army exhausted from its heavy losses; but rewarding them with a strategic victory as Lee's army, suffering a much higher loss proportionally, forced the Confederates to withdraw back to Virginia, abandoning their invasion.

Following this battle, President Lincoln was emboldened to make his famous Emancipation Proclamation freeing more that three and a half million slaves in the Confederate States and thus discouraging any support for them from the British and French governments, themselves strongly opposed to slavery having abolished it prior to the commencement of the American Civil War.

Map, courtesy of Hal Jespersen - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antietam_Overview.png

Below is our table capturing the key terrain features of the battlefield with the Confederate army arranged on the far table edge around the buildings representing the outskirts of Sharpsburg and the Dunker Church towards the top right.

The Middle and Burnside bridges together with the ford have also been squeezed in on the lower left corner of the table, and the dreaded 'sunken road' that marked the centre of the Confederate position can be seen snaking out from the Hagerstown Turnpike that runs along the front of their line and was penetrated by Union troops but only after suffering very heavy losses.

For our refight, Vince was on the Confederate left with the brigades of Generals  Lawton and John R. Jones', whilst Steve M. took the Confederate Right around the Sunken Road and facing the bridges with the brigades of Generals Hill, Anderson and Hood.

Chas launches Hooker's men towards Vince's awaiting Confederate's under a hail, of artillery fire from both sides

For the Union we needed commanders who were willing to attack and 'let the devil take the hindmost' so naturally Chas took command of the Union right commanding the brigades of Hooker's I Corps, myself in the centre with the brigades of Mansfield's and Sumner's XII and II Corps respectively, whilst Clive would take the Union left with Burnside's IX Corps.

Three turns passed before the centre Union attack commenced with the arrival of Mansfield and Sumner's corps

Our game reflected the rather piecemeal assault launched by McClellan's army as Chas threw I Corps forward under the barrage from his guns that started to cause gaps in the Confederate line right from the start as enemy batteries became silenced and damaged under the barrage allowing the Union infantry to barrel on forward towards the the fence line running the length of the Hagerstown turnpike.

Hookers men close on the rebel lines 

The irresistible force confronts the immovable object yet again

The Confederate line in front of Dunker Church

Steve has Anderson's brigades ready to hold the Sunken Road

'Disordered' and 'Worn' markers start to proliferate along the Union assault line as Hooker's men close

The Zouaves to the left took the first heavy casualties and were practically blown away as Chas stormed the rail fence

Still the advance continued amid the hail of fire

Bayonets crossed and with the rebel unit nearest to camera 'out of ammo' with the bullet marker close by after delivering a particularly heavy volley

As the range decreased and the firing intensified it looked touch and go whether Chas's men would reach the turnpike and I think Vince was equally focussed on his efforts to keep replacing damaged gun batteries from reserves in the rear as his troops kept pouring on as much hurt as they could, not helped by Vince having a tough day early on with the dice gods, slightly relieved as they took pity on him and allowed an extra bonus of results as Chas withdrew Hooker's battered forces.

Hooker's men recoiling back from the fence as Mansfield and Sumner advance on to the field of battle to resume the attack

Major General Edwin V. Sumner's Union II Corps advance on the Sunken Road with the veteran Irish brigade (green colours) to the fore behind the advanced gun line, already taking hits as the reversed (silenced) gun model in the centre testifies to.

As Chas was desperately contesting the fence line on the Rebel left, it was time for my forces to make their debut as I deployed Mansfield's and Sumner's corps in the centre in preparation for the next big attack as Steve dressed his ranks of rebels and greeted my unlimbering forward gun line with some saluting counterbattery fire that spoilt my deployment somewhat.

 

Despite the heavy casualties the Zouaves were first in and last out as the first Union assault recoiled back exhausted.

'No Mans Land' about to be contested yet again

Undeterred and determined to stretch the Confederate defences while Chas was trying to force a result out on the Union right, Sumner threw forward a six base experienced brigade against the Sunken Road, with another echeloned back, in an attempt to mask the flanking fire from the rebel position as the main assault was directed at the junction of the Sunken Road and Hagerstown Turnpike supported by massed Union guns that quickly destroyed a rebel gun battery holding said junction.

Sumner's brigades strike home against the rebel centre as the Sunken Road is assaulted with the bayonet. The gap on the road, dead centre marks the position of the Confederate battery destroyed in the pre-assault barrage.

Alongside Sumner's men were now deployed Mansfield's massed brigades in supported lines barrelling forward to try and force the position in front of Dunker Church. However no matter how quickly and effectively the Union massed batteries could cause gaps in the rebel line, the advantage of interior lines allowed for a quick replacement with a refreshed unit now with an enemy in much closer range.

An overview at mid afternoon of our game shows the Union line striking forward in the centre towards Dunker Church as its right flank recoils and it's left is starting to deploy. Note the massed lines of Union guns in the centre supporting the assault

The result of this second Union assault mirrored pretty much the result of the first as the Union line made its bayonet charge against the fence-lined turnpike in front of Dunker Church, with massed guns in the centre paving the way and a token force thrown against the Sunken Lane to mask the flank of this principle attack.

Like it's predecessor this Union attack was going nowhere fast after several turns of inconclusive hand to hand fighting along its length which seemed ready to culminate with the defeat and repulse of Sumner's advanced brigade, now up on the ramparts of the Sunken Road, experienced but spent, contesting possession of the position with a fresh veteran Confederate brigade.

The highwater mark of the Union assault as Sumner's Corps take part of the Sunken Road temporarily.

With Steve mustering plus three and myself a minus one on the contested die result, this little struggle within a much wider battle seemed to herald the collapse of the Union attack, only to see my die roll come up with a 10 to Steve's reply of 1 giving the battered Union brigade, only thrown in as a spoiling attack the victory, and seeing them take the position, all be it temporarily.

With that minor victory and with the Union forces just about done, we called our game which had produced the nail-biting bloodbath mirroring its historical predecessor, Sunken Road included, and with the collection of figures and terrain put together by Clive and Chas producing a feast for the eye that this scale of game can produce.

This is my second game playing the new version of Fire & Fury Brigade and has reinforced my opinion of them, that I concluded then, that these are a very fine, well crafted set of rules for playing the American Civil War at this big battle level, here in 28mm and in the previous game played back in 2019, looking at Gettysburg in 15mm played over at another of our club Steve's abode, and good friend Mr Steve L, see link below.

JJ's Wargames - The Battle of Gettysburg, First Day, Fire & Fury Brigade II

Thank you to Clive for hosting our day in his lovely house and for laying on a delightful lunch interlude to the game and to Steve M, Vince and Chas for their company and input to producing a great game that had lots of laughs, banter and drama to chat about afterwards.

It is games like this that is what our hobby is all about and perfect way to spend a day when the weather outside was just the sort climate for being indoors and indeed a perfect way to start the Festive Season in the company of likeminded friends.

The festive fun continues this weekend, as I'm off to the club for the return of our annual Gus Murchie Memorial Game that succumbed to last year's lockdown but sees us regathering to play a mega WWII 15mm game with a Normandy theme with Monty's 21st Army trying to secure vital ground around Caen - more anon.

In addition I'm back to the AWI collection with some work progressing on the Hessian Jagers and a small group of American militia, so I hope to show them before getting into the Xmas festivities.

The Battle of Gettysburg, First Day - Fire & Fury, Second Edition

Brigadier General John Buford on the Chambersburg Pike, First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg

The battle of Gettysburg is one of the great encounter battles and marks a turning point in the outcome of the American Civil War.

Big battles for me, require the right set of rules that capture the feel for the period being modelled together with mechanics that facilitate easy play to handle the number of units involved in the action.

In addition scale is a big factor, something I have discussed in other posts, and for me 15/18mm is the ideal scale to allow for the compromise in ground scale to still allow a lot of battlefield to be modelled but with figures that have character and individuality that captures the look of the armies involved.

The American Civil War is not a period that has captured my imagination, not having the colour and 'scissors, stone, paper', combination of infantry, cavalry and artillery that Napoleonics has to offer, but I have been known to dabble in the period and enjoy the challenges 'Napoleonics on Steroids', to quote a friend, has to offer.

One of the rule-sets I have enjoyed in the past has been Fire & Fury, Brigade and Regimental level rules and having seen some of the chaps playing the second edition version of the Brigade Level set was really interested to see how they played.

It was really nice to see that the description of them emphasised the desire to keep what was good in the original first edition, of which I own a copy, whilst improving certain aspects in terms of better modelling.

I have to say that from playing them, I found the changes relatively seamless and didn't really notice the difference until they were looked at closely, which I really liked.

So it was with great anticipation that I met up with friends over at Chez Land, hosted by Steve L and his wife Paula to play Gettysburg, the first day, with close on 800 odd figures gracing the table and focusing on the fighting that erupted on July 1st 1863, north of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; as Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, 'bumped' the Army of the Potomac under General Meade, and more specifically the Union division of Brigadier General James Wadsworth and the Union cavalry division of Brigadier General John Buford sat astride McPherson's Ridge and the Chambersburg Pike.

The scenario map for our game with north at the top of the page 

The map above set out the positions of the initial troops, together with the key terrain, victory point areas and arrival points for the Union and Confederate forces, which sees the game recreating the events of the first day, July 1st 1863, over 21 turns with each turn representing half an hour of battle and with the game starting at 10.00 and finishing at 20.00.

We all gathered at Steve's to start play at 09.30 which we managed, playing our game through to 17.30 with a stop for lunch, and managing to complete twelve turns out of the twenty-one which stands testimony to how straightforward the rules are and seeing a game unfold uncannily like the historical battle, which might also say something for the rules.

The town of Gettysburg looking north-west with Cemetery Hill in the foreground and my command for the day, the Union divisions of Robinson and Doubleday, together with I Corps artillery marching north , top left of picture

Looking south-west with elements of Buford's cavalry seen deployed near Pennsylvania College and the Mummasburg Road 

Our battle commenced with the death of General Reynolds, failing to survive the test for his early demise, followed by the two lead Confederate brigades of Hill's Corps, those of Archer and Davis pushing forward on to McPherson's Ridge and up the railway cutting, to meet with fierce and accurate musketry from Wadsworth's division soon to be joined by Union guns from I Corps, as the divisions of Doubleday and Robinson closed up in support.

As the battle started to the west of Gettysburg, Buford's cavalry mounted up and headed to the top of Seminary Ridge just in time to deploy behind a stone wall to contest the arrival of other elements of Hill's Corps along the Mummasburg Road.

Doubleday's , I Corps artillery and Robinson's divisions marching behind Seminary Ridge

Buford's cavalry and attached artillery next to the Lutheran Seminary

First contact, as Confederate Brigadier General James Archer leads his brigade forward on to East McPherson Ridge to be badly shot up by the 'Iron Brigade' under Brigadier General Solomon Meredith, just as Major General John F Reynolds keeps his appointment with a rebel stray bullet.

As Confederate brigades deploy on and close to the railway cut, top left, the Union troops move in behind Seminary Ridge, whilst Buford's cavalry move off through the outskirts of Gettysburg to cover the north-west approaches to the town and slow the rebel deployment.

Hill's Corps made a determined effort to force a passage along the rail cutting, but Union fire proved particularly effective with a continual picking away of Confederate bases seeing Archer's brigade removed from the table once down to just two stands, and driving the Confederate follow up units to come on north of the railway in support of the early arrivals from Ewell's Corp in the north

These rebel advances were met by the cavalry under Buford, forcing the 'Rebs' to deploy, before remounting and falling back to a new stop line, incurring delays on the Confederate advance and allowing Union arrivals to press forward, via the town.

The Union infantry hold off Archer's and Davis' brigades as Union guns start to deploy around the Lutheran Seminary. Note the blue marker indicting our various victory point positions and in this case where the ridge line lies, 

The battle in the railway cutting in full sway as Heth's Confederate division deploys to support the forward brigades of Davis and Archer

Union troops push out northwest of Gettysburg to support Buford's cavalry as I Corps guns mass on the west of the town (bottom of picture) to stop the advance of Hill's Confederate Corps

Buford's cavalry dismount and line the stone wall on Seminary Ridge close to the Mummasburg Road, fighting yet more of Hill's Corps pushing on to the table

With no obvious opening along the approach to Seminary Ridge or via the cutting, both armies rushed to get forward north of the town whilst sniping at each other with guns until the two infantry lines closed up and the serious musketry could begin.

This process occupied the morning of the battle, but by the end of it, all the Corps except Reynolds were carrying significant casualties and all was set for the next big attack by Ewell's Corps.

The Union guns of I Corps, in the thick of the fighting, continually rotate batteries backwards and forwards from the gun line to replenish ammunition and reorder close to the Seminary 

The Union brigades of von Steinwehr arrive on the battlefield at midday, turn five

The Union Iron brigade prevents the Seminary Ridge being turned on its southern slopes with some formidable die rolling and another '8' on the table

Rebel infantry start to retire along the cutting after taking heavy casualties from Union guns and infantry around the Seminary

The early brigade attacks from Ewell were met by the same unerring Union die rolls that had been dished out to Hill's lead troops earlier that day, but the build up of yet more Confederate brigades, allowing them to feel around the Union right flank, looked ominous, particularly as it forced the Union line to fall back into a shorter one, on more defensible terrain.

As the attacks developed in the north and northeast of the town, Hill's troops started to move south from the cutting as the Union line fell back from McPherson's Ridge, seeing I Corps artillery withdrawn from their positions around the Seminary and behind Seminary Ridge ready to move up it in support of the infantry above.

Union guns massed around the Seminary

By early afternoon, Union troops push out north from Gettysburg to set up a perimeter around the town as the pressure starts to build with a steady build up of Confederate reinforcements in the north and north east approaches

Howard's Union XI Corps deploys on the northern outskirts of Gettysburg looking to hold back and damage the approaching Confederate brigades of  Ewell's Corps

Union troops around the Seminary have fought the Confederate troops of Hill's Corps to a stalemate along the railway cutting, but cannot stop the Confederate build up in the north which is stretching the Union defences around the town

Looking across the battlefield from the north east, Confederate brigades of Ewell's Corps feel out the right flank of the Union positions nearest to camera, with the Union lines still unformed and with yawning gaps.

However the final big push in the north finally succeeded with the Union line driven in to the northern outskirts of Gettysburg in the late afternoon, forcing I Corps guns to change direction and gather atop Cemetery Hill able to bring fire support in and around the town as required should the line be forced still further back.

Ewell's brigades enter from the north

The remains of Buford's cavalry still fighting in the early afternoon are driven back to the Pennsylvania College

Our white board keeping track of the casualties for each of the Union and Confederate Corps. The number in brackets indicates the number of stands they need to lose to award the opposition a VP for inflicting heavy casualties. Reynolds has lost 7 from 18 by midday and Hill's 10 from 22.

More Union troops debouch from Gettysburg as the Confederates press forward over Blocher's Run

Union reinforcements arrive to support the remnants of Buford's troopers around the college

Union artillery started to take a steady toll on Hill's and Ewell's brigades as they closed in on Gettysburg from the north

The last brigades of Howard's Union XI Corps push out from the town to cover the northern approaches

The Union line starts to take shape, north of the town, anchored on the college

Hill's Corps artillery deploys off the Mammasburg Road 

Confederate troops occupying the western end of the railway cutting endured a continuous fire from Union guns around the Seminary

Confederate troops held off in the cutting as the Union troops reacted to events in the north

The Union line starts to form a perimeter around the town as the left flank falls back from McPherson's ridge to Seminary ridge behind. Reynolds I Corps artillery is starting to pull back from the Seminary 

The College (red house) occupied by Buford's troopers formed the corner of the Union line between Reynolds' and Howard's Corps

The Union troops had put up a stiff resistance and both Hill's and Ewell's Corps had taken severe losses and were both close to offering up their victory point allowance for taking heavy losses, however Howard's Corp was in a similar state, as the battle moved into its latter stage contest for the terrain based victory points in and around Seminary Ridge, Cemetery and Culps Hill.

The Iron Brigade on the left of the Union line fall back to Seminary Ridge

As Hill's corps look to stretch the Union line by feeling out the position in front of Seminary ridge after being stopped in their advance along the rail cutting, Union artillery pulls off behind the ridge occupied by Reynolds' brigades.

The fighting intensifies in the north as Howard's and Ewell's corps come to grips

The rebel attacks are driven back by combined infantry and artillery fire

The Union line is stretched on its right flank as yet more rebel brigades close in from the north-east

The Union left along Seminary ridge was relatively quiet as both sides sniped at each other as they deployed along opposite ridge lines

The Union guns of I Corps were originally intended to move up on Seminary Ridge, but with events unfolding to the north of the town were redirected towards Cemetery Hill 

However by the time we reached the latter stages of this first day's combat our actual day was drawing to a close and so we finished with a very interesting position closely following the historical events as the Union fought to hold a shrinking perimeter as it fell back through the town all the while seeing both sides batter each other in the process.

The two lines face off on the Union left

The opposing lines take shape prior to the Confederate push north of the town

Art imitating art  - Fighting on the Ridges by Dale Gallon, Gettysburg July 1st 1863

At 14.30 the Confederate line was assembled in the north and the Union line braced itself for the expected attack

The position at 14.30 (game time, turn 10), Hill's Corps have lost 13 from 22 after the fierce fighting around the rail cutting forced them back, to feel out the Union left along Seminary ridge, whilst Ewell's Corps on 15 from 21 have also taken a battering as they closed in on the Allied line to the north of the town. However Howard's Union corps have also taken heavy casualties fending off Ewell with 9 from 11 casualties suffered, leaving Reynolds' corps the better of the two with just half its causalities allowance suffered.

It's late afternoon, 16.30 and the attacks by Ewell's Corps have unhinged the Union line north of the town with Union brigades pushed back into the northern outskirts, Union I corps guns are setting up on Cemetery Hill, as Hill's corps faces off against Reynolds on Seminary Ridge

Union guns from I Corps battered from earlier battles in the day reorganise on a new rearward position as the Union line is pushed back

Howard's corps is pushed back into Gettysburg

Confederate brigades from Ewell's Corps enter Gettysburg in the north while Hill's Corps now occupies Pennsylvania College after a stout defence by Buford's troopers was finally overcome

Pennsylvania Collage occupied by Confederates as the Union line gives ground

The railway line looks set to be the next Union hold position if the brigades can stem the Confederate advance

I have to say as a non-ACW aficionado, I really enjoyed the game with Fire & Fury playing as well as I remember, with the original incarnation.

That coupled with Steve L's lovely table and impressive collection of figures really captured the feel of this pivotal battle.

Battered Confederate brigades indicate the resistance put up by the Union line in the north 

Thanks to Steve L for hosting the day and to Ian, Nick and Mr Steve (Confederate Commanders) and my fellow Union commanders Steve M and Stephen H for a great day of banter and wargaming.

Next up, the Peninsular War series of posts continues with a look at the battlefield of 'Bloody Albuera' and the fortress town of Elvas and with home improvements at Chez JJ coming to a conclusion, I am hoping to get some more pictures done of progress on the AWI collection.