Battle of Devil's Ridge

This weekend I hosted an ACW game, in a new imagination-cycle of what could become a narrative campaign.

The scenario is based on the scenario "Kuhstall" for the 7YW, and published in the The Wargamer's Annual 2018, which itself is based on the Battle of Cowpens. It involves an attacker who has to cross a ridgeline, deal with some hidden troops, to finally take a 2nd ridge in order to control a bridge over a river. In our setup, the Union took the role of the defenders and the Confederacy the attackers. Rules are our own houserules (in continuous development ;-)), and unit names are completely imaginative.

I set up the table beforehand, this is how it looked before my wargaming friends arrived:

The table as seen from the Union (defender) side. The confederates will enter the table from the far side.

The Union will have to defend the ridge on the left, and the Confederacy will enter from the right. Only 4 light units for the confederacy are already setup.

The reinforcements for the Confederacy - they would come on the table in 2 "waves" with a 5 turn interval.

The battlefield as seen from the Union side.

Bart V, Bart D, and Wim arrived, and after the usual pre-game chatter and selecting drinks, we were ready to start the game. Bart V would play the Union (2 brigades), Bart D and Wim would each play a Confederate flank (2 brigades each). I would plumpire - although since 2 of us were not fully familiar with my house rules, plumpiring resolved to umpiring ;-)

Bart D and Wim pondering their initial setup, which meant selecting what units to put in the first line and 2nd line, as well as selecting their commanding generals from randomly selected cards.

 

Bart V doing the same, deciding on his initial deployment.

So, after a very brief recap of the rules (details are left for later, that's what an umpire is for!), we were ready to start the game. I will not give a detailed blow by blow account, but only show some of the action pictures.

Bart V was commanding the Confederate right flank. The initial infantry regiments are marching forwards.

Lots of the fun in miniature wargaming is manipulating the toys.

Bart V trying to decipher the rules (all on a single A4!).

We have progressed a few turns, the 2nd attacking line is setup.

A view from the Union right flank.

Another view from the union right flank.

Yes, sometimes dice have to be recovered form the floor.

The Confederate attacking line is forming, ready to cross Devil's Ridge.

The game in full swing.

Heavy fighting all across the front.

Another view along the frontline.

By this time, it was almost midnight, and we decided to stop the game. Some still had an hour of driving to do. The game hadn't progressed as far as I would have liked, but we decided to call it a draw. 

Here are some more views of what the game looked like when we stopped playing (I took these pictures the next morning), but with all the clutter (dice, markers, ...) removed.

After the game, each player could also select a unit which did heroically well, and these units will receive a special ability for our next game. It's a nice way of introducing some continuity in a series of linked games, without worrying too much about heavier campaign mechanics. Bart V selected the Maker's Mark Militia, for stopping 2 cavalry units, Wim choose his Elijah Craig's Cavalry, and Bart D selected the Rebel Yell Rangers for charging opposing infantry in the woods and routing them without suffering a single loss themselves. The commanding officers which were selected from an iniaital draw of cards will also have a probability of receiving a stat or ability increase.

Overall, it was a fun game, although the scenario was perhaps a bit too ambitious in terms of number of units and game length.