October 8, 2002 - After Action Report
Gettysburg 1863 - The First Day
Gettysburg 1863 - The First Day
|
October 8, 2002 - After Action Report
Gettysburg 1863 - The First Day |
Editor: CSW Member, Karl Laskas, recently posted this highly-entertaining After Action Report retracing the First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg, featuring Dave Powell's Gettysburg 1863, published by Avalanche Press Ltd.
The date is July 1, 1863.
Buford has set up both of his brigades in on Herr Ridge (area 245), blocking the road into Gettysburg. Part of Heth's division has arrived. Robert E. Lee will not arrive at the battlefield for another 5 hours, so the Confederates (part of A.P. Hill's corps) will be out of command unless they successfully roll for initiative. A roll of 5 (more than Hill's initiative rating of 4) fails, and Hill's corps -- the little of it which is actually assembled -- is out of command, so it is unable to attack or move adjacent to enemy units, and movement allowances are reduced by one. As a result, Heth’s division has little mobility this turn.
On the Union side, Reynolds functions as a kind of provisional commander for purposes of determining whether Union units are in command until Meade arrives. (Don't be fooled... use the ratings on the Army Commander counters -- i.e. Lee and Meade -- to determine activation and order of battle.) Buford starts out of range of Reynolds, so he must roll for initiative as well. He passes with a roll of 3 (less than or equal to Buford’s initiative rating of 3). Reynolds is always in command until Meade arrives, and both of his on-map divisions are in command range.
The bluejackets win the order of battle roll. The activation die roll of 4, and the men in blue can activate one corps (Meade’s command rating of 5 - die roll of 4 = 1). The Union activates Reynolds who begins marching. Both divisions have a movement allowance of 2, which is doubled for road movement; they each move four areas along the road.
The next impulse goes to the Confederates who roll a 2 on the activation die roll, allowing him theoretically to activate two corps; but he has only one on the map. Unable to advance adjacent to Buford, Heth can only bombard. He rolls 4 dice, but fails to roll a 6 and there are no hits on Buford. Heth also could move his division, but feels that no legal movement will be of much help so he stays put.
The next impulse goes to the Union, which rolls a 3, allowing him theoretically to activate two corps. However, he already has moved Reynolds and cannot move him again this turn. He activates Buford as he must, but is happy with his position at the moment so he doesn’t move. He also bombards with 2 dice, but fails to achieve a hit.
Neither side can activate again, so the turn ends.
AP Hill passes his initiative roll and is in command this turn, as does Buford. The Union wins the order of battle roll, but manage to blow their activation roll with a “6”. So the impulse passes to the Confederates. If the Confederates now would fail its activation roll, the turn would end prematurely. However, the rebels roll a 4 for activation. The difference between Lee’s command rating and the die roll is zero, so the rebels can activate one corps. (Had he rolled a 5 or 6 – i.e. more than Lee’s command rating – he would have been unable to activate this impulse.) The Heth-2 division together with the artillery move northeast to try to move around Buford’s right flank, while Heth-1 marches straight to the east. Hill decides not to assault with the Heth-1 unit. He’d be able to bring nine dice to bear (7 for the infantry unit, 2 for AP Hill), each of which would hit on a 6. He expects he would roll 1 or 2 hits. In contrast, Buford would roll with 12 dice (7 for the two Buford brigades, 2 for the artillery, two for Buford, and one for defending a rise) – and these would hit on a roll of 5 or 6 due to the presence of artillery in a defender’s area. The Union likely would inflict four hits so he decides not to chance it yet. Two of the four expected Confederate casualties could be absorbed by retreating, and one of the two expected Union casualties also could be so absorbed. However, the ratios don’t seem favorable just yet. Instead, the Confederates move up their artillery with the intent of blasting the heck out of the cavalry.
The Union rolls a 3 for activation, so it activates both Buford and Reynolds. Buford shifts one of his cavalry units northward to slow the Confederate advance onto Herr Ridge. I Corps continues marching toward Gettysburg. Union bombardment from Herr Ridge again is ineffective. There are no more activations so the turn is done.
AP Hill fails the initiative roll, and is out of command. Buford also fails, but Howard’s XI Corps, which is beginning to arrive, passes. The Union wins the order of battle roll. Their activation roll is a 2, so they must activate all three corps (including the newly arrived XI Corps). I Corps and XI Corps continue marching, and Wadsworth’s division arrives on McPherson Ridge. Buford cannot assault because he is out of command. He bombards again, to no effect. Buford thinks briefly about retreating from Herr Ridge, but the artillery now cannot move and he does not want it alone on the Ridge.
The Confederates get the next impulse. They would like to be able to assault but cannot, because Hill is out of command. The Confederate artillery opens up on Buford’s position across the road. Devastating result … 6,6,6, and 4. Noticing that the victory conditions state that each cavalry step loss counts as two infantry step losses, while each artillery step loss counts as a half of an infantry step loss. Buford decides to lose one cavalry step and both artillery steps. However, that decision leaves Buford bereft of artillery and vulnerable to assault; now he will hit only on a roll of 6 in an assault. Pender’s newly-arrived division begins to clear out of the entry area. There are no corps left to activate, so the turn ends.
Maddeningly, AP Hill again is out of command this turn. Buford is now in range of Reynolds so he is in command. Howard passes his initiative rating, although Schurz’s division remains out of Howard’s range and is out of command. The Confederates win the order of battle roll, and activate Hill. Hill continues to bombard Herr Ridge, now with four dice on both areas. He inflicts another casualty on each of the brigades.
The impulse passes to the Union, which tragically blows its activation roll. Apparently, indecision, traffic problems, or other difficulties are plaguing the Union this turn. The Confederates have no one left to activate, so the turn ends.
Hill finally passes an initiative roll, and is in command. Rodes division part of the Confederate II Corps begins to arrive, but Ewell is not yet on the map so it is out of command. All Union corps are in command once again.
Confederates is first in the order of battle again, and activates 2 corps. Hill inflicts another step loss on Buford 2 through bombardment, and then maneuvers Heth to the north of Herr Ridge, while Pender advances due east – the two divisions forming a semicircle around the outmatched cavalry. Buford’s brigades elect to attempt to retreat before battle, and must pass a morale check to do so. Buford 2 at the north end of Herr Ridge fails, and is subject to assault. Heth’s division, two units of 7 SPs each, assaults with fourteen dice. The Buford 2 brigade fights with two dice (one for its remaining strength, plus one for the rise). Buford fails to achieve a hit while the Confederates manage 2 hits. Buford 2 can absorb the first hit by retreating, but it must take the other as a step loss. On its last step, Buford 2 is eliminated. Buford 1 succeeds in retreating before combat. Meanwhile Rodes division begins its march south toward Gettysburg, but its movement is reduced because it is out of command.
The impulse passes to the Union, which again blows an activation roll with a die roll of 6, ending the turn. We expected better from John Reynolds! Things look fairly desperate at the moment. The Confederates already have inflicted 5 step losses on Union cavalry, and these are doubled for victory purposes to 10, plus one step loss for the lost artillery unit (2 steps valued at 1/2 step each). To win, the Confederates must accomplish two out of three victory conditions (or all three for a decisive victory). One of these victory conditions is to inflict 20 step losses. Having inflicted 11 step losses, the CSA is well on its way to accomplishing this. Another victory condition is to suffer no more than 15 step losses itself. Luckily, the southrons have suffered none so far. Things look rosy right now for Lee, who arrives on map next turn.
The first day of battle eventually ended in a decisive Confederate victory, with only 11 Confederate step losses and the capture of a foothold on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge. Union losses were heavy -- around 15,500.
Artillery is the queen of this game. On defense, it effectively doubles a defender's chance of hitting with that valuable +1 modifier. On offense, it chips away at a defender until an assault becomes feasible. Playing as the Union in the First Day scenario is tricky. He has to be especially wary of how he uses his artillery and how it is used against him. I think the critical strategic error in the game above was not getting Buford out of the Confederate line of sight.
I think it also pays to be a pest as the Union. Counterattack judiciously. Block lines of communication. Do NOT allow the rebels to hit you in a defensive position on Cemetery Ridge in the first day; defend north and west of town. It also doesn't hurt to actually make your activation and command rolls on a more consistent basis than I did above!Karl Laskas
Members can reach Karl at this e-mail address: karllaskas@aol.com
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