Chickamauga BBB again

We started a second game of Chickamauga last night, using our 15mm figures and the Bloody Big Battle rules. 5 Fencibles were to attend but Bill was sidelined by the impending arrival of contractors at his abode. Then Rick hurt his knee and we were 3. A speedy recovery is wished for Rick and may Bill’s contractors get done in a timely fashion.

I had already determined to play Braxton Bragg, practicing by arguing with myself. Jay played Rosecrans and after some equivocating Ken decided to be a Confederate. Then I briefed him on my plan. Since the game isn’t complete I won’t reveal the plan yet. It is not dead, though life-support might be next. Enough said on that for the time being.

Jay deployed Baird and Brannan back by the Lafayette road, more conservatively than my forward deployment in the last game. They soon traded fire with Forrest’s dismounted cavalry.

I rushed forward in road column to try to get across the Lafayette road before the Union line solidified. Yeah, right.

My lead elements (I commanded the Confederate left) got stopped by enemy fire.

Good movement rolls by Jay saw rifle pits dug along much of his front.

Ken responded by working around the Union left.

My lead elements were thumped. But then…

The first day was over and we played the night turn. Some of the Union rifle pits were improved to entrenchments. Negley recovered a lost stand, as did Armstrong.

 We broke for dinner. My wife made a sumptuous feast, planned because 3 of the Fencibles have birthdays around this time of year. But 2 of the birthday boys were absent. We dined anyway and had her figgy pudding for dessert. No wonder Aubrey likes the stuff. Dinner was more leisurely than usual, about 90 minutes. We finally returned to the field of combat, with a bang. Cleburne broke the Union line for a fleeting moment.

I didn’t get the picture but Johnson struck Cleburne’s right flank while Union artillery hosed down the left. Cleburne’s division quit the field, decimated. My line milled around under enemy fire. Johnson thought better of his exposed position. It was looking like we needed a miracle.

And then, on our right, Pegram attacked the Union guns frontally and was blown off the field. Armstrong’s dismounted troopers closed from the flank and overran the guns. They exploited on into Baird’s disrupted troops and whipped them too! I put a wrecked gun model down but Jay wanted the big explosion marker too, so here t’is.

We had the most unusual situation; the Union left was pretty much pulverized by a small force of dismounted cavalry. Next in line Brannan was under heavy pressure from Gist, Lidell and two artillery batteries. Wheeler’s cavalry corps had just arrived (our last reinforcements), as had Mitchell’s Union cavalry corps.

It was going to be a race. Would the Union cavalry save their mangled left or would the Confederate cavalry finish the job that Forrest started? Will they actually fight while mounted? Good gracious! We’ll have to wait until December 28 to find out as there are still 4 turns left to go. We all thought it was a crackerjack game, going down to the wire.

We played 7 turns and a night interval in 3 hours, 20 minutes. This was slower than usual since there was only one Union player. Confederate losses were 6 infantry bases gone and 2 run off, 4 cavalry bases and 1 run off, still less than actual Confederate losses in the actual battle. But then we have 4 turns to go. Union losses were 5 infantry bases gone and 1 run off, and an artillery base wiped out. It looks like it will be decided by movement dice and combat dice. When it’s over I can reveal my plan.