The first BAB AAR (Wilson's Creek, alternate history)

[Gil R.]

We at WCS felt we had to do something special to mark the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, so, despite the lack of map graphics, we thought it high time that we posted the first AAR. Sadly, this will be one of those text-only AAR’s, but you should still be able to get a sense for the game. (You’ll have to trust me that this game isn’t “Infocom does the Civil War.” Our graphics are at least as good as some late-80’s ASCII game, like “Wizardry”...)

I am playing a scenario I just finished creating, which is an alternate-history scenario for Wilson’s Creek in which Sigel’s brigade is not sent on a long flanking march the night before the battle and thus separated from Lyon’s main column. (Web resources for this battle are pretty poor, but I’d recommend http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/resources/csi/knapp/knapp.asp for reading up on it.) Instead, Sigel has entered from the direction of Springfield right behind Lyon’s other three brigades. I plan to use him for an expanded version of the historical attack on the CSA right, which led to disastrous fighting in the cornfield below the Ray house. In the actual battle, Plummer’s Battalion of Regulars and two small cavalry units under Wright and Switzler were shot to pieces by Confederates who fired from the protection of the fence at the end of the cornfield. But Sigel’s force is much larger and has artillery, so I’ll send him towards the left with the two cavalry units so as to secure the all-important Wire Road and the direct approach to Springfield (10 miles away). Plummer will instead join the rest of Lyon’s column, pushing down from the north in the hope of taking the Confederates unaware in their encampments.

Historically, the Union encountered some cavalry units under Cawthon that were guarding the northern approach, easily pushing them back and advancing up the hill that would later be named “Bloody Hill.” I’m about to encounter those units, and have just a little time before the Confederate army wakes up naturally and the element of surprise will be lost.

(Here, for kicks, is a full-screen screenshot. Though, as usual, it doesn't show much.)

[Gil R.]

Turn 1: Movement Phase
The turn begins at 4:40 a.m., and my units are in “advance” mode, which means they do not move as far as they would in normal march mode – a sacrifice made so that the units will be able to enter line formation quickly and fight should there be need. (“Advance” mode is one of several “brigade orders,” i.e. settings given a brigade so that its units will perform a certain function most effectively.) It is still dark – until 5:00 a.m. – so my units can’t see more than 75 yards (= 1 hex). This area north of the hill has several paths branching off, but in general there is one north-south path. The terrain is rolling and filled with vegetation that blocks line of sight, and movement is difficult.

My units are mostly “Not Ready to Fight,” which means that if attacked they will be severely penalized. By the next turn, however, they’ll be “Ready to Fight” – nothing to get a unit ready like being attacked. (A screenshot of my OOB is posted below.)

My lead regiment is the 1st Missouri, and I move it to the edge of a hill just in front of a small stretch of woods. Seeing no sign of the enemy, the unit crosses and enters the woods. (There are paths leading left and right, but evidently my commander prefers the Bo Schembechler up-the-middle approach.)

The 1st Kansas, my next unit, follows... to a point. I’ve ordered it to fall in beside the 1st Missouri, but the unit “misinterprets the command,” perhaps confused in the darkness. Whatever the reason, there is now a 75-yard hole between the two regiments.

I then send the 1st Iowa after these, having it stick to the path, and it stops 3 hexes behind. The 2nd Kansas then begins to move but gets stuck behind the 1st Brigade’s artillery (Totten’s Battery), so it doesn’t reach the lead regiments.

To unclog the path, I send Sturgis’s 1st Brigade off to my right by a path that leads up to what appears to be the highest area in the vicinity (Hill Type 4). Sadly, it’s still dark, so this elevated position doesn’t help me spy the enemy. The only part of the brigade not to advance far is the pair of cavalry companies near the edge of the map, since they get slowed down by a ravine. The rest of the 3rd Brigade is slowed by the same ravine.

Gen. Lyon himself advances roughly 300 yards, beyond the point where multiple paths cross. This way, he can remain “in command” – meaning that the chain of command is unbroken and units do not get slowed or penalized (i.e., because orders aren’t transmitted in a timely manner).

Sigel and his brigade begin moving on the left, probing for a way across Wilson Creek so that they can seize the high ground there, also putting themselves between where I believe the bulk of the CSA army to be and Springfield. (Well, I know they’re there, but let’s pretend.)

Just to the north of Sigel, the 100-man cavalry units of Wright and Switzler break off and splash across the creek above a swampy area. Their task will be to reconnoiter and possibly secure the area in advance of Sigel, who is slowed by Backof’s Battery.

[Gil R.]

Turn 2: Movement Phase
It’s now daylight, and I can see much more – but, unfortunately, the large hill (i.e., Bloody Hill) prevents me from seeing much of the enemy. I do see a little, though: in the woods ahead of my advance unit (1st Missouri) I can see a CSA flag, which occurs when a unit is detected but too well hidden for it to be properly assessed. I have no idea what type of unit it is or how strong, but it’s clearly there, just 150 yards away. And farther away, in an area of tall grass and scattered trees, I see another flag, positioned where the hill begins to rise up from the small valley created by a stream.

Having spotted the enemy, I put the 1st Missouri into line formation, but as they are in woods this takes time, and the unit is unable to advance during the 20-min. turn. The 1st Kansas, without woods as an obstacle, is able to advance and form a line on the flank of the CSA flag, which now materializes into a cavalry unit (Hunter’s Cavalry).

Sturgis’s 1st Brigade begins to move, with Totten’s Battery climbing up that Type-4 hill and setting up – a precautionary move, in case it’s necessary to bombard the enemy units. The Battalion of Regulars advances towards the enemy and goes into line formation 150 yards away, while the smaller 2nd Missouri stays with Totten. (No sense risking an artillery battery, when in this terrain the enemy could come out of nowhere and attack.) The Kansas Rangers join the units up on the ridge.

Having taken the highest ground, I can now see another CSA cavalry unit (McCowan’s) behind the trees where my regiments are, right next to Hunter’s.

I next advance other units from the 3rd and 4th brigades towards where the fighting is about to break out, but they start too far away to have an impact this turn.

Meanwhile, Gen. Sigel advances downhill along a path, rounding the woods that are beside Wilson Creek and that swamp, and an undefended ford comes into view just 200 yards away. Off to the north but completely out of sight, the cavalry under Switzler and Wright cautiously probe their side of the creek, ending up at a mill house just above the ford.

An enemy artillery battery, Pulaski’s, has now come into sight atop a hill some ways off, but it cannot yet fire effectively. It will cause trouble for my units as they crest Bloody Hill, I fear. But Sigel is out of range, at least.

[Gil R.]

Turn 2: Combat Phase
Having finished my moves I click on “End Turn,” and combat occurs. The first volleys are exchanged between Hunter’s Cavalry and the 1st Kansas, which had come into position on the enemy’s flank. The casualties are a disproportionate 42:3 – it was an unfair match, as my regiment outnumbers the enemy’s 800:300, has better weapons, and is better trained, not to mention having been able to fire into their right flank. (The screenshot shows this exchange.)

Next fighting occurs between Peyton’s Cavalry and the Battalion of Regulars two hexes away, the results of which cause Peyton’s men to begin to panic.

The 1st Missouri and McCowan’s Cavalry next fight, and following this a few more volleys are exchanged among the units that have engaged in the hostilities.

After combat ends and Turn 3 begins I see that the Battalion of Regulars has lost formation and is quite shaken up, but right next to them Peyton’s troopers have run up the white flag. One less enemy unit to worry about, but the other two cavalry have held their positions, and are slowing my advance towards the enemy encampment, which I would like to bombard from the heights before they are able to mount an effective response to my attack. (Historically, Lyon wanted to do this and failed, and was instead forced to fight over the hill instead of freely bombarding the Confederates in the valley down below.)

More to come, so stay tuned...

[Gil R.]

And here's the battle report showing more fighting.

[michaelincol]

"Infocom does the Civil War" looks great, Gil. I'd buy a pre-order today. Can't wait for the first installment of what I, and I think many, hope will be a great series.

Michael

[Gil R.]

Thanks.

Since this a gaming site I feel I should clarify that I do not think "Wizardy" was an Infocom game. That's two separate references I was making.

[veji1]

Cool thanks for that. It would be great if you could give us tidbits on the mechanics while you play. For example I am surprised the CSA cavalry units attacked your infantry in the woods and suffer casualties. In this situation cavalry would have just done "probing" attacks, to slow down the advancing infantry, without really committing. Here they just impaled themselves.

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: veji1

Cool thanks for that. It would be great if you could give us tidbits on the mechanics while you play. For example I am surprised the CSA cavalry units attacked your infantry in the woods and suffer casualties. In this situation cavalry would have just done "probing" attacks, to slow down the advancing infantry, without really committing. Here they just impaled themselves.

I'll admit that our game is not so fine-grained as to have rules for probing attacks specifically -- in general, if two units are side by side they're going to fight. (This, of course, is standard in boardgames, like GMT's or "Across Five Aprils.")

In this particular case, though, if you look at the attack report above you'll see that the 1st Kansas first opened fire and then the cavalry unit counter-attacked.

[veji1]

yes but I can then see that the cavalry attacked during its turn, even though it had lost 0.285 morale. I would have thought they would be morale checks and that a cavalry unit that just lost a fair chunck might not counterattack. About the whole not being any probe attacks, what are the model of attacks ?

Is just fire attack and melee attack ? In this case I think there should be a modifier to combats effects when cavalry is involved that takes into account the low damages it inflicts an the low damages it receives, usually. I assume the cavalry unit was dismounted ?

[Gil R.]

Counter-attacks are automatic -- it just means a return volley or two, not a particular tactic. This, too, is pretty standard in GMT and elsewhere. So, we don't have units being shot up and deciding not to fire back at all.

It turns out the cavalry was actually mounted, as I just found out when testing the newest build as the CSA. When creating the scenario I forgot to dismount them. So playing the CSA I did so, and the damage was more even, though one unit did surrender. (Starting the Wilson Creek start-of-battle scenario with the Union each time being able to wipe the floor with the cavalry outpost is fine, since it lets the scenario start several turns before the CSA begins to wake up and exit "encamped" mode, during which time the Union player gets to move around rather freely and set up as he wishes. So the cavalry serve the role of slowing down the Union's timetable a bit, but never have a chance of stopping the advance. This is how things were historically.)

[veji1]

Sure, I never said the Cavalry should stop the advance. Anyway, I look forward to seeing (or rather hearing) the battle unfold. So my understanding is that you will range from smallish battles (10 000 overall) to big ones (up to 100 000 or 150 000) overall. How do the game mechanics adapt to that to avoid big battles being mammoth click and drag fests ?

[veji1]

so what's next in this battle ?

[Gil R.]

Sorry, taxes got in the way. I've had the next three turns written up for a while, but have to prepare the screenshots. Perhaps later tonight.

[veji1]

sooooo.. I see I have to keep on harassing you.

[mariovalleemtl]

I still play FoF. Can't wait for this one. Let me know if I could help.

[Gil R.]

Okay, finding some time. First, here's my USA OOB in Turn 3, showing slight casualties. And note two more columns added for this build.

[Gil R.]

Here's the CSA's force. Two independent division-sized armies, with commanders (McCulloch and Price) who don't like each other.

[Gil R.]

Turn 3: Movement Phase

Okay, on to Turn 3, even though I should be finishing my taxes...

Sigel successfully leads his brigade across the ford to the far side of Wilson Creek, entering the Ray Cornfield. Switzler and Wright have been able to hold the ford without opposition, as the CSA encampments are too far away. Sigel leaves Switzler and Co. I, 1st U.S. Cavalry to hold the ford – small units, but they would at least slow down any attempted crossing for 20-40 min. before giving way.

Back up on the hill where the first fighting has occurred the Battalion of Regulars, as previously noted, has become “shaken” and “disordered” (i.e., they have lost their formation). One can have disordered units attempt to regroup, something best done away from the enemy and in open terrain. So I move the unit one hex over, from savannah (i.e., tall grass with scrub oak, which is a dominant vegetation combo on this battlefield) into a more open area, and one farther from the enemy. Instantly their chance of reforming in column formation goes from 30% to 95% and they successfully reenter formation. They still have enough movement points to advance four hexes (300 yards) to a point near the edge of the hilltop.

Though this unit is not fighting the enemy cavalry, the 1st Kansas and 1st Missouri remain in close proximity, exchanging more fire. While this goes on I advance my other units. Sturgis’s 1st Brigade continues its advance on my right, down a path that goes atop the Type-4 Hill – the highest hill type, thus affording the best view of the area. From this area it is now possible to see down the slope of Bloody Hill all the way to a creek that feeds into the much larger Wilson Creek. However, the hill’s uneven nature, combined with high vegetation, blocks line of sight at several points on the slope. Ravines are also visible in the hillside – perfect for moving troops around stealthily.

On the left I advance DuBois’s Battery, one of two I have on the hill (the third is with Sigel), hoping that soon I can set it up in a commanding position. Gen. Lyon moves along with DuBois.

The turn ends with the two CSA cavalry units becoming increasingly surrounded, but unable to leave because of the two regiments lined up and ready to shoot them in the back if they attempt to retreat. My units are now starting to reach the edge of the hill, and next turn should be able to set up along the southern crest. From there I’ll be able to decide whether I need to come down from the hill to attack the Confederates, or wait for them to approach me.



Turn 3: Combat Phase
The fighting between Hunter’s Cavalry and the 1st Kansas and McCowan’s Cavalry and the 1st Missouri continues. Hunter is displaced, retreating one hex and climbing a hill. During the second round of combat Hunter’s men are able to fire down on the 1st Kansas from their new position. (An attack report reveals that Hunter’s men had dismounted, incidentally. Possibly that was the case already in Turn 2.)

[Gil R.]

Turn 4: Movement Phase
I advance the 1st Kansas one hex so as to close with Hunter again, though since my regiment is in line formation it is unable in a single turn to maneuver efficiently enough to climb the same hill while remaining facing Hunter. The 1st Missouri stays in place, hoping finally to dislodge McCowan from those woods.

Off on the left, I have Wright’s cavalry advance first into the Ray Cornfield, climbing onto the higher elevation (Hill2) for a better view. Pulaski’s Battery is visible six hexes away – close enough to do damage, especially to a unit out in the open. But there’s nowhere to hide, so I have the rest of the regiment enter the cornfield, hoping that in a turn or to Sigel’s artillery will be able to fire on the enemy battery.

Moving into the upper elevation also reveals another enemy unit near Pulaski, but I can’t identify it. (It appears on the screen as a Confederate flag, which indicates a unit can be detected but is not clearly enough in view for its type, size or formation to be evident.)

Next I continue the advance of the 1st Brigade on the right, having it follow the path along the topmost points of the hill. Here I stumble into some good fortune: I send Totten’s Battery to an open hex just one away from the edge of the hill, so that the following turn I can have the battery advance to the edge and take position there, but the unit “misunderstands” my command and goes to a different open hex two hexes too far to the north. As luck would have it, this puts it behind and above Hunter’s Cavalry, which will now have to contend with my infantry regiment right in front of it and my artillery behind it.

Having more units advance lets me espy other enemy units. I can see one CSA regiment in column formation near the ford where the Wire Road – the important artery in this area, and a road famous in American history – crosses Wilson Creek. It’s clearly approaching the hill, as are some other units that I soon see farther away. (Every time I move up a unit there is a chance I will spot an enemy unit, since the terrain of this battlefield is so broken that sometimes a unit can’t see what an adjacent unit can see. It’s a very challenging battlefield, in this respect. Plus it’s difficult terrain to move through.)

I advance the other units, trying to use vegetation to screen them from Pulaski’s Battery (which in the battle itself was firing across the creek valley onto Union units on Bloody Hill).




Turn 4: Combat Phase
Time again for combat. Hunter’s men take more heavy casualties, but he is able to rally them. A bit later when they’re hit with even more casualties (31) the unit panics, and during all this Hunter himself is “lightly wounded” (meaning that he can stay in command). The unit is forced to retreat, only to find Totten’s Battery opening fire from behind. Meanwhile, McCowan’s Cavalry and the 1st Missouri continue to fight. The CSA unit has little hope of escape, but is at least able to delay one of the strongest Union regiments.

After combat ends I’m able to see more CSA units, some advancing along the creek valley towards Sigel’s position and others obviously planning an attack on Bloody Hill, though that seems at least two turns off.


Disclaimer: I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone by writing an AAR while testing a new scenario for the first time – a risky proposition, since there was always the chance that something was wrong with the scenario. It turns out there is. First, the supply wagons for both sides have disappeared, most likely because I made an error in one of the data files. So both sides will run out of supply and be unable to continue. (Though wait until I tell you how they can resupply without any wagons around...) Also, I am starting to realize that I put in too many victory hexes on the side controlled by the CSA, the result of which will be that some CSA units will stick to the VH’s they control, instead of coming out to fight me. So the CSA will not be as strong as it should be. But that’s okay, since there will be more and better AAR’s in the future, and this one is meant mainly to provide the first detailed descriptions of combat.