Gaming - ACW - Fort Donelson

 Yesterday was an outing at the renamed Old Guard group - now the North Riding Wargames Club. Stig and I had booked to play another ACW game using Alter of Freedom. We are going to work our way through the scenario book over time and this is the opening one for the Western battles . 

It’s a small battle - the table was 4.5 x 4.5 (as we are using 10mm we have increased the size /ranges/movement by half )with 3 Union divisions commanded by US Grant - the only issue being he does not turn until the end of turn 5 , which made it difficult to prioritise and coordinate the attacks . 

The Confederate general was hesitant which makes his command ratings variable each turn , again you can’t plan forward , just need to react to what’s happening. 

The aim is for the each army to break the other - which is losing 4 brigades , or have control of a key road leading of the map - the Confederate escape route at the end of the 10 turn scenario. 

I had build an earthen wall fort from 10mm XPS to represent the fort 

Stigs Union forces advance toward the outer works 

The map with the key road markerd. The Union start on across the bottom 3 squares.  

The outer ring of defence works are manned .

My Reb cavalry was able to outflank a couple of Union brigades coming  toward the fort which blunted the attack . Grants absence was being felt.

At turn 5 it was looking like a Union defeat , with the Union army taking casualties and having being thrown back . Grants arrival turned the tide with some key dice roles that rallied broken troops . 

From then on I was playing a holding game trading space and time with my Rebs and trying to pinch out Union units that came near the road . A Union cavalry unit was able to get through and overrun a rallying brigade and more importantly the corps HQ I had placed behind Dover . This meant rallying troops would rally to the fort on the other side of the battlefield .

The fort continued to hold off various Union assaults

The final rolls of the last turn saw a Union brigade supported by artillery seize the road junction .

Overall another great game - that gave lots of tense moments . From looking a near certain Union defeat to snatching at the end it was great fun . 

We will be doing a small Vicksburg campaign coming up .