The Rodes Goes Ever On - Wars of Such Magnitude AAR

Hey, check it out; I played a game!

Kelly recently hosted a game at his home for the Army of Central Maryland group. Rocky was having us refight Chancellorsville using his rules, "Wars of Such Magnitude".

Scott and I played as the Union, while Kelly was commanding the Confederates. 

Both sides were given some pre-game deployment options. I had II and IV Corps (Couch and Meade) on the Union right flank, with III, XI, and XII Corps (Sickles, Howard and Slocum) on the left flank. The plan was that the left would hold its positions, as their brigades were less reliable. Couch and Meade, with larger, steadier brigades, would be the attackers. Scott took command on the left, while I commanded the right.

Kelly opted to follow Lee's plan for the day, splitting his forces between Lee (attacking the Union left) and Jackson (attacking the Union right).

Seemingly out of nowhere I had a number of Confederate divisions attacking Couch's flank, which was out in the open. Luckily Meade managed to get his divisions moving towards the steam. Couch couldn't seem to get off his ottoman, so most of his brigades sat still. 

Seeing that the terrain had split Lee's approaching troops, Scott decided that the best defense was a good artillery barrage. He quickly reorganized his guns into better firing positions.

Kelly did realize that he had been moving Rodes' divisions a little too quickly, and so moved them back down the road they were approaching from. A good sport, and what likely saved the Union's right flank; I don't think I could have handled that concentration of Confederate brigades.

Scott's troops continued to hammer the approaching rebels. You can see a couple divisions moving to block Kelly's troops moving toward the gap in the Union line. 

Here's an overhead shot of the game around midway through. You can see the gap between the two Union forces that Scott is working to fill. If Kelly's troops managed to break through, that would be free to cause havoc in the rear of the Union lines. 

Over on the Union right, Couch's troops managed to finally get moving, aiming to push the Confederates from the hills in front of their position. 

Meade received an order to swing his divisions along the intersection towards the Orange Turnpike, aiming to push back A.P. Hill's troops. 

Scott's "unreliable" continued to do remarkably well, going so far as to begin rolling up Lee's own flank!

In the last few turns, both sides were relatively battered. Meade desperately tried to get his brigades to stop moving forward as Hill continued falling back in good order. The fighting eventually petered out with both sides unwilling to advance into the others' lines. 

Over on the side side, it was looking fairly grim for Lee and his troops. Scott's forces continued their wrap-around while fresh troops moved up the road.

We called the game there as a decent Union victory.

After-game discussion touched on how to produced a more historical result. Since Scott and I were free of Hooker's indecisiveness and could see how Kelly's troops were approaching, we were able to counter and fight off what had been Lee's masterstroke tactical plan. 

Blinds may be an option, forcing the Union players to react to divisions that don't actually show up. For example, had Kelly deployed his entire force together while I thought I was attacking Jackson's historical flanking maneuver, only to end up punching at shadows, then Scott's troops would have been sorely outnumber while I desperately counter-marched to his aid. 

Regardless, I enjoyed trying out Rocky's rule and I look forward to trying them again.