Wednesday 21 April 2021

Preparing for the Sunken Lane 1862




The Pickett's Charge rules have an introductory scenario covering the attack on the Sunken Lane at Antietam 1862.

As a follow on from the last post, comparing four ACW sets of rules, I have put the 'Bloody Lane' scenario on the table to use with Pickett's Charge rules and if I have time, will perhaps re-run it with one of the other rules sets, probably Black Powder.

The scenario allows a free set up, so I have Confederate vets on the left (Rodes) and Union green troops (Morris) on their left, to see how that works out.

The table is 6'  x just under 4', the figures are 12mm Kallistra.

Here is a short video of dispositions as a warm-up to the battle (full screen link below).

For a full screen link - use this;

https://vimeo.com/539738984

26 comments:

  1. Very aesthetic presentation, Norm. Having walked the ground to recreate the Federal advance, it surprised me how close the Federals could approach the lane without being seen.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan, I played a more strategic boardgame (units as brigades) last year and that didn't represent a concealed advance, but the scenario I am working with today has enough high ground to allow the Union main attack columns to approach unseen ..... but the scenario states that the crest of the high ground should be placed at long musket fire range, so essentially the Union are only just coming into small arms weapon range anyway - it does of course still protect their approach from the guns.

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  2. Steve, i have been wanting to give these rules a proper outing for a while - so there is much for me to look forward to.

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  3. Usual lovely set up and excellent presentation. Where did you get your ploughed fields from if you don’t mind me asking? They look very nice!

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    1. Thanks JB, the fields are latex type material from TimeCast. They take acrylic paint really well, plus any flock with PVA glue and lay close to the ground.

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  4. Looks great, Norm! I’m not generally a fan of videos, I prefer still photos for perusing, but this was nicely done.

    V/R,
    Jack

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    1. Thanks Jack. It probably works for a wider audience because it is essentially just a collection of stills. Plus it is deliberately short,to save my time and others :-)

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  5. Spectacular presentation Norm, beautiful video!

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  6. Thanks Phil, it looks to be a good scenario, perhaps a little balanced towards the Confederate, but then the real battle was much more so!

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  7. Very nice set up! I look forward to both games!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain, Pickett’s Charge wrapped up yesterday, so just needs to go through the write-up job. It is one of the bigger scenarios that I have played and came close to exhausting my Kallistra infantry collection with around 17 infantry regiments per side.

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    1. Thanks Dean, the ACW stuff seems to be on a roll at the moment.

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  9. That's a mighty fine primer Norm, looking forward to the AAR.

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  10. Thanks Phil, for someone like me, a picture can save 1000 words :-)

    Somerset and Warwick got their command bases today, banners tomorrow.

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  11. Great video presentation Norm and I look forward to reading the AAR or AAR's:)

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  12. Thanks Steve, the short clips seem to work for what I am after. There is much scope here for AAR’s :-)

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  13. Very pretty set up. Looks close enough to the sunken road. I hope that PC comes together for you. I wanted to like those rules more than I ended up actually doing. I found the charge section especially lacking in clarity. But there are some fun concepts in it.
    It’ll be close to the historical battle if the Union crest the hills, get pulverized by CSA fire, and again when they charge in. The lane really only fell due to CSA confusion and eventually being flanked. Looking forward to the AAR. 😀

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    1. Hi Stew, very interested in the 'wanting to like them more than you ended up actually doing' comment, as someone who is deliberating on the rules right now. The post will go up over the next day or so, so I will be interested in your opinion.

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  14. I’ll look forward to seeing how this played out. We played it at the Devon Wargames Group a few years back when the rules first came out. We got a fairly historical result with the Confederate line eventually giving way, but holding long even for reinforcements to prevent a Union breakthrough.

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  15. Hi, thanks for dropping by. I am spilling the e-ink on a battle report at the moment. Having got to the end of the game, I was left feeling that the result was within historical bounds and that both sides would have had a good engaging game, with frustrations and tension of battle being felt by both sides.

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  16. Splendid looking set up Norm interested to see how it plays out. I am looking to play the scenario later in the year as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer. Will watch with interest. And well done for dipping into the video world again 👍

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  17. Thanks Matt, the scenario gives a good contest.

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  18. Cracking video Norm, the music gave it a real sence of pathos, particularly in the zoomed-out shots.

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  19. Thanks Gareth, hope the write-up of the battle entertains - it will go up shortly.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment