tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post6212346058848702900..comments2024-03-28T16:32:41.081+00:00Comments on Battlefields and Warriors: Pocket Armies - the fight below Seminary Ridge 1863Normhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-83594153884796352702020-01-26T23:04:32.164+00:002020-01-26T23:04:32.164+00:00Hi Tom, thanks for dropping by and supporting the ...Hi Tom, thanks for dropping by and supporting the blog. I missed the overhead condition re enfilade fire, good catch. Funnily enough, in my first play, because I didn’t actually represent the ridge on the table, I stopped firing the confederate artillery once their own troops were in the way of the target ..... totally forgetting they were on higher ground!<br /><br />I do like the BP rules, I got the Bataille Empire rules today and at some point will have a go at comparing them.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-47168598177570712742020-01-26T19:47:58.773+00:002020-01-26T19:47:58.773+00:00I always enjoy reading your battle accounts. You ...I always enjoy reading your battle accounts. You are good with making them sound like an excerpt from an exceptionally good history book. I did want to point out that BP excludes cannon firing overhead from receiving the enfilade bonus. This would not have impacted things per your account. While BP's chatty style makes it more interesting to read, it can lead to overlooking various rule nuggets.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05867104118119329549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-37202079691586562332020-01-19T17:37:05.012+00:002020-01-19T17:37:05.012+00:00Thank you, I am drafting the scenario now, so that...Thank you, I am drafting the scenario now, so that is a great help.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-59944777051552454262020-01-19T17:22:02.667+00:002020-01-19T17:22:02.667+00:00Worth noting for your next scenario: Davis was the...Worth noting for your next scenario: Davis was the President's nephew and was widely considered to have been promoted on that basis. This was his first time leading a brigade in action. He didn't do so well in the actual battle.vtsaogameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13104194914166417310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-56977360247260331492020-01-18T22:02:06.216+00:002020-01-18T22:02:06.216+00:00Thanks Stew, just planning out the Iron Brigade sc...Thanks Stew, just planning out the Iron Brigade scenario now, that one looks a bit tighter.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-183749741139729492020-01-18T18:48:50.922+00:002020-01-18T18:48:50.922+00:00Great presentation of ACW. I really like your 12m...Great presentation of ACW. I really like your 12mm collection. That was a hard scenario for the CSA, but as you explain, the objectives would likely change if the battle was expanded. And you’re always tempting me to give BP more of a try. Overall, a successful outing of your pocket armies project. 😀<br />But you didn’t mention that it was ACWary... lol. Stewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00340930167419307092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-91798534593631913232020-01-17T07:56:47.600+00:002020-01-17T07:56:47.600+00:00Thanks Iain, the table frames them nicely. I do ha...Thanks Iain, the table frames them nicely. I do have a lot of fun with Black Powder.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-43345509153407271702020-01-17T06:44:58.785+00:002020-01-17T06:44:58.785+00:00Sounds like black powder gave you a good game! You...Sounds like black powder gave you a good game! You're 12mm figures look excellent, surely the way to go!<br />Best Iain caveadsum1471https://www.blogger.com/profile/02174163740406928172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-42187401454307240862020-01-16T22:25:00.725+00:002020-01-16T22:25:00.725+00:00Hi Mike, thanks. Had they managed to fully close o...Hi Mike, thanks. Had they managed to fully close on turn 1, then before the hand-to-hand combat is resolved, the Union would get closing fire, a sort of defensive fire. That can Have quite a sting, because there is a fire bonus for the close range fire.<br /><br />Because they didn’t close (and the chances of them doing that are against them), the Union will fire in their own part of the turn and then still get closing fire when the confederates charge to contact in the next turn, so in the game, the Confederates endured two lots of fire.<br /><br />The thing with black Powder, Unless you have a highly rated commander, there is more chance of a unit just moving once or not at all, than there is of getting two or three moves.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-40958952305648494152020-01-16T21:04:22.940+00:002020-01-16T21:04:22.940+00:00Nice game Norm. So if I understand correctly, had ...Nice game Norm. So if I understand correctly, had the rebs closed in with the initial move, they would have been spared the Union volleys? If this is the case, surely it isn’t too realistic I think as in real life the rebs would have had continuous volleys coming their way whilst advancing. Or have I missed something?Mike Vellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01220933613292414697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-77768591961764746882020-01-16T08:24:14.953+00:002020-01-16T08:24:14.953+00:00Thanks Steve, with a unit frontage of 120mm instea...Thanks Steve, with a unit frontage of 120mm instead of 240mm, halving distances works well, even though the mental conversion to centimetres is easier :-) When I do the pinbord stuff, I go to 80mm frontages and convert to centimetres. <br /><br />The fields were just there as an aesthetic without any value, simply because the boardgame classed the terrain as open. When researching a period map, I found that this part of the battlefield had wheat and the only fence boundary of any significance actually ran along the bottom of the ridge line, so I thought is best to ignore it.<br /><br />I think if I played the full version (Battle 3), Archer could have got away with just pinning the Union, so that they didn't cross the battlefield to help the Iron Brigade and they would no doubt have been more successful in that role.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-24614890237451532662020-01-16T08:15:26.518+00:002020-01-16T08:15:26.518+00:00Thanks Phil, enough going on to enjoy the play.Thanks Phil, enough going on to enjoy the play.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-48298133997995870622020-01-16T07:49:34.229+00:002020-01-16T07:49:34.229+00:00A lovely little game than transitioned well from t...A lovely little game than transitioned well from the board onto the table. Interesting to read this as we had just played a trial game of BP for our forthcoming campaign.<br /><br />Looking at the terrain, did you class the wheatfields as rough terrain, thereby slowing the Confederate advance? From what I could see it would have been hard to close with the Union troops, even with 3 moves, considering you had to cross the fences as well, aside from possible rought terrain penalties to boot. Always hard to tell from a 'photo though.<br /><br />We also simply halved the distances and ranges, as the inches felt better than converting to centimetres when we looked at things with the figures on the table. Looking forward to more similar games as they are perfect for a mid-week game.Steve J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12143308117853983963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-3956447911742171022020-01-16T06:53:17.874+00:002020-01-16T06:53:17.874+00:00A nice looking test with impressive pictures, look...A nice looking test with impressive pictures, looks great!Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08913029478686087197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-49942776183860887832020-01-16T06:15:16.361+00:002020-01-16T06:15:16.361+00:00Thanks Michal, my new roads arrived on the day of ...Thanks Michal, my new roads arrived on the day of the game, so that was helpful and the 12mm did look rather 'brigade' like.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-77523707650576351432020-01-16T06:12:51.712+00:002020-01-16T06:12:51.712+00:00Thanks Matt, I probably picked the weaker of the t...Thanks Matt, I probably picked the weaker of the three battle options, but as an excuse to thrown down some stuff for a quick game it worked - it probably is a useful situation for testing and comparing rules.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-89672482830632264652020-01-16T06:11:09.142+00:002020-01-16T06:11:09.142+00:00Thanks Jonathan, the maths are interesting, the ch...Thanks Jonathan, the maths are interesting, the charging unit can get a +1 for the initial charge, which is powerful and then the second line of supports will increase the enemy casualty numbers by +1, making it a bit more likely for the charger to win the melee and for the defender to have to be the one taking the Break Test. However, you need a bit of luck when attacking frontally because the defender gets off a volley of Closing Fire, which may cause disorder or shaken results and if that happens there is a -1 on the attack, which wipes out the charging bonus.<br /><br />It is the 'equivalently sized force' that caused me the biggest problem as the charging confederates did not have flank supports .... allowing the Union to 'box' the attack.<br /><br />The choosing of the fire strengths came about because 5th AL was a smaller unit, which is a BP thing. The second unit was reduced because I needed to show that a) the Confederates had already been in action that morning clearing the cavalry out and that there was a real difference in battlefield numbers in this action in, Archer had 1200 men and Cutler had 2015 and that difference had to be captured by the scenario and the number of regiments alone could not do that if they were treated as standard.<br /><br />To help the Confederates a bit, to make a game, I gave them some unit attributes,but did not give similar help to the Union. The smoothbore unit was there because the army list (Glory Hallelujah) requires a minimum of 1.<br /><br />It works as a nice little distraction with a storyboard, but there's not even a puzzle to solve, it is just an uphill (or downhill!) struggle for the Confederate side. I would like to try out a firefight instead of a 'Pickett's Charge' and see how that balances out, probably a more dice dependent affair, but that may give the Confederates their best chance and of not getting ensnared, so that if they fail, they can still retreat to keep their force .... for the campaign!Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-31156741750569794702020-01-16T05:40:18.845+00:002020-01-16T05:40:18.845+00:00Thanks Steve, agree about the Black Powder rules....Thanks Steve, agree about the Black Powder rules. Due to the nature of hits and saves a lot of variety and uncertainty can enter the game. When the assault first went in, the left regiment got badly mauled, but the right regiment had much better luck, which in turn became a moment of crisis for the opposite Union regiment.Normhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05031444717952755557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-4268446350915372232020-01-16T04:43:56.132+00:002020-01-16T04:43:56.132+00:00Looking great sir !Looking great sir !Michal DwarfCrypthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05915669873652904866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-17748871458931295922020-01-15T23:31:13.374+00:002020-01-15T23:31:13.374+00:00Nicely worked out and delivered scenario Norm, I l...Nicely worked out and delivered scenario Norm, I like the board game figure transition something I am sure many of us have contemplated but never achieved, I might just play it out sometime in 28 mm 🤔 always looking for scenarios to playMatt Crumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06841790422716738842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-85001496839926779242020-01-15T22:45:34.289+00:002020-01-15T22:45:34.289+00:00Boy! The photo showing the Federal lines wrapping...Boy! The photo showing the Federal lines wrapping around the Rebels looks a bit like a 19th Century Cannae! A frontal assault against against an equivalently sized force is a recipe for being repulsed.<br /><br />Why do the Alabama boys fire RM at '2' while others fire RM at '3'? Is it because the Alabamans are small units?<br /><br />Nice little scrap. Jonathan Freitaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07862373894196924886noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5368677310334370714.post-3088576580372231962020-01-15T22:26:04.994+00:002020-01-15T22:26:04.994+00:00Outstanding "little" fight, Norm! I lov...Outstanding "little" fight, Norm! I love the narrative that Black Powder produces. This seemed like a nice test of the "pocket armies" concept.Disgruntled Fusilierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995610821904415726noreply@blogger.com