The Battle of Novice Mountain Part 3

 The final hours of the Battle of Novice Mountain bring to its conclusion the bloody work started earlier in the day as Union forces try to hold the two flanking passes while taking the middle pass.  

5:40pm-7:00pm

McClaws’ Division on the far Confederate right has pierced the Union line at the wall and driven off the Zouaves of the 11th New York and the Irish Brigade but two Rhode Island regiments and the 3rd Maine drive them off routing two South Carolina regiments and driving beyond the wall their division originally held. They, in turn are struck  and driven back to the yard  but McClaws’ division is spent and can do no more.  The Union left has held.

New Englanders seal the breach and drive back the Confederates 

On the Confederate left near disaster strikes as down go two brigade commanders, and division commander Daniel Tyler is carried from the field.  It is fortunate that Corp commander Joseph Hooker is up and is able to stabilize the flank.  It may not be enough.  Several Union regiments and a battery of guns rout and Hood’s division has regrouped on the flank.  Massed artillery breaks a Confederate charge before it can be launched from behind a stone wall but farther left six regiments are sent forward against two Union regiments only to be thrown back in disorder.  If the charge had succeeded the flank would have broken.  The Union flank holds on the right.   

The Union line erupts in flame across the front. 

  In the center the more slowly developing Union push finally rolls across the widest pass.  The Confederate Division of DR Jones deals punishment from near a small farm house but is late in blocking the pass.  Jones decides it’s time to throw in a large brigade in an all out assault.   Like the assault on the Confederate left Jones has numerical superiority.  Six regiments charge the 3rd Vermont who are supported by one other regiment.   The result is a repulse.   The confederates have failed to prevent from Union troops from taking the center pass. 

The Confederates fall back in confusion. 

Conclusion

In five hours  approximately 18490 Union troops battle 19340 Confederate troops with estimated casualties 6783 Union and 6630 Confederates. Two Union brigade commanders and a division commander fall.  

The Union army by taking and holding all three objectives has scored a major victory and has disrupted the Confederate march on the far side of the mountain and can now pitch in. 

On a purely gaming note: The two Confederate charges on the last turn saw 12 total regiments charge four. In both cases during the dice down for impact the Union side could only break the charge by rolling double ones.  Both did.   The gaming group “engineer” says that’s a 1/1296 probability.  The “actuary” was silent on the matter.  

The Battle of Novice Mountain Part 2

 The day starts to heat up after the Confederates try to block the Union attack launched earlier.  The Union right continues to push against the Confederate left while only probing the center.  On the Union left it’s the rebels who arrive late but come in swinging. 

3:20pm-5:20pm

Tyler’s Division pushes against Hood’s Division who holds a stout position behind a stone wall. Tyler sends the Brigade of Phelps to the right of the wall to try to flank Hood but Kemper’s Brigade of Virginians arrive on the field in time to check the move.

An exchange of volleys on the Confederate left. 

Kemper aggressively charges Phelps’ Midwesterners but is thrown back in disorder. Phelps sees advantage and launches his own assault that hurls Kemper back causing one regiment to route (but later rally) and the rest of the Virginians to fall back.   The boys in blue are themselves in disorder from the charge and two Confederate batteries add to the confusion by firing into the reforming troops to further try to check them.   The wall continues to swirl with smoke as the Confederates fire volleys into the Union troops in front of them   Three Union batteries add to the return fire but the wall lessens the casualties.  The Union right still holds the pass and remains stuck in.

In the center, two Union Brigades belatedly advance on D.R. Jones partially arrived Division but the hesitant advance allows Jones to bring his second Brigade up.  When the Union Brigades enter musket range near a fence across their path they are met with volleys from the Confederates waiting there  

Muskets and cannon open up on the advancing Yankees.

It’s on the Union left flank where the action is most violent.   McClaws Division will sustain 2520 casualties in the first three hours and twenty minutes; more than the other two Confederate Divisions combined.

Holding behind a stone wall flanked by woods on either side New York and Pennsylvanians of the Irish Brigade supported by a battery of guns pour heavy fire into attacking South Carolinians and Mississippians as they advance on the wall  

Fire Zouaves anchor the line until contact. 

The South Carolinians take a heavy pounding approaching the wall but Barksdale’s Mississippians and Semmes’ Georgians score a breakthrough into the yard of a farmhouse behind the wall.   Artillery horses are shot down but Battery E of the U.S Artillery blasts the rebels with Canister taking a heavy toll as the Confederates cross the wall. Small Union counter charges pick up prisoners but the two Zouave regiments route from the yard.   Other Union regiments held in reserve volley into the once exuberant-now disordered Mississippians  and  Georgians.  

The wall is breached but reserves approach. 

The Union left is now a swirling and disordered brawl. 

In three hours and twenty minutes approximately 18490 Union troops battle 19340 Confederate troops with estimated casualties of 4090 Union and 4110 Confederates.

Next: The decisive hours.  

The Battle of Novice Mountain Part I

 Inspired by the Battle of South Mountain, this game of ACW using the Johnny Reb rule set represents the Union forces of General Hooker’s First Corp attempting to push through the gaps of the lesser known (some would say unknown) Novice Mountain in order to catch the Confederates marching strung out along the far side.  James Longstreet’s Corp must hold back the Union troops until nightfall thus allowing the rest of the army to clear the gaps.

   The scenario begins at 2pm with two brigades of Union troops attacking two Confederate Brigades across three passes of Novice Mountain.  Three objectives are located on the far crest of the mountains, one on each road that crosses one of the passes.   Six additional Union Brigades are scheduled to arrive starting at 3:20pm while seven Confederate Brigades are scheduled to arrive starting at 4:40pm.  Each turn  represents 20 minutes.

2pm-3:20pm

On the Union right the Division of Daniel Tyler is aggressive and marches forward against the Confederate Division of John Bell Hood.  Evans’ Brigade of Rebels gains a stone wall as Phelps’ Brigade of Yankees gains the objective  

D.R. Jones’ Confederate Division moves up the Confederate center and takes the second objective but no Confederates are to be found on the Confederate right as James Ricketts’ Division pushes through the gap to the objective on the Union right.

Layfatte McClaws arrives early due to some some good fortune and starts to move up the Confederate right to meet Ricketts. Abner Doubleday marches up the Union center but does so timidly and stops at a stone wall out of range of all but the longest cannon fire and well short of the objective.

Looking out from the Confederate center.

On the Union right Phelps’ Brigade of Tylers’ Division pitches in setting off a tripwire of cannon and musket fire from the Confederates behind the stone wall. The second Michigan routs under the withering fire but the first Louisiana who don’t have the benefit of the wall and who hold the farthest left flank of the Confederate line take a heavy punishment   They stand their ground.   More Union and Confederate Brigades arrive on that end of the field.

The Confederate left explodes. 

In one hour and forty minutes approximately 14000 Union troops battle 13000 Confederate troops with estimated casualties of 630 Union and 660 Confederates.

Next: The battle heats up  

Irregular Cup Dungeon Bowl Final Results 2023

Witch Gate Wanderers claim the Irregular Cup.

Witch Gate Wanderers (Dark Elves).  14 Touchdowns

Blood Mountain Brawlers (Orks).  10 Touchdowns

Asaheim Alcoholics (Norse) 9 Touchdowns

Castle Rock  Raptors (Human) 9 Touchdowns 

Altdorf Casual Practice Squad 8 Touchdowns

The Battle of Ghauson Part 3

 The Battle of Ghauson was winding down as the forces of the Emperor and those of Chaos battled over the wasteland of the city. The Marines and Guard of the Imperium were imposing their will.  Would the gods of Chaos turn the tide?

Sentinels of the Taros fight off Plague Marines of the Death Guard. 

Turn 5

The Imperial Forces had just watched as one of their three knights was beheaded by an enemy knight but they retained the initiative.  On the Imperial right Silver Templars battled Daemons of Khorne; the Taros 7th troops being eliminated from that flank.  A squad of Intercessors beat back and wiped out an attack by recently summoned Bloodletters by shooting them with pistols as the daemons tried to stab and slash.  Assault Intercessors charged the Bikers who had helped dispatch the Imperial Knight and exacted revenge by chopping them up with chainswords.  

In the center the guardsmen of the Taros 7th attempted to kill the Khorne Lord and his remaining Terminator bodyguard.  Silver Templar Suppressors navigated the orbital interference and landed to help.  The Lord lived on as attempts to kill him were unsuccessful.  

On the Imperial left the Crusaders  of the Black Templars were joined by a Chaplain and continued to slug it out with Slaaneshi Chosen.  

The Silver Templars arrive. 

The Death Guard had finally engaged fully in the Chais attack and were now on the move.  Plague Marines spilled out of a recently destroyed Rhino and volleyed into a squad of Black Templar Hellblasters  before charging a trio of Sentinels.  A Foetid Blight Drone blasted and charged a squad of Silver Templar Reivers who had been moving up and cut their number to less than half.  

On the Chaos left a squad of Marines of Khorne advanced into a building and fired ineffectually at the Assault Intercessors that had just destroyed the bikers.   The Renegade Knight who had smashed the Imperial Knight now swung into the middle of the Imperial line.  It eliminated a pesky Black Templar Razorback and stepped on a Sentinel.   

On the Chaos right Slaanesh gave blessing by granting the summoning of Daemonettes who charged into the swirling melee between the Chosen and Black Templars.  More casualties for both sides resulted.  

Turn 5 ended with Imperials having 5 victory points to Chaos’s 4. 

Daemonettes join the fray. 

Turn 6

The Imperium weight of firepower and aggression would finally pay off with one final push.   On the Imperial left the Templars continued to fight the Slaaneshi daemons to a draw with each side taking casualties.  An Imperial Knight which had been slowly advancing with fire turned to the middle of the enemy line and unleashed its battle cannon and Gatling cannon to take down a Chaos Knight-the second knight in the battle to fall. 

In the middle- the Taros 7th unleashed plasma and killed the Khorne Lord scoring a victory point for doing so.    On the Imperial right, the Silver Templars fired to full effect and wiped out the recently advancing marines of Khorne and followed up with a charge into a Rhino that sat behind the now absent marines.  

Not visible, the dead Khorne Marines. 

The loss of the Knight and Lord of Chaos deflated the hopes of the forces of Chaos and ended their attack against the forces of the Imperium.   Small skirmishes continued as another squad of Berzerkers left from the Rhino and slashed at the Assault Intercessors and a squad of Raptors dropped onto the battlefield on the Chaos right.   It wasn’t enough.   The day was the Emperor’s. The forces of Chaos had been bested. 

Final Victory Points:         Imperium 8     Chaos 4

The Battle of Ghauson-Part 2

In part two of this report, the  fight for the city of Ghauson became more fierce as the Imperial forces advanced on both flanks and the devastating attack continued.

The Black Templars advance

Turn 3

The Black Templars advanced on the left with support from an Imperial Knight. The Knight dueled with a wounded renegade knight as it advanced causing further damage. Eradicators exited a Razorback and blasted a squad of Noise Marines.  On the right the Imperial Guard of the Taros 7th unsuccessfully tried to beat back the rampaging Berzerkers with no success and were wiped out.  Silver Templars rolled up in Rhinos in attempt to aid the guardsmen but had still not arrived.  

The forces of Chaos attempted to gain momentum with little success.  On the left, the Berzerkers hacked away at another Taurox and pounced on the troops who came piling out upon the vehicle’s destruction.  A third Renegade knight advanced with support of renegade bikers against an Imperial knight.  Fighting through orbital interference a squad of Chaos Terminators teleported into a building behind the middle of the enemy line and unleashed shots against more hapless guardsmen who were holding the middle of the imperial line.  On the Chaos right flank a squad of Chosen of Slaanesh assaulted a squad of Black Templars Intercessors who were moving forward inside a building. The following melee was inconclusive.

Slaaneshi Chosen led by a greater Chosen about to roll poorly in hand to claw combat 

The Turn ended with the Imperials up 3 victory points to Chaos's 1.

Turn 4

The forces of the Imperium smashed the Chaos warbands.   On the Imperial left, the overwhelming firepower from two Knights, Black Templar Eradicators, a Razorback and a squad of Templar outriders crushed the Slaaneshi troops.   The remaining bikers, noise marines and a squad of Havocs fell to the fire. In the middle, a squad Of Imperial guard fled from the recently arrived Chaos Terminators allowing a Taurox Prime and fellow squad of Scions to kill four of the five infiltrators. On the Imperial right, the Silver Templars arrived in time to eliminate the Khorne Berzerkers to a man as a squad of Taros guardsmen slipped away.   

Not seen are the squad of Hellblasters and assault Intercessors  who joined in wiping the Berzerkers 

Things appeared bleak for the forces of Chaos.  The right flank was being blasted off the board and the Death Guard were plodding in the middle.  The one hope for momentum on the Khorne held left came to a grinding halt with the loss of the red menace.    The Chaos lord now virtually alone in the middle of the Imperial back line after the loss of most of the terminators attempted to summon help in the form of Bloodletters but Khorne laughed and the lord remained alone.   The Khornish Lord Discordant hiding in the rear of the left flank was more successful and summoned a squad of Bloodletters who successfully charged that Silver Templar Intercessors who had just shot up the Berzerkers.  

On the Chaos right, the Chosen continued to hammer away at the Black Templars in close assault and were making progress.  Nurgle’s minions were finally joining the battle and helped grab an objective in the middle of the battle.  

With the forces of Chaos on the ropes and with prospects not improving, in the middle of the battlefield a renegade Knight escorted by melta gun wielding bikers assaulted an Imperial Knight.  The Imperial Knight, already wounded from a duel with a different renegade Knight was blasted with a rapid fire battle cannon and melta guns weakening it further.   The renegade knight crashed in and with the smashing of a Thunderstrike Gauntlet-the only one carried by any of the six Knights in the battle-ripped the head off the Imperial Knight and tossed it at a nearby Eradicator.

Turn 4 ended with the Imperials holding 5 victory points to Chaos’s 4.  

Stay tuned for part 3

 

The Battle of Ghauson-Part 1

 The city of Ghauson on a remote mining world is the site of a recent battle between the forces of the Imperium and several chaos warbands.  This fight for control of this important capitol city raged on for several weeks and involved six armies. 

The Forces-  The Black Templar and Silver Templar chapters of the Adeptus Astartes joined the Imperial Guard of the 7th Taros to battle warbands of Slaanesh and Khorne; and Death Guard. Six knights joined the fight.

The Rules-8th edition 40k. Tactical Objective cards were used with the modification that when an objective was held or seized it was removed and randomly replaced on the board.  Deep striking was also limited to one guaranteed squad per side per turn due to orbital interference. 100 power levels per player that had to include a knight. 

The Table- 14’ x 6” with a cut out on one flank that lessened the width in that section. The two sides set up along the long sides of the table 

The Troop Dispositions- The Imperial forces aligned with the Silver Templars on the right flank, Black Templars on the left flank and Taros 7th intermingled across the entire line.  Across from the Black Templars on the chaos right flank Slaanesh lined up.  Khorne set up on the left and the Death Guard occupied the middle to separate the other two squabbling gods.  

Turn 1

The forces of the Imperium scored the initiative and immediately gained advantage when a knight and Black Templar razorback caught a Death Guard Predator unprotected and destroyed it. First blood!   On the right flank Sentinels of the Imperial Guard scouted forward with Taurox troop carriers advancing toward an objective 

The pre-destroyed Predator takes a peek and pays 

The forces of Chaos advanced cautiously.  Slaaneshi Rhinos escorted by bikers advanced on the left flank while a Khornish Rhino rolled to the right.  Nurgle loitered. 

The turn ended with no victory points scored.

Turn 2

The Imperial Guard Taurox raced to the far right to reach and secure an objective while the Silver Templars supported them from the middle.  On the left the Black Templars advanced towards the Slanneshi forces. A squad of  Black Templar Jump pack marines landed to the right rear of a Slaanesh Predator.  The seemingly always fleet of feet Templars successfully charged the tank and after an assault left it a smoking wreck. 

The Silver Templars and a Knight provide support 

The side of Chaos continued to be both slow and inaccurate.  Down two battle tanks and out of position, they slowly rolled forward on the right and center.  A renegade knight after taking some damage from an Imperial Knight attempted to fight back but it’s accuracy was lacking. Only on the far left did the forces of chaos come to life. A squad of rampaging Berserkers of Khorne charged the Imperial Taurox that had just claimed the objective on the Imperial right.  Smashing and slashing the Berserkers ripped open a Taurox and descended on the troopers inside.  The turn ended with the Berserkers on top of the hapless guard. 

Turn 2 ended with the Imperials with one victory point to the chaos none. 

The Berserkers open up a Taurox. 

Check back for part two!