Friday, November 9, 2018

Longstreet - Cornfields - 1865 Final Battle

The Cornfields scenario was the final battle for the campaign with my son. It was one of those where I had to make scenery like mad all during the week before the battle. The corn stalks are model railroading material that led me all over town looking for packages. I am pretty happy with how they turned out and now I have plenty for future games.

The cornfield scenario stated that this battle was Sanguinary. I had to look that word up. It was appropriate for the last battle as the Confederates would fight on desperately past their normal army break point. John's Union forces were much larger than my Rebs. Also this scenario brought some relief from his artillery advantage. It was exactly the scenario I needed to flip the campaign in my favor.

The best overview of the table. Battle is already in progress.

I really like the Longstreet system. After playing all 9 battles I have an appreciation how this game simulates the historical dominance of the Union supply over a number of years. Command cards become precious to the Rebel commander. By 1865 the Rebel command deck is about two-thirds of the Union deck. I became concerned about spending cards to soak up casualties because of the limited deck.

Union troops closing on the cornfields
Rebels hunkering in the corn, hiding from artillery.

There is one card in the deck that can be truly diabolical when played against a commander. The "They Couldn't Hit An..." card forces the unlucky commander to roll a die and discard that number of cards from his current hand of 6. John used his to perfection and caught me precisely at the moment when I was ready to unleash the hounds. I rolled a 4 and my plans went up in smoke.

Georgia 5th Mud Dogs moving forward. Lots of Union out there!
The Diagonal that developed between cornfields on the Rebel right.
Meanwhile the Union moves up more troops to engage the Rebel left center.
A spirited battle on the left.
The Mud Dogs awaiting their doom.

In the end, the Rebels were defeated soundly. The war is over. The final epic point total was Pellets McKenney with 40 points and the rank of 4 Eagles. Eustace P Marmalade with 37 points and the rank of 2 Eagles. The campaign system was a complete pleasure and I had a blast competing against my son. I highly recommend the Longstreet rules. Next up for will be some Fast Play Grande Armee. Happy gaming everybody.

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