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.

Longstreet - Hilltops - 1864 Battle #2

John and I are nearing the end of our first Longstreet campaign. We have had three more battles since my last post and they have all been a sheer pleasure to game. I have forgotten to take a lot of pictures during those games in the heat of the battle. The pictures are also limited for this battle. These few will serve as a battle report on our second battle of 1864. We rolled the Hilltop scenario in the Longstreet campaign system. I rolled well on the scouting roll and chose defense of the hills.

The Rebs watch some Yank activity out on their left flank.

A desperate battle is joined in the woods. The Reb infantry was winning this battlefield hot-spot.

Meanwhile out on the Reb far right flank, the Union troops run into some dismounted Reb cavalry. The Rebs had the cover and were able to inflict some casualties in a fire fight.

In a desperation move, the Union cavalry charges the guns in hope to gain an objective point.

During this entire campaign we have both experienced hot and cold dice to one extreme or another. On this last battle I had been rolling hot and John not so much. I had been already rolling for victory checks and missing them while John had not inflicted enough damage to check. However when he charged my guns he was able to drive off my infantry, capture a gun or two and most importantly capture an objective marker.

The calculated army break-point was 22. He had done 10 points of damage so far but that objective marker allowed him a second die to roll. He shook his dice for a long while and cast them onto the table. Boxcars! Victory!

This is exactly why I game. For moments like these. John was so excited to pull a victory out of thin air. It was a terrific moment for the two of us. Our next battle will decide the campaign. After eight games we are only two points apart in the standings with John leading. Our next scenario is the Cornfields. I will TRY to remember to take more pictures.