The Battle of Shiloh

Grant vs. Johnston

Reviewed by G D. Swick

Designed by Richard H. Berg, with Jon Southard
West End Games Inc. 251 W 30th St., New York, NY 10001
Release Date July, 1984
Catalog No, 10008
Price; $16.00
Complexity: Intermediate
Solitaire Suitability: Very good
Rating: ****

If you're looking for a challenging Civil War game that, from the very first game, lets you pay more attention to strategy than to referencing a rules book, try The Battle of Shiloh.

The situation challenges the Confederate player to do what General A. S. Johnston failed to accomplish in April, 1862- employ the element of surprise to recapture Pittsburg Landing and drive the Union forces into the Tennessee River The Union had recently maneuvered the Confederate forces out of Kentucky and Tennessee. At Shiloh, the first major battle in the Western Theater, Johnston staged a hurried counterattack to regain the initiative in Tennessee.

His ploy nearly succeeded, as the Union was quickly driven back. However, Grant's forces managed to hold out long enough for reinforcements to arrive and the Rebels' badly needed victory narrowly slipped from their grasp. The Confederacy lost more than just the battle, as General Johnston, one of the South's finest leaders, was killed on the first day of the battle, and Tennessee remained under Union control.

Within the game, the Union's ability to move and fight is below par at first, due to surprise, which may also affect morale. The Rebels must take advantage of this, moving quickly to secure landing spots on the Tennessee and the bridge over Snake Creek before reinforcements can arrive to give Union forces overwhelming superiority. The Union plaver must use the thickly-wooded terrain to fight delaying actions and slow' the Confederate advance until help arrives.

Five scenarios, ranging from significant hours on the battlefield to the full two-day battle (theres even a might-have-been scenario), allow for excellent replay value in a thoroughly enjoyable game.

The box art dramatizes the element of surprise the Rebels achieved, but glamorizes Johnstons ragtag group of volunteers by depicting them as dressed in sharp gray uniforms as if they were VMI cadets fresh off the campus. It simply isn't up to the standard of the contents.

However, I don't play with the boxtop and inside, the components are impressive: three hundred double-sided, easy-to-read, die- cut playing pieces provide unit identification and all necessary bookkeeping. The units and leader of each division are clearly marked with a color band, making it easy to determine which units are in Command Control, a key element of the game.

Each pair of counters represents one brigade. The map is a pleasing mixture of yellows, greens, and blues, with roads marked in red and trails in gray. Best of all, the terrain key and most of the necessary charts are printed on the sides of the map for quick reference. For the first scenario, the Union set-up positions are marked on the map.

Unfortunately some of these are difficult and time-consuming to locate. As you find them, record them in the rules book or on a separate piece of paper to make future set-ups faster.

Shiloh plays well as either a solitaire or a twoplayer game. The 20 pages of rules are organized in logical fashion and are easier to grasp than those of many war games. (This rules system, with minor changes, is also used in the South Mountain game from West End, making it easy for players of one game to learn the other.)

The fighting in Shiloh is tense and vicious. Sitting back and shooting into the Tennessee thickets isn't going to drive the enemy back. To win, you must do as Civil War leaders did: lead your troops into melee-the bloody, rifle butt and bayonet assaults that were an integral part of that war. Only at close quarters does a player have much chance of forcing morale checks and significantly reducing the enemy's strength and effectiveness.

But be warned, melee means losses for both sides. Units can regain losses by getting out of the battle zone (call it a strategic retreat if you like, but a rout can save your bacon), and doing nothing while stragglers catch up and leaders exhort their men to muster courage again. However, while these units are regrouping, the battle surges onward and routed troops may be drawn back into the fray before they are ready,

A second danger of melee is the possible death of a division or army commander caught among the troops. Since units must be in Command Control (i.e., within a certain distance) of their own division commander or an army commander in order to move and fight effectively the loss of these leaders is severe. Replacements exist, but they aren't as effective.

The most important leaders, of course, are Grant and Johnston. Johnstons inspirational abilities can be used to turn the tide at a crucial moment by adding + 1 to the Confederate die roll and shifting the attack two columns higher on the Combat Results Table, Grant, meanwhile, has an incredible ability to rally his shaken troops and speed their return to combat. These leaders are not just two more counters on the board-use them wisely

Given the wisdom of history the Confederate player will try to avoid frontal assaults on the Hornet's Nest, the sunken road where the Union stymied Johnston's advance. The Union player must find ways to give him no other choice. Failure to do so can result in a Union rout long before reinforcements arrive. For a Southern victory, the Confederate commander can't be timid: rapid advances and a risk of high casualties are what it may take to reach Pittsburg Landing.

All in all, Shiloh does a fine job of simulating the mean, bloody warfare that marked the Western Campaign of the Civil War. I encourage any wargamer, especially Civil War buffs who prefer playability to complexity, to try the game. Could we see more in this rules series-say, Manassas or Pea Ridge? Anytime next month will be fine.

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