In the last issue of MWAN, I read with interest about Dave Corbett's plans to refight the battles of the ACW"to learn the rules and witness the developments of tactics and technology as the conflict progressed". It's an interesting idea, however, I would like to raise some points regarding such a project. First, and most important, hindsight plays too big of a part in any attempt to go back and look at things. The player of ACW rules knows what a minie rifle/rifle musket will do, and will make all of his moves with this knowledge.
By contrast, the average ACW commander -- from army level down to company -- was still working in a frame of mind that had it's roots in the Napoleonic Wars. Remember that the last major war fought by the U.S. army before the ACW was the Mexican War of 1846-48, a war that was Napoleonic in tactical scope. Any good Napoleonic Commander could have been dropped into that war on either side, and had no problem commanding his troops.
The revolution brought about by the mimic ball/rifle musket was not understood for some time into the ACW. The problem for the first two years of the war is that commanders are still trying to use Napoleonic tactics at a time when the advances in weaponry have wiped them out - and the US was not alone in this area. Just look at the Prussian tactics at the start of the Franco-Prussian War - tactics had not yet caught up to the advances in weaponry.
To really look at how the tactical changes come about, consider fighting a battle between the British (The U.S.) and the French (Confederates). Use CLS, but change the ranges so that all troops are equipped with rifle-muskets, let some artillery be rifled -- longer range with no windage stick, and the ability to fire shell or shot -- and not bother to tell any of the players about the changes in advance. In short order your commanders will be dealing with the tactical problems of the ACW, and trying to learn how to adopt to them.
(Editor's Note: This last idea is a really good one, in my mind, and would make a great article if someone carried it out and recorded what the players did to adjust to the changes).
The Napoleonic Commander -- given ACW troops -- would have a hard time adopting to the new way that things can be done. If dropped into this war, it would be a case of "sink or swim", and the chances would be high that it would be sink. The artillery battery loaded with cannister -- that can cut down infantry from just outside musket range -- no longer can dominate the field Instead, if the infantry wish, the gunners can be the ones chopped down as the rifle/musketmen can sit outside cannister range, and pepper the battery. Only if the infantry chose to close the range will the guns have a change to be as deadly as they once had been.
Enough on this - on to the second point. If you really want to refight the Civil War, and want to use the On To Richmond (OTR) rules, there is a much better way of doing it. For about $12 or so, go down to your local hobby store and pick up a copy of GDW's board game - A HOUSE DIVIDED. This is a very simple but historical game of the ACW which has some great possibilities for a miniatures campaign game using OTR.
A HOUSE DIVIDED uses a simple point to point movement system that works well for miniatures battles. Each square can be translated into a 6' X 10' game table, or whatever sized table you want. For purposes of play, use all of A HOUSE DIVIDED rules with the following additions.
Each counter in A HOUSE DIVIDED (AHD) shall be equal to one infantry/cavalry brigade for OTR. The Union commander will be allocated one stand of artillery per three brigades raised, the Confederate Commander will be given one stand of artillery per four brigades raised. 50% of the Union guns raised will be rifles, while only 33% of the Confederates guns will be rifles.
Players will need to keep track of their brigades and artillery units on paper, All infantry brigades when raised as militia are considered to consist of ten stands. All cavalry brigades when raised will consist of 10 stands for Union brigades and 12 stands for Confederates. Troops can be promoted to a higher class in the following ways:
A. Battlefield Performance: After any action is fought out with miniatures, the winner can nominate two brigades, and the loser, one brigade to be raised in troop quality one level for OTR, i.e. green to regular, regular to veteran, etc. The promoted unit must have been in action and not only killed at least one enemy stand, but must also have lost one stand in the action.
B. Drill and More Drill: Each turn (a month) of AHD game, roll one die as in the rules for promotion. The number is the number of brigades that can be raised one level. However, drill promotions must be done in the following order and with the following results: Any green unit -- cavalry or infantry -- can be promoted to regular through drill. It loses two stands of its troops strength as soon as this promotion is made. Before any regular troops can be promoted to veteran status through drill ALL green units must have already been promoted. If a veteran unit is promoted from regular through drill, it loses two stand's strength for this promotion as well.
Note that promotions through drill cause a permanent reduction in the size of the unit. No unit can ever be given more than one promotion in a game turn (month) even if they are of different types. Elite status can only be earned on the battlefield. As the game progresses players may consolidate brigades if they wish. However, all consolidation must be with a unit of equal type, and can not exceed the maximumm brigade size for the army. Thus, two brigades of veteran status with six stands each, cannot be combined as the new brigade strength would be 12, two over the maximum allowed number.
Other Rules Changes: Only cavalry units with a status of veteran or elite can make the automatic cavalry jump move which is in the rules. Green and veteran cavalry units can attempt to move through an enemy occupied box, but must fight the troops that are in it. To successfully "jump", they must fight their way across the board and exit on the side.
The side that wins the battle is allowed a roll on the BRIGADE RESERVE TABLE for each brigade after the game is over, with a +1 modifier in addition to that already on the chart. In no case can the strength of a unit be higher than it had been before the battle. The actual strength of the unit needs to he kept on a separate piece of paper. Note that once a unit starts to lose stands due to battle and promotion, that the only way it's strength can be increased is to combine it with another brigade.
Artillery units should start the game as regular, go to veteran status after their first battle. The US player may start the game with three stands of veteran artillery. Only horse artillery may be rated as elite, and horse artillery is raised in the same manner as field artillery - one stand per three cavalry brigades raised for the North, and one stand per four cavalry brigades for the South. Horse artillery starts out as veteran and goes to elite after its first battle.
Commanders and Such: Roll for commanders in the normal manner for division and corps. After losing a battle, players may remove one commander from command and promote one of his juniors to take his place. A new junior commander is then rolled for. Winning commanders can not be replaced. Mien death removes a commander in battle, the slot must be filled by one of the commanders under him, and a new junion commander rolled for. When divisions and corps are transferred, the commanders go with them. All rolls for commanders are done according to the OTR rules.
Other Odds and Sodds:
I think that I covered most of it -- with a few odds and sodds left over. For supply, use the advanced rules in A HOUSE DIVIDED. To make life easier, each time a battle is fought in a scale use the same terrain -- consider either using the maps of historical places or just make up the maps as you go along however once a battle has been south in a square, all other battles fought in that square will use that same terrain.
Reinforcements from adjacent squares will enter one the roll of a D6 (six sided die) with a one needed the first turn, a 1,2 on the second, etc. Once a unit makes it from an adjacent box to the battlefield, additional units moving along the same route automatically follow in turn.
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© Copyright 1987 Hal Thinglum
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