Fire and Fury Scenario It is a sad fact of life that few individual gamers have the resources to fight the larger battles of the Civil War on their wargames tables, whatever set of rules they use. Whilst I can dream of fighting the mighty Battle of Gettysburg as outlined in Fire and Fury, the probability is, alas, that I may never achieve that ambition on this side of the Atlantic! However, I am not to be downcast. The actions of the Civil War were many in number and varied in scale, and it is to those less well endowed readers of The Zouave that I offer this scenario. BACKGROUND On 14th September, 1862, Major General Sterling Price and his Confederate force entered the town of Iuka, Mississippi, as the small Union garrison hastily beat a retreat. Price had been acting independently of Earl Van Dorn sad Braxton Bragg for some time now, despite a power struggle between the two western Rebel commanders. Steering his own course, unaffected by their individual efforts to have him act in accordance with one or the other of them, Price acted as he saw fit. Whilst Price debated his next move, a courier arrived to inform him that Van Dorn had won his appeal to President Davis and was intending to unite with the Confederate force at Iuka for "... concert of action." Despite an eagerness to press on, fuelled by missives from Bragg, Price decided to remain at Iuka and await the instructions of his new commanding officer before resuming the offensive as part of a combined force. Grant's Plans On the other side of the hill, Grant planned the Missourian's defeat, stating afterwards in his memoirs "It looked to me that if Price would remain in Iuka until we could get there; his annihilation was inevitable." Napoleon had stated that the combining of two independent forces on the field of battle was the most difficult act of war. So it was to prove for Grant. While Price remained between the jaws of a vice created by Rosecrans in the south and Ord in the north, the coordination of the two forces went anything but smoothly. Delays in moving Rosecrans' divisions up to the objective, Grant's instructions to Ord to "... await the sound of an engagement between Rosecrans and the enemy before engaging the latter" and a north west wind conspired to rob Grant of victory. Price concentrated north, but on learning of Rosecrans' approach, switched some of his force to the south, strengthening his front in that direction when Ord failed to show any inclination to press an attack. The Rebels quickly seized the initiative in the south, driving the Union forces back and capturing nine guns. All afternoon and evening Ord waited for the sound of Rosecrans' assault but heard nothing, his total loss for the day for the three divisions under his command: one man wounded. Early next morning, the Union forces managed to get their act together and pressed their combined attacks toward the town, only to discover the ol' woodpecker had flown the nest. THE WARGAME Stands Required To play this scenario you will require the following model stands: UNION: 78 Infantry stands 3 Calvary stands 6 Artillery stands CONFEDERATE: 61 Infantry stands 6 Cavalry stands 5 Artillery stands Time The game begins with the Confederate 1400hrs turn and ends with the Union 1900hrs turn. Ten half hour player turns. Terrain Lay out the terrain as detailed on the gameboard map. The intricate nature of the split rail fences adds to the visual appeal of the table but has no effect on play. All intervening woods block line of sight, regardless of terrain elevation. All wooded areas are rough terrain, are at least two inches wide, and give a +1 benefit. All troops defending within Iuka receive a +1 benefit. All troops defending immediately behind a crestline in squares D3 and D4 receive a +1 benefit. Special Rules BRIGADIER GENERAL HENRY LITTLE C.S.A. Little was described by Colonel Thomas L. Snead, writing after the war, as "... the very best division commander I had ever known. For the game, Little is rated as an exceptional divisional leader. He was in the thick of the fighting against Rosecrans' column and was instrumental in bringing about the repulse of Hamilton and the capture of the Union guns. Recklessly exposing himself to enemy fire whilst leading his division, he was eventually shot through the head and killed while conferring with Price on the line of battle. To reflect the exposure Little submitted himself to, he should be rolled for on the Fallen Leader Table at any time he is within 8" of an enemy brigade that engaged in musketry that player turn and roiled an unmodified die result of l0. (i.e. Little does not need to be attached to a brigade to suffer Fallen Leader effects for small-arms fire). ORD'S FORCE At the start of the game, Ord's Force of three divisions, is in Reserve Status. At the start of every Union Player Turn, the gamer representing Ord should roll one six sided dice. On a throw of 6, Ord's Force will be free to move south of the Memphis-Charleston Railroad. Prior to such a 6 being thrown, no element of Ord's force may cross south of the railroad UNLESS: 1) It is charged by a Confederate Brigade. 2) Receives casualties from Confederate small arms fire. 3) An infantry brigade of Rosecrans' Force enters the command radius of one of Ord's divisional commanders. Ord's Force may engage in musketry across the railroad and may bombard Confederate positions south of it with artillery, but until any one of the above conditions is satisfied the movements of the entire force are restricted to north of the Memphis & Carleston. As soon as any condition is satisfied, any and all of Ord's Force may move across the railroad. Victory Conditions Casually points are accumulated as listed in the Casualty Points Chart contained within the Fire & Fury rules book. In addition, points are awarded to each side for the control of the rmad junction within square C4, as follows: (it was via this route the rebels eventually escaped.) CONFEDERATE 5 points UNION 20 points Decisive victory -- Accumulate at least 30 victory points and at least double those of the enemy. Tactical victory -- Accumulate at least 15 victory points and more than the enemy. Draw -- If neither side accumulates 15 victory points or both sides score within two points of each other. ORDER OF BATTLE UNION ROSECRANS' FORCE: 1 Ldr Hamilton's Division: 1 Ldr First Brigade 7/514 Second Brigade 7/5/4 Stanley's Division: 1 Ldr First Brigade 14/11/7 Second Brigade 13/10N Artillery 3 Art Mizners Calvary 3/-/2 ORD'S FORCE: 1 Ldr Davies' Division: 1 Ldr First Brigade 5/4/3 Second Brigade 5/4/3 Third Brigade 4/2/2 Ross' Division: 1 Ldr First Brigade 6/5/3 Second Brigade 4/3/2 McAuthur's Division: 1 Ldr First Brigade 4/3/2 Second Brigade 6/5/3 Third Brigade 3/-/2 Artillery 3 Art CONFEDERATE PRICE'S FORCE: 1 Ldr Little's Division: 1 E Ldr Martin's Brigade 8/6/4 Hebert's Brigade 8/6/4 Gates' Brigade 9/7//5 Green's Brigade 9/7/5 Artillery 3 Art Maury's Division: 1 Ldr Moore's Brigade 10/8/5 Cabell's Brigade 8/6/4 Phifer's Brigade 9/715 Artillery 2 Art Armstrong's Cavalry 6/5/3 Deployment Large Scenario Map (108K) Union ROSECRANS' FORCE: Hamilton's Division: Set up as displayed on the gameboard map. Stanley's Division: May enter the gameboard in any formation (one brigade and one artillery stand per turn) at any point along the western edge of square Al beginning on turn two. Mizner's Cavalry: May enter the garneboard in any formation, at any point along the western edge of square Al beginning on turn three. ORD's PORCE: All three divisions of Ord's Force may set up anywhere north of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, but are restricted in their movements as outlined in the special rules of this scenario. The brigades comprising this Force may set up in any formation. Confederate PRICE'S FORCE: Maury's Division: May set up in any formation, anywhere within squares E 1, E2, E3 or E4. Armstrong's Cavalry: May set up in any formation, anywhere within squares E3, or E4. Little's Division: The brigades of Martin and Hebert, together with one artillery stand may set up in any formation within square B2. The brigades of Gates and Green may set up in any formation anywhere within squares D2, D3, E2 or E3. Conclusion Well, there it is! A scenario which I hope will extend the old grey matter and provide an enjoyable game. If you wish to weight it more in favour of "...them damned bluebellies" try allowing Ord's Force to become activated on a throw of 5 or 6, but in my efforts to stem the blue flood, Ord had little difficulty in rolling an early six! BIBLIOGRAPHY: Battles and Leaders, Johnston & Buell; Fredricksburg to Meridian, Shelby Foote; Fire & Fury, Rich Hasenauer; Report of Capt. Young 17th Iowa, on the Battle of Iuka contained within "Johnny Reb" Rules, John Hill. Back to The Zouave Vol VII No. 1 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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