"The only apprehension I had was that Jackson might attempt to retreat." -- MG John Pope, USA "Let us die here, my men, let us die here!" -- BG Maxcy Gregg, CSA Introduction Lee's strategic assault on Pope's Army of Virginia had met with extraordinary success. Jackson had gotten into Pope's rear, looted Manassas Junction, and was closer to the Union capital than was Pope. To achieve this stunning feat, Lee had divided his army into two equal parts in the face of a superior enemy force, a violation of one of the most basic principles of war. The two halves of the Confederate army had to be joined before they could be defeated in detail; failure to accomplish this would lead to a complete disaster for the Confederacy. After looting the Union base at Manassas, Jackson fell back to a strong defensive position behind an unfinished railroad to the north. There he waited for Longstreet and the rest of the amny to join him. Receiving word that Longstreet was at Thoroughfare Gap, a day's march away, Jackson exposed his position by attacking King's Division at Brawer's Farm late in the day on the 28th of August. He then awaited developments. Pope, still unaware of the true situation, ordered several corps, piecemeal, to attack what he believed to be Jackson's retreating forces before they could escape his grasp. These attacks made up the first day's battle at Second Manassas. If Jackson could hold out until Longstreet came up, Lee's gamble would pay off. This scenario examines the Union assault on Jackson on the 29th of August, 1862. It begins with the 9:00 am turn, when Siegel's corps would be formed for a serious assault, and ends with the 3:00 pm turn, when Longstreet was in position with sufficient strength to fall on the Union left if Jackson got into serious trouble. Terrain Hill slopes are broken terrain and all woods are light. Wooded slopes should be treated as rough terrain. The streams represented on the map are unfordable. The unfinished railroad is the most significant terrain on the map. Except where it is level, treat it as broken terrain that requires a disorder roll to cross. Travel along the railroad is at the trail rate. The gaps are wide enough for two sections of artillery to deploy. See also "Special Rules." Special Rules 1. Unfinished Railroad - Any unit in a cut or behind a fill has additional saves as if they were in medium works. There are no works benefits for morale orfiring. Units in acutorbehind a fill that are out of ammunition may still use two dice for firing if their target is within one quarter inch (this reflects the ample rocks available). Artillery may not fire if it is deployed in a cut or on or behind a fill, unless on a higher elevation. 2. Confederate Line - The Confederate player must maintain a continuous line from the west end of the map to one of the streams to the east. For every six inch or more gap in this line the confederateplayer "loses" two points from their total points for determination of victory (but not for their ability to attack). This point loss occurs every tum that a gap exists. To determine a gap the measurement can not come within two inches of an unrelated Union unit. 3. MG John Pope - Pope established his headquarters just south of the battlefield. He had ordered the corps of Porter and McDowell to turn Jackson's right flank, a difficult task with Longstreet in the way. Had Pope known that Jackson's whole force was in his front he could have redirected McDowell, who was only a mile away around noontime, to attack. To reflect this the following is recommended: At the end of each turn roll one die. If a six is thrown, Pope is placed three dice in inches along the Manassas-Sudley road. If there are three or more confederate regiments visible to him (ignore all union troops for visibility) south of the unfinished railroad, one of the following should be brought into play: a) Confederate player automatically loses. b) Pope calls on McDowell. McDowell'sforce of eleven brigades begins to arrive two turns after the sighting (but not before 12:30) in march column on the Manassas-Sudley Road. Their strength, artillery and the like is exactly the same as the combined III and IX Corps listed on the Union order of battle. The scenario is extended for one hour. If Pope does not see the Confederate regiments he is immediately removed. He may appear any number of times. 4. Longstreet's Build up - On the 2:00 pm turn all union units west of Groveton are immediately removed from play. Any Union units that thereafter enter this area are removed from play at the end of the turn they enter. This reflects the necessity of meeting the treat from Longstreet's forces. 5. Jackson - Numerous reports indicate that Jackson was the glue that held the Confederate position together. If Jackson is killed or seriously wounded all confederate units must take two morale checks. Victory Conditions USA - Cause the confederates to lose over 70% of their points before the end of the scenario. See Special Rules for Confederate point loss. CSA - Avoid the USA victory conditions and hold at least six feet of the unfinished railroad at the end of the scenario. If neither side has achieved their victory conditions the battle is a tactical draw but a strategic victory for the Confederates. Deployment CSA - Deploy brigades in any formation in the areas indicated on the map. Divisional artillery may be deployed anywhere in the division's area. Jackson and his divisional commanders can be with any unit in their command. The initial disposition must have a continuous line (see Special Rules). Large Map (109K) Jumbo Map (very slow: 303K) CSA Reinforcements 12:15 - Lee's Cavalry brigade enters north of Sudley Mills in any formation. 12:30 - Early's Brigade, followed by Hays' (Forno) enters the North West corner behind the unfinished railroad in march column. USA - Deploy the brigades of the Army of Virginia with their artillery in any formation in the areas indicated on the map. Sigel and the divisional commanders can be with any unit in their command. Reinforcements 10:00 - The two additional batteries of the Army of Virginia enter, limbered, on the Manassas- Sudley Road. 10:30 - Kearny's Division enters between the Warrenton Turnpike and the Manassas-Sudley Road in any formation. 11:00 - Hooker's Division enters between the Warrenton Turnpike and the Manassas-Sudley Road in any formation. 11:30 - Steven's Division, with Reno, enters centered on the Manassas-Sudley road in any formation. 12:00 - The remainder of the IX Corps enters centered on the Manassas-Sudley road in any formation. Order of Battle Because of the size of this scenario the force listing gives the brigade commander's names and two numbers. The first is the actual number of regiments end the second the approximate number of men in the brigade. It is recommended that you modify the number of regiments but remain close to the number of men involved. This would follow historical practice as small regiments were combined and larger ones broken into battalions for combat duty. If you do increase or decrease the number of regiments involved you should also adjust the point totals to reflect these changes. Unless otherwise noted all regiments are average and armed with rifles. All artillery is average. Also, unless noted, all Corps commanders are +2 and all Divisional and Brigade commanders +1. For points determination, count Corps as seven, Divisional as five, and Brigade leaders as three points. Treat the Army of Virginia and the two corps from the Army of the Potomac as three separate commands for determining point losses. Any command may not longer attack when it Ioses 40%, and must retreat when it looses 60% of its points. The Army of Northern Virginia is treated as one command and is determined. It may no Ionger attack when it loses 50% of its points, and must retreat when it loses 70%. UNION FORCES Army of Virginia I Corps - MG F. Sigel II Division - BG A. Von Steinwehr l st Brigade - Co1 J. Koltes (3-2500): Battery 2*l0# Parrott III Division - BG C. Schurz 1st Brigade - Co. A. Schimmelfennig (3- 1400): Battery - 2x3" Ord. 2nd Brigade - Col. W. Krzyzonowski (3- 1400): Battery - 3x12# Nap. Independent- BG R. Milroy (42000): Battery - 3x3" Ordnance Other Artillery: Battery - 3x12# Napoleon; Battery - 3x3,, Ordnance (Tota1 of 72 points) Army of the Potomac III Corps I Division - MG P. Kearny (+3) 1st Brigade - BG J. Robinson (3-900) 2nd Brigade - BG D. Bimey (7-1200) 3rd Brigade - Col. O. Poe (5-1500) Battery - 2x12# Napoleon Battery - 3x12# Napoleon II Division - MG J. Hooker (+2) 1st Brigade - BG C Grover (5-5000) 2nd Brigade - Co1 N. Tay1or (5-1500) 3rd Brigade - Co1 J. Carr (6-2500) Battery - 3x3" Ordnance (Total of 100 Points) IX Corps - MG J. Reno I Division - MG I. Stevens 1st Brigade - Col B. Christ (2-1400) 2nd Brigade - Col D. Leasure (2-1300) 3rd Brigade - Col A. Farnsworth (2- 1300) Battery - 3x20# Parrott II Division 1st Brigade - Col J. Nagle (3-2000) 2nd Brigade - Co1 E. Fenero (3-2000) Battery - 2x10# Panott (Total of 57 Points) CONFEDERATE FORCES Army of Northern Virginia Left Wing - MG T. Jackson (+3, +4 for Morale) Jackson's Division - BG W. Starke 1st Brigade - Col W. Baylor (5-1000) lite 2nd Brigade - Maj J. Seddon (4-800) 3rd Brigade - Col A. Taliaferro (5- 1000) 4th Brigade - Co1 L. Stafford (6-1200) Battery - 2x3" Ordnance Battey - 3x6# Smoothbore Battery - 2x10# Parrott Battery - 2x12# Napoleon Light Division - MG A. Hill (+2) Branch's Brigade - BG L. Branch (5-2000) Archer's Brigade - BG J. Archer (5-2000) Pender's Brigade - BG W. Pender (42000) Field's Brigade - BG C. Field (4-2000) Gregg's Brigade - BG M. Gregg (5-2000) Battery - 3x6# Smoothbore Battery - 2x10# Parrott Battery - 2x12# Napoleon Battery - 2x12# Howitzer Ewell's Division - BG A. Lawton Trimble's Bngade - BG L Trimble (5-1500) Lawton's Brigade - Col M. Douglas (6-1600) Hays' Brigade - Col H. Forno (5-1700) Early's Bngade - BG J. Early +2 (7-2400) Elite Battery - 3x6# Smoothbore Battery - 2x10# Parrott Battery - 2x3" Ordnance Lee's Cavalry Brigade - BG F. Lee (5-1500) Carbine (Tota1 of 232 points) REFERENCE Hennessy, John. Second Manassas Battlefield Map Study Freeman, Douglas. Lee's Lieutenants, Vol. 2. Freeman, Douglas. Battles and Leaders ofthe Civil War, Vol 2; Stackpole, Edward. From Cedar Mountain to Antietam. Back to The Zouave Vol VII No. 3 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. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com