We recently had the chance to play the Battle of Champion hill using?Eagle's Prey: Advance and Retreat. The scenario was great fun with each player facing similar dilemmas as the historical generals.?The rules do a great job of capturing the feel of Civil War combat without bogging down the players with too much paperwork or minutia. In total, 35 units were engaged (16 US inf, 4 US arty, 11 CS inf, 4 CS arty) with each infantry unit representing a brigade.
Initial setup: The confederate forces were deployed along a ridge facing East. Their line was anchored in the North atop Champion Hill. The confederate position was a strong one against the two Union columns marching from the West and Southwest. however, unbeknownst to the Southern General Pemberton, a third Union column under direct command from Grant was approaching their flank from the North (Confederate left flank).
Opening Moves: Not wanting to waste time, Grant immediately ordered an advance with the three leading brigades with five more in support. Caught flat-footed by Grant's flanking maneuver, Pemberton quickly sent brigades from his center North to reinforce Champion Hill.
Grant Reaches Champion Hill: By the time Grant¡¯s first brigades reached the base of Champion Hill, there were five confederate brigades holding the summit. Upon receiving a volley of Federal fire however, Cumming¡¯s Georgians routed causing two other brigades to follow suit. On a side note, this was the result of three comically unlucky rolls by the confederate player (rolling 02, 07, and 05 on percental dice). I, being the confederate player, decided I had better stop using my "lucky" dice before I ran out of units, and switched to a different d100 set for the remaining two brigades (which both passed their moral checks easily).
Fight for Champion Hill: The remaining two confederate brigades held out for as long as they could. Lee¡¯s brigade charged down the hill and checked the union advance, capturing the colors of one hapless regiment. A brigade from Bowen¡¯s division (confederate center) also made a good showing of itself by holding off two union brigades despite being disordered. However, in the end, it was not enough to stop the advancing hordes of Yankees.
Pemberton Orders Withdrawal: Considering discretion the better part of valor, Pemberton ordered the remaining confederate forces to fallback to a prepared position on the Big Black River (off the board).
Our next game will be the engagement at Pea Ridge! If all goes well, I'll post an after action report of that as well.
Until next time,
Alex
