Campaign Peninsula - CyberRanger vs Arckon (Rebel AAR)

[CyberRanger]

Following a painfully slow advance up the Virginia Peninsula during the spring of 1862, Union Major General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac now stands at the gates of Richmond. The capital of the Confederacy is defended by the Army of Northern Virginia, now commanded by General Robert E. Lee after the army's previous leader, General Joseph E. Johnston, was wounded at the Battle of Seven Pines. Heavily reinforced, both great armies are eager to begin the campaign that will decide the fate of Richmond.

After an initial skirmish and minor Rebel victory at Oak Grove, the opposing armies are poised for the main event.

This thread will track the decisions and progress made by the courageous men in gray!

(If you'd like to discuss this AAR (and the Union counterpart) please discuss it in this thread. That way, the AAR's can maintain a cleaner read for everyone. Thanks!)

 

[CyberRanger]

Placed in the shoes of Robert E Lee, I have three operational choices to ponder:

Three Divisions to reinforce Jackson:

Where is the Federal army vulnerable to attack? The front south of the Chickahominy River is strongly entrenched and protected on the left flank by White Oak Swamp. One option to consider is an attack north of the river against the isolated Federal V Corps. Stonewall Jackson's command has been ordered south to defend the capital. If the Army of Northern Virginia can cooperate with Jackson, the V Corps can be overwhelmed. Sending A.P. Hill's division up the Meadow Bridge Road and Longstreet and D.H. Hill's divisions just to the east along the Mechanicsburg Turnpike will place these units in excellent jumping off points for the coming offensive.

Two Divisions to reinforce Jackson:

On the other hand, ordering three divisions from the Army of Northern Virginia across the river will leave Richmond dangerously exposed to an attack by the bulk of the Federal army positioned south of the river. Perhaps it would be safer to leave D.H. Hill's powerful division behind as a reserve for Magruder's command and Huger's division.

Mass Army South:

A heavy attack north of the river will necessarily weaken the defenses of the eastern approaches to Richmond. An alternative would be to attack south of the Chickahominy with the entire army. A decisive victory may be more difficult to achieve but the capital will be left far less vulnerable. Meanwhile, Jackson's force will be redirected to Richmond. Word of his approach may even lead the Federal commander to reinforce his wing north of the river, aiding the attack. Once the upper river crossings are rendered secure, the Valley Army can either directly support the main assault or cross to the north side of the river and launch a diversionary attack.

Which option would YOU choose? In my next post, I'll discuss my option and reasons.

 

[CyberRanger]

Option 1: Three Divisions to Reinforce Jackson

I decided to reinforce Jackson with as many men as possible to the north. By moving north, I gain open ground to move my opponent out of position. My experience with my opponent is that when I get his boys in motion, he tends to leave me openings where I can surround and eliminate units. In set piece battles, he makes few mistakes. If I stay south, I'm playing into his stronger generalship and giving him excellent defensive terrain.

So, we move north! Here is my basic plan for the first day. Since the battle starts at 1:30 pm, I'll have only limited objectives for day 1.

My overall goal on the 1st day is to try to create a pocket of troops where the box is X'ed out (see image). I don't care about objectives for now. I want to get the Yanks in motion and look for opportunities to kill him! If I capture some troops in the box, great! If not, I'll have gained control of the major road nets north of the Chickahominy River, which will help me move on the second day. The big black lines show the purposed movements of my major divisions. Longstreet will be kept in reserve. We can expect almost all of the action on the first day to be contained in the area of the red box.

(If you'd like to discuss this AAR (and the Union counterpart) please discuss it in this thread. That way, the AAR's can maintain a cleaner read for everyone. Thanks!)

 

[CyberRanger]

Turns 1 - 5

A summary of the first five turns is quick and simple - marching!

Here's a pick of my boys trying to get across the bottleneck at Mechanicsville Bridge on T3.

Slow moving so far but no real action.

 

[CyberRanger]

Turns 6 - 10

Again ... the main event is more marching! General Ewell has arrived with the lead division of Jackson's Command. The white pointer on the map below marks his column. The two pointing hands show where a little action against the Yank cav is happening.

T6 would see the demise of around 200 Union mounted troopers. Once a cav unit becomes disrupted, it can be easy picking. Below we see some Col Farnsworth's Illinois set to head off to Andersonville!

By T10, my biggest enemy is becoming traffic congestion. With only one east-west road that I can use to move Jackson and A.P. Hill into position, the time it's taking to position is much more than I anticipated.

Hundley's Corner is a prime example. Two roads in + One road out = bottleneck!

 

[CyberRanger]

T10 - 15

Most of this time period was marked by more marching. It's taking me MUCH longer to get into position for the assault than I anticipated. My big concern is running out of daylight before I can really attack in force.

The picture below shows my general position at the end of T15. Remember, my main goal is to create a pocket of Yanks that I can then destroy. The red arrows on the picture indicate the path I plan for my troops to follow.

T15 End View

 

[CyberRanger]

T10 - 15 cont.

In the picture above, the "1" is primarily a show of force. I want to let the Yanks know I'm there and I'll chase if they leave. But, I have no real plan to assault there. I want the Yanks opposite me to be in the bag that is formed. However, I do have a strong line of artillery facing them to make life a little hotter.

Artillery Line

 

[CyberRanger]

T10 - 15 cont.

Meanwhile, my true main assault is almost in position where the numbers 2 and 3 are printed.

Here is a view at #2.

I don't plan to attack the line where "Col Richardson's" house is located. Instead, I'm again building a strong artillery line while my infantry will move through the woods to the east. I want to push the Yanks as much west (to the left on the map) as possible while keeping them north.

Why? Because the Rebs at #3 and to the east of it are going to swoop south and west creating a pocket of Yanks. At least that's the plan! The assault to the far east has already started routing a few Yanks.

If my left wing (#3) can punch through, the Yanks at #1 and #2 will be in big trouble!

 

[CyberRanger]

T15 End

At the end of T15, the game is a draw with infantry losses almost equal. The cavalry that I took early in the game is helping me with some early points. The next five turns will be decisive!

 

[CyberRanger]

Animated GIF

The animated GIF shows the action in the main area of operations from T2 - T22. Details about T15 - 22 coming soon. Let's just say that Richmond is very happy with General Lee!!

(The Yanks disappear in the last three frames of the gif because of dusk. If you didn't see the animation, follow this link. I didn't set the gif in a loop cause I think that can get annoying!)

Edit: gif placed in loop. Otherwise, I find it can be hard to get it to play if it does before you get to really see it.

 

[lezgo killemall]

very cool gif CyberRanger