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Out on the Florida panhandle in the broiling hot summer of 1863 B. G. Palmer thought he would teach the uppity Yanks a lesson. General Abner Doubleday had gone foraging with two small divisions from the Federal enclave at Pensacola. Palmer, with three brigades, advanced.
The game was designed as a demonstration with open terrain and a variety of troop classes and leaders. The Yankees had two more regiments but had poorer leaders. The Yankees had superior weaponry, their entire command carrying Springfield rifled muskets while the Confederates had a mix of Enfields, Austrian conversions, and smoothbore model 1842s. The artillery was even, with both commands having six sections. While the Yanks had 3 rifled sections to only one for the Confederates and the rebs had one section of old 6-pounders, due to the close nature of the fight the differences were negligible. We started with both sides deployed in a double line, advancing. Battle was joined on turn two at a range under 12 inches (300 yards). Marmaduke, on the Confederate left pressed forward, as his brigade contained two regiments armed with smoothbores. An ill-advised charge on the left resulted in the destruction of the 9th Kentucky. The Federals then moved to the attack and, despite significant casualties, caused both Confederate batteries to decamp and pushed the entire flank back. The story was quite different on the Confederate right. There the 6th Kentucky charged with devastating effect. First scattering the 7th Indiana, then slamming into the 24th Michigan forcing them to retire and finally discomfiting the 80th New York. The supporting G, 4th US Artillery was also destroyed by a combination of factors – skirmishers from the 13th Tennessee caused the loss of one gun, a second exploded on its own, and the third section was captured by the charging 8th Georgia. The game was a draw with both left flanks collapsed. Both sides lost 13 stands of infantry. The Yanks lost 3 sections of artillery to two for the Rebs. In the photos one can see: (Photo 1) the technique of smothering a battery with skirmishers. (Photo 2) Closing with smoothbores. (Photo 5) the ill-advised charge by the 9th Kentucky – note only two stands survived to make contact! (Photo 6) a well-coordinated attack. (Photo 7) the result of a lucky, devastating attack – notice the Federal stands of all three regiments are facing some forward and some to the rear demonstrating they are in distress. Game was played using Mr. Lincoln’s War rules and 15mm miniatures.
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Somewhere in Germany, summer 1813
Feldmarschall Yorck, with Generalleutnant von Bulow’s corps attached, attacked the French corps of Souham and Bertrand. The two small armies deployed as mirror-images of each other. Yorck set his heavy cavalry division, under Generalmajor Starkenfels, on his far left, his own corps, von Bulow’s infantry and, on his far right, von Bulow’s landwehr cavalry brigade. Souham deployed opposite Yorck, with his attached cuirassier division opposite Starkenfels, and Bertrand opposed von Bulow, his own Lancier brigade opposite the landwehr cavalry. Both sides advanced with the practiced eye of experienced command, cavalry in line with the foot, guns a few paces behind. Urged onward by their corps commanders, “Vorwarts!”, the Prussians surged to the attack. Initially things went well. The Prussian hussars pushed back their French counterparts; the Prussian dragoons engaged in a swirling melee with the 1st Cuirassier brigade. All was going well on the Prussian far left. Just up slope the 11th Reserve pounced on the III Corps artillery, capturing 12 guns and driving a wedge into the 13th Division. On the far right, the 1st East Prussian regiment drove the edge French infantry back and the Landwehr cavalry initially pressed back the Lanciers. Neither Souham nor Bertrand were too alarmed. In serried ranks, bayonets glinting in the late morning sun, the French counterattacked. Results were decidedly mixed. Souham’s 12th and 13th divisions were ripped by Prussian musketry and grape. 13th Division recoiled in front of the 11th Reserve and 2nd West Prussian. 12th Division had more success against Leib and 14th Silesian Landwehr but only just. The Cuirassier were more successful, driving back the Prussian dragoons. Bertrand’s legions did better. The Lancier panicked the Landwehr cavalry, sweeping them from the field and pivoting to threaten von Bulow’s flank. The 1st East Prussians, so promising at the start, were driven back. Generalmajor Hunerbein’s division was in peril on the right! Desperately he formed square to protect against the lancers and braced for 8th Division’s attacks. Von Bulow rode up and pressed the attack on the heights, leading Generalmajor Horn’s division forward. Hunerbein hung on with great sacrifice, but Bertrand was forced to withdraw the cavalry and 8th Division as the 9th and 10th Divisions on the plateau faltered. Yorck was doing even greater damage. Hammer blows by the 11th Reserve, 14th Silesian Landwehr, Leib, and 2nd West Prussian forced 3 French brigades to retreat. Major General Pecheux formed a last line with his own 1st and 2nd brigades of the 14th Division, allowing Souham’s shattered regiments to recover and withdraw from the heights. However, Doumerc’s cuirassier and hussars had also provided space for the French withdrawal. Having routed the dragoons, the French now routed the Prussian hussars and forced back the last Prussian cavalry on the left – the cuirassier brigade. The superiority of the sabre arm forced Yorck to be cautious in his pursuit. Souham had been badly battered, losing 2800 men out of slightly more than 15,000 brought to the battle, and 12 of his 20 cannon. Bertrand had fared better, with casualties of 1400 and 5 guns lost. Yorck had suffered only 800 casualties, but over half were horsemen; while von Bulow had 1400 losses with 12 guns captured by the rampaging French on the far right. Hunerbein’s division had been shaken and would need many days to recover its elan. Game was played using 15mm figures and Napoleonic Fury rules. The Long Island Irregulars meet every 2 or 3 weeks and play a variety of historical games. See older blog posts for other examples. |
AuthorDiatribes are simply often humorous recountings of the games played by the Long Island Irregulars. We play with toy soldiers and are unabashedly happy to have never lost this part of our childhoods.. Archives
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