It was our second game of 'Altar of Freedom.' I decided I would dip into my Fire and Fury scenario book and pulled out Stones River. I looked specifically at the Union right wing, where the large Reb attack happened. After one game, I made the call to limit brigades to around 12 a side. For a week night gaming group - and even thought the rules are supposed to be 'fast play' - I really don't see how you could finish a game.
Above shows the Union left wing stretching down to the far wing. The Rebs had 2 or 3 more brigades than the Union. The amount of cannon was about the same. The Union line was stretched along the edge of a wooded area giving them some cover. Mostly, the Rebs had to cross an open area of ground to get to grips.
In turn one, the Rebs alone activated. One the far end of the line, this really gave the Rebs a chance to wrap around. This can be seen below best.
Above, the Rebs pressed on. At first, I (Union) spent my points on activations over the clock or end of phase. The Union were down 4 command points as the Confederates had an extra divisional commander. I would soon change this and try to grab control of the clock. This didn't quite work as the clock is dependent upon the die rolled. This can be used to reduce the clock and, hopefully, catch out divisions that have not been activated.
Back to battle, not rules, the end of the Union line is exposed. This can be well seen below as one Confederate brigade had bypassed this Union unit. I don't know why Ian chose to do this. I was grateful he didn't turn my flank with an enfilade charge - which is deadly in the rules.
The red and orange dots represent fatigues.
As can be seen, fatigues are building on the Union brigades at the end of the line. Unfortunately for the Rebs, these build slowly. Musketry drives units back rather than building fatigues. Cannister fire and melee cause fatigues - but usually one at a time.
The slow process may have been caused by deciding to give all brigades the same unit strength. It was only our second game and, to be honest, it had take me an hour to set up the battlefield and position the troops. As we play on a weekend, thats an hour I have to find between work, getting home and getting dinner ready ...etc. Printing labels as well .... nope.
The Union were lightly wounded ... but were giving way sluggishly. The above image shows the dire position of the Union far right. It had folded back at right angles and a Confederate brigade was moving past its flank. This unit should have flank charged and rolled up the line. Its commander should be cashiered immediately!
The Confederates charge across the open field toward the Union line. The fence marks the edge of the wood area. The Union troops before the camera are in the open. Here, at first, the Rebs went well ... then the Union cannon found their range.
Dots show rising fatigues in the Union line as superior numbers of Rebs crash forward. These are coming in almost in attack columns not quite able to make their number advantage count.
Losses mount in the Union lines but turns have wasted away. The Rebs have also lost many fatigues but this is not as clear as their little white fatigue dice are not as clear.
Above, the union cannon were driven back from the line by some counter battery fire. This wasn't done well and I need to read the rules as some of the cannon - on both sides - would probably have been lost.
Right at the bottom of the top image, a union cannon has turned to face the Reb attack. A burst of cannister completely dispersed a Confederate brigade. The Union were ahead!
While the initial push was severe, the Union re-organised their line on their far right. At the top of the above image, a whole Confederate division is sent on a long march to try and flank the Union line. This would not quite arrive in time.
The Union stood firm against the outflanking Reb division. There was not quite enough time. This can be seen as the Rebs have not managed to shake out into a more threatening linear formation - again, attacking in a column.
At the opposite end of the line the Union had completely driven back the Confederate attack. The two batteries were interrupting their advance and pushing them back again and again.
We called the game with about a turn to go. There was a lot of pack up too. I really don't understand how the large 20-odd unit per side scenario 'Altar of Freedom' games would play out. You'd need a whole day. Thats okay but not for us.
The rules work well. After the game, I found we did a couple of things wrong. Picking our targets - not firing at the closest threat - and the rules for recoiling cannons after fire were not done well. Its much easier to defend than attack in this game. But, the Confederates did go straight in and not try to use their advantage by working around the flanks first - that was an after thought.
The command system is certainly a feature of this game. It works well and has both players scratching their heads. Tactics on points allocation change throughout the game to take advantage of situations that arise and as players try to push an attack or defence in a certain area. We need to introduce leader characteristsics and unit strengths to get a better game. But there is a lot of set up with labels to be done. I really enjoy the game but set up time - which includes the large amount of terrain an ACW game demands - is quite difficult for a week night. The game definitely needs two motivated players to get things up and working (and on Little Wars TV - they even have a dedicated GM as well. No wonder things look better online.)
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