First Kernstown Revisited

 

The Wollongong Wargamers played 1st Kernstown back in 2022, as the opening game of our Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Back then, we used Black Powder rules, so now I wanted to replay it using Valour & Fortitude...

Despite making the outnumbered Rebels as effective as possible, Veterans vs Greenhorns, this scenario is a hard ask of the Confederate player. Alan volunteered. No, really!

Deployment was historical, which as the Union player was my excuse for lining the crest of Pritchard's Hill with wall to wall rifled artillery - because otherwise it would have been a bit of a dog act!

With hindsight, I probably needn't have backed up all those guns with my strongest - Kimball's - Brigade, but Alan had moved equally fast and furiously on both objectives so they both seemed threatened...

Since each of the two on-table Rebel brigades was targeting separate objectives, even at turn two I wasn't clear which one Alan had decided to go for. I advanced my third brigade up the middle... 

To focus on supporting the defence of Pritchard's Hill - which as we know was already very heavily defended by so many guns its a wonder the hill didn't subside...

Aforementioned guns should have had no difficulty in eviscerating those pesky Southrons, but they simply would not break! Maybe this was their main effort?

Meanwhile, back on Sandy Ridge at the other, equally significant objective, the Rebs were coming on strong!

And then Alan revealed his hand - the Confederate third brigade - inevitably - headed for the less strongly defended Sandy Ridge objective!

By now it was too late to refocus my main effort - the rebel assault on Pritchard's Hill was never going anywhere anyway, but why not waste my reserve brigade in putting the icing on the cake!

Back at the real crisis point, the Rebs pushed the Union line back away from the stone wall and were massing opposite the objective, where my units were either decidedly either not fresh or actually shaken! 

However, the Union had been getting the better of the firefights and holding their own in the melee phase, so that an unlucky Fortitude test roll caused the entire Confederate Brigade to waiver - phew!

At this point it was getting towards pack up time and with the battle outcome still very much up for grabs we called it a draw. But given the scenario was heavily stacked against the Rebs, Alan had done well, and, I suspect, might well have taken Sandy Ridge given another few turns...