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An ACW battle using Fire and Fury.
The battle here is one I played at Victory Games in Lubbock, TX with Tim Fitzpatrick. We used his collection of ACW miniatures and terrain, thus the name of the battle (and, forgive me for spoiling the suspense, because he won the game!). I set the terrain up to represent a hilly, mountainous area. Since all we had to play on was a four by six foot table, we limited the sides to a corps each. I commanded the Union and Tim the Confederates.
Union OB
Corps Commander
Division 1
Commander
Artillery Battery
5 stand Zouave brigade
6 stand brigade
6 stand brigade
Division 2
Commander
Artillery Battery
Exceptional Brigade Commander with 8 stand brigade
6 stand brigade
6 stand brigade
Division 3
Commander
Artillery Battery
6 stand Brigade
6 stand brigade
Confederate OB
Corps Commander
Division 1
Commander
Two Artillery Batteries
8 stand brigade
8 stand brigade
8 stand brigade
Division 2
Commander
Two Artillery Batteries
8 stand brigade
8 stand brigade
8 stand brigade
The OBs and terrain were laid out before we determined who would enter from what end. We rolled to determine this and both sides entered from the short ends of the table.
Union Left Flank
My initial plan was to run a division up to the left-center of the board, form line, and defend a small town that was blocking the Confederate route of advance.
The Confederate plan was, apparently, to hold in the center and make a strong effort with both flanks.
Union Right Flank
My plan got off to an uneven start. My left flank units moved up to the town, and due to the buildings, I had the units more strung out than I desired and thus one brigade was out of supporting distance of the other. On my right, the same things occured but with disastrous results.
The Confederate commander immediately launched a two brigade attack against the brigade he could strike on my left. Fortunately for me this was the brigade with the attached battery and his attack was beaten off with moderate losses (see the second and third pictures in the left column). On my right, however, his artillery and infantry fire combined to immediately reduce my front line brigade from a "fresh" status (see the two pictures above). He launched an attack the following turn that routed the brigade off the board. The next turn, he turned his guns against the other brigade and hammered them so badly that they fled and had to reorganize in a worn status almost at their start point.
 
In an attempt to salvage the situation, I decided to change my plan and defend on the right with a brigade from my center division and attack in the center and on my left. The attack took a couple of turns to develop and when it went in it was amazingly... blah....
My center attack got hit from the right by two Confederate batteries, and although I pushed the Confederate division back, I was unable to break it.
My right flank brigade held out heroically, but after a couple of turns of concentrated artillery and volley fire, they joined their bretheren off the table.
On the left, I had better success, coming close to destroying two enemy brigades and reducing the combat effectiveness of another to almost spent status. Combat was hot and heavy and both Corps Commanders were thrown into the battles.
At this point we called the game as it was obvious that the Confederates, with two fresh and large brigades coming up onto the rear of my corps, were about to clear the roads to Washington. This was my third game with Fire and Fury rules and I must admit that I have enjoyed all of them. They are quick to learn, give good results in a short time, and don't put a whole lot of drain on your brain with fire and morale calculations. They are not generally available, however, and you will have to get them here in Lubbock from Victory Games or online from Wargames, Inc. in Tridelphia, PA.
Here are some of the lessons I have learned so far (rules-wise, not historically). Positions with artillery in support or infantry in supported line are nigh on impossible to take with a straight attack. These positions have to be pounded by artillery for many turns to reduce the ability of the brigades to hold. If they are behind entrenchments then even more time is required. This complicates things for the attackers as Union brigades are very fragile if played at historical strengths. Confederates have more of an advantage here as they get a +1 on their die rolls when charging and generally they are of a larger size and so have to lose more to become spent or worn. Even they will suffer from losses when coming in, however.
I have not played with the cavalry in a game but I can see how the rules force you into using them historically. Mounted charges against a fresh enemy would be suicidal. There best use, therefore, would be as mounted infantry to move forward and seize and hold a place till the infantry can come forward and relieve them. (Wait... let's see... Sam Elliot as Buford... Gettysburg... relieved by Reynolds... wow, deja vu all over again....)
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