HMGS – Page 8

Mechanicsville – ACW Black Powder

Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Black Powder at the Dogs of War shop.

This scenario is also known as The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, 26 June, 1862. Three brigades of confederate infantry with two attached batteries and three off-table artillery batteries attack two Union infantry brigades and 5 artillery batteries in breastworks.

Confederate off-table artillery is behind the Confederate left.

The left and center Confederate brigades advance while a blunder send the right brigade to the rear.

A blunder sends a Union unit charging across the creek. Confederate infantry deploys into skirmish order.

Confederate skirmishers surround the Union unit but fail to destroy it. With no attack in sight, the Union left flank units move to support the center.

Union units move up to support the unintentional advance. The Confederate right starts to move.

Union artillery has been concentrating on the Confederate batteries. Both are routed. The Union right withdraws but is broken in the process. The Confederate right wing takes advantage of poor Union command rolls and pushes in the Union left.

A well ordered Star Wars game on an adjacent table.

Fox Gap – ACW Black Powder

Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Black Powder at the Dogs of War shop. The ACW scenario was based loosely on the action at Fox Gap, South Mountain on September 14, 1862. The scenario was adjusted to accommodate the available 15mm units and the variable number of players expected to show up.

Two Union brigades look across the fields at the defending Confederate brigade

The Union objectives are the confederate position (upper right) and the road junction (lower right).

The left Union brigade moves out rapidly.

The Union advance on the left has stalled just inside the range of Confederate guns. The center brigade moves slowly through the standing corn.

A third Union brigade rushes down the turnpike to block an arriving Confederate brigade.

The center Union brigade advances rapidly to catch up with the left.

Marauding Confederate cavalry threaten the Union guns.

Union infantry charges into the Confederate position.

The left Union brigade losses three regiments and is broken. The center brigade tears a hole in the Confederate lines.

On the turnpike, troops of both sides extend the firing line as they come up.

After four hours of play we had to adjourn. The Union had managed to break into the Confederate position in the center, but with one Union brigade broken and the Confederates strongly holding the turnpike objective, we called this a Confederate win.

Check Your Six WWII Air Game Photos

Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Check Your Six at the Dogs of War shop. The 1/300 scale planes involved were:

3 B26
2 P38
4 P47

2 FW190
4 Me109
2 Me110

The bombers were to cross the table and bomb some military installations in France prior to D Day. None made it. Two 110s were lost. Two 109s and a 190 were damaged.

B26s escorted by P47s

The 110s felt a bit out of place in this fight.

The target

P47s

The 109s slip right to get at the bombers and the P47 turn in to cover.

An ace in a FW190 takes down another bomber.

The remaining 110 takes out the last bomber before being destroyed itself.

Rapid Fire AAR and Photos

Last month the local HMGS-South group played a Rapid Fire scenario based on the action near Arendorff (25 miles SE of Berlin) on April 18-19 1945. Three Tiger-IIs of the 503rd Heavy Tank battalion (schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 503) and a collection of other units were attempting to cover the retreat of civilians by delaying the advance of the Soviet army.

The Russian forces moving in from the left need to take the bridges and fuel dump (upper right), and destroy any Tiger-IIs.

One or more of the IL-2s may attack each turn based on a die roll.

Mortars with little ammo and a group of armed civilians.

T-34s swarm across the bridges. The mortars try to destroy one of these bridges, but fail.

Russian infantry takes losses attacking the German right, but keeps coming.

Tiger-IIs moving to the fuel dump to refuel.

The German line on the right is overrun.

T-34s use point blank fire to clear the buildings on the German left.

The fuel dump is destroyed by German fire to deny it to the Russians.

Russian tanks have taken heavy losses on the German left, but there is little to stop the Russian infantry.

German fuel trucks are burning, but the Tiger-IIs escape.

The Russians received points for capturing bridges and the fuel dump, and for destroyed Tiger-IIs. The Germans received points for getting fuel trucks and Tiger-IIs out of town, and for destroying Russian tanks. The Russians got the bridges, but the fuel dump was blown and the Tiger-IIs and a few fuel trucks escaped. The game was close with the Germans winning on points.

Yazoo River ACW Naval AAR

Today a few members of the local HMGS-South group played out the historical action on the Yazoo River, July 15th, 1862. The Confederate ironclad Arkansas encountered the Union ironclad Carondelet, the gunboat Tyler and the ram Queen of the West. In this case, the Arkansas easily out-shot and ran past the Carondelet and Tyler, leaving the latter dead in the water. The Queen of the West then managed a perfect ram on the Arkansas and sank her.

The rules used were “Sail and Steam Navies: Naval Battle System 1840 to 1880.” The ship models were Thoroughbred 1/600 scale.