Battle of Mardon. Part Two, Turns One through Ten.

TURN ONE - Confederate Activation.

Using the reserve move, two brigades each of infantry and cavalry, move rapidly down the hills and across the road onto the flank of the Union division at the farm.

The artillery opposite the farm opens up and scores three hits on one brigade of infantry!

TURN TWO - Union Activation.

No point rolling for reinforcements as the earliest they can possibly arrive is turn 6.

To counter the move by the rebels, the Union cavalry brigade dismount and take up position at the edge of the wood.

The artillery scores two hits on the infantry mustering for an assault.

TURN THREE - Confederate Activation

The assault commences on the farm.

The flanking brigades also advance whilst the two cavalry brigades dismount and take up firing positions opposite the wood.

Artillery fire was ineffective.

TURN FOUR - Union Activation

Artillery battery concentrates on the central rebel brigade and misses with the lot.

On the flank of the farm, the dismounted cavalry score three hits on their opposite number, which devastates them.

TURN FIVE - Confederate Activation

All three brigades press on and reach the road.

The shattered rebel cavalry troopers are pulled out of line and one of the infantry brigades turns to face the troopers in the wood.

TURN SIX - Union Activation

Reinforcement roll = 4. No good.

The Union brigade on the right flank is forced to turn and protect the exposed flank. The other three brigades and the artillery open up on the rebel brigades. All take hits, but the central brigade is destroyed by a combination of musketry and canister fire.

Showing the drop of elan for the rebels.

The flank brigade now faces the oncoming rebels.

On this occasion the dismounted troopers score no hits.

TURN SEVEN - Confederate Activation

The shattered rebel cavalry brigade, remount and pull back to the hills.

The artillery engages in counter-battery fire, but no hits.

The brigade on the right flank fire with no effect on the defending infantry.

A different story on the other flank, the Union brigade taking two hits and reduced to just two elan.

A return to poor marksmanship, as the rebel brigade scores no hits.

The troopers in the wood, survive unscathed by a volley from the rebel troopers, but take two casualties when hit by a volley from the infantry.

TURN EIGHT - Union Activation

Reinforcement roll = 1 Success.

The reinforcements have arrived at the edge of the table, not on it as is shown, I have just placed them there for convenience, they will appear properly next turn

Pounded by volleys from two Union brigades, another Confederate brigade is destroyed.

The final brigade of the assault also takes two hits and is down to just two elan. The attack on the farm is not going too well.

The flank brigade scores a hit on the rebels.

The dismounted troopers also have a single success against the rebel troopers.

TURN NINE - Confederate Activation

The previously unemployed rebel cavalry turn to face the new threat.

The rebel artillery engages in counter-battery fire and scores a hit.

Temporarily putting the Union battery out of action.

The last infantry brigade down to two elan, fires but misses.

On the flank, more success as musket balls drop Union troops of the flank brigade.

The tough Union troopers are finally destroyed by carbine and musketry from two units.

TURN TEN - Union Activation

The reinforcing division now deploys. Three brigades of infantry opposite the hills, the artillery and two brigades of cavalry on the flank.

With the rebel brigades ahead of them destroyed, the two Union regiments wheel and move to the flank to face what is now the main threat.

Another hit on the sole surviving infantry brigade of this division, renders it incapable of further offensive action.

A volley puts two more casualties on the faltering flank attack of the rebels.

The battlefield at the end of turn ten. The Union division at the farm is more than holding its own, the rebel division opposite it has seen all three of its infantry brigades destroyed. the troops sent to assault the flank are not doing much better either.

The Union infantry swarm over to the flank to stem the faltering rebel attack.

However, the newly arrived Union division faces a difficult task.

The Battle of Mardon. Part One. Setting up the table and combatants.

Those of you who read my last posting, will recognise the photograph below. It is of the of the four squares, chosen by the Confederates to be the scene of the battle, after the columns had moved around on the map. I took all the major terrain features shown, and transferred them to my tabletop.

Here is what I came up with. The river runs along the bottom right quadrant and then peters out. There is a small wood bottom left and I added a small farmstead in this quadrant. The road runs across the board from east to west. The upper right quadrant has two hills and the upper left, though blank on the campaign map, I made it lightly wooded.

The elevation of the hills is clearer in this shot from ground level, south of the road.

The small farmstead looking north.

Looking north east from to edge of the wood towards the two hills.

The table looking east to west. The two objectives on the table will be the hill top bottom right, and the farmhouse top left.

Looking north west from beside the road.

Union 4th Corp. comprising two divisions. Only 1st Division on the right, will actually be on the table at the start of the battle. 2nd Division will arrive as reinforcements at some point.

The Confederate Corps, also consists of two divisions, they of course will both be on the table from the very beginning of the battle.

Confederate 1st Division is deployed in the light woods in the upper left quadrant, the point they occupied on the campaign map.

Confederate 2nd Division is arrayed on the two hills. Both artillery batteries on top of the hills, supported by infantry.

The cannon and three brigades of infantry from this division are deployed facing north. This is because the Confederate Corps commander has received word that a Union force is fast approaching from that direction.

Union 1st Division is deployed at the farm. Four brigades of infantry stretched out along the road behind a split log fence. A brigade of cavalry protect their exposed flank.

The whole table and deployments. The Union player is vastly outnumbered at the moment, the division opposite him, is about equal in size, but a larger division is perched on the two hills, one of which is an objective. Reinforcements, could arrive as early as turn five, but more likely, around turns ten to twenty. The Union commander has decided to hold the objective he currently has, being the farmstead, and hope the Union 2nd Division arrives quickly and can hopefully take the objective on the hill.

The Union Corps commander is hoping this division can not only hold the rebels in front of them, but also draw more of the enemy off the hills, this would greatly help the approaching Union 2nd Division.

The Confederate player, safe in the knowledge that he is ahead by 2 VP's, need only defend the objective on the hill to win the game. However, it is not often that such an opportunity, to destroy a full Union division, presents itself and he is an aggressive commander. He considers two batteries of artillery and three brigades of infantry in an excellent defensive position, more than adequate to defend the objective from enemy attacks arriving from the north. He intends to assist his weaker divisions assault on the farm by committing two brigades of infantry as well as two brigades of cavalry from the hills. He intends to destroy the Union division at the farm, long before any help can arrive.