Tuesday 28 November 2023

Battle of Neds Cabin: Fire & Fury revisited

Posties Rejects got together at the weekend for some ACW action using Fire & Fury. I haven't played these rules since 2019 but we all picked things up quickly under Stuart's watchful gaze. 

Union Order of Battle
3rd Corp c/o McDowell
1st Division (c/o Hatch) 1st, 2nd, 4th & 6th Wisconson + Gun
2nd Division (c/o Ricketts) 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th New York + Gun
3rd Division (c/o Reynolds) 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Pennsylvania + Gun
Cavalry Division (c/o Pleasanton) Vermont Cavalry & Gun
+ Reserve Artillery (dice for quantity in 2nd turn)

Confederate Order of Battle
2nd Corp c/o Jackson
1st Division (c/o Starke) 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th Virginia + Gun
2nd Division (c/o Lawton) 1st, 2nds, 4th and 6th Arkansas + Gun
3rd Division (c/o AP Hill) 2nd, 3rd, 5th & 6th Alabama + Gun
Cavalry Division (c/o Wheeler) Texas Cavalry
+ Reserve Artillery (dice for quantity in 2nd turn)

The initial setup. Artillery reserves would come on later in the game. 

The Federal line was anchored on a ridge line

The Confederate players advance towards the Union positions

New player Dan turned a humble wood into a formidable redoubt

My Wisconsans watch the approaching rebels

Much of the fighting took place on the right flank.

The Rebels charge up the ridge in the first of several back and forth melees

Union troops are pushed back

On the right flank, the Pennsylvanians charge downhill, bayonets fixed in an attempt to disrupt the Confederate advance.

Extremely high rolls on both sides made the melee very exciting. 

The Pennsylvanians are touched back up onto the ridge and hold their position

Meanwhile, Dan's New Yorkers fight bitterly for the woods. 

Richard's Virginian's charge uphill and I roll a double one, but so does Richard. There's an immediate second turn of melee and I roll 11 but Richard rolls a 12 and I'm pushed back

But then the Union right flank crumples. Both sides are being worn down but the Union troops have the worst of it. 

At this point in the game, it was getting later in the afternoon and I decided another round or two of melee would not improve the union position so I conceded the game. When Stauart totted up the points the Confederates had won by three points, a narrow win but one that would probably have only widened further had we played on.

8 comments:

  1. Super in-game photos, Lee. Good to see F&F out on the table. In the '90s in our games, F&F was the most played game by far.

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  2. Excellent report Lee. It was a smashing day.

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  3. Looks a good close fought game with plenty of ebb and flo.

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  4. That really looks nice - a big table and some good scenery.

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  5. Great report Lee, gutted I missed the game! I bet there were a few words muttered under your breath after you rolled the 11 and Richard the 12?

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  6. Looks like a lovely game. Terrain and figures and battle episodes as evidenced by the photo record. F&F has a good history/legacy I think. I seem to recall it being used as a basis for rule in other periods, most notably Napoleonics. I recall reading some articles in old issues of MW (I think), where the mechanics of F&F were used for Italian Wars circa 1859, and the Franco-Prussian War as well. At the risk of tooting my own horn, I tried to draft an ancients set using the F&F procedures.

    Coincidentally, just finished reading A THOUSAND MAY FALL, Life, Death, and Survival in the Union Army - written by Brian Matthew Jordan. I thought it was excellent. It traced the war-time experiences of the 107th Ohio Regiment.

    Thanks for posting a great looking scenario.

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  7. Great looking game and plenty of action too, closely fought but the sounds of it.

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  8. Those Wisconsinites, you just can't rely on them. Good old advance to contact and keep advancing by the Rebs. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

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