The Grand March.
(Turns 1-3)
In the first turn of "Probing Westward", the Union forces have already entered on the northeast Confederate exit point on the Boonsboro-Shepherdstown Pike and on a couple more roads to the south. On the first turn, the bulk of the Union force is Buford's cavalry division, under the overall leadership of Gen. John Buford, and some horse artillery units in tow:
Southwest of Keedysville, Confederates also appear as a blocking force just east of Pry's Ford. This force consists of two regiments of infantry and a couple sections of artillery covering the roads leading west.
Further south, on the eastern side of Elk ridge, the southernmost Union cavalry column, lead by Gen. Thomas Devin is opposed by three regiments and three sections of Confederate infantry and artillery:
Your most important tools are your Corps/Division commanders and the "Visible Hexes" button (I call it the LOS button) on your top menu. These are your intelligence gathering devices that enable you to see as much as the battlefield as you can. Using the LOS button allows me to spot the hexes that have the greatest LOS. A high spot with great visibility is a precious asset, and once found, I place command units on it so I can spot the enemy and place hold potential artillery positions.
I realize that even the best spotting position has its weaknesses, and you're not going to see the entire map. In my
Atlanta game with Bluto, I found that he was very adept at spotting my command units and artillery and "walking in the fog", keeping out of sight and forcing me to guess where he was at what strength. In short, he took away my intelligence gathering, and then used it against me. In this game, I decided that I was going to turn this tactic against him.
But my problem was that there are no free unit commanders, so my immediate plan is to run some artillery up to the foot of Elk Ridge. This way, I can still spot the Confederate forces and do some damage. I'm pretty confident that no Rebs are hidden on Elk Ridge and Starr's cavalry is screening the road below.
My goal is to force his infantry and artillery out of both positions by Turn 3, but I'm not worried about engaging his forces at close quarters. I'll use my artillery's longer 21 hex range to accomplish that feat. My assumption is the Confederate artillery is comprised of old smoothbore Napoleons with a range of 12-13 hexes. My main goal in the next few turns is to combine my two cavalry columns in or near Porterstown, and keep pushing the Confederates to the west.
On Turn 1, I drive the bulk of my cavalry coming from the northeast edge of the map down the Boonsboro-Shepardstown Pike. This brigade column is commanded by Col. BF Davis, and has Gen Buford in tow. To counter Bluto's cannon and artillery near Pry's ford, I shake out and unlimber my artillery, spotting a placement hex just outside of Keedysville. Another column of cavalry, lead by Major SH Starr is crossing Little Antietam Creek, and is following a road parallel to the Pike. The attached artillery is my designated section to run up the foot of Elk Ridge. Further south, I dismount my cavalry under Gen. Devin and start pushing the blocking force there. I try to ride to the flank of his infantry, intending on dismounting somewhat to the rear of his position.
In turn, the Confederates quit their positions and go westward. I realize Bluto is consolidating his forces, and my guess at the time is that he's going to try to hold the bridge at Antietam Creek to prevent a quick push into Sharpsburg. My artillery near Keedysville takes some toll on the Confederate infantry as it moves from its position and heads west. In south, the Rebs do the same, bugging out and head west.
On Turn 2, I decide to change the mission of Davis' brigade. The bulk of his force, without the artillery, will scout out the territory west of Antietam Creek and see what forces are near Sharpsburg. The scout will cross Antietam Creek at Upper Bridge. Meanwhile, the forward elements of Starr's brigade run into trouble just east of Porterstown and dismount. The situaton at the time appears workable, and I guess it's a rearguard that is screening the Confederate retreat to Antietam Creek. Starr's artillery is making its way to position. In the south, I reorganize Devin's brigade to pursue the Rebs through a gap in the ridge. The good news is that Generals Reynolds and Doubleday's Divisions are on the map and moving.
On the Confederate turn, things get a bit dicey for me. Starr's dismounted troopers (elements of the 2nd, 5th and 6th US Cavalry) become isolated as Confederates come out of the woodwork. They were hiding in the "foggy areas" ready to pounce. A grinding combat follows, and about 30 troopers become casualties, in exchange for 20 Rebs.
A desperate rescue happens on Turn 3. My isolated cav units are relatively large, so I was able to trade some effective volleys with the Confederates. The 1st and the remainder of the 2nd US Cavalry following up the rear dismount and flank one of the Confederate regiments surrounding the isolated cavalry. The exchange costs the Rebs some considerable casualties, and on the Confederate turn, those units Rout to the south, breaking the isolation.
The Confederate replay shows Bluto is prepared and a command unit is able to move to and begin rallying the routed troops. It is always good policy to have command units hang back from a battleline, rather than be part of it. This way they still exert some influence on your units in battle and Routed units can be caught and rallied quickly. Additionally, commanders that are KIA are costly in VPs. I make sure to put commanders to work at every opportunity.
A quick look at the VP log tells me that I need to disengage as quickly as possible. While the casualty rate was almost even (around 80 men), the VPs from my cav indicated 144, while the VPs were at 34 for the Confederate infantry.
The good news is that my cavalry is on the outskirts of Porterstown fairly intact and Confederates are heading westward. Reynolds and Doubleday are coming along swiftly and should be in Porterstown in the next turn.
To the north, Davis' scout is west of Antietam Creek and making its way to the Hagarstown-Sharpsburg Pike, and to the south, Devin's brigade is entering the gap in pursuit of the Confederates escaping toward Sharpsburg.
The beginning of Union Turn 4 looks like this: