Readers –

Thank you for checking out this extended After Action Report. It began in January 2022 and concluded in May 2022.

 

The Confederate participants in the game were:

Tim Reneau - Bragg/Polk

Thomas Marshall - Hardee

David Peek - Breckinridge

Jim Garner - Price

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The Union participants in the game were:

Walt Dortch - Rosecrans/Gorman

Jim Boling - Thomas

Scott Eichelberger - McCook

Ed Lytwak - Crittenden

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The battle was fought using the WDS Chickamauga game and the Columbia-Franklin map contained in that title. The general Order of Battle was taken from the Battle of Stones River and expanded upon to fit the outlines of this fictional battle.

 

This game was conducted as a double-blind scenario.

What is that? I created this scenario for this one game only. Neither side was able to see the entire setup at any time from the start of the game until its finish. I took precautions to keep both sides from knowing the arrival times, locations, and numbers of the enemy forces. At no point was anyone privy to any of the usual information we take for granted when beginning a normal game. This type of setup is incredibly challenging as it is as close as you can be to actually experiencing a Civil War battle as an Army Commander would have in 1863 – assuming they were using PCs and digital armies. A double-blind game is the hardest battle to fight in the Club.

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Why was this written? 

I love a good After Action Report. I do these for fun and to also learn new things about the game by watching others play it. By reading this through on a turn-by-turn basis you can really see how a battle develops and how different players conduct their battles uniquely. 

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Do you quote the participants? 

Yes. I use direct quotes from their emails very often in this after action report. I will fix up the occasional misspelled word but overall it is in their own words as much as possible.

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How does the fictional "Battle of Williamson County" occur?

The general scenario description is displayed on the very first page once you click on the "Introduction" below. You can also skip directly to different turns of the After Action Report by clicking on the various links.