014 - Second Bull Run (Historical)
More About This Scenario
Second Bull Run is one of Lee's signature victories. Never before or after would Lee come so close to destroying an enemy army as he would on the afternoon of August 30. Because of that, this one is very enticing to play as the Confederates.
While this historical battle featured a number of "surprises" for John Pope, there will be no similar element of surprise for the Union player in this battle - they know Longstreet is coming. Because of that, they will be fully prepared and will play accordingly. This scenario is unlikely to play out at all like the historical battle.
The results in the Department of Records show that this battle plays pretty evenly. Considering how badly Pope was defeated that might seem surprising. So let us take a deeper look at the statistics and see if we can figure out why this battle isn't quite as "easy" as one might assume it to be on the surface.
Analyzing the Numbers
The first thing that will strike you is the 16,000 additional Federals on the field of battle. The Federals have a large advantage in infantry numbers as well as with cavalry, but they do have fewer artillerymen then the Confederates. This is a rare thing as they usually have more guns on the field than the Rebels.
The Federals have about 15,000 additional infantrymen in the battle than do the Confederates. If you exclude Mahone's Brigade of 1,900 men who arrive too late to actively take part in the battle, then the Federals enjoy a 17,000-man advantage in infantry. But the Confederates are not without their strengths. Despite having six fewer brigades, the two sides are roughly equal in the number of regiments on the field.
The Confederates have a full point higher average quality over the Federals. This is a very large difference in quality which will be felt throughout the battle. The Confederates have 25,531 high-quality infantrymen from 85 different regiments. The Federals field just 9 high-quality regiments totaling 2,355 men.
Did you know?
Although his brigade arrives too late to take part in the battle (turn 76 of 81), William Mahone's brigade was actually heavily engaged in the historical battle near Chinn Ridge and Henry House Hill. He would be wounded in the battle and not return until the Fredericksburg Campaign.
A Dangerous Cavalry Situation
With highly-rated and good-sized cavalry regiments, it will be very tempting to go hunting for Yankees. But you need to be aware of how dangerous that is on a map, and in a battle, like this one. The Confederates are pinned on their side of the map and must fight their way out of it in order to achieve greater flexibility of maneuver. Sending your cavalry too far in advance from your army risks seeing them either ambushed or overwhelmed by the quickly gathering Union forces.
This might be "worth the gamble" if it weren't for the fact that the Rebel cavalry contains so many high value, large units. Half of the Rebel cavalry regiments have more than 400 men. Heavy losses engaging enemy infantry could greatly harm your chances of winning the battle if you lose too many victory points in the fighting.
My advice is to use your infantry to clear a path "out of the corner" of the battlefield before sending deciding what to do with your cavalry. It is a long battle, maybe they would be more useful on day two.
Note: All of the above about points and large units also applies to the Federals. Although they would be unlikely to use their cavalry in the front lines, if they do so, be sure to damage them all you can.
Artillery Domination
The Confederates have a great advantage with artillery in this battle. With 86 movable units versus just 30 for the Federals, the Rebels have far greater maneuverability with their artillery. This means that the Confederates can occupy more hexes with artillery and force the Federals to choose which of many areas to commit their far fewer units.
Because of their larger battery sizes, the Federal units are more powerful and dangerous on the battlefield. But their strength is also a detriment to them since each unit is worth so many points if captured. If the Rebels lose an artillery unit, it will likely only have one or two guns. But losing a Federal artillery unit will cost the Federals either four or six guns. If the Confederates lose 5 artillery units it will represent just about 5% of their units and only about 6% of their artillery pieces. If the Federals lose 5 artillery units, it will represent about 17% of their units along with as much as 20% of their artillery force!
Not Enough Ammo
The lack of enough small arms ammunition in this scenario is well known. For a two-day battle, you hardly have enough. The Yankee's ammo situation is even more acute as they have more men sharing an equal amount of ammo as your army has. Both sides will need to guard their wagons carefully and not waste ammo on targets beyond their effective range.
Did you know?
After his defeat at Second Manassas, John Pope was relieved of his command and sent back to the west. He would lead the Department of the Northwest in Minnesota and would spend the rest of the Civil War fighting the Dakota Indians.
The Scenario Setup
The Second Bull Run map shows the armies as they are at the start of the scenario. The Federals are preparing to probe Jackson's left flank while a number of divisions are held back in reserve. Neither side has any fixed units so both are able to begin repositioning immediately.
The Confederate line is situated along the unfinished railroad which offers any unit which has spent one turn in them a 70% modifier against both fire combat and melee combat. This makes the unfinished railroad position an extreme strong one which can be held by a smaller number of men than you might imagine. When combined with the modifier for forests, the unfinished railroad through the wooded areas is nearly unassailable. The Confederate left flank is protected by the Bull Run while the right flank extends to the edge of the board where Longstreet's wing will begin to arrive shortly after the start. This allows the Confederates to concentrate on the Yanks in front of them rather than worrying too much about their flanks. But the Rebels have almost no interior lines and so cannot easily shift men east-west.
The Confederates all arrive along the Warrenton Pike while the Federals arrive from both the south and the east. The majority of both armies are on the field by evening of the first day of battle.
Below is a very detailed outline of the reinforcements and numbers of the two armies.
Numerous things can be learned by studying the charts above.
1) The Federals have a numerical advantage which they maintain from beginning to end.
2) Because of time constraints and marching distances, the Federals will only have about 11,000 additional men by mid-afternoon on August 29. Their reinforcements which arrive later in the day will be unable to reach the battlefield in time.
3) The large majority of Rebel reinforcements arrive early in the scenario. Only two extra brigades arrive in time to fight on August 30.
Note:
If you want to disturb your opponent while playing this scenario, simply note the time and use this sheet for reference. Then subtract their casualties from the numbers above and tell them EXACTLY how many men they have on the field. Be sure to subtract 25 men for every cannon destroyed. This will surely puzzle them and may give you a bit of a psychological edge.
Personal Conclusion
No Advantage
The Second Battle of Bull Run scenario is, in my opinion, an odd one. It really is easy to understand why one would think we would have such a large advantage in this battle. We have more artillery and far better infantrymen. We also have Lee, Longstreet and Jackson at their very best. So how is it that the battle plays out as evenly as it does?
I think it has to do with scenario design and the lack of any "surprise" associated with Longstreet's arrival. The Yankees know what is coming at their flank and will make it their chief priority to halt the attack or contain it as quickly as possible. They are also very unlikely (unless they are unwise) to waste men in fruitless attacks against the Railroad Cut. If they attack, they will aim for AP Hill's Division more than likely. Hill holds a less than ideal position and he is very hard to reach with reinforcements because of the lack of good roads.
Speaking of roads, they are your main problem. You just don't have any interior roads to move your army around the battlefield. This creates a battle where Jackson is very stationary and must rely on Longstreet to either move men through the woods to reinforce him, or to await an attack by Longstreet to begin clearing his front to allow him to advance in support.
When you couple all these things together, they make for a much tougher battle than you might expect.
Tactical Tips
1) Make their Artillery Your Objective.
This is very unusual advice to give considering the usual Confederate tactic of targeting infantry over artillery. But in this scenario the Federals only have 30 artillery units on the map. If you are able to sally forth and capture three of these units, you have reduced their total units by 10%. Crazy, right? If you can capture or destroy a handful of their artillery units then you will begin to make it harder for them to fight the battle as their most reliable weapons are not going to be able to be everywhere at once. If they capture a few of our sections, who cares? Our sections almost always have one or two guns in them. The Federal sections are much larger and represent a greater overall loss in both guns and percentage of units.
2) The Railroad Cut is a Fortress.
Any Federal commander would be foolish to expect any sustained success against Jackson’s defensive line after it is able to establish itself in the railroad cut. There is a -70% modifier for offensive fire against the embankment! If the cut runs through woods (which most of it does) this makes even harder to damage you with Ranged Fire. They HAVE to melee to hope to push you back. If they are able to stack exactly 1,000 men in a hex and charge the absolute BEST modifier they can hope for is a -40% modifier against the cut. In order to just work the modifier down to -40% they would have to be stacked with a leader, be using only high-quality troops (of which they have just nine regiments) and cannot fire offensively before they charge.
What does such a high modifier mean for the defenders? It is not worth it to stack more than 500 men in a hex. With 500 men in your stack the enemy will only be able to achieve, at most, a 20% chance of success given the probabilities of an even number of men dislodging their enemy. Even if they attack with exactly 1,000 men (very unlikely) they will only have 500 after a -50% modifier. In other words… spread out your defenders. You can get away with 300 - 500 men in a hex in most cases (or less in a pinch). Use your leaders to gain you an extra 10% modifier if the fighting gets heavy or add some more men just in case (small units would work well here). It is extremely unlikely you will be forced out of the cut except at a very high cost to the Union forces.
If you are driven out of the cut, try to counterattack from the flanks where you hopefully have available men to do the job. You will face the same brutal modifier if you try and counterattack over the cut as the Federals did when they took it from the other side. Hold the railroad cut!
Because of all the factors listed above it is unlikely a veteran ACWGC Union member will even try to attack the railroad embankment directly. They are going to flank you!
3) Krzyzanowski is a Headache.
Krzyzanowski's Federal brigade is situated just in front of the empty cut at the start of the battle and can rush into it on turn one. By doing so they turn the tables on us and force us into an immediate and unfavorable attack on the cut. You must push them out! If they are attacking aggressively with Krzyzanowski it might just be that all of Kearny's division is not far behind them and you will soon have an absolute brawl on your hands. Rush every man forward and try to disrupt, rout, or melee Krzyzanowski's men back at any cost. Luckily, they are low in quality.
Final Thoughts
I'm just not a big fan of this scenario design. The element of surprise is gone with Longstreet and the whole battle's dynamics change because of it. The roads are unfortunate and the map feels too small. Still it is an okay battle (and can be enjoyable) to play. Just maybe not what you might be hoping for when you think of Second Manassas.