043: North Woods (Historical)
More About This Scenario
In my opinion, this is one of the most amusing scenarios in the entire WDS gaming library. I have played this battle a dozen times and have won it playing as both sides. This scenario will test any member's ability to fight a melee of a battle at close ranges and with limited room to maneuver. It is violent, fast, and a little maddening. Perfect.
Why is this such a good battle to play?
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This gives you the action and excitement of the Battle of Antietam without worrying about the rest of the day to fight.
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Two well-matched opponents with an equal chance to clobber one another depending on who makes the first mistake.
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This scenario will test your tactical fighting skills as the battlefield is small and the action is immediate.
The scenario seems to favor the Confederates more than the Federals. Is that so?
If you have ever played this from the Confederate side, then you might likely wonder how the Confederates have any advantages as the enemy appears very formidable as they roll south from the Cornfield. Large Union batteries can decimate Confederate artillery pieces and cut the Confederate infantry to ribbons. Yet, the Confederates often win this battle. How?
Let’s look into the statistics of the battle and find out what is going on.
Analyzing the Numbers
Two things probably jump out at you as you view the stats. First, the average Confederate unit is under 200 men. Second, the Confederates are just over a full point higher in average quality compared to the Federals. Other than these two things there isn't much here that seems too odd. But let's dig in a bit deeper.
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The Federals have seven regiments with 400 or more men in them - 4,248 men in just these regiments. This accounts for 25% of their entire total in the North Woods. Five of the seven units are rated "E" and account for all of the low-quality Federal infantrymen on the field.
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The Confederates have just two units with a strength of over 400 men. These two units have 547 (C-rated) and 523 (B-rated) men and account for 8% of the Confederate total on the field.
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If you subtract the E-rated men from the Union army their average quality jumps up to 4.10.
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Hooker's First Corps has an average quality of 4.17.
What all this means is that the Federals really aren't all that tough in this scenario. Their infantry is not strong enough nor trained enough to stand up to Lee's veterans.
So why is this scenario such a challenge? Because the Federal artillery is brutal.
Did you know?
Col. Marcellus Douglass, who commanded Lawton's Brigade in the battle, was mortally wounded in the fighting over Miller's Cornfield. One of Douglass’s soldiers remembered clearly the “heavy fire from their batteries on our right, killing and wounding many of our men,” Colonel Douglass among them. He “manage[d] to keep on foot to encourage his men,” but finally he “beg[ged] them to let him die on the battle field with his men, declaring that he would rather die there than in the arms of his wife at home.” Colonel Douglass soon expired.
Federal Artillery
Yes, the numbers of artillery pieces engaged is correct. The Confederates have a huge advantage in the number of guns and batteries in this battle (94 to 60)! But, the Federals though have over three times the amount of ammunition as do the Rebels. Does that matter in just a 16-turn game? Yes. Because the Rebels have so many guns, they use a lot of shells very quickly. With so many targets on the field, you can expect to expend your artillery allotment completely if the game lasts the full 16 turns. You may even have to start limbering guns up to conserve shells.
The Federals will not have this problem. They will continue to pour a heavy fire into you from start to finish. You can target their guns or you can target their infantry - it is Sophie's Choice.
Did you know?
The fighting in the West Woods and Cornfield were intense and at close range. “We had scarcely emerged from the woods in which we had rested during the night, when we found ourselves face to face with the enemy, heavily massed and within close musket range," wrote Colonel Edmund Pendleton of the 15th Louisiana.
Advantages
The Confederates are the only ones in this scenario with cavalrymen available. How useful are they? Not very if you try to use them like dismounted cavalry. But in just a 16-turn game, you do have time to ride around and annoy the Federals. Each turn you can force them to dance around watching their flank and rear, is another turn closer to the end.
Another advantage is the superior Rebel officer corps. Jackson is a far cry better than Hooker and Mansfield. This will routinely keep your men in line longer than the Union regiments on the other side.
You also have 55 artillery sections compared to just 12 for the Federals. Scatter your sections and give the Yanks too many targets for the number of batteries they have on the field.
Supply Comment
While this is a short game, you must protect your wagons. You have just two of them and if one or both are captured, you could be in for an interesting final few turns if your units begin to run out of ammo.
The Scenario Setup
The battlefield is only 74 x 46 hexes which places it all on the smaller side. About half of the battlefield is obstructed by the Potomac River and the actual fighting area is more like 30 x 46. There is not much room to maneuver east-west. This works to the Confederate side's advantage as the Federals are forced to attack you along a narrower front.
The scenario begins at dawn and the limited visibility will play a major part in the battle as Hooker's First Corps will be able to shift east or west, or come straight south through the cornfield, during the dawn turns. Mansfield's corps will also be able to move for three turns without fear of discovery as he moves to join the battle on one of Hooker's flanks.
The Yankees do start first in the game and do have the initiative of being the attacker in the scenario. And while Hooker is massed together, and Mansfield can maneuver around the map quickly, the Confederates all start in the same geographic area and already in a mostly solid defensive position. Only the depleted numbers of Jackson's Division in the West Woods can be considered our weak point.
Personal Conclusion
Moderate Rebel Advantage
This is a really good scenario despite the seemingly lopsided nature of the overall setup. The equalizer in it is the one hour of dawn (which allows the Federals to maneuver and begin their attack under cover) and the large and powerful Union batteries. The Federals will be unlikely to plow through Jackson, but they are more than powerful enough to inflict heavy losses if well-led. Intelligent Federal players will target your artillery and attempt to gain large chunks of points by destroying them as quickly as they can using either their artillery or infantry attacks.
What Mansfield does with his Twelfth Corps is largely meaningless. The corps contains only two respectable regiments (943 "B" rated men) while the rest are low-quality or too small to be of any real threat. Wherever Mansfield attacks he will be unlikely to cause any real damage after you begin to disrupt and/or rout his large green units. It is much wiser to concentrate exclusively on Hooker's men and the Federal guns than it is to worry about Mansfield's force.
Tactical Tips
1) Ready Your Artillery.
With such a large advantage in artillery, you need to maximize it. Position your guns to cover every hex you can and create fields of fire which will torment the Yankee attackers. Mass your guns on the heights at (51, 35) near the Dunker Church and you can drive the Federals nuts trying to push them back. Don't allow any guns to be left poorly protected or vulnerable to capture. The Federals need to eliminate your artillery in order to win this scenario by gaining points in chunks - don't make it easy for them.
2) The West Woods.
The West Woods are a pain in the butt for both players. For the Federals, they can be annoying to attack through as you haven't the overpowering infantry strength you need to punch aside the Confederate units holding the woods. For the Confederates, it is equally as difficult to hold the woods as you don't have much available infantry that can quickly get to the woods and into position to block the Federals. You also don't have many men to spare so committing them to the woods, if nothing develops there, will be a waste of manpower.
If the Federals want to play in the woods though, you must meet them there. The woods offer a chance to fight from the cover of the forest and away from the Union artillery. With only 16 turns to play the Yankees will need a large amount of that time to clear the woods of your men (if they even can). The West Woods will act as a Black Hole for both sides where units which enter it seldom come out the same, if at all.
3) Nicodemus Heights.
This area is a very dangerous spot of land. The Confederates begin the scenario with twelve cannons on the hill which would be well-positioned to lay an enfilading fire down on the Cornfield once day arrives. An intelligent opponent will know this and will send units to capture those guns immediately unless they are either reinforced in time or withdrawn at once. Don't lose a chunk of points trying to hold a hill that is too far out in front of your main line to worry about anyways.
Final Thoughts
Just a really fun battle everyone should play. It can go in any number of directions based on the early decisions of the commanders.