001/002 - Rocky Face Ridge (Historical)
Why Should You Play This Scenario?
Rocky Face Ridge is a set-piece battle with both armies fully deployed for battle. The Confederates are behind miles of breastworks and abatis, while the Federals are moving forward to attack from one side of the battlefield to the other. This isn't a game of grand maneuver - but of action.
As the Confederate, you must be able to hold skeleton lines until reinforcements can arrive to strengthen the defenses. You must use every hexside and terrain modifier you can in order to better the odds against concentrated enemy attacks.
This is a very challenging scenario! Equally so for the Federals. While they have greater numbers, they have few artillery pieces and have to attack directly into prepared enemy defenses. We at least have internal lines and roads, the Yankees don't.
Breaking both armies down, let's take a look to see just how even this battle really is.
The numbers EXCLUDE those Federal units that are FIXED during the battle. This includes all of the infantry of Baird's division.
The Federals enjoy an advantage in the number of units on the map and their average size. The Confederates though are rated higher in quality and have more brigades on the field to move.
Did you know?
The Federals have just 17% of their units rated as high-quality, as opposed to 64% of the Confederate units rated as such.
Infantry Summary
Who has the advantage here? It's too close to call in my book. The Federals do have inferior men, but they aren't that bad. They also have nearly 13,000 more men and 29 additional regiments. If they were fighting in open fields it would be very even. Of course, they aren't fighting in open fields in this scenario. But on paper, at least, they are even.
No Advantage
Both sides have full batteries in this battles as opposed to just smaller sections. This means that neither side will have much flexibility overall in terms of moving guns to numerous places. For the Federals, this is very rough as they have just 10 movable batteries on the field!
Artillery Summary
I am not sure where all the Yankee guns are at, and I don't care. With the Confederates having a 2 to 1 advantage in artillery, enjoy it while you can.
Advantage
Both sides have the same number of wagons and the same number of supplies. This might actually help us more since we have fewer men to resupply, but I will call it a Draw.
No Advantage
Both sides will enjoy reliable leadership in this battle. I suppose I must give the edge to the Confederates though as they are statistically "better" in this scenario. But it is close.
Advantage
Did you know?
Sherman is a supernumerary in this battle. The game treats him like an "extra" commander as he is listed below Thomas in the game's OOB file. This makes him the second in command of the Army of the Cumberland.
Setup
The battle begins with both sides fully deployed for battle. The Confederates are spread out facing in all directions - notably to the east where the Federal army is not attacking from. These troops need to begin moving to the sound of the firing at once to reinforce the western defenses before the Yankees can roll right over them.
The objective hexes are all but worthless in points so you can afford to give up ground if you must. You begin with much of your force established behind abatis and breastworks. Before you get too excited, don't expect the Yanks to attack into the teeth of these. Chances are they will look for open ground and flanks and force you out from your defenses.
The Federals are setup in a long line with almost no depth to it (Baird's division being FIXED). For them to succeed they will need to attack everywhere at once and hope to use sheer numbers to swamp our line. With only 37 turns, they do not have much time to shift men around very much. And every turn they waste doing so allows Walker and Cleburne more time to reposition.
Setup Summary
While the Federals are spread out in a long thin line, so are the Confederates. Our advantages of terrain and defenses make up for this somewhat. But both sides really have to fight against both the terrain and one another. I guess I will give the advantage to the Rebels here, but only because they have the option of reinforcing parts of their lines with reserve divisions. The Federals don't.
Advantage
We do have the advantages in this scenario. But each advantage seems to have an asterisk next to it.
We have more guns. *But the terrain they are on is unforgiving and makes them susceptible to capture.
We have superior leadership. *But only barely.
The Setup favors us. *But our line is extremely precarious and thin.
This scenario is a tough one - but a fun one. You can play it numerous times and achieve vastly different results based on the way each player approaches the game and what happens in the first few turns. If you can withstand the initial Union waves, you have a chance. Once Cleburne and Walker get into the battle then the Federals will be stopped in their tracks wherever they strike. They don't have any reserves to throw into the battle where stiff Confederate resistance is encountered.
Three Tips
1) Protect Your Artillery - or Spike it!
Because of the terrain and the placement of some Confederate guns, they cannot easily move off to reposition. You then have to choose, almost at the start, whether to begin retreating with some of your artillery, or to fight with them as long as you can and spike them before abandoning the position. Spiking your guns is always an unpopular decision. But by doing so you can rob the Yankees of their full point value for their capture. Don't rule it out if your position becomes untenable.
2) Use Terrain Modifiers.
The Confederate line begins the scenario along a VERY strong line. Most positions have a two-step elevation change which gives them a 40% modifier. If you also have a line of breastworks then you can add 30% to that and you have a 70% modifier working to your advantage! And that is just with melee attacks. If the enemy fires uphill (two-elevation increases), against breastworks, and into wooded terrain, they can't even hit you! The modifier is over 100% making their fire useless. Knowing these things will help you immeasurably in this scenario.
3) Buzzard Roost.
The town of Buzzard Roost is a good position to fall back on in the center of the map. You have high ground which overlooks the area, and you will be retreating towards your reinforcements from Walker, Cleburne, and Dalton. By reforming your men here, then defending this crossroads, you can catch the enemy far away from their own original lines and in the open fields. You will gain strength as you fall back while they lose it chasing you.
Final Thoughts
This is just a fun battle to play. The limited capacity of the two sides to maneuver is the biggest downside. As long as you aren't going into this expecting a cat and mouse game of maneuvering and grand strategy - you should have fun.