ACW Scenario - Little Round Top

Man, it must be 3 years ago now I had the start of a vision for my ACW collection.  It of course started with the normal movie watching and mass reading of source material to get motivated - but one series of scenarios has always stood out in my mind:  McPherson's Ridge, Little Round Top, and Pickett's Charge.  I've always been pushing towards fulfilling those three scenarios with my ACW efforts.

As you've all seen on the blog I have checked the Pickett's Charge box - and I'm a mere few weeks away from checking the McPherson's Ridge box.  To check the Little Round Top box, I merely need to address the mat and rocky tabletop - all the troops are finished.

So here is my take on my final Gettysburg scenario for This Hallowed Ground - which I've updated to version 2.1 (I'm really happy with where the rules have landed --- I think they capture the period feel while keeping things straight forward and quick to play large games).  I'll be doing a separate post on the rules update.

Little Round Top

July 2nd, 1863

This scenario has been designed to make the scenario playable and the area and timing of various events have been compressed together to both fit the table and cover both the fighting around Devil's Den and the engagement of the rearward line - including the 20th Maine.  Clearly the terrain is rocky (not shown on the map) and there are sparse trees throughout.

UNION ORDER OF BATTLE

3rd Corps, 1st Division, 2nd Brigade (Ward)

5th Corps, 1st Division, 3rd Brigade (Vincent)

CONFEDERATE ORDER OF BATTLE

1st Corps (LongStreet), 3rd Division (Hood), 1st Brigade (Law)

1st Corps (LongStreet), 3rd Division (Hood), 2nd Brigade (Robertson - aka Texas Brigade)

1st Corps (LongStreet), 3rd Division (Hood), 4th Brigade (Benning)

MAP AND DEPLOYMENT

The map below shows the unit starting positions.  Note that Texas Brigade is spread out with two units either side of Devil's Den.  Also, Law's brigade is intermixed with the Texas Brigade on the Confederate right flank.  Although note shown on the map, the hills and terrain north of the buildings and road (from about the 44th AL position North) is rocky/rough ground.  The upper left river exit and proceeding down towards the center of the map is swampy terrain either side of the river -- which counts as difficult terrain for this game.  Devil's Den is the grey area near the fork in the river.  This area should be represented with very large rocks and counts as a defended obstacle for any unit located within the area for game purposes.

The table is 6 feet wide by 8 feet long.

Here is a picture of the actual end result of the table setup.

GAME TURN AND INITIATIVE

The game lasts 8 turns.  The Confederate's have the initiative.

SPECIAL RULES

Devil's Den - As mentioned under the Map and Deployment section, Devil's Den counts as a defended obstacle for any unit located within the terrain feature.  Consider the area to count a difficult terrain for movement.  Units charging against units in Devil's Den (even if starting within the terrain feature) do not gain the +2D6 charge bonus for charging.

Hasty Position - Vincent's Brigade (top of Little Round Top) has a roughly prepared position in front of their units.  This should be represented as a low wall of built up rocks (not a stone wall ... more of a rubble low pile of rocks).  This counts as a defended obstacle for game purposes and provides cover.

Difficult Going - The area of woods and the area on the map that is north of the 44th AL starting position is all considered difficult ground.  The wooded areas are loose/open woods (not dense).  Line of Sight for shooting is not blocked by the light woods, however, all units in difficult terrain will count as being obscured.

River and Swamp - The river - really a stream - is considered fordable at all points and counts as difficult terrain.  Additionally, the swampy area either side of the northern part of the river also counts as difficult terrain.

Chamberlain's Charge - Starting on turn 6, roll 1D6.  On a 4+ the 20th Maine has run out of ammo and can no longer shoot for the rest of the game.  On turn 7, this happens on a 3+, turn 8 on a 2+.  Once the unit has run out of ammo, the unit does not take a morale test from defensive fire when charging.  Additionally, the unit rolls +1D6 for all Charge Home tests.  Prior to running out of ammo, the unit rolls for Charge Home tests normally.