Well many thought it would never happen but… yes it has happened, Steve’s dice have gone HOT!!! Long known for having the coldest dice this side of the Antarctic Steve Gausche rolled more “10’s” in one game than most of us have seen him roll over the course of years!
The battle lines are drawn, Rebs deploy to the left and right, a Rebel attack quickly develops on the Union right.
Last Saturday saw us running a tune-up game of Fire and Fury, (American Civil War battles using our 15mm figures) in preparation for next weeks Mega game were about 10 of us re-fight the entire 2nd day of Gettysburg!
The game was a simple exercise, Steve took 5 Brigades and 2 guns of Union troops to defend against my 7 brigades and 2 guns. I know it does not seem like a lot to attack with but the attacker given enough maneuver room can concentrate his forces much easier then the defender. There was also the fact that while Steve is know for rolling shall we say “poorly” I was dubbed “Major Roller” by our local club (the Bengal Club) so I figured it was well balanced…….
Steady men! Hold yer fire till I give the word…fix bayonets and prepare for a counter charge!
The opening of the battle saw me get what I thought was great position on him and I prepared to “pick” him slowly apart by defeating one side then rolling the line….. . I was so confident in the outcome already that I was not going to even take pictures of what I thought would be a fairly boring game, just and exercise in game mechanics! he was rolling a few bad rolls to start as usual and I boldly pushed two reb brigades through the woods on the left flank and launched a charge It was here my luck went south and never returned but for one brief moment later in the game. I rolled for the first brigade, they moved out but I had judged the distance wrong and they came up shot of the Union Brigade, and worse the second Reb Brigade rolled badly and failed to advance (confused orders?) This left the first CSA Brigade a sitting duck to the defensive fire of the Union infantry and just arrived battery of guns….Steve’s rolling was incredible and his really spectacular rolls mirrored my really bad rolls to further the damage inflected on me!
Steve rolled and blasted my poor brigade to pieces, it retreated back into the woods, disordered, and less several stands of infantry
The 50th Virginia holds the center by the old Church. Rebel artillery prepares to deploy.
.A second pair of Rebel brigades charged the 2nd Union Brigade holding the Union right, again I rolled poorly and Steve rolled like a demon! Booth of those brigades fell back from the wall disordered, shot to pieces, and in no condition to launch another attack.
Near the end…Rebel force are forced slowly out of the town and desperate back to back fighting rages all along the lines!
Steve continued to roll 8s, 9s, and 10s, in all the shooting phases, forcing me into a defensive posture… he was soon on the attack! It was downhill all the way, I had to use all my skill to try and fend him off, trying to rally my broken units and retreat off the board. It was not to be Steve skillfully closed both my flanks in on themselves until my Rebs were fighting back to back. I manage to save only ONE and a HALF brigades out of seven! I lost 27 infantry stands, 2 gun batteries, and 2 Colonels. About half of those were “captured” including the officers. Steve remarkably lost only 1 brigade! 4 stands destroyed, one captured along with a officer….the captured stand and officer returned when I had to beat a hasty retreat at the end…lol!
It was really great game and played to the bitter end in about 5 hours, 12 turns or so.
The Union left flank pushes out of town and around the Rebel right flank! This spells doom for the Rebel cause this day….
The Rebels bravely hold their position at “the Wall” only indecision by the Union commanders saves them from a charge and destruction! This was the only Rebel brigade to skedaddle off to fight another day….