A Fight Near Gettysburg

[Hancock the Superb]

Generals:

I (General Longstreet) was moving northwards to Gettysburg when pickets noted a column of the enemy moving on a parallel road.

I halted my divisions and order two brigades and two batteries forward to feel the enemy.

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A brigade moved towards McLaws's front in preparation to attack.

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I ordered Semmes to move his brigade to the right of Barksdale. General McLaws determined that we should attack the enemy, them being the First Corps (decimated just earlier by the commands of A. P. Hill and Ewell).

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Semmes and Barksdale forced the advance brigade back. Barksdale then ordered his men to take the battery to their front and Semmes continued to move around the enemy's flank.

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Several brigades of the First Corps moved out to meet our advance. We met them briskly.

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Barksdale charged the men and guns to his front in most gallant style. McLaws ordered "Three cheers for Mississippi!" The men of Kershaw and Wofford's brigades responded in a roar.

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The enemy's first line was thrown back upon his second, the gunners leaving their pieces on the field of battle. Barksdale continued on in pursuit.

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The second line poured forth a murderous fire and advanced. Barksdale slowly fell back, leaving hundreds of gallant soldiers dying on ground they had stuggled so hard to attain. I immediately ordered McLaws to send forward reinforcements for both Semmes and Barksdale.

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Barksdale halted the counter-attack when he rallied his regiments at a fenceline. The two sides fired as expediently as they could: clouds of smoke obscured the battle. On the flank, troops of the Iron Brigade pushed back Semmes, who was ordered to open an avenue of advance for Kershaw.

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The Federal counter-attack managed to regain momentum, and started pushing Barksdale back. McLaws ordered Barksdale to fall back to the north, so Wofford would have a clear line of advance.

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The enemy counter-attack reached its highest point, driving back Semmes and Barksdale far to the rear. Fortunately, the timing of the reinforcements could not have been better; Kershaw smashed back the Iron Brigade in one stroke and Wofford assailed the flank of the brigade to his front.

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The enemy drew up his reserves and drew up a line studded with artillery. To ensure the success of the attack, I ordered Benning to advance as soon as Robertson moved up to protect his flank.

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An all out assault was made, driving the enemy back upon his guns. The cannon hurled cannister at our troops, but the gallant Kershaw, Wofford, and Benning were not fazed. The troops continued forward under this murderous storm.

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The important moment had come: three brigades advancing into the teeth of three divisions and four artillery batteries. Benning drove off a battery to his front, but was checked by superior enemy forces. Kershaw and Wofford drove into the main artillery line.

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The enemy cannoneers ran from the field our superior forces dominated the right flank of the line. We crashed into the final line of enemy infantry.

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At that moment, Robertson reported ready for action, to which he was directed to move against the enemy's flank in view of breaking the line. A reserve brigade of the opposition was sighted moving to halt our advance, to which Kershaw, Wofford, and Robertson cheerfully engaged.

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The enemy drew away his remaining troops under the volleys of his reserve brigade. As the three advancing brigade closed in, they too, withdrew.

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In result, I can safely say that the vaunted Federal First Army Corps has been destroyed. At a cost of 1780 casualties, the divisions of McLaws and Hood decimated the 6000 or so men they engaged. The enemy fled, leaving 3000 killed, wounded, and missing soldiers littering the field.

I must acknowledge that the victory is due to my fearless brigadiers, lead by Barksdale, Kershaw, and Wofford. The brigades of Semmes, Benning, and Robertson were key in achieving the victory as well. I would also like to denote the resourcefulness of my staff, of whom Assistant Adjutant-General Norb Timpko played a key role in directing the individual brigades in an orderly fashion throughout the fight. My aides-de-camp, A. P. Hill Jr., J. C. Edwards, and others provided most helpful service to this corps.

With victories such as these, the war shall soon be over.

General Hancock the Superb (James Longstreet)

[Hancock the Superb]

I would like to say that a fair portion of the battle has been fictionalized. Since I ended up fighting the decimated First Corps (Day 2 OOB), most of the enemy regiments had been routed by the later stages. Out of 6000 or so starting troops, the Union ended with 1000 (the missing 2000 were routed), which were surrounded by the brigades of Kershaw, Wofford, Benning, and Robertson. I could have won the battle with just four brigades (about 6500 men), instead of the six I sent in; Kershaw and Wofford were that overpowering.

I will note that the Federals fought to a bloody draw against Barksdale and Semmes. Their small regiments routed quickly, but two divisions (about 3000 men), were able to halt the 3000 men I sent at them. Fortunately, my tactics always directed the advancing brigades into positions with few troops, leaving the enemy to scramble trying to stop the attack. They managed to thrust with enough troops and guns to halt and eventually drive Barksdale and Semmes back. However, Barksdale and Semmes were able to significantly damage the line, and when Kershaw and Wofford moved forward, the enemy's left flank (On my right flank), was crushed. It then took about 15 minutes to destroy the gun line and any surviving infantry.

I would like to say that the friendly AI did a great job in this battle. I focused on spacing the brigades far enough apart so they had the ability to maneuver in the giant, unwieldy form which they do, yet have the benefit of flank support. This distance is about the frontage of a brigade between brigades.

I will say that although artillery fire is becoming better, the cannister needs to be improved. A supported battery should be able to hold the frontage of a regiment, but an unsupported battery cannot. Thus, if I take four regiments and attack three regiments and a battery, we should fight ourselves to pieces, both sides alike. However, a single regiment should be able to drive off an unsupported battery, which you need almost a brigade to do. The effectiveness of cannister has been correctly decreased over TC2M, but I would argue for a little less firepower.

Good job team!