'True Ground SR1' - Scenarios & OOBs

Jolly · Post by **Jolly** » Fri May 21, 2021 4:03 am

Ames' Union defence scenario is a nice counter balance to the previous Reb attack scenario.
It sort of evens itself out, regarding the final outcome.
I think I'll settle for this.

The attachment Ames.jpg is no longer available

RebBugler · Post by **RebBugler** » Sat May 22, 2021 9:47 pm

Ames' Union defence scenario is a nice counter balance to the previous Reb attack scenario.
It sort of evens itself out, regarding the final outcome.
I think I'll settle for this.

Ames.jpg

Well, you don't have to win them all, and this one along with Early's Attack need obsessively repeated plays to find that elusive Major Victory. That's my job! I build them, then find a way to win them, not necessarily setting the bar, but I try. My main goal is to make them competitive, and your last two posts reflect mission accomplished, much appreciated.

Thanks for the Report

RB

Jolly · Post by **Jolly** » Sat May 22, 2021 11:22 pm

That's exactly my thinking Reb, well put.
Striking the right balance is not easy I would have thought - a lot of hard design work and testing on your part.
You always seem get it right though.

David(jolly)

Jolly · Post by **Jolly** » Mon May 24, 2021 1:50 am

That's Entertain

The attachment Rhodes.jpg is no longer available

ment!

I managed a decent co ordinated attack with the AI on this scenario. To get all three positions is not easy, even with the AI to your left progressing, it still takes a lot of management.

Jolly · Post by **Jolly** » Mon May 24, 2021 1:54 am

Bad formatting again - hopefully it makes some sense.

David(jolly)

RebBugler · Post by **RebBugler** » Mon May 24, 2021 7:13 am

Bad formatting again - hopefully it makes some sense.

David(jolly)

It's OK, just shows that the cursor was after "Entertain" and before "ment" when you inserted the attachment.

RebBugler · Post by **RebBugler** » Mon May 24, 2021 7:12 pm

That's Entertainment!
Rhodes.jpg
I managed a decent co ordinated attack with the AI on this scenario. To get all three positions is not easy, even with the AI to your left progressing, it still takes a lot of management.

Nice Major Victory, with a death defying positive casualty ratio considering all the artillery you went up against. You definitely beat my best effort of 5015 after three previous sub-MVbar attempts. Glad you're entertained by the necessity of a lot of management, cause there's lots more to come.

Thanks for the Report, ya finally got to show off your skills at Generaling after some lulls...

RB

Jolly · Post by **Jolly** » Tue May 25, 2021 12:52 am

It's strange, but it seems that a lot of times I actually do better on the first attempt on some scenarios. It's kind of like reacting to what is going on as you continually assess the situation in hand. Of course it can all go pear shaped as the scenario progresses, but that's the beauty of it!
There are some that do need multiple tries of course - the real beasty ones that can sock you in the jaw and leave you out for the count!

David(jolly)

RebBugler · Post by **RebBugler** » Wed May 26, 2021 7:18 am

GB1-07btn_July1-Defending The Heights (U-Corps)

Carryover to: GB1-12btn, Draw required for carryover

Length of Play: 1 Hour

Command: Major General Oliver O. Howard, commanding the XI Corps
Date: July 1, 1863
Location: The heights south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Ahistorical Situation (What If): What if Ewell's CSA corps attacked the Union position at the heights south of Gettysburg, the late evening of day one of the battle.

Situation: After battling the Rebels for most of the day, we've been forced to abandon our original defensive positions and have consolidated our battered corps to the heights south of Gettysburg. We thought this day's fighting was over, as the sun sets behind the western hills and the sounds of battle have lulled. But now, we're alerted to a new threat, as the enemy is forming assault lines to our front extending east and west till they disappear into the evening haze. By all appearances, the Rebels are setting their sights on our position, the heights along two hills, Culp's and Cemetery.

Mission: Hold and defend the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

Objectives: The three objectives award 78 points per minute (13 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points.

Visibility: As nightfall approaches, visibility will decrease at approximately 4 to 3 minute intervals, down to 30 yards the last three minutes.

Forces Involved:
USA - 12,204 Troops, 41 guns
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once General Johnson's Division arrived at Gettysburg by 6:30 PM, General Ewell decided that an attack on the heights south of Gettysburg by 7:30 PM was practicable.

Earlier, Ewell had already opted out of any further pursuits after the Union defenses west and north of Gettysburg were broken. This option was presented by General Lee to Ewell between 4:30 and 5:30 as the Union forces were in full retreat to the heights south of Gettysburg -- It read, "If practicable, take the heights south of Gettysburg". At this time, Johnson's division was still an hour out from Gettysburg, making this scenario's timeline quite feasible.

For this attack, along with Johnson's division, Ewell assembles three brigades from General Rodes division, two brigades from General Early's division, and two brigades from General Pender's division of General Hill's corps. These brigades were the least depleted, largest and most available of the two Confederate corps after the day's actions.

This scenario proved to be an even tougher mission than the previous scenario. It's not only about where and who to deploy to the defense of Culp's Hill, but also how to prepare your overall defense. Don't hesitate to use every unit available, you'll need them all to keep your objectives secure.

After a week of trying to stop the Rebel offensive I scripted, suffering some bad defeats, I finally got at least a victory. At this point I was ready to declare Ewell's 'What If' decision to attack as quite plausible and practicable for a successful outcome.

: GB1_07btn Defending the Heights.jpg (486.97 KiB) Viewed 971 times

But late that evening, I kept thinking of tactical mistakes I had made, and decided to give it one more shot. And glad I did, for like the previous scenario, I stumbled upon this 'just barely', Major Victory, letting Ewell theoretically off the hook historically for not opting to attack.

: GB1_07btn Defending the Heights_MV.jpg (481.28 KiB) Viewed 971 times

Still, there's more possibilities to this story. Referring to this MV result, within fifteen minutes the Rebels would have taken all three objectives, they were in the process of breaking down the doors. At the same time General Slocum's corps was moving troops to reinforce the heights. Would they have been able to dislodge the Rebels and expel them from the heights in the darkness?

RebBugler · Post by **RebBugler** » Mon May 31, 2021 9:01 pm

GB1-08btn_July1-Take The Heights, If Practicable (C-Corps)

Carryover to: GB1-09btn, Major Victory required for carryover

Length of Play: 1 Hour

Command: Lt General Richard S. Ewell, Corps Commander
Date: July 1, 1863
Location: The heights south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Ahistorical Situation (What If): What if Ewell's corps, along with elements of AP Hill's corps, attacked the Union position at the heights south of Gettysburg, the late evening of day one of the battle.

Situation: We thought this day's fighting was over, as the sun sets behind the western hills and the sounds of battle have lulled. But now, following the arrival of Johnson's division, our corps is again preparing to do battle. Our orders that soon will follow: Take the heights south of Gettysburg!

Mission: Capture and hold the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives within 45 minutes.

Objectives: For the last 15 minutes the three objectives will award 312 points per minute (52 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points.

Visibility: As nightfall approaches, visibility will decrease at approximately 4 to 3 minute intervals, down to 30 yards the last three minutes.

Forces Involved:
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns
USA - 12,204 Troops, 41 guns
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once General Johnson's Division arrived at Gettysburg by 6:30 PM, General Ewell decided that an attack on the heights south of Gettysburg by 7:30 PM was practicable.

Earlier, Ewell had already opted out of any further pursuits after the Union defenses west and north of Gettysburg were broken. This option was presented by General Lee to Ewell between 4:30 and 5:30 as the Union forces were in full retreat to the heights south of Gettysburg -- It read, "If practicable, take the heights south of Gettysburg". At this time, Johnson's division was still an hour out from Gettysburg, making this scenario's timeline quite feasible.

For this attack, along with Johnson's division, Ewell assembles three brigades from General Rodes division, two brigades from General Early's division, and two brigades from General Pender's division of General AP Hill's corps. These brigades were the least depleted, largest and most available of the two Confederate corps after the day's actions.

Due to the size of this scenario, a heads-up to avoid 'AI Freeze Up' (troops stop fighting), keep at least half of your officers TC'd. For the initial movements select the brigade commander (I recommend movements by brigade), then select 'Atcommoff', double click destination, select formation, then 'tcofficers'. Don't worry about officers overlapping enemy units because all officers are scripted as 'immortal' in this scenario series. Over the years I've found that the game plays much better with immortal officers plus it improves the enemy AI competition wise.

All my test plays resulted in major victories. This one fared the best with the final 'Strength' stat at almost 10,000 troops. It proved to be an immersive tactical challenge, whereas all my officers were guided alternating 'TC On and Off' from beginning to end.

: GB1_08btn Take the Heights.jpg (401.37 KiB) Viewed 970 times

So, what's the verdict?
Given that the Johnson's Division arrival time is accurate and this scenario's build is plausible -- Should General Ewell have reconsidered General Lee's order to "Take the Heights, If Practicable"?

Presented this 'Memorial Day', May 31, 2021...Hopefully the 'End Days' of Covid-19 as we gradually move to normality. Vaccine up, to make it so!

RB