Scourge of War Boards

GB1-09btn_July1-Holding the Heights, after Nightfall (C-Corps)

Carryover Scenario from: Scenario GB1-08btn, Major Victory required for carryover
Carryover Scenario to: Scenario GB1-10btn, 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 and gained the Union positions along the heights south of Gettysburg, the late evening of day one of the battle.

Situation: Morale is high, we've captured the heights. But our victory is not complete as word has come that enemy reinforcements have arrived in the darkness and we must now prepare to defend against a counteroffensive.

Mission: Continue to hold the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

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

Visibility: 225 yards, Full moon, partly cloudy.

Forces Involved:
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns (before carryover)
USA - 16,128 Troops, 41 guns (before carryover)
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were taken by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

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.

Suggestion...
Toward the end of this scenario set up your troops to get ready for the next one. The next CSA scenario ('carryover from' this one) will be a 'carryover=3' version, whereas the ending positions for this scenario will be the beginning positions for the next one.

Again, all the test plays were Major Victories. This one proved the best when I got brave enough to advance my artillery brigades into the darkness and toward the fighting. My previous attempt at these movements ended in disaster for my artillery, so, use caution.
So, again, what's the verdict?
Given that these scenarios reflect historically plausible events -- Should General Ewell have reconsidered General Lee's order to "Take the Heights, If Practicable"?

RB

I really like the idea of this Reb, it adds new dynamics into the gameplay.
Fine work indeed!

David(jolly)

I really like the idea of this Reb, it adds new dynamics into the gameplay.
Fine work indeed!

David(jolly)

Yeah, this 'what if set of scenarios' is proving to be an entertaining and plausible journey. And, to add to its plausibility I found this LINK. Before I found this link I just threw in the full moon visibility as another 'what if' premise. But now, according to the link, the visibility distance of 225 yards was indeed right on for a 'full moon, party cloudy night' on July 1, 1863. In fact, it was a Supermoon, closest distance to earth, so, the best 'moon phase' setting of the year for night fighting visibility.

GB1-10btn_July1-Holding the Heights, Nightfire (C-Corps)

Carryover Scenario from: Scenario GB1-09btn, 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 and gained the Union positions along the heights south of Gettysburg, the late evening of day one of the battle.

Situation: Morale remains high, after capturing the heights we've just repulsed a counterattack. But we fear more attacks will come as reports have just been received that more enemy reinforcements are en route to our position. It appears that our mettle will be tested once again.

Mission: Continue to hold the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

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

Visibility: 225 yards, Full moon, partly cloudy (During 1863 there were 13 full moons whereas the full moon on July 1 was closest to Earth -- a Supermoon)

Forces Involved:
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns (before carryover)
USA - 21,051 Troops, 41 guns (before carryover)
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were taken by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

Since General Humphreys' division of the III Corps was the closest unit it's probable that they would be called up next to take back the heights.

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.

The aftermath...
As seen in the background, Carter's artillery brigade somehow endured the Union onslaught, my other two artillery brigades were virtually destroyed.
Not an easy win! Lost the Culp's Hill and the Saddle objectives for a while but managed to get them back before the end. Regardless of points, that was the important point of this scenario -- Securing the heights for the Confederacy!
And yet again, what's the verdict?
Given that these scenarios reflect historically plausible events, also, with the aid of a Supermoon -- Should General Ewell have reconsidered General Lee's order to "Take the Heights, If Practicable"?

RB

GB1-11btn_July1-Holding the Heights, Nightfire Chaos (C-Corps)

Carryover Scenario from: Scenario GB1-08btn, 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 and gained the Union positions along the heights south of Gettysburg, the late evening of day one of the battle.

Situation: Morale is high, since capturing the heights we've repulsed every counterattack. But we fear a big attack is inevitable as reports have just been received that at least two enemy divisions have arrived just south of our position. It appears that our mettle will soon be tested thoroughly as we prepare to defend this hard-earned ground against an all-out attack.

Mission: Continue to hold the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

Objectives: The three objectives award 18 points per minute the first 50 minutes, then 378 points per minute the last 10 minutes (3 points per each 10 second interval, then 63 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points.

Visibility: 225 yards, Full moon, partly cloudy (During 1863 there were 13 full moons whereas the full moon on July 1 was closest to Earth -- a Supermoon)

Forces Involved:
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns (before carryover)
USA - 21,051 Troops, 41 guns (before carryover)
_________________________________________________________________________________

Consider this scenario as the grognard version of the CSA 'Holding the Heights' carryover series. Once played, it will become quite obvious that defeating the Union's two reinforcing divisions one at a time is far less difficult than taking them both on at once

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were taken by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

Since General Humphreys' division of the III Corps was the closest unit it's probable that they would be called up next to take back the heights.

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.


Got pretty much overrun the first couple of plays. Then, night before last, I just scraped by with a win. However, I lost 'Cemetery Hill' the last 10 minutes. This wasn't acceptable since the point of this scenario is to secure and hold the heights. So, I went back and changed the objective criteria so the last 10 minutes are critical to gain the bulk of the objective points.
Night before last...
So, last night, after planning a strategy to avoid losing the objectives the last 10 minutes, I began play. About 20 minutes in all objectives were lost for a while, but no sweat with the edited objective criteria. Although I only got the 'Saddle' objective back the last couple of minutes, I still nailed down the win with all objectives secure at the end, thus -- Securing the heights for the Confederacy! And finally, what's the verdict?
Given that these scenarios reflect historically plausible events, also, with the aid of a Supermoon, and now weighing the results of a concentrated Union counterattack -- Should General Ewell have reconsidered General Lee's order to "Take the Heights, If Practicable"?

RB

Coming next, the Union response...

Damage Control...

New download now available.  I misspelled chaos, a must fix since this is in the title of the latest released scenario.  Went ahead and bumped the update to 6.1 to note the new download.

Luckily I was reading an article today and came across the word chaos. Immediately alarms went off and damage control has been in the works for the last hour.

A heads up! I had already transferred the end screens over to 'True Ground Maps' so get that new update immediately if you haven't already.

GB1-12btn_July1-Reclaiming the Heights, at Nightfall (U-Corps)

Carryover from: GB1-07btn, 'Draw' required for carryover
Carryover to: GB1-13btn, '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: The first enemy attack was fierce and overwhelming. They broke through our northern defensive lines but then nightfall slowed their advance. As we rally atop the heights and brace for another attack we get word that reinforcements have arrived. An especially bright full moon has emerged from the clouds and smoke and should now help us locate and expel the Rebel intruders.

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: 225 yards, Full moon, partly cloudy (During 1863 there were 13 full moons whereas the full moon on July 1 was closest to Earth -- a Supermoon)

Forces Involved:
USA - 16,128 troops, 41 guns (before carryover)
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns (before carryover)
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were taken by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

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.


Well, after two attempts, I had to settle for this 'Draw' from 'Defending the Heights' because that scenario wasn't tagged to carryover yet when I earned the Major Victory as declared by 'Post 219'. Doesn't say much for the consistency of my generaling skills.
Defending the Heights... So, continuing that carryover's 'Draw'...
One second left, General Greene's brigade managed to reclaim the Cemetery Hill objective while it took the rest of Geary's division to eventually reclaim the Culp's Hill objective.
Reclaiming the Heights... And, even after losing the 'Saddle' objective for a while, I managed to secure all three objectives by the end, also for the most part of the hour, and somehow managed a Minor Victory. Thus proving a 'Draw' carryover can be improved upon.
Reclaiming the Heights...

GB1-13btn_July1-Reclaiming the Heights, Nightfire (U-Corps)

Carryover from: 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: The enemy attacks continue. After breaking through our northern defensive lines at nightfall we've slowed, but not stopped, their advance. As we barely cling to the heights and brace for another attack we get word that another division of reinforcements has arrived. Along with this additional strength, an especially bright supermoon should now help us finally go on the offensive to attack and vanquish the Rebel invaders from the heights.

Mission: Hold and defend the Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives, then sweep the enemy from the field as the objective radaii increase.

Objectives: The three objectives award 78 points per minute (13 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points. Every 15 minutes each objective's radius will increase 100 yards, up to 400 yards the last 15 minutes.

Visibility: 225 yards, Full moon, partly cloudy (During 1863 there were 13 full moons whereas the full moon on July 1 was closest to Earth -- a Supermoon)

Forces Involved:
USA - 21,051 troops, 41 guns (before carryover)
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns (before carryover)
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were taken by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

Since General Humphreys' division of the III Corps was the closest unit it's probable that they would be called up next to take back the heights.

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.


One second left...Only bluecoats left standing within 400 yards of the objectives. The second wave of Union reinforcements was just too much for the depleted Rebel assault on the heights. The 16,000 strong CSA force was reduced to 1,354 over the course of this 'Reclaiming the Heights' series. Lost the Cemetery Hill objective a few minutes at the beginning, but when the reinforcements reached the objectives it was pretty much a rout from then on.
Coming next, this 'What If' series finale(s), Struggle for the Heights, combining the carryover scenarios into two, two hour scenarios.

GB1-14btn_July1-Struggle for the Heights, Howard (U-Corps)

Length of Play: 2 Hours

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 Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

Reinforcements: Geary's division will arrive after one hour, Humphreys' division will arrive after 90 minutes.

Objectives: For the first hour the three objectives award no points. For the second hour, the three objectives award 18 points per minute the first 50 minutes, then 378 points per minute the last 10 minutes (3 points per each 10 second interval, then 63 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points. The last 30 minutes the objectives radii will increase 100 yards every 10 minutes up to 400 yards the last 10 minutes.

Visibility: As nightfall approaches, visibility will decrease to 225 yards by the end of the first hour.

Forces Involved:
USA - 21,051 Troops, 41 guns
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns
_________________________________________________________________________________

This 'What If' scenario represents a situation in which once the heights south of Gettysburg were attacked and reached by the Confederates, a Union counteroffensive would result. Historically, it appears most plausible that General Geary's division of Slocum's corps would be the most likely unit to reinforce and lead this counteroffensive because General Candy and General Greene's brigades of Geary's division were already en route to the heights by the late evening.

Since General Humphreys' division of the III Corps was the closest unit it's probable that they would be called up next to take back the heights.

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.


After one 'test and then fix' play through, this was my first and only attempt. Guaranteed to be non-stop immersive from beginning to end, this scenario demands attention to detail every yard of the way. Managed to finally activate all three objectives the last 10 minutes thus getting the bulk of the objective points, but that wasn't enough to overcome my negative casualty ratio numbers. So, I'm settling for this hard earned Victory.
Next, the Rebels get their shot at a Major Victory, concluding this 'What If' series finale.

GB1-15btn_July1-Struggle for the Heights, Ewell (C-Corps)

Length of Play: 2 Hours

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 Culp's Hill, The Saddle, and Cemetery Hill objectives.

Objectives: For the first hour the three objectives award no points. For the second hour, the three objectives award 18 points per minute the first 50 minutes, then 378 points per minute the last 10 minutes (3 points per each 10 second interval, then 63 points per each 10 second interval), for a total of 4680 points.

Visibility: As nightfall approaches, visibility will decrease to 225 yards by the end of the first hour.

Forces Involved:
CSA - 15,641 Troops, 48 Guns
USA - 21,051 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.


One second left and all objectives are secured...and, my mouse-hand is numb. Had to look down to see if my double click finger was still there. This was supposed to be the 'test and then fix' run through. But no fixes were needed, so this first run wound up being the 'Won and Done' finale of this 'What If' series. Major Victory division scores... Major Defeat division scores... Well, can't speak for other folks, but my verdict is in -- Yes indeed, Ewell would of, could of, and should of, attacked and gained the heights that evening of July 1, 1863, at least as demonstrated by the standards set by SOWGB and this designer's historically based, plausible set up.