What's up, everybody!
Doing a carryover campaign ala GCM (using the carryover campaign tool released a while back, attached if you want to use it, fighting in a fictional confederate Army of Maryland against the federal Army of the Susquehanna). It was a good fight. A fighting withdrawal for the most part. Suffered about 50% casualties during the fight, even wrote an after action report based on the format Longstreet used for his report on the Battle of Gettysburg, which was sent to the A.A.A.G. of the ANV. It was written with a few creative liberties toward the end, the talk between myself and the AI general, for instance, is a little bit of storytelling in there. I more or less carried the left flank of the army throughout the entire fight. See the spoiler for the historically formatted report.
SPOILER: SHOW
Headquarters. 1st Army Corps, 2nd Infantry Division,
Department of Maryland,
Combat Report, Action Near Marcum, RandomMaps4-1050.
December 1, 1862.
COLONEL: At 10 o' clock in the morning the army met the enemy along the road from Watson. My division was placed in the center of the formation, 2nd Corps. I moved my division south. There was a stone wall there, and I could see Watson Hill to my front. While placing my troops along the stone wall, I saw the Yankee infantry attack down the hill. They fell upon our forces, and a pitched battle ensued. By 11 o' clock the division on my right was pushed from the field, and I was forced to give up my ground. I fell my forces back to a position running parallel to the road running west from King, posting my artillery for open fields of fire to my front.
To assist our batteries on my right flank, forces not under my command, I dispatched Johnson's brigade to push back a small infantry assault on the gun line. A large federal force continued their push up the Watson road, but were slowed by our forces contesting the passage. It gave me time to set my batteries and prepare to receive the attack. My guns were firing by the time Cobb's brigade of Turentine's division were in flight from the road. It was at this time that I recalled Johnson's brigade and sent multiple couriers to Major General Evans' headquarters in a bid for aide.
The enemy met my line at about noon. There was no sign of movement from headquarters, no rear forces pushing forward to meet the oncoming enemy. It was my observation that we were conducting a fighting withdrawal thus far. My guns were placed just behind the line of battle, plunging canister into the enemy ranks when they stopped to meet my infantry. Wise's brigade of the 1st division moved past my left flank, turning the enemy line as it wavered against my troops' fire. As the brigade then moved, in line of battle, across my front I was able to shift forces from my left flank to my center and right, thereby bolstering my line and spirit of resistance.
By noon, I had suffered almost 50% casualties. My troops were suffering withering fire on the right flank by two large federal regiments. With the displacement of other regiments, in concurrence with Cobb's progress to my front, I was able to push the federal regiments from my front. At a quarter pas noon, Cobb's brigade was routed by a fresh federal unit of unknown command. I fell back my divison to the rear of Major General Evans' headquarters. I was close becoming non-combat effective, from fatigue and losses, despite the high spirits of my men. They've earned great credit for their tenacity during the action. I stayed at the rear of the column to survey the retreat of my division, and followed them to their position in the rear.
By 12:30 o' clock my battered division was placed in the trees east of Marcum. From there, I left my division to consult with Major General Evans on the situation. He recounted that he had received my messages. His plan of battle, as he explained it, was to successive lines of battle, withering the enemy down to a defeatable strength. The forces I saw arrayed in the fields at Marcum, with knowledge of the enemy strength and disposition, were far too inadequate to counterattack an oncoming enemy force, and the losses to the army were great.
The order to withdraw from the field was passed down through the chain of command some time later.
All told, my division suffered 4,366 casualties. At the time of writing this report, my combat strenght sits at 3,992 ready for duty.
Respectfully,
JOHN E. GRAY,
Brigadier General, 1st Corps, 2nd Division, Commanding.
R.H. BROWN,
Colonel, Assistant Adjutant and Inspector General.