Champion's Hill 1863 - more 'Volley & Bayonet' action

 More V&B action, with a scenario from Grant's 1863 campaign, and a flanking action near Memphis. This is taken from superlative 1995 edition 'Battles of the American Civil War' scenario book, by Greg Novak and Frank Chadwick, designed for the 1st edition of 'Volley and Bayonet'.

Again, these rules are straightforward (with some very nice nuances - especially for ACW and AWI), allow for big battles with brigade bases, and though there are a lot of moving parts, everything is intuitive and there is just enough 'chaos' (of which more later), to keep things frantic, tense and with plenty of 'off the chair' moments.

 Some tinkering with the mechanisms pre-battle - and confirmation re. 'disordered' mechanisms, the ability to remove same, and then charge in same turn...but all resolved. 

20mm plastic out in force once more, on 3"x3" bases - granted, with some support from old 1970s Minifigs 25mm chaps (donated by Steve of Steve's blog).

"What's that Zeke? You believe that the design philosophy of Volley and Bayonet is sleek, elegant and somewhat based upon old 1970s 'hex'n'chit' systems, pioneered by Avalon Hill, then refined by GDW...Hmm, yes, worth due consideration after we fire that cannonball in your hands with our heavy smoothbore, at those demned yenkees...suh!"

Moves on the Union left - two divisions would be exhausted, with a third on the verge

The Union right seems more 'do-able' - yet the Yankees would have some hard fightin' here too

Union troops avoid the dug in position, though shooting stationary troops in V&B always a tough ask. It pays the attacker to focus attacks on a single brigade to open a hole...

The Union assault on the right

One division exhausted, another pushed back. "Reform and Rally to the flag boys!"

A lot of Union reinforcements - essential as the Confederate flank begins to weaken...

Some of those Reb brigades down to the last strength point...about to cave in ...but you will notice, oh casual reader, that Army Commander..U.S.Grant has decided to attach to a Union brigade - very dangerous in these rules as...

..."why suh!, a single roll of 6 on a d6 could get him killed! ..uhhh just like that!"

Every V&B game turns into a great contest. We do not have 'commander characteristic' rules, nor massive amounts of 'friction'. Honestly, it does not seem to matter, as the rules and play-style give a great game every time.

There are some key things to do though:

• Get your troops stationary as rapidly as you can and focus readied firepower with those additional dice.
• Assaults are difficult - focus on a flank or centre, and promote the exploitation of a gap when it comes.
• Watch out for weak divisions, and rally where you can.
• Be careful when you attach Army Commanders, as affecting the entire subsequent history of the US was not intended  ...oops...
  

 Why Suh! It's just like a real battle!