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Revan529

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  1. I'm glad you like it! And I'm always glad to have more AAR's to read II: Reynolds' Gambit The War Journal of Ernst Adler, Private in Adelbert's Brigade, serving in Oliver Howard's XI Corps John Reynolds: A Biography by Adrian Moore (1979) General John B. Reynolds was a capable man; indeed, he was often lauded as one of the most able corps commanders in the Union Army, and his fierce defence of the Oak Ridge in this early hours of Gettysburg showcase his tenacity and skill; following his skilful besting of A.P. Hill’s initial attack on the ridge (which ended shortly after noon, July 1st), General Reynolds was in a dilemma over what to do – he could of course withdraw, take to the higher ground near the Cemetery Hill just south of the town. He could opt to abandon the Oak Hill, and instead focus on protecting the hills around the seminary whilst a secondary line developed along Cemetery Hill. Ultimately, he chose to defend everything that he had held, declaring (according to General Cutler, one of his subordinates): To retreat from this position, this high ground, might allow us to fight upon more favourable ground to the south. But we would cede these hills to the rebels, allow them to emplace artillery and rain down lead upon our boys as we fall back, tail between our legs. They charge us down in the open field, giving us the cold steel and the canister shot, just as we gave them when we held the high ground. Yes, this position is dangerous, but to withdraw now, without proper support along those hills [to the south] would risk disaster for our men; we must hold here until more support arrives. General Reynolds quickly set about reorganising his forces, moving the remainder of John Buford’s cavalrymen to the east to a small knoll a few miles north of the college and township itself, whilst coordinating with the XI Corps over troops positions (they would start forming up just south of the knoll, and form a hook along the woods and fields until they reached Reynold’s position along the Oak Hill; barring that, he seemed to set up a secondary plan to withdraw to the Seminary Ridge if necessary. The Union line at the start of the second phase Mulcair Near one o’clock, Genr’l Reynolds ordered us to redeploy east of the 1st Corps, to a knoll north a ways from the town; reports of rebel forces advancing from that way. Genr’l thought it best to have some men up there just in case to cover the rear of the army. Scott Our men moved northernmost point of the army, until the Bucktails arrive to act as our rear support, we would be the extreme right of the army; Big Sol impressed upon the men the necessity of holding this hill, and we set about entrenching. Fortunately, we received word that Gilbert Reynold’s battery would be moving into support us, meaning that despite limited support from other infantry, we’d at the very least have artillery covering our men during battle. Adler Confederate movement south of General Renold’s line compelled General Ames to march us at the double quick to support Paul’s Brigade, rather than move east as earlier ordered. We separated from Herr von Gislas’s men and relieved Paul with supressing fire from a nearby orchard. We advanced for a while before we became to separated for General Ames’s liking, and then fell back to the orchard. Von Gilsa and Ames' arrive on the field Scott A general Confederate advance upon the oak ridge force us to leave our entrenched position upon the hill to offer support for Biddle’s men; this was complicated when word reached us of Confederate troops arriving directly to our north - the Bucktails moved to delay their advance. Elements of the XI Corps (von Gisla) arrived to offer further support, whilst further down, a second detachment of Confederates became near encircled and deigned to withdraw. As the Confederate assault along the ridge began to die down, we disengaged and moved to assist the Bucktails. The Confederate flank attack Mulcair Rebels attacked a detachment of Devin’s boys sent to assist the Black Hats – we in turn moved to releve them. They were repelled with some hardness. Adler Hard advance from small Confederate force around 2:30; easily repelled. However, incresing pressure upon the right flank is forcing our support that direction. Scott The Confederate forces attempt a charge up the peak of the hill, but were rebuffed before they could into melee with us; General Reynolds was wounded to the south of our position – thrown from his horse. Mulcair A consentrated rebel attack comes from the north and east around 2:30; heavily outgunned, we skirmished as long as we could, but broke following a charge across the creek. Scott Seeing the immense opposition to our forces atop the oak hill, General Howard orders us to withdraw to the seminary; we sustained heavy losses during the intervening period. The fight at the Oak Hill Adler Confederates break through in the east, and the Iron Brigade is routed in the north; we were ordered to help cover a general withdrawal of our men to the cemetary hill. Engaged the enemy in town shortly before three. Defending Cemetary Hill The Union line begins to collapse Scott Confederate charge up ridge repelled with some effort; nevertheless, compelled to withdraw further south, approaching the seminary; General Howard calls for a general withdraw to the cemetery hill. The withdrawal Mulcair Our men broke after being near surrounded by rebels; fell back several miles south of Gettysburg. The results of the second phase John Reynolds: A Biography With General Reynold’s wounded, Oliver O. Howard of the XI Corps briefly took charge of the Union troops – this coincided with a key and fatal flaw with General Reynold’s plan; he had anticipated both more reinforcements (Howard had instead held back his reserve), and was unaware of General Rode’s advance just north of the Oak Hill; these, compounded by Richard Ewell’s highly successful attack on the knoll (which had been stripped of troops to support the increasingly overstretched Oak Ridge line), and a wheeling around of Confederate forces from the west to the north, forced a general withdrawal under Howard’s orders around 3:15. State of the Army of the Potomac (above) and the Army of Northern Virginia (below) The Battle of Gettysburg General Reynold’s decision to hold the entirety of the battle line, rather than withdraw to the Seminary Ridge, was not without controversy; Reynolds himself maintained that had he ceded that hill and the accompanying ridge to the Confederates, they would have simply set up their artillery and blasted the new Union lines. However, it was clear that following Reynold’s brief incapacitation - a stray cannonball from Confederate artillery struck alarmingly close to the general; he was both struck by shrapnel and thrown from his horse (though not seriously injured, he was left disoriented for a brief while), the less capable Howard was unable to ably fight on three flanks and folded under pressure (though had he stayed, the Union lines may have broken to more horrific casualties). All the same, Reynolds and Howard inflicted more casualties on Lee’s Army then they themselves took. Union kills (above) and losses (below) As the Union forces reorganised at Cemetery and Culp’s Hills, they numbered some 4,800 men fewer than they did at noon, whilst Lee’s Army had suffered almost 6,000 casualties in the same time. Buford’s First Division was mauled during the defence of the knoll, and they would subsequently play no major role the battle following the first day. The Iron Brigade, under Solomon Meredith, suffered extremely heavy losses, with almost half their men killed, wounded, or missing. Even so, Pettigrew’s Confederate brigade had lost over 800 men, and the famed Louisiana Tigers 500, leaving the Confederacy shy of some of its best men as they prepared their attack on Cemetery Hill. Confederate kills (above) and losses (below)
  2. Being a regular on the Paradox forums (and reading/participating in the myriad AAR and forum games there), I thought I'd make an AAR for the Union campaign I started today (which will hopefully match the decisiveness of my previous Confederate match yesterday). Mechanically, for this AAR I decided to stick with balanced AI with no boosts, since I'm both learning the game still and an outright noob. In terms of this AAR, I'm to going a largely narrative route, following a handful of Union soldiers throughout the entire campaign (of which I've only only played the first segment of the battle - whether it will end on the first day, or carry on for months or years is beyond me, and probably beyond the abilities of this game). For this first section, we will follow the diaries of two soldiers: The Journal of James Mulcair, Private in the 8th Illinois Cavalry (serving under William Gamble, John Buford of the Cavalry Corps) The Diary of Thomas Henry Scott, Sergeant in the 19th Indiana, 1st Brigade (serving under Solomon Meredith, John Reynolds of the First Corps) I will also use a fake history text book to provide numbers and statistics for the battle as needed. Without any further ado, here we go! I: Arrival at Gettysburg Mulcair First signs of the rebel advance reached our lines shortly after nine o’clock; they’d set up a position near Herr’s Tavern aways to the west. Genr’l Buford formed us up along the creek near the ridge. When artilary was spotted behind the tavern, Devin and Gamble sent out their scouts to loop around the rebel lines and skirmish with the cannoneres. We made good work of the rebel skirmishers, but Devin’s boys were sent running by a rebel charge across the creek; we fell back aways and Calef’s battery shot down canisterfire upon the advance. Even so, we continued to yield ground. The Confederate Advance and the Attack on the Cannoneers Scott We marched at the double-quick to reach Buford’s men; they had already been thrown off the first, low ridge, and we fast approaching the second ridge covered with oaks; it was nearly 10:00 when we arrived – cavalry skirmishes had wreaked havoc upon the confederate artillery, making our job holding the oak ridge that much easier. The rebel brigade that had charged through the main line of Buford’s defence had become extremely overextended, and we had no problems forcing them back – they obliged us without much fuss. General Reynolds then ordered us to dig-in and entrench ourselves just shy of the top of the oak ridge the best we could, and Big Sol got us ready for the next wave. The Rebels break through Buford's line Mulcair We’d held off the rebels for near an hour when the first corps arrived to releve us; the Black Hats took up position on the hills aways behind us, among the oak trees, and we were ordered by Genr’l Buford to fall back to support them. Scott The Confederates made for the hill north of our position, unoccupied save for a few skirmishers from the cavalry – Big Sol riled us up, and we advanced on the Johnny flank; after a bit of fire, they fell back, and we returned to our positions along the ridge. The Bucktails had arrived by then and would move into position upon that hill, covering our right flank. Mulcair We’d redeployed near the farm south of the ridge at around half past ten (the farm is owned by the Thompsons according to some local, maybe some kin to mother). We immediately help Genr’l Cutler fend off a rebel attack from the south. Biddle’s brigade and some artillery arrived to support us after the rebels fell back; Biddle took our place in the line, and we moved closer to the seminary. Paul’s brigade would give us support if we were attacked. Scott The Confederates launched a major offensive near the south tip of the ridge, near the farm and the seminary, Cutler’s men needed some reinforcing. General Reynolds ordered a general offensive to disrupt enemy coordination and organisation. Reynold's Counterattack Mulcair Around a quarter til eleven, we were ordered to support Paul’s left as he advanced along the Biddle’s left flank. From there, we’d open fire into the far right of the rebels line and send them running back to Richmond, but after heavy cannon bombardment, we fell back to the farm. Scott As the attack on the ridge began to die down, and our own counterattack gained the advantage, the Confederates moved to strike our flank, but Baxter’s boys moved in to cover us while we continued to relieve Cutler. Shortly after 11:00, the Confederates launched charged up the oak hill and sent the Bucktails running after a melee. As the Confederate center fell back and we disengaged, we moved up north a ways to reinforce the hill. General Reynolds, aware of how vital that position would be, especially to Johnny artillery, slowed down our counter-offensive so more men could be pulled up to reinforce us and the Bucktails. Perrin Charges the Oak Hill Mulcair Rebels charged the lone hill up a ways north of our position, and we wheeled around quickly to support the Black Hats in retaking the hill – met up with Devin’s men, bloodied. Genr’l Reynolds ordered the main force to fall back so we could rebuild our positions along the ridge and send all free troops to retake the hill. Scott A Confederate charge overextended itself, and Big Sol and Baxter took advantage of this; we fired hard into their flank, and we sent them running back over the hill. Support from skirmishers along our right kept a good portion of the Confederates busy, and we secured the hill with some difficulty (though Providence seemed to be with us; Johnny stayed on their ridge). Our positions began to stabilise by noon, with another flanking from the south, being stopped by Cutler. The First Stage The Battle of Gettysburg by Michael Smith and others (1994) The opening hours of the first day of the battle saw the Confederates attempt and ultimate fail to break John Reynold’s Corps; quick, decisive action on his part (and on John Buford’s cavalrymen) kept A.P. Hill’s Corps contained by noon. Reynold’s losses were significantly lower than Hill’s: about 2,800 to 4,000. Buford’s First Cavalry division had the worst of it, losing nearly a fourth of its men by midday (the entire Corps losing a tenth of its fighting force), whilst the First Corps itself lost 12% of its men – the Bucktail Brigade took the highest losses of the Corps, over 400 men (a full third of its men). Union brigades with the most kills (above) and lost (below) Hill’s Corps came away significantly worse off, with some 18% casualties; Buford’s daring cavalry flank had dealt a significant blow on his artillery reserve, which lost a third of its men, as did Heth’s division. Archer’s brigade lost half of its men (617) in those opening hours. Confederate brigades with the most kills (above) and lost (below) Despite this surprising (if relatively minor) victory, General Reynolds, being the most senior Union officer present at the time, was left with a decision: should he continue to hold the Oak Ridge (as Solomon Meredith, William Gamble, and several other officers wanted), and risk getting attacked from behind by Richard Ewell’s corps, or should he fall back, surrendering the town and possibly crippling Union morale? From accounts of his aide and records of other officers, he had rejected out of hand a suggestion by General Cutler to divide the Union forces, with the main line along the Oak Ridge, and a reserve force along Culp's Hill and the Cemetary Ridge; apparently the distance between the two forces in such an event left him uneasy (and the thought that reinforcements would have to cross through Gettysburg to support him in the event of Ewell's corps attacking his rear certainly ended any possible consideration of a middle ground). State of the Army of the Potomac (above) and the Army of Northern Virginia (below)
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