Fredericksburg Solo – The Game

Whenever I start a solo game I always think that it won’t be very much fun but every time I’m surprised at just how gripping it can be and this game certainly turned out to be a good one right down to the last turn.

10.00 am and the advance against Marye's Heights commences with French's Division pushing forward towards the stone wall while Howard moves up on his right. The Union casualties are heavy but so are those of the defending Confederates as the supporting rifled artillery batteries firing from across the Rappahannock take their toll.

Further to the left Franklin gets the Divisions of Meade and Gibbon moving forward. Meade takes advantage of the cover provided by the woods to his front to move on a gap in the Confederate position (in the real battle the Confederates left this approach unguarded as they considered the woods impenetrable).

By now French's lead Brigade (Kimball) has fallen back having been reduce to just 1SP by the fierce enemy fire. Palmer's Brigade has moved to the front following a successful passage of lines. The men are taking a pasting however the Rebs behind the wall are taking fire too and are also down to just 1SP.

As the time approaches noon, General Robert E Lee looks on at the unfolding drama below from his position on the ridge behind McLaws Division.

Meade's Division is now driving deep into the Confederate position. Meanwhile Gibbon's attack has stalled under the weight of fire from the enemy although the boys in blue are giving as good as they get. Encouraged by the reports he is receiving from Franklin, Burnside makes the decision to disengage Hancock at Fredericksburg so that Howe may be activated to support Gibbon. Incredibly the Union make the necessary die roll's to disengage Hancock but they still need to issue orders to Howe.

Then an incredible stroke of luck - a volley from Palmer takes out Wright's Confederate Brigade on Marye's Heights (the Union rolled 4 hits and the Rebs failed to save a single one!). There is now a chance that French's Brigade may get a foothold on the ridge. Suddenly Burnside's change of orders is looking like a mistake as Hancock is no longer available to lend support.

Meade and Gibbon are now pressing hard on the left coming close enough to the Confederates for D H Hill to be released from reserve. Both sides have been losing Brigades but so far neither side has reached its DEM level.

French's men were not allowed to use ASSAULT orders however with the stone wall vacated I decided on a die roll to see whether or not the Union troops could occupy the empty position - and they did! The Confederate Brigade opposite Palmer was down to 1SP and with the Rebs currently on a DEM of 4 there was a very real chance of victory if this Brigade could be eliminated by a determined volley.

On the left Meade was having a run of luck despite the fact that D H Hill was manoeuvring on his flank. However a command failure at Corps level meant that Howe had still not received the order to advance and support either himself or Gibbon.

Back on the right, Palmer fired another volley but this time - MISSED! The Confederates were able to carry out a passage of lines to shore up their position on Marye's Heights. The chance of a Union victory had been tantalisingly close but the moment had now passed.

On the left the fighting was fluid and brutal - here Brigades on both sides are routing at the same moment as Meade hangs on against the odds.

Finally the Union troops were forced back from Marye's Heights. With French and Howard's Division's both decimated and no reserves being brought forward the fighting here was over - it was 2.30 pm, not 5 hours since the battle had started.

On the left, somehow, Meade had led a single Brigade to the Military Road to gain 1VP but he was being rapidly flanked by D H Hill.

At the end of turn 10 both sides had reached their DEM level but the Union had 7 broken Brigades whilst the Confederates had only 4. Even allowing for the extra VP for the unit on the Military Road it was a clear Rebel victory.

Although it only lasted 10 turns the game had plenty of twists and turns with a Union victory in grasp on turn 7 that slipped away to a 7:5 victory for the Confederates. Although defeated, the Army of the Potomac did well having briefly gained Marye's Heights and giving the Rebs a tough run for their money on the left. The command restrictions imposed on the Union forces added an extra dimension to play and I may use the idea of ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ divisions again in future solo games.

Fredericksburg Solo - Scenario

Fredericksburg is probably not a great choice for a wargame for several reasons, firstly the size - it was the biggest ever battle on American soil (the only time the Confederates managed to field over 75,000 men) fought over a six-mile front. Secondly, the terrain, coupled with Burnside's unimaginative deployment of the Union army, means there is little room for manoeuvre. Thirdly, the battle had more in common with those of 1864 being a bloody one-sided affair.

That said, I have been wanting to try to game this fascinating battle for some time as I felt that although it might be a bit dull as a traditional game, it could possibly work well as a solo endeavour. Having read in detail about the campaign I realised that although the attack on Marye’s Heights was clearly folly, the Union had a real chance of success further to their left which the generals failed to exploit.

I don’t have enough figures to represent the forces unit for unit so have scaled the OOB down by omitting some Divisions from each side, even so there will be upward of 45 Brigades in play. I have also had to contract the battlefield slightly to allow everything to fit on my 6’ x 4’ table but all the significant terrain features have been represented.

The main sources I used to compile the scenario were Battles & Leaders of The Civil War Vol 3 and Time Life’s Rebels Resurgent.

The table looking west towards Fredericksburg.

Special Rules

1. The Union had a number of heavy artillery batteries posted across the Rappahannock and to accommodate these on the table I have had to increase the range of Union rifled batteries. Rule: Union rifled artillery has a range of 25”

2. The Union attacks on Marye’s Heights were made under tactical restraints imposed by the high command. Rule: Divisional attacks on Marye’s Heights must be made in column of Brigades with no units allowed to deploy to the flanks.

3. The canal in front of Fredericksburg caused problems for the advancing Union troops who became bunched as they crossed via narrow bridges. Rule:  It takes one turn to cross the canal and during this turn the Confederates +1 to all artillery die rolls.

4. Hazel Run was an obstacle that effectively divided the battlefield. Rule: Hazel Run is impassable terrain except via the bridge.

The view from the Union left flank.

Order of Battle

Army of the Potomac - Burnside

Left Grand Division – Franklin

1^st Corps – Reynolds

1^st Division – Doubleday

2^nd Division – Gibbon

3^rd Division – Meade

6^th Corps – Smith

1^st Division – Brooks

2^nd Division – Howe

Right Grand Division – Sumner

2^nd Corps – Couch

1^st Division - Hancock

2^nd Division – Howard

3^rd Division – French

2^nd Division (5^th Corps) – Sturgis

Army of Northern Virginia – Lee

Left Wing – Longstreet

Ransom’s Division

McLaws’ Division

Hood’s Division

Right Wing – Jackson

A P Hill’s Division

D H Hill’s Division

Stuart – Fitzhugh Lee’s cavalry Brigade

The view from the Union central position.

Command Restrictions

1. No ASSAULT orders may be given to any Union Brigade.

2. The maximum number of active Union Divisions is limited to 5. To activate any other Division a currently active Division must be ordered to retire and issued with HOLD orders. All orders are subject to the usual command die rolls (Burnside is graded as D, all other Union commanders are C).

3. Doubleday’s Division was tasked with holding the extreme left of the Union line and his Division may not be activated unless enemy infantry come within 10”.

4. D H Hill’s Division is held in reserve and may not activate unless enemy infantry come within 6”.

The view from the Union right flank.

Initial Orders

Gibbon, Meade, French, Hancock & Howard – ENGAGE

All other Union Divisions and all Confederate Divisions - HOLD

Victory Conditions

Union DEM = 6

Confederate DEM = 5

The union side claims 1 VP for each unbroken brigade on Marye’s Heights or penetrating as far as the Military Road.