Camp VIP days three and four

Days three and four have seen a lot of action in our re-fight of Antietam. The battle has spread the length of the table, evolving into three hotly contested actions. The longest running is pictured here in the cornfield. Despite a continual stream of fresh brigades entering the fray, the Union hasn't been able to gain the advantage here. But the rebel ranks are getting very thin, so tomorrow's action could see a yankee breakthrough. In this shot, three of the six Confederate generals can be seen plotting their next move.

The second portion of the battle has centered around the attack on the sunken road. Despite heavy losses, the bluebellies just keep on coming, and their volleys have left gaping holes in the rebel line. But help is on the way for the final day of the game.

Finally, day three saw a Union corp sneak across the Antietam on the extreme right flank of the enemy. However, the men in gray have ground down the yankee legions. But the greatest hope of victory for the Union is with the men picture below, making their way through a wood to the flank of the defending rebels.

Camp VIP week three

The third and final week of camp VIP is underway. This week we are recreating the bloody battle of Antietam. There are six players to a side with the ages ranging from 9 to 14. We are sticking loosely to the timetable of troops entering into the field, but liberties have been taken. After all, all of the commanders need troops! The shot below (click to enlarge) is the beginning of the first turn. A lot of action has taken place on this end of the table. By turn 6, French's very inexperienced unit appeared and had difficulty deploying its first brigade into line. By turn 8, he was ready to try his first attack on the formidable sunken road position.

The fighting in the cornfield was very fierce. Union general Hartsuff got too close to the enemy and was shot dead out of his saddle. For the moment, the Confederates are holding firm, but there seems to be an unending supply of troops in blue entering the field with each turn.

To make things a little more interesting as we head into the third day, a division of Union troops, Wilcox's to be exact, have managed to find a crossing of the Antietam beyond the right flank of the Rebs. This end of the table had been pretty quiet except for some artillery duels. That is certain to change as the player arrive for day three.

Week two of Camp VIP is complete

We wrapped up week two of Camp VIP with a colonial game using the Battles For Empire rules. A relief column, pictured below, was supposed to march across 10 feet of table to get to a besieged outpost. The natvie players arrived at different locations at different times. But one group arrived early enough and near enough to pin down the entire relief column long enough that they didn't have a chance of reaching the other end of the table by game's end. The kids enjoyed the rules as they are simpler than the ones we used for the American Revolution.

All in all, it was a good week.

Americans win battle of Brandywine Creek!

After almost four days of gaming action, the Americans were able to claim a dearly won victory against the British. Despite heavy losses, they were able to hold their line, though if the battle had gone on much longer it is probable that the American left would have given way. The shot below is of the plowed hill where the Americans, particularly the lowly militia, stubbornly held on, and even managed to work two brigades into the rear of the British formations. This is a shot of the American left. A fresh brigade of Hessians can be seen in the right center of the picture.

The participants were terrific. They all seemed to enjoy the game and were great sports.

Today we wrap up the week with a colonial game pitting British redcoats agains masses of Ansars and Fuzzie Wuzzies. I'll post some pictures over the weekend.

day two, week two

Day two saw a lot of action as all of the units finally came into play. Below is a picture of the American left at the end of day one. The British attacked aggressively and were driven back, especially on the extreme right of their line. But as the second day progressed, the redcoats had made some gains and the American commanders were quite concerned. (just click the photo to enlarge it.) Here is another angle of the action of the British right. Hessian reinforcements can be seen coming in on the upper right of the photo.

Here is a close-up of the British Guards trying to drive back the American light infantry brigade. These are the only Americans on this end of the table, and they have to at least delay the enemy until help can arrive.

The biggest surpise of the day came when an American militia unit was able to survive an attack in the flank from a battalion of British Grenadiers. This stopped their progress, and they suffered from some heavy volleys of musketry. Then, when they tried to renew their attack, a second green unit countercharged and completely overwhelmed them. So one of the two battalions has been totally destroyed, and the second has been stung by several volleys. Casualties are mounting on both sides, so day three will see some critical action.

Week two begins

Week two of my military history in miniature class began this afternoon. We are re-fighting the battle of Brandywine Creek from the American Revolution using a variant of the Johnny Reb rules. Six American players are defending against seven British and Hessian commanders.

All of the American forces were on the table, with two divisions deployed to defend. Four others were posted as reserves. One British/Hessian division of three brigades started on the table on the far right. The rest of the forces had the option of coming on there rolling one die, in the center rolling two dice, or on the left flank rolling three dice to determine which turn they would enter. One Hessian brigade chose the extreme left and rolled a 12! But at the end of the first day, we had just begun turn seven, and all but two of the British/Hessian units were on the table.

Naturally, most of the day's action was on the British left. The men in red got the best of it as an American player limbered a battery that was within cannon range and saw it destroyed in the second turn. Then the same player had to take a morale check of a unit behind works. He rolled snake eyes and saw that regiment flee all the way off the table on the other side. Fortunately, he had a reserve regiment in place to move up and fill the hole, but it was a painful start.

Day two will see the Americans hard-pressed to defend the length of the 12 foot table, especially as the Guards and Grenadiers enter the fray. I forgot the camera, but I'll be sure to take it tomorrow and post some pictures.

Week one is done

Week one of my miniatures class is completed. All 13 of the kids were fantastic sports and seemed to enjoy the two games we played. Thanks for making it a great week guys! Our second battle turned out to be one of the greatest upsets I can recall in seven years of doing this. The Prussians began day two poised to absolutely crush the battered Russian brigades. As the day progressed, they continued to pound away at the men in green and red. However, the stubborn Russians held where it counted most, around stars marking objectives. In the end, the Russians won on points. Additionally, they were able to move their Corps of Observation clear across the table, which was another victory condition. This body of troops was the weakest on the table, yet some incredibly poor dice rolling allowed them to make a gallant assault. Additionally, the Russian light cavalry was able to tie down several regiments of Prussian horse trying to make their way to that end of the table. The picture below shows the progress of the Corps of Observation at the beginning of day two. This shot is of the center of the table and the cavalry fights that took place there. A big mistake the Prussians made was not putting any infantry here to occupy the small village at the top-center of the picture. Those 100 points could have tipped the scales in their favor.

Newt week will have the American Revolution as its theme. We'll start the week re-fighting Brandywine Creek on a 12 foot by four foot table. Stay tuned for reports.