Scenario Notes
Scenario #9 , Chickamauga GA – 20 September 1863
Historical Summary & Scenario Situation.
In the late summer of 1863, the Union general, William Rosecrans, was able to out-maneuver General Braxton Bragg out of the critical Confederate depot at Chattanooga TN. Under pressure from Richmond, Braxton Bragg counter-attacked the Union Army of the Cumberland as it maneuvered into northern Georgia. The Army of the Cumberland and the Army of Tennessee had been engaged in combat with one another for the better part of two days. The opening day of the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19th accomplished very little due to the lack of coordination on the part of Braxton Bragg and the solid placement of troops by General Rosecrans.
At around 11:00am on September 20th, General Rosecrans ordered one of his divisions out of line near the Brotherton Cabin at the center of his line to plug a gap. The problem was, there was no gap to fill, and in the process of pulling out a division, created a gap. Confederate General John B. Hood (though several historians credit LTG James Longstreet, detached from the Army of Northern Virginia, for this brilliant tactical stroke) took quick advantage of this and stormed the majority of his experienced troops through the gap and attempted to split the Federal Army in two.
By noon, the Confederate Army was pouring through the gap and causing both wings of the Army to fold up on themselves. Despite the collapse of the Union command structure (Rosecrans and his staff was swept with fleeing troops toward Chattanooga), Brigadier General Phil Sheridan and others on the left wing refused to give ground easily. Led by the brigade of Colonel John Wilder, Union troops fought desperately to hold the Confederate advance while other Federal troops hastily established a position on Snodgrass Hill to the North.
Scenario Victory Conditions.
UNION VICTORY- Inflict 3:1 kill ratio and keep Confederate forces off the JS at 8-17
DRAW- JS is occupied by the Union, but kill ratio lower then 3:1.
CONFEDERATE VICTORY- Capture the JS at 8-17 and keep your casualties below 1:3
Historical Results.
Confederate General Thomas Hindman's Division, which was to the left of Hood, decided to try and roll up the Federal left flank. The Federal brigade of Colonel Hans Heg', which was out in front of the main body of the Union Army, almost ceased to exist after the first hour of intense attack by elements of Hindman's Division. However, it was the brigade of Colonel John Wilder armed with Spencer Repeating rifles that succeeded in delaying the Confederate advance. After several successive attacks, the brigade was finally forced to retreat, but had delayed the Confederate attackers for almost three hours while the surviving elements of the Union army fell back to Snodgrass Hill, set up a defense under General George Thomas, and able to stave off a catastrophic defeat.
Special Instructions.
(The left of the battlefield is SOUTH and the right of the field is NORTH)
NO UNIT may issue the fire command twice during a turn except for Wilder's Brigade
NO UNIT may build Breastworks
FEDERAL- ONLY Wilder's Brigade and Heg's Brigade can issue move orders on T1
CONFEDERATE- TRIGG's Brigade may not issue move orders on T1
NOTES:
In this scenario, we will focus on the left wing of the Army of the Cumberland. Heg's brigade has already been engaged, and Wilder's brigade is just coming on line. Union reinforcements were not sent directly to the aid of these two brigades, and were instead sent towards Snodgrass Hill. The Union commander will not be able to move any reinforcements on T1, but after that, can move them where he likes. Trigg's Brigade on the Confederate left will also not be able to issue move orders until after T1. In addition, ALL UNITS, except for Wilder's Bde, can only issue the FIRE command one time per turn for the length of the game. This is to allow for the "repeating rifles" that Wilder and his men were equipped with. No units are allowed to build breastworks, as they were not used much during this part of the battle.
Reference URLs:
http://www2.cr.nps.gov/abpp/battles/ga004.htm http://www.oshel.com/Chickamauga.htm http://www.civilwarhome.com/chickama.htm http://www.nps.gov/chch/Total Strengths-
US- Approx. 12,000
CS- Approx. 12,000
Designed by: Matthew Young (Cadre, HOLF Players Guild)