Scourge of War: Antietam AAR: The Cornfield

I purchased the Antietam expansion for Scourge of War over Christmas.  It is a battlefield I have visited so I can appreciate the difficulty of fighting over the terrain. The developers do a good job modeling the western Maryland countryside.

Yesterday, I played the short Cornfield scenario (brigade level combat) after fooling around with the maps in the sandbox mode.

                Just before dawn, Lawton's brigade awaits the Union advance through the cornfield.


Here they come.



The anticipation is definitely building. I am worried about maintaining my flanks and orders are coming in to watch the Cornfield to my front. I move a regiment over to watch the road but it is stranegly quiet. The Union troops clearly want to push through the cover of the corn and woods.

The road is quiet.


The fighting erupts on my right first, where my regiments and General Trimble's men overlap along the road out of the woods. It's still dark and the Union numbers are unknown.

Right flank.


And now in the center my regiments engage Union regiments moving forward through the corn.

Center.

General Trimble's men on my right flank are lying down to avoid cannon shot and casualties.

Trimble's men were pissing me off.  I was completely engaged and as you can see, his men weren't.

I could use Trimble's help in the center where my line is slowly bending into a horseshoe.  Eventually some of his men engage and bolster my line.  I am suffering heavy casualties.

The horseshoe.

Yanks in the woods to my right.

Relief finally arrives on my right flank but the center is too far gone. I suffered over 60% casualties and my five regiments routed in a general collapse under heavy fire and cannonade. Had I control of Trimble's men perhaps they might have helped to turn the tide. I didn't try sending orders to them but I will in the future. According to the game engine this was a major defeat. I need to look up what happened for real at the Cornfield.

 
Relief column arrives.  Too little, too late.

Comments

Anonymous said…
60% casualties??? i'm running for the woods! -pete
December 29, 2012 at 9:02 AM
Chris said…
Hah. I sucked it up. No help.
December 30, 2012 at 7:14 AM
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