Game of the Week Aug 12 - 18

"I shall soon leave here on the wing for Richmond - which you may be sure I will take."

- Major General George B. McClellan - March 16, 1862

"The Enemy are at the gates. Who will take the lead and act, act, act?"

- Richmond Dispatch - May 16, 1862

This week we focus on "the Campaign" - because of course there was only supposed the be one campaign and that one both immediate and short - noted the Comte de Paris as he anxiously waited to join McClellan's staff. But McClelland was to disappoint the Comte, his troops, the President and the nation with his execution of this grand plan. By the middle of 1862, the Confederacy teetered on the brink of disaster on all fronts. Defeat after demoralizing defeat plagued Southern forces in the west. Instead what would unfold was a slow, plodding advance up the peninsula to the gates of Richmond, with the Army of the Potomac destined to be stopped short of their goal through a series of battles know to history as The Seven Days.

Here's a portion of the Design Notes for this title:

On the eve of the Battle of Seven Pines, the Confederate Army of the Northern Virginia found itself on the outskirts of Richmond. Its commander, General Joseph E. Johnston, could retreat no more without abandoning the capital. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan shadowed the retreating Confederates and now straddled the Chickahominy River north and east of Johnston’s position. Recent torrential rains washed away bridges and roads, making movement back and forth across the river difficult. With three of five infantry corps north of a raging river, the Federal army was vulnerable. The Confederates were gifted with a golden opportunity for a devastating counterattack against the two enemy corps isolated south of the river.

General Johnston’s battleplan involved a massive hammer blow with the majority of his brigades. D.H. Hill’s division, moving directly east on the Williamsburg Road, would open the battle with a frontal attack on the Seven Pines crossroads. James Longstreet’s large division (backed up by W.H.F. Whiting’s division and supported by elements of John B. Magruder’s corps-level command) would comprise the army’s left flank and attack from the northwest down the Nine Mile Road in the direction of Fair Oaks. Meanwhile, Benjamin Huger’s small division would quickly march down the Charles City Road and turn the Union left flank.

Opposing these Confederate divisions were the Federal III and IV Corps, commanded by Generals Samuel Heintzelman and Erasmus Keyes. Silas Casey’s raw IV Corps division was protected by light breastworks and an earthen redoubt located a half mile west of Seven Pines and directly in front of Hill’s division. Large numbers of trees were felled to form a dense abatis in front of Casey’s position. The other IV Corps division (Darius Couch’s) was placed behind Casey in direct support. The two III Corps divisions were stationed far to the rear, with Joe Hooker at White Oak Swamp Bridge and Philip Kearny near Bottom’s Bridge.

Alas, all did not go well for the Confederate attack. Bumbling by James Longstreet, who changed Johnston ’s attack orders without informing his superior, caused a massive traffic jam with Huger at Gillies Creek just outside of Richmond. This was a fatal delay that cost Johnston’s army several hours of precious daylight and, even worse, ruined any possibility of a coordinated offensive across a wide front.

The Battle of Seven Pines finally began at approximately 1 p.m. with D.H. Hill’s frontal assault on Casey’s division. With the help of Couch (and later Kearny and Hooker’s III Corps divisions), Casey’s men fought well but the Union forces in the Seven Pines sector were eventually pushed back and defeated. To the north, General Whiting, his front cleared by the absence of Longstreet’s men, got his division into the fight and attacked Fair Oaks station. With the help of General Sumner’s II Corps (which crossed the swollen Chickahominy mid-afternoon), Whiting was checked with heavy losses. Longstreet’s footsore division marched and countermarched aimlessly and did not see any significant action on the 31st. Eventually, the Union army was able to form a stronger defensive line and the Confederate breakthrough at Seven Pines was contained.

At twilight, while conducting a personal reconnaissance at the northern end of the battlefield, Joe Johnston himself was wounded and command of the Army of Northern Virginia passed into the hands of Gustavus Smith. Smith, who could not handle high command and his own nervous health at the same time, was unable to bring order out of chaos and the continued fighting on the next day (June 1) was uncoordinated and equally indecisive. It was over before noon, and Smith was sacked, paving the way for the emergence of Robert Edward Lee.

You can continue reading the Design Notes here.

The major battles included are:

Seven Pines
Oak Grove
Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville)
Gaines Mill
Goldings Farm
Savage Station
Glendale
Malvern Hill

110 stand alone scenarios are included (both a standard and weather version for 55 scenarios) then an additional 154 are pulled from the campaign engine (both a standard and weather version for 77 scenarios).

Two versions of the Campaign are also included - the original standard and then an updated one with weather effects added in. These campaigns can yield up to seven linked battles which allow losses to be carried over.

The master map included with the game is in excess of 64,000 hexes and can be sub-mapped to create a vast array of additional scenarios. There is also several large scenarios included that use the entire available map in multi-day "campaign" scenarios.

For video content we have a series from "Historical Battles Wargamed Out" which you can check out here.

And here are some recommended books to check out covering this campaign:

On a related note you can get the Battle of Williamsburg which was an early engagement of this campaign, not included with this original title, by grabbing a copy of our Free Civil War Battles Demo. Or, if you want to give the engine a spin before making a purchase, this would be your first step.

Now for some screen shots of the game, from various views available including options for the style of unit counters and other visual changes that can aid in game play. (All images can be clicked for full-sized viewing.)

Ok, that brings us to the conclusion of our preview of this title. There's literally hundreds of hours of game play offered up in the stock game + editors are included to make custom content. Anyway you slice it this is an exceptional value at $29.95! So head on over to the Campaign Peninsula product page and pick a copy up for yourself!

Oh, and if you wish to ask further questions before picking up a copy you can do so in the Civil War Battles section of the forums.

To arms!