Game of the Week, Jan 20 -26
Back to the American Civil War for this round, and we focus on a lesser known theater with Campaign Ozark. This title will be on sale for 25% off normal pricing now through Sunday, January 26th.
The early years of the American Civil War witnessed several desperate struggles for possession of the vast Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas. The fate of embattled Missouri was crucial to the war efforts of both sides and Campaign Ozark depicts these decisive conflicts in three campaigns.
Lyon’s 1861 Missouri Campaign
"Far better that the blood of every man, woman, and child should flow than defy the Federal government. This means war!" With these harsh words spoken by U.S. Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon at the Planter’s Hotel in St. Louis, the Civil War in the state of Missouri began in earnest. Stunned by Lyon’s uncompromising (and perhaps unbalanced) behavior, Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson and militia general Sterling Price immediately left for Jefferson City to try and piece together a defense of the state.
General Lyon, ever aggressive, immediately planned an ambitious offensive that would secure Missouri for the Federal government. Unlike Governor Jackson, Lyon had available about 10,000 well-armed and trained troops (mostly taken from the sizable German population) sworn into Federal service. Additionally, a significant force of regular troops and artillery bolstered Lyon’s command. Similarly, a brigade-sized force of regulars and Kansans under Major Samuel Sturgis was assembling in Kansas at Ft. Leavenworth. The fledgling Missouri state forces were in deep trouble right from the start.
While a Federal invasion loomed, the state assembly quickly passed legislation creating the Missouri State Guard (MSG) and releasing funds for its supplies and equipage. The man chosen to command the MSG was former governor and Mexican War veteran Sterling Price. The MSG was organized into 9 divisions commanded by prominent Missourians appointed by the governor. The term "division" was a geographic designation rather than an indication of the size of the units, which varied greatly in numbers and degree of organization. Pro-Southern sentiment in the state of Missouri was centered in the cotton and hemp-growing region called Little Dixie, comprised of the west-central counties bordering the Missouri River. With the passing of the legislation, State Guard camps sprung up all over the state. Two of the most important were located along the Missouri River at Lexington and Boonville. Nearly all the guardsmen who arrived at the new camps were miserably armed and completely raw.
Pea Ridge Campaign
At the beginning of 1862, Federal forces in Missouri still held the Missouri River Valley and the important city of St. Louis. Sterling Price and the Missouri State Guard defiantly maintained a presence in the state at Springfield. This was intolerable to the commander of the Department of the Missouri, Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck. He placed Brig. Gen. Samuel Ryan Curtis in command of the Army of the Southwest and directed him to drive the Southern forces from the state. Meanwhile, the Confederate government appointed Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn commander of the Military District of the Trans-Mississippi, giving him authority over Price and the commander of the Arkansas army, Brig. Gen. Ben McCulloch.
Fall and Winter Ozark Campaign of 1862
The summer recruitment campaign of 1862 in Missouri was a mixed success for the Confederate army. Victories at Lone Jack and Independence were offset by crushing defeats in the central and northern parts of the state. By late summer, Southern forces were once again confined to SW Missouri and NW Arkansas. However, the arrival of Confederate General Thomas C. Hindman served to revitalize the war effort and a new army was forged: the 1st Corps, Army of the Trans-Mississippi. During this time, the Federals formed the Army of the Frontier from the merging of the Kansas and Missouri Departments, and placed the new army under General John Schofield.
You can read more about these campaigns and battles in the Design Notes.
(All images can be clicked for full size viewing.)
The battles included are:
- Boonville
- Carthage
- Wilson's Creek
- Lexington
- Dunagin's Farm
- Pea Ridge
- Newtonia
- Cane Hill
- Prairie Grove
There are 73 scenarios included with the game and an additional 116 that are pulled by the 6 campaigns available – the three campaigns mentioned in the intro, and then a "weather" variant of each. Same applies to the stand alone scenarios, which include a base version + a weather variant (as the weather feature did not exist when the game was originally published).
- Stand alone and Campaign game play
- Scenario Editor
- Campaign Editor
- Campaign Maps
- Supplemental documentation for editing PDT and OOB files.
Have owned this title for a while now and have enjoyed playing/replaying the various scenarios quite a bit. When paired with some of the scenarios found in Forgotten Campaigns, you’ll get a good feel for what took place in the Western Theater of the war.
As with all of the games in the Civil War series, this one is great for the serious Civil War buff. The OOB, The set-up and the Battles. I have the whole series since many years and the only thing i am sad about is that there are probably not coming any more. Because basically the whole war is covered. Great job, guys.
This one has been on my list for a while now but i have been focused on other series. However, cant pass up a great deal on a CW title and this one has a number of battles i have always been interested in. A fine addition to my collection and looking forward to jumping into it.
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