The Courier's Bulletin -- #08 -- The Battle of South Branch Bridge, VA

 Courier's Bulletin #08

- With the loss of Baltimore, and with it the first Confederate foray into Maryland, Union forces moved to capitalize on their newfound momentum. General McClellan's army, operating out of Harpers Ferry, crossed into Virginia to press General J. E. Johnston's veteran Army of the Shenandoah. Though outnumbered, McClellan's forces were better equipped and had a higher degree of readiness. At South Branch Bridge on the Cacapon River, the Union forces ran into Confederate picket lines. 

Strength Report:

- Confederate Army of the Shenandoah:

    - Infantry: 11,000

    - Cavalry: 100

    - Guns: 27

- Union Army of Occupation:

    - Infantry: 6,000

    - Cavalry: 0

    - Guns: 20

Telegram(s):

- Running interior lines, General Johnston's forces deployed late in the evening on the 21st as the Union forces approached. Still disorganized and lacking force, Thomas Jackson's brigade was placed in reserve. The four remaining Brigades strung out along the pike with pickets and skirmishers to their front and flanks awaited the Union assault.

- On the morning of the 22nd, Rosecrans's brigade made contact with A P Hill's skirmishers. The skirmish quickly turned into an artillery duel, for which the Union was better suited. After several hours of softening up the Confederate left, the Union batteries were disrupted by the marauding squadron of Confederate cavalry. Pressing the Union flank, the Confederate cavalry had not enough strength to overcome the Union position, but enough presence to force McClellan's hand. 

- Surging forward, McClellan's two brigades moved on the Confederate center and were quickly turned back. Johnston sent his right flank fast in pursuit and whipped the Union withdrawal into a full route, sending them back across the Cacapon.

Casualty Report:

- Confederate losses amounted to 421 personnel of all types and 3 guns. All Union guns were abandoned on the field, infantry losses amount to roughing 1,300 men.

Aftermath:

- Disaster struck as Johnston's army withdrew from the field, Re-crossing the Cacapon, McClellan launched one final rearguard action that caught the Confederate van unprepared. Roughly 1,000 Confederates and half their number for the Union were casualties in the parting exchange. 

- As the new year approaches, the Confederate high command institutes new military reforms and orders draftees under arms. Jackson is detatched from the Army of the Shenandoah to form the Army of Central Virginia, and forces farther west are also raised with the new draftees. 

Barbarossa AGC - Taking Yelnya

I took on GMT's East Front series last year with Army Group South, played a few scenarios, and forgot to record any of them. This time around, I took out Army Group Center and gave Scenario 1 (Yelnya) a shot. 

The scenario pits three Russian armies against German infantry forces east of Smolesk in 1941. The Germans are positioned at Yelnya and the heights surrounding it in preparation for a renewed push on Moscow. To hold them at bay, the Russians launch an attack to take back Yelnya and disrupt the German base of operations. 

The Russian attack positions are poorly placed to start, and while there are a few attacks with initial success, poor placement of the forces hampers their ability to cut off Yelnya. The wooded ground to the south and marshy woods to the town's north west give the Germans perfect cover to shuttle troops back and forth along the line as needed.

One failed Russian attack early on also allows the Germans to regain the heights east of Yelnya, delaying flanking pressure. The greatest concentration of Russian infantry comes to bear from the north, striking highly defendable defensive emplacements. To the east of the town, there's more open ground, but a secondary, diversionary probe to the south east actually does more of a disservice to the Russian attack.

Moving the supporting armor to through the woods to the south, the Russian's manage to bring more pressure to bear on the central German defenses.

In doing so, the Russian armor cuts off one of the German divisions east of Yelnya, which never manages to break out. It significantly delays the full weight of the 43rd army's attacks on the German-held town, but not enough.

To the west, reinforcing elements of the German 10th panzer division arrive. At first, the division throws back a breakthrough by the 20th army, but it's short lived. A second attack to try to break through to the Germans in Yelnya goes awry, and the 10th Panzer suffers irreplaceable casualties, effectively eliminating its offensive potential.

On the last day of the offensive, the Russian armies manage to encircle the German defenders in Yelnya in full, and liquidate it.

Four German divisions were lost in total, and while the capture of Yelnya was severely delayed, German losses in addition to Yelnya's fall secure the Russian victory.