Wednesday 5 August 2020

INWARD 2020 Scenario - Last Attack of the Arkansas


In a last minute change of plans, I've decided that my game for INWARD 2020 will be a semi-historical Dahlgren and Columbiad ACW riverine action between the CSS Arkansas and the USS Essex, which almost occurred on the 6th August 1862 (which seemed like too much of a coincidence to ignore): 

Lieutenant Stevens (was ordered) to take Arkansas down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she would support an attack on the Union position there by a Confederate army force led by General Breckenridge. Stevens, under the orders of two superior officers, had to rush the ship down the river. 

The engines broke down several times between Vicksburg and Baton Rouge. Each time, the engineer was able to get them running again, but it was clear that they were unreliable. Nevertheless, the ship was able to get all the way to Baton Rouge, where she prepared for battle with a small Federal flotilla that included the USS Essex. 

On the morning of 6 August, Essex came in sight, and Arkansas moved into the stream to meet her. Just at this time, crank pins on both engines failed almost simultaneously, and Arkansas drifted helplessly to the shore.

Stevens prepared to abandon ship. He ordered the engines to be broken up, the guns to be loaded and excess shells spread around, and then the ship set afire. The crew then left. About this time, the ship broke free and began to drift down the river, and Stevens, the last man to leave, had to swim ashore. 

The burning vessel drifted down among the attacking Federal fleet, which watched from a respectful distance. At about noon, Arkansas blew up.

In my alternative scenario, the CSS Arkansas does manage to engage the USS Essex but must exit from the opposite end of the table in order to escape and win the game, preferably sinking the enemy ironclad in the process. The USS Essex must prevent the escape of the Arkansas by battering her into submission or by forcing her to ground in the shallows, where she can later be finished off at leisure by Union artillery onshore. 

CSS Arkansas

To reflect the poor mechanical state of the Arkansas, the Confederate player must roll a D6 in the Command Phase, with a score of 6 indicating that the crank pins have sheared and the ironclad is adrift. From this point onward, she will drift downstream at 2'' per turn and cannot steer. To even things up, the Union player must also roll a D6 at the same time each turn, with a 6 indicating a mechanical failure. 

Refer to Table 9 in the By Sea and River supplement with the following amendments:

Roll 2D6. 1-6 no problem / 7-8 = Gun problem / 9-10 = Boiler Trouble / 11-12 = Rudder Jammed.

The shallows on either side of the river channel are navigable but if entered a roll of 4, 5 or 6 will result in the vessel running aground on the sandy river bed, with a roll of 6 on a D6 in the Command Phase required to re-float. If the CSS Arkansas runs aground when her engines are out of action, she will be unable to re-float but may still engage in gunnery during the Action Phases of each turn.

USS Essex

The USS Essex will win a major victory if she manages to sink or force aground the CSS Arkansas. This will be reduced to a minor victory if she suffers Heavy or Severe Damage in the process. If the CSS Arkansas destroys the USS Essex or inflicts Serious Damage on her and then manages to escape, she will win a major victory. If she suffers Heavy or Severe Damage in the process but still manages to escape, this will be reduced to a minor victory. Any other result will be a draw.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Labels

Bag The Hun (747) AK47 (488) Books (481) Ironclads (476) Wings at War (392) Back of Beyond (235) Pre-Dreadnoughts (229) Coastal Warfare (226) Britain's Small Wars (199) Bolt Action (175) What a Tanker (170) Target Locked On (162) Victory at Sea (155) MiG Alley (150) Knights of the Sky (149) Napoleonic Naval (146) Old West (146) Chain of Command (145) Find Fix and Strike (137) Sandbox Skirmish (119) Naval Command (118) Bag The MiG (117) Naval Thunder (117) Pirates (116) Indo China / Vietnam (114) Air War Over Khalkhin Gol (108) Fistful of Lead (108) 15mm Sci-Fi / Near Future (95) Darkest Africa (91) VBCW (89) Strength and Honour (84) Shows (79) Ancients (78) ACW (77) The Football War (75) France's Small Wars (67) Boardgames (66) Corsairs and Cavaliers (66) Shipwreck! (66) BKC (65) Rapid Fire (63) Saurian Safari (62) Cruel Seas (60) Saga (60) Air War C21 (58) Journals (57) The Men Who Would Be Kings (57) Nimitz (55) Flashpoint Alto Cenepa (53) IABSM (53) Flashpoint Taiwan (50) Finest Hour (49) Gladiators (48) International Naval Wargaming Day (47) Red Actions! (47) Scramble for Britain (44) Flashpoint Baltic (42) Fortifications (41) Cold War (39) Duel of Aces (36) SCW (36) Thud Ridge (36) Desert Spitfires (34) Flames above the Falklands (34) RCW (34) War of the Pacific (34) Death in the Dark Continent (32) Atlantic Wall (31) Post Apocalypse (31) Iron Cow (30) Lion Rampant (30) Bag the Springbok (29) English Civil War / Anglo Dutch War Naval (29) Algernon Pulls It Off (28) Mexican Revolution (28) Normandy Firefight (28) Full Thrust (27) It Rolls For Ivan (26) Bulldogs Away! (24) One Hour Wargames (24) Samurai (24) Jet Knights of the Sky (23) 28mm English Civil War (22) Imaginations (22) Achtung Kommando! (21) Flashpoint PVO (21) PITS (20) Galactic Heroes (19) Steamer Wars (19) Strontium Dog (19) Ancient Naval (18) Iron Cross (18) Winter War (16) Aeronef (15) Aircraft (15) Imperial Commander (15) Rate of Fire (15) 2mm English Civil War (14) Aliens (14) Dragon Rampant (14) Mad for War (14) Arctic Eagles (13) Black Ops (13) CY6 Jet Age (13) Congo (13) Impetus (12) Wars of Insurgency (12) Zulus! (12) Flashpoint Fleet Air Arm (11) Gaslands (11) 633 Squadron (10) Franco Thai Air War (10) Jungle Green (10) Sharp Practice (10) 28mm Future Wars (9) Bohica (9) Dux Britanniarum (9) Merry Xmas Mr Sankara (9) Adventures in Jimland (8) Cry Havoc (8) Dreadnoughts (8) French Indian Wars (8) HYW (8) Renaissance Naval (8) Star Wars Legion (8) Sword and Spear (8) Through The Mud and Blood (8) Frostgrave (7) Target for Tonight (7) Five Parsecs From Home (6) French Resistance (6) A Mighty Fortress (5) Air War Angola (5) AirWar:1918 (5) Bombers over Germany (5) Check Your Six! (5) Five Men at Kursk (5) Fivecore Skirmish (5) Maurice (5) Seven Days to the River Rhine (5) Three Musketeers (5) Arab Revolt (4) Continuation War (4) Corvette Command (4) In Her Majesty's Name (4) Infamy Infamy (4) Medieval Naval (4) Never Mind The Billhooks (4) What a Cowboy (4) Battletech (3) Gangsters (3) HOTT (3) Hind Commander (3) Lord of the Sea (3) Luft 46 (3) Mourir Pour l'Indochine (3) Sturmovik Commander (3) Wings Over Suez (3) Blood Red Skies (2) Chincha Islands War (2) Crom (2) Disposable Heroes (2) Fire and Steel (2) Fivecore Company Command (2) Iron Stars (2) Judge Dredd (2) Lethal Skies (2) NUTS! (2) No Go Zone (2) Pulp! (2) Starfighters! (2) War in El Dorado (2) Whispering Death (2) A Billion Suns (1) Air War 1940 (1) Battlegroup (1) Black Powder (1) Dropzone Commander (1) Falklands War (1) Harpoon (1) Load and Return (1) Missile Threat (1) Missiles at Sea (1) Naval Wargames Society (1) Norway 1940 (1) Spanish American War (1) Sunray is Down (1) Ultracombat Normandy (1) Xenos Rampant (1)