Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:38 pm
A big thanks to everyone who's stuck it out . I've decided to give you readers out there some content to hold us all over until Soundoff gets back into the swing of things. I'm guessing we probably won't get another turn processed before the weekend...but we'll see how his trip goes.
With that....
[color="Red"]Turn 53: Early June, 1863:[/color]
First things first...an amazing and bloody bit of fighting south of Atlanta. Johnston saves the day!
As you can see...the initial fight on June 4th was a tight one. It happened just southwest of Atlanta in Paulding, Georgia. Robert E. Rhodes, newly arrived from Atlanta, was sent forward on June 2nd. Rhodes made contact with a rear-guard setup by one of Milroy's 3 division commanders. Rhodes manages to quickly overwhelm the defenders and force Milroy to turn and fight or be taken by Johnston's entire army and destroyed from the rear.
The resulting battle lasted from midday till dusk. A meeting engagement in rather open terrain. Johnston and Milroy, each equipped with long range field Columbiads tore holes in each others ranks as each side probed...advanced...assaulted and then retreated in turn. June 4th ended with a stalemate and with both sides accumulating heavy casualties. It was some of the bloodiest fighting of the war with respect to the number of men fighting.
As morning dawned on the 5th...Johnston realized Milroy had escaped overnight. Dummy campfires kept Johnston in place as Milroy's tired troops scurried away to the south, bound for Columbus. Johnston sent Rhodes forward once again to seek out the enemy. On June 6th, Just as Milroy's troops were crossing the river runnning north of Columbus...Rhodes' troops ran headlong into another rearguard. This time it was Milroy's unused reserve from two days before, well rested. The blueclad troops pushed back wave after wave of Confederates, who came forward all day long. Johnston's army took grievous casualties in the effort...but managed to severely batter Milroy's reserve division.
Milroy's troops completed their crossing and took the supply depot at Columbus, Georgia on June 7th and took time to rest. Johnston, spurred on by a desire for redemption, let his army rest on the 7th and pressed across the river...broke Milroy's pickett line and arrayed his battered army across the hilly plain on the 8th. Milroy could hardly believe what he was witnessing. The ragged Confederate troops...low on both supply and ammunition...were preparing for yet another assault. It was just after 8am on June 8th when Milroy sent his troops forward in a counterattack. Johnston's weary soldiers wavered....but as he had the entire campaign...Robert E. Rhodes and his division turned the tide with a daring assault on the Union right flank. The rebel yell rang through the air as Rhodes troops surged forward. It was too much for the exhausted Union troops and they began to waver. At first it was a trickle...and when Rhodes troops stopped within 50 paces to unleash a deadly volley....each of the brigades on Milroy's right took to the rear. Rhodes pressed forward while Johnston's other division, under Bushrod Johnston, kept the pressure on Milroy's center and left. June 8th ended with Milroy's blueclad troops pouring back across the river to the north and Confederate troops back in control of Columbus.
In 5 days of marching and fighting...Johnston's small Army of Mississippi had lost 66% of its original strength. Milroy had lost closer to 50%. As casualty rates go...it was the most costly campaign of the war to this point. And likely one of the bloodiest. Casualties from both sides totaled just over 14,000.
A final battle took place when John Hunt Morgan's cavalry brigade caught up with Milroy's tired troops back near Paulding on June 9th. Morgan's troopers, eager for a fight, attacked headlong into Milroy's line without dismounting. They suffered dearly for it. But left Milroy's army in shambles.
More to come in the next update. Plans for the coming turn in all theaters of operation...and of course some of my own thoughts on how things are going. Stay tuned...
With that....
[color="Red"]Turn 53: Early June, 1863:[/color]
First things first...an amazing and bloody bit of fighting south of Atlanta. Johnston saves the day!
As you can see...the initial fight on June 4th was a tight one. It happened just southwest of Atlanta in Paulding, Georgia. Robert E. Rhodes, newly arrived from Atlanta, was sent forward on June 2nd. Rhodes made contact with a rear-guard setup by one of Milroy's 3 division commanders. Rhodes manages to quickly overwhelm the defenders and force Milroy to turn and fight or be taken by Johnston's entire army and destroyed from the rear.
The resulting battle lasted from midday till dusk. A meeting engagement in rather open terrain. Johnston and Milroy, each equipped with long range field Columbiads tore holes in each others ranks as each side probed...advanced...assaulted and then retreated in turn. June 4th ended with a stalemate and with both sides accumulating heavy casualties. It was some of the bloodiest fighting of the war with respect to the number of men fighting.
As morning dawned on the 5th...Johnston realized Milroy had escaped overnight. Dummy campfires kept Johnston in place as Milroy's tired troops scurried away to the south, bound for Columbus. Johnston sent Rhodes forward once again to seek out the enemy. On June 6th, Just as Milroy's troops were crossing the river runnning north of Columbus...Rhodes' troops ran headlong into another rearguard. This time it was Milroy's unused reserve from two days before, well rested. The blueclad troops pushed back wave after wave of Confederates, who came forward all day long. Johnston's army took grievous casualties in the effort...but managed to severely batter Milroy's reserve division.
Milroy's troops completed their crossing and took the supply depot at Columbus, Georgia on June 7th and took time to rest. Johnston, spurred on by a desire for redemption, let his army rest on the 7th and pressed across the river...broke Milroy's pickett line and arrayed his battered army across the hilly plain on the 8th. Milroy could hardly believe what he was witnessing. The ragged Confederate troops...low on both supply and ammunition...were preparing for yet another assault. It was just after 8am on June 8th when Milroy sent his troops forward in a counterattack. Johnston's weary soldiers wavered....but as he had the entire campaign...Robert E. Rhodes and his division turned the tide with a daring assault on the Union right flank. The rebel yell rang through the air as Rhodes troops surged forward. It was too much for the exhausted Union troops and they began to waver. At first it was a trickle...and when Rhodes troops stopped within 50 paces to unleash a deadly volley....each of the brigades on Milroy's right took to the rear. Rhodes pressed forward while Johnston's other division, under Bushrod Johnston, kept the pressure on Milroy's center and left. June 8th ended with Milroy's blueclad troops pouring back across the river to the north and Confederate troops back in control of Columbus.
In 5 days of marching and fighting...Johnston's small Army of Mississippi had lost 66% of its original strength. Milroy had lost closer to 50%. As casualty rates go...it was the most costly campaign of the war to this point. And likely one of the bloodiest. Casualties from both sides totaled just over 14,000.
A final battle took place when John Hunt Morgan's cavalry brigade caught up with Milroy's tired troops back near Paulding on June 9th. Morgan's troopers, eager for a fight, attacked headlong into Milroy's line without dismounting. They suffered dearly for it. But left Milroy's army in shambles.
More to come in the next update. Plans for the coming turn in all theaters of operation...and of course some of my own thoughts on how things are going. Stay tuned...