Shiloh, Part I
**
April 6, 1862, 6:30 AM. Weather's a bit warmer than at the Crossroads, but it's still freaking early. Briefing did a good job of showing the battlefield. Right now Wagner's whole division is in play, and most of Durrell -- but they are missing Seymour's 6-pound guns. Most disconcerting is that the supply wagon hasn't arrived. The immediate task is to
Hold Shiloh Church until 9 AM. A lot can happen in two-plus hours.
The infantry has good defensive positions here. Woods' skirmishers move to the indicated advance scouting location, with Preston's cavalry following to support if needed. Trimble positions the 10-pounders as best he can to support our defensive location in case of any surprises.
** 6:42 AM -- Woods reports cavalry to the west of his position as he nears his assigned waypoint. Upon hearing the news, Stewart ponders whether this is the first sign of an organized rebel attack, or just a raiding party or patrol. Not wishing to be caught out in the open, Woods repositions between them and our main force.
** 6:49 AM -- Over two thousand rebel infantry are spotted. Looks like that's our answer. Time for a 'tactical withdrawal'.
** 6:58 AM -- Another few thousand rebels show up. At this point there are almost as many of them as there are of us.
** 7:04 AM -- More spotted in a slightly different direction, due south. No way we can slow down this many for long.
** 7:16 AM -- They charge and push us back, but get over-anxious. Walton and Kemper's men are in good firing positions to flank their cavalry as it crosses the stream ... and gets ripped apart
** 7:32 AM -- We may consider the battle fully joined at this point. About those reserves, fellas? Walton here is being rushed by thousands of Confederates, and there's another group close behind them though not as anxious.
** 7:35 AM -- Scouts report that
Maj. Gen. Albert Johnson has been spotted. Walton retreats across the stream, having buckled under the pressure from so many attackers. Woods and Kemper cover the retreat, while Duryee and Race look to hold off the other wing of the attack in the trees just to the west and north. All our positions are now under fire from rebel artillery.
Bloody hell.
** 7:54 AM -- After holding one charge, Kemper's men break the second time. Stewart shifts everything he can that way in the hopes of preventing our position from collapsing completely.
** 8:00 AM -- Unable to sustain their push, the rebels retreat across the creek in disarray ... but more are coming up. Meanwhile, the first division of II Corps has showed up. I don't know when they showed up, they look like they've been here a while. Good grief. Get down there and join the fight boys!
If some supplies could show up sometime this century ... Trimble's guns are almost dry already.
** 8:31 AM -- Here, Woods skirmishers have crossed on the east side, and flanked Cleburne. When he tried to turn and face them, he got a nice broadside from Walton and Lawton(that's one of the brigades from Heintzelman's Corps, the one who got Springfields instead of their old Farmers actually). The result was this flank collapsing from what was already a bad position for the Rebels; we had matched their numbers and had superior positions, using the trees as cover for almost everyone. Preston's having a quiet day of it watching the other flank and making sure Trimble's artillery, now almost completely out of ammunition, doesn't get any unexpected surprises.
As nine-o-clock arrives, we're feeling pretty good about ourselves all things considered ...
That doesn't sound good ...
My guess is they get here an hour after 'too late'.
That's two objectives, how can they both be our 'main'?
"Godspeed General".
*Sigh*
** 7:30 AM. Yeah I know I said it was 9 AM now. We appear to have warped to a different part of the battle, an hour and a half previously. Never knew there was time-travel in the mid-1800s did you? Me neither.
Either way, here we've got Seymour's artillery(they weren't missing, they just went somewhere else apparently), all of Loomis' Division which accounts for I Corps, and the balance of II Corps as well, another division more or less. So it appears that we've got two distinct parts of the battle to be time-jumping in between, because reasons. Both Stewart and Heintzelman were in the other part, and are not here. Just all in all weird freaking design.
It just so happens that both cavalry units were in the other part, so we have none of that here, and the one skirmisher unit from II Corps isn't around either(about the only brigade I can't yet account for). There'll be no skulking around. What we do have here is tons of inexperienced infantry, and a good amount of artillery. I try to spread us out to cover all approaches: three sizable artillery batteries with one left, middle, and right each. We'll have to see what the rebels have in mind before deploying better than that.
Spain Field and
Bell Larkin Field are the two objectives to defend -- for three hours this time. It doesn't look like there's going to be the least thing subtle about this part of the battle.
** 7:53 AM -- The west gets hit first ... I'm told this is elements of Bragg's Corps, while Polk's Corps was involved in other section. Only one large brigade, which follows the bizarre attack 'strategy' of marching sideways in front of our lines, routs and retreats. K.
** 8:20 AM. These guys caused us some trouble at the crossroads. Here, they go for the 'stand in the valley and get shot' option. They might be providing cover so we fire at them and not the artillery behind them, but you'd think they'd want to be in the trees or close to within firing range. Anderson is next up and at least does that much.
** 8:38 AM -- Reinforcements. Last infantry brigade from II Corps, and also Wharton's skirmishers, who seek out a flanking position on the east.
** 8:51 AM -- This is a cakewalk so far. The rebels have accomplished little more than get themselves killed. Haven't really tried much, TBH. We even have a supply wagon now. Informal check of casulaties for this part of the battle shows 30 for us, over 800 of the enemy.
** 9:09 AM -- I'm told Breckenridge, another Corps commander, is now here for the Confederates. They're finally stepping up their game, attacking across the entire width of this area. Not in nearly enough force to dislodge us from superior positions though.
** 9:21 AM -- I now count about 14,000 of them on the attack. Toe-to-toe in an open field we'd be history very quickly, but here we still have enough to hold, at least for now.
** 9:53 AM -- It's no longer quite such a joke, as one of the enemy brigades makes it to our eastern camp. They are repulsed after an extended melee, but I pull a brigade out of the west, where they haven' gotten close, to reinforce that position on the right.
They haven't made another major push, but the rebels are slowly advancing up the slope despite our best efforts.
** 10:27 AM -- One final charge, and Elder's men break despite the extra support with two freaking minutes to go. As this section of the battle comes to a close, Larkin Bell Field is considered to be Contested. I don't know what that will mean.