From: "Robert R. Leonhard" Subject: Battle Cry Battle of Shiloh This is a record of a game of Battle Cry that I played with my eight year old daughter, Molly. She is an avid wargamer and quickly mastered the Battle Cry system. In this scenario, I played the Confederates, and Molly played the Union. I start the game with a Sharpshooter and one orders card for each section of the battlefield. I decided to attack in the center, so that I could remove my exposed infantry from the field of fire of the Union artillery. I intend to play slowly, using the woods to get my infantry into good position before charging. I ducked into the woods and refrained from firing. Clearly bemused at my passive action, Molly probes in the center. She begins with an impetuous move and advances one of her infantry units out of their protective wood line. She fired on my exposed infantry on the left but missed. Last turn I drew an all-out offensive, which I shall keep until the opportune moment. I again make a passive move, attacking on the left. I scoot my exposed infantry into the wood line and advance two of my artillery units. Nuts! I drew a useless hit-and-run card, which can be used only by cavalry, which I don't have. Molly attacks in the center-foolishly, I believe. She advanced her infantry into the center wood line, and then she advanced her artillery! Now I just have to see if I can punish the Little Princess. I'm tempted to use my all-out offensive to maul the advanced infantry, but I am striving to be patient. Instead, I'm going to let my sharpshooter have a go. Missed! Molly calls for reinforcements and gets a cavalry unit! Durn! She deploys it in the center next to General Prentis. I advance one of my artillery units on the left. Molly advances her artillery on my right. I advance two of my infantry and General Bragg on the right. Molly advances two of her infantry on her right. Some careful maneuvering by both sides. Bragg and his infantry reach the wood line on the right. I now have two infantry divisions in the woods and two more behind them. Molly launches an assault in the center! She comes crashing through the wood line with her infantry and cavalry against my center infantry division. Behind them, she advances two artillery and another infantry division! Holy cow! She annihilates the division, and General Cheatham scampers toward the rear. Cautious maneuvering be damned! Time to teach Precious who's in charge. I unleash an all-out offensive. My infantry in the center charged her artillery that was in the woods and (luckily) destroyed it. Good start. My other infantry attrited her cavalry and then forced them to retreat. On the right, my infantry firing from the woods against her foolishly advanced artillery destroyed it! Ha! Two of her three artillery units gone! In response to this furious assault, Molly elects to build fieldworks for her retreated cavalry and General Prentis' infantry. I follow up my attack with a probe in the center. I order one of my infantry divisions to outflank the cavalry breastworks. This exposes the infantry, but I want to keep up the pressure. Another infantry division under Cheatham advances to expel Molly's advance infantry. I fail to dislodge the cavalry, but Cheatham destroys the infantry division. Molly appears to be demoralized, which often happens when she's losing. As her father, I find this is an ideal time to squash her. She counterattacks. Her cavalry advances from the protection of the breastworks and attacks one of my infantry units, destroying half of it. Prentis meanwhile punishes my exposed infantry, causing them to retreat back into the woods. I respond with a coordinated attack. I continue to cautiously advance my artillery brigades on the left. Meanwhile, Cheatham advances through the center woods, attacking the Union cavalry and destroying it. I'm up to four flags, for Molly's one. I also advanced slowly through the woods on the right. My cautious style appears to be paying off. Molly probes on the left, bringing her last artillery into a protective woodline, but then also advancing her left-most infantry out of the protective woods into the open. I respond with a Leadership order. Cheatham reaches the now empty breastworks in the center and thereby outflanks Prentis' infantry with a fresh division. Bragg advances on the right to maul Molly's exposed infantry. Cheatham's infantry devastate Prentis' boys, who then flee to the rear. Musket fire from Bragg's infantry cuts down half of the exposed division on the left. "Hell of a waste of good infantry!" Molly advances an infantry division in the center and manages to hit Cheatham's boys, drawing first blood from my champion division. Bragg bestirs himself on my right and orders an attack with three infantry divisions. My goal is to destroy his artillery and exposed infantry. Bragg manages to destroy Molly's last artillery. Molly responds by advancing with her infantry division on the left! She kills one of Bragg's guys and throws him back a bit. I order a fire and hold on the right. Devastating fire from Bragg's boys annihilates the infantry, winning the game! Although a gifted attacker, Molly simply has no patience for the defense. Her impetuous advance in the center gained her but one kill while losing the flower of her army. Robert R. Leonhard Robert R. Leonhard LTC, Infantry Professor of Military Science West Virginia University 304-293-2911, ext 125 (voice) 304-293-6892 (fax)