Here are some thoughts about what General McClellan should have done to avoid piecemeal Corps attacks at the battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. George McClellan had around 85,000 troops while General Lee had around 45,000 soldiers. The Union also had the advantage in the number of guns, including rifled artillery. Here is a thought exercise to guarantee ALL the Union soldiers met the Confederates in close quarters battle to grind them up in a bloody battle of attrition. Here are some ideas keeping in mind that command and control over troops in a Civil War battle was a difficult task. The point here is ALL RESERVES in General McClellan's Union Army are prepositioned divided between two sectors of attack explained below. 1. The Union right flank attack should have been assigned to ONE COMMANDER who was a the Alpha Group Sector commander. The Alpha Group Sector commander would have been in charge of ALL reserves and artillery assigned to him with the attacks launched in successive waves one after another with the objective to destroy all Confederate units in the Dunker church/cornfield area and beyond then pressing the attack into Sharpsburg itself. The tactical method would be to launch a sharp concentrated artillery attack on carefully reconned Confederate positions. The skirmishers are sent forward of the first wave of double lined infantry immediately after about an hours long artillery bombardment starting at sunrise. The first attack wave engages the enemy. The second wave attack has ALL RESERVES sent forward soon after the first wave. Artillery units are sent up along with the second wave attack in smaller units to offer flexible firepower solutions to the tactical circumstances of the battle with emphasis placed on firing doube canister rounds at the enemy troops whenever practicable. Riflemen are assigned to protect the artillery batteries moved forward from enemy snipers and rifle volleys. The second attack wave engages the enemy filling in the gaps of the first wave attack. The objective here would be to press the attacks forward regardless of casualties. A regiment in the first wave that suffered 80 percent casualties would be combined with another regiment with 50 percent losses or more to form a new regiment, requipped with any stragglers rounded up then resent into battle again. Military police troops under the Sector Provost Marshall with small cavalry units would gather up straggler ot survivorscat bayonet point forcing them into new regiments for further attacks. 2. The Bravo Group Sector would be the center with the aim of overwhelming the Bloody Lane and destroying all Confederate units in the center . The General in charge of the Bravo Group Sector attack area would be in charge of ALL RESERVES and artillery units in its sector. The Bravo Group Sector attack group would launch its artillery bombardment at the SAME TIME simultaneously with the Alpha Sector Groupattack. Again, the Bravo Sector first attack with skirmishers and the double lines of infantry would immediately be followed up after the artillery bombardment commencing at sunrise. The second wave attack would include ALL remaining infantry reserves in the sector with accompanying smaller batteries of artillery protected by riflemen to engage the enemy as the tactical circumstances allowed or required. Again, these attacks would be pressed without regard to casualties. The Bravo Group Sector commander's responsibility would be to make sure the attacks were pressed forward ruthlessly without regard to casualties with ALL HIS TROOPS pushed forward in the first and second waves. Regiments that suffered heavy losses would have the survivors rounded up, amalgamated with other regiments, requipped with water, ammunition to be sent forward again. Again the Provost Marshall with military police troops and small detachments of cavalry would round up stragglers and survivors of decimated regiments forming them into new regiments. 3. No attacks would be launched on the Union left flank. The only troop activity would be enough Union troops dug in on the defense or behind cover to stop any Confederate probes. The idea here is enough is going on in the Alpha Sectors and Bravo Sectors to keep the Union Army busy for the day. Perhaps a cavalry probe could have been sent out on the left flank to cut off any Confederate reinforcements from Harpers Ferry or elsewhere but this is optional because only the minimum number of Union troops on the Union left would be deployed. The key point here is ALL RESERVES in the Union Army would have been predelployed in either the Alpha Sector group or the Bravo Sector group with NO RESERVES except for perhaps the cavalry kept by the Union commander. The point here is to make the perfect mincing machine to grind the Confederates up into bloody sausage to destroy the Confederate Army or at least severely maul it at a minimum. The simultaneous nature of attacks in the Alpha Sector and the Bravo Sector meant Confederate General Lee would NOT have been able to deploy reserves in place then move them to another to fill holes in his infantry lines. The Confederates would have been locked into a vice then overwhelmed by Union guns, Union rifle corps with unrelenting maximum pressure. Any history student who is wondering how the Civil War in the East might have been ended on September 17, 1862 this method would have had to have been adopted. This concept of two Union group sector attacks on the Confederate flank and center after a heavy artillery bombardment with ALL RESERVES committed in the Union Army with would have likely been the only real way of accomplishing such a task. General Grant could have carried out this plan but General McClellan was not the man for this kind of carnage and attrition. These tactics may have well had to be carried out again on September 18th to destroy Lee's Confederate Army. www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/antietam
A very astute look at the battle. I have to agree that Little Mac did a good job during the battle it was the 19th century and he acted like an Army commander acted, like Kutuzov at Borodino, leaving tactical decisions to his subordinates. He could have done many things but they would have been against his character. There were also many things got it the way of a decisive victory including Hooker being wounded and so on. Thanks for your comment!
Here are some thoughts about what General McClellan should have done to avoid piecemeal Corps attacks at the battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. George McClellan had around 85,000 troops while General Lee had around 45,000 soldiers. The Union also had the advantage in the number of guns, including rifled artillery. Here is a thought exercise to guarantee ALL the Union soldiers met the Confederates in close quarters battle to grind them up in a bloody battle of attrition. Here are some ideas keeping in mind that command and control over troops in a Civil War battle was a difficult task. The point here is ALL RESERVES in General McClellan's Union Army are prepositioned divided between two sectors of attack explained below.
1. The Union right flank attack should have been assigned to ONE COMMANDER who was a the Alpha Group Sector commander. The Alpha Group Sector commander would have been in charge of ALL reserves and artillery assigned to him with the attacks launched in successive waves one after another with the objective to destroy all Confederate units in the Dunker church/cornfield area and beyond then pressing the attack into Sharpsburg itself. The tactical method would be to launch a sharp concentrated artillery attack on carefully reconned Confederate positions. The skirmishers are sent forward of the first wave of double lined infantry immediately after about an hours long artillery bombardment starting at sunrise. The first attack wave engages the enemy. The second wave attack has ALL RESERVES sent forward soon after the first wave. Artillery units are sent up along with the second wave attack in smaller units to offer flexible firepower solutions to the tactical circumstances of the battle with emphasis placed on firing doube canister rounds at the enemy troops whenever practicable. Riflemen are assigned to protect the artillery batteries moved forward from enemy snipers and rifle volleys. The second attack wave engages the enemy filling in the gaps of the first wave attack. The objective here would be to press the attacks forward regardless of casualties. A regiment in the first wave that suffered 80 percent casualties would be combined with another regiment with 50 percent losses or more to form a new regiment, requipped with any stragglers rounded up then resent into battle again. Military police troops under the Sector Provost Marshall with small cavalry units would gather up straggler ot survivorscat bayonet point forcing them into new regiments for further attacks.
2. The Bravo Group Sector would be the center with the aim of overwhelming the Bloody Lane and destroying all Confederate units in the center . The General in charge of the Bravo Group Sector attack area would be in charge of ALL RESERVES and artillery units in its sector. The Bravo Group Sector attack group would launch its artillery bombardment at the SAME TIME simultaneously with the Alpha Sector Groupattack. Again, the Bravo Sector first attack with skirmishers and the double lines of infantry would immediately be followed up after the artillery bombardment commencing at sunrise. The second wave attack would include ALL remaining infantry reserves in the sector with accompanying smaller batteries of artillery protected by riflemen to engage the enemy as the tactical circumstances allowed or required. Again, these attacks would be pressed without regard to casualties. The Bravo Group Sector commander's responsibility would be to make sure the attacks were pressed forward ruthlessly without regard to casualties with ALL HIS TROOPS pushed forward in the first and second waves. Regiments that suffered heavy losses would have the survivors rounded up, amalgamated with other regiments, requipped with water, ammunition to be sent forward again. Again the Provost Marshall with military police troops and small detachments of cavalry would round up stragglers and survivors of decimated regiments forming them into new regiments.
3. No attacks would be launched on the Union left flank. The only troop activity would be enough Union troops dug in on the defense or behind cover to stop any Confederate probes. The idea here is enough is going on in the Alpha Sectors and Bravo Sectors to keep the Union Army busy for the day. Perhaps a cavalry probe could have been sent out on the left flank to cut off any Confederate reinforcements from Harpers Ferry or elsewhere but this is optional because only the minimum number of Union troops on the Union left would be deployed.
The key point here is ALL RESERVES in the Union Army would have been predelployed in either the Alpha Sector group or the Bravo Sector group with NO RESERVES except for perhaps the cavalry kept by the Union commander. The point here is to make the perfect mincing machine to grind the Confederates up into bloody sausage to destroy the Confederate Army or at least severely maul it at a minimum. The simultaneous nature of attacks in the Alpha Sector and the Bravo Sector meant Confederate General Lee would NOT have been able to deploy reserves in place then move them to another to fill holes in his infantry lines. The Confederates would have been locked into a vice then overwhelmed by Union guns, Union rifle corps with unrelenting maximum pressure. Any history student who is wondering how the Civil War in the East might have been ended on September 17, 1862 this method would have had to have been adopted. This concept of two Union group sector attacks on the Confederate flank and center after a heavy artillery bombardment with ALL RESERVES committed in the Union Army with would have likely been the only real way of accomplishing such a task. General Grant could have carried out this plan but General McClellan was not the man for this kind of carnage and attrition. These tactics may have well had to be carried out again on September 18th to destroy Lee's Confederate Army.
www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/antietam
A very astute look at the battle. I have to agree that Little Mac did a good job during the battle it was the 19th century and he acted like an Army commander acted, like Kutuzov at Borodino, leaving tactical decisions to his subordinates. He could have done many things but they would have been against his character. There were also many things got it the way of a decisive victory including Hooker being wounded and so on. Thanks for your comment!