Massive Antietam Wargame
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- Опубликовано: 15 янв 2025
- In this episode, the guys at Little Wars TV revisit the Battle of Antietam, fought in September 1862. Greg and Keith tour the battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland and debate how badly George McClellan bungled the campaign its climatic battle. Then, four players fight the wargame on a stunning 6'x4' tabletop with thousands of 6mm miniatures, using the rules Altar of Freedom. Can Robert E. Lee hold on against the odds? Find out this week on Little Wars TV!
For bonus content and much more, be sure to visit our official home at LittleWarsTV.com
And be sure to return to Little Wars TV for bloopers, a walking tour of Antietam National Battlefield, and our in-depth rule review for Altar of Freedom. If you're a fellow history geek and enjoy what we do here, subscribe and leave us a comment below!
Holy hell its refreshing to watch a wargame where the players discuss and enact strategy. Unlike so many war games wherein the forces literally just charge across the table into each other and the players roll ridiculous amounts of dice until one set of minis is gone.
Sounds like you are talking about Warhammer 40,000,000,000
the single coolest thing about Antietam is the continued presence of the Witness Tree by the bridge...a living thing that actually saw part of the fight
If you ever had walk 12 miles or more you know had hard it is to attack after wards those men on all side were very hearty men.
Ive walked 6 miles up a mountain and my legs felt like rubber. I got to see a beautiful view though.
lol Americans
Rob Degoyjm and Saltech I don’t want to come off as rude but “doing something” and fighting in a battle which is one of the most stressful and terrifying moments of a soldiers life, are two very different things. Especially considering that soldiers were discouraged from hydrating on the march because they believed it made them weak and disease plagued them. Not to mention the march was done with wool uniforms and and 50+ pounds of leather bound equipment.
@@saltech3444 but its fighting
@@bardthebowman866 We Americans have become weak.
I adore the Fog Of War management of this game - keep this sort of production up
Thanks, Bernard!
@@LittleWarsTV Greetings, may i ask where the miniatures are from?
Sort of stumbled across this whilst browsing American Civil War here on RUclips. As a Brit I find the ACM fascinating, more so than our own English Civil War, and although not into wargaming, I found your recreations interesting. I was also impressed to see a picture of Britain's, officially, greatest General on the war where this game was played. General William 'Uncle Bill' Slim who commanded Britain's XIVth 'Forgotten Army' during the Burma Campaign of WWII. An uncle fought and died during that campaign, so that is also another particular area of military interest. Thank you for the history lesson.
Great stuff! Good humor and well narrated. Perhaps add in some commentary on how a critical dice roll affected an attack or how the players used the game mechanics to their advantage, it would go a long way to bringing the excitement of wargaming to the audience.
I also just discovered your channel took me back to my miniatures days of about 45 years ago. You guys are an absolute blast! Thank you so much I haven't enjoyed anything so much for ages!
Great memories of a teacher robert trout who gave me a life long love of history
Gentleman's Foul, drink on the table! 13:59
Wow, I didn’t think I was that into the ACW but this was such an awesome video. The narration was particularly good. I’m new to the channel but subscribed immediately. Keep up the great work!
Welcome, David! Hopefully we can interest you in a few other new periods, as well! We love wargaming in different eras of history here.
Discovered your channel today. What a great video, comes with battlefield takes... Aah :-)
Thx guys
Our Thursday night group in KC did Antietam a while back. We Union decided to fight the battle like a "zipper" opening with each attack helping the next attack down the line to open-up the Confed's positions ! First we opened attacking the weak South troops in the north and they fell back into the woods and the church - when it looked like we had them on the run we attacked the "sunken road" BUT were turned back there with heavy losses to the Union ! About noon we sent more troops straight across the creek towards Sharpsburg town but moving forward was slow and Confed troops from the north woods were coming in there ! Time was running out in the afternoon so we pushed across the "south bridge" (Burnside's) and the Confeds here were taking heavy losses - it looked like we would bag Lee's whole army THEN a whole fresh division from the south table edge hit us in the flank there that stopped the Union cold as the sun when down !!
A great all round video, well done.
The short history at the start was plenty to set the scene, the look at the terrain was very insightful.
You have encouraged me to dig out Altar of Freedom again and reread it, but also you showed the great benefits of having an umpire controlling the initial deployment and hidden approach moves adding to the 'confused' build up and unknowns.
Will be checking out all your vids.
Thanks for the time and effort in producing this, shows what a great game is all about.
Fantastic. I really got caught up in the excitement of the game and learned something about the battle. Thank you
Greg, thanks for working for NPS. Love our parks, monuments, and battlefields
The Irish Brigade at the cornfield....Burnside’s Bridge...Bloody Lane...The Dunker Church....you guys are awesome!
Love the 'Little Wars' games. Great to see various alternate actions in troops movements. Also, enjoy the banter, war gaming at its best; well done.
Could you guys do Chickamauga?
The Union non-coms that found the Special Order maybe got the cigars but paid for them with their lives-if I remember correctly 3 of the 4 got killed at Antietam. McClellan loved his creation, the Army of the Potomac, too much to a fault which in my opinion was why he was a backseat driver during battles instead getting his ass where it belonged on near the front lines. Another issue was McClellan was a War Democrat that wanted to fight a limited war to keep the potential damage down. This Democratic faction basically wanted to welcome the seceded states back into the Union with slavery still intact for a return to the antebellum days like nothing had happened. Impossible of course-and it would take a general that realized this with the application of total war.
A largely unknown Union general, Israel Richardson aka 'Greasy Dick' or 'Fighting Dick' made one of the numerous breaks in Lee's line that day. He led the attack, succeeded, took a breather to dress his lines for the killing blow but went down wounded. Same thing happened with Francis Barlow nearby. (Too bad Phil Kearny wasn't there where he would have been instrumental in leading a breakthrough attack. I've read that before he died at Chantilly there were rumors Lincoln and Stanton were considering him for command of the Army of the Potomac.)
McClellan was from very early on in his career as C-in-C of the AoP seriously and severely deluded by his belief that he was always outnumbered. He honestly believed that Lee had taken 100-150,000 men across the Potomac and though he had the ANV on the ropes he believed that Lee still had massive forces hiding... somewhere, so he wasn't willing to risk that final blow. It was the same bogey that crippled his leadership on the Peninsula.
As far as a new C-in-C, I've not read anywhere that Kearney was ever considered, though Lincoln twice offered command to Burnside who turned it down twice before he was finally ordered to take command in November '62.
Absolutely loved this video. The production values are outstanding and you guys seemed to be having so much fun, it's great.
Well, you inspired me to purchase the Altar of Freedom rules and start some 6mm armies. Thanks for the great series!
You too? Watching this is costing me!!!
Real Battlefield, history lesson, great game, passionate guys, what's not to love. Can't wait for more.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. We have much, much more to come.
I have been waiting to see more videos ever since the gettysburg video!excited for this channel!
Then I'm afraid we've kept you waiting a really long time, Ed. Several years, in fact. But we did learn a few filming lessons between that first Gettysburg video attempt and what we're trying to do now!
Little Wars TV I have faith in you guys and very much look forward to future videos!
That Gattysburg game video got me into AoF and its great to see a new channel with some great content. Looking forward to more!
This was excellent; interesting and informative and very well put together. I look forward to more.
Hasn't anyone heard of scouts, or pickets? :)
One of the things about the battle that struck me was that they spent half the day trying to cross Burnside bridge and the creek just isn't that big. They could've easily crossed it with infantry and put pressure on the whole line of the confederates. Talking about tunnel vision!
Rewatching some old favorites during all this stay at home time. Cant wait till your new videos
We will have some news this summer about the timeline for new videos!
Great video guys! Thank you for the upload and channel. Subscribed.
Probably the best wargaming club on planet earth. HG Wells himself would be trying to court an invitation.
Altar of Freedom is good and the podcast series you did on making it is probably the best thing I've ever listened to as a homebrewer.
Hope you guys do another in that vein, there is so much to learn and talk about that you could keep doing it.
Where can I find this making of podcast?
A view from across the Pond here. Altar of Freedom are a great set of grand tactical rules. The mechanics take a bit of getting used to, but they're well worth the effort and they create fun and challenging games, with what feels like plausible outcomes.
Nice video. Zach and Tony missed a trick by not claiming credit for clever use of interior lines!
Excellent show, thank you very much! Extra props for the appropriate dice trays and the 'Slim' 14th Army Poster!
Thanks. We have a portrait wall in the club behind the bar where each club member picks a favorite general or figure from military history. One of the guys picked General Slim as his favorite.
You guys have too much fun.
I didn't realise Altar of Freedom was your set. I really rate them 👍. And great web support/ extras too.
Well done on the rules, and on this vid too ! 😀
Thanks Cardinal! Glad you're enjoying them!
A pretty nice episode. Keep going, I will watch all of them.
I will used this rules for our battles of the second empire, first of all Magenta. Vive l'empereur!
Later on in the season we'll be doing a famous battle from the FIRST empire. One of the guys in our club is into the Second Empire and has some great 6mm armies for Franco-Prussian war.
@@LittleWarsTV where can I get peices
Great looking game. Around 8:10 is priceless...
Well done, guys. Well scripted, shot and (from a professional TV/Film sound recordist's and gamer's point of view) good production sound. Well edited for speed and interest as well.
Acknowledging that rules sets are a very subjective thing, I would suggest that Scotty Bowden's 'Star 'n Bars' 3rd remains the deepest, most satisfying set of ACW mini's rules. But I confess they are decidedly NOT for convention play!
I was Born and Bred in New Zealand but even as a child i was fascinated with the American Civil War and that only increased when Sid Miers Gettysburg and Antietum came out i must of spent hundreds of hours playing those games and the recent Ultimate General Gettysburg game but i still prefer Sids my Dream is to one day visit the American Civil War Battlefields. I have a particular affinity for Civil War artwork and in particular Don Troiani who ive spoken with several times via Facebook hes also quite a collector of Uniforms and equipment of the Civil War
I was not expecting your videos to be this good. great work.
Great video, and great rules we have been using them and like them.
great video guys, and you almost make me want to get back into Civil War gaming, if not for all the painting (horror). BTW I had 3 ancestors in the 51st PA, they took that bridge and got their whiskey
Don't forget your brothers in the 51st New York "The Twin 51st's"
@@christopherweber9464 the poor New York Boys got the wrong fence before that assault. I always mention the fact that, if not for that stone wall, I might not be here
This is amazing. Seriously amazing
I am really enjoying your videos - thanks so much!! Really inspiring for my wargames.
Thanks for the video. The Altar of Freedom rules are fun to play.
My great great great+ uncle fought in this battle.
I'm glad you played Antietam, because few battles were ever more affected by poor communication and non-coordination. Lincoln was rightfully upset when McClellan failed to smash Lee when Union troops outnumbered the CSA forces 2-1. However, Little Mac was not responsible for how his Corps commanders let him and the Union down.
Very cool video! I’ll check out more soon. I’m from Frederick and am a big civil war fan, and I thought this was very well done.
Chris I am also a Frederick native and civil war buff!
Very cool! What got you started? I guess for me it was the first time I went up to Gettysburg. Then I realized Monocacy and Antietam were a thing lol
Fog of war impact very realistic, interesting placement by your confederate players that they had their cavalry in Sharpsburg as opposed to covering the Hagerstown Turnpike. Very enjoyable game !!
Seen a few vids and subbed but thought I'd watch from the beginning. Cracking video and great channel. On to the next vid :)
This is very cool - you guys are doing some amazing work here.
Ah, this is a great hobby.
Great job my great great grandfather was in the 27th Virginia stonewall brigade
Awesome stuff. I'd love to do this kind of wargaming. Subscribed and look forward to watching your videos!
Welcome aboard! We are very happy to have you!
Don’t worry Union! You didn’t lose, you merely failed to win.
And they win in the end anyway, right?
I'm glad to see Clint Howard has found work.
Very nice combination of history and gaming - definitely a different approach. Great job guys - keep the vids coming!!
This is great stuff guys! So much fun.
You know, I drive myself mad with fog of war rules.
Idea one: 1 board with all units... wait then everyone will see everyone.
Idea two: 1 board with only mutually seen units.... wait then one general will know the other general knows they see their dudes.
Idea three: one table per player. ... wait that's stupid and expensive
The weakness of all board games: The Omniscient Eye in the Sky.
Well done! Hope to see more games in other periods too.
Thanks! You won’t be disappointed, as we’ve got plenty of variety in store all season long. We certainly don’t just focus on one period.
The cavalry charge in this episode is one of my favorite moments in all their wargaming.
Great episode. Interesting moves
Great thank you all
Excellent, look forward to more content.
This went from fun and games to basic survival education REAL quick!
Mecclellan: i did not lose, i merely failed to win!
Thank you
You should have added an additional 1 month of beard growing penalty for each occurrence of uttering "calvary". A great episode; interesting set-up, good-looking table and miniatures, and a well produced video.
I've always wondered if it was ever determined who lost those orders. They were probably numbered.
Thomas Hazlewood Foote theorized that the orders were wrongfully copied by one of Lee’s aides and it was the copy that ended up in McClellan’s hands
Greg: Loser has to grow Civil War Facial Hair.
Me: I'd already have that kind of Facial Hair If I could even _GROW_ Facial Hair.
Thanks to this video, I've now Subscribed, bought the Altar of Freedom rules, and started painting up the first units of my own 6mm ACW armies. How's that for inspiration?
That is inspired, Lee! Be careful, or by the time you get to the end of the season you'll have ten new rule sets on your desk...
One of the amazing things about the real battle is the fight at Burnside's Bridge. In reality, the creek was quite shallow and they could've walked across it, but they had so much tunnel vision about crossing the bridge that the Union wasted their strength with attack after attack.
The other mistake that McClellan made was that he didn't attack the next day. He still vastly outnumbered Lee and could've destroyed him.
But, he let him retreat to fight another day. Grant would've kept attacking, and won the war.
As an 8 year old looking at the great golden book of the civil war i saw this and asked my civil war buff teacher that teacher took an interest that started a love of history which lasted a lifetime thanks robert
Great video and game I also liked the rules review you did. Have you considered doing a how to play, blow by blow video of some of the games rather than the broad overview type of videos?
This shows you that it's not easy destroying an army. And McClellan's critics have been unreasonable over the years saying he should have destroyed Lee.
best war gaming channel out there you guys are awesome
Thanks! There aren't too many historical wargaming channels out there, so we are swimming in a small pond. Hoping our videos may encourage other wargamers to start filming some of their best games, too.
@@LittleWarsTV I hope so too, more historical war gaming youtube channels would be great for the community and fans around the world.
TY 🙏🙏
oh man so glad i found this channel.
Glad you found us! Welcome!
Great video. Very interesting to see an alternative Federal plan.
Hey guys. I really enjoyed this, Thanks. The terrain was great. I was just wondering....My uncle Raymond served in the XIV Army in Burma during WW 2 so I was kind of thrilled to see a picture of Lt. Gen William Slim on your wall. Is there any particular reason why ? Or is it just cos it's a cool picture ?
Slim is on the club's "wall of heroes." We let each club member pick their favorite historical personality and hang a portrait on the wall. Ed chose Slim!
This was really cool, I'm just starting to get into wargaming. This is very different from 40k, but I like it. Do you guys do other periods as well?
I used to live in the town named after General Pleasanton, Pleasanton, California.
hey I have a question for Greg, I purchased Altar of Freedom and I have to say I adore these rules, but I had 1 question, I feel the turn clock gives a player a perk that generals historically didn't have, what was the inspiration behind the turn clock, Did generals actually have the ability to dictate something like that? I am in no way trying to sound rude, like I said I love these rules, im just trying to understand them better. thank you so much
Sure, there's a discussion of the Turn Clock in the author design notes at the end of the rules, but memoirs and letters from generals on both sides throughout the war are filled with concern about attacking earlier in the day than their opponent and the need to "seize the initiative" so as not to allow the enemy to dictate the pace and direction of the fight. Grant's memoir in particular talks about this at length. He felt it was key to be the first to act, not only to spoil the enemy plan, but also to initiate his own. Lee foiled him on that count a number of times using the very same logic. How do you capture that obsession and that pressure commanders faced at the time? The ability to control the pace of the turn and expend energy (points) to do that is where the clock comes from. It simulates the "game within the game" every Civil War commander was playing against his opponent.
“I didn’t know you were a little Mac apologist” 😂😂
Very well done. Thanks
Do we know what type of miniatures they use, and do we know the size the bases are?
These men have inspired me to finally get into this hobby.
They are Baccus 6mm miniatures (great website for ordering and customer service) and the bases are 60mmx30mm. Welcome to the hobby!
You guys rock
This is world class!
great show!
Excellent video. Subscribed.
Thanks, Barry! We are most happy to have you on board. Hope you stick around to watch the rest of the wargame episodes!
Nice work, guys !
8.30 makes me laugh every time I watch it.
We have top down view to battle over they had grass level FOW , must have been so important to have fast horse riders as signalmen . Also try to get the opposition to use their reserve first with switching tactics then counter punch
Excellent!
If I was playing the Reb side I would have had some kind of picket in Mercerville. Do the game rules not allow that, or was it an oversight on the part of the players?
I'm curious how you think the relative casualties to both sides would be as opposed to the actual battle. Also, would Lee begin a quick withdrawl south in the aftermath?
What do little wars think of the 28mm Perry ACW minis ?
Fantastic sculpts. Perry Miniatures are always top notch, though admittedly our club does very little skirmish gaming for 28mm ACW. A couple guys here do own 28mm Perrys for ACW and other eras, though.
@@LittleWarsTV always wanted metal ACW 28mm’s is there anyone in the States who make them ?
@@LittleWarsTV the smaller scales are great for huge set piece battles like Gettysburg or Antietam but to be honest because I’m Rural in Australia 🇦🇺 my default is Sid Miers Gettysburg or Ultimate Generals ACW computer games the ACW has always held a special place in my heart ❤️ for me even though I grew up in New Zealand 🇳🇿 I would love one day to visit the States and tour the battlefields
fun game . make me want to get a ACW army , thank you
Nicely done! Enjoyed, a lot...
18:07 Anyone knows, why Brockenbrough's Brigade is displayed as Zouaves?
Yes, because we ran out of Confederate bases!
@@LittleWarsTV ah, thank you for your reply! I really thought that I did a false research for that brigade. Thank you :)
Awesome game! Loved watching this.
What rule set was this?
This particular game is called Altar of Freedom. We have a review and links to the website.
Love Bernard Cornwells four book ACW series the Starbuck Chronicles order 191 is in one of the books 📚
"... Very true! A major Union victory at Antietam could have trapped, and completely destroyed Lee's Army."
"And McClellan F*CKED IT ALL UP."
I DIED
2:40
so small a scale My Confederate Army is Perry 28mm