Small Arms Arriving in Arlington...

There are reports that a significant quantity of rifled muskets have been shipped from Richmond to Arlington...

Pope in the Army of the South Branch

Having previously coveted the Army, or at least a Corps command, the Army of the South Branch and War Department in Washington are surprised to receive word that Maj. Gen. John Pope has been offered and accepted the role of Division Commander.  Pope is reported as saying words to the effect that his division will follow a path of success and glory. The organization and composition of his division has not yet been reported.

Gathering New Springfield

Citizens of Springfield report Union troops marching through town on their way to their respective camps, including United States Regulars, men with deer tails on their hats, and men in green uniforms.

The Army of the Mountains formed!

The Army of the Mountains, under command of General Robert E. Lee, is now fully formed and preparing for the upcoming campaign against the Union Army of the South Branch.

Holmes' Corps Fully Formed....

The Army of the Mountains is almost complete. Lieut. Gen. Theophilus Holmes' Corps is now fully formed. A few additional provisions are being made at Army Headquarters, but the Army of the Mountains is almost ready for the campaign.

A. P. Hill's Corps Fully Formed....

Cheers have risen near the A. P. Hill's headquarters, as the last units to join his corps have arrived. The corps is now fully formed and ready for battle.

Confederate Corps Fully Formed...

Sources indicate that Lieut. Gen. James Longstreet has reported to Army Headquarters that his corps is fully formed and ready for battle.

Confederate Orders: Corps Flags

Sources report that Gen. Robert E. Lee has issued an order that all corps in the Army of the Mountains be identified by a unique headquarters flag. The nature of these flags is not yet known.

A Northerner in the Confederate Army

Major General Martin Luther Smith, born in New York, has accepted command of a division in the Army of the Mountains. A renown engineer, Major Smith married a native of Georgia and enlisted with the south when the war began.

Union Army starting to take shape

The Union Army of the South Branch has now formed several divisions. Brigadier General Francis Barlow was sighted at Major General Hancock's Headquarters.

Union Army Formation Commences....

The 1st Division, I Corps of the Army of the South Branch is nearly formed, starting off the creation of the Union Army for the North Branch Command Simulation.

At Army Headquarters, stands of flags have been seen bearing emblems that are believed to be associated with the various corps and divisions.

Between Now and The Clash...

We are doing pretty well in terms of the schedule. All but one of the Confederate corps have formed their 3rd Divisions, and I expect them to be moving on to the next steps of army formation by the end of the week or early next week. (Looking at the total points left for the army and allocating the remaining points to finalize the order of battle.)  The Union Army is just starting on their first round of division formation, but there is plenty of time.

All orders of battle must be completely finalized by September 16th. That includes all divisions formed, any unassigned units or officers selected, any small arms upgrades completed and any final strengthening of brigades and divisions done. No changes will be accepted after that date.

By September 23rd, each army must submit its opening positions. That is list showing the town where each division in the army will be located at the start of the simulation. No more than 3 divisions may be in the same town before the campaign starts. (This restriction does not continue once the campaign begins.) Armies should note that the presence of divisions in some "front line" towns will be reported to the enemy (see rule 3.2.2 and 3.2.3). The basic enemy order of battle will be provided when the initial positions have been received (rule 3.2.1).

By September 30th, each Army will receive an intelligence report listing any presence of enemy divisions in "front line towns."

By October 7th orders for Day 1 of the campaign are due and the simulation kicks off!

To Arlington....

Here are four short videos showing the approaches to Arlington via the Black Horse Pike, Kingston Road (and Ferguson Corner), Fulton Road, and Warren Road. All units appearing are from the previous simulation. The camera goes down the road towards Arlington, sometimes looks around, and then goes back where it started.

Arlington via Black Horse Pike:

Arlington via Fulton Road:

Arlington via Kingston Road:

Arlington via Warren Road:

The Town That Must Be Taken...

The Confederate Army of the Mountains will certainly make effort to prevent the Union Army of the South Branch from ever reaching Arlington. If they do, it will look like this...

The TC2M Modded map for Arlington is not ready yet, but there is enough progress to release the minimap.

Confederate Army Taking Shape

The Confederate Army of the Mountains is starting to take shape now. There are several corps that have two divisions each. They will be adding third divisions to most of the corps this week and then re-assessing their resources.  So far the army is rumored to have 50,000 - 60,000 men. As divisions are being formed, Major Generals George Pickett, John B. Hood and Robert Rodes were seen at headquarters.

The Union Army of the South Branch is also organizing into corps, with the cavalry corps largely formed but awaiting officer assignments. The first infantry divisions will be formed this week.

Army of the South Branch Announces Two Corps Commanders

Major Generals James B. McPherson and Oliver O. Howard will both have corps commands in the Army of the South Branch.

Arlington Under Construction....

I am still working on the Arlington map. I had hoped it would be done by now, but I put a some fences in the town, which now makes map work awkward and slow.  This shot is while Arlington is still in the map modding software, with the view looking east down the Kingston Road. If Union troops cross the North Branch at Doyle's Ford, they will most likely approach by this route. (Of course, it will look different when it is finished!)  The major Federal objective that must be taken to win the campaign will be in the middle of the town.

New Orders Option

Simple orders are given at the division level for each turn and are provided on a template. Players have the option of giving additional orders to the brigade / battery level (not required).  An additional section will be added to the template so that players who know how to generate a unitlocs.csv file in the TC2M game can provide specific coordinates for brigade and battery commanders. The commanders and their units will be ordered to move to the exact location provided (as long as the enemy doesn't interfere). 

Do you want to place a battery on a hill with a clear field of fire? Provide the location from the unitlocs.csv file by copying the battery commander's coordinates into the  orders template. Then use the Take Command Setting section of the template to have the battery commander TC'd so that he stays there. 

The orders templates will be custom designed for each corps once the armies are formed. 

Federal Cavalry Commander Announced

Major General Alfred Pleasonton will be commanding the Army of the South Branch's cavalry...

Union Corps Commander announced...

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock has been announced as one of the Corps Commanders in the Army of the South Branch. (This simulation is essentially a pre-quel to the previous simulation, in which Hancock had risen to command of the army.)

Breaking News - Army of the South Branch Command

Major General John Reynolds has declined his appointment to command the Army of the South Branch. Reynolds will maintain a Corps Command. Major General Ulysses S. Grant has taken the appointment as Army Commander.

Day 1 of the Campaign

The North Branch Campaign Simulation is a fictional campaign. In its alternative universe, day one of the campaign will be Monday, July 13, 1863.  There is no explanation as to what happened before or how these diverse units came to be formed into the Army of the South Branch and Army of the Mountains. Just go with the flow...

That said, draft riots have started in New York...

Two More Confederate Corps Commanders Identified....

Major General J. E. B. Stuart and Lieutenant General Richard Ewell have both been identified as leading corps in the Army of the Mountains during the North Branch Campaign.

Confederate Army Commander announced...

In the North Branch Command Simulation, the Confederate Army of the Mountains will be commanded by General Robert E. Lee.

Another Confederate Corps Commander Identified...

A. P. Hill will be leading a corps in the Army of the Mountains...

Confederate Corps Commander identified

Lieutenant General James Longstreet will be leading a Confederate Corps in the North Branch Campaign.

And yet another Corps Commander joins the Army of the South Branch....

The Union Army of the South Branch appears to be full for the upcoming North Branch Campaign simulation. Consultations will take place to see if another Corps Commander is needed.

Division Selection Starting (Confederates)

The Confederate Army of the Mountains has started the process of selecting their infantry divisions.  It is a learning process, and I discovered that 1) There were mistakes in the spreadsheets I sent out to the Confederates (e.g. drop down menus that don't drop down or don't include all the numerical designations needed) and 2) There is a better way to do it.

I sent out 3 division spreadsheets to each Confederate Corps Commander.  The Corps Commanders take turns in rounds selecting their divisions. They would have to look at a master list to know what was previously selected. Instead, I will give each player the next spreadsheet to be used when it is his round. The spreadsheet will have all of the previously selected units and officers shaded in, so the player knows what units he can't select without having to refer to another document.

Union division selection hasn't started yet, but they will benefit from the Confederate selection by a better spreadsheet and process!

Union Army Continues to Grow...

Another Union Infantry Corps is taken, but the commander's name has not yet been released. The ranks of the Army of the South Branch are filling up.

Confederate Corps Commander Identified...

Lieutenant General Theophilus Hunter Holmes has been identified as one of the corps commanders of the Confederate Army of the Mountains...

Another Union Corps Commander Joins...

Another Corps Commander has joined the growing Army of the South Branch in preparation for the upcoming North Branch Campaign. His identity has not yet been released.  The are still Union Corps Commands open.

Confederate Positions Filled

The Confederate positions in the upcoming North Branch Campaign simulation have been filled. We are still filling some Union positions.

Union Corps Commander Identified

One of the Union Corps will be commanded by Major General George Henry Thomas.

Union Army Commander Selected

The Union Army in the North Branch Campaign is called the "Army of the South Branch."  It's commander has now been selected. For this campaign, the army will be under command of Major General John Fulton Reynolds.

1 Union Corps Commander Position Filled

One of the Union infantry corps is now taken. There is still one Confederate infantry corps available, as well as the Union cavalry corps and several Union infantry corps.

Orders Template

A sample orders template has been posted to give players an idea of what the template looks like.  The actual template will be customized for each Corps before the simulation starts. When submitted, narrative orders can be included in the text of the email (optional) and a map with marked positions (optional) can also be attached.

Rules Released

The manual with the simulation rules has been posted for download on the introduction and rules page and recruiting for additional Corps Commanders has begun...

Rules to be Posted Soon...

The rules of the North Branch Campaign Simulation are nearly complete. I expect them to be available here by Monday August 13th. After the rules have been posted, we will begin recruiting additional players.

The following players have committed so far:

Confederate Army (Army of the Mountains)

Iain: Army Commander
Chase: Corps Commander
Jim: Corps Commander
Open: Corps Commander

Union Army (Army of the South Branch)

Greg: Army Commander
Open: 4 - 5 Corps Commander positions.

Note: This is not a balanced sim. The Federal army is larger, but the average Confederate Corps and Division is larger than its Union counterpart. 

Northern Sector: Foxtown Preview

Foxtown lies between Cosner's Gap and Warren and is one of the places that the Union forces may cross the North Branch River in the North Branch Campaign Simulation. There is a bridge crossing the river just east of the town. In this simulation, the Federals may approach Foxtown along the Clinton Pike from Cosner's Gap (arriving from due east), the Sitesville Road from Sitesville (arriving from the southeast), or the North Branch Road from Valley Manor (arriving from the south). On the west side of the river, the Clinton Pike turns into the Foxtown-Dover Road and leads to Warren.

This video has no narration. The camera follows this the approximate path through the map of Foxtown that is indicated by the red lines below. You will see the cemetery near Clinton Pike, the hill on Sitesville Road at the Summers and Utterback farms, the flat ground approaching along the North Branch Road for the south, the town of Foxtown, the bridge across the North Branch River and the river itself, the tactical objective at the Bridge Tavern and the stone walls in that area, and the road departing to Warren.