BURNISHED ROWS OF STEEL: A History of the Great War (Foreward)

TFSmith121

Banned
galveston bay said:
Let the Battle of Yellow Tavern by your guide on that one
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True ... Brandy Station is an interesting example of a mixed command; Pleasanton had (IIRC) seven brigades of cavalry and two of infantry, and - if he had been a little more aggressive and resolute - might have done even more damage to Stuart et al.

Best,
 

sloreck

While battles in broken or heavily wooded territory, like the Wilderness, diverged from the standard linear tactics of the day that was not really "open order" tactics in any sense. Furthermore loading a Springfield or similar muzzle loading rifle of the ACW in any position except standing was, while not impossible, slow and difficult and not even the most experienced soldier could approach the three shots a minute standard expected when standing. Reloading while moving was basically impossible. OTL the Union could have had a much larger number of breech loaders and even multi-shot rifles as well as Agars and Gatlings had not the ordnance department fought against them on the idea that the soldiers would "waste ammunition" with a higher rate of fire as well as the increased expense of the weapons and ammunition. Units like the "lightning brigade" which had repeaters (Henrys) did experiment with non-linear tactics.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
naraht said:
Additional "Battle types" in this war relative to ours? In OTL the types of battles varied greatly, with the battles in New Mexico calling for very different tactics and equipment than the ones in Tennessee or Virginia, I'm wondering what types of battles that would exist iTTL and not ours. I *think* there was some lacustrine (on the Great Lakes) fighting early in the war and some of the fighting in Maine dealt with repelling sea based troops which wasn't done iOTL. Any other additional "types" spring to mind? Also, iOTL, which "front" was longer, the USA-CSA (Civil War) or the German-Russian (WWI)?
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In BROS, there have been lacustrine and riverine actions on Lake Ontario and the upper Saint Lawrence/Lake St. Pierre,as well as the Mississippi; amphibious operations on Lake Ontario, the Gulf of Maine, Long Island Sound, Lower New York Bay, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, San Francisco Bay, the Columbia, and Puget Sound, as well as more actions (bloodless and otherwise) in the Grenadine Confederacy, on Hispaniola, and in Hawaii; littoral squadron/fleet actions under steam in Long Island Sound, Lower New York Bay, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and San Francisco Bay; and overland campaigns (ranging from battalion-sized columns to field armies) in Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Maine, the Eastern Shore of Maryland-Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennesee, Arkansas, Missouri, the Indian Territory, Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Oregon, Washington Territory, Rupertsland, Minnesota, and Manitoba, and various ship to ship actions (sail and steam) in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic oceans and most of the adjacent seas, including the Caribbean, North, and Mediterranean seas. Battlefields have included farmland, forests, dunes, deserts, prairies, hills, mountains, and urban fightng, as well.

The most direct road route today between Virginia Beach and El Paso is about 2100 miles; from Murmansk to Sevastopol today, road mileage, is about the same. Interesting comparison, actually.

Thanks for reading, and the post; it is appreciated.

Best,
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Driftless said:
And Buford has a key role in this universe too. I don't recall that we've heard from Custer & Wilder - so far....
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Yep; Buford is "currently" (June, 1863) a MG and cavalry corps commander for Grant in Tennessee; Wilder commands the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division (Hascall, who replaced Gilbert, moved back to the IG position), in the XIII Corps (Crittenden), Army of the Ohio (Thomas); Custer, after serving as an ADC in the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac under McClellan for much of 1862, has returned as a regimental officer to the 4th Brigade (Rush), 2nd Division (Emory), Cavalry Corps (Stoneman), Army of the Potomac (Reynolds).

They will all show up, in one form or another.

As always, thanks for reading and the post; it is appreciated.

Best,
 

TFSmith121

Banned
sloreck said:
While battles in broken or heavily wooded territory, like the Wilderness, diverged from the standard linear tactics of the day that was not really "open order" tactics in any sense. Furthermore loading a Springfield or similar muzzle loading rifle of the ACW in any position except standing was, while not impossible, slow and difficult and not even the most experienced soldier could approach the three shots a minute standard expected when standing. Reloading while moving was basically impossible. OTL the Union could have had a much larger number of breech loaders and even multi-shot rifles as well as Agars and Gatlings had not the ordnance department fought against them on the idea that the soldiers would "waste ammunition" with a higher rate of fire as well as the increased expense of the weapons and ammunition. Units like the "lightning brigade" which had repeaters (Henrys) did experiment with non-linear tactics.
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Well, yes and no.

The skirmish line with breechloaders, certainly when cavalry or mounted infantry, means pretty the default. Line units - like Willich's brigade during the Tullahoma campaign - tried variations on multiple lines of infantry moving up and back after firing, in what could be considered as "marching fire" although obviously broken country helped, and that's why they rolled over Cleburne's troops at Liberty Gap, even with their allegedly superior training...

Wilder's brigade started with Spencers in 1863, which is why they did so well at Hoover's Gap in 1863; I think the Henry's came later.

Best,
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Given the obvious role of Haiti as a sanctuary for the Dominican resistance, I'd expect an island-wide war that will not be any more pleasant for the Spanish than such were historically, for the Spanish, British, and French.

Best,
 

Spengler

Banned
So uh not to rush you TFSmith. I know that the neoconfeds and british imperialists do need to be kept up with facts but when is a update coming. Also are you thinking of printing this?
 

TFSmith121

Banned
Spengler said:
So uh not to rush you TFSmith. I know that the neoconfeds and british imperialists do need to be kept up with facts but when is a update coming. Also are you thinking of printing this?
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Thanks for the kind words...

About half done with the next section; work challenges.

Expect to finish and post this weekend.

Hey, 3000 posts! Two-thirds are probably mine, and half of the remainder are various incarnations of critics, but still ... Thanks to the faithful readers.

Best,
 
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