Shenandoah: a civil war game of the Valley Campaigns, 1862 and 1864 /
D.I.A.Mack

The writing of this review has been precipitated by the news in Phoenix
6 that Battleline, the publishers of "Shenandoah", are closing down
(Please note that Battleline are to continue in business - Editor) and
that therefore this unusual and interesting wargame may soon become
difficult or impossible to obtain. As a result, this review is based on
fewer game sessions than the author would have liked: however, a close
study of the rules and scenario notes has been made and this study has
been carried out in conjunction with a re-reading of G.F.R. Henderson's
"Stonewall Jackson". The maps and the day-by-day narrative contained in
this classic book make it a near-indispensable companion to the
"Shenandoah" player.

The game deals with the two campaigns fought in the Shenandoah Valley in
North-West Virginia in 1862 and 1864, the first of these being
dominanted by the drive and generalship of Jackson. Each campaign is
presented as a succession of scenarios covering the various operations
and encounters in chronological order plus a long scenario in which the
players start the campaign on an historical set-up and take it from
there over 45 and 32 turns respectively! The average length of the
shorter scenarios is 6 turns but the nature of combat can spin out one
turn for some little time.

The mapsheet shows the Shenandoah Valley from Staunton in the south to
Harper's Ferry in the North, superimposed on the usual hex-grid system
at a scale of about 21/2 miles to the hex. The colour scheme is a light
green with mountains and roads in various shades of brown, rivers in
blue and place names boldly printed in black: though not as colourful as
SPl's newer mapsheets it is nonetheless clear and quite pleasant to the
eye. More important, the maps in ''Stonewall Jackson" indicate that it
is accurate, especially as regards mountain ranges and the all-important
passes. The only omission is a failure to show a bridge where the road
from New Market to Luray crosses the South Fork of the Shenandoah and it
is advisable to ink it in on one's map as it (White House Bridge) and
its near neighbour, Columbia Bridge, were of importance at various
stages of the 1862 campaign.

The solidly made, rather thick, counters are on the strength-point
principle: for example a 10 point infantry counter can be replaced by
two 5's or ten 1 's or by any other breakdown to facilitate grouping and
re-grouping. Infantry, cavalry and artillery are represented and the
more important generals appear as leader counters whose command factor
can boost the attack capability of the force they ccmmand as well as
giving it the ability to force march and increasing its chances of
recovering from a "disorder'' result in the CRT. Waggon and supply
counters are also included.

The rule book is well laid out, progressing from introduction and
description through basic, advanced and optional rules to the various
scenarios, each with a useful brief on the historical situation and
followed by playtesters' comments.lt is strongly recommended that the
game is played using the advanced rules plus the optional Cavalry Raid
rule in order to get the best out of it.

The emphasis of the game is very much on manoeuvre and deception, with
clever placement of one's forces and care over one's supply lines being
of vital importance. In most scenarios, especially in the 1862 campaign,
a smaller but better-generalled and rather more mobile Confederate force
confronts a stronger Union army, too much of which is tied down in
semi-static garrisons and whose lines of communication are vulnerable to
the hidden movement of Confederate irregular cavalry (partisans). To
fight and march at their best, units must be within reach of their
supplies, normally carried in rather slow-moving waggons; like Jackson,
the bold commander must be prepared to outrun his supplies in order to
gain an advantageous position while bringing them up in time before the
fighting begins in earnest. Supply waggons are, of course, liable to
capture and/or destruction by raiding cavalry and the question of an
adequate escort must be considered: a well-chosen line of communications
screened by an impassable mountain range such as the Massanuttons can be
a very pleasant help in time of bad dice-throws.


Combat is based on an unusual system which merits a brief description.
To begin with each round of combat costs the phasing player one movement
point, combat in each situation ending when either the action is broken
off through retreat or when the phasing player expends all his attacking
force's MP's: a combat of several rounds gives the attacker the
opportunity to press home an advantage against a disordered stack of
units. Furthermore the non phasing player has the opportunity to
counter-attack  in each round, without having to expend either MPs or
supplies as the phasing player does, although frequently it is better to
take no action and allow the phasing player to attack again. This is due
to the advantage factored into the defence (a real advantage in the
Civil War) whereby a small but strongly-positioned force can frequently
give better than it takes, finishing up by successfully counterattacking
a weakened and disordered assailant.

The strength and formation (column or battle) of both forces indicate
the combat tables on which they will fight; modifications for better or
worse are caused by superior artillery, supply state, the terrain in
which the defender is and so on.

Both attacker and defender roll the die and the result, cross-indexed
with the appropriate table, gives the effect on the enemy force. As
indicated above, the defending force can usually count on a higher
table, in proportion to its strength, than the attacker's. This means
that battle should not be offered or sought lightly and that the
Confederate player, who is usually weaker overall than the Union, must
avoid prolonged stand-up fights in which he is the attacker. The best
strategy is to bring about the division of the enemy's forces with a
view to isolating and destroying his weaker stacks and capturing his
supplies and waggons: this strategy can throw a powerful force so
off-balance that the iniative is never gained, particularly if one can
supply one's own attacks from captured enemy depots.

Substitution of counter-stacks by single, lettered counters, the stacks
themselves being held off board, adds a fog-of-war touch. The
Confederate player, operating in Secesh territory, has the added
advantage of being able to entirely conceal his off board stacks from
the hapless Unionist, who can be left wondering if Force'C' is a
detachment of two men and a boy or 'Old Jack' at the head of 12,000
greycoat infantry plus an unanswerable collection of artillery points.
Whilst he ponders on the best way of sending his cavalry to probe (and
possibly fight) for information, Dreadful Hanse McNeill and his
irregular cavalry come a-whoopin' and a-hollerin' out of nowhere to tear
up the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad yet again, gaining another two
victory points for the Confederate.....

`Shenandoah' is recommended as a rather unusual and highly interesting
game with a particular appeal to the gamer who prefers fencing to
slugging, who likes a reasonably detailed game and who has an interest
in the American Civil War in general and the Valley Campaign in
particular. The only criticism of the game as a simulation which I have
is that the Confederates' generally superior marching powers do not
receive enough emphasis. Both Confederate and Union infantry can march 6
hexes in column on a road in one turn (i.e. 15 miles in one day) whereas
historically the Union forces in 1862 proved over and over again to be
too slow-moving, with General Banks being regularly caught out due to
the Confederates' astonishing (to Banks) ability to march at just that
rate!

That said, the type of gamer referred to above will not, in my opinion,
be disappointed by acquiring a copy of this game. I have certainly found
it a useful addition to my own games library.