Battle of Rowlett’s Station, Redux
By Jim Rohrer
Riot is feasible in any nation the place a portion of the inhabitants is dissatisfied because of long-standing grievances. In america, we would assume that revolt couldn’t achieve success as a result of the US army is reputed to be the perfect on this planet, huge sums of taxpayers’ funds having been invested to develop high-tech weaponry. However, even primitive tribesmen have been efficient in opposition to trendy armies. This raises the query: might American insurgents be efficient in opposition to the American military?
This is a crucial query and never one that may be answered definitively. Nevertheless, wargaming can start to make clear the matter. Wargaming has been described as a qualitative analysis methodology
The aim of this exploratory research was to analyze the effectiveness of insurgents in opposition to the trendy military in a specific tactical situation. Outcomes are contingent on the validity of the wargaming methodology (the rule set). The findings could have implications for nationwide safety.
The Situation
The American Civil Warfare is well-documented, thus facilitating replaying the battles. On this article, a replay of the battle at Rowlett’s Station, Kentucky (1861) is described. I modified the yr to 2025 to check the consequences of contemporary gear on the method and consequence of the battle. One-Hour Wargames
On this battle, insurgents had destroyed the railroad bridge over the Inexperienced River at Rowlett’s Station, Kentucky. An organization of infantry was despatched by the northern military to supply safety throughout bridge repairs. They crossed on a brief pontoon bridge. The insurgents had been mendacity in wait. The mission goal for the insurgents was to disrupt bridge repairs. After pictures had been exchanged, the target for the defenders was to destroy or rout the insurgents so restore work might resume.
Guidelines and Order of Battle
On this algorithm, either side at all times has six models. I imagine this is sensible right here as a result of insurgents will select to pay attention their restricted assets to realize a drive multiplier impact. The common military should relocate its superior firepower in response to the place the assaults happen. This entails a delay. The insurgents will withdraw when the defenders are bolstered. This was a solo wargame; just one participant was concerned (the creator). Either side executed their portion of the battle as deliberate, so few choices had been required.
On this battle, the bridge defenders (Blue military) had 4 infantry platoons (tiles marked with an X), one tank (on the north aspect of the river, marked with an oval) and one Apache helicopter gunship (marked with the bowtie image). The gunship couldn’t arrive till the third spherical.
The attackers (Pink military) had three infantry platoons, two models of sunshine recon autos (marked with the cavalry slash), and one mortar unit. The cav models hit with minus two.
Units might transfer or shoot in a single flip however not each. The board was 2×2 ft. Infantry might transfer six inches and cav might transfer eight inches. The helicopter might transfer wherever on the board.
Terrain on the board included the river, two stands of timber and a hill. A city was on the southeast aspect however didn’t determine into the battle. The timber and the hill offered cowl in addition to concealment. Cowl diminished the hits by ½. Armor on the tank and the gunship counted as cowl.
All models besides the mortar shot line of sight. One die was rolled for every capturing unit. The variety of hits was the quantity displaying on the D6 (besides the cav; the cav hit minus two). Every unit might take 15 hits earlier than being taken out of motion.
Battle Report
In Spherical 1, the insurgents (Pink military), who had been hid, fired on the infantry bridge guards (Blue military) who had shaped a fringe. They concentrated their fireplace and scattered one of many platoons. On their flip, the Blue military rushed the hill. They may not stay within the open. The tank started firing from its place on the north aspect of the river.
In Spherical 2, the Pink cavalry unit on the hill moved to the dense forest within the heart. The Pink models within the heart concentrated their fireplace on one of many Blue infantry models. The Pink mortar selected to disregard the tank. The Blue infantry platoon suffered a number of hits. On their flip, the Blue military lastly began touchdown some hits on the Pink infantry platoons.
This sample continued in Spherical 3, however on the Blue flip, the gunship arrived above the central stand of timber. It scored some hits, as did the infantry and the tank. Nevertheless, in rounds 4 and 5, the gunship was hit 14 instances, so it was compelled to withdraw. This allowed the Pink military to pay attention its fireplace once more on the Blue infantry that had been dug in on the hill.
I known as the battle over originally of the Spherical 7. The Blue military had misplaced three infantry platoons, leaving them with just one. The Pink military had misplaced two infantry platoons however the nonetheless had one infantry platoons, two cav models and the mortar. The surviving Blue infantry platoon was dug in on the hill and hopelessly outnumbered. The insurgents had received the battle.
Within the replay, all Blue infantry platoons had been scattered after 12 rounds. The gunship withdrew after 13 hits. The Pink military had one cav unit and the mortar unit left on the finish. This was extra expensive for the insurgents than the earlier attempt, however the mission goal was completed: repairs to the bridge had been halted.
Within the second replay, the gunship might have withdrawn after 11 hits however selected to stay on website. It was shot down. The battle was over after six rounds. One Blue infantry platoon remained. The Pink military had one infantry platoon, two cav and the mort nonetheless operational.
Conclusions
This battle exhibits us that the superior firepower of the federal government forces is not going to enable them to right away overcome insurgents if the insurgents focus their assaults and fade away earlier than reinforcements can arrive. At any given location, the insurgents can deliver extra floor forces to bear than the federal government has instantly accessible. The web impact is a irritating scenario by which the insurgents appear to have the benefit, offered they strike quick and arduous and withdraw earlier than they’re outgunned.
Within the 1861 battle, 500 well-drilled Indiana Germans had been guarding the bridge repairs. They had been attacked by a Accomplice drive of 1350 troopers, together with cavalry and Texas Rangers. The cavalry assumed a cost would carry the day for them, however the Germans shaped sq. and solely suffered 40 casualties. Historical past judges the battle to be a draw.
On this trendy redux, insurgents didn’t recklessly cost right into a defended place. They maintained concealment and canopy, relocated models shortly as obligatory, and concentrated their fireplace on one platoon at a time. On this train, the insurgents had not planted improvised explosive gadgets and they didn’t have cheap however deadly drones at their disposal. These weapons would have tipped the end result in favor of the insurgents and we would count on they’d have received extra decisively and sooner.
This train was meant to mannequin a single occasion. In an precise insurgency, the trendy military would occupy the rebellious space, search to win the hearts and the minds of the inhabitants, and harden their defensive positions. All of this takes time, huge sums of cash, and political help. As the instance of Afghanistan exhibits, insurgents will be affected person and will prevail in the long run.
Wargaming quite a lot of tactical conditions involving home insurgents would assist to establish methods and means for responding to their actions. {Most professional} wargamers who’re within the army will be anticipated to method these questions with a unique methodology, one with an emphasis on group course of and incorporation of larger complexity
The restrictions of this research are obvious. Just one investigator was concerned so the outcomes of the video games could also be biased. The simplifying assumptions underlying the train could have been unrealistic, introducing deadly flaws. The rule set could also be too easy. Accordingly, replication of the train by different wargamers, utilizing totally different guidelines, is important. On the identical time, the evaluation demonstrates that unbiased wargamers, working alone, can mannequin necessary points and produce findings that may be evaluated and maybe explored by army analysis amenities
Image 1. Configuration of forces at begin. The Blue infantry is about as much as defend the bridge from a fringe. A tank helps the infantry from the north aspect of the river. A helicopter gunship squadron is accessible to be known as however can’t enter till Spherical 3. The Pink military has cavalry models (gentle recon autos) hid on the flanks. Three infantry platoons and a mortar unit are hid within the dense timber within the heart.
Image 2. Configuration of forces originally of Spherical 7. The gunship squadron was out of motion as a result of it had taken 14 hits. Just one infantry unit remained and it was outnumbered by the insurgents, who had one infantry platoon, two cav models, and one mortar unit.
References
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[3] S. Burns, “WAR GAMERS’ HANDBOOK: A Information for Skilled Wargamers,” Newport, RI, 2015.
[4] A. Hernandez, M. McDonald, and J. Ouellet, “Publish wargame experimentation and evaluation: Re-examining executed computer-assisted wargames for brand new insights,” Army Operations Analysis, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 19–37, 2015, doi: 10.5711/1082598320419.
[5] E. H. Web page, “Modeling and Simulation, Experimentation, and Wargaming-Assessing a Widespread Panorama,” Aug. 2016.
[6] J. Curry, “Skilled Wargaming: A Flawed however Helpful Device,” Simulation & Gaming, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 612–631, 2020.
[7] B. E. Mainardi, “In the direction of Higher Civilian Strategic Schooling: A Case for Tabletop Wargames,” Army Technique Journal, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 36–41, 2022.
