Woodscrew Armies Campaign - A Deadly Reckoning (4 - conclusion)

 

The fall of Prince Zeng Seng-Bao seemed to enrage the Chinese 5th Regular formation, who, ignoring the defensive rifle and gunfire, rapidly closed with the northern 38th Brigade redoubt, and simply swept over the position like a tidal wave. Of the entire garrison of two battalions, nothing remained under command. The North Column Regulars and 19th Conscripts threatened to roll up the fluid Union line as the fleeing remains of 19th Brigade were almost swallowed up by the onrushing West Column formations pushing south from the escarpment position.

Closer by the camps, 38th Brigade, under the eye of Major-General Jackson, took up the battle against the advancing 3rd Regular and 15th Conscript formations. They were supported by the Pioneers in their redoubt near the bridge, and one of the heavy batteries on their other flank. The conscript formation's victory had not come cheaply. Already disordered by its costly fight with 17th Brigade, 15th Conscripts sank quickly into further confusion, fell apart, and precipitately fled, back down the face of the escarpment.  The Regulars lasted longer.

They lasted longer, but somewhat in advance of the other West Column formations to their right, were facing fearful odds of superior numbers, superior firepower and artillery besides.  Those other columns, in pursuit of the 19th Brigade remnants, were distanced by their quarry, who, passing beyond the range of the enemy small arms, formed an extempore gun line prolonging the 38th Brigade position. Crowded to the rear of the fleeing ordnance, the machine gunners took some losses from the distant enemy rifle fire before settling into fire positions covering the heavy and Brigade artillery.

All this was happening out of sight of Bidwell's Brigade, north of the stream skirting the high ground, pushing up against a rearguard hastily cobbled together by T'ai Kun Wu himself.  He had available the smoothbore artillery of East Column - the only unit from that corps still under command - and the rifled cannon from West Column, plus the light infantry survivors from the Leopard and Tiger light infantry skirmishers who had opened the battle.  With these troops he hoped to drive off the oncoming Union brigade.

The latter had the numbers, the machine guns, and supporting fire from the breech-loading rifled guns that had remained behind the earthworks on 'Big Hill'. And they had magazine rifles against single shot breechloaders - the only Chinese unit with even those obsolescent firearms. In the light of the overall disparity, it was probably too much to hope that this Chinese rearguard could defeat Bidwell's Brigade, but perhaps they could they render prohibitive the cost of a further advance?

The dice rolls tell the story - or most of it - though they require explanation. I use a 'Die range' system to determine hits. The effect is the same as subtracting from the individual dice scores, but does away with the actual arithmetic. The Chinese rolls - sixes and fives - would have been a tremendous score under a different regime: here they were bad. Only the smoothbore artillery beside the river scored hits (5 of them) being close enough for that score to count. The other artillery fire (one die, a six), and the infantry (one die - a six, and a half-die - the five) were ineffectual. The 5 scored by the smoothbores led, once 'converted' into casualties, to 3 figures being removed from 37th Brigade. That was bad enough for the Union.

How Bidwell's fight went: 11 'hits' to 5.

In contrast, the Union returned a devastating fire. Everything hit: the MGs, 2 hits; the artillery 3 (the maximum it could score at that range); and the riflemen 5, plus the fraction (the red die beside the red/white/blue dice) adding another 1. The MGs wiped out the East Column artillery; the supporting artillery silenced the Chinese rifled ordnance; and the riflemen themselves cut the enemy light infantry to ribbons.  In the carnage, T'ai Kun Wu was lucky to survive.  

This was by no means the end of the battle. Quite unaware of what was happening below the escarpment behind them, the Chinese, though their their ranks were greatly thinned, continued to press forward. Once what remained of East Column had been flung back, 3rd Regular's lone battle against 38th Brigade could have but one result, however valiantly they fought. And valiantly they did. Once again let the dice tell the story.  

Four hits they scored, but the return fire was even more devastating: altogether eleven. Thirty-eighth Brigade could wear the losses; 3rd Regulars had no chance. In a trice, the scant remnants also abandoned the fight.

There remained whatever North Column could achieve to determine the outcome of the battle. As the unseen fight north of the creek had been developing, the Union line had more or less consolidated, well to the rear of their original position. Having overrun one redoubt, 5th Regulars reformed, wheeling to the right, prepared to storm the second 39th Brigade infantry position. The defenders might have benefited from machine gun support, but their attention had been drawn to the approach of a large column of Chinese cavalry - 2500 of them. The MG and flying artillery fire proved ineffectual against that large target (only one horseman being knocked over). Now was Brigadier 'Reb' Klamath's chance to realise a long-held desire - to engage in a mounted action.  

The battle flared up anew in this part of the field. Again taking severe losses, the 5th Regulars rolled over the second redoubt.  The surviving 39th Brigade battalions hastily abandoned the work, and retired in disorder behind the brigade gun line. Standing upon the ground conquered, the Chinese regulars' rifle fire soon silenced the 39th Brigade artillery as well. But, further advance being impossible, they could not long endure the whiplash of enfilading machine gun fire. Soon, 5th Regulars were drawing back, their swift tide of advance becoming an equally rapid ebb of retreat. 

The hoped-for cavalry clash proved less climactic, perhaps, than either side hoped for. Both sides hampered by the fields of barbed wire entanglements, they could throw in only separate regiments. The slightly greater Chinese numbers could not be brought to bear. The Chinese fought to a standstill 55th Union Cavalry, on the latter's right, both sides losing a figure. To the left of the wire, 58th Cavalry crushed their opponents, killing or capturing half, and sending the other half fleeing.   

There remained the Chinese centre - the conscripts of North column and two formations of West Column, to carry the day.  It still seemed just possible, as the 38th Brigade remained the sole organised formation remaining to face them...

Suddenly the Chinese attacks collapsed and faded away. The rout of East Column; the North Column having receded from their highwater mark; and the West's assault columns having become woefully thinned out; the Chinese army had simply exhausted its strength. Losses had been appallingly heavy, so determined had been their attacks, but they had at last become too prohibitive to be endured. Two of his formation commanders had fallen with them. The army shattered - T'ai kun Wu's command had dashed itself to pieces - there was no option but to retreat. But the Union army was itself in very nearly as great a distressed state. Driving back the western end of the Union line the best part of a mile, T'ai Kun Wu had come so close to a victory.  

'Who does not see the hand of God in this victory,' General Jackson remarked to his Chief of Staff, 'such a one is blind, sir. Blind!'  

Victory it was, but the Union Army knew it had been in a fight for its life, and had come within ace of falling to pieces itself. There was no pursuit, the Army was exhausted, and the sun was by this time close to touching the distant horizon. Even on the morrow, there would be none but a respectful follow-up by the cavalry. 

Situation Map, afternoon August 2nd.

Losses were appalling on both sides. The Union had to deplore the loss of 5000 troops - nearly a quarter of the army - all too many of them from the fresh brigades, 17th and 19th. Brigadier General Early had also fallen at the barricades atop the escarpment, along with almost the half of 17th Brigade. The ferocity of the Chinese assault might be measured by their own losses: near on 15,000. Of them, some 3500-4000 remained prisoners, wounded and unwounded, in Union hands.

Never certain of victory after the series of defeats his army had endured during the fortnight leading to this battle, T'ai Kun Wu had deliberately chosen to delay his attack until the day was well advanced.  A reverse could then be minimised, and a pursuit obviated, by the onset of darkness. He had still under command despite their losses, just 4 formations - 1st Regular, 12th and 19th Conscript, and the cavalry. Half his guns had been lost. So scattered was his army, that it was to be a painful three-day retreat to join the South Column, west of Weshall Pass...

The battle won at such a cost, left the Union Army badly in need of rest and reorganisation.  Determined still to drive the Chinese from the disputed territories, Major General Thomas J. Jackson set about revamping and reorganising his troops. There would be no retreat for Tenth Army.

To be continued...