Strategy and Tactics: Decision to Engage - Part II

In Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part VI we saw Captain Rizer's detachment re-enforced at Green Spring Depot and Captain Crawford W. Shearer assume command of the Federal forces there. Captain John Quincy Winfield's Confederate detachment remained unchanged. The Federal player would now be aware that he outnumbers the enemy (at least any enemy that he can see).

Let's assume that the Federal Player wants to drive away the enemy threat to his railroad depot and responds to his new contact report by issuing the order to attack. If the Confederate Player issued an order to Withdraw, he would only have one route of withdrawal open - back to Taylor's Ford.  A Withdraw order would have Captain Winfield's detachment retire from the Green Spring Depot locality and move to the Taylor's Ford locality. But let's assume that the Confederate Player decides to maintain his position and observe. From what we learned in Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part III, this would lead to an engagement.

Because both Captain Shearer's Federal force and Captain Winfield's Confederate detachment are both under 1,500, the engagement would be classified as a "Skirmish." My next post will look at the rules for a skirmish and show how it is run using the TC2M game.