The Bullet is not Molded. . .

[Connecticuts8th]

I recently picked the game up again, and this scenario is a hell of a good, yet frustrating time. I don't try more than once a day, but this morning was livid, as my mental note of the major victory mark was 3000 points, instead of the actual 4000. Ended up with 3300 and change, with my reserve division not engaged until the last few minutes. Oops.

[Grognard Pierre]

Well, for what it's worth I finally got my promotion on this scenario. I left Barlow on the left flank with a "defend" stance, left the artillery in the centre and moved everything else to the fighting on Blochers knoll.
Unfortunately Barlow's men got beaten about a bit which left me with weakened forces for the follow on scenario "Brickyard lane"
Anyway I held Blochers knoll, ensuring I had some gaps in my line so that my guns could be effective.
I used Krzyzanowski to counter attack the Confederates flanking my left at the knoll and beat them up well.
When the 1st NY light battery "I" arrived from Gettysburg I put them on the knoll and 1st Ohio Light Battery "K" I placed on the far right where they did some good work.
In previous attempts at this game I held onto the knoll for as long as possible, but even holding this place for the whole game did not yield enough points for a Major Victory (close though). This time at the 30 minute mark when the VP marker on Blochers Knoll disappeared I realised that the marker on Cemetery ridge was available although it required 1000 men to activate it.
I pulled everything back via the roads; guns, rallying units, leaders and finally the few units still engaged in firefights. In column on the roads even exhausted units were able to outrun the Rebs.
The Cemetery ridge VP location activated soon enough and at the game end 4200 VP was enough to graduate.
To get a better score (although a bit gamey) would be to send one of the Gettysburg brigades to Blochers knoll and the other one to the left to replace Ames. That unit (having more than 1000 men) pulls back to Cemetery Ridge to grab the points as soon as the VP marker is active, plus giving you a reasonably intact brigade for the subsequent scenario. Don't let the Gilsa brigade get too beaten up either. Meanwhile hold Blochers Knoll as long as the VP marker is active and then get back to Cemetery Ridge.
I enjoyed this scenario, something quite different.