[CSA EAST] Virginia, The Bleeding Ground (Eastern AAR).

[Banks6060]

[CENTER][/CENTER]

[color="Red"][CENTER]"Neither North nor South, Slave owner nor Abolitionist, Billy Yank nor Johnny Reb were prepared for what hell would come of this affair...."
-Cpl. Charles Erwin
2nd Virginia Regiment
Army of the Potomac[/CENTER][/color]

[Banks6060]

[color="Red"][CENTER][SIZE="5"]Turn 1 Planning[/size][/CENTER][/color]

This will likely be a turn of relative inactivity on both sides, or so I hope my opponent thinks.

As some of you readers may have surmised by the "War Room" chat, I stumbled upon a really nastly little problem at the beginning of this game and it was something that I did not, at all, expect. General Bohnam and General Holmes, both under Beauregard at Manassas, were both also INACTIVE this turn.

So I was presented with a little problem...as some of you may have noticed by one of my threads in the general forum about combat penalties due to inactivity, versus penalties due to insufficient command. While my question wasn't fully answered, I was able to come up with this:

It would be better to have one Corps Commander Inactive and NO insufficient command penalty....than to have 35% insufficient command penalty. So, full circle, I decided to form a Corps with General Bohnam for now and await Holmes activation to form another with him. General Bohnam will be in command of Three regular Brigades, about 363 power combined...with Beauregard in charge of the rest....approximately 675 power.

General Bohnam and General Beauregard are to stay in Mannassas and await my opponent's next move, I have an inkling that he will not attack immediately, but I can't take the chance on giving away Mannassas this early. I have a feeling he will probably either stay put and take the NM hit or make a move on Harper's Ferry and take the NM hit. All the better for the Army of the Potomac, because more time means deeper trenches.

I am also concerned that he may try a move directly against Fredricksburg, to which I would likely move directly against Alexandria and Washington, but that remains to be seen.

I have ordered a division under E.K. Smith to force march North and West to cut the rails leading to Grafton and later assault the town to cause a little meyhem on my opponent's western flank, perhaps releaving some pressure from Harper's Ferry and buying time for Jackson to march there an dig in tight.

A cavalry regiment is ordered to move to Frederick, MD and cut the rails leading to Harper's Ferry, preventing any quick advance by my opponent.

A small brigade of Militia is ordered to garrison Covington Virginia and the "Backdoor" to Richmond. Huger is ordered to send a brigade to suppliment Magruder's sacrifice.

Lastly I order General Winder, with his small force in Charleston, to the west to be placed under my compatriot's command in Florida for, what we hope is a quick strike on fort Pickens and a subsequent quick return to the Charleston defenses. This is probably the riskiest of moves being made this turn....leaving THE most important industrial center in the south virtually undefended for perhaps a few turns while we operate against the enemy in the gulf.

I'll have a couple of screenies here in just a few hours....

and I'll of course post the results when I receive a new turn

[Banks6060]

And the promised screenies....

All of the moves in the eastern theatre of operations. You can see Bohnam and Beauregard in Manassas there...about 28,000 men. They'll have to hold out alone. Harper's Ferry is too important. Jackson is weak, but his command should make up for it .

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Well, I suppose that would be screen-ie (singular)

[color="Red"]"The men are to be pushed to the very brink of exhaustion, so general Jackson's orders read. We are to make for Grafton, perhaps to win West Virginia for the Southern Cause. We know there is tough work ahead but the boys are ready. Tommorrow we march my love. To victory, death or glory. Perhaps all at once. We march."

General E.K. Smith to his wife
July 17, 1861[/color]

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"][CENTER]Turn 1 Results[/CENTER][/color][/size]

E.K. Smith is rather tired from all the force marching, but he managed to make it to his objective.




Jackson has arrived outside Harper's Ferry. He'll likely need some garrison troops there to help lock down the town, otherwise he'll dig in around the surrounding hills.

Beauregard and the Army of the Potomac still sits in Manassas, I hate giving my opponent the initiative, but I have no choice here really. He's going to have to make the first move.



The 15th Virginia had a painful crossing at the Mouth of the James River, about 1450 men became casualties due to sunken ferries and barges. That regiment will need some rest.





This turn will probably be one of rest. If my opponent knows what he's doing. (and I wager he does). I wouldn't be surprised to see Smith under some dirress this turn. He will more than likely assume a Defensive posture in the forrest and regain cohesion.

Jackon will stay put for now.

So will Beauregard.

The cav might attempt to intercept the enemy cav that's popped up just to the Southeast....give us both a little taste of battle.

[Banks6060]

An interesting result this turn for sure....update to come tonight with screenies. But A little taste of a somewhat alarming Union move.

A strong Union fleet has appeared along the middle reaches of the James River outside Richmond and Petersburg.


[color="Red"][CENTER]"The sails were spotted at midday on August 8th. thin columns of steam arose from some vessels, others bore only the white canvas of an age long obsolete in the anals of naval warfare. But a fearful sight it was. As the Union fleet anchored outside the capitol, panic struck every citizen. Every piece of shoreline property was quickly abandoned. The streets were flooded with people attempting to make their way as far north as possible to avoid the shelling that was likely to commence. But for days it never came. We shall have to see what lies in wait, for our young nation may yet be at risk even in this early hour of conflict. I maintain the hope that General Beauregard can keep the enemy at bay in the north, or perhaps send us help. But I do know that were the enemy to approach our capitol in force, perhaps 10,000 men...the war would likely be over. Stay safe my son."

General Robert E. Lee to his son serving with the 1st Virginia Cavalry
August 14th, 1861[/CENTER][/color]

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"][CENTER]Turn 3 Planning[/CENTER][/color][/size]

Starting with E.K. Smith's command, his supplies are low. He really doesn't have any options other than to attack. I figured I might be able to sneak him back to Harper's Ferry, but I didn't want to lose the initiative and the momentum I'd gained by advancing into West Virginia in the first place.

I was even daring enough to think that with a swift forced march I might be able to bag Wheeling, WV. But that would have been fruitless. So...Considering my intel on the enemy...(which is lacking, I wish I'd been allowed to have the cav this turn...I'd know exactly what I was up against)...
I have decided that one militia brigade and a supply wagon should be easy to defeat, even in the mountains. He's obviously building artillery in Grafton...(you don't just plop guns in a town by themselves.)...so that poor little militia brigade is sitting outside all alone. I just hope that favor fortunes the bold in this case....I've ordered Smith to move into the Mountains in "Cautious Assault" Posture in hopes he'll be able to knock out the defenders and sack the town all in one 6 day campaign. If he has the supplies he needs....then we'll consider a future move on Wheeling. Perhaps even on Pittsburg!

Disclaimor: Don't be confused by my attack posture in the screenie...I've ordered Smith to be in Assault posture.




Back to the main army...I was asked by Coregonas to try and move into Alexandria without bringing a battle...( I would assume he meant moving into the region in passive posture). I did not do this simply because I would not have been able to increase my MC to set up defensively....and the next turn I'd have had one of two options...get attacked in passive posture....or throw myself against even better defenses. Also, I don't think my opponent expected the move into Leesburg, VA...and he might be rushing back some troops to protect Alexandria anyway so an attack there is a little too risky for us at this stage. We don't have the replacements needed to replenish significant losses....however he may be setting up a defensive line of his own. We might see an "All quiet on the eastern front" type scenario here....I dunno. I noticed that both Hooker and McDowell's commands have a very healthy load of supply wagons....I see a potential flanking move coming as well...Methinks the enemy may try marching around Jackson's left flank and bag Winchester....I'm not too worried about that though....it would leave Washington almost defenseless and the Shennendoah is nothing compared to the prize of the enemy Capitol!

So after all this thought...I decide simply to extend my RIGHT flank to Stafford, VA to cut off the short route to Richmond through Fredricksburg.

I've also ordered Jackson's cavalry to intercept the federal raiders in Harper's Ferry.



And here's the strong fleet outside Richmond. Now I'm pretty sure those are all masted ships...I see a transport...but I don't notice any signs of a landing force. So I'm really not too worried about this movement at the moment. I assume Jabber is trying to bait my to syphon some strength from the main army to protect Richmond....well I'm not going to bite just yet. I have asked that James City and Norfolk be complimented with some shore batteries so that a move like this will be punished in the future. A blockade of Richmond is bad, but in the long run...I think it's somewhat foolish considering that those ships will likely be needed elsewhere. As far as I see it...we're doing a good job of keeping this many ships busy doing something other than what they probably should be.

[Banks6060]

[CENTER][SIZE="5"][color="Red"]Turn 3 Preliminary Results[/color][/size][/CENTER]

It looks like the little gamble paid off. Although I suppose it wasn't much of a gamble. First blood in the east comes at the hands of Edmund K. Smith and his little band of vagabonds in West Virginia. This early success is certainly encouraging. Losses in the fight were about 3 to 1 in my favor. That militia regiment obviously wasn't much of a problem. I'm pretty sure that it was the conscript regiment that stood and fought the longest causing me most of my casualties during the battle.

You can see that my artillery superiority played a pretty minor role being that the fight was in the mountains...however it was well enough that his artillery didn't do much either since it was still being mustered in town.

I was surprised his entrenchment benefit didn't help him any more than it did.
Smith gets congratulated and with another solid victory may very well earn himself another star. Now, decisions decisions. I'm sure my opponent realizes that this attack wasn't a feint and will probably begin reinforcing the area. crappy part is that he'll probably get time to do it since Smith's troops need some rest. it was some tough campaigning in the mountains. They've got plenty of supplies in Grafton though. they should be able to stock up after this turn for another month's worth of campaigning. And perhaps Richmond will allow Smith a supply train for further movements north. Pittsburgh looks awefully tasty.

More to come....

[Banks6060]

Alright...In an effort to provide as detailed a report as possible for you all. I've included all intelligence being gathered by scouts and spies in Maryland. I'll try and give this information prior to every turn so that you can see exactly what I'm seeing and understand how I come to some of my decisions.

Plus it helps to keep me from overlooking things .

So here's the bird's eye view from the rediculously advanced technology weather ballon miles in the air....



Taking a look along the entire line...you can see that my opponent, either by choice or not, has not formed any semblence of a Corps structure to allow mutual support along his line. All of his forces remained idol this turn so my first thought is that he may be attempting to keep my attention northward by baiting me to attack there in some fashion. I know that in most games, by now, Milroy or Berry would at least have a corps. I believe it could be a rouse because of the brig spotted on the Rappohannock. This is cause for some concern. If he manages to get an ironclad and transport with a brigade, or possibly small division loaded up the river and disembarked in Spottsylvania County...there's little I'll be able to do to stop him from taking Fredricksburg.

Now, to the specific intelligence briefings.

We'll go from north to south here.

Obviously you can tell that I know as much about Hooker's command as a baby does about algebra...He's got a whopping Hide value of 3 which either tells me his force has a TON of cavalry in it, a lot of irregulars, or the Hills are just THAT hard to see through. He only has one division and I'm assuming the entire force is suffering from a 10% command penalty being that, according to my knowledge, Hooker is still just a 1 star general offering only 2 CP's to a stack that would need 4. An Attack on Hooker would be ideal, but he is in a strong position and I don't know what kind of strength that division holds....so I'll send the 1st Virginia cavalry into Maryland in an attempt to gather a little more intelligence. Of course I'll order them to evade ANY sort of combat.

McDowell's Command...what a mess...I'm guessing he's still trying to scratch together a division with all those "home guard" troops to put under Burnside...who, according to my memory, is a 3 star right now and could command a corps. As far as power comparison...he probably trumps me by about 3-2...but I doubt those are odds enough to launch an attack across the river and into the hills. Bohnam, with his small corps will continue to dig in around Leesburg.

Now, here's where an attack might work. Runyon, a 1-star general is left to command his and Miles' divisions without the aid of a 2-star general. That 20% penalty would probably negate any entrenchment bonus he'd receive in combat and since there is currently no leader present to form a corps there and possibly attract the attention of McDowell should battle occur...it leaves Runyon rather isolated. I probably COULD attack with Holmes and attract Beauregard and Bohnam via MTG and drive Runyon back across the river....The power comparison would be about 1500 to 800...so 2-1 essentially....but I have this eerie feeling that's exactly what my opponent wants me to do...to distance myself further from Fredricksburg. I may enlist the council of my President to see about an attack on Alexandria....if we were able to consolidate a defensive position there....we'd know for sure that the only way to dislodge that position would be to flank it by way of the Rappohannock River or the James River.

The more I think about it, the more I convince myself that sending a division, possibly Magruder's, to Fredricksburg would be the best course of action.

For now I believe it best to stay on the defensive, you can never be too careful. It is best to wait for reinforcements and let the enemy make the first move. I have come to a compromise in my mind about Fredricksburg...I will send a large brigade there to begin digging in to stop any sort of landing there.....it will have to suffice.

That's the main theater...all other theaters are pretty quiet. Coastal garrisons are being sent to guard all the important coastal cities and Smith's command in West Virginia will hold tight....after studying the situation a little more...it is probably best that Smith simply dig in as tight as possible around Grafton for the time being and repel any Federal attempts to retake the town. The good part is that the western approaches to Virginia are now secure.....my opponent's access to Richmond has now been further limited to attacks from the north....or from the sea to the east.

We'll see how it shakes out.

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"][CENTER]Final Plan for Turn 4[/CENTER][/color][/size]



As per communication with my president. My orders will change slightly this turn. The attack on Alexandria will be cancelled. Huger will be split from Holmes' Corps and sent to join Beauregard and the Army HQ.

Magruder's small division will move with Holmes in command, to Fredricksburg to defend that city. I think this will suffice for our worries there. I'm moving the 3rd Virginia Reserve Brigade to join Jackson in Harper's Ferry. Counting my power up, I should have about 1600 points spread between Harper's Ferry and Mannassas, with another 204 points in Fredricksburg, more than enough to repel any landing by my opponent. He would probably have to attack with at LEAST 3-1 odds to have a chance of victory.

Here's to hoping for a good turn.

Stay tuned....

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="6"][CENTER][font="Courier New"][color="Red"]Preliminary Results from West Virginia[/color][/font][/CENTER][/size]



Well as you can see, a discouraging result to a battle I had anticipated. A confusing result I should say. Confusing for a number of reasons. The enemy entered the area in defensive posture, I doubt with any intention of actually attacking. I assume he was just going to build up enougrh ZOC points to force an attack by lack of MC by me before winter.

Then there is the fact that in neither battle, (there were two, this was the biggy...I'll show you the other one later.) Smith never tried to retreat according to the battle report, but DID try to retreat prior to battle according to the message log. So apparently the entire time, Smith was trying to make his way out of Grafton....apparently he thought Wallace's 10,000 troops were too much for him.

Most, if not all, Confederate losses were from that poor cavalry regiment that had made its way over from Kentucky. Smith's small division remains strong.

As I studied the battle report, I discovered that neither side had ANYONE attacking, all elements on BOTH sides were given bonuses for terrain (indicating they were in defensive posture). So I am wondering if this battle should have even taken place?? or perhaps since Smith attempted to retreat prior to battle, HIS troops were in passive posture while the 1st Tennessee Cavalry remained in defensive posture....Still I don't know how a battle took place if there was no one attacking at all.

Whatever happened, my opponent got very lucky and has, for all intents and purposes, dashed any of Smith's hopes at retaking Grafton.

more to come....my little cav recon into Frederick Maryland was costly...another confusing engagement.

[Banks6060]

Alright, so, moving on. We have Turn 5 intel across the eastern department...we'll start in the Northern VA/MD theater.



Again going from North to South, you can see my opponent has a pair of cavalry regiments near Chambersburg, PA, more than likely there to prevent me from raiding. I'll not oblige him for the time being.

Hooker's division was uncovered, not so much by my cavalry recon, but more by my cavalry recon gaining the services of another regiment and Hooker's command somehow losing a point of Hide Value. A mystery for certain, but I am happy to be able to see what Hooker's strength is. 355 at full strength...and that's at an expected 10% penalty.

McDowell, looks like I was wrong about that division under Burnside. My opponent is deffinetly up to something in his rear and I want to know what it is before it's too late.

Runyon, weakly commanded, but in a strong position at Alexandria. An attack here would be ideal, either that or an attack on Hooker.


Observations:

I believe this show of force is meant simply to hold me in place along my defensive line so that whatever the enemy is doing in the rear can be done without a second thought. This is certainly alarming, and irritating at the same time. How convenient it would be for the enemy just to launch himself into Virginia as was done historically, but I don't believe this is what he intends to do. I am convinced he wishes to dig deeply into his trench network, build a strong defensive line from Fredrick to Alexandria and start working the left hook into our rear areas. Given time, I believe he will be able to do this easily. So....I believe it is time to steal the initiative and hopefully put him on the ropes.

I don't believe either Fredricksburg or Richmond are under DIRECT threat right now...I'll show you later....but the time to make something happen is here. It's either now or never because snow is coming fast and it's already getting muddy. Currently, I have approximately 1760 power in the Army of the Potomac...I think it's time to throw some of that weight around. So I will mass the army at Mannassas a prime position to strike at any of the locations along my opponent's line. More on that in a minute.....


As for Fredericksburg...here's a look.



observations:

I beleive he is merely trying to blockade the Rappohannock River with shallow draft brigs to prevent any crossing there by my troops and making Culpepper a VERY important region, being that it would effectively become my only link to Richmond. As long as I hold Fredricksburg I am ok though.



And the eastern seaboard



observations:

While the California Brigade IS elite, I don't believe it will be able to do much other than land and secure a supply source for reinforcements. I see two locations ONE in particular that I believe my opponent may be looking at. Georgetown, isolated, not in any rail network so somewhat protected from a quick counterattack, at least enough so that defenders could dig in prior to one.

OR...he could be looking to assault either of the forts protecting Southport and Wilmington or Southport itself. I have a brigade and some cavalry ready to react in North Carolina should he decide to land the Calif. Brigade, but I believe had if he intended to do so, we would already see it parked outside one of our ports. Now this is a threat all along the eastern seaboard as well....he could very easily make it to any location from here to Florida. this is the problem as the rebs...we haven't the naval supremacy needed to counter this kind of move...hopefully Core's frigates can catch this guy. I can only hope that they're harmlessly on their way to Ft. Pickens.




OK....So overall. I will concentrate the main army in Mannassas, leaving Ewell's Brigade to defend Harper's Ferry along with a small militia detachment from Winchester, VA and the cavalry...which will remain stationed there to counter the federal cavalry in Chambersburg. The rest of the army will concentrate in Mannassas. Just for fun I'll take a look at the number of men and guns available for the campaing, the number of men in the AoP is pretty impressive...all told nearly 60,000 troops, 15,000 cav and more than 140 guns. From Mannassas, Beauregard will reorganize the army, using conscripts to fill some gaps in the early brigades and hopefully form another division with Bushrod Johnson once he arrives.

From here the army will be in, as they say in basketball, "Triple threat" position. I could strike at either Alexandria, Montgomery, MD...OR....strike Hooker's lone division, flanking the enemy's line....this would be the riskiest choice, for it would leave a relatively open road south, but with my opponent's lack of any REAL army and corps structure...it could be just what we're looking for. Now of course all of this depends on the weather being favorable. But like i said, it's time to steal the initiative and take some risks and let the chips fall where they may. If all else fails....General Kirby Smith's division will be in a good position to counter any enemy move south. Paying close attention to protect Fredericksburg.

And a pretty look at my plan:

[Banks6060]

As typically happens with me. I have allowed by patience to run thin and acted in such a way that has, in a way, hung my man in the west out to dry. I took another look at the game early this morning...."R" keying my way through all the moves that needed to be made out there to get troops, guns and cav to the front....the western army will be in need of a TON of rail capacity....and I've allowed only 40 for him to use.

I've decided also to call off the concentration in Mannassas. I must admit I am always one to adopt the idea that "the best defence is a great offense.", but within the realm of the current struggle....I suppose the idea does not quite apply...and my position along the Potomac is a strong one so I will remain there and continue to feed reinforcements to those troops already in position.

Our main offensive efforts for the year were to be concentrated in the Kentucky area anyway. So will just have to restrain myself until the Confederacy is better equipped to handle a major offensive campaign in my area. ....Ah it made for a good read though.

Sorry for giving you all a case of "gamer blue balls"......

[Banks6060]

Here's some intel of a location of interest in Virginia's "water front property". Look's like Mansfield has been ordered to take over in Ft. Monroe. There looks to be quite a concentration of troops there, possibly a division's worth. I dunno if Kurtz is trying to sneak one past me here or if this is just what the Union has at the start of the July scenario at Monroe, but I'm glad I caught this.

I'll have to make ma man Core aware of that...see if he wants to do anything about it.

...and El Screenie







You can see that the lone artillery battery will be moving into Suffolk this turn. Gotta keep better track of where everyone's gonna end up.

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"][CENTER]Turn 5 Results[/CENTER][/color][/size]

Not a whole lot of action this turn. Just a couple of small battles. Both of which were won by the Confederates, both of little consequence in the overall picture. The top graphic shows the Battle report for a small skirmish in the mountains around Beverly, WV as Smith made his way south to Covington. There were a couple of Yank conscript regiments with a supply train...probably the left over troops from the initial assault on Grafton moving south to cause trouble in Western Virginia. They were forced back to Grafton. I'm now thinking that missing 5th division I was talking about might have been under Blenker's command in Grafton. Although that could be wrong. Smith's offensive campaign is now over and he will be tasked, more than likely, with keeping Virginia's back door closed. I would love to see him in another fight though....in order to get him promoted. Solo could use him I think.


The other action was a very humorous engagement between a battery of my artillery and a regiment of Kurtz's cavalry. According to the battle report, the enemy cav simply formed up and charged the guns head on....losing about 200 troops on the way in. But ultimately the guns surrendered. Frustrating result actually because according to my orders....those guns were suppose to have boarded a train and moved out within a day (you'll notice the fight took place on Day 8). But apparently that didn't happen somehow.




Now...turning to intel on the Main front. I'll give you a full picture of strength on both sides here:



Observations:

Pretty much all quiet....apparently there is a new division under E. Keyes' command at McDowell's army HQ in Montgomery. more than likely formed with those militia troops we've seen there for the past two turns. Infantry has reinforced the cav in Chambers, PA. Hooker's hide value went back up to 3...odd. Runyon still sits outside Alexandria with a nasty command penalty, but a strong force none-the-less. My army continues to dig in along a line from Harper's Ferry to Fredricksburg....although there is a small hole in the line between Holmes small Corps and Beauregard's HQ....this is probably where a raid will sneak thru...more on that next.

Cavalry in Stafford....they captured my artillery. Not good, but we'll just have to deal with it. Three cav regiments are spotted along the Rappohannock north of Fredricksburg. I can only expect that they are on their way to do some raiding south of my main line. The vital rail connection in Culpepper is a very likely target...but there is the possibility they might disembark at Bowling Green, VA....or both. Kurtz will certainly attempt to stir up as much trouble as he can I'm sure of that. Muddy conditions will slow him though. It's rainy throughout the entire northern part of Virginia right now.

As far as my strength. There won't be an attack on my line for a LONG time I wager. most of Kurt's and Jabbers activity will be along the coast and small, annoying raids behind my line in an attempt to weaken my front line and disrupt my infrastructure. Member that "All Quiet on the Eastern Front" Scenario I was talkin' about?? Looks to have been accurate. Ah, I suppose I'll have to find another way to get Longstreet promoted. Laurel Brigade along with several cavalry regiments and some horse artillery stand ready in Richmond to stop any raiders....I'll most likely use the Laurel Brigade to plug the gap in my line at Culpepper and secure the Orange and Alexandria's route to Richmond.

Some VERY interesting developments along the Carolina coast...classic Jabber:



The cav which started in West Virginia has apparently made its way all the way into the Carolinas within a month and a half. They have certainly caused some problems with my infrastructure....delaying the time in which a headquarters can be sent out west and such. I think now his raid is about to come to a close. There are several cities nearby that hold garrisons....and the one which doesn't...is close enough for my raid reaction forces to meet him in strength. Camden, as you'll see....is just too juicy of a target NOT for Kurtz to go after with that cavalry and I hope to catch him there with mine. The 3rd Reserve Brigade will probably just stay put and defend Florence's vital rail junction. A cavalry brigade was raised in Charleston to react to a small commando style raid by Jabber....a detachment of sailors managed to take Branchville....of little consequence since supplies will be re-routed through Charleston and up to Virginia as needed. I will have to deal with this annoyance however. The newly formed cav will likely be tasked with this. I doubt those sailors will be around much longer than a few days...just enough to tear up the rails and reboard their transports. Apparently masted transports have a shallow enough draft to get into "Shallow" waters inland. I'll have to keep this in mind for the future.

Camden is my only concern here and I feel I have sufficient force to protect it...or at least recapture it and possibly destroy that troublesome Union cavalry regiment once and for all. Stories are already being told about these "phanton Federals".

That's it for now....stay tuned and make sure to check in with the War Room chat for our plans this turn....I'll post my final plans here before the turn gets processed.

[Banks6060]

[SIZE="5"][color="Red"][CENTER]Final Plans for Turn 6[/CENTER][/color][/size]

Well there will be a lot of action with the cavalry this turn. First we'll take a look at the main front in the east.



I'm going to use the Laurel Brigade, along with an off-screen regiment to attack any raiders that manage to make it into Culpepper. Hopefully I can stop anyone that tries to get through.

The 4th and 5th Georgia Cav and a horse battery will protect the route south from Bowling Green around Holmes' right flank. Hanover, VA is connected to rails so these regiments should be ready to react fast to any further incursions. Same with the Laurel Brigade.

Also two other regiments are being sent back north from the Carolinas....one will arrive in Amherst County, the other in Charlottesville this turn. They will be used to form up a cavalry division when we get someone that can command one.

In the Southeast.....I'll let you use the last post from the region to get the names for the units, but I'll have the 10th North Carolina Cav. chase the enemy cav. I'll have the 10th South Carolina Cav attack up through Branchville and Columbia and hold in Camden. And an off-screen cav unit will move to recapture Darlington.

The 3rd Reserve Brigade will stay put. It will be forming a new division under E.K. Smith in the next few turns.

No major movements. I had considered an attack on Hooker again. But cooler heads prevailed...it would have more than likely failed short of the trenches. I'll also be sending one brigade of reinforcements to General Magruder's division in Fredricksburg.

Stay tuned!

[Banks6060]

[CENTER][SIZE="5"][color="Red"]Turn 6 Results[/color][/size][/CENTER]



As you can see, my placement of the 4th and 5th Georgia Cav (Commanded by Col. Patrick Swayze by the way ) on the main army's right flank managed to be a wise decision...although it cost the poor regiments dearly. Over a period of 9 days...the opposing horsemen fought back and forth through Hanover County, VA. a bloody affair...but it looks like my opponents raiders may be doomed. I can get replacements....he can't.

Mind you one of his raiders did manage to retreat right into a prime region along my rail supply line. So that looks like it will be cut this turn. There are cavalry everywhere in Northern Virginia...two enemy regiments in the valley and two in the Tidewater....I've got plenty of cav to deal with them though....as you can remember from my last post....I brought up a LOT of horsey's. .


NEXT Screenie



Observations:

Saw this one comin'. Just didn't think it would happen this fast. I might have been able to put up a decent enough fight with the 1st NC brigade to run Ol' Meagher's 9th Division off...but Coregonas was probably correct in assuming that the lone brigade was in danger.

You'll see that a small contingent has managed to land near Suffolk, VA. They've got a three way road either to Norfolk, Petersburg, or Goldsboro, NC. Good move by my opponent. I have requested that a division be sent to deal with this little problem. MY problem is...I gotta try and guess which way he's goin'. I think Petersburg is his most likely target. Norfolk would get him some National Morale....so that's a possibility. But if he wanted to hurt my supply network...he'd go for either Petersburg or Goldsboro, NC....hmmmmm. Decisions, decisions.

The capture of James City and Suffolk has given my opponent two more ports to send supplies to...both even closer to my supply network....and not to mention Richmond. This situation will need addressing.

NEXT Screenie



Observations:

All of the sudden, my opponents raiding forces dissappear. there were no reported battles, so I'm clueless as to where they've gone. They aren't inland...perhaps the cav had finally run out of supplies and thus men....perhaps the same for the sailors...I dunno

[Banks6060]

[color="Red"][SIZE="5"][CENTER]Turn 8 Planning[/CENTER][/size][/color]



Bit of a lazy AAR post this time. .

As you can see, things aren't exactly looking up, but there are some things we can take away from the situation. It's winter and Kurtz's movement will be limited from here on out. Crappy part is, it's winter...and I need to get the main army back into a good position to defend Richmond.


I've planned a withdrawal from Northern Virginia down the Orange and Alexandria Railroad. Jackson is currently in Mannassas with Beauregard. So a temporary Corps has been given to him to command for the time being. Bee will leave a unit to destroy the depot at Harper's Ferry and head over to join Bohnam on his way to Mannassas. The enemy army is pretty strong at all points. You'll See


McDowell in Alexandria. Guessing he has approximately the same amount of combat power as Beauregard does.

Butler in Fredricksburg. Who's corps is recovering from its landing there.

also Meagher's division north of Richmond. He is most likely headed to either Fredricksburg....or to cause a little trouble along my supply route before retreating to Fredricksburg.

There is also a small raiding force in Suffolk that's causing me some problems. I've assigned E.K Smith to take care of them. We will need a fast reaction force in the Carolinas after this and I anticipate Smith will take that task on after he's done in Virginia.

I'm going to use my cavalry to keep the Orange and Alexandria open for business to Richmond. I might need to rail my troops back there quickly. I do wish we had a little more rail capacity.

I've got boat-loads of pesky militia to move around and organize into brigades, then finally divisions. Along with droves of cavalry and artillery units. It's a pain...a logistical nightmare of sorts because much of my infrastructure has been knocked out by enemy raiders...it's making concentration a chore. But it'll get it done over the winter if we get a little breathing room.

I'm pretty sure the move against Fredricksburg was timed to happen just as winter hit...so as to prevent me from counter attacking. Perhaps the weather will clear though. If it does....I plan to try and retake the city. With that depot occupied by an entire enemy Corps. I won't be able to operate north of it. Placing my army in a very poor position...if it is not able to operate in Northern Virginia and threaten Washington...then there is nothing stopping Kurtz from romping around Virginia.

8 turns...and things in the east are not looking up. But I believe the quality of my generals will end up making a fight of it. I expect Kurtz will just dig in tight at Fredricksburg and Mannassas and just hold up during 1862. But we'll see....

[rocksmith419]

I am a newbie here. I agree with the thread starter.