Athena's love affair with West Virginia

[pgr]

So I'm starting yet another game with the AI as the CSA... and once again the rebels have decided to get everyone together and go for a long walk about in the Shenandoah Vally and mountains of W. Va. I of course love chasing them through that lovely country....but it seems like they really should be guarding the approaches to Richmond.

I am assuming there are many factors that contribute here. Ai detection bonus, aggressiveness, etc... but there seems to be a distinct preference of the AI to focus on the defense of the Vally above all else.

Any ideas as to why?

My pet theory is that the AI is reacting to an over concentration of VP points. Winchester next to Harpers Ferry draws AI troops up there...and then the fact that I don't tend to deploy much in southern PA has them creep north. I wonder if AI behavior would change if the strategic cities were moved a bit. Say New-Market as the strategic town instead of Winchester, and making Fredricksburg an strategic town instead of Charlottesville. That might help the AI stay focused on central VA when running the CSA.

[Gray Fox]

I may be wrong in this assumption, but I thought that the veterans of the older game gave a lot of input as to what Athena should do. I always destroy the depots at Morgantown and Strassburg, then any large CSA units in WV just starve.

[minipol]

In my games as the Union (I usually play CSA), I often see the Union do death marches to the east of Louisville.
It seems they even prefer do start them when the winter approaches.
Good, it saves me bullets.

[pgr]

I may be wrong in this assumption, but I thought that the veterans of the older game gave a lot of input as to what Athena should do. I always destroy the depots at Morgantown and Strassburg, then any large CSA units in WV just starve.

Usually I don't need to go to the trouble of destroying them...they just let me waltz in and capture them....while they go mountain climbing in the wastelands with 2 or 3 corps...

[Stonewall]

I've read pretty extensively on the Civil War and I don't remember any single example of any attack made by either side from the regions we are discussing. Namely the region in between the norther border of Morgantown - Lewisburg - Prestonburg - Lexington and the south border of New Market - Covington - Huntsville. If the ai is having a troubling time not suiciding itself marching through these areas, I'm wondering if a temporary solution (until the ai can be fixed or deterred) could be to change the terrain type for these areas to "impassable", thus preventing the ai from suiciding its armies there. Or would the ai still try to go from point A to point B, and just "march" around the very large impassable region.