Hi all and thanks for reading,
I am an experienced wargamer (played Panzer Campaigns and Combat Mission for about a decade), but am very new to Civil War games and grand strategy games in general (did play Crusader Kings 2 for a good while).
I want to get back into strategy gaming and bought this game with the intention of doing PBEM after getting comfortable with the game.
Now, I have read the full manual, read some AAR, and watched a few hours worth of videos, but when I open the July '61 campaign (as CSA) against the AI, I still feel completely overwhelmed on what to do on turn 1.
So if anyone has the time to help with the following questions I would be much obliged:
- What rules should I use to get the same feel as are normally used in PBEM?
- Halp!! What should I be doing on turn 1?
- What should I make sure to do each turn?
- What are the crucial things to look out for and prepare for?
I know these questions are not easily answered.
Thanks a bunch,
Aditia
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Aditia Holdem
- Conscript
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:21 pm
Hm, well I usually start in April and I don't play PBEM, but I can probably give some answers.
RE: each turn, it can help to make yourself a checklist of things you'll need to do every turn. Making sure you have enough replacements. Making sure your forces are properly supplied (both general supply and ammo). The seasonal weather will affect your ability to move and your attrition rate, and you'll often have to take that into account when planning ahead. Examples: March-April can bring lots of rain, and thus mud, which will slow cavalry to a crawl; some rivers are prone to freezing in the winter months, making travel (and I think supply) via that option unavailable until thaws.
As the CSA, the early years are often the few where you'll have any freedom to maneuver and attack. Try to take advantage of that if you can. The force disparity at the start of the full campaign isn't so great that you can't defend against an opponent intent on all out assault. It's common wisdom (at least on the forums) that if you can't win the scenario as CSA by '63 then it's just a matter of time before you'll be overwhelmed by the superior production capacity of the Union.
If you're practicing against the AI, make sure you have reasonable save history level set. That way, if you find that you've a series of bad moves, you can roll back the turns and try things a different way.
RE: each turn, it can help to make yourself a checklist of things you'll need to do every turn. Making sure you have enough replacements. Making sure your forces are properly supplied (both general supply and ammo). The seasonal weather will affect your ability to move and your attrition rate, and you'll often have to take that into account when planning ahead. Examples: March-April can bring lots of rain, and thus mud, which will slow cavalry to a crawl; some rivers are prone to freezing in the winter months, making travel (and I think supply) via that option unavailable until thaws.
As the CSA, the early years are often the few where you'll have any freedom to maneuver and attack. Try to take advantage of that if you can. The force disparity at the start of the full campaign isn't so great that you can't defend against an opponent intent on all out assault. It's common wisdom (at least on the forums) that if you can't win the scenario as CSA by '63 then it's just a matter of time before you'll be overwhelmed by the superior production capacity of the Union.
If you're practicing against the AI, make sure you have reasonable save history level set. That way, if you find that you've a series of bad moves, you can roll back the turns and try things a different way.
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pgr
- General of the Army
- Posts: 670
- Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:33 pm
- Location: Paris France (by way of Wyoming)
As Grim stated, develop a sort of turn checklist. I tend to do stratigic stuff first (money, and conscript options), infrastructure builds (RR and River pools), then Builds and replacements.
As far as turn 1 goes, don't try to take in the map all at once. Focus on the East, then the middle, then the west. For each area, sort out what you want to do. (places to attack, places to defend etc.) those decisions will then guide your decisions on what to build and where to build up forces.
The rest is manuver and war gaming. So as long as you break your process into pieces, it makes it simpler to attack the game.
You also might consider playing some battles or smaller campaigns to work your way into the game.
As far as turn 1 goes, don't try to take in the map all at once. Focus on the East, then the middle, then the west. For each area, sort out what you want to do. (places to attack, places to defend etc.) those decisions will then guide your decisions on what to build and where to build up forces.
The rest is manuver and war gaming. So as long as you break your process into pieces, it makes it simpler to attack the game.
You also might consider playing some battles or smaller campaigns to work your way into the game.
I found it helped me to not think I needed to do a full play through from the get go. I ran through the first 6-10 turns focusing on different aspects and ignoring the rest. Then I'd restart, applying what'd I learned and expanding to new things. The familiarity of doing the same stuff over and over really helped me. I think I ran through the first 6 months 10-12 times before I tried a 'for real' game.
Capon
Capon
Glad you have chosen this game. It is excellent and so fun as a pbem game.
My suggestions:
What rules should I use to get the same feel as are normally used in PBEM?
Default rules work except for these:
Turn off automatic replacements
Turn off easy supply
Delayed commitment as small or medium
Historical attrition
Veteran activation (favorite feature of pbem) This game introduced the idea that you will not know if your leaders are activated until the turn resolution begins. It is such a nice option.
- Halp!! What should I be doing on turn 1?
Depends upon the scenario – If using earliest scenario, nothing. Of course if your are Rebs, take Sumner turn one and Norfolk turn two.
Later starts, organize armies and corps. That is, think about how to use your armies and corps and spend time organizing.
- What should I make sure to do each turn?
What I do is this:
Check the ledger for what happened, checking battles and results
Use the E or R key to check active land units and see what you need to do
Use the T or Y key to check active Naval units to see what they are up to.
Move what you want
Check the three displays for actions and options.
Strategic Axis – New options, get recruits, money and such
Military recruitment
Decision Mode (Cards) for possible play
- What are the crucial things to look out for and prepare for?
Well, Everything and everyone. The game is very good about grounding in history. So what you would worry about knowing the history. And of course, watch your butt!
It is a really superior game. Watch the forum for a good potential pbem opponent. Many members of this forum love to introduce new players to the system as mentor, not as prey. Find a nice voice and PM them with an invite.
My suggestions:
What rules should I use to get the same feel as are normally used in PBEM?
Default rules work except for these:
Turn off automatic replacements
Turn off easy supply
Delayed commitment as small or medium
Historical attrition
Veteran activation (favorite feature of pbem) This game introduced the idea that you will not know if your leaders are activated until the turn resolution begins. It is such a nice option.
- Halp!! What should I be doing on turn 1?
Depends upon the scenario – If using earliest scenario, nothing. Of course if your are Rebs, take Sumner turn one and Norfolk turn two.
Later starts, organize armies and corps. That is, think about how to use your armies and corps and spend time organizing.
- What should I make sure to do each turn?
What I do is this:
Check the ledger for what happened, checking battles and results
Use the E or R key to check active land units and see what you need to do
Use the T or Y key to check active Naval units to see what they are up to.
Move what you want
Check the three displays for actions and options.
Strategic Axis – New options, get recruits, money and such
Military recruitment
Decision Mode (Cards) for possible play
- What are the crucial things to look out for and prepare for?
Well, Everything and everyone. The game is very good about grounding in history. So what you would worry about knowing the history. And of course, watch your butt!
It is a really superior game. Watch the forum for a good potential pbem opponent. Many members of this forum love to introduce new players to the system as mentor, not as prey. Find a nice voice and PM them with an invite.
Welcome!
You might want to turn the AI off and just check out what is going on each turn for a year of game time or so. You start with very few units active, then you get an Army or two that can group several units together into a more powerful stack. In October 1861 you can start to form units into Divisions. Finally, after March 1862 you can group Divisions and other units into Corps under overall Army command. Divisions are much stronger than single units and Corps are stronger still. You'll probably want to practice forming Divisions, Corps and Armies. Once you find a force structure that looks good to you, you can start over and use the end product as a goal to guide your game. Good luck!
You might want to turn the AI off and just check out what is going on each turn for a year of game time or so. You start with very few units active, then you get an Army or two that can group several units together into a more powerful stack. In October 1861 you can start to form units into Divisions. Finally, after March 1862 you can group Divisions and other units into Corps under overall Army command. Divisions are much stronger than single units and Corps are stronger still. You'll probably want to practice forming Divisions, Corps and Armies. Once you find a force structure that looks good to you, you can start over and use the end product as a goal to guide your game. Good luck!
I'm the 51st shade of gray. Eat, pray, Charge!
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ArmChairGeneral
- AGEod Grognard
- Posts: 997
- Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:00 am
- Location: Austin, TX, USA
Warning, long post.
The are three things you have to take care of on the early turns as the CSA that are not immediately apparent: Ft. Sumter, Norfolk and Rolla (Sumter and Norfolk have been mentioned by others). Sumter is obvious, just use the infantry under PGT Beauregard; if you don't do it right away it becomes much more difficult. Second, on the first turn that Virginia secedes, take Norfolk using the Suffolk Militia that is stationed one region west of Norfolk; if you do it immediately (be sure to use the Red, Assault, posture so that it takes the town) the Union is scripted to abandon it without a fight. Third, on the first turn that Missouri opens up, build one militia unit in Rolla, then on the next turn (milita are built quickly enough they can begin to act on the next turn) destroy the depot there; you won't be able to stop the city from falling into Union hands a turn or two after that, but without the depot they will have a hard time supplying operations against Springfield.
These three tasks are important no matter whether you play against a human or the AI,. and the ability to do them pretty much goes away if you don't do them immediately. The advice given by others of playing a couple test drives and of making a turn checklist is excellent. Once you are playing for real, here is what I do against the AI. (There are many other good strategies for all of these theaters, and you won't be able to accomplish everything below in every game, but if you can get a good portion of this stuff done you should get through the first year of the war in a reasonably playable position.)
Regional tasks for the first few months of the war, West to East:
FW
Build three or four Rangers in Adobe Wells TX whose targets are the two stockades in between Denver and Taos, NM (Ft. Lyons and the other one I think is Ft. Collins?). If you can capture and then destroy these two stockades the Union will have difficulty bringing new artillery into New Mexico, making the defense of El Paso easier and cheaper. Eventually, build a regiment of regulars and a 12 lber in El Paso. These, plus the scripted forces should be enough to defend El Paso against all but the most determined push against it in the early years of the war.
MO/AR/IT
(Make sure to destroy the depot at Rolla.) As quickly as you can, get everything in the area up to defend Springfield: Nathan Lyons is going to attack it in the late spring/ early summer. If you have destroyed the depot at Rolla and can repulse his initial attack then you should be able to hold Springfield for quite a while. If the Union takes Springfield you will not be able to build any troops in Missouri, instead having to build and move them from eastern Arkansas. (Also, MO has artillery in its force pool, and AR does not. You will need them if you are going to contest the rest of Missouri.) Further, Fayetteville is dangerously exposed to a Union-held Springfield. Consider capturing and burning the Union stockades that lead in a line northwest from Fayetteville, as they provide cover and supply for troops built around Leavenworth KS to threaten your western flank around Fayetteville and Springfield. Stand Waite and his Indians are a good for this, as are the Mounted Volunteers (who are not cavalry, but fast infantry).
Gulf Coast
The Union starts with troops and transports at Ft. Pickens (off the coast from Pensacola, FL). Some time in the first few months of the war, the AI will take a stack of 200-300 PWR from there and attack somewhere along the Gulf Coast. They are fairly easy to fend off, but you don't have the resources to fortify all of their potential targets. In order of priority for you to defend are New Orleans, Mobile, Matagorda TX (the Cotton Bale region) and Pensacola, FL. New Orleans will get a scripted brigade of militia eventually, but this may not be large enough or quick enough to stop a quick attack from Pickens. The AI is wary of the forts guarding Mobile, but it is too valuable to rely on these alone. A brigade of regulars in Matagorda is plenty, but you may not be able to afford it. Since you can't stop them in all four places, you are likely going to leave Pensacola the weakest, so expect them to take it or the regions around it. This is not an immediate problem, as that stack cannot do much to hurt you right away, but over the course of the game it will become a big problem: it is close to Mobile, and on a rail line going north to Montgomery and northwestern GA. In Union hands troops and supplies can flood into the theater later in the game under the protection of Ft. Pickens and seriously threaten the entire south east. Unfortunately, you may have to accept this long-term liability to defend the more immediately important regions.
Mid-South (TN, eastern AR, northern MS and AL)
There won't be much going on here right away, because you are somewhat protected as long as KY is neutral. Small Union forces from Cairo will often harass southeastern MO and northeastern AR, but it may not be worth the effort to oppose them. Steadily build forces at Nashville, Memphis and Corinth to thwart any shenanigans in TN. Consider stationing troops and artillery at Fts Donnelson, Pillow and Island 10. Again, you won't have enough to fortify all of them, and Island 10 in particular can be tricky since it is hard to get in and out of (swamp) but all three can at least bombard passing Union river forces and interdict Union supply flow along the rivers.
Sometime in the winter of 61 KY will declare for one side or the other. Louisville is vulnerable to a lightning strike against it from Nashville/ Bowling green if you are prepared. The AI will react poorly to this and will rarely invade TN afterwards since you will be threatening IN and OH from northern KY. (This is very risky against a human, however: you will be dangerously overextended, so this may not be a good habit to get into.) Bowling Green is vital to your efforts no matter what: from it you can access the HUGE KY force pool, and it sits on the rail line that leads from the strong Union build points at Cincinnati and Indianapolis into northern TN.
If you are playing a more defensive game in this region, seizing and then building a fort at Paducah KY will make defending western TN against invasion along the rivers much easier. This is a medium term goal (as is invading KY) but requires preparation during the summer of 61 to accomplish.
East
This is a tricky area, play conservatively. You will always be outnumbered here, and losing a few major battles can quickly cause a downward spiral that you cannot recover from. It is easy to lose the war early through incautious play here. I usually try to take Harper's Ferry with the Army of the Shenanodah. If successful, it will cause the Union to split some of its forces off from Alexandria and DC to try to take it back. With clever play you may be able to take Alexandria behind them from Manassas, allowing you to establish a strong defensive line along the Potomac. Be sure to leave a moderate force inside Manassas so that a Union stack cannot come in behind you and take the depot in a single turn (without capturing the depot they will be cut off from supply and not able to stay for long). Keep an eye on Fredricksburg VA, which is along the direct route from Alexandria to Richmond. Allowing the Union to maintain a foothold there will necessitate pulling almost all your troops south to defend Richmond, leaving northern VA at the Union's mercy.
If you choose to play more defensively, the Union will try to take Manassas early, as well as Harper's Ferry. You may or may not be able to get/keep HF, but you definitely need to hold Manassas. You should be able to mount a strong defense there and hold it without too much trouble.
You will need to begin beefing up your forces in VA right away (yes, there are too many things to do and not enough resources to do them, but no matter your strategy on the rest of the map, not losing in VA is the top priority.) You can build really big brigades from the VA force pool that perform really well in combat, but they are super expensive and take a while to build; you may be better off with several smaller ones, it is one of the things you will get a feel for with experience. You will need lots of artillery in this theater, but you will have to build most of them in North Carolina, since the VA force pool is limited in artillery. Since you will primarily be defending, the 12 lbers are economical and good for defense in the beginning, but eventually they will be outclassed and aren't ever very effective in offensive posture.
Keep an eye on Ft. Monroe; even moderate defenses make the Peninsula a tough row to hoe for the Union, but if you do not take precautions you are leaving the back door to the capital wide open. If you put a couple of brigades (and some artillery to bombard the estuary) as a token force in Norfolk the AI will usually leave it alone. A human player on the other hand will probably not leave such a juicy target unmolested, so be prepared....
Establishing the Potomac Line like I do is probably an intermediate strategy, you might want to instead turtle around Manassas and the in the Valley your first few playthoughs until you get a feel for things. Another excellent intermediate-difficulty approach is the All-East strategy promulgated by Gray Fox. Do a search on the forum to find out more; he and others explain it better than I can, and it is an important concept that you should both be aware of and try out at some point.
I left out some stuff, West Virginia in particular, but this is probably already too much for one post as it is. These are in no way shape or form the best strategies out there, nor will this stuff probably give you good results against a human, but hopefully it will help in figuring out a workable plan to get started with
.
The are three things you have to take care of on the early turns as the CSA that are not immediately apparent: Ft. Sumter, Norfolk and Rolla (Sumter and Norfolk have been mentioned by others). Sumter is obvious, just use the infantry under PGT Beauregard; if you don't do it right away it becomes much more difficult. Second, on the first turn that Virginia secedes, take Norfolk using the Suffolk Militia that is stationed one region west of Norfolk; if you do it immediately (be sure to use the Red, Assault, posture so that it takes the town) the Union is scripted to abandon it without a fight. Third, on the first turn that Missouri opens up, build one militia unit in Rolla, then on the next turn (milita are built quickly enough they can begin to act on the next turn) destroy the depot there; you won't be able to stop the city from falling into Union hands a turn or two after that, but without the depot they will have a hard time supplying operations against Springfield.
These three tasks are important no matter whether you play against a human or the AI,. and the ability to do them pretty much goes away if you don't do them immediately. The advice given by others of playing a couple test drives and of making a turn checklist is excellent. Once you are playing for real, here is what I do against the AI. (There are many other good strategies for all of these theaters, and you won't be able to accomplish everything below in every game, but if you can get a good portion of this stuff done you should get through the first year of the war in a reasonably playable position.)
Regional tasks for the first few months of the war, West to East:
FW
Build three or four Rangers in Adobe Wells TX whose targets are the two stockades in between Denver and Taos, NM (Ft. Lyons and the other one I think is Ft. Collins?). If you can capture and then destroy these two stockades the Union will have difficulty bringing new artillery into New Mexico, making the defense of El Paso easier and cheaper. Eventually, build a regiment of regulars and a 12 lber in El Paso. These, plus the scripted forces should be enough to defend El Paso against all but the most determined push against it in the early years of the war.
MO/AR/IT
(Make sure to destroy the depot at Rolla.) As quickly as you can, get everything in the area up to defend Springfield: Nathan Lyons is going to attack it in the late spring/ early summer. If you have destroyed the depot at Rolla and can repulse his initial attack then you should be able to hold Springfield for quite a while. If the Union takes Springfield you will not be able to build any troops in Missouri, instead having to build and move them from eastern Arkansas. (Also, MO has artillery in its force pool, and AR does not. You will need them if you are going to contest the rest of Missouri.) Further, Fayetteville is dangerously exposed to a Union-held Springfield. Consider capturing and burning the Union stockades that lead in a line northwest from Fayetteville, as they provide cover and supply for troops built around Leavenworth KS to threaten your western flank around Fayetteville and Springfield. Stand Waite and his Indians are a good for this, as are the Mounted Volunteers (who are not cavalry, but fast infantry).
Gulf Coast
The Union starts with troops and transports at Ft. Pickens (off the coast from Pensacola, FL). Some time in the first few months of the war, the AI will take a stack of 200-300 PWR from there and attack somewhere along the Gulf Coast. They are fairly easy to fend off, but you don't have the resources to fortify all of their potential targets. In order of priority for you to defend are New Orleans, Mobile, Matagorda TX (the Cotton Bale region) and Pensacola, FL. New Orleans will get a scripted brigade of militia eventually, but this may not be large enough or quick enough to stop a quick attack from Pickens. The AI is wary of the forts guarding Mobile, but it is too valuable to rely on these alone. A brigade of regulars in Matagorda is plenty, but you may not be able to afford it. Since you can't stop them in all four places, you are likely going to leave Pensacola the weakest, so expect them to take it or the regions around it. This is not an immediate problem, as that stack cannot do much to hurt you right away, but over the course of the game it will become a big problem: it is close to Mobile, and on a rail line going north to Montgomery and northwestern GA. In Union hands troops and supplies can flood into the theater later in the game under the protection of Ft. Pickens and seriously threaten the entire south east. Unfortunately, you may have to accept this long-term liability to defend the more immediately important regions.
Mid-South (TN, eastern AR, northern MS and AL)
There won't be much going on here right away, because you are somewhat protected as long as KY is neutral. Small Union forces from Cairo will often harass southeastern MO and northeastern AR, but it may not be worth the effort to oppose them. Steadily build forces at Nashville, Memphis and Corinth to thwart any shenanigans in TN. Consider stationing troops and artillery at Fts Donnelson, Pillow and Island 10. Again, you won't have enough to fortify all of them, and Island 10 in particular can be tricky since it is hard to get in and out of (swamp) but all three can at least bombard passing Union river forces and interdict Union supply flow along the rivers.
Sometime in the winter of 61 KY will declare for one side or the other. Louisville is vulnerable to a lightning strike against it from Nashville/ Bowling green if you are prepared. The AI will react poorly to this and will rarely invade TN afterwards since you will be threatening IN and OH from northern KY. (This is very risky against a human, however: you will be dangerously overextended, so this may not be a good habit to get into.) Bowling Green is vital to your efforts no matter what: from it you can access the HUGE KY force pool, and it sits on the rail line that leads from the strong Union build points at Cincinnati and Indianapolis into northern TN.
If you are playing a more defensive game in this region, seizing and then building a fort at Paducah KY will make defending western TN against invasion along the rivers much easier. This is a medium term goal (as is invading KY) but requires preparation during the summer of 61 to accomplish.
East
This is a tricky area, play conservatively. You will always be outnumbered here, and losing a few major battles can quickly cause a downward spiral that you cannot recover from. It is easy to lose the war early through incautious play here. I usually try to take Harper's Ferry with the Army of the Shenanodah. If successful, it will cause the Union to split some of its forces off from Alexandria and DC to try to take it back. With clever play you may be able to take Alexandria behind them from Manassas, allowing you to establish a strong defensive line along the Potomac. Be sure to leave a moderate force inside Manassas so that a Union stack cannot come in behind you and take the depot in a single turn (without capturing the depot they will be cut off from supply and not able to stay for long). Keep an eye on Fredricksburg VA, which is along the direct route from Alexandria to Richmond. Allowing the Union to maintain a foothold there will necessitate pulling almost all your troops south to defend Richmond, leaving northern VA at the Union's mercy.
If you choose to play more defensively, the Union will try to take Manassas early, as well as Harper's Ferry. You may or may not be able to get/keep HF, but you definitely need to hold Manassas. You should be able to mount a strong defense there and hold it without too much trouble.
You will need to begin beefing up your forces in VA right away (yes, there are too many things to do and not enough resources to do them, but no matter your strategy on the rest of the map, not losing in VA is the top priority.) You can build really big brigades from the VA force pool that perform really well in combat, but they are super expensive and take a while to build; you may be better off with several smaller ones, it is one of the things you will get a feel for with experience. You will need lots of artillery in this theater, but you will have to build most of them in North Carolina, since the VA force pool is limited in artillery. Since you will primarily be defending, the 12 lbers are economical and good for defense in the beginning, but eventually they will be outclassed and aren't ever very effective in offensive posture.
Keep an eye on Ft. Monroe; even moderate defenses make the Peninsula a tough row to hoe for the Union, but if you do not take precautions you are leaving the back door to the capital wide open. If you put a couple of brigades (and some artillery to bombard the estuary) as a token force in Norfolk the AI will usually leave it alone. A human player on the other hand will probably not leave such a juicy target unmolested, so be prepared....
Establishing the Potomac Line like I do is probably an intermediate strategy, you might want to instead turtle around Manassas and the in the Valley your first few playthoughs until you get a feel for things. Another excellent intermediate-difficulty approach is the All-East strategy promulgated by Gray Fox. Do a search on the forum to find out more; he and others explain it better than I can, and it is an important concept that you should both be aware of and try out at some point.
I left out some stuff, West Virginia in particular, but this is probably already too much for one post as it is. These are in no way shape or form the best strategies out there, nor will this stuff probably give you good results against a human, but hopefully it will help in figuring out a workable plan to get started with
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Aditia Holdem
- Conscript
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:21 pm
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Aditia Holdem
- Conscript
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:21 pm
I have two strategies:
1- read every single report. Every one. In active summer campaigns there can be almost 200 of them, but if you go through every little thing that happened, its pretty much a guarantee that you won't miss anything
2 - If I'm on a roll and playing a couple turns in a row, I have a handle on everything and don't need to read every notification. So just go west to east. Don't skip around, but methodically issue commands for every theatre separately.
cycle from F2 through F12 after issuing all commands.
1- read every single report. Every one. In active summer campaigns there can be almost 200 of them, but if you go through every little thing that happened, its pretty much a guarantee that you won't miss anything
2 - If I'm on a roll and playing a couple turns in a row, I have a handle on everything and don't need to read every notification. So just go west to east. Don't skip around, but methodically issue commands for every theatre separately.
cycle from F2 through F12 after issuing all commands.
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Aditia Holdem
- Conscript
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2014 4:21 pm
OK, so I managed to do a bunch of turns and some follow up questions I hope someone has time to answer are (I do the Manassas start btw, not the April start):
- Jeebus, does the CSA have issues with War Supplies (must be due to the lack of steel mills eh, can't make rifles from cotton). What is the best way of dealing with it? I have been using blockade runners and RGDs for an extra boost and ordering Arsenals,etc. during the winter (harsh weather) when the pace of operations is low.
- What purpose does the CSA river navy serve? Is it best preserved to block deep flanking movements later? What about the iron clads, what do players do with them?
- If you do the July start against a player, can you take and hold Harper's Ferry? It seems like a clear cut objective for the CSA in my eyes, but perhaps a smart Union player can always deny it or make it too costly?
- Raiding with cavalry/copperheads: If I understand the manual correctly, using the evade combat order makes the unit a raider; does it matter what other posture you give the unit? How does one get the most mileage out of Copperheads? They don't seem as proficient as cavalry at living off the land. Is loyalty the biggest factor in living off the land? Personally I try to inderdict rail lines when raiding. Is that correct? what about partisans, how should they be used?
- What is the earliest that you can enter Kentucky? (I failed to check strategic decisions every turn, so missed it.. Lesson learnt haha)
- If you feel you have a crucial depot somewhere where the development level is low, will playing dev. RGDs there make the depot more ''effective''? Should you develop the surrounding areas? From the amount of turns I played this weekend (only about 15), it seems you don't get that many development card ''respawns''.
Thanks again,
Adi
- Jeebus, does the CSA have issues with War Supplies (must be due to the lack of steel mills eh, can't make rifles from cotton). What is the best way of dealing with it? I have been using blockade runners and RGDs for an extra boost and ordering Arsenals,etc. during the winter (harsh weather) when the pace of operations is low.
- What purpose does the CSA river navy serve? Is it best preserved to block deep flanking movements later? What about the iron clads, what do players do with them?
- If you do the July start against a player, can you take and hold Harper's Ferry? It seems like a clear cut objective for the CSA in my eyes, but perhaps a smart Union player can always deny it or make it too costly?
- Raiding with cavalry/copperheads: If I understand the manual correctly, using the evade combat order makes the unit a raider; does it matter what other posture you give the unit? How does one get the most mileage out of Copperheads? They don't seem as proficient as cavalry at living off the land. Is loyalty the biggest factor in living off the land? Personally I try to inderdict rail lines when raiding. Is that correct? what about partisans, how should they be used?
- What is the earliest that you can enter Kentucky? (I failed to check strategic decisions every turn, so missed it.. Lesson learnt haha)
- If you feel you have a crucial depot somewhere where the development level is low, will playing dev. RGDs there make the depot more ''effective''? Should you develop the surrounding areas? From the amount of turns I played this weekend (only about 15), it seems you don't get that many development card ''respawns''.
Thanks again,
Adi
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Captain_Orso
- Posts: 5766
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
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Aditia Holdem wrote:OK, so I managed to do a bunch of turns and some follow up questions I hope someone has time to answer are (I do the Manassas start btw, not the April start):
Aditia Holdem wrote:- Jeebus, does the CSA have issues with War Supplies (must be due to the lack of steel mills eh, can't make rifles from cotton). What is the best way of dealing with it? I have been using blockade runners and RGDs for an extra boost and ordering Arsenals,etc. during the winter (harsh weather) when the pace of operations is low.
Blockade runners will bring in some WSU. If it's not enough for forces you want to build you can invest in developing some industry to build WSU.
Ironworks put out 8 WSU per turn and arsenals 1.
Aditia Holdem wrote:- What purpose does the CSA river navy serve? Is it best preserved to block deep flanking movements later? What about the iron clads, what do players do with them?
How much time do you have to read?
The first question is, what affects to the major rivers have on the game? If you don't know that, how will you know what to do with anything?
Major river, those which are navigable, transport supplies, if you have points in your Riverine Transport Pool.
You can use your Riverine Transport Pool to move troops through river region. You do not use them to cross river regions; here it is assumed you are using local bridges/fairies/flatboats/etc to cross. But you can use the RivTP to cross a river. Check the movement costs. Sometimes--in very poor weather--it can be helpful.
Each unopposed[SUP]1)[/SUP] naval combat element in a river region which is not in PP adds a 23% chance at blocking an enemy force--and supply--from crossing over that river region. These are cumulative up to a maximum of 90%. The navel elements do not have to be in OP, but may not be in PP.
[SUP]1)[/SUP]This is a key point. If the enemy is blocking movement acrossing a river, if you put even a single naval combat element into that river region, crossing is no longer blocked. Of course the enemy might try to prevent you from doing this
.Aditia Holdem wrote:- If you do the July start against a player, can you take and hold Harper's Ferry? It seems like a clear cut objective for the CSA in my eyes, but perhaps a smart Union player can always deny it or make it too costly?
It seems you've answered your own question.
Aditia Holdem wrote:- Raiding with cavalry/copperheads: If I understand the manual correctly, using the evade combat order makes the unit a raider;
A unit is a raider per definition and not posture. Giving a raider EC means only that they will not try to capture location they pass through, but if they encounter an ungarrisoned location while passing through a region, will attempt to destroy depots and other structures and take on supplies. If they end there turn in a region, they will attempt to take control of the region normally.
Aditia Holdem wrote:does it matter what other posture you give the unit?
No, but if you don't want to get caught DP/Retreat works best.
Aditia Holdem wrote:How does one get the most mileage out of Copperheads?
No jackrabbit starts, keep the tires at their proper air pressure, maintain.... oh
The can pop-out of nowhere--if you have enough loyalty in the region.
Aditia Holdem wrote:They don't seem as proficient as cavalry at living off the land.
Because they can't move as fast.
Aditia Holdem wrote:Is loyalty the biggest factor in living off the land?
And mobility.
Aditia Holdem wrote:Personally I try to inderdict rail lines when raiding. Is that correct?
If you say so, I guess you do.... oh, you mean if that's the correct way for using them. You can do that. They can also try to destroy rail lines and spy.
Aditia Holdem wrote:what about partisans, how should they be used?
Same.
Aditia Holdem wrote:- What is the earliest that you can enter Kentucky? (I failed to check strategic decisions every turn, so missed it.. Lesson learnt haha)
So the answer is?
Aditia Holdem wrote:- If you feel you have a crucial depot somewhere where the development level is low, will playing dev. RGDs there make the depot more ''effective''?
What is "effective"?
Aditia Holdem wrote:Should you develop the surrounding areas?
What affect does the development level have on a region?
Aditia Holdem wrote:From the amount of turns I played this weekend (only about 15), it seems you don't get that many development card ''respawns''.
They regenerate on the first turn of each year.
Aditia Holdem wrote:Thanks again,
Adi
Prego
-The cost of a single iron work is $100 and 25 War Supply and it earns $1 and 8 WS per turn. So after 100 turns, it earns $100 and 800 WS for a profit of (100-100=0) zero dollars and (800-25=775) 775 WS.
Depending on your inflation rate, a brig unit costs about $40 and 24 WS, plus the manpower. A brig unit of two ships runs a sum total of seven dollars, or WS or a combination of both per turn. So after 100 turns it might ideally earn $40 and 660 WS for a profit of (40-40=0) zero dollars and (660-24=636) 636 WS.
The problem with iron works is that you are asked to build some of them in places like New Orleans or Tennessee which are targets for early Union conquest. The problem with blockade runners is that they get hit by blockaders and must be fixed, for an additional expense, or eventually lost. Also, they need to occasionally resupply in port, where they earn nothing, or from a transport that you must build for an additional expense.
-I concentrate as much of the CSA navy as possible outside of New Orleans to protect that port from a surprise invasion.
-I always do the April start, so I can't help you there. However, I would rather take and hold D.C. since I rather like winning.
-The passive/retreat/evade combat set up is your desire to make a unit stealthy. Your opponent may still find them. The hide value determines how stealthy they actually are and this can be influenced by RGD's.
Units carry two turns of supply. When this is gone, they must either return to a region with friendly supply, capture enemy supplies or pillage the region they occupy. Some units, like Native Americans, are better at pillaging and do it automatically. Without a source of supply, the unit takes hits and can be lost.
Partisans can raid normally, but have a powerful ability to perform an ambush or destroy a depot with RGD's which give a +1 NM boost. So I would save them for this specific use.
Raiding is like playing the piano. If it doesn't work out, it's probably not because the piano did something wrong.
-You can always enter Kentucky at a cost in NM or you can wait until an event causes that state to chose a side.
-Supplies move hypotheticallly by an invisible supply unit between your depots. This SU can move along a rail line or from one port to another if you have enough points available. Otherwise, it moves up to five regions and must end its move in another depot, not stopping in between. So you could build a depot in a wild region and then build a trail network and upgraded it to roads. It might then deliver supplies to the maximum range of five regions. The war might be over before you can accomplish this.
Depending on your inflation rate, a brig unit costs about $40 and 24 WS, plus the manpower. A brig unit of two ships runs a sum total of seven dollars, or WS or a combination of both per turn. So after 100 turns it might ideally earn $40 and 660 WS for a profit of (40-40=0) zero dollars and (660-24=636) 636 WS.
The problem with iron works is that you are asked to build some of them in places like New Orleans or Tennessee which are targets for early Union conquest. The problem with blockade runners is that they get hit by blockaders and must be fixed, for an additional expense, or eventually lost. Also, they need to occasionally resupply in port, where they earn nothing, or from a transport that you must build for an additional expense.
-I concentrate as much of the CSA navy as possible outside of New Orleans to protect that port from a surprise invasion.
-I always do the April start, so I can't help you there. However, I would rather take and hold D.C. since I rather like winning.
-The passive/retreat/evade combat set up is your desire to make a unit stealthy. Your opponent may still find them. The hide value determines how stealthy they actually are and this can be influenced by RGD's.
Units carry two turns of supply. When this is gone, they must either return to a region with friendly supply, capture enemy supplies or pillage the region they occupy. Some units, like Native Americans, are better at pillaging and do it automatically. Without a source of supply, the unit takes hits and can be lost.
Partisans can raid normally, but have a powerful ability to perform an ambush or destroy a depot with RGD's which give a +1 NM boost. So I would save them for this specific use.
Raiding is like playing the piano. If it doesn't work out, it's probably not because the piano did something wrong.
-You can always enter Kentucky at a cost in NM or you can wait until an event causes that state to chose a side.
-Supplies move hypotheticallly by an invisible supply unit between your depots. This SU can move along a rail line or from one port to another if you have enough points available. Otherwise, it moves up to five regions and must end its move in another depot, not stopping in between. So you could build a depot in a wild region and then build a trail network and upgraded it to roads. It might then deliver supplies to the maximum range of five regions. The war might be over before you can accomplish this.
I'm the 51st shade of gray. Eat, pray, Charge!
Aditia Holdem wrote:OK, so I managed to do a bunch of turns and some follow up questions I hope someone has time to answer are (I do the Manassas start btw, not the April start):
- Jeebus, does the CSA have issues with War Supplies (must be due to the lack of steel mills eh, can't make rifles from cotton). What is the best way of dealing with it? I have been using blockade runners and RGDs for an extra boost and ordering Arsenals,etc. during the winter (harsh weather) when the pace of operations is low.
- What purpose does the CSA river navy serve? Is it best preserved to block deep flanking movements later? What about the iron clads, what do players do with them?
- If you do the July start against a player, can you take and hold Harper's Ferry? It seems like a clear cut objective for the CSA in my eyes, but perhaps a smart Union player can always deny it or make it too costly?
- Raiding with cavalry/copperheads: If I understand the manual correctly, using the evade combat order makes the unit a raider; does it matter what other posture you give the unit? How does one get the most mileage out of Copperheads? They don't seem as proficient as cavalry at living off the land. Is loyalty the biggest factor in living off the land? Personally I try to inderdict rail lines when raiding. Is that correct? what about partisans, how should they be used?
- What is the earliest that you can enter Kentucky? (I failed to check strategic decisions every turn, so missed it.. Lesson learnt haha)
- If you feel you have a crucial depot somewhere where the development level is low, will playing dev. RGDs there make the depot more ''effective''? Should you develop the surrounding areas? From the amount of turns I played this weekend (only about 15), it seems you don't get that many development card ''respawns''.
Thanks again,
Adi
- Build factories and blockade runners. And plan your builds around the lack of war supplies. In June '61 when in the war supply crunch I build flatboats and create depots.
- Already answered above. I don't get a lot of milage out of the river navy, so use my precious resources elsewhere.
- Take it. Do not plan on holding it
- If I remember correctly, Copperheads don't cost any command points. So after creating them to take behind-the-lines towns in West Virginia/Kentucky, I'll put them loose in large garrison stacks as extra cannon fodder. Calvary is fun to raid with. I personally enjoy seeing those red "cut rail" dots all over the map.
- I've seen it before July, and I've seen it as late as December
- try to put it on a river. That's so much easier and cheaper than trying to build a road network. That's a problem the Union has getting from California to Texas, not a problem the CSA should have.
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ArmChairGeneral
- AGEod Grognard
- Posts: 997
- Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2013 9:00 am
- Location: Austin, TX, USA
All my advice was also based on an April start, so not all of it going to be relevant to a July start.
Worth noting that the choice to build Iron Works actually builds three of them, so you get 24 WS per turn once they are built, which is almost a 50% increase for the CSA, and in 61 and 62 usually give you enough WS that $$ becomes the limiting factor, at least for a while. When choosing which one to build, consider both the potential vulnerability of their locations and the fact that if they are in a coastal region with a harbor then Union blockades can reduce their production. (The "Coastal Region" Iron Works puts two in New Orleans and one just south of Richmond, however the one in Virginia does not have a harbor and so is not subject to blockades.)
I like to go ahead and use the brigs I start with for blockade running, but get more mileage out of new ones I build by supplementing my river fleet (the CSA starts with a naval advantage on the Mississippi that takes a while for the Union to catch up with, although it isn't necessarily useful if they can't catch any enemies). Don't forget that at least one of your brig units (Carolina Runners IIRC) starts understrength. It is worth it to leave it in post so the other brig element can get built from the replacement pool; you have to be in passive posture in a size 4+ harbor for ships to access replacements, and they get locked there for a few turn while the ships are built.
Richmond would provide a lot more $$ and WS if you can lift the blockade of the James River by capturing Ft. Monroe. (Easier said than done though.)
Use the ledger to find regions that produce money or WS but have low loyalty. Increasing the loyalty through RGDs or the presence of high-Police units increases the production of those regions.
Worth noting that the choice to build Iron Works actually builds three of them, so you get 24 WS per turn once they are built, which is almost a 50% increase for the CSA, and in 61 and 62 usually give you enough WS that $$ becomes the limiting factor, at least for a while. When choosing which one to build, consider both the potential vulnerability of their locations and the fact that if they are in a coastal region with a harbor then Union blockades can reduce their production. (The "Coastal Region" Iron Works puts two in New Orleans and one just south of Richmond, however the one in Virginia does not have a harbor and so is not subject to blockades.)
I like to go ahead and use the brigs I start with for blockade running, but get more mileage out of new ones I build by supplementing my river fleet (the CSA starts with a naval advantage on the Mississippi that takes a while for the Union to catch up with, although it isn't necessarily useful if they can't catch any enemies). Don't forget that at least one of your brig units (Carolina Runners IIRC) starts understrength. It is worth it to leave it in post so the other brig element can get built from the replacement pool; you have to be in passive posture in a size 4+ harbor for ships to access replacements, and they get locked there for a few turn while the ships are built.
Richmond would provide a lot more $$ and WS if you can lift the blockade of the James River by capturing Ft. Monroe. (Easier said than done though.)
Use the ledger to find regions that produce money or WS but have low loyalty. Increasing the loyalty through RGDs or the presence of high-Police units increases the production of those regions.
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Aditia Holdem
- Conscript
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