AGEOD Forums

I'm just picking this game up again and I am playing the Union in the full campaign.

My first questions concern army formation:

Can every 3*** general create an Army or is there a limit to the number of Armies that can be created?
If there is a limit does this change over the length of the war?
Are there any downsides to creating a lot of Armies to avoid the NM/VP penalties of bypassing a general with more seniority ?

In the East I have been pushing my cavalry behind rebel lines in an attempt to destroy the rail line linking Manassas to the Shenandoah valley. I have been using single element cavalry stacks for this but they do not seem to destroy the rail lines when ordered. Do you need a minimum number of elements to achieve this? Again linked to this do you need to stay in the province for a full turn to destroy the rail line or can you set the order and move?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, a limit exists that changes each year. It's 3 armies in 1861, 6 in '62 and I always beat the AI by then, so someone else may be able to tell you for 1863. No downside exists that I know of to creating all the armies that you can.

A force set to destroy a rail line gets a percentage chance to succeed. The chance is based on the power of the stack. If you make a Division under a General and put 4 cavalry in it, this usually is a force of over 100 power for 100% success. Use one of the regional decision cards to further hide the unit. I've had such a Division with a hide value of 5. You can then move to the region, set the unit to destroy the rails and move out the next turn. Good luck!

The number of armies should be 9 by 1863.