Industry as CSA

[Goodmongo]

I build the set of three interior Iron Works when it first becomes available. Near the end of the year you are offered a very cheap set of Arsenals (compared to other arsenals) that I also build. My question is should the CSA build the second group of Iron works and if so when should they be built, ASAP in 1861, late 1861 or 1862?

Building it early means you don't need to worry about WS come start of 1862 but you sacrifice the money and especially the WS to build it in mid 1861. Is this a good investment at all? If you don't build it you can instead build combat units or upgrade the RR but that means WS can still be an issue into 1862.

[Gray Fox]

The cost of the Iron Works (IW) is quite small. For $600 and 150 War Supply (WS) you initially get 6 IWs. With War Bonds you can get the $600 at the cost of 25 Victory Points and -1% inflation, which is a good thing. Each IW produces $1 and 8WS per turn, and thus pays for the 150 WS in 4 turns (6x8=48 for 4 turns = 192 WS). The CSA can take D.C. from October, 1861 to late into 1862 even without the initial lost WS, so no problem there. The next cycle of IWs are also affordable. The catch is the location of the IWs. You can't hold everything and the cities with the IWs will be prime targets. If you must fight to the bitter end, the IW cities may end up in Union hands. Good luck!