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As Gray Fox had the good idea to start an AAR on our game I will open another thread to give the point of view of the CSA.

I hope I will be able to post on a regular basis as I'm pretty much busy these days.

Please forgive my english mistakes ...

A first note : From the beginning it was clear that GrayFox would try his "all in the East" strategy.

Nevertheless, I tried during the first turns to play as I would have played against another player. Obviously, with my knowledge of his strategy I would not swear my orders were not "influenced" in some ways. But this choice is one of the reason why I was in trouble keeping Harper's Ferry.

When I was able to detect Grant in the East, I decided to quit my "business as usual" strategy.

When armies in Virginia were released, GrayFox left Alexandria (except for the garrison) and increased the force inside Harper's Ferry

I moved my forces in order to occupy the southern edge of the Potomac river, besieging HF and Alexandria.

Harper's Ferry:
I decided not to assault the city because :
- The garrison was too large
- From my point of view the importance of HF was its value as a defensive position (hills + behind a river)
- I could at the same time take advantage of the position (see point above) and block the northern force inside the city denying its use to the Union.

Unfortunately I had to retreat from the region for two reasons :
- Due to my decision to start the game "as usual" I was lacking renfort against the flow of blue soldiers.
- My force at HF was hit by the disease event (reducing cohesion by half) just when GrayFox was gathering a huge force against it.


Alexandria:
After a few turns I gave assault to the city for the following reasons :
- The garrison is very small at the beginning but get reinforced with several brigades later in the game. If you want to take it easily, you must do it before this reinforcement (note to the game designers : the reinforcements did appear even if the city was no more in Union hands and were isolated and destroyed by my force in the region --> the event should be corrected to avoid this)
- Take ownership of the battery to move it somewhere else on the southern coasts.

Seeing the flow of blue soldiers gathering North of the Potomac made me a little bit nervous at the beginning.

My strategy in the East is to make the Union pay the price of blood to conquer terrain :
- Let GrayFox attack strong position
- Prepare fallback position in advance
- Retreat when a position is jeopardized
- Destroy as much as possible infrastructure (depot, railroad) when retreating

I consider also the possibility to cut his supply as at the moment I believe it is one of its weakness. Unfortunately, the bad weather and some inactive leaders (even Jackson was inactive !) is not helping.

In the West I will take advantage of the open ground GrayFox is giving to me : I can try to conquer strategic cities I could not reach against a player fighting on all fronts.

Gray Fox has decided to move the capital to New-York.

I'm not fully convinced it is a very useful decision as :
- Against a human player it is difficult to take Washington except if he makes mistake.
- Washington is still an important supply source that should be defended.

IMHO, one of the main pain point in the game is the National Moral resilience. As it is designed at the moment, it is far too easy not to care about events diminishing your NM as you know you will get it back in a few turns.

And GrayFox has very well understood it as he didn't care to fight for Manassas and moved his capital to New-York.

It is somehow impacting a little bit his strategy, because the fighting value of his forces invading the Shenandoah has been diminished just when he would (I think) have needed them at their best.

But on the mid/long term it has no serious impact. On the NM question, I'm siding with Ace who is proposing to have NM resilience stopped when it reaches 80.

Nice that u open this thread it's intresting game what u have here. Have u moved forest and all the good CSA leaders to virginia? In my opinion the auto-balance of morale shut took away in this game or it should be on glider in options if u want to use it or not?!

Most of my good leaders are in Virginia but I'm keeping a few in the West especially those with a good initiative (i.e. good strategic rating) to try to take advantage of the open ground GrayFox should provide to me on this theater.

There is no auto-balance option available at the moment but Ace has created a mod here.

ace is GOD!

havi wrote:ace is GOD!

A few people on this forum seem to think like you I hope he will not suffer the wrath of Athena, those greek gods are so easily upset when a mortal try to compete with them

Here is a picture of the eastern front at the beginning of turn 21. I will discuss the various highlighted points in the following post :

[ATTACH]28464[/ATTACH]

1) Defense on the Potomac
- I'm taking advantage of the Potomac river to improve the defensive value of my forces in Alexandria and Leesburg
- Alexandria depot has been destroyed : it's a level 4 city that will act as a "supply magnet" by itself.


2) Prepare fallback
- I have small detachments behind the main line of defense to dig trenches should a retreat be needed.


3) Strasburg
- Depot has been destroyed. Should the region fall, Union won't be able to use it.
- Grant is stuck and is unable to gain Military Control.
- Consequently each turn he is switching to attack mode and must fight a more powerful and entrenched force.
[ATTACH]28471[/ATTACH]

- Moreover, because MC is at 0% for the Union, he can't receive supply (you can see his supply bar is no more full)
[ATTACH]28465[/ATTACH]
- Note : this is from my point of view another loophole in the game mechanism. Indeed, it is as if Grant was surrounded by my forces but he arrived from Morgan (WV) that is still in Union hands.


4) Cut the Union supply line ?
- There is a weakness in the Union supply line in Harper's Ferry and Frederick regions. No need to take the cities, I just need to gain sufficient MC to prevent the flow of supply to pass through one of these regions.
- Doing this would require me to move some of my troops from Winchester or Leesburg and must be carefully planned to avoid endangering my defense.
- Weather is really bad and would require 12 to 13 days of travel (don't forget the river cost to be added to the basic travel cost) : my force will lost a lot of cohesion and I could find myself stuck as Grant if GrayFox move a force in the area (we have a medium commitment delay, so there is some chances fight would not happen before the end of the turn).

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GrayFox is actively building new forces (look at the number of units in each cities) :

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havi wrote:ace is GOD!

Thanks havi, I try to do my best, but still far from deity

As for this all East strategy, I believe Mickey will kick his butt

East is far more important, but stronger side has to stretch the weaker side lines. For example, if you would have to storm a fort, would you attack only at the weakest point, or would you attack on all sides to stretch the defenses? The answer is obvious.

Bad luck this turn : Beauregard's army was struck by the disease event reducing its cohesion by half and March To the Sound of Gun worked for the Union but not for me. In fact I could not put Longstreet at the head of a corps because all the other leaders of his stack were unactive so I was unable to give his division to somebody else . Consequently I had to keep him in Beauregard's army and there is no MTSG between army (neighbour of Beauregard is Johnston's army).

Result is a blood bath and I have to retreat from Strasburg.

[ATTACH]28489[/ATTACH]

It's the second time in a few turns that Beauregard is suffering from disease in his army and each time it costs me a good defensive position.

I knew it was risky but I have decided to try to recapture Strasburg. The fight was bloody and Johnston was beaten

[ATTACH]28510[/ATTACH]

Grayfox has also executed a nasty trick against my depots : two turns ago he has played all his "unionist" cards behind my lines and have send them next to my depot to blow them up by using RGD. I tried to chase them with cavalry but I was not very successful and, with some luck in his rolls (edit : he had 1 in 8 chances to get this result !), he managed to destroyed three of them.

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The overall position is the following in Northern Virginia :

[ATTACH]28520[/ATTACH]

My line of defense is stretching and Winchester will have to be evacuated sooner or later. But I will try to keep this line for sometimes before moving back : I must exchange ground against time.

Coming from Monroe a force has been stopped by Hoke. Unfortunately I have no intelligence on what is in Hampton Roads and Fort Monroe : to avoid any surprise I will send a few renfort to Williamsburg.

[ATTACH]28521[/ATTACH]

Union was stopped at Williamsburg :
[ATTACH]28523[/ATTACH]

I also moved Beauregard to Williamsburg but he arrived after the battle.

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An important force is gathering in Morgan (WV). I'm still thinking about what to do in Winchester.

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Butler is coming with three divisions, I should send a few renforts to Beauregard.


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After much thinking I decided not to leave Winchester. a good bet as Grayfox did not attack there. But he tried to take Williamsburg...without success :

[ATTACH]28574[/ATTACH]

He tried also to bombard with Worden's fleet but received more hits than he inflicted :

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Score is the following :

[ATTACH]28576[/ATTACH]

I have nearly 500 more VP than the Union, this is more than in a "standard" games. I think this is partially due to the fact I was able to take Leavenworth (you can't get it when the Union player is fighting in Missouri) and keep Morgantown (WV) and Winchester (WV) for long.

Kentucky is still neutral and in New Mexico GrayFox is building depot to prepare an attack on El Paso.
[ATTACH]28578[/ATTACH]
I'm beefing up a little my defense there to make his task harder.


My concern is Williamsburg where the army of the Potomac is starting to be fatigued, I will have to rotate a new division into it to strengthen the defense. Fortunately I have Ewell division not far.
[ATTACH]28577[/ATTACH]

In Northern Virginia, the question is still the same : to keep or to retreat from Winchester. GrayFox seems to have moved forces from McDowell to Grant but I'm sure he is preparing some nasty trick ...
[ATTACH]28579[/ATTACH]

No fight this turn.

Worden fleet is still bombarding my Army in Williamsburg getting more hits in return :
[ATTACH]28581[/ATTACH]

In Fort Craig (NM) the Union force seems to have retreated, maybe a supply problem. Note that in the Far West area I have choosen a scorched earth strategy, destroying as many stockades as possible (as far as Fort Wallace in Colorado).

Grayfox has moved a fleet next to Granville (NC). I never realized you could move so deep along the Roanoke river .
[ATTACH]28582[/ATTACH]

I must keep an eye on this threat. Moreover because I don't know what are on these ships :
[ATTACH]28583[/ATTACH]

Score at the beginning of the turn :
[ATTACH]28584[/ATTACH]
I'm expecting to lose Tucson next turn but I hope to take control of Council Bluffs (IA) in two turns and Des Moines (IA) a little bit later : this should allow me to keep my advance in VPs.


Butler is stuck in Williamsburg region and, looking at the green supply bar, we can see he will be quickly out of supply :
[ATTACH]28585[/ATTACH]
Butler must retreat with the risk to switch to attack mode (I have 100% MC) and be forced in a fight with a very bad force ratio.


In Northern Virginia, the overall situation is still the same :
[ATTACH]28586[/ATTACH]
I'm still controling Winchester and I'm surprised by the inactivity of Grayfox and wondering what is in his mind.

I'm still in Winchester and GrayFox is still inactive in the Shenandoah. His "all in the East" strategy seems to be momentarily stalled but I'm sure he is planning something.

More important, Lee is now active ! ompom:

As expected, Butler switched to attack mode and was severely beaten :
[ATTACH]28595[/ATTACH]

Score :
[ATTACH]28596[/ATTACH]


All is quiet on the Northern Virginia front (there is a glitch in the display : Grant is in Strasburg and not in Hampshire) :
[ATTACH]28598[/ATTACH]
Winchester is really a dilemna for me : on one side I'm collecting VPs by holding it, on the other side I can't move easily forces there if I need to redeploy some of them (not on a connected railroad) and the Union can use March to the Sound of Guns between Strasburg, Warren and Harper's Ferry (not possible at the moment from HF as there is no Union corps there).


Williamsburg is safe for the moment :
[ATTACH]28599[/ATTACH]

But new forces are gathering into Fort Monroe, I won't be able to remove too much forces from Williamsburg :
[ATTACH]28600[/ATTACH]


In the far West, Council Bluffs is under siege and I hope to take it soon :
[ATTACH]28597[/ATTACH]

As Kentucky is still neutral, everything is quiet along the Ohio river. I'm planning a long range patrol to see what GrayFox is preparing.

Winchester is still in Confederate hands.

The surprise came from Saint-Louis (MO) : I moved McCulloch into the region to besieged the city and a first battle happened with Sumner. I suppose that GrayFox has moved part of the garrison out of the city this turn.

[ATTACH]28642[/ATTACH]


A second battle was fought on day 7.
[ATTACH]28643[/ATTACH]

Despite the battle report display, it was fought against Blenker's cavalry. The display is showing the picture of the highest ranking officer even if not commanding the fighting force and the number of soldiers in the region even if not all of them are taking part to the fight :

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Score is the following :

[ATTACH]28694[/ATTACH]


Far West and Rockies :

Tucson should fall very quickly into Union hands. I'm improving a defense force in East Dona Ana to try to keep as long as possible El Paso. I have also destroyed or I'm in control of most of the stockades : I want to isolate as much as possible the towns of New Mexico to limit the supply available and, consequently, the size of the force the Union can build there.



West :

- McCulloch force is retreating from Saint-Louis to recover its cohesion.
- Stand Watie will try to capture Council Bluffs and, if successfull, will move to Des Moines next turn. By capturing these two strategic towns I will compensate for the loss of Tucson and Winchester. As already written previously, this is only possible because GrayFox is not fighting in this area.



South East :

Still waiting for the Kentucky to choose its side. Quantrill will launch a deep patrol into Illinois and Indiana to see how GrayFox is organized there.



Williamsburg :

Butler is recovering from his previous defeat and Hamilton is in Fort Monroe : too bad but I must keep a sizeable force to block the Peninsula.
[ATTACH]28692[/ATTACH]



Northern Virginia :

- This turn I will move all corps under Lee control.
- An important change is the increase in size of the force in Frederick (not yet a corps) and the gathering of 3 divisions in Annapolis.
- GrayFox has created armies under Rosecran (Montgomery), McClellan (Washington) and Halleck (Annapolis) : at the beginning it allowed him to group bigger forces without command penality but now these forces can't MSG to help each other and this is a great advantage for me.
- I'm torn between keeping Winchester and its associated VP, trying to take advantage of the MSG to counterbalance the Union forces gathered around the town or to evacuate it in order to improve my capacity to quickly move forces between endangered areas and to allow me to free a division as reserve.


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Council Bluffs garrison has been destroyed :
[ATTACH]28698[/ATTACH]
Unfortunately I have made a stupid error (really stupid because I knew the following rule) : my force was made only of cavalry so I can't take control of a region where confederate loyalty is < 50%


A small fight at Leavenworth :
[ATTACH]28699[/ATTACH]


And Tucson is now in Union hands :
[ATTACH]28700[/ATTACH]


In Virginia I have left Winchester but the amusing fact is that GrayFox has completely change his strategy and his concentrating his troops on another point of the front (see next post).

Score :
[ATTACH]28712[/ATTACH]


My scouting operation shows no important organized force in central Illinois and Indiana :

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The only sizable Union forces I'm aware of are those in Cairo and Saint-Louis :
[ATTACH]28709[/ATTACH]

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Consequently I will continue with my strategy involving the capture of strategic cities left undefended.