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Turns 1-2 and Strategy,

Hello! Since the last AAR seemed well received and we are still mandated to be indoors, Murtagks and I are swapping sides and having a rematch. Last time we played this match-up Murtagks was beating me until he just over-reached with an army under Sherman charging down the Mississippi and running out of supply just outside Jackson, so I have no doubt it will be hard fought.

Beauregard took Ft Sumter as normal.



The end of our last game taught me the value of a strong threat in Virginia, so I focused much of the early Confederate recruitment on strengthening the Eastern theatre.



Into '62 I would like to try to take Ft Monroe to protect the flank of Richmond, and given the success I have had attacking Richmond from the southeast as the Union I may even build a redoubt to guard this approach.

Another area to focus on is Missouri.



The threat to St Louis can tie down plenty of Union troops whilst holding the objective cities of Springfield MO and Fayetteville AR. Furthermore there are good recruitment opportunities in the state. Popular bluff can serve as a good supply base for Confederate raiders to threaten the Union advance down the west bank.

Given these investments something else will have to give.
I have found that New Orleans is very difficult to defend economically, but it is extremely difficult for the Union to advance from this point in the face of CSA supply interdiction.

I will therefore accept the loss of New Orleans from the commencement of the war and only guard it with a token militia force (perhaps including the European brigade, that spawns in the city.



It therefore follows that I will not invest in the city.

Turns 03-09 West,

No significant battles occurred anywhere in the first few turns, though Murtagks and I both maneuvered for a good position.

I built militia in Rolla to blow the depot and get out.



I have just noticed now that Murtagks is rebuilding it under guard from Lyon, but this is fine, as it causes him to expend resources.
Dick Robinson fired without Kentucky joining the war.



In my experience Kentucky either joins the Confederacy early or joins the Union late, so if it doesn't join now, then it is likely that Murtagks will get the state later in the game.

Since Murtagks will have access to Grant (who spawns out west) it is important to try to deny him the possibility of easy victories to gain seniority.
I'm therefore copying one of Murtagks' strategies and fortifying Island 10 with Price to prevent Grant from taking out the static garrison easily.



I'll build this force up to a Corps under Price eventually.

Much of my Industry will be in Tennessee and Georgia, as the former is in the interior, and the latter is shielded by Kentucky for the early part of the war. I have also scattered Arsenals around the trans Mississippi.
I will think about their locations carefully when planning my defence to ensure the trickle of money to the CSA can be maintained for as long as possible.

Turns 3-9 East,

In the East the priority is to ensure that the Union loses the maximum amount of National Morale possible from the "Onto Richmond" events.
I have therefore held firm with Beauregard whilst improving my defences.



I also managed to capture Morgantown with Floyd's force and destroy the depot there (another thing I learnt from Murtagks). I'll keep him there a couple of turns to gather some victory points from the objective city, but retreat before winter. I have already pulled the parrot guns out to reinforce the main front in Virginia.



To bolster the CSA economy I will invest in blockade runners, but have thus far only sent out the starting boats to get me a little more war supply. I may also invest in some raiders.



Lastly, I have found in the past that once some of the coastal positions are taken by the Union it is very hard to get them back. I am therefore reinforcing Fts Jackson, St Phillip and Sumter with a couple of infantry + artillery brigades.
If Union troops land to take the forts, they may be stuck outside longer than thought and suffer from lack of supply if the defenders are more numerous than anticipated.



I also built a brigade in Texas in case Murtagks decides to imitate me by an early invasion of the state. This brigade may, by advantageous position, prevent a larger force from getting a solid foothold.

Turns 10-18 Missouri,

Murtagks and I rattled through a few turns at some speed as engagements are relatively sparse in '61.

Murtagks advanced on Springfield with stacks under Nathaniel Lyon and Edwin Sumner.
The CSA was much weaker directly with a miltia-heavy stack under price, but to offset this I used Shelby to raid the Union supply line.



First I took Lexington and destroyed the depot. At this point the Iron cavalry special unit spawned and gave Shelby a big boost.
Shelby then went back to Rolla and destroyed the new supply depot Murtagks had constructed there.



With the Union forces doubling back to secure their supply line, Shelby than attacked St Louis itself (only a small stack Union stack outside it) and ripped up the rail line.



Without engaging the main union force, this raid set the Union invasion plan back to where it started. Great result by Shelby.

The Indians under Stand Watie were also raised.

At first I used them to clear the highway of forts connecting Kansas to Fayetteville, as this can often be used to supply a Union attack.



They then moved up to Ft Leavenworth, as this objective city is in easy reach, and can help gain the CSA just a few more victory points.

Turns 10-18 Louisiana,

As anticipated, Murtagks decided on a forcefull invasion of Louisiana.



Butler arrived with two divisions. I tried to hold position, gambling that he would be inactive, but he very easily took the city.



I was hoping Murtagks would take a bit longer before attacking New Orleans, but no matter. I at least did not lose any investment.
As Murtagks has committed two divisions I will try to use less than that to hold on to Baton Rouge and prevent any further advance.



Van Dorne has some cavalry to harass Butler, and the other forces are mostly conscript infantry or militia.
It is nonetheless possible to hold up a Yankee advance if careful play is used.

Turns 10-18 Far West and Other,

The Far west is usually not worth spending too much on.

Tuscon becomes a victory city, so I decided to secure it briefly to get some victory points in, but I'll pull back as the California column advances.





I spotted where Murtagks organises his armies - Cleveland Ohio.



I tend to spread out the locations I organise things, but I've learnt over several games that he does it centrally.

With Butler at New Orleans I decided to put my redoubt at Vicksburg. I learnt the hard way last game that Memphis is too far forward, and can easily fall to a determined Union attack. A redoubt that is far enough back can draw in Union attacks whilst their supply lines are disrupted to force a retreat. If the position is too far forward the Union has an easier time taking it.



Grant turned up in Cairo, but I haven't seen him since then.



I'm keeping an eye on the Union navy, as I always worry somewhat that Murtagks will go for a risky naval invasion of Richmond and Grant would be the perfect general to lead it.
He isn't making any move against Island 10, so I really can't be sure where he is.
Wherever Grant turns up, I don't want him winning any victories and becoming a 3* general.

Turns 10-18 South Carolina,

I lost my blockade runners in the Atlantic blockade rather surprisingly and so set about building new ones in Charleston.
Unfortunately, Murtagks decided that this was the moment to try to retake Ft Sumter with two divisions under Joe Hooker.





I was hoping he might face some heavy casualties assualting the fort, but the damn garrison decided to give up and Hooker then moved on to Ft Moultrie.



A silver lining was at least that he took 80 bombardment hits whilst doing a river-assisted move onto the fort.
I'm rushing reinforcements to Bragg to hold Charleston, and moving a couple of brigades to try and get around Hooker to see if I might dash in and take Ft Sumter from behind him. It is at least good that two good Union divisions are tied up here, but whether a decisive victory can occur for the Confederacy or not depends on how risky Murtagks decides to be with this stack.

Turns 10-18 Virginia,

Things were somewhat better in Virginia, where my only issue is that I my superiority in forces may be something I need to capitalise on.

Mansfield's stack was besieging some militia in Harpers Ferry, but I was a little too worried to attack them given the disjointed nature of my stack.



Divisions then become formable, and the Union lack of commanders gave me a clear advantage, so Joseph E Johnston attacked.



A very good result considering it was on the offensive.
Stonewall and Longstreet were promoted going into '62, so this stack will become Stonewall's corps, whilst Longstreet gets part of Beauregard's stack.



Hardee has moved to Ft Monroe, and I may need to reinforce him before assaulting the fort.
On the main front there may be an opportunity to attack, but in the winter it is difficult to maneuver.

It may be more prudent to hold whilst ensuring sufficient forces are available to take Ft Monroe.
The main objective for 1862 is to prevent the Union from getting close enough to Richmond to avoid national morale hits from the "Onto Richmond" events.

I suspect Murtagks is holding back Grant for a spring campaign in the east.

Turns 19-24 West of Mississippi,

The last few turns have generally favoured the Union unfortunately.

In the far west I totally lost all the objective and victory cities.
I hadn't really invested much here so it's not so surprising, but I could probably have done a better job keeping El Paso.



Hooker decided to stop assaulting Charleston and take out the forts at the mouth of the Mississippi.





On balance my reinforcement of these forts has not been advantageous, since Hooker has gained more seniority from destroying them. Had he only brought one division to battle, then the garrison may have held, but Murtagks has been smart about applying maximum force.

In Missouri I am hoping that the Union advances so that I can make a dash for St Louis with JEJ, I'm sending him the Missouri brigade to reinforce him, but until the Union moves a little he is sitting idle, which is not ideal.



I am at least just about still ahead on VPs per turn and holding Springfield MO (and by extension Fayetteville and Leavenworth) really helps with that.

Turns 19-24 Tennessee,

There was a great deal of movement in Tennessee,

I spotted Grant in Cairo and wondered what he was up to, and then saw him on boats going to Ft Donaldson.



I tried to railroad AS Johnston to the fort in time, but unfortunately Grant got there first.





Without the amphibious penalty the outcome was not in the CSA's favour.
This left me on the other side of Nashville from Grant and I was worried I might lose the city, but fortunately Mud intervened, and Grant actually lost a huge amount of cohesion



If I had a decent force in position I may be able to push him out, but unfortunately my railroad points are being consumed in Virginia and Johnston is not active. To add to the confusion Kentucky Joined the war.



I have no idea how this front is going to go over the next few turns.
Given the investment I made in Tennessee I of course want to hold Nashville if at all possible. I think the troops from South Carolina may need to railroad up here given that Hooker is no longer at the gates of Charleston.

Turns 19-24 Virginia,

Fort Monroe continued to resist Hardee's siege, and I had to divert resources into building a naval force capable of preventing the Union from completely cutting off Hardee.



I was able to chip away with the CSA navy and shore batteries until they retreated.

Just as I was thinking about going on the offensive, the Union army was massively reinforced and attacked Longstreet at Falmouth.



I was disappointed by how long it took Beauregard to reinforce Longstreet.
The only thing to do is immediately bring Stonewall back from the Shenandoah.



I would like to find a moment to counterattack if the Union army overreaches, but first I need to rush troops to this front.
Beauregard's position at Manassas is advantageous to worry the union about supply so I will keep him there whilst Stonewall moves to reinforce.

Turns 25-30 Virginia,

The CSA managed a stunning reversal in Virginia.

Having forced Longstreet back, Murtagks tried to press his advantage and get close to Richmond with McDowell, but ended up charging into the teeth of Stonewall Jackson, just arrived from the Shenandoah.



That turn Lee also took command of Union armies in Virginia and so the Confederacy counterattacked, across a couple of costly battles, that nonetheless sent the Union back to Alexandria.



At this point Murtagks decided to try to take Manassas, which was left unoccupied by Lee and Jackson driving Milroy from Falmouth.
Unfortunately for the Union, Lee got to Manassas at the same time and the result was much in his favour.



With this fairly crushing victory the CSA drove the Union back across the Potomac.



This left a Union force in Harper's ferry, but with the Yankee's otherwise back on their side of the Potomac.



Taking Alexandria would be a terrific result, as the large garrison being destroyed would yield a good number of victory points.
I also want to get rid of Keyes's Corps at Harper's ferry, so I'll take the fight onto Northern soil to cut off his retreat, and see if I can get him to move from his works.

Turns 25-30 Seafront,

Forrest finally managed to retake fort Sumter.



This gave me the great opportunity to promote him and re-open the port of Charleston.



The Union has committed a great many forces to Tennessee, so these troops from Charleston are desperately needed in that theater.
Murtagks has also committed 4 divisions to move out from Louisiana.



Having been replaced in Virginia, Beauregard has gone home to defend the rest of Louisiana from Butler's army. This is an area where he will just have to hang tough with less than half the enemy force, as I can't really justify sending anything else to this state. Beauregard has two rag-tag divisions against four fully equipped Union ones, so I'll have to hope that superior generalship and the terrain help.

Murtagks has now also opened up a front in Texas.



The one brigade I have can't really hope to match Freemont's divisions, so I'll have to harass the Union as they move inland as best I can.

Turns 25-30 Tennessee,

In Tennessee very little happened, but the Union amassed a very large force.

First Grant got stuck west of Nashville with no supply and had to retreat.



This allowed me to re-establish my defensive line, now under JE Johnston (I packed of AS Johnston to Missouri, as I need good defensive stats).



The CSA forces have a great disadvantage in numbers, and so I am sending fresh troops as quickly as possible. Forrest will receive a corps under JE Johnston to add some mobility, but I am very concerned that the CSA line may buckle under a Union assault.

Turns 31-33 Tennessee,

Murtagks waited a turn to get Grant an Army command (I guess he had to give out some other commands to Freemont etc). I saw him cross the river to the east, and predicted that he would go for my rail line back towards Georgia



I had militia preparing works there and so JE Johnston railroaded in to take up the position and inflicted a defeat on Sherman.



The Confederate militia will keep preparing works further back in case Murtagks chooses to keep trying to move round the Army of the Tennessee by the flank. This army is now the top priority for reinforcements, as it threatens the industry I built up in Georgia.



In the West of the state the Union has had a freer hand, Rosecrans and Wallace have advanced down the Mississippi and the later brushed aside a small force that was defending Memphis.



Now that Forrest is back from Carolina, I will use him to counterattack to hold the city. It contains ironworks that I do not wish to give up.

Turns 31-33 West of Mississippi,

Van Dorne is keeping Butler busy with just a few cavalry battalions.



I won't be able to retake New Orleans, but I'll try to tie up all the Union forces I can.
The position at Baton Rouge held by Beauregard is really difficult for the Union to deal with, as it sits across a river and threatens their supply if they just try to bypass it.

In Texas I will unfortunately lose some objective cities, as the Union's forces are just too strong.
It will be a case of keeping as many of them occupied as possible to free up my forces for other fronts.



In Missouri I finally decided to launch my attack against st Louis.





With Grant and Sherman engaged in Tennessee I doubt if the Union has any other forces that can rescue Missouri.
I will therefore assault St Louis and prepare to hold the state against counterattacks.



I managed this in a past game, and it can serve as a very effective threat to the Union by incursions into Illinois.

Turns 31-33 Virginia & Misc,

Jackson pushed Franklin aside and entered Maryland.





I'm maneuvering back and forth, as my goal is to stay between the two Union corps at Harper's Ferry and force them to attack me to avoid running out of supply.
Taking Washington is unrealistic at this stage, but I seek to destroy as much Union combat power as possible and keep him worried about Washington, rather than being able to fulfill the "Onto Richmond" event (he has already taken the first -10 NM event).





Hooker has unfortunately turned up in Alabama, and is threatening Mobile.
I got Bragg their (weakening my Tennessee defenses unfortunately) but I feel I have to to prevent the city from falling. It's a crucial port and generates war supply.

Turns 34-37 West of Mississippi,

These turns were generally eventful, with some good results for the CSA.

St Louis fell to AS Johnston's forces.



Very shortly after McDowell turned up with a fairly large stack of Union forces.



This turns MO from a region with a CSA advantage that I should advance in, to the reverse. I'll go on the defensive, and hopefully AS Johnston can tie down Union forces to prevent them from reinforcing Grant.

In Texas Freemont easily took Galveston and Houston. There is a small confederate force at Austin, but it will have to take a defensive roll whilst cavalry harasses the Union supply line.



In Louisiana, Butler's army is finally preparing to assault Beauregard, and Pope's corps was first to hit.



The large proportion of militia unfortunately means that Beauregard's stack may break more easily, but hopefully they can tie down the 6 Union divisions whilst van Dorne's cavalry cuts the Union supply line.



The single railroad makes it difficult for the Union to advance in the theater.
I have also noticed that Murtagks seems to have grouped his entire navy under Farragut and sent it up the Mississippi. This is good to know as it gives the CSA a freer hand in other coastal theaters.

Turns 34-37 Memphis,

Nathan Bedford Forrest managed to work miracles in this turn.
With the Union forces tired from moving towards Memphis,

He beat both Rosecrans and Wallace (one battle shown).



This left, them separated on either side of Memphis.



Forrest then chased Rosecrans and achieved a pair of similar Pyrrhic victories.



From there Forrest rushed back to Memphis to block Keyes from taking the city and achieved a remarkable victory.



This presents an opportunity:



The Union forces are inland and very low on supply. With some luck, Forrest could destroy, or at least inflict great damage on these divisions as they try to get back to Union lines, all the while maintaining the CSA hold on Memphis.

Turns 34-37 Nashville,

The Union continued to try to take Nashville, but the fortunes of this front turned markedly in favour of the CSA.
Grant first switched west and took Ft Donelson (again).



I assumed that this was a prelude to move on Nashville from the West and so I moved JEJ to the high ground to block this route.



Grant and JE Johnston fought in several separate engagements (2 shown) and without exception they were much in the favour of the CSA, with the Army of the Cumberland getting very chewed up over these battles.





This leaves the CSA forces tired, but still holding against the Union advance. Murtagks will certainly need to invest a great deal of resources to rebuild this force.
I managed to destroy a depot with some confederate raiders, and I'll try to get the other. If Murtagks overreaches badly I may even be able to take back Bowling Green, but even holding on to Nashville is a great success.

Turns 34-37 Virginia/Maryland,

Murtagks outwitted me and managed to link his isolated corps back up to the main army.



This left Lee and Jackson in a dangerous position, and so I made a dash for Harper's Ferry, where Lee lost, though not disastrously.



Meanwhile, Longstreet held the siege of Alexandria and managed to pick off some Union elite brigades that spawn there, so that Magruder can be promoted.





I will send Magruder to west Memphis, as I need a decent defensive general to hold the city.

This left the Confederate forces south of the Potomac, no decisive action occurred.



I'm not really sure where to go from here. The forces are somewhat equal, and I would like to retake Harpers Ferry for the victory point income, but there is always a great risk that the Union moves by railroad to reinforce their position.

I will hold tight for now. The Union does need to advance eventually, and it would be great to force a surrender of Alexandria to cash in the victory points from all of those garrison brigades surrendering.

With Johnston's victories in the Tennessee and the seizure of St Louis, the CSA is holding it's own, but is nonetheless under great pressure.
Murtagks and I are around parity for victory point income, but the CSA has a lead of ~700. I need to maintain this, to force Murgatks to launch more risky assaults against fortified CSA positions and ultimately secure victory.

Eagerly awaiting the next installment!

Bargus wrote:Eagerly awaiting the next installment!

Seconded

Turn 38 Overview,

Murtagks has had focus on some life matters the last couple of weeks, but we should be back from our hiatus in the weekend.

In the meantime here is a summary of the game as it moves into November.

In texas, I am trying to cause casualties to Freemont, by cutting his supplies with my inferior forces.


I can't possibly beat the 2 Union divisions head on, but I can nibble away at the edges as they try to secure the rest of Texas.

In Western Tennessee I hope next turn that Bedford Forrest can keep driving Rosecrans away from his supply lines and potentially even destroy all 4 tired divisions that have tried to take Memphis.



If this can be accomplished it frees up Forrest to help Beauregard in Baton Rouge.



Beauregard is well entrenched and has 2.5 divisions, but one consists largely of militia and so may break.
If Butler can coordinate an attack he may drive Beauregard off before I can reinforce him.
It does give me some satisfaction to have predicted how this front would go.
It is easy to take New Orleans, but hard to advance further. The Union has committed 6 divisions against Beauregard's 2.5 (the .5 is an elite brigade that spawned in the area that Early commands). If Beauregard is driven from his entrenchments I hope he takes as much of Butler's army down with him as possible.

In Tennessee JEJ has been remarkably successful against Grant.



Murtagks is falling back to regroup. I will be careful as I saw McDowell with 4 divisions around St Louis MO, but he has since vanished. I suspect that 4 divisions are on their way to reinforce Grant and Sherman.

In Virginia, I think my advantage has passed.



I'll try to retake Harper's Ferry with Stonewall and Lee for the VP income, but then I may have to wait for the Union to move (though I still want to force a surrender in Alexandria).
Fortress Monroe is still holding out, and I hope that I can finally take it in our next session, and so open up sea travel from Richmond.

Turns 39-41West,

In Texas things continued to go well.
Freemont's two divisions have slowly lost cohesion and supply in the snow, allowing me to cut their supplies out form under them.



This may allow the CSA to reconquer all of Texas.

In Tennessee, Forrest did not manage to catch Rosecrans, who escaped on the river, but he ended his turn close to Little Rock, AR (embarked) and so I predicted that he was about to try and take the city for supply.
I therefore Railroaded Magruder and his partly built division over to hold the city.





A good outcome, and Rosecrans had to straggle back north.

What was less favourable though, was that I managed to make an unbelievable mistake and put Beauregard inside Baton Rouge.



A pretty dumb mistake, but there we go. I will try to rescue his 2.5 divisions by pulling forces from elsewhere, but it would just give the Union a huge amount of morale if I mount an attack. If I lose the stack that's a disaster, but still only gives away VPs rather than national morale, and with the Union down on 78 NM, this is probably my most likely route to victory.
Forrest should at least be able to take back New Orleans whilst Butler starves out Beauregard on the bright side.

Turns 39-41 Virginia,

The only event of note in Virginia was that Ft Monroe finally fell to Hardee's siege.

It really hadn't been a well planned siege, but at least it ended well.



It's time to take some divisions out of Virginia to help in the west. The Union has a strong defensive line on the Potomac, and I suspect they won't want to move anyway. The best approach is to hold position for the moment until Alexandria surrenders, and try to inflict casualties on a Union attack if it comes.



I also find it comical that Dan Sickles spawned so far ahead of the main Union defensive line.

Turns 42-46 West of Mississippi,

In Missouri I tried to raid into Illinois, but McDowell (as it turns out was still around)



Murtagks hadn't redeployed him to Tennessee as I had thought, he was trying to bait me across the river. Lucky I went with the cavalry stack instead of exposing AS Johnson's divisions.



Subsequently McDowell (seeing that St Louis was well defended) went round to to Jefferson city. I railroaded ASJ to defend it, but I'm going to have to watch out for McDowell going back round to St Louis again.



In Texas Freemont straggled back to the coast and now finds himself under siege in Galveston



I had built some fresh troops in TX to send east, but given this situation they will stay to press the siege. If I can get Freemont's 2 divisions to surrender that would a great result, given that I just had a disaster of my own.

Turns 42-46 Louisiana,

Having been trapped in Baton Rouge, Beauregard surrendered in 2 turns.



This is of course an unmitigated disaster.
Whilst Butler was besieging Baton Rouge Forrest did manage to retake New Orleans.



This caused Butler to retreat to secure his supply, and so the CSA did briefly hold both cities again.



It wasn't long though before Butler gathered his forces and retook the city, but not before Forrest inflicted some good casualties on the Union force.



The CSA position in Louisiana is now difficult to say the least, given the large Union force that is now not held in check.
I think the best way to defend the Western states of the CSA is to use the interior lines of these states to switch back and forth between Tennessee and Mississippi, keeping the Union forces apart and threatening to concentrate and defeat them in detail.

Turns 42-46 Tennessee & Virginia,

The main threat to the CSA is in Tennessee.
Gilbert is clearly threatening the railroad hub at Corinth.

To hold him off Forrest is railroading up from Louisiana, and Hardee is coming from Nashville (a shorter trip)



Grant's huge Army of the Cumberland is still threatening Nashville, but Mutagks still appears to be resupplying them after they had to skedaddle back across the river. With Grant and Sherman on the North Bank, I will probably get some warning from their movement before having to receive an attack, and the mud is in my favour.



In Virginia nothing much happened.



I pulled as many divisions out (Hardee and Stuart) as I could to reinforce the west, since the Union (with McClellan in command) is not set up well for a '63 campaign, but I'll have to keep a close watch on it it in case Murtagks decides to go for Richmond.

Its nice to see a new AAR in 2021!! love this game.






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