general strategy playing Union 1961 campaigns...

[rabit123]

Restore order in Missouri, and secure the Shenandoah valley.

Then invade Virginia from there, land a second army in Norfolk, move them both towards Richmond. This way it's possbible to trap the CSA armies in Virginia and take their capital, which could already be enough to break their morale.

How long did it take you to win this game? Also, did anything unexpected happen?

[Mickey3D]

How many men do you put in that theatre (i.e 1 division, 2 division, etc.)?

In the last PBEM I played, I took Little Rock with 2 divisions plus half a division holding Fort smith and some infantry units holding Springfield and Fayetteville. So I would say around 3 divisions.

But as always it depends on your opponent. In this PBEM, my opponent had half a division in Tucson he used for a nasty attack on St Joseph. If he had use it instead to reenforce the Little Rock garrison I should have commit more troop in the Little Rock area.

I'm curious, I've always tried to eliminate that theatre so I could use my resources from that part of the country for the MS river campaign and into central TN. I do take Rolla, and Springfield (though I usually blow the Springfield depot as I don't garrison it with much). But I blow everything else.

I think that if you are not able to secure enough depots between St-Louis and Fort smith to provide you a good supply path, it's perhaps preferable to eliminate this theatre as you will waste ressources buying supply wagon to rebuild the depots.

I wonder if my strategy is the reason my support is so low in MO. By the time the summer campaigns start in '62, the only areas of MO that have U.S. MC for supply are the zones I have troops in.

Sincerly I don't care about Missouri support : these people are lost to my cause so I will teach them the hard way.

I just garrison the cities/towns holding a depot and use some militia to keep my supply path open between them (i.e. US control > 25%)