Jackson slips the noose at Amherst!! (Good news and bad news here. The good news is that Jackson was able to slip away from Franklin's follow-up assault at Amherst, but the bad news was that Gregg's brigade was unable to blow the Amherst depot. At the same time, Gregg's brigade absorbed a LOT of replacements before being dispatched by Franklin. Replacements that would have been nice to have had elsewhere.)
Crittenden assaults Garysburg, garrison retreats without a fight!! (This move I was NOT expecting at all. My hat's off to Soundoff for making it to Garysburg with Crittenden's Corps...I would assume by either force march...or by water. However he did it, it certainly puts Lee in a supply pinch.)
Meade withdraws!! (Just as I suspected. Soundoff's army is in fact struggling from supply issues and appears to be heading back toward Paducah. I hope to exert a little pressure this turn.)
Forrest's command vanishes into the mountains!! (One of the tragic tales of the Confederate war effort. Forrest's weary troopers, dogged by months of riding and fighting with little food and little rest...give out in the mountains of West Virginia. The ONLY survivor, one General Colston.)
On to orders...there hasn't been much happening so I'll just go east and west in general...starting in the East:
![Image](http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/9890/east46.jpg)
You can see how things stand now. There are a couple of encouraging things as we muse at the map together. First of all, it appears Franklin not only attacked Jackson and missed, but advanced into the snowy open terrain just south of Jackson....and so will undergo even more attrition this turn...A true joy for me as this makes his and Hamilton's Corps essentially useless to Grant for at least the next month (i.e. he'll have to get back to a depot to rest and take on replacements...possibly all the way back to Mannassas...Amherst has no supplies left.). This means Lee will be free to operate against HALF of Grant's army. Whipple and that Corps up in Washington are also at least a month and a half away from Grant should they choose to come south....so Lee, now with 3 Corps comprising some 62,000 men is faced with Grant (and Crittenden I suppose)...around 90,000 or so men. Odds I would much rather be facing at the moment....than the ACTUAL force Soundoff has gathered in the east....some 140,000 to my 72,000 or so.
The bad news. Jackson is far out of position and his Corps far too weary to do me any good for at least the next month. (HIS nearest depot will be Knoxville and it will take him at least a month to heal.) So it appears for at least the remainder of February, I'll be without his services in the east. Garysburg has been taken, but Crittenden brought with him no supplies, and my entire army is only a 2 day train ride away, so I doubt Soundoff plans to stick around...and I doubt I'll lose the depot. SO...decisions, decisions.
In looking things over this turn, what with the capture of Garysburg, the absolutely hopeless venture of maintaining my hold on Richmond, and Grant's newly rested 3 Corps at Burkeville (Berry, Dix and McDowell)...I feel an attack may be imminent...Soundoff has both momentum and the initiative...so It seems appropriate that the army withdrawl to North Carolina and rest for the remainder of early February...and possibly strike a blow to Grant before the rest of his army can come up. So I've ordered Longstreet's Corps to rail quickly back to Garysburg and assault Crittenden (who I fully expect to have blown the rails and evacuated by the time Longstreet gets there)...E. Johnston will march to Sussex, VA...J. Johnston will meet Longstreet in Garysburg...a march that will take only 10 days (as opposed to the usual 20...thank you marines!!). Lee will also be meeting those 2 Corps in Garysburg.
J.E.B Stuart is ordered to rail south to Goldsboro and protect that important depot from anything Soundoff has planned to do with Kearny, who now sits outside Raleigh, NC. I feel confident Stuart will be able to deal with the Union cavalry readily.
Again, note the intel on Grant's 3 Corps at Burkeville...McDowell appears back at full strength...a full 40,000 men under his command....Dix is strong with around 20,000...as is Berry with closer to 18,000. Again, with my troops rather widely spread...and with J. Johnston's Corps still struggling with low cohesion...I think he may order an attack. I've set all of my troops on "retreat if engaged" so as to prevent a major battle.
To Jackson...who is truly in a sad state. Fortune has smiled upon his however...the mountains in which his troops currently reside are blessed with sunshine and blue skies...fair weather....with hell all about them
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/smile.png)
In the West:
![Image](http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/8245/west46.jpg)
The attack on Corinth never materialized...as Soundoff appears to have seen fit to address his supply troubles. Meade, with 2 Corps, his own former command now under Rosecrans and that of Hooker, now have taken up positions around Humbolt, TN. The rails there are still cut, but weather in western Tennessee is fair...so Meade will probably get supply. Our two armies are quite evenly matched at the moment and I plan to put a little pressure on his base at Paducah this turn.
I'll get to that in a minute....it appears I was wrong about Soundoff's leaving Paducah undefended...there are now quite a few troops stationed there. It seems like he's mustering another division....possibly for Hooker's Corps...but there is one thing that's been bothering me of late....what on earth happened to Thomas?? I still have the strength to strike at Paducah, but knowing how important Fts. Henry and Donelson are....as well as Bowling Green, being that both are the gateway to Nashville and Chattanooga....with the absence of Thomas...I cannot attack and leave my rear so lightly defended. I don't know if Soundoff is baiting me....but if he is...I'm not biting just yet.
However I do plan to move the Army of Tennessee, now roughly 35,000 strong. Bragg and Polk with concentrate in the area of Decature, TN. It's a position that, if Meade stays where he is...which I see as entirely possible...(why retreat any further when the supply situation is to be remedied this turn?)...will flank his base at Paducah and put me within about a 10 days march of Columbus, KY should the weather remain fair next turn. It is also a perfect defensive position...being that it sits in a Forrested region...(a deterrant for Meade to attack...even despite his advantage in long artillery.)
Stand Watie's braves will be left to guard Memphis...and a small detachment under General Doles will be left to guard Corinth. Hopefully with this move I'm able to force Soundoff to retreat and cover his line of supply. I have a line of supply regardless...by way of the Tennessee river...what will really make my day...is if Soundoff advances with Meade...opening his rear to assault next turn. We will see.
Soundoff also had his river fleet run by Bragg's guns at Memphis....which scored 50 hits against the Union river ships...I've no idea where they are headed...but I might see them again soon somewhere in my rear. I've detached an ironclad and some gunboats from Buchannan's river fleet to check on things. the rest of Buchannan's command will return to the friendly confines of Memphis to rest and refit.
Some action in Government:
![Image](http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/3318/govt46.jpg)
More volunteers are called to man the forts along the coast. If I can strengthen them in such a way as to require MORE than a division to successfully storm them...it should put a bit of a damper on Soundoff's coastal operations in the east. Cavalry is also called up in Georgia. Stuart needs reinforcements. Also....6lb artillery...for use in the construction of forts....I'll need them at key points if I hope to bleed Grant in his advance through North Carolina...they'll also be of use in my coastal cities.
Lastly, I've called for an exchange of prisoners...Soundoff declined my last offer. Perhaps this time he'll have a change of heart. I need the extra conscripts for sure.
SO
Will Grant attack at Petersburg?? Can Sydney Johnston outposition Meade?? Stay tuned....