PBEM AAR, (Union) Mid game, advice requested

[turska]

As the title says, im playing the Union. We are on turn 58 and the war is not looking too good for the Union.
For the record, i `did ask from my opponent that it is alright to post this here. :-)

Here is the screenie from objectives:


As you can see, there are few problems... Including losses of 650 00 men.

Then the important pieces of the map:



And results of battle of Richmond:

I forgot to use sync'ed movement and so battle was fought only with Meade's corps
plus two independent divisions from the ft. Monroe & peninsula are.

I captured Cairo only during previous turn after two years of bloody battles.
I think i lost good 150 000 men totally while trying to take it with losses of around 70 000 for the rebs.

Also i have loads of Reb's running havoc on my supply lines in Missouri and Kentucky.

So any tips what i should do? I can post more screenies if requested.

[Ejack]

As one who hasn't played PBEM, but has played extensively from the Union vantage point, I'll offer some advice to get things rolling.

Eastern Front:

You look to have good control of Northern Virginia and Washington is secure. So it seems your not facing imminent disaster. In fact, taking Richmond would be a huge blow to them and boost to you. However you have two things not going well. McDowell is in control (can you switch him with a lesser theater commander?) - your corps are spread out. I think of the Union task in the East as a simple one. Bring your forces close and lean, lean, lean on your lighter resourced opponent. I think it was Banks who offered a close Corps strategy for the Union due to the uncertainty of MTG with the weaker generals, I find that to be sound advice. If you have another Army set up in the Valley that's fine, but the Main Army should probably run the Manassas Fredericksburg, Richmond line with auxillary corp or a second Army protecting your Right Flank. You appear to have the weight there, just focus it.

Side note: When I can I keep two active armies in the East. One is my hammer (3-4 mid-large corps), the other my mop (1-2 small to mid size corps plus Army command). The hammer is the best leaders and best units to take the fight to the enemy. The mop is the occupation and chase corps for when a Jackson type corp gets loose on the flank and makes trouble. The weaker force can usually handle those types of flanking actions because the Rebs have to worry about the hammer and running out of supply on those end runs.

Western Front:
You have Eastern Kentucky, he has firmly grabbed Western Kentucky. I assume farther West is no better (he still has at least Southern Missouri right?). If I was the Confed, I would have entrenched those River lines and tried to annoy you with raids into IN, IL and OH but the chances of him trying to hold territory (except Cairo) across the Ohio River are pretty slim. When I see this, I think WV into East TN, come up by Knoxville and Chattanooga and try to dislodge his forces with movement rather than force. The Western Front is a big wide open, you crack his right flank by getting behind those mountains and he will have to spread out to meet you and you limit his ability to transfer troops across theaters. Just as he can hold the river line to the south, you can use the river as a holding line with fewer troops and occasional probes, while sending troops around the corner. I don't suggest turning his left along the Mississippi due to terrain and that pesky Island 10 make running the gambit a bit trick at this date. My best guess is your Johnny Reb has committed a substantial amount of resources in the West where he has a better chance to match you strength for strength. That's fine, just don't slug it out in those circumstances. Spreading things out in this theater will also make the raiders less effective as your supply lines will be less strained to push to certain areas.

By the way, do you have much in the way of gunboats? If you have the cash, lining the river with 4 boat flotillas can really hamper the Rebs ability to cross at will and can make those raiding forays just a tad more difficult. You also get the bonus of a floating picket line to see them coming before the crossing and a screen on your flanks when you make your crossings.

Overall: Look for ways to chip into that NM gap, your boys need better morale and need to chip into that feeling of invincibility those Rebs have. Taking key cities is a great way. Remember most of those are in the East and on the Coast. Have you probed the coastal flanks. Savannah, Wilmington and Charleston are often accessible with a well stocked force even if you have to land and walk a bit. Even with 200,000 more casualties, I'd guess you still have more troops than your opponent, so overall I'd think where can I spread him out, and in the East - how can I put 150,000 troops against his 40 or 50. Finally, you have about 1-2 months of active operations before Winter will give you a respite, that's a great time for the amphib ops since everyone else is freezing for the winter.

Good luck I hope maybe I offered something that will spark a good plan for 64.

[Banks6060]

Great post.

I'd say this is about as good as the advice gets when it comes to this particular situation.

you've got the advantage in men and material. Dislodge your opponent with movement in the west...focused strength in the east.

[turska]

Situation around Missouri at the moment:


I lost Springfield two turns back and my counterattack failed, attacked with two divisions and only one engaged and got wiped out. Because of NM i'd guess.
Rebs hold Council Bluffs, Kiowas and Omaha City but i have left them be as they are middle of nowhere without depots at this point.

Rebs have also being building ironclads as there are about 10 of them sitting on the river beetween Cairo and Pacudah... I have 14 of mine moving to engage. Reb ironclads got some pounding (around 75 hits if i recall) from my Corps as they sailed past Charleston.

[Ejack]

Yes your trans-Miss looks about how I expected from the other shots. Remember the objective cities that you hold are basically the East Coast. While the possibility of your opponent taking Chicago is annoying, it is resource wasting to chase him all about the midwest when the real value is in the East. Hold St. Louis, don't let him destroy large armies(divs), which will let him bleed NM from you in the West, and let him do what he is doing to you. Let his success in the West encourage him to put more resources there than he should and you can still achieve victory with your mass in the East.

I really think that as a Confed, your job in the West is to try to hold the river line at Nashville to Island 10 for as long as possible, but the real value in the West is the distraction it can cause the Union player. You will not achieve a historical victory in this game, and probably never get to Memphis or New Orleans, but you can win without those objectives. A good push in the East and Johnny reb will wish he didn't have 10-20,000 good vets sitting in the Trans-Miss or Northwest unable to support his dying Virginians.

My last piece of general advice is this: Stop, forget the old strategy for a minute and take a look at the map. What can you do to take the initiative and get sure and meaningful victories? I think sometimes we all get wrapped up in an initial strategy and when it doesn't work we try to force it. If your opponent has stopped your initial plan, revise and resubmit a new one.

Good luck.

[Ejack]

Banks:

Well I hoped you liked the advice, I think at least 90% of it is from reading your playbook but I was too lazy to put the citations!

Most of my knowledge of this game comes from reading this forum and the AARs.

[Banks6060]

@Ejack

I...don't know what to say...I'm flattered .

My methods may well be proven foolish by Jabber in our PBEM game soon enough. We'll have to see, but it's still pretty tight.

Thanks for the props though .

[Jabberwock]

It is tight, but so far I think it's working in Banks' favor. It's a good strategy.

[turska]

Okay... Now its turn 60.

Should i try to encircle Richmond and Rebel's main army sitting there by taking those few provinces around it?

Or should i wipe Forney out and open Rebel flank with that cavalry division of mine and with couple of Corpses from my main army?

[Banks6060]

If I may. You seem to be treating your formations like World War II Panzer divisions. I think Runyon outlined how important it is to remember that travelling a long distance with any Corps or Division...or anything means low cohesion and lower combat effectiveness in the end. Those men actually have to walk all that way. And travelling too quickly will overextend your supply line. Allowing you to become cutoff.

Quick movement is good, but you can hardly expect to surround any 19th century army in a "pocket" like you would in WWII.

Concentrate your army in a strong position, with secure lines of supply and then just find ways to get his army back out into the field and beat him in the open. Or at least kill lots of his troops.

You control the depots at Fredricksburg and Mannassas. He can't threaten Washington at all....so you've essentially got all things working in your favor in the east. He will be forced to react to you. Just make sure to leave decent garrisons at each of those depots and keep the rails as clear as you can and you should be fine.

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