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soundoff
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Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:52 pm

Damn but how you threw those haymakers well :thumbsup: . Kept me really from taking the initative at key times. Really is a study in how to play the CSA if you find yourself up against it from the start....bearing in mind that I'm no slouch at playing the Union.

Must have been much the same for Lee in reality...overwhelming odds and just the slimmest chance that a haymaker would land a decisive blow. Either that or defend against the inevitable.

Mind you...those forts in North Carolina were inspired. I thought I had it won by early 63

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Banks6060
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Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:25 pm

Yeah the forts were a bit of a "lightbulb moment". I thought to myself after you took Garysburg...

"Self. You're in a right pickle. You have NO chance of standing up to Soundoff's army in the open field...so what's the best way of defending....well that line from Raleigh to Goldsboro to Wilmington looks awfully ripe for some "point defense" forts." :D

Honestly I didn't think they'd do as well as they did. Well at least the one at Wilmington. Though that battle's results had as much to do with the terrain as with the fort itself. One thing I had hoped...was that a fort would retain a bit better MC value for a region's defender.

The forts combined with Jackson in the valley saved me from total defeat in Spring of '63. I had high hopes for Jackson...I'd wanted to capture Washington with him and throw the NM situation of the game WAY off kilter in time to help my draft out a bit. BUT as luck, poor administration, and excellent instincts on your part would have it....it wasn't to be.

I WAS very happy to have sucked so many thousands of Union troops out of North Carolina though...especially considering the relatively healthy number of troops Jackson ended up coming back home with.
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Banks6060
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Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:28 pm

Oh...i just remembered....there was one question I'd wanted to ask you Soundoff. I think some readers were curious about it as well.

Was there are reason why you left so many rails damaged across the map??

Part of the reason Jackson's little Valley Campaign even had a chance to succeed was that I knew you would be forced to march all of your reaction forces northward...instead of rail them. Otherwise I likely would have scrapped the idea.
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WhoCares
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Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:03 am

As you two are now active in this thread as well, I might just as well put my appreciation for your efforts and dedication in here :gardavou:

Just reading your AARs brought me back a few times to play yet another campaign - very inspiring and always good reads :coeurs:

And just now when I finally have a monitor (2048:1152) where I can read Banks posts without too much shifting and scrolling you call it an end :( :wacko:

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soundoff
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Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:13 pm

Banks6060 wrote:Oh...i just remembered....there was one question I'd wanted to ask you Soundoff. I think some readers were curious about it as well.

Was there are reason why you left so many rails damaged across the map??


Quite an easy one to answer really but perhaps not a satisfactory reply.

I've always been somewhat 'bored' by the rail destruction/repair mechanism in the game. Now don't get me wrong. Its vital for gameplay and balance but its just so tedious to me to have to deal with constant repairing of rail tracks. I do hope, if there is ever a AACW2 that they can automate it in someway. Thats not to say it ought to be easy to achieve....just make it less of a micromanagement task to carry out (at least on the repairing side)

As I find it tedious I tend not to bother too much about repairing them (except when I really have to) when I'm playing as the Union. After all your opponent cannot do any further damage if the rails are already chewed up and if you pay enough attention to the supply part of the game you can normally avoid it seriously impacting on supply movement.

When I play the South though..... thats an entirely different kettle of fish. You just have to keep those rails intact so cannot avoid the constant drudgery of sending units out to repair rail. But as the North I never find it so vital particularly as I'm usually on the offensive and operating in areas where my MC is poor so that I'm unable to take advantage of the rail network even if it is complete.

Diverting resources to repair railways for me is not aided either (when I'm playing the North) by my own self imposed house rule to virtually buy no Militia at all throughout the game. Usually I do not have a large quantity of spare single element infantry units that I'm able to divert to the task. Its not aided either by the automatic destruction of rail without the corresponding automatic repair of rail (all IMHO of course). I do tend to get so hacked off when I make the effort of moving a unit to a location...put in the repair rail order....then find that the rails still busted the following turn.

Mind you I've never played against an opponent who deliberately conducted a campaign partly based on an assessment of my ability or otherwise to speedily respond. Now its happened and were I to find myself pitted against you again sometime in the future I'd have to concede that perhaps I'd need to seriously rethink my current modus operandi and devote more time to railroad repair even if I do find it.......boring.

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Banks6060
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Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:39 pm

You make is sound SO logical now that you explain it. Makes sense to me.

Auto-repair is something I'd never really considered actually.

Bravo!!
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