I will write this from the perspective of someone new to the game (which I am), documenting all my moves (well, most) and the thoughts that went into them both regarding the interface as well as the strategy. I hope that by doing this, the report can serve as something like a tutorial for players new to the game. While the tutorials in the demo are excellent at teaching you the basics, they don't give you the big picture and it took me a dozen restarts and a couple days of forum and wiki reading to even get to the point where I am now. Ok, here we go:
Turn 1
Objectives ([F9]):
My objectives in this scenario are to defeat the Confederate Army in the East, capture Forts Henry and Donelson and blockade southern ports. I'm not sure how achieving those objectives translates into Victory Points but I know that capturing objective cities gives me VP. Currently we both have 50 but the South gets a lot more points from cities each turn then I do. Going through the list I find a couple that sound doable in the short term.
Norfolk: I have intelligence on it due to neighboring Ft. Monroe and its not to far away by ship. If I can draw its garrison out I might have a reasonable chance of a successful seaborne invasion. Maybe threatening Richmond will do the trick.
Richmond: All I have to do is smash the Confederate army and take Manassas and Fredericksburg.
But even if I don't take it, it should draw forces away from Norfolk and give me an opening there.
Nashville: Only a short hop from Bowling Greene, but behind a river. Now I see why I should take Forts Henry & Donelson.
Memphis: Deeper behind the lines but still reachable before the winter. Capturing Island 10 would be helpful to open it up from the river as well.
Politics ([F8]):
I don't see a reason to move my capitol. The other option (Total Blockade) deals with affecting Foreign Intervention. Currently its at 6, so I don't see a reason to do anything. However the first choice says I will gain $50.000, 15 VP and 1 NM. That seems worth risking a slight increase in foreign intervention possibility.
Loyalties ([F7]):
Average Loyalty in Texas is 7% with the highest 50%. Instituting Martial Law will bound Loyalty between 30 and 70 percent. That seems a reasonable choice until those Texans get to know me better. Everything else looks fine.
Economics ([F6]):
Hmm. At the bottom it says Planned Balance: ...., -15 Victory Points, -1 NM. Did I misread the Total Blockade? No, it says 'gain' 15 VP and 1 NM. Might be a typo so I guess I remove my signature to be safe.
Judging by the info in the top panel my bottleneck is manpower, not supplies, so I probably don't have to worry about Industrialization. Still, Wisconsin and Delaware only need small investments and have very good potential, so I authorize the funds for it. Transport Capacity is likely to be of very high importance, so I order 20 additional locomotives and 10 river transports.
Financial ([F5]):
All measure are dependent on my VP total and decrease either moral or VPs. I better wait until I'm really sure I need that extra money.
Drafts ([F4]):
Mobilization costs VP and NM. I'm not prepared to pay that price yet. Besides we're only facing a bunch of Rebels, so this is going to be a pretty short war in any case. But I will call for Volunteers (not paying a bounty though).
Land Forces (cycle with [E]/[R])
In the East:
My main objective here is to throw the Confederate Army back and march towards Richmond. And the Northeastern Virginia Army under General McDowell is just the army to do it.
First I'll reorganize the command structure. I drop all stacks onto McDowells army and dissolve all Divisions. Then I create 3 new divisions under Tyler, Miles and Hunter. Each gets 4 Artillery, 1 Cavalry and 9 Infantry Regiment, leaving me with 1 regiment of Marines, 1 Cavalry, 1 Militia and a Light Infantry Brigade.
I give Hunter a Balloon Regiment and a Supply Wagon and send him by rail to Frederick. The main force of the CSA is in Manassas and it's rather unlikely that they will maneuver that wide, but from there I will threaten Harpers Ferry and at least force them to protect it.
I also put T. Runyon in command of Miles Division, eliminating the CP penalty and move it to Montgomery. The most likely maneuver for the CSA is Loudon to Montgomery to flank my Army and threaten Washington. Since they have to cross the river, a defense in Montgomery is going to be more effective and Loudon doesn't seem to have any great strategic value right now. If I send a supply wagon in the stack it will take 10 days, but if I send them separately it takes 5 days for the stack and 7 for the wagon. Hmm, I'd rather be there early and start entrenching, so I will send them separately. The rest of the army stays put to protect the direct approach to Washington
I will also send the 3 groups of Pattersons command to the 3 regions south of him, so I can start getting military control there to secure the rail line going east-west.
In the West:
I don't have much to work with. I move Summers to Quincy (takes exactly 15 days by rail). Next turn I will move him to either St. Louis or Lexington. I split my Cavalry forces in Lexington and send 1 regiment south and 1 southeast to lift the Fog of War around Springfield. I also send the California Command east toward Lexington, the Garrison there should be enough.
Navy (cycle with [T]/[Y])
I send the USS Saint Louis to the Gulf of Mexico. The USS Brooklyn already there is currently in Defensive stance. I'm not sure whether that affects the blockade, but I'll switch it to offensive. I move the New England fleet to the Atlantic Shipping box, but I detach the NE Squadron (since it contains Blockade Ships) and move it to the Atlantic Blockade box. It's not clear to me whether a Squadron with 4 elements is as effective as 4 single ships there, but I can always move more ships there later. I also move my River boats out onto the rivers where they can block Rebel crossings.
Replacements ([F3]):
I don't expect much fighting so I raise 5 each for Line Infantry and Militia and 1 or 2 for each other type.
Reinforcements ([F2]):
I raise about 10 militia, mainly in the West, to protect the first line of cities behind the front. I also raise 12 Infantry brigades equally divided between East and West, including 2 brigades with sharpshooters from PA to bring Runyons and Hunters Divisions to full strength. I add 2 Cavalry regiments in the East to deal with raids, 4 Sharpshooters for scouting and other stuff and 10 Artillery, including 2 Siege Guns in the East to bring with me to Richmond.
Planned Balance: 28k Dollar, 16 Conscript Companies, 80 ton of War supplies.
Time to hit the End Turn button.
