Newbie Question - Block and Delay?

[Leeds]

Am playing the initial July 1861 (Bull Run scenario) and every time, the Rebs go chasing through my lines to Pittsburgh.

I dont have enough units to stop this it appears - and even when I place independant brigades in border regions, the Rebs go right through them.

What am I doing wrong - if anything?

Thanks

[Mickey3D]

Am playing the initial July 1861 (Bull Run scenario) and every time, the Rebs go chasing through my lines to Pittsburgh.

I dont have enough units to stop this it appears - and even when I place independant brigades in border regions, the Rebs go right through them.

What am I doing wrong - if anything?

Thanks

Put your independant brigades in attack mode because Rebs can avoid your forces in defense if you don't have sufficient control of a region (95% or more).

Or better, wait for the rebs in Pittsburgh...

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

I would say to skip Bull Run. It hasn't been updated in forever. Shiloh is a decent learning experience, but nothing will get you learning faster than an 1861 full campaign.

[SleeStak]

The Rebels love Pittsburgh. You've got two approaches:

1. Let them go to Pittsburgh, leave the garrison in place. When they capture Pittsburgh (and they almost certainly will), use some troops to regain military control of the path the rebels used to move to pittsburgh. This will deny them supplies. Bring a division with a good defensive commander, 4 artillery pieces, the rest inf with plenty of supply wagons and an engineer to Union PA (its terrain is mountain and a single division can hold it against all comers). Let them dig in and the rebs will eventually run out of supplies and have to try and force their way back through the mountains. The rebs will probably hunker down in Piuttsburgh and when you see their strength start to decline, bring a decent sized force into Pittsburgh, beseige them and you'll almost certainly kill them off.

2. When you see them make a break for the burgh, send in a garrison with at least 20 inf elements and as much artillery up to 15 pieces as you can afford. Make some of the guns siege guns, they'll keep the rebs from getting breaches in your city, and some gattling guns if you can (they are murder in short range defensive fights with limited frontage). As long as your city is not breached, they won't be able to storm it if you fill out your frontage and put plenty of artillery in place.

I almost always let them take Pittsburgh, use it as an opportunity for force economy to go and take something decisive.

I hate it when the rebs go for Pittsburgh. They can't win the war there and that draws their army away from Richmond which becomes easy pickings. I just finished a game where McDowell ended the war in August 1862 with a rating of 2-4-4 because he was inexplicably active for several turns in a row and received the credit for destroying the reb army in Pittsburgh in a battle where Bearegard, Johnson, Stonewall and some other generals were killed.

[Cromagnonman]

Athena has a bad habit of letting her armies get beseiged.