Starting Off I Need A Little Help.

[jasonpittman]

Could someone please give me a bit of advice about what to do in the first couple of months on the Grand Campaign. I'm playing as the CSA and to be honest I just don't know where to start. I've played the shorter scenarios and won them no problem but when it comes to fighting the whole war I'm lost. Basically I need help with the following

1. I can't seem to find any hints on the economics, where do I need to invest and how much ?

2. War bonds, mobilisation and volunteers do I need to use these straight away.

3. How many reinforcements do I need to start with, and where is the best place to concentrate my forces.

4. The Generals in Richmond, do I need to send these off to other cities or do I keep them in the Richmond area and put together a huge army there.

I've read through the excellent 101 on a previous post and looked through the wiki but I haven't found anything to help me start off. There's plenty of help for when the war is in full swing.

Thanks in advance

[soloswolf]

Hi Jason,

1) The economics tab in the ledger brings you to a screen where you can industrialize your states, build RR cars and river transports. With regards to industrialization: For each level you select (up to 3) each of your cities in that state gets a roll against it's size (which range from 1 to 10 I think... ) and if that roll succeeds that city gets an improvement in $, WS, ammo or supply. (sometimes more than one of those ) RR and river transports are important, but your resources are thin and until you get better at the game, I think you'd be better with boots on the ground than trains to move them.

2) Volunteers and drafts are based on your NM score, and the $$ options are based on your VP score. All options except for the draft can be used twice a year, the draft only once. These reset in late June and late December. The choice of when to use them is a tricky one. Wait and as long as those two scores I mentioned are going up, and you will get more men and money. But you will of course not have them until you pass the measures. It's your judgment call.

3) As many as possible, and wherever the fightin' is! But to clarify, reinforcements are new units, replacements are essentially new 'hit points' for your existing units once they are damaged. For reinforcements, judge where and how many by the action in your states and keep in mind once you build them, it will take a few turns for them to be in fighting shape. So, be cautious about building them in a state that is heavily threatened as they may get run over prior to being at full strength. Replacements: many here agree that a having 10% of whatever you have in the field in your replacement pool. (i.e. 100 line infantry units on the map, 10 in your replacement pool.) But it's up to you.

4) Spread them as effectively as you can. I won't go into this too far as I am sure you will have many more specific leader questions in the weeks to come.

Good luck and keep posting your questions!

[Turbo823]

Hi,

I'm a newuser like you and here are some of the things I have been doing. I've been playing the union:

- I wait for the National morale to climb a bit before making a volunteer call. I usually do this around June (I'm playing the April campaign).
- I keep all replacements at 1 except militia which you don't really need replacements for. The line infantry and supply I like to keep a '5' in reserve.
- When reinforcements are available I buy most militia in OH, Ind, Ill, MO, and a couple in IA, and WV. The goal is to put militia in the border cities and try to contain the CSA raiders.
- What line infantry I buy are in KY, KS, MO, IL, OH, Ind. The east area seems to have enough infantry but the rest of the areas are sparse. I inevitably lose Bowling Green to the CSA so retaking that is imperative as it is taking Jefferson city and the other missouri csa stronghold. As I take CSA cities I try to leave a militia unit in there.
- I use Banks to create a corps in the east and two more corps with the other leaders. About 1/2 of the leaders are either redeployed or RR'd to the western areas. Banks corps stays in washington with the washington garrison outside the city. One corps moves to the Harpers ferry area, the other on Manassas with Hooker's division protecting the left flank. I usually strike first and get beaten back. I then start adding reinforcements in the east.

[Dadaan]

I use the same strat as far as raising militia in all the border states, and buying line inf in the border states for most of 61. Securing Missouri, and kentucky, as well as organizing my army in MD are my usual goals for 61.

[Brochgale]

Best advice I can give - play first campaigns on easy settings and when you are comfortable fighting a whole campaign - move on to harder settings. But the harder settings do present a different challange - as CSA you are under more military pressure from pretty much June61 onwards. On easier settings you can get away with making some mistakes - on the harder settings the Yanks will punish you more.The yanks will fight a lot better for a start.

[jasonpittman]

Thanks for the help it is much appreciated. This has to be the most complex yet satisfying game since Hearts of Iron 2

A couple of questions though.

1. In the game I'm playing at the moment as the CSA. On my 1st or 2nd go I built 11 line Inf unit replacements because I got a tooltip off of a general saying they were forming a force (or words top that effect) and to build plenty of replacements. Now what I don't understand is that the number of replacements I built which was 11 didn't go down but rather up. Also before I read your help I built about 10 militia replacements now a few months down the line I have 32 and I didn't build anymore. Why is my replacement number going up ? (I'm not looking at the on the field number and mixing them up) The only replacement that has been used is an Army HQ replacement I built.

2. This may sound stupid but which ships do I buy for blockade runners and do I need them to start off with.

Thanking you in advance

[soloswolf]

1) If you keep an eye on your message box, you will see that you get many free replacements throughout the game for free. (from various events) Also, when an element of yours needs replacements, a roll is made against the replacement 'point' in your pool of them. What this means is that it is not always a 1 for 1 trade. i.e. you may get more mileage out of a single replacement than just 1 element being replaced.

2) Brigs. They are good to have as they get you two things you have little of: $+WS. I would advise a slow and steady build-up of them. And keep an eye on their supply levels, you will need to rotate your fleets from harbor to sea to keep them supplied. (You could put transports with them, they are just easier prey for Federal hunters.) Also, keep your ships on passive and use the evade button as well. Don't try to fight the Federals, just get your goods and go home.

[Coffee Sergeant]

1. I can't seem to find any hints on the economics, where do I need to invest and how much ?

Its a matter of playing style. Some like to invest in the cheaper states like Alabama, some in the more expensive ones like Georgia. Virginia and Tennesee are probably not a good options however. Main objectives for the Union are in those regio, and tou don't know how long you will be able to hold on to them. In the case of Virginia, the small towns in the southern part might be somewhat safe, but you can't guarantee that is where the factory is going to pop up. It could be built in Manassas or Harper's Ferry, and overrun by the Union early.

There is another option to industralizing however, and that is to build a large brig fleet. I would recommend building at least some brigs even if you do industrialize

2. War bonds, mobilisation and volunteers do I need to use these straight away.

I would suggest at least war bonds, one of the tax options volunteers by turn 3(early May). These options will reset in early June, so if you don't use them you wasted an opportunity, and the CSA needs all the resources it can muster.

3. How many reinforcements do I need to start with, and where is the best place to concentrate my forces.

Richmond, Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans are the major Union objective. If they capture all four, then its pretty much a win for them. Of those four however, Richmond is the most important being your capital. You will lose around 50 morale points if you lose it. Obviously you can't put all your forces there, but its a gamble to skimp on defending Richmond (This is a major problem with the AI (Athena), playing CSA. It never defends Richmond properly)

4. The Generals in Richmond, do I need to send these off to other cities or do I keep them in the Richmond area and put together a huge army there.

You probably won't find a place for all of them in Virginia, so I usually move a few of them to the West.

I've read through the excellent 101 on a previous post and looked through the wiki but I haven't found anything to help me start off. There's plenty of help for when the war is in full swing.

Thanks in advance

Pretty much the only way you can learn to play this game well is by playing.

[jasonpittman]

Thanks the replacement thing was confusing me and everybody else thanks for the tips they will be invaluable in my next game.

[GrudgeBringer]

Ok, I asked the VERY SAME question in January.

I will give you MY first move as CSA...its not the only move you could make , but its not the worst move you could make either.

If I forget 1 or 2 things I'm sure the folks on here will chime in.

They are incredibly helpful on here.

Theis is on NORMAL settings.

1. Attack Harpers Ferry with your Militia from Winchester (use the (red button)Assaut button.
(this will give you a boost in VP)

2. Attack Norfolk with the Militia from Suffolk (town to the SW), agian use red assault button.

3. Attack Ft Sumter (do NOT bombard use red assault button) from Charleston S.C. with 2nd SC Irregulars (Gray Unit) and you will about 80% of the time get the Artilery batteries and take the city.

4. This is where it differs....I do this but I am not saying its the best thing to do...it just works for me.

I RR Barlows brigade, 1rst SC Bde and supply wagon by rail to support Lexington KY.

1rst Georgia Cav I RR to Charlestown (I think thats the name) W Virginia take the town and start harrasing Union from there depending on how they react.

I go to economic panel and build a factory in NC and one in SC (this agian is open to debate).

and last I go to replacement screen and build 2 cav, 2 light Art, 3 Field Art, 1 light infantry, (I usually do NOT build a heavy art at this time but some do) and spend the rest of my War Supplies building Line Infantry.

Do NOT build any Militia, Raiders, or any other items.

AGIAN that is MY first turn on Normal Setting...

Others do it different and you should develop your own play style.

Some will want to hold back some War Supplies and not spend them all.

Some will go ahead and get 153 (I think thats the number) conscripts on the first turn...I do NOT.

From there......thats what is so good about this game President Davis.

You get to do what YOU want.

Good luck (and if I forgot something I'm sure someone will point it out).

[Brochgale]

As CSA
On Industry - I build cheap Ark and SC. It is agood idea to try and generate some WS as CSA early in game.
As a rule I do what I can to keep Yanks away from Richmond and thier other objectives.
Also I try to keep them having a free run on the Mississippi River as part of my overall strategy.
In west I try to fight war in Missouri and Kentucky. Also regularly rip up yank RR when you get chance.If you think you cant hold a particular city - destroy the RR and depots. I advocate a scorched earth policy if you have to retreat - if nothing else it will deprive Yanks of cohesion and easy supplies?Making counter attacks easier for you.
Remember your freebies as well - you will also get free Blockade runners, free ironclads and free shipping raiders.It is handy to know when planning on what to buy and when.

[MkollCSA]

All these are good advice the only thing i can contribute to this is when i build troops i only build a division at a time (11 inf, 4 arty, 1 cav, 1 Sharpshooter) if for some reason you cant get it to work out perfectly i usually go for either extra inf or arty as these give you more power. The reason to recruit in divisions alone if very simple....whats the point of building 2-3 brigades that by them selves isnt going to do much good...only answer is unless you are trying to bolster up a division that doesnt have 18 elements or you just need some brigades quick to defend a city...also some people are of the opinnion you should, as the CSA, go ahead and drive your inflation up as fast as possible so you can get more money...i.e. measured exceptional taxes printing paper money and the likes....personally i am sitting around 3% inflation right now and i am not to hard off on cash i am in mid 1862 on this game.....i dont industrialize much until i get a good strong defence built up...keep your rail and riverine supply forces up cause with out them its harder to supply your troops....build a a couple good fleets of bridges and rotate them in the shipping lanes to bring you back some extra $ & WS i like to use ironclads on my costal areas to defend my cities and forts and keep the union navy at bay...also make sure all your forts and cities are set to bombard the enemy and remember you have to grounf forces in place for this to work...in the west use indians and raiders to destroy the indian camps except for the one S. Watie comes from defend that one cause you can recieve more indian reinforcements from there (not sure about the others tho) destroying the others keeps the union from resupply their raiding parties and comming after you....also use cav...indians and raiders to go behind the enemy lines and cut their RR's focusing on major RR junctions and supply depots to keep their forces unsupplied and unable to move fast to attack you....you may lose these units so dont bother trying to send a general or anyone or thing valuable with them....this will disrupt the union movement and supply a great deal...i wish i could say its enough to bring the big man down but its not.....A tactical thing to remember NEVER move a force smaller than a corps ANYWHERE unless you are moving forces to join one....Corps fight better and if adjacent to one another can provide mutual support via the "march to the sound of the guns" remember a smart general doesnt think only about his objective....but also the best way to get there....in defending dont give up ground by leaving your forces only outside cities....station corps around the area's leading up to the cities and even if the enemy is bigger and stronger, dig in and make him fight for every inch of soil he wants....never give the enemy ANYTHING for free....your much better off fighting a huge force that has had to fight a few battles than one that just hopped off the train and went into the fight...plus this acts as a delaying action where you can move some forces in to help....hope this helps and few free to shoot holes in my ideas.

[WillisNYC]

First off I must say that I really enjoy this wonderful game. It is complex, deep and strategic in a manner that I love.

However there are some basics that beginners can easily miss! I have been playing at least 200 hours of this game over the last month and just discovered yesterday that MANY of the options in the Draft, Financials and Politics Tabs are right clickable! Not only are they right clickable, but the changes that you can make here are DRAMATIC. I am sure this is old news to those of you who have been playing this game and perusing these forums for months, but this was astonishing to me.

I am no newbie to wargames like this, but if I had not read a passing reference to the right click on one of the posts here, I would still be ignorantly plodding along with minimal size armies because of the limitaions imposed when you right click. Let me explain to the other newbs:

For the Union, the amount of soldiers that you can draft in the first year is your limiting factor if you don't right click. Your initial Call for volunteers will net you 138 companies if do it on turn one with no right click. Right click and you discover that you can pay $3k per company and 2 NM points and get up to 433 companies! Thats a nearly 300% improvement that can make a huge difference. Partial Mobilization yields 532 companies, but right click and Full Mobilization appears and you can get 729 companies for an additional 50 VPs and 1 more NM point. You will quickly discover that you don't have enough money to pay for these additional companies to make them into units.

Onto the Financial screen where low and behold right click and you can raise more money at a faster clip too! 8% bonds are available to raise 311K right away and creat 2% inflation. Exceptional Taxes are availabe raising 373K instead of 117k. It costs you 1 more NM and 1% inflation but you need the money if you have the extra companies. Both of these measures have a middle setting for a little less money and cost, but the improvements add up to raising $684k instead of a piddling $221k which will enable you to start building out some of these additional companies that you now raised.

All of this revelation leads a player to see the possibilities available during 1861 now! You can't build armies during the first two turns, so no need to draft soldiers. However you can raise money and you are damn well gonna need it once you bring in the drafts and mobilization on turn 3. So raise as much money as you can in the first two turns and then begin to mobilize and put together your now greatly expanded army on turn three. Don't forget to raise reinforcements and invest in your economy and infrastructure. (railways and transport ships) Lots of units are needed to man the borders, so huge numbers of militia should be raised in addition to planning on building out divisions as advised elsewhere in this discussion. The militia eventually convert to line troops, so raising most of your troops as militia is the cheapest option. Most of the time the troops stand around doing little fighting during much of 1861 anyway! The game converts roughly 10% of your militia troops to line troops every turn, so get them into the game where they can stand around, get trained up and become line troops!

Lastly, the options on the Politics tab are also right clickable! Other options besides the blockade are available for you to explore! The rebels have the same 'right clickable' options available to them so they can expand their initial armies also.

Being able to raise these huge numbers of troops in 1861 is the reason I am guessing that many of the more experienced players here are playing the mods that I am learning limit your ability to raise these huge early armies. I would appreciate if one of the oldtimers would comment on this and let me know if I should abandon playing without the mods if I wish to PBEM?

[Manstein]

- I use Banks to create a corps in the east and two more corps with the other leaders. About 1/2 of the leaders are either redeployed or RR'd to the western areas. Banks corps stays in washington with the washington garrison outside the city. One corps moves to the Harpers ferry area, the other on Manassas with Hooker's division protecting the left flank. I usually strike first and get beaten back. I then start adding reinforcements in the east.

I think that is an error to use Banks for create a corps outside Washington, because you lose the Banks´ first skill (more conscripts) and the Union has enough leaders. If you place Banks inside New York, you will gain about 5 conscript more for turn (120 conscript for year is abot 1 division).

[WillisNYC]

I agree, Banks and the other two 'flag' generals need to sit in cities producing extra conscripts.

[MkollCSA]

about the only good use for them

[jasonpittman]

I didn't know about the right clicking options. I'm just about to start another campaign this afternoon so will take advatage of that.

My first campaign went quite well until about 63 then it all went wrong but I will use that as a learning experience. I held all the objectives apart from New York and another one up north. Once I lost Washington and the army of the potomac it was all over. I managed to get Washington back and my NM was upto 172 but I lost nearly all my soldiers doing it which left Richmond open to attack.

[MkollCSA]

always have a back up plan