Response to Polk Alpha Strike on Cairo

[Reverend Zombie]

In April '61, if the CSA player rails most of the force poised outside Sumter over to Polk, Polk can land in Cairo with a force 300+ strong before the Union reinforcements pop up there. Polk can take Cairo by Late May, IIRC.

This has flustered me a couple of time in PBEM now.

What's a good Union response to this move?

[soloswolf]

It's a long war. Take your time and use the tools you have. If he separates those and other forces that would otherwise potentially be defending Western TN: Watch your flank, force a crossing and isolate his force on your turf.

I am sure that it seems surprising. But those forces really could be better used by him elsewhere. Hang tough and fight him every inch.

[cobraII]

solowolfs right they could be used better else where usualy what i do as the conferderate player is the second polks force become unlocked i seperate the cav and send it by river to cairo and it usualy arrives and captures city 95% of the time then i destory the railroads and depot and take the two harbors in regions near by.

What my union opponent did in my game is he used Lyons force to recapture cairo surprised me a little but it didnt destroy my cav and now he is going to pay because i going to stop him from getting back into missouri by taking out his railroads

[Banks6060]

Yeah I'd say just be patient. Anyone who actually thinks an invasion of Illinois is bound for success...is setting themselves up for disaster. A combination of measured response in Illinois/St. Louis and a strong push on Nashville/Ft. Donelson would probably get your opponent back across the river.

It's tough to justify any offensive thrusts along the Miss. as the CSA. just beef up the defenses of western Ky and Tenn....Island #10...build a nice little fleet...and you should be able to give the Union player some nasty headaches trying to make his way down the river. That's if he cares about the Miss. of course.

[Doomwalker]

solowolfs right they could be used better else where usualy what i do as the conferderate player is the second polks force become unlocked i seperate the cav and send it by river to cairo and it usualy arrives and captures city 95% of the time then i destory the railroads and depot and take the two harbors in regions near by.

What my union opponent did in my game is he used Lyons force to recapture cairo surprised me a little but it didnt destroy my cav and now he is going to pay because i going to stop him from getting back into missouri by taking out his railroads

The cav raid as mentioned by Cobra is what I do also. I will put my percentage of capture/depot destruction at 99.9% though. I then use this cav unit to attempt and make the crossing of IL by rail impossible. Most of the time I can take out several east/west links before the unit is destroyed. I also try to destroy any other depots in IL that I can.

As far as a response to a raid. I don't ever hurry anything as the Union. I take my time, build up a division or two, then remove all Southerners from the lands that I rightfully own already.

[CWNut77]

Personally I never give in to the temptation in the early game to take Cairo as the CSA. To do so leaves him semi-isolated and he can rarely hold the place for long anyway. The result is usually a fast retreat once the Union by-passes him to invade the South.

[Doomwalker]

Personally I never give in to the temptation in the early game to take Cairo as the CSA. To do so leaves him semi-isolated and he can rarely hold the place for long anyway. The result is usually a fast retreat once the Union by-passes him to invade the South.

Oh trust me, I don't condone trying to take and hold Cairo. But, I will say that a quick strike by the cav to get in and destroy the depot is well worth the minimal effort needed to accomplish it.

[CWNut77]

Oh trust me, I don't condone trying to take and hold Cairo. But, I will say that a quick strike by the cav to get in and destroy the depot is well worth the minimal effort needed to accomplish it.

Agreed -- cavalry raids OWN in this game

[Banks6060]

disagree...as the Union, all you need are a couple of transports and you're back in business by the time you'd need the depot anyway .

[Jabberwock]

That's why I usually try to take out Salem and Vincennes as well when I run the Cairo gambit. Cavalry raids work best as a coordinated strategic level tool, rather than independent operations.

[johnnycai]

I have found that if the St. Louis Riots event fires, and Lyon becomes available, then sending him to Cairo immediately will sometimes prevent Cairo from getting fired. I believe that event has 75% chance of occuring.
If Lyon and his brigade doesnt appear, then its a given that Cairo will be taken and its depot lost, so I usually build militia in IL/IN/MO to hold the East-West Vicennes/Evansville/Salem/St. Louis line against the reb raiders until a coherent force can retake Cairo.

[CWNut77]

disagree...as the Union, all you need are a couple of transports and you're back in business by the time you'd need the depot anyway .

OK, re-phrase -- cavalry raids own mostly when playing AS the Union. They are more a nuisance than they should be to the Southern player -- seriously, it took the North 2 years to catch on to good cavalry tactics in real life! But such is the sacrifice for such a great game

[Doomwalker]

disagree...as the Union, all you need are a couple of transports and you're back in business by the time you'd need the depot anyway .

True, but I am still going to destroy it. Anyway to drain some of the Unions over abundance of war materials.