1861 Manasas event

[biggp07]

So...how can the USA really "win" the 1861 Manassas event to avoid a -10 NM hit when up against an entrenched Bory (4-2-5) and Longstreet (5-3-6 & a 231pwr) and 3 other CSA generals and forces that just never seem to lose cohesion or men? After 2 major battles and I haven't even dented the Manassas force, only thrown the men to their slaughter. It's a PBEM btw.

If I chose to stick to my own agenda and ignore the political pressure, I will lose 10NM, If I try and take Manassas and lose, I will end up losing 10NM anyway and probably more because of the loss of men in battles. All of this only to help the CSA improve their best leadership. So bottom line, it doesn't matter if it's McDowell or McClellen there at Manassas, USA loses 10NM.

What is a solid USA strategy that's not gamey to "win" the 1861 Manassas event?

(What I mean by gamey is to attempt to take Manassas early with the minimal USA forces that you get early in the game. Some players feel that is gamey, I tend to think that way, but compared to the alternative of facing an entrenched CSA force like the one above and not calling that gamey is argueable just like allowing the USA to "sit and wait")

I guess it's possible for the USA to win this event, I just don't know how.

[Longshanks]

Gamey? Is it allowed by the rules? Anyway, if you take it early you almost certainly will not be able to hold it.

In a PBEM you'll need help from your opponent to get that 10 NM back. Kiss it goodbye. THere are evets and such that will help you recover most of it. Just don't lose much of your army.

You can turn up the pressure elsewhere by taking the Valley, sending a division down to Butler, etc ... you can gamble by stripping ALexandria of all but the garrison and see if he'll bite. Or you can hunker down and build up. Your day is really later on.

[Ol' Choctaw]

The only way is to take it on the first turn you have troops free to move there! If you wait even a turn, chances are good that you will find a lot of CSA units there as a welcoming committee.

But that is what you termed gamey. I guess it depends on which side you want to take.

In reality the Union tried another move before going for Manassas but that didn’t work. Gosh, I forgot the name of the engagement.

Anyway, allowing you opponent to fortify the area may seem sporting but you will not get past it until Spring 1862 if you allow that to happen.

NM is too important, particularly in a PBM to allow that to take place.

If you are good you can keep you NM as high or higher than the CSA. Or, you can make historical mistakes, while your opponent does not...like rushing on to take Washington after you are defeated at Bull Run.

[biggp07]

Thanks! I'm not trying to start an argument about this event, just trying to figure out if it's winnable without "assistance" from your opponent. Yes, it is allowed in the rules of the game unless both players agree to its 'off limits" early on. But that would not be strategically the best way to begin this war. In my particular PBEM we did not agree to that so it was my own doing to let the CSA build up there to which I have now payed the price in much more than 10NM. I knew it was probably unwinnable because of the skilled CSA leadership I was going up against but I wanted to try anyway because "the people and politics" were forcing me to. Once again; "If I chose to stick to my own agenda and ignore the political pressure, I will lose 10NM, If I try and take Manassas and lose, I will end up losing 10NM anyway and probably more because of the loss of men in battles." It would seem that I'll just have to accept that I will lose 10NM by late Sept no matter what I do which is fine because that is the consequences of my actions. I take full responsibility. This game is designed around making strategic choices right?

So...there is no way really to avoid taking the NM hit in 1861, as the USA alone. Just deal with it and get it back later on and stretch this war out for more than just a summer. That is pretty much how it played out in history so the event is WAD. Now, against the AI is another story.

[Ol' Choctaw]

Your best chance now is to by pass it and cut it off. Maybe the enemy will want to get away before the force is isolated.

You have the mobility advantage. Use it. If you cut the rails and occupy Fredericksburg, even with a smaller force, he may want to get out.

You can also threaten the towns along the James. Blockading them will also use up supply. If you threaten Richmond that is worth 10 NM to you and costs him more than that so if you can bluff him or actually get a chance at it he will leave Manassas PDQ.

[rattler01]

Like someone mentioned use your mobility. If a CSA player pours men into Manassas its almost impossible to take. However, you can make him suffer for it by taking F'burg or sending a force to snatch Norfolk. Also, you can invade KY early forcing him to transfer/build men over there or risk an easy lose of Nashville. The same goes for NO or other places that will only have their token garrisons if he has been pumping men into VA.

[Longshanks]

Yes there are options as folks have listed. But don't expect your opponent to sit rigidly in Manassas while you pack up your army and head south. If you do that, you'll lose Alexandria and have even D.C. in a pickle in short order. Or, perhaps, he'll pull out of Manassas and trap your army somewhere south of one of those many rivers. So, yes, go somewhere. But have a plan to get out too.

[Jim-NC]

I have to agree with Ol' Choctaw. If you fail to take it the first few turns (before the army is released), then the best way to capture it is to either:

a. surround it (cutting his supply, forcing an evacuation) - hard to do between June and September 1861 with the union forces you have.
b. go for Richmond (which is much more important than Manassas)


there is always:
c. attack/retreat from somewhere else, attempting to lure him out (attack Fredricksburg, or abandoning Alexandria, or maybe dangle Washington in front of him (just don't lose it))

[Longshanks]

Remember, it's just 1861. Don't panic, you have a whole 1862 (and 63) to build up and work on Virginia.

If you can build up in the big draft of Late Dec 61, you'll find yourself in much better shape to compete in VA, especially if you focus your reinforcements there.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Aurelin]

I use that elite brigade you get, pair it with a leader, and take it.

But if you're playing a hyper agressive Reb, you'll have units laying seige to Washington. Then , of course, the papers will scream if you don't move south.

Funny how they don't scream when the Rebs pour north.