Hello All - Who gets credit for winning a battle ?

[Diggy]

Hello all - this is my first post on this forum. I received this game as a Xmas gift and am enjoying it immensely ! Anyway, I have a question:

It is early June 1862 and I am playing the complete campaign as the union (my thinking is that on my first try at this game I should play as the overdog, since I will be blundering around making mistakes). I have the Army of the Potomac (McDowell in charge, Milroy and Hooker as corps commanders) in the region bordering the Richmond region to the southwest. Richmond has only a militia regiment guarding it ; however P. Beauregards 50 000-man army is 2 regions north beside Fredricksburg after thrashing a third AoP corps.

So it looks like I will be able to assault Richmond and take it without any problem on my upcoming turn, since McDowells 25 000-man army is only 1 region (4 days march) away while Beauregard is 2 regions to the north. And all 3 of my union leaders are active for this turn

However, I would like to be able to control who gets credit for taking Richmond, as I much prefer eventually promoting Hooker over Milroy as regards future Army commander promotions. Hooker has a 20 000 man corps while Milroy has a 3000 man corps. Therefore, I am thinking of letting Hooker man the defenses outside Richmond (I am anticipating Beauregards quick return to try to retake Richmond, and if Hooker assumes a defensive posture after arriving in the Richmond region, his corps will begin to entrench, not true ?) while Milroy and McDowell shall assault the city itself and try to occupy it.

However, if I do this won't McDowell or Milroy get credit for defeating the militia and taking Richmond ? How is it decided who gets credit ? If my assumption is true, how can I get Hooker to receive credit for the victory (will it be alot of credit, since it is Richmond?), since he controls 20 000 of the 25 000 troops in the army ? It appears I can even leave McDowells stack out of the Richmond region, if it so happens that he will receive credit for taking any part in the conquering of Richmond (he outranks Milroy and Hooker, perhaps he get the credit if he participates.).

[soloswolf]

Hi and welcome! Let's break this up a bit...

Hello all - this is my first post on this forum. I received this game as a Xmas gift and am enjoying it immensely ! Anyway, I have a question:

It is early June 1862 and I am playing the complete campaign as the union (my thinking is that on my first try at this game I should play as the overdog, since I will be blundering around making mistakes). I have the Army of the Potomac (McDowell in charge, Milroy and Hooker as corps commanders) in the region bordering the Richmond region to the southwest. Richmond has only a militia regiment guarding it ; however P. Beauregards 50 000-man army is 2 regions north beside Fredricksburg after thrashing a third AoP corps.

So it looks like I will be able to assault Richmond and take it without any problem on my upcoming turn, since McDowells 25 000-man army is only 1 region (4 days march) away while Beauregard is 2 regions to the north. And all 3 of my union leaders are active for this turn

However, I would like to be able to control who gets credit for taking Richmond, as I much prefer eventually promoting Hooker over Milroy as regards future Army commander promotions. Hooker has a 20 000 man corps while Milroy has a 3000 man corps. Therefore, I am thinking of letting Hooker man the defenses outside Richmond (I am anticipating Beauregards quick return to try to retake Richmond, and if Hooker assumes a defensive posture after arriving in the Richmond region, his corps will begin to entrench, not true ?) while Milroy and McDowell shall assault the city itself and try to occupy it.

Any stack will start to entrench once it stops moving. Posture does not matter. However, the trenches will not help them unless they are in a defensive stance. Also, occupying a city is a risky thing. You will want to assault it for sure to take the city, but stay outside when handling forces of this size. If you get caught inside you can lose a LOT of men needlessly.

However, if I do this won't McDowell or Milroy get credit for defeating the militia and taking Richmond ? How is it decided who gets credit ? If my assumption is true, how can I get Hooker to receive credit for the victory (will it be alot of credit, since it is Richmond?), since he controls 20 000 of the 25 000 troops in the army ? It appears I can even leave McDowells stack out of the Richmond region, if it so happens that he will receive credit for taking any part in the conquering of Richmond (he outranks Milroy and Hooker, perhaps he get the credit if he participates.).

Firstly, it will not be that much credit. You will get a big NM boost, but your forces will only be taking on a single militia regiment and will not get much in the way of xp. (For your generals or troops) The highest ranking general will show in the battle report, but you can usually tell who did most of the work by the state of their divisions after the fight. Now, as I said, there won't be much damage coming your way here, but typically one corps will bear the brunt of the damage in a fight. Further, it may be only one or some of the divisions/bdes in that corps that take it. However, if you win the fight (i.e. kill more than you lose) you will gain xp that will advance both your leaders and your units ratings. (These can be viewed by clicking on their element icon in the lower right hand corner. It will bring up a detailed panel of info.)

[Diggy]

OK, SoloWolf, thanks for the advice.

But regarding you advice not to put too many troops in a city - the manual states that all structures give some (defensive) protection, not true ?

So I would think that setting a force in a city just after it has been taken can't be much worse than leaving them out in the open outside the city with an enemy army bearing down on them (I'm guessing that my force won't be able to entrench much before they are attacked, so a city the size of Richmond would be better protection when I am pressed for time).

Is it a good idea to have at least one regiment-sized unit in a valued city ? I dread the possibility of having my entrenched troops outside a city lose a battle, and then retreat out of the entire region, leaving the city to the enemy. If I have some units in the city, then my attacker will have to defeat my entrenched troops, and then after that contend with my forces inside the city. My attacker might not be able to handle both battles in the same turn. How does that sound ?

[arsan]

Hi Diggy! Welcome!

The problem with leaving big stacks inside cities is that they cannot escape to another region if defeated.
So if Beuregard attacks with enough force to defeat you while inside the city your forces will be cornered and fight to the death.
You will lose a lot of complete units and give the CSA an awful lot of experience and victory points.
Or in a better case, you will defend successfully the city but probably end under siege by Beauregard and forced to starve there or try to break the siege attacking the CSA force
The best i think is to left a little garrison (a regiment or two inside the city) and put the corps outside. They will try to defend the city but if they are unable to hold it at least will retire to and adjacent region and be available to fight another day.
The little garrison will keep the CSA stack busy for another turn while they assault and storm the city.
Regerds

[Diggy]

OK ! !

Now bring on Bearegard ! !

[77NY]

Or in a better case, you will defend successfully the city but probably end under siege by Beauregard and forced to starve there or try to break the siege attacking the CSA force.

How does sea supply work where Union forces in a coastal region with wagons/depot are besieged? If, for example, he sends Farragut up the James and controls the waterway between Richmond and Fort Monroe, would that keep sea supply flowing into Richmond during a siege?

[arsan]

How does sea supply work where Union forces in a coastal region with wagons/depot are besieged? If, for example, he sends Farragut up the James and controls the waterway between Richmond and Fort Monroe, would that keep sea supply flowing into Richmond during a siege?

Yes it should. In fact, no need to send Farragut. As long as the CSA don't blockade Richmond they should get some supply by sea.
Unless the CSA entrench guns on the adjacent coastal regions or controls Ft. Monroe. This will shut up the James supply line i think.
Regards

[Gray_Lensman]

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[77NY]

I would imagine any force beseiged in a coastal region would have to be located on a harbor if they were to be able to receive any sea supply and only if that harbor's exit point(s) were not specifically blockaded also.

Thanks Gray and Arsan. Does enemy ZOC in the besieged region itself negatively impact the flow of friendly sea supplies into that region?

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Jim-NC]

Getting back to the original question on the thread. Usually all commanders that take part in a battle have the ability to increase in senority (or decrease if they lose). It is the ratio of the losses that determines how many senority points are gained/lost (read xp). If you lose too many, your generals lose senority.