SlimeyRock CSA vs Longhairedlout USA

[slimey.rock]

Hey everyone, this is my first attempt at an AAR so bear with me as I become more comfortable with it. My worthy and esteemed opponent, Longhariedlout, graciously allowed me to produce this AAR; therefore, all gratification should also be extended his way

This particular game has been going on for some months and is coming to a close, but don't worry, I won't spoil the ending for you all . We are playing on 1.13b with pretty standard setting: normal activation, slightly randomized generals, historical attrition, small delay, ect.

I decided to start the AAR on turn 4 because that's when the first real action started in our game. Anyways on to the action!


In the east everything is pretty normal. My assualt on Harpers Ferry failed so the Union retains control, Norfolk was taken, and my armies are organizing in Strasburg and Richmond. I'm doing what I can to send spare troops to Manassas and Fredericksburg to discourage any early assualts from the Washington Brigade or the Union marine regiment. In this game, I've railed the Charleston force North to Manassas and the 1st reserve brigade is on its way to Fredericksburg. Also my main armies are in passive posture to regain cohesion and replacements faster.







In the west I have given Polk orders to take Cairo. Now under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have taken advantage of this.... we'll call it an exploit. However, after having played Longhairedlout in a game before, I was well aware of his skill and the advantages he would have in this game as the North so I spared no effort in taking cheap unsporting wins . I meant it out of love and respect; not hate .






I'm not going to include a screen shot, but I've sent the cavalry regiment that spawns in western Tennessee to Lexington to destroy the depot there and he will be heading to Columbus, OH to hopefully snag a free Union depot.

More turns soon to come!

[slimey.rock]

It is turn 5 and some quick movements from my opponent bring some unforeseen battles.

First to the East:

Well it seems I've been beaten to the draw on Manassas. As I forewarned, the Washington Brigade stormed the field

before my SC reinforcements could make it. Unfortunately, as you will see, my forces from SC arrived after the

initial battle and were driven back without the leadership of Charles Winder.










Fortunately, my SC force never retreated from the region, so I have set them on defensive stance and have ordered

Winder along with a 12lb battery to reinforce them. Hopefully, LHL (LonghairedLout) will attack them with Hooker and

will be repulsed.

Also, I have sent a cavalry regiment to Winchester and hopefully, the cavalry and the original Winchester militia

regiment will be enough to take Harpers Ferry.






Things have been strangely fortunate for my side in the West. First, Polk assaulted Cairo only to find Nathanial

Lyon there with superior numbers. Luckily for Polk, he was commanding Southern heroes and easily broke the weak

Yankee lines, with the help of some 6lb arty.







I expected LHL to send reinforcements to Lyon so I ordered polk to split his forces. Polk with the infantry were

ordered to blow the depot at Cairo and retreat back across the river into Kentucky. The cavalry regiment has been

ordered North to capture the Salem depot.







The Cavalry regiment sent into Ohio successfully capture Columbus; however, a superior Union force also resides in

the region. I've ordered my cavalry regiment to evade combate and destroy the depot and RR, signified by an X on the

screen shot. Then the regiment will move to Dayton to reproduce the results.

[MrT]

Ah another CSA AAR love these little babys.

[acme]

subscribed!

[slimey.rock]

Thanks for the support guys. I'll try to keep the updates coming regularly.

In the East, the attack on Harpers Ferry went pretty badly. Although I'm not too disappointed, it would have been nice to destroy the depot there.







It is now turn 6 and the main armies are unlocked. I have decided to hold Manassas and I'm pretty sure my opponent will strike there next turn so I've ordered both of my main armies to rail there to get an early win. I have plenty of MC in Manassas so I'll be able to maintain defensive posture. Right now it is hard to judge the strength of the Enemy force, but I'd put it at somewhere between 20-25k. If he does attack, my forces will outnumber his and I should win a significant victory.

Also something noteworthy is a buildup of troops under Banks at Baltimore. I don't have good information regarding his forces, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a naval invasion. The crappy 1-0-0 general has also shown up in Harpers Ferry, but the force with him is usually insignificant.







In the West, Polk succesfully destroyed the depot at Cairo and is on his way back across the Ohio into Columbus. LonghairedLout sent Lyon back to Salem so my cavalry unit was unsuccessful in taking the depot. I'm sending the cav regiment to Vincennes to try and grab that depot.

It doesn't show it in the pictures, but I have my main force gathering strengh at Nashville under McCulloch. I recruited mostly regular units so I only have 1 brigade there now. I'm hoping the destruction of the Cairo depot will delay my opponent long enough for me to orgonize my forces better. From what I gather from my intelligence, Longhairedlout is in the process of gathering a division under Lyon at Salem and another under Lew Wallace. Only the token forces remain at Lexington and Cincinatti. Which are the only other logical places to organize divisions.







Oh, and the reason it says 1 division under Keyes is that Keyes is commanding the stack, but Lew Wallace commands the division.







There could be a major battle next turn. Things can get interesting when ZoC is involved...

[slimey.rock]

Well I have some disappointing news. Disappointing for you, anyways. The Yankees never came to face the Army of the Potomac. It seems that Hooker retreated back to Alexandria without so much as a shot. I was pretty surprised by this, but was happy all the same. Now that I have sole control of Manassas, it provides me with an excellent position for defense and a great forward base for small invasions. The only real problem that I'm worried about is Aquia. I don't know how much you guys have studied the logistics of defending Northern Virginia without corps formation, but I'll say this, it is a real pain. For instance, in the current situation, I have enough troops to comfortably guard a single region from the main Northern army. The problem is that you can't stop the enemy by blocking one region. And by splitting my forces, I could face the destruction of my forces in detail. So my plan is to hold Manassas with my main army, Split into two groups: one under Jackson, the other under Beauregard. I will also hold a relatively small force under Magruder at Fredericksburg. The idea being that Magruder's deceiver ability will mask the true strength of my force. Furthermore, my main army will be at Manassas, so any attack he makes exposes his capital. Now, I'm pretty sure that it would be easier for him to take my capital than me to take his, because his garrison is much stronger, but my real goal is to bluff him into not attacking Fredericksburg.

So for this turn, I really have no movements planned. I'm going to sit on the defensive. So I think this is a good turn to go over my main strategy. Basically, I don't want any Federal forces crossing the white line. I want to hold out until Early March, 1862 when I'll be able to create corps and from there defense of Richmond will become much simpler and safer.

Oh, also, I'm sending Joe Johnston to Nashville. He randomed a 3-2-4 and that's not really the caliber I'm looking for in the East.







In the west, it is basically the same. I have my forces in defensive positions and are awaiting the Federals. I am occupying the same positions that the Confederates held historically and as Shelby Foote mentions in his books, the Rebel line is longer than the Federal one. Meaning it takes longer for me to maneuver my soldiers by foot that it does the enemy. However, my movement is supplemented with railroads giving me quick access to any point on the line. There is another drawback. I've shown the railroad links with red on the screenshot. As you can see there is no direct connection with Nashville from Humphreys and Clarksville and Gallatin aren't practical to defend. So the direct link to Nashville from Columbus/Donelson is almost always severed/captured. Which means if you plan on reinforcing these regions quickly, you need to count on hoofing it at least 1 region, most likely more.








So far I have neglected the Far West, but this time I will shed some light. Basically I have Price with 2 measly militia regiments. I managed to destroy the Rolla depot before it was captured so if I see Longhairedlout advance, I will not hesitate to destroy the Springfield depot. Which means if my opponent wants to even think about invading Arkansas through the Ozarks, he has to invest in at least 4 supply wagons.







I also bought 8 6lb batteries as reinforcements. I will be using 5 of them to help garrison the coastal forts along the Atlantic.

[slimey.rock]

It is now turn 8 and as I expected, there were no conflicts of arms. However, I do have some sneaky moves planned this turn. As you can see, Robert Patterson, that terrible Union general, has advanced to Winchester. From what my intelligence has gathered, he either has two understrength divisions or two low cohesion divisions. Jackson, of course, is the perfect General for attacking the enemy's weak flank. My plan is for Jackson and Bonham's divisions (keep your eyes on these two divisions throughout the game) to march North and engage Patterson at Winchester. After pushing him back, hopefully to Harper's Ferry, Jackson will engage and force him back again. Then next turn Jackson will capture and destroy the Harper's Ferry depot. This movement will expose Borry, but I plan on Jackson hoofing it back to Manassas next turn to reinforce him. I'd also like to point out that from the randomized generals, Beauregard is a 3-2-5, which is nice for a defensive general, but not optimal for action in the east. Lee will make a nice replacement for him in the future.







In the West, things are very quiet. I'm continuing the depot raiding with moderate success. I've destroyed 7 depots that were controlled by Longhairedlout or were destined to be controlled by him. I am still gathering strength in Nashville and Columbus. However, my forces are very weak and I only have one half full division under McCulloch formed. That is the price I pay for recruiting a professional army instead of militia. I'm hoping to really stall forming divisions until Hindman, Van Dorn, and Hardee arrive. The enemy seems to be forming slowly in this region as well. I know that there is a division under Lyon and it appears another division may be started at Lexinton, but that is not certain.
Also Joe Johnston is due to arrive at Nashville in seven days. He will command the Western theater until Albert Johnston arrives.












In Arkansas, the enemy has captured my backyard . The cowardly militia regiment defending Fayetteville retreated without a shot.

Of course, this means war .

I'm sending a cav regiment from Fort Smith who will arrive in 5 days. Hopefully soon enough to save the depot.






Next turn soon to follow.

[slimey.rock]

Things did not turn out as I expected this turn. Also, given the chance, I would completely change my orders from what I actually sent.

Anyways, the picture below has a lot of information so I'll try to make sure and explain all the different colors and symbols

First off, I'll start with the movements that took place last round. Jackson, as ordered, marched straight into the enemy positions at Winchester. Unfortunately, Patterson retreated at my approach. Encouraged, Jackson continued the advance straight for Harper's Ferry; Patterson retreated back into Winchester, accordingly. These movements are represented by the green and yellow arrows. This was kind of annoying because I really intended to do some damage to Patterson, but it did leave Patterson (now Heintzelman because Patterson was fired) in terrible position behind my lines.

Now for some reason I decided that the enemy might attack me from Alexandria with his 4 fully formed divisions. Acknowledging this threat, I decided to leave Jackson in defensive stance for a chance to push McDowell back in the muddy and hilly terrain. Furthermore, I decided not to pursue Heintzelman because his command was located in the mud and I didn't want to lose the cohesion.

One thing I don't think I considered at the time was an attack from McDowell straight on Manassas. McDowell had 3 perhaps 4 fully formed divisions, two of which had elite infantry. This force probably could have taken Manassas and there really wasn't much I could about it. Fortunately that didn't happen .

Anyways, for my movements, I am completely inactive. I have ordered my two main forces to sit tight and react to enemy movements.

Now I will mention that if I was given this exact situation again, I would rail Jackson to Winchester to engage Heintzelman then march through the mud to Clarke, VA and rail again to Manassas. This movement, would take 12 days and would be to slow to stop McDowell , but at least no one could say I didn't try

Also, the brown squiggles are mud







In the West, things are very much the same, I almost have a full division at Nashville and at Columbus, I have the troops for a division, but I'm still trying to hold off until late september (I think) when Hardee and company arrive.

McClellan has arrived in Lexington and I imagine he will lead the attack south into Tennessee. At this point, I would love to take Bowling Green, but I'm not willing to lose Kentucky's loyalty, which currently resides at 55-45 my favor.







In Arkansas, the depot at Fayetteville was destroyed and my cavalry regiment failed to engage the enemy. I have ordered him to attack towards Ft. Smith in case he tries to head in that direction.







One main strategy I employ in the first year is to wait on the Draft until Early August because that is the turn the Confiscation act fires and you gain more recruits with a higher morale.

[slimey.rock]

After looking back on my movements, I feel like an idiot. My forces are split both within striking distance of a consolidated and superior enemy

This is not a position I want to be in. Fortunately, my enemy was as inactive just as me and I was not punished for my mistake. However, the situation is still serious. Jackson needs to get back to Manassas to bring my strength up to par. His troops will first assualt Harpers Ferry to get rid of the Garrison then high tail it home. I'll send a lone cavalry regiment to destroy the depot next turn.

Heintzelman retreated unmolested back to Loudon, WV due to my inactivity from Jackson. I think this was a big mistake on my part. Any time you can overwhelm a weaker enemy unit as the south, you should take it, obviously.

The enemy has the appearance of a coiled snake ready to strike. Banks has risen from his slumber and with two divisions under his belt. McDowell and Milroy both have forces of 3 and 1+ divisions strong, respectively. A major advantage I have, and the reason I think my opponent chose not to attack, is that his troops are split between McDowell and Milroy to avoid the command penalty. If he were to combine the forces, he would face a 20% penalty. With the current setup, he outnumbers my forces 2 to 1 at Manassas, but coordinating the attack is near impossible without the command chain and with highly inactive leaders. All this considered, I'm not surprised no attack took place last turn. But who knows when my wiley opponent will figure something out.

Another route my enemy can take is straight for Fredericksburg. I have just now been able to form a weak division there under Magruder. He has been inactive until this turn. In the event of Fredericksburg being taken, I may be in trouble. Let's hope my opponent is intimidated by my forward positions in Virginia.







In the west, both of us continue to buildup. I'll probably be working against two divisions at Lexington and two at Cairo. I am really understrength in this theater and need reinforcements quick if I hope to maintain my lines.

[soundoff]

<snip>



After looking back on my movements, I feel like an idiot.

If I possibly can a word or two of encouragement. Firstly I'm really enjoying reading your AAR....keep up the good work. Secondly and more importantly I know only too well how much time and effort and dedication it takes to produce an AAR....all credit to you slimey.rock Its also darned hard to stick your head above the parapet so to speak so that others can see the errors that you make (as well as the odd stunning move)

Don't ever underestimate yourself. An idiot you are most certainly not....all power to your elbow

[Banks6060]

Bravo man!! Great read .

I'll second Soundoff's reply. It takes guts to put all of your mistakes on full display and it's to be commended that you've committed to making more ...because you most certainly will! (Just follow MY example...I'm an EXPERT at screwing up in this game ).

I hope you stick with it man, it's a really entertaining read.

[slimey.rock]

Thanks Soundoff and Banks. I must admit that your AARs are what really inspired me to start mine. In fact, I purchased the game after I found and read your AARs 1/2 year ago or so . I'll bet I'm not the only one to do so.



Just a few small piddler battles this turn. Jackson's assault went smoothly as expected. He was also able to march unhindered to Manassas. I now sit comfortably at Manassas with 4 divisions. I've placed Bonham's division with Beauregard and Jackson will retain his independence to avoid command penalties.

Just a side note --- Since the time of me playing this turn, I've come to the conclusion that it is better to take the command penalty than to split your force outside the command chain to avoid the penalties. All to often if an enemy attacks, he will focus on the smaller force outside the command chain and decimate them in detail. It is a good way to lose regiments and morale . Ok back to the AAR!







As I mentioned in the last update, I sent a cavalry regiment to finish the destruction of the depot at Harper's Ferry. Unfortunately, Longhairedlout also sent a cavalry regiment after mine. I still retain control of the town and depot and have given my cavalry instructions to blow the depot, but if the enemy cavalry engages mine and forces me to retreat then Jackson's invasion North would have failed its two major objectives: destroy Heintzelman and destroy the Harper's Ferry depot.







So here is what the situation looks like exactly. As far as I can tell, I stand in good position at Manassas. I almost match his forces and his leaders, well to put it nicely, all suck

I have no major movements planned. Only reinforcements coming in and small cavalry expeditions. I don't really expect any enemy movements this turn, but Fredericksburg is still very much exposed.







In the West, McClellan has formed two divisions. I don't know their exact strength, but I know he has lots of detachments in the region so that tells me they will probably be full soon. And of course, I am still vastly understrength in the region.

Kentucky's loyalty is still slightly in my favor, but they haven't seceded so I dare not take Bowling Green or Paducah.







In this third engagement, I accidentally sent a raiding cavalry regiment straight into Cairo. The result was the death of my cavalry. However, I almost consider this a win because it gives me the perfect details of my enemy force which in itself is priceless. The news, of course, is not good. Fremont, who has been given command of the force, outnumbers my forces by over 2:1 and outnumbers my guns almost 6:1. The only good news is that Fremont is in command of the force . So basically that means when Fremont becomes active, I can expect to be dislodged.

[slimey.rock]

Well it seems the concern I expressed in Harper's Ferry was warranted. My opponent has sent a swarm of cavalry upon Harper's Ferry. My cavalry regiment quickly retreated to Winchester. Shurz followed my troops and engaged them at Winchester. My cavalry then retired back to Harper's Ferry. This means that all Jackson's march accomplished was exposing my front line to overwhelming numbers.

Luckily, I've learned from my mistakes and have planned my orders accordingly.







This turn, Jackson has been given Bonham's division again and is heading up the exact path as before to take Harper's Ferry . This time, though, I have two new divisions at Manassas Under Holmes and Van Dorn (Who arrived this turn and was magically teleported to Manassas ). Furthermore, Longhairedlout hasn't reinforced Alexandria and the rest of his troops are out of position to attack Manassas.

Jackson may receive some resistance from Banks who has marched a region closer to Harper's Ferry last turn. I'm confident that Jackson's skill will be able to overcome Banks' force even though they are close to equal strength. My goals are similar as before: Kill lots of Yanks and capture and destroy the Harper's Ferry depot.







Last turn I forgot to mention that Lee and Cooper have arrived. I've put Lee in command of the reserve division commanded by Gustavus Smith. Huger is defending Norfolk with 3,000 infantry.







In the West, my fears have been realized. Fremont has marched south to Columbus. This puts me in a dangerous situation. Fortunately, Albert Johnston has arrived in Nashville and will take over command of the main army from Joe Johnston. Albert has randomized pretty well as a 5-3-2 and is by far my best 3 star general besides Lee.

This situation presents me with a pretty good opportunity. McClellan hasn't marched south yet and is several turns away from threatening Nashville. Accordingly, I've ordered A. Johnston to rail over to Columbus to help repulse Fremont. This movement will take 7 days (which may be too late) and will bring my strength up to 17,000 effectives and 88 guns. More than enough to repulse Fremont's force assuming Johnston can get there in time.











In the far west, my opponent really has ignored this region. I've managed to keep Springfield, but I did end up loosing the Fayetteville depot. Last turn Watie arrived and I sent him to capture Jeff City. This turn, my cavalry should arrive to capture Rolla. Rolla is fairly insignificant, but Jefferson city provides an extra conscript company and I'll take all the troops I can get.







Something worth mentioning is that Bragg, Hardee, Van Dorn (who I mentioned earlier), Hindman, and A. Johnston arrived. I'm very excited to put these generals to use. Hindman is being sent to Nashville to form a division. Hardee is being sent to Columbus to form a division and Bragg is being sent North to Richmond to hopefully scrape together a division.

With these general in my arsenal, the West will be much more secure.

[enf91]

Your calculations are slightly off. You included Foote's navy in Fremont's force, so the number of cannons is inflated by about 50 and troops by a few hundred. Since Foote can't bombard your land force without ironclads, and, after all, it's Fremont, Polk should be OK for a little.

[slimey.rock]

Yes, you are correct. Unfortunately, due to laziness and love for dramatic effect, I'm not going to upload a new picture

[MrT]

At the moment you look in good shape well balanced and quite lucky that Far West theater seems to be dormant, not having to waste a division worth of troops there early is a godsend imo.
Nice strong baseformation around the Manasass area if he lets u dig in not sure how hes gonna get you out there before 63 when he has troops enough to starve you out.
Jackson looks like hes on some elastic, but its a nice sucker punch, let the enemy walk in with a weakend force thinking youve run away then send em back to mop up. My concern would be Cohession loss with the manover, is that a big factor for Jackson currently?

[slimey.rock]

Yeah, I coulnd't be happier about the Far West. Usually, it is a thorn in my side, but inactivity favors the South and I'll take it.

Regarding the East, my opponent is used to playing the South and I'm pretty sure the poor generals really threw him off his game here.

Jackson's men are full of piss and vinegar and are in fine fighting shape

[slimey.rock]

Some mighty changes to the Federal command structure this turn. It seems that McDowell has been sacked by Lincoln from inactivity and of course, McClellan is his replacement .

Jackson's advance went smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that I've decided to extend it. First Jackson stormed into Winchester. The panic stricken Yanks were forced to retreat at a heavy loss. Jackson followed them into Harper's Ferry where he proceeded to destroy another element of cavalry and took the city/depot. For his actions, Jackson will given his second star.





You may have noticed that Banks never advanced into Harpers Ferry and instead moved to Baltimore; I'm pretty happy with that, actually. I think even Banks may have been able to hold up against Jackson's attack in the hills of the Shenandoah. But now that Jackson has taken the depot, I have more offensive plans for him. It seems the force under Heintzelman from the valley is isolated just NW of Washington. Now under Berry, the force is still understrength and ready for a pounding. I've ordered Jackson to advance into Frederick City and from there advance to Montgomery where the enemy is camped.

I have also ordered Van Dorn with the new cavalry division to assist Jackson in the attack. He is inactive this turn, but it actually works to my advantage as he will move slower and allow Jackson to make it to Montgomery in the same amount of time: 11 days.

As I mentioned earlier, McClellan has taken command of Eastern operations for the North with the Army of the Potomac. However, the situation is very much the same as earlier. McClellan has three divisions in the army stack and Milroy commands probably 1.5 divisions. Most likely inactive and unable to coordinate any offensive, I'm not too worried about Manassas. Fredericksburg is another story. Currently Magruder sits there with a division badly in need of artillery. Currently he has one battery of light 6lbers. So, I have ordered my reserve division under Gustavus Smith to reinforce Fredericksburg. Smith is also understrength with artillery, but every little bit counts.







In the West, things also went my way. Fremont never advanced and Johnston was able to arrive unhindered. Now I actually outnumber him in this standoff. Johnston now commands 18,000 men and 66 guns and Polk has 1,000 cavalry and 44 guns in reserve. As Enf91 pointed out earlier, my initial figures of Fremont's force included his brown water navy which significantly supplemented his troop count. Now Fremont stands with Lyon and Sumner in Paducah. Keyes and has been left at Cairo to finish building his division, I'm assuming.

Also one piece of very bad news. Grant has arrived and most likely will take over Fremont's operations. Longhairedlout's bad generals have been affecting his aggressiveness and Grant's appearance might cure his lethargy.







McDowell, after being replaced, has been sent to take over operations of the Lexington force. There are two divisions waiting here and currently Nashville is being guarded by nothing more than a token force under Joe Johnston. luckily, Hindman along with sufficient reinforcements to form a division will arrive next turn. This will hopefully be able to stop or stall McDowell's advance on Nashville.

[acme]

great AAR.

It seems to me that ur enemy is weaker than a union player could be.
Maybe he didnt go with full mobilization? or invested much on navy early on?

Keep up the good work.

[slimey.rock]

Hey Acme, thanks for reading along. I believe you are correct in guessing my opponent has invested heavily in his navy, but he has also used draft options already. If anyone has the good fortunes to play with Longhairedlout, they would do well not to take the appearance of weakness for weakness itself. He is very patient and deceptive. I have been VERY aggressive in the east and have strongly held Manassas all game. So unless he wants to expose his capital, he has no room to maneuver. But anyways, on to the action... of which there is very little.


The first engagement of the turn happened in Grafton, WV where I took the risk of assaulting a single infantry regiment in hopes that I could take the depot. As I assumed would happen, I failed. I think it was worth the risk, though.







The second action occurred when a cavalry force under T. Wood engaged a lone cavalry regiment of mine North of Nashville. My regiment retreated back to Nashville.






The third engagement is of more consequence than the other two. A division under McClernand assualted Lexington, KY. Subsequently, Kentucky seceded. I'll get more into this in a while.







It seems that despite his best efforts, Jackson is still unable to engage the force formerly led by Patterson, then Heintzelman, and now Hamilton. The coordination between Jackson and Van Dorn was perfect. If they had been able to engage the enemy, it would have been an excellent victory. I am now only a few days march from Washington, Annapolis, or Baltimore. Longhair wisely sent Milroy's divisions back to Washington when Jackson retook Harper's Ferry so now Washington is excellently defended. However, Annapolis and Baltimore are both bare and Jackson would love to bring home some naval guns as a prize. I was about to decide which one to strike when I noticed Banks. If you look in the Southeastern tip of the screenshot, you'll notice a naval element outside of Ft. Monroe. That happens to Be Nathaniel Banks with the two divisions we saw collecting at Baltimore.

Now there are two places Banks can strike: Norfolk or Richmond. As you may recall, I recently sent the reserve division at Richmond to Fredericksburg to discourage an assault there so now Richmond has a bare garrison of 1,000 men. Norfolk is also empty. I have a token force there under Huger which couldn't stop a bowling ball rolling uphill.

ALL of my forces are being actively used so my only options are to weaken the front lines or send Jackson back home without a victory under his belt. I'm not willing to give up Manassas and taking even a division from there is inviting disaster. Magruder's force at Fredericksburg is the only other choice and I would rather not send the only force directly between McClellan and Richmond. Jackson was the only real choice. So I've ordered Jackson's foot cavalry to high tail it back to Manassas where they will board trains bound for Richmond. The whole movement should take 14 days.

If Longhairedlout chooses to assault Norfolk (which is more likely) so be it. I can always retake Norfolk, but loosing Richmond, even for a turn, has dire consequences...

At Harper's Ferry, I have another lone cavalry regiment destroying the depot. To ensure that I don't loose the depot before it can be destroyed again, I've sent Van Dorn's cavalry division to the city to protect it.







As I mentioned earlier, Kentucky has seceded. That means that it is now safe for me to capture Bowling Green. Joe Johnston is inactive this turn, but the movement will take 20 days so hopefully he will be active next turn and hopefully McDowell doesn't come down by rail before Johnston can.








Over in Western Kentucky, Grant has taken command of the troops at Paducah. Keyes' division has come to join them. The weather this turn is very favorable to me. The ground is covered in mud in the three westernmost regions of Kentucky, but South of my troops at the Tennessee border the weather is clear. This means my incoming reinforcements will be unhindered and Grant can't maneuver around me easily. Ft. Henry is badly in need of reinforcement. Currently there is one infantry regiment and one 10lb battery. I probably should have sent Polk's reserve force to Henry to help stabilize the region, but I did not.







Just to give you an idea of the overall progress of the game, I'll post a picture of the objectives tab. As you can see, there has been very little fighting and very few casualties so far. In a few turns, that is about to change.

[mikee64]

Just wanted to chime in and say I'm also really enjoying the AAR slimey. I know how much work it takes and your screenies are great.

Am I correct in reading somewhere that this is a game that's already complete or at least very far along and you are just "catching up" with posting this AAR?

Thanks for the effort!

[slimey.rock]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate it.

Yes indeed, our game has been going on for quite some time. We are currently working on turn 100 It's kind of weird to look back on the game after it happened so long ago. The hardest thing is trying to figure out what was really going through my head when I made the decisions, but that is what I'm trying to convey in the posts. Of course, there have been several times already when I just can't figure out what I was trying to accomplish or whether the movements I made were deliberate or unintentional.

I'm not sure how many other people do it, but I highly recommend saving your pbem games (even if you're not the host) so that you can look back on them. It is an excellent way to document the effectiveness of your stratagies and that of your opponents.

[slimey.rock]

It seems that Longhair has opted for Norfolk. His attack was successfull, but he never assaulted the town itself so I still retain control. We will get more into it later on.

Van Dorn's march to Harper's Ferry was successful and as a bonus, on his way through Loudon, he managed to catch Carl Shurz for one more good kicking. Just as Van Dorn arrived at Harper's Ferry, the depot was finally destroyed.







Over in Norfolk, Huger's force was easily broken. My troops routed and are lucky to be intact. Out of the three regiments that were outside of the city, they have a total of 13 hits left. As I mentioned earlier never assualted the town so Longhairedlout hasn't received the extra moral point yet. Not to mention the moral/vp he will get for wiping out the remaining elements inside the city. Luckily, there's help on the way.







Over in Tennessee, J. Johnston caught Humphreys' cavalry command and sent them scattering. Johnston is now 12 days away from Bowling Green, but still inactive.







In Northern Virginia, I've ordered Harper's Ferry to be abandoned. Van Dorn will return to Manassas to link up with the rest of the army. Jackson's march fell short of Richmond, but it's not a big deal since Longhairedlout's objective was Norfolk. However, Jackson's troops are tired and badly need a rest. I've ordered them to stop at Suffolk to regain cohesion and rendezvous with reinforcements. I've decided to send Magruder and G. Smith to the fight as well to guarantee positive results. If all goes according to plan, I'll be able destroy Banks' command and get Magruder back to Fredericksburg before Longhair realizes the town is open.

Something else to note, winter is really starting to come in. All regions in Virginia either have snow or mud on them. I'm hoping that next turn Norfolk's mud will have dried for Jackson to attack in good weather.





In Central Tennessee/Kentucky McClernand has returned to Louisville which gives McDowell an effective strength of about 15,000 men. Twice as many as I can offer against him. Some good news though is that like last turn, the mud is really in my favor. It is muddy all along and North of the front lines and clear in my rear. Furthermore, for the three railed regions between Bowling Green and Louisville, I have >25% military control for the regions closest bordering Bowling Green and Louisville. This means that he can't use any of the rail lines because none of them are consecutive and all the ground is covered in mud. This means that an attack from McDowell before spring is unlikely. Hopefully by then I'll have raised a new division to match McDowell.










There's not a whole lot to mention in Western Tennesee/Kentucky. The same good weather to the East also applies in this region. Basically, any movement Grant makes I'll be able to react to faster than he can execute. I find any movement here highly unlikely.

[acme]

im totally amazed!
a game that last more than 100 turns!
I hope u will write all of it for us!

I can see u have a nice income of war supplies. It will surely allow u to build southern 'Columbiad' btys. and ironclads. if u have decent money as well.

Good luck i hope u will win at Norfolk and decimate Banks!

[Banks6060]

You're strategic situation in the East makes me jealous Slimey! Ah, the ability to keep a foothold in northern Virginia and threaten Washington. Yours is exactly the situation I'd have LIKED to have been in against Soundoff so many turns ago .

Great job on the AAR...keep up the good work.

[mikee64]

I see what looks like a really sweet display of mud in your screenshots - is that some mod or did you paint that in manually for display here? If it's the former, I need that mod! If the latter, you are hard working AAR'er!

[slimey.rock]

@Acme - Yes this game will definitely last all 115 turns and it is my plan to document all of them .

@Banks - I love keeping Manassas. Although, it is hard to hold until corps formation.

@Mike - I wish it was a mod! I think there was someone interested in developing a mud mod not too long back. I don't think anything happened with it though . If mud is a big tactical factor in the region I think it's important to represent visually. It only takes a few seconds with MS paint's spray can

[mikee64]

@Mike - I wish it was a mod! I think there was someone interested in developing a mud mod not too long back. I don't think anything happened with it though . If mud is a big tactical factor in the region I think it's important to represent visually. It only takes a few seconds with MS paint's spray can

Yeah, I remember a mud mod being discussed some time back in the modding forum and was hoping someone had completed it and I just hadn't seen it. Something just like your quick MSpaint spraycan would be great.

Anyway, it does help follow whats going on, and I think it should be a must have to include a mud overlay if we get AACW2.

regards.

[slimey.rock]

Things went nice and smooth this turn. So nice, in fact, that I still control Norfolk . However, it was not from my military prowess, but my opponents bad luck. I assume that Banks was inactive and longhairedlout, being a man of greater moral virtue, decided not to split his force to let an active commander or independent force take the city. But anyways, we will speak more of this.


As far as the action goes, what little of it existed was led by J. Johnston who charged into the outskirts of Bowling Green and swarmed the weaker Union force. I was fortunate enough to destroy one of Humphrey's cavalry regiments. Although I don't control the city yet, there is little resistance facing me next turn and no enemy reinforcements except possibly by river.







Over in the East the stalemate continues. Van Dorn has arrived at Manassas as scheduled. Now I have another problem. Fredericksburg's garrison has just been sent south to help deal with Banks so now the city simply has 1 militia regiment defending the city. If Longhair realizes this and attacks with McClellan and leaves just a division or two (Which he has under Milroy) in defense of Washington, I'll be forced to fall back from Manassas by rail to save Richmond. Also the ground is all fair so the weather is certainly working against me. The good news is that Fredericksburg is in my enemies fog of war (I think and hope). I have kept a cavalry regiment in Aquia for the sole purpose of discouraging him from taking a peak at my troops there. I'm not sure he's had more than a turn or two to glimpse at my forces there. However if he does know that Magruder and G. Smith were the only divisions there, surely he will notice them now sitting with Jackson at Suffolk. I have to take the risk, though. The worst case scenario is that I end of giving up Manassas and Fredericksburg; best case I possibly win the war.

I've ordered Van Dorn's cavalry division to bolster Aquia to make sure that no enemy cavalry tries to take a peek. I am also starting a division under Bragg. his force is an independent force becuase his weak division does not justify gaining a 20% combat penalty for Beauregard's army.







Over in Southern Virginia, Jackson's men have had a nice seven day rest and are in fine condition for fighting. Magruder and Smith's division have also arrived which brings my strength roughly twice as much as Banks'. Furthermore, Banks' men are still recovering cohesion from their naval assault so that should help me out considerably. Like I mentioned above, the weather in Virginia is all fair so that should also help some. The ground is marsh so that should limit my frontage considerably. It is a good thing I have twice as many troops to commit to the battle .

I also have one more major advantage. Because Longhairedlout did not take the city last turn, if he hopes to capture it now, he must assault it. If that happens, Banks will also assault Jackson and lose his frontage advantage. However, if he chooses to defend for the turn, he has little chance to ever gain the town and the morale that comes with it. It is a tough choice for my opponent and it will probably be chosen for him with Bank's low activation.

I can't afford to take any command penalties so I've split the command in two. Jackson will lead Magruder and Bonham (because Bonham always fights with Jackson. I don't know why, he just does.) and Bee (Now commanding Jackson's former division) will lead his and Smith's division. I've also decided to send Huger's battered regiments. I'll take all the help I can get. Everyone should arrive on day 5 so hopefully the attack will be well coordinated and successful. President Davis has the utmost faith in Jackson and his men.







In Central Kentucky, J. Johnston has arrived at Bowling Green and is ready to take the city. The opposing force has only a few battered cavalry and a small regiment of militia. Hindman's division is at half cohesion, but that will be plenty to take the city. I expect to keep the town at least till next spring as I control the rail between BG and Lexington and the snow has begun to fall! Good news for me that winter is coming.







A. Johnston has finally been given an Army HQ so now he can support 3 divisions in his stack. So I've added Polk's reserve with Hardee's division to the army. Hardee's division contains very little infantry and a lot of artillery as I've shown in the picture. I doubt if there's a fight all those artillery will get any frontage, but once I get some new recruits next Spring, I'll reorganize things.

Grant's 3 divisions still sit at Paducah and pose no threat to my army at Columbus. Fort Donelson/Henry have been reinforced with some artillery, but are still very weak. Luckily, like the turns before, the weather is to my advantage. Snow on the fronts and fair in my rear. As long as there is not sudden movement to Donelson, I should be able to react in time.

[slimey.rock]

Well this was it. The big fight in the swamp. Finally Jackson has been able to pin down an opponent. But I will start things off in chronological order.


Down in Kentucky, J. Johnston was able to take Bowling Green from the Yankees. He will now be able to entrench for the coming onslaught.







Sorry for the huge image size, but I think it reflects the magnitude of this fight . Everything went according to plan. Everyone arrived on schedule at day 5. I underestimated the defensive advantage of marshy terrain. I expected much fewer casualties, but as I've reviewed the results several times, I'm actually quite pleased with them.

I'll let the picture do most of the talking, but as you can see, the fight started off in my enemies favor, but as the fighting continued, Banks' men slowly became worn out and collapsed. You can also notice that on the second day of battle I lost three regiments of infantry. Those happened to be Huger's men. Although losing any regiment is a bad thing, I am glad that Huger has lost some seniority. He's always one of those pesky leaders who always seems to be a nuisance.







After 10 days of hard fighting, my men are exhausted. My cohesion levels are at rock bottom. Out of 4 divisions, I have less than 100 combat points. I also lost about 50% of my total forces. Fortunately, I'll be able to easily replace those lost men and their cohesion should rise quickly. Also, every one of my divisions has at least silver bars of experience (If you didn't know, every unit has a bar on the left hand side of the portrait. The bars are either bronze, silver, or gold. Gold and silver being higher levels of experience compared to the rest of the soldiers in the game.). So even though I lost 5,000 more troops than my opponent, I gained (and he lost) several points of moral/vp's. Furthermore, I can replace my units more cheaply because I lost only 3 regiments when he lost all but 7 artillery batteries. And like I mentioned earlier, my troops have high experience and will retain that experience even when they receive replacements.

Jackson is now promotable to 3 stars all before 1862! However, I have opted to leave him at 2 because he gains the quickly angered ability at 3. I already have good generals and there is no reason to lose my best corps commander. I follow the same logic with Longstreet, although, right now Longstreet is still a 1* general.

Magruder is also promotable and I have opted to give him his second star. He has good off/def ratings in this game, but his strategic rating is only a 2. I might use him for a good defensive commander, but I'm basically promoting him to get him out of the way.

Banks still has 7 batteries of artillery and is still in the Norfolk region so I have put Jackson in offensive posture in the hopes that I can capture or destroy the remaining cannons. Jackson has virtually no cohesion left, but banks has less so If Jackson can catch him, I should win a major victory.







Over in Northern Virginia, everything is quiet. I don't expect the enemy to advance to Fredericksburg this turn. Because if he was, he would have done it last turn. Now the ground is frozen so he will suffer significant movement/combat penalties if he does try to go for it.







J. Johnson now controls Bowling Green. I'm not going to construct a depot here because I'm close enough to Nashville to receive plenty of supplies for my force. Hopefully by Spring, I will have another division to help defend the town otherwise, entrenched or not, I will be forced back.







Everything is the same here. At this point I really don't expect any movement from Grant at all until Spring. On a side note, the weather is still cooperating brilliantly with me. Frozen in the front and clear in the rear







This turn, I have heavily invested in replacements. I will need them if I want to recharge my veteran divisions from Norfolk.