I have a hard time building up my armies especially as union bc its still a bit overwhelming. Where do you usually build your armies up and how do you keep everything straight?
Also I could use some input on the composition of my divisions.
I want to be able to start from the beginning and build the union armies myself but I enjoy up building units everywhere and it all becomes a completely jumbled up mess. Also which units to build is another issue hence the question about divisions.
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HidekiTojo
- Colonel
- Posts: 319
- Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2013 1:14 am
- Location: Baltimore
I try to group the creation of units I intent to put in the same division in the same State. E.g. : units built in New York will form a new division, those of Massachussets another, etc. This is more difficult in the West as you often need the resources of two States (e.g. Ohio + Michigan, Illinois + Wisconsin). Pen and paper is also a way to keep track of it.
Composition of division has been discussed at length and there is no perfect mix. You will often find something close to this : 10 infantry, 1 sharpshooter, 4 artillery, 2 cavalry.
Composition of division has been discussed at length and there is no perfect mix. You will often find something close to this : 10 infantry, 1 sharpshooter, 4 artillery, 2 cavalry.
I am not as good at intentional planning and building as other players, so let me share how I handle the building and organization of my forces.
You really have three force pools:
1. Infantry, cavalry and artillery
2. Naval
3. Miscellaneous.
As most of your basic ground units will end up in divisions, building units with this in mind is helpful. Without going into detail about proportions of different types of units, know that the strongest divisions will be composed primarily of infantry with at least one cavalry, artillery and sharpshooter element. Thanks to Micke3D for more specifics, although my divisions come from many states.
So I start with the 'super' units, those with two or three of these elements. In the East, the Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania units at the top of the list. The West is a bit more of a challenge. The Ohio, Missouri and Wisconsin units with infantry and artillery, some independent cavalry and sharpshooters. With these units in mind, I try to build about the same force size in the East and the West. So I build a Connecticut super unit and an Ohio infantry/artillery unit, a cavalry force and a sharpshooter. Then I build round two using the same formula. I will likely select New York and Missouri this round. Once Kentucky joins the Union you have new super units. The only units I do not use early are the infantry/cavalry units, this is because I will want to form cavalry divisions to chase down the excellent CSA cavalry menace.
Don't worry too much about exactly where you build, even the Maine units come quickly to the front via the rails.
Following the above, I pretty much build a solid Union army without too much brain strain.
Use Merlin's advice on naval builds from your other post. It is always a good idea to build the navy steadily, with an emphasis on turns with only a few conscripts getting full naval attention.
Miscellaneous: build supply units as needed. You start with enough that it will be sometime before you must build. Also, build HQ support units to match your number of armies.
Exception occur and depend upon circumstances. The Far West is one. You need to have sufficient force to hold Sante Fe.
You will have enough units from the game reinforcements scheduled pre-game to launch some navy landings.
You will flesh out the pattern to suit your own needs, but I think just a rough pattern to build division ready units and roughly equal strength in the East and West is sufficient planning for me.
You really have three force pools:
1. Infantry, cavalry and artillery
2. Naval
3. Miscellaneous.
As most of your basic ground units will end up in divisions, building units with this in mind is helpful. Without going into detail about proportions of different types of units, know that the strongest divisions will be composed primarily of infantry with at least one cavalry, artillery and sharpshooter element. Thanks to Micke3D for more specifics, although my divisions come from many states.
So I start with the 'super' units, those with two or three of these elements. In the East, the Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania units at the top of the list. The West is a bit more of a challenge. The Ohio, Missouri and Wisconsin units with infantry and artillery, some independent cavalry and sharpshooters. With these units in mind, I try to build about the same force size in the East and the West. So I build a Connecticut super unit and an Ohio infantry/artillery unit, a cavalry force and a sharpshooter. Then I build round two using the same formula. I will likely select New York and Missouri this round. Once Kentucky joins the Union you have new super units. The only units I do not use early are the infantry/cavalry units, this is because I will want to form cavalry divisions to chase down the excellent CSA cavalry menace.
Don't worry too much about exactly where you build, even the Maine units come quickly to the front via the rails.
Following the above, I pretty much build a solid Union army without too much brain strain.
Use Merlin's advice on naval builds from your other post. It is always a good idea to build the navy steadily, with an emphasis on turns with only a few conscripts getting full naval attention.
Miscellaneous: build supply units as needed. You start with enough that it will be sometime before you must build. Also, build HQ support units to match your number of armies.
Exception occur and depend upon circumstances. The Far West is one. You need to have sufficient force to hold Sante Fe.
You will have enough units from the game reinforcements scheduled pre-game to launch some navy landings.
You will flesh out the pattern to suit your own needs, but I think just a rough pattern to build division ready units and roughly equal strength in the East and West is sufficient planning for me.
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Captain_Orso
- Posts: 5766
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
I use an OpenOffice Calc spread sheet to keep track of building; pencil and paper *psss* how 19th century 
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I start out by entering all the units I have on the map and add those that I get and build. It's organized into sections; one for each theater.
When I have units that I want to use to build a division I drag-n-drop them together (yes, you can do that in OO Calc - I have a special military-map font installed, so nearly all element types are represented and can actually enter the units into a cell so that they look like in the Inspector Panel, only horizontally stacked and not vertically) and then check what I have and what I might still need to build.
When I plan to build a division I first check what units I have available and drag those I want together. Then I check what units I can build and enter those I want to build.
When I build a unit, once I've dragged it on to the map, I enter it's name, build date, days-to-build, build location and constituency into the spread sheet and mark it with a red background. The spread sheet calculates when the unit should be completed. This way I can always see when a division will be ready for the front and what would be missing if I sent it early.
When a unit is completed, I give it movement orders to where it will be put into a division and mark it yellow in the spread sheet; when it's built into a division it's marked white.
What should you put into a division? Numerous, long threads have had that as their subject. What I can say with confidence:
1 sharpshooter per division (always)
1 elite unit with at least 1 element with the Strong Morale attribute (practically all of them have at least one), if I have one available (more than one per division is a waist)
1 10 lb battery (I've never really tried more)
3-4 6 lb and/or 12 lb batteries (I generally don't worry about any mix of these and am generally happy to just use those 6 lb-ers that come with units; after these units are used up, or when the unit mix forces me to do so, I start to buy 12 lb-ers directly)
1-2 cavalry (never build a division without at least 1 or else it will be in grave danger of having elements pursued and destroyed if it breaks in battle)
the rest is infantry filling it up to 17 elements, plus 1 leader
Early in the game I build nearly every unit in one of the following cities: Philadelphia PA, Cincinnati OH (Dayton OH if I haven't invested in Armories in the Mid-West, which you need for artillery), Springfield IL with a few in Washington and Saint Louis, depending on what I need. I try not to build too close to the front that the units in training might get attacked and destroyed before being completed, but not so far as that it takes more than 1 turn to get to the front by rail.
This works well until about '64 when, if Richmond has been taken and the South hasn't collapsed, as the Union the front will probably have move beyond 1 turn's travel from your build locations in the East as you will be building in New York and New England. More than 2 turns distance, and you're just toying with the South like a cat with a mouse
In the West it's a different story. Once you've taken Springfield and Fayetteville no matter where you build it will take a while to get units to the front. You'll be building in Michigan and Wisconsin and may have to use transports to get units to where they are needed quickly.
For the Gulf coast I nearly only build units in New York City. NYC has the quickest route to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
For the Far West... the best you can do is send one of the leaders with Training Master to train up the militia unit you can build there. Once one has been trained up to Line Infantry, the militia unit is returned to the build pool and you can rebuild it. This is quicker than trying to send them in from anywhere else.
Since I use the spread sheet for planning my divisions I don't have to worry where I'm building so much. I just look at my build plan and I know where the units are being built, or when a message appears in the mail box that a units build has completed, I can check to which division it belongs and send it on its way.
I can put up a copy of my planning spread sheet if anybody would like one.
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I start out by entering all the units I have on the map and add those that I get and build. It's organized into sections; one for each theater.
When I have units that I want to use to build a division I drag-n-drop them together (yes, you can do that in OO Calc - I have a special military-map font installed, so nearly all element types are represented and can actually enter the units into a cell so that they look like in the Inspector Panel, only horizontally stacked and not vertically) and then check what I have and what I might still need to build.
When I plan to build a division I first check what units I have available and drag those I want together. Then I check what units I can build and enter those I want to build.
When I build a unit, once I've dragged it on to the map, I enter it's name, build date, days-to-build, build location and constituency into the spread sheet and mark it with a red background. The spread sheet calculates when the unit should be completed. This way I can always see when a division will be ready for the front and what would be missing if I sent it early.
When a unit is completed, I give it movement orders to where it will be put into a division and mark it yellow in the spread sheet; when it's built into a division it's marked white.
What should you put into a division? Numerous, long threads have had that as their subject. What I can say with confidence:
1 sharpshooter per division (always)
1 elite unit with at least 1 element with the Strong Morale attribute (practically all of them have at least one), if I have one available (more than one per division is a waist)
1 10 lb battery (I've never really tried more)
3-4 6 lb and/or 12 lb batteries (I generally don't worry about any mix of these and am generally happy to just use those 6 lb-ers that come with units; after these units are used up, or when the unit mix forces me to do so, I start to buy 12 lb-ers directly)
1-2 cavalry (never build a division without at least 1 or else it will be in grave danger of having elements pursued and destroyed if it breaks in battle)
the rest is infantry filling it up to 17 elements, plus 1 leader
Early in the game I build nearly every unit in one of the following cities: Philadelphia PA, Cincinnati OH (Dayton OH if I haven't invested in Armories in the Mid-West, which you need for artillery), Springfield IL with a few in Washington and Saint Louis, depending on what I need. I try not to build too close to the front that the units in training might get attacked and destroyed before being completed, but not so far as that it takes more than 1 turn to get to the front by rail.
This works well until about '64 when, if Richmond has been taken and the South hasn't collapsed, as the Union the front will probably have move beyond 1 turn's travel from your build locations in the East as you will be building in New York and New England. More than 2 turns distance, and you're just toying with the South like a cat with a mouse
In the West it's a different story. Once you've taken Springfield and Fayetteville no matter where you build it will take a while to get units to the front. You'll be building in Michigan and Wisconsin and may have to use transports to get units to where they are needed quickly.
For the Gulf coast I nearly only build units in New York City. NYC has the quickest route to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
For the Far West... the best you can do is send one of the leaders with Training Master to train up the militia unit you can build there. Once one has been trained up to Line Infantry, the militia unit is returned to the build pool and you can rebuild it. This is quicker than trying to send them in from anywhere else.
Since I use the spread sheet for planning my divisions I don't have to worry where I'm building so much. I just look at my build plan and I know where the units are being built, or when a message appears in the mail box that a units build has completed, I can check to which division it belongs and send it on its way.
I can put up a copy of my planning spread sheet if anybody would like one.
I purchase the element(s) that takes the longest to build first, then the next longest a little later, etc. If you plan it right, then all the brigades in your new Division arrive on the same turn. So if you pick a target date and plan backwards, you will know when the whole Division will be ready to go.
A Division should be tailored to the mission you intend it to perform. If you have a dozen spoons but all you really need is a fork, then that's on you.
A Division should have just one sharpshooter for the initiative boost.
It should have at least one cavalry for the detection ability. More cavalry gives the Division a greater ability to pursue a retreating enemy (inflict more casualties on the enemy) or screen your Division's retreat (protect your unit from taking more casualties).
A Division should have at least one artillery to allow the best entrenchment. Without artillery, a stack can only entrench to level 4, but with artillery it can entrench all the way to the max allowed for the date or up to 8.
Militia are one of the slowest elements. I only put them in garrison Divisions that I don't intend to march around. One single militia element in a Division that is in a Corps/Army stack will slow the whole stack down.
A Marine/Sailor in a Division will aid it in river crossing and amphibious assault.
Line infantry are better than conscripts, so I put brigades that start with as many line infantry as I can in those Divisions that I intend to do most of the fighting. Halleck and Sigel can convert conscripts and I use them to get these assault Divisions full of only line infantry.
An HQ unit in a city where new units are being built will add one experience point every turn that they are forming if you put them all in one stack. This works even while the HQ unit itself is forming. This can quickly add some stars to cavalry and helps each of the elements get closer to the next level.
An HQ unit and a Hospital unit work together to recover cohesion, so I have both in a Corps/Army stack that I intend to use in the assault. A pontoon unit and an engineer both help a stack entrench more rapidly, so my lead Corps/Army stacks get those too.
So every Division has a sharpshooter, a cavalry element and an artillery battery. Garrison Divisions that are meant to be defensive have mostly militia. A Division with a 12-lber trumps a Division with a 6-lber. I put extra cavalry in my assault Divisions because that is where you get the extra pursuit/screening bonus. I put loose artillery in the stack because they fire on a separate target from the Division. My assault Divisions have a Marine element for flexibility and speed over rivers. I don't use Garrison Divisions in assaults and I don't leave assault Divisions in garrison. Everything works if you let it.
A Division should be tailored to the mission you intend it to perform. If you have a dozen spoons but all you really need is a fork, then that's on you.
A Division should have just one sharpshooter for the initiative boost.
It should have at least one cavalry for the detection ability. More cavalry gives the Division a greater ability to pursue a retreating enemy (inflict more casualties on the enemy) or screen your Division's retreat (protect your unit from taking more casualties).
A Division should have at least one artillery to allow the best entrenchment. Without artillery, a stack can only entrench to level 4, but with artillery it can entrench all the way to the max allowed for the date or up to 8.
Militia are one of the slowest elements. I only put them in garrison Divisions that I don't intend to march around. One single militia element in a Division that is in a Corps/Army stack will slow the whole stack down.
A Marine/Sailor in a Division will aid it in river crossing and amphibious assault.
Line infantry are better than conscripts, so I put brigades that start with as many line infantry as I can in those Divisions that I intend to do most of the fighting. Halleck and Sigel can convert conscripts and I use them to get these assault Divisions full of only line infantry.
An HQ unit in a city where new units are being built will add one experience point every turn that they are forming if you put them all in one stack. This works even while the HQ unit itself is forming. This can quickly add some stars to cavalry and helps each of the elements get closer to the next level.
An HQ unit and a Hospital unit work together to recover cohesion, so I have both in a Corps/Army stack that I intend to use in the assault. A pontoon unit and an engineer both help a stack entrench more rapidly, so my lead Corps/Army stacks get those too.
So every Division has a sharpshooter, a cavalry element and an artillery battery. Garrison Divisions that are meant to be defensive have mostly militia. A Division with a 12-lber trumps a Division with a 6-lber. I put extra cavalry in my assault Divisions because that is where you get the extra pursuit/screening bonus. I put loose artillery in the stack because they fire on a separate target from the Division. My assault Divisions have a Marine element for flexibility and speed over rivers. I don't use Garrison Divisions in assaults and I don't leave assault Divisions in garrison. Everything works if you let it.
I'm the 51st shade of gray. Eat, pray, Charge!
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Taillebois
- General of the Army
- Posts: 601
- Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2008 8:09 pm
- Location: Nr GCHQ Cheltenham
I try to build all the artillery I want in a division and, if playing as Union, sharpshooters a turn or two before building infantry for the division, but that is all. I'm fine with having a division with less artillery if it works out that way. Also, I'm ok with a division of 14-17 regiments, and I send more regiments to it when I have time. But I don't organize things on paper/spreadsheet at all. Better organized divisions might significantly improve your play, I'm not sure.
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Highlandcharge
- Posts: 705
- Joined: Thu Oct 20, 2011 11:44 am
I usually have "rally points" in each theater where I move newly built units to and form them into divisions, then I move them by rail or river to the Army/Corps that they will be attached to...
I try to make sure I have 4 arty, 1 sharpshooter, 1 to 2 cavalry regiments and the rest infantry in a division, I also have 2 cavalry regiments attached to a Corps to help with recon or capturing prisoners when the the enemy has been routed..
I try to form 1 cavalry corps per army if the resources and men are available... if the resources are not available at least 1 cavalry division per army..
I also try to have a decent sized arty reserve attached to each army HQ...
I am not saying this it the perfect or right way to organize your forces, that's one of the things that's makes this game great, you can do it anyway you like, this is the system that I have developed over the years all the way back to AACW1...
Thanks
I try to make sure I have 4 arty, 1 sharpshooter, 1 to 2 cavalry regiments and the rest infantry in a division, I also have 2 cavalry regiments attached to a Corps to help with recon or capturing prisoners when the the enemy has been routed..
I try to form 1 cavalry corps per army if the resources and men are available... if the resources are not available at least 1 cavalry division per army..
I also try to have a decent sized arty reserve attached to each army HQ...
I am not saying this it the perfect or right way to organize your forces, that's one of the things that's makes this game great, you can do it anyway you like, this is the system that I have developed over the years all the way back to AACW1...
Thanks
Taillebois wrote:Wow, I'm staggered at the detail some of you guys go into.
In the First World War, one pilot patiently measured all of the ammo he was going to use in his fighter with a caliper. The other pilots in his squadron laughed and told him the rounds were all machined to perfection. He showed them a bucket with rounds he had found that would have jammed his guns.
The pilot was America's greatest ace of that war, Eddie Rickenbacker.
Is it worth it to take a few extra minutes to assemble a Division that you are going to use for hours? I say yes.
I'm the 51st shade of gray. Eat, pray, Charge!
Gray Fox wrote:Is it worth it to take a few extra minutes to assemble a Division that you are going to use for hours? I say yes.
This, and if you can't manage you divisions/corps/armies they way you would prefer due to Summer/Fall operational requirements, there's always the Winter lulls to reorganize everything. As long as you build with a plan, everything can be eventually sorted out.
Captain_Orso wrote:I use an OpenOffice Calc spread sheet to keep track of building <snip> I can put up a copy of my planning spread sheet if anybody would like one.
I'd certainly like to have a look at your SS. Thanks for the offer! Also, can you make available the special font you're using, or tell me where I can get it?
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Captain_Orso
- Posts: 5766
- Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:02 pm
- Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Please follow this link: Captain Orso's Newfangled Build Plan Spread Sheet ... at your own risk *muaahhhhhhhahahahaha*
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