Athena Game Patterns

[Straight Arrow]

I am new to Civil War 2 and for several weeks now have been playing a campaign game against Athena as the South.
Using Captain Bear’s advice, the game is set at Lieutenant level.
Here’s the question: what are some of Athena’s more distinct and easily recognizable patterns?
In my game, I have noticed her doing a number of 1 -2 punches. This has mainly come in the form of staggered amphibious invasions.
I’m up to late 1862 and she had done this at least 3 times. First, she landed a strong force right across the river from New Orleans. When I shifted a division out of the city to deal with them, Athena hit The Big Easy hard with a second amphibious force. Luckily, I had another division, militia, in the city and was able to fend then off. The survivors were hunted down in the swaps over the next couple of months.
Athena then hit a region right beside Charleston, SC. When I shifted forces out the city area to deal with the invasion, she hit Charleston itself with a second wave. Again I was lucky and had a ½ division as a garrison that held off the invaders. And again, both amphibious forces were hunted down and destroyed.

The third attempt was a river landing, led by Grant, just under Paducah, Ky. My response was to try to pin down the northern invaders with a corp, I had covering a fort I had constructed at Paducah. I also moved by my iron clad fleet from below Number 10, up river to a cut off supply and water movement. At the same time I swung the Army of Tennessee from southern Kentucky into the invasion area to hammer on the boys in blue. To make a long story short, Grant’s force was destroyed, but Athena used the second part of the punch to hit and overran the small garrison I had left at Paducah. After wiping out Grant, I was able to retake the fort by the skin of my teeth. But now, I see monsters behind every move she makes.

Is the 1 -2 punch a normal tactic for Athena? How tricky is she? What other moves does she have up her sleeves?

[Barca]

In my experience, Straight Arrow, Athena likes to go for your rear areas. What you describe as a 1-2 punch is one way of doing this. Amphibiously or not, Athena likes to attack in several different places with a lot of small(er) forces to get you to disperse your own forces. In Virginia, Athena always tries to send forces into my rear from all directions of the compass. If she can't get at Richmond from the north, she comes from the west, the east, and even the south. My suspicion is that Athena is attracted to Objectives and VP Cities in your rear, and just sends forces there. (This sometimes creates horrible supply problems for Athena, but that's another matter.)

To sum up, Athena's goal, I think, is to get you to disperse your forces and extend your line until finally you start leaving garrisons weak enough for her to wipe out. And if she detects that you have a weak garrison somewhere, I guarantee that she will attack it (provided she has an active leader around).

Of course, there are plenty of ways to counter Athena's strategy.

One good one is to have your own plan and carry it out. Ignore some of Athena's (dispersed) threats. How important is it, for example, to defend Galveston? Or even Houston? If Athena raids there in force, who cares? Your armies are meanwhile taking St. Louis, Louisville, or Washington.

Good choice to build a fort in Paducah, by the way.