Refresher Tips on Army Organization

[jscott991]

I've just started playing again and I wanted to try to quickly refresh a few concepts in hopes of avoiding too much trial and error.

All questions are from the perspective of the Union. I never play as the CSA.

1. After Scott disappears, who should be your theater commander? I remember moving Halleck east and some people have posted about trying to get Meigs up in rank, but that never works for me. Is Butler really the best choice?

2. How many subcommanders should be attached to each corps? I usually have 2, but I wonder if it depends more on corps size. Should it be three? Does it depend on the subcommander's command rating (I seem to remember it does not).

3. Is there a trick to successfully attacking CSA ports? About the most number of units I can throw at any port is usually 7-9 (until 1863, when the game is over anyway so what's the point). The CSA has incredible reactive ability to places like Savannah, Charleston, New Bern, and Wilmington, meaning I get beaten if they have no units there or even adjacent to there. Should I have more fire support from navy? No artillery and all infantry? I seem to remember being better at this.

4. Should I keep Lyon as an army commander in the west if he survives? He has good numbers, particularly compared to Buell or Rosecrans, but his command rating is abysmal so I'm wondering if that offsets his higher attack value.

5. Is there any reason for the Union to build heavy artillery? Beyond putting 1 in Fort Monroe and one in Fort St. Philip, it seems like there is no reason to use them.

6. Can New Orleans not be attacked by amphibious attack? I actually can't figure out how to attack it period, except by coming all the way down through Mississippi. You can't attack from St. Philip.

7. It seems like you shouldn't use corps commanders with INF ratings less than 3 or ART less than 2. The movement is too slow.

8. Is artillery best grouped with infantry corps commanders or with artillery corps commanders in groups of nothing but artillery?

Thanks!

[ryan1488]

1. I think I usually go with little Mac but it's been awhile.
2. Keep attaching them until the negative modifier disappears
3. Don't go for the big cities that will spawn a bunch of militia, unless you've got a pretty big force with you. I try and pick off the smaller city's surrounding and then threaten the bigger ones.
4. I think yes he's worth keeping, a few victories and it shoots right up.
5. I never build any, just use the ones I already have to block port traffic.
6. You can attack, if you have enough transports. Try building a big force on that island nearby it will save you a lot of transports that way.
7. Correct I avoid at all costs, though you will have to have some.
8. Good question, I'm not sure myself
9. Let's play some pbem

[JD Walter]

Hi jscott991,

Your questions are very good and, in the interest of helping future new players who may come to this game, I'll try to help.

I've thoroughly played 5 major strategic-level Civil War games: WC's Forge of Freedom, AGEOD's Civil War I & II, Mark Herman's For the People (GMT), 3W's A House Divided and Gary Grigsby's WBtS. Out of them all, this game is, imho, the most accurate strategic study of the Civil War. It clearly shows why major offensives were cyclical and so difficult to plan, organize & execute, and why each side could only conduct a limited number of them. Whereas in every other Civil War game of this level, one can move every force every turn, only in Grigsby's and Herman's games are activations limited and highly prized. Unfortunately burdened with a rather unfriendly user interface, GG's WBtS is still an excellent example of economy of design and focus on the truly significant factors of the War in each theatre.

I hope other gamers with an interest in this period will pick this game up. They will be provided an excellent experience in Civil War theatre strategy (East, West, Frontier & Coastal/Blockade).

1. For Theatre Command, I follow the historical Union practice:

EAST: TC Scott, replace with Little Mac (McClellan) upon death.
AC's: McClellan, McDowell, Burnside and/or Hooker until Grant is no longer needed in the West and can replace them.

WEST: TC Halleck. Use an activation to place him on the map. I take exception to the strategy notes regarding Presidential Promotions in this one instance (20.0): Fremont is too incapable, and a human opponent will run rings around him if you leave him in charge. It is vital you obtain initiatives in the West; without them, a Confederate player will easily take KY and even invade OH or IL. You must prevent this! Spend 100 PP's to make Halleck a 4-star, discharge Fremont, and make Halleck the new TC.
AC's: Lyon (until death), Buell (for training militias), Grant (until transfer to East), then Sherman and Rosecrans.

Ben Butler is a good garrison commander, but not the best choice for a TC or AC. You will find far better candidates come 1863-4.

2. Read the CSC rules (18.3) carefully. Each bird colonel can csc 1 unit. Each general can csc (# of stars +1). Add enough division commanders to equal or exceed the number of regiments you have in the corps.

3. The best trick I have found for invading Confederate ports is...DON'T! Invade the adjacent region. Establish a base there (Fort + 2-3 Depots) and assault them overland. Works like a charm in '64 when the Confederacy is stretched thin. Until then, concentrate on (a) building Cruisers and implementing the blockade and (b) taking the Mississippi (New Orleans, Island No. 10 & Vicksburg).

4. Yes. Lyon is an excellent AC. Especially if he wins a Major Victory or 2. His command rating will equal Buell's or McClellan's. His only drawback is his mortality rating: he is destined to eat a bullet at some point in the war.

5. Playing solitaire, HA is unnecessary. Playing against a live Confederate, you will rue the day you do not have at least 4xHA in each of New Orleans, Cairo IL, Ft. Monroe, Cincinnati OH & Washington DC. with an artillery leader in command.

6. IIRC, you must attack New Orleans by land.

7 & 8. For the Union, artillery works best grouped separately into its own grand battery, commanded by its own Arty leader. Grant is an exception. He can command infantry & artillery equally well. The Confederacy has a number of good artillery Corps Commanders that can mix both together.

Hope this helps!

[sushidog]

jscott- re: #1, for a different experience, try playing with semi-historical ratings. Then you have to figure out who is best for each job, each game.