jimwinsor
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Setbacks and Frustrations

Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:23 pm

Well this was a disappointing turn I must say. Granted, I took one victory city (Fayetteville AR) and suppose thats a good thing, but compared with my high expectations beforehand the results here were a bit of a let down for me.

Lets start out in Missouri. Curtis strolls into Fayetteville unopposed. On the down side, however, its muddy again in the area, hampering my reinforcements from moving in (27 days to enter Fayetteville now!). On top of that, I've lost contact with Van Dorn's army; it seems to have been sent elsewhere, but where? When it does finally reemerge it'll cause unwelcome trouble elsewhere.

Curtis' next target should be Little Rock, although it would be useful to capture the rebel depot at Ft. Smith before pressing on. Of course, thats assuming it too does not get destroyed like the one at Fayetteville, as part of a Confederate scorched earth policy...and unlikely assumption it seems to me:

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We were repulsed at Corinth. This battle points out the dangers of overreliance on sound-of-guns in battle calculations; both Rosecrans and Grant failed to react into the battle, leaving McClernand (who assumed command) slightly outnumbered:

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I now face the difficult decision of whether to try to go "all in" to Corinth again next turn, so spend some time recovering cohesiveness. The problem with delay is that I give the enemy time to both recover AND entrench as well:

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The one silver lining was Foote, whose daring run past Memphis landed him the midst of a Confederate "fleet" consisting of the ironclad Arkansas, plus a hodge podge of wooden gunboats and paddlewheel transports. This motley collection of leaky tubs seems meant to halt my river fleet under Foote, but in the Battle of Edmund's Ferry, a 23-to-4 naval engagement, my 4 ironclads came out ahead in an amusing turkey shoot, sinking 3 rebel gunboats:

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One ironclad of mine suffered minor damage. I'll need to withdraw Foote north of Memphis now, however; not so much in terror of this CSA fleet, but due to fatigue, supply and ammo considerations, and the need to cover Pope's landing from the transports in Hatchies Confluent next turn.


Finally, out in Kentucky/Middle Tennessee, more little frustrations. Most annoying being that *&^%$ bug-spawned Orphan Brigade; it reappeared right behind Thomas in the Gap, at Huntsville. Sigh...Crittenden wore out an entire division trying to bring it to battle (it has not had an opportunity to rest in fact, it is at power 15!); it seems to have the ability to survive off forage indefintely in the Kentucky wilds.

And every time a superior Union infantry force catches it...it withdraws. I don't know what else to do...except maybe form a large cavalry detatchment to squish it...which I do not have. Buell has exactly one independant cavalry regiment in the entire army (all other cavalry is brigaded with infantry). Grant cannot really spare any. That means I'll probably have to ask the C-in-C for some brand new cavalry...sigh.

I'd rather not ask for special new resources, due to the East needing help right now, much more than I do.

On top of this, Forrest is on the move, sieging Carthage. He may try to cross the Cumberland into Kentucky; I'll have to try to bar his way with gunboats. McCook's division happens to be one days march away (on his way to Nashville), so I may get a chance to battle him there (though he'll most likely successfully withdraw).

And on top of that...now Beauregard is in Knoxville, with 2 units, in addition to the super-entreched division under Smith. I get the distinct impression they don't want me to take Knoxville! Seems the best option is for Thomas to call it quits, leave a small detachment to guard to Gap, and head for central Tennessee where he can do some good. And hopefully kill that !@#& Orphan Bde while he's marching out.

The one bit of good news out there is Crittenden's worn out condition does NOT affect his Police ratings, and he was able to finally reopen the Cincinatti to Nashville rail line w/o a hitch:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
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Fri Jun 15, 2007 6:15 pm

And a couple bug/oddities I noticed too, again concerning the river boats around Memphis. Once again, Foote had bombardment orders, but despite moving to a new adjacent stretch of river, no shelling of Memphis occured. (Of course there was a naval battle instead...do naval battles cancel plotted bombardments, even if you win?)

As a matter of fact, Memphis has emplaced guns IIRC, and as such, should have shot at Foote as he moved from Hatchies Confluent to Edmunds Ferry, no?

Korrigan has the saves, I only have the Union files! :)

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Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:00 pm

not necessarly, you can run the gauntlet...
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Hofstadter's Law: "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law."

jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
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Union West Moves, Early July

Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:27 am

A fairly complex turn, with a lot of detaching and reorganization. Out in Missouri, for instance, I'm having Curtis' army spread out it's divisions to convert territory, in preparation for a drive overland to Little Rock. One division under Asboth will try to take Fort Smith (and it's depot) by storm. It looks to be lightly defended, by one an infantry brigade and a cavalry regiment.

Curtis with Sigel will convert the county just to the south (north of Fort Smith). Davis leaves his cavalry command, to join the new division converting south of Springfield.

If the Fort Smith depot is blown, no worries, two wagons escorted by cavalry are heading to Ozark, AR, and can build a depot there (it's three spaces away from Springfield, and has a minor port).

Obviously, I would ne be detaching and spreading out like this had Van Dorn been around, but when the cats away...

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More complex moves to the east. We are making another all out attack on Corinth, holding little back this time. To do this, McClernand has been sacked, his corps broken up, and him sent to Cairo where his Recruiting skill can actually bring the Union some more much needed manpower. His relatively healthy division has been transferred to Wallace's corps, giving it a walloping 1135 power. A banged up division of badly depleted and uncohesive brigades has been left behind, with a new corps under Halleck being sent to merge with it. Halleck can then use his Army Organizer skill to bring the worn out troops up to fighting trim much quicker.

Johnston had about 1500 power in the last battle, so my current estimate for him this turn at 1500 is on the conservative side in that it does not take into account battle losses last turn. So, assuming he has not been reinforced, we should have a significant edge. Grant + Wallace = 1135 + 690 = 1825. And reinforcements by nearby Heinzelman and Rosecrans corps is possible too on top of that.

Pope lands at Memphis, to begin the siege. I'm a bit worried about landing there, what with all that CSA cavalry in opposition, but I think we'll be OK.

Across the Cumberland, we have... Operation Market Garden! "Market" refers to Thomas' division, which (after detaching a brigade under Nelson to guard the Gap and bring the Orphans to battle) will make a sneaky river-borne assault on lightly guarded Chattnooga. There it will hold until relieved.

"Garden" refers to the troops under Buell, Crittenden, and McCook, who are converging on Nashville this turn, and will thereafter clear a path to Thomas and Chattanooga. Eventually, the forces will link up around Winchester, TN...giving me a supplied bridgehead across the Cumberland, and a base to push on towards Atlanta.

This seems to be the quickest way to get Thomas' troops into the war. It beats having to slog back up through Kentucky! I figure since he wont let me take Knoxville, well fine, Chattnooga will do nicely. :niark:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
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Bloody July

Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:08 pm

Well, I guess you all want to see what happened...

First, out in Missouri, that one "cavalry" my intel was telling me was guarding Ft. Smith turned out to be one cavalry DIVISION under McCulloch; with river crossing penalties Asboth got hurled back:

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The situation in Missouri is now as follows. There was also an attempted Indian/raider (?) attack on the detachment moving south near Fayetteville but it retreated before combat:

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Hmmm, Tennessee, where to begin...well might as well get the bad news out of the way first. Pope's hurried landing at Memphis was not one of my better ideas, as it led to 5 sanguinary engagements where I generally took the worst of it:

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Even with Heintzelman's nearby cavalry corps helping out in a few battles, I got clobbered. Pope's men were continually routing; how I won that one battle that I did out of the five is actually a mystery to me. We gained a Morale for that one, believe it or not (but lost one Morale each on battles 4 and 5). And perhaps even more miraculously, we held the field...Memphis is officially under siege. Pope's sieging army currently has a power rating of 1 (!).

Lesson learned: Do not amphibiously assault with troops at less than optimal readiness.

Also in that vicinty, Foote won another naval battle, as he tried to go for the transports in Hatchies Confluent (like I thought he might):

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OK, onto Grant at Corinth. We won the first, lost the second:

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I threw everything into Corinth I had. He seems to have reinforced there, because we were quite evenly matched in power points (hence the high casualties). Unfortunately, it's Forest terrain there, which definitely plays to his strengths; thus he still holds the place. The one silver lining is the number of whole elements of his I mananged to destroy was quite high. I think it's fair to say the battle of attrition is favorable to me.

However, Grant's army is now officially SPENT. Every unit is now badly in need of R&R. I'm going to tranfer the Hospital and most of the troops to Halleck's Invalid Corps, for some rapid recovery; hopefully I'll be able to resume the offensive while the campaign season is still active.

Moving eastwards, McCook manages to beat (but not destroy) Forrest:

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...While Thomas surprise riverine attack on Chattanooga goes as planned:

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LOL, Van Dorn finally shows up...at Knoxville! He REALLY does not want me to take Knoxville! BTW, the Orphan Brigade evaded pursuit, and made it safely into CSA lines at Knoxville, it would appear. Grumble...

Anyways, here's the final dispositions...obviously, Pope and Grant have to call a HALT to operations. Both commands have many elements on the verge of destruction, and need replacements (fortunately, the CinC wisely stocked up on them this turn). Buell, Crittenden and McCook are all tuckered out as well, and need some rest. Thomas is well supplied in Chattanooga (thanks to all the supplies at the major CSA depot I captured) but the interesting question now becomes what to do with him now. I can sit there, and wait for Buell to open a path to me...or I can blow the depot, rip up the tracks there, and march/sail away. Decisions, decisions...

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
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The Rebs Skedad?!

Sat Jul 07, 2007 12:42 am

Unlike my luckless Eastern counterpart, it seems I've been blessed with a general withdrawal by the Confederates from the front lines of my armies. First, in Missouri:

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Even that cavarly division under McCulloch in Ft. Smith seems to have vanished. Plus, wrecked tracks in Little Rock and Madison, looks like the scorched earth withdrawal continues in Missouri. Hmmm? Only one battle in the area, a minor skirmish in Ozark county:

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Now this is kicker. Remember all those worn out regiments of Grant and Pope, on the verge of disintegration? A situation so bad I needed to bring in Halleck to reorganize them? If the Rebs so much as gave my forces there a dirty look, they would vanish?

Well, right when I stopped attacking to rest and refit, HOPING I would not get attacked at my moment of extreme weakness...the Rebs pull out!

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Depot blown and tracks ripped up at Corinth, only a small garrison remains...amazing. I just have to CAREFULLY move in and take them now, I guess...my divisions are still in bad shape, however, lots of red in those NATO symbols still.

Over in Buell's army, Beauregard moved a division into Chattanooga, but there was no battle. I'm outside the city, so he must have entered in Defend mode. Fine; if he wants to attack Thomas (Defense 6 + Entrenching Guru), go ahead, bring it on! One thing I wont do, and that's go into the city and be sieged; it seems thats been where my Eastern counterpart got himself into hot water, mostly.

Buell's divisions will move down to relieve Thomas, but they need to rest a bit themselves, and convert territory along the rails to Union control for supply purposes...so it'll take a few turns. Thomas can hold out I think...Chattanooga was a major CSA supply hub, and there are plenty of rebel rations there for Thomas to munch on. Plus, his other special ability is Supply Miser!

One one minor battle out here, Sherman storms the town of Covington (north of Memphis). He does NOT get recognition, sadly:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:07 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Filling the Vacuum

Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:41 am

Other than a fierce battle at Chattanooga, I faced light opposition in the west. Only Indian irregulars and a couple militia garrisons (Ft. Smith, Little Rock) oppose me in Missouri; keeping my men in supply is the main challenge Curtis faces in the Transmississippi. Both the depots at Ft. Smith and Little Rock were destroyed by the fleeing rebels:

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The plan out here now is to run some supply ships from Cairo, past Memphis, and into the Arkansas River, to give my three divisions out there some logistical support. Land units can draw supply from any adjacent supply-laden water transport, and thats what I aim to do, rather than rely on the shaky overland depot chain thru Missouri. The imminent fall of Memphis makes this supply plan feasible, I think.

I'm not real keen on expending the resources to recreate the depots in Arkansas the rebels blew up in their retreat. I'd just as soon scoop up the strategic towns of Little Rock and Madison (which they appear to be giving me), garrison them vs Indians, then transfer those 3 divisions to Grant for the drive on Vicksburg. I don't really see the strategic necessity for taking Panther and points further south into the wilds of Arkansas. Maybe I'll build up a cavalry force for a campaign to take Tucson, but I think that should wrap things up for the Transmississippi.

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Further east in Grant's department, we place Memphis back under siege, and Sheridan scores a big victory at Corinth. Meanwhile, in Buell's mid-Tennessee sector, Thomas manages to hold on barely at Chattanooga, as the rebels throw practically everything they have in the area at him:

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First, the battle of Corinth. I organized a division under the new arrival Sheridan to spearhead the assault, and on his very first assignment he did splendidly:

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We wiped out several elements there, and picked up 5 Morale in the process. It seems there was not only a militia guarding the place, but also one of those very large CSA Mississippi brigades; he must have had the misfortune of buying it, and then having it form up there. Heintzelman and Sheridan apparantly killed it before it had a chance to mature. Not a bad bit of luck on my part!

This somewhat offset the loss in the east at Harpers Ferry, where we lost 14 (!!!) Morale over several battles.

Upon reflection, comparing these battles, I think the moral of this story (about Morale) is: NEVER DEFEND TO THE BITTER END. The game scores Morale (and VPs, for that matter) gains/losses heavily on elements destroyed outright; so, if you defend to the bitter end, say, in a city under siege, you are giving your opponent a HUGE opportunity to score big against you. NEVER defend in a city and accept siege if you are not SURE you can relieve the city. Better to retreat, let the city go, preserve your army, and build up for a counter-attack if you really want that city back. Otherwise, you face the danger of taking a shellacking in VPs and Morale.

More good news...Sheridan is up for promotion as a result! AND he gained an experience star! Glory shined on Hentzelman as well, he moved up in senority and got an experience star too (both leaders increased their defense bonus by one...woohoo!). Sheridan will be made a corps commander, replacing Hallack, ASAP. wOOt! :fleurs:

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Now we move to Buell's army in central Tennessee, where I just got done ignoring the sage advice I gave above, by putting Thomas in a place where he could not retreat from and risked total annialation. :siffle:

Unlike poor Banks, Thomas held out...barely. Only one militia element was lost, hence no National Morale was lost in any of these battles. Which were actually fought outside the city of Chattanooga (not a siege/assault like Harpers Ferry). Nevertheless, due to ZOC and surrounding enemy territory, it was a no retreat situation, which is why we went thru six battles...and at the end, Thomas held on but was left with a VERY battered division:

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Towards the end there, both sides ran out of ammo, leading to a drastic drop off in casualties. Thus Thomas held Chattanooga. By the hair on his chinny chin chin.

The big question: Do I stay or do I go now? Check out this close up of the situation:

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As things stand, Thomas is temporarily almost out of ammo (very little, only 8 crates or 5% of capacity left). HOWEVER I hold Chattanooga and the supply depot there, which has 26 crates. It'll produce 3 crates, giving me 29 to draw from. Plus I have gunboats nearby with ammo stores, so I should be able to draw some ammo from them too I think (right?). Thomas expends 30 crates per battle (so the tooltip tells me) so I should be resupplied for at least one full battle next turn.

Beauregard looks to be totally out of ammo too. However, he does NOT have a nearby supply source to draw on; Knoxville is cut off by my gunboats, and that leave Atlanta 4 spaces away as the closest depot. On top of that I had Thomas cut the rails, so getting more ammo up in those Knoxville mountains will be problematic for the Confederates.

That means if Beauregard wants to attack Thomas next turn, it'll have to be a bayonet charge.

Hmmmm....

I could also try to relieve Thomas with Buell. Buell is 16 days march away; 14 if he force marchs (40% chance)...

Hmmmmm....

OTOH, I have to worry about him sending fresh reinforcements (with ammo) coming in. Which he could do, I think; Forrest is nearby with 3 cavalry units. He might be able to beat Thomas, in his weakened condition.

Hmmmmm...

Naw, staying is too risky. We already lost too much National Morale these past few turns, I can't see putting more at risk. And I don't feel like relying on Buell, of all people, to move fast. And on top of that, Chattanooga is not even a Strategic city in this scenario.

So... I'm now going to obey my NO BITTER END rule above, and get while the getting is good...I'm going to pull Thomas out. Interestingly, if you notice above, that ZOC that prevented Thomas from retreating in battle is now gone. I guess Beauregard running out of ammo did that. It looks like I can now move in any direction, including across the river to safety. Which I will do.

Naturally, I'm going to blow the depot before I go. Probably detaching a sacrificial rear guard to do so, so as not now slow up the main body.

One final irony...when he threw everything at Chattanooga, that included Johnson's brigade, which was guarding Knoxville last turn. And now Knoxville seems to be unoccupied! Nelson's brigade in the Gap in just 3 days march from taking Knoxville w/o a fight....which if you recall was practically a inland Gibralter just a few turns ago. :)
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jimwinsor
General of the Army
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New Orleans

Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:53 am

One final ominous image...it's not part of my command, but New Orleans is where most of those divisions Grant is no longer fighting went to...more bad news for the Eastern commander it would seem.

The only thing I can do to help is to push Grant as far south into the apparant vacuum as I can, try to get them so rattled they'll redeploy vs me and give the East a breather:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
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Memphis Falls

Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:41 pm

The big news out west is Grant's capture of Memphis. But other nearby theaters had conquests too this turn. for example, in the Transmississippi Fort Smith surrenders, while Little Rock is officially under siege:

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OK, here is the situation out in West Tennessee: Rosecrans and Sherman (finally!) get small senority boosts for storming Memphis. Sheridan's promotion goes through, and soon too he will be a corps commander.

As you can see, my command in the region consists of 6 divisions, and two army HQs. And...no CSA opposition whatsoever. So, this is pretty much a mop up in this area, and deciding where to head to next. Either south to Vicksburg/Jackson, or strike east to link up with Buell's army. We'll see what the Union CinC prefers.

I'm guessing I'll now lose Grant to the eastern theater...where I have to admit he will do far more good than where he is now. In that case Pope and Buell will be my army commanders for the foreseeable future (sigh):

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In east Tennessee, Nelson's brigade takes Knoxville. Hoorah! Meanwhile, Thomas's battered division gives the Confederates massed at Chattanooga the slip, but a rear guard brigade left there blows the depot...making the city far less important now.

Unless that depot is rebuilt (two wagons - an expensive proposition for the CSA) enemy operations in that area will be difficult; the nearest depot is now Atlanta, several zones away to the south. Beauregard and Van Dorn have a sizable force at Chattanooga, but w/o supplies I cannot see them as posing much an offensive threat to Buell right now, north of the river.

Forrest raids Nashville, but after a four day battle fails to take the city. He is surely out of ammo; I'll be able to shoo him away with the rear area forces in the region. Buell's other divisions are resting and sieging Pulaski and Winchester.

The only unbesieged CSA towns remaining in Tennessee are Decatur, and a couple mountain hamlets in the far eastern tip:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
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Location: San Diego, CA USA

Occupying the West

Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:43 am

My 3 transmississippi divisions all converged eastwards towards Little Rock this turn. As such, I can now just barely fit pretty much the whole west on one screen, showing just about all the major Union formations.

Other notable moves were siezures of Madison AR by Sherman, and Bolivar MS by Rosecrans. Madison is a victory town, while Bolivar is strategically located on the confluence of the Arkansas and Mississippi, and will soon get a Union depot. Both were taken w/o a fight; the Conferates seem to have abandoned the entire theater.

I could have assaulted Little Rock this turn with Curtis' divisions, but opted not to. I want Sherman to do it, and gain the laurels.

:fleurs: <---Sherman

Next stop is obviously Vicksburg, then link up and rescue New Orleans. By the way, I seem to have taken some heat off the siege there, only Hardee's corps is still sieging. Bragg's corps seems to have pulled out. Probably entrenching in Vicksburg, would be my guess. Foote will sail his ironclads down and have a look-see at the fortress next turn I think...

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I'm going to stay close to the Mississippi for supply purposes, and avoid the inland routes south; it is getting too difficult to keep rail supply routes open, especially after Emancipation this turn. The one exception is Sheridan; he is forming a large cavalry corps, which with to wreak havok on the CSA heartland, ripping up rails, taking towns, burning depots, etc.

The only major CSA forces I can see in my department are 4 Confederate divisions in Chattanooga, just off to the east of the map. Which BTW I still hold, a conscript brigade continues to hold out in there. Once I build up my divisions in central Tennessee, I'll take those troops on and drive on Atlanta (hopefully by that time with a better commander in place than Buell).

Several forces converged on Nashville this turn to trap Forrest's failed raid on the city, but he managed to elude us.

The Emancipation event happened this turn:

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...and the initial effects have been pretty dreadful; Union loyalty throughout Kentucky and occupied Tennessee has plunged to zero in many cases:

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...but besides the VP and Morale benefits than can be gleaned, we can now raise colored troops, either volunteers or a stronger mobilization:

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It will be interesting to see how the C-in-C plays this option.
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jimwinsor
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Destination: Vicksburg

Wed Sep 26, 2007 1:55 am

Another good turn out here in the Union west. Sherman comes marching into Little Rock from Madison, and takes the Arkansas capitol by storm. Sherman gains a seniority notch (still not promotable though, he's at 6/8) and a Union-loyal Arkansas brigade shows up at Little Rock. Nice!

A good new brigadier, Granger, and the Iron Brigade under King show up with Rosecrans at Bolivar, giving me about a 2.5 divisions worth of troops there. Add the 3 at Little Rock, and that gives me 5 and a half divisions for use against Vicksburg.

And I was right: Bragg moved back to Vicksburg, and is starting to entrench. Foote's river recon verified this.

I'm not sure I'm ready to move against it, though. The 3 divs at Little Rock are still very fatigued; only King's new division with the fresh new Iron Brigade at it's core is really ready for combat right now. And I certainly do not want to beach assault Vicksburg, and repeat the messy assault I did at Memphis; just like the real life Vicksburg campaign, I have to figure out a safe direction to attack it from.

I have two more divisions near Memphis and Corinth that are near full strength too though, that are converting the provinces around to Union control. I broke up one battered division under Curtis, scattering the lone regiments thoughout west Tennessee as garrisions. I needed to do this, so as to keep control and impose martial law along all the key rail counties. The CinC was pretty lukewarm about my plea for more garrisons, so it looks like I'll have to do this task myself (even if it means taking a whole division out of the line).

Two more very battered divisions were sent north to take on new recruits. They were replacing too slowly in enemy territory, so I sent them to Cairo and St. Louis respectively.

Over in middle Tennessee, Winchester falls to siege, while Pulaski is stormed. Again, more garrisons are being sent out; I need to be garrisoning all the rails in my wake, I am afraid. Union loyalty is now up to 2% in these provinces now...LOL!

The shell of Curtis' broken up division take on two of Thomas near-death brigades, and it is now replacing in Memphis too.

If I can gather replacements and bring my various demi-devisions up to full strength, I should have 15 divisions in total, ready to go in the '63 campaign season.

Forrest's failed Nashville raid is spotted still north of the Cumberland. It is obviously low on supplies, tired, and out of ammo. And will probably try to cross the river into CSA friendly Tuscumbia...hmmmm.

I think I'm going to plan a little reception for Forrest! Heh heh.. Sheridan's powerful new cavalry corps (8-9 rested elements) in Memphis can move to Tuscumbia using rail moves in only 6 days. If my gunboats can delay Forrest's crossing long enough...Sheridan will get there first with the most! :sourcil:

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One final image of the action a bit farther east, along the Chattanooga-Knoxville corridor. As you can see, the siege of Chattanooga continues, while a detachment is sent out vs. Knoxville, putting it under siege too.

I think I will withdraw the Chattanooga defender. No point holding the city at all, IMO, w/o that depot I blew, it is meaningless. I can use a river move to escape the city with ease (1 mp is all I need to move into the river, then land leisurely on the opposite bank). Union total river control has really been a valuable advantage to me in this area, I must say!

Knoxville (with it's intact depot) can hold out, I think. He is really at the end of his supply tether, and the strong 4-element brigade I have there can probably withstand an assault:

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
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An Uneventful Turn

Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:46 pm

Not much happening. Sheridan tries hard to catch Forrest at Tuscumbia, where we were waiting for him to cross the river...yet he gets away. Accoring to the event log I had only a 21% chance of engaging him. It's tough to battle a cavalry force in this game that is set to Avoid Battle, even with other cavalry.

I also sucessfully evacuate the 3 element Michigan Volunteers brigade from Chattanooga by river move, sparing it a useless death.

Everything else pretty much remains the same as last turn, with my forces sitting in place, resting and taking on new replacements.

On the subject of replacements...now that we patched up to 1.07d, notice how all my Union batteries are now 50% understrength (see panel on right). We'll need to buy more artillery replacements to meet the new demand.

Burnside is moving into Tennessee next turn, where he is slated to replace Buell. I'll move Buell into a region so as to activate his Good Pop Admin skill...I wonder what constitutes a "region" for purposes of this trait?

Also, I am not sure Martial Law is working. I have had troops garrisoning areas of Kentucky and Tennessee for turns now...and still loyalty is at 0% in some of these places.

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jimwinsor
General of the Army
Posts: 631
Joined: Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:07 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Vicksburg and Atlanta

Thu Oct 18, 2007 1:59 am

My divisions are now approaching combat readiness again. My plan is to begin winter campaigns in a turn or two towards Vicksburg and Atlanta simultaneously; hopefully I am far enough south the weather will be fair.

I've been looking at the various approaches to Vicksburg, trying to decide which one(s) to try out. All have advantages and disadvantages; the first (the historic downriver campaign by Grant) I have a secure supply line by river all the way to Vicksburg, but not below it of course; I'll have to eventually attack Vicksburg from across at least a minor river, too.

The second overland option requires me to repair and maintain the rail line through Grenada for supply. But I can then attack Vicksburg overland with no river obstacle. The problem is the long amount of time to convert (and garrison...sigh) the disloyal counties around and thru Grenada to Vicksburg.

A third option I thought of was a quick sail down the Tallahatchie/Yazoo, land north of the city, to take Vicksburg from the north that way. The idea here is to just ignore supplies, and hope to take the place by storm (and avoid a costly direct naval invasion at the same time). Only possible hitch to this plan would be if he has a naval unit on the Tallahatchie...of course, I could try running some river ironclads up the Yazoo to coincide with this move.

Hmmm decisions decisions....

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Over on the Atlanta front, Burnside takes command from Buell. I notice the CSA gave up trying to siege Knoxville (I knew he did not have the supplies to pull it off).

The big news out here is Sheridan's cavalry, striking deep into the heart of the Confederacy on a very large raid, taking Columbus...AND managing to defeat Forrest. I guessed correctly Forrest would move here to refit. My only wish was that I would have caught him in the city, and thus bagged the whole force:

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From Columbus, Sheridan is poised to take Meridian; a tempting target, a key rail junction with a fat CSA depot to destroy...hmmm, roads are dry, he could get there in 11 days...hmmmm...

And using river move, Mobile is only 16 days away...14 if I force march! Hmmmm...

Problem is, if I extend Sheridan's raid that far south to either of those tempting targets, and then the weather goes bad...could I get him back out again? Supply is fine now due to the seizure of Columbus, but they are already at 50% fatigue.

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jimwinsor
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Battle of New Orleans

Wed Oct 24, 2007 8:38 am

Well, a full West AAR to come; but in the meantime, I'll end the suspense and tell you all of that big battle at New Orleans...hurrah!

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Pocus
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Wed Oct 24, 2007 11:15 am

Wow, The CSA got repulsed twice. It can changes the course of the war, although some says that political blunders have been made in Washington. ;)
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jimwinsor
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Action in the Transmississippi

Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:23 am

Yes, over 10K casualties should neutralize two western CSA divisions for a good long while. Not only that, but they retreated to Fort Pike, which makes sense as it is the nearest settlement...BUT supplies are few there, being a mere fort...and the march to better supply towns near Baton Rouge will be a long one, through that dreadful Koney Island Swamp. Which is currently is Mud. Heh heh... :niark:

So, good news indeed. This looks like the time to move on Vicksburg; the time for rest is over, I'll concentrate my divisions around Memphis this turn, then strike the turn after. I am still undecided as to the route I'll take...but I'm leaning towards sailing down the Yazoo. The overland rail route is looking iffy now, what with the appearance of Polk's cavalry (see below).

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In other news, Sheridan's Raid is over, sadly; we made a strike towards Meridian; but sadly, ran into a slightly bigger (and much better rested) cavalry force under Polk and McCullough in Macon County. Sheridan put up a good fight though, I must say:

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A good raid overall, I'd say, with two towns taken, Forrest beaten, and 200 prisoners gathered. Sheridan will fall back to Corinth, to guard it and recuperate for another (and better) strike.

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Some conquests this turn in the Transmississippi, of an opportunistlc nature. First, Sherman's division stormed Malvern, AR. I did this because last turn I reconed it with a cavalry patrol, and noticed there was a CSA militia guarding it. Sherman was in striking distance at Little Rock, so...yes it was a milk run, for PR purposes! Had the militia now been there, I probably would not have bothered, but as it was, it was yet another opportunity for Sherman to gain distinction and hence promotion. So I took it...and gained another senority point, making Sherman 5[8]. One short, sigh. Didn't it used to be you only needed 2 senority under base? Now it's at 4, which makes promotion very slow now, IMO. Oh well...

To complete the total conquest of Arkansas, the recon cav took Panther unopposed. This should now deny the CSA building of new Arkansas units (?).

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And even further west, the MO Cav Brigade under Mitchell beats Watie and his CSA Indians, taking Cherokee. Creek village is next, then maybe take Arizona? Do-able if he does not reinforce it:

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jimwinsor
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Yazoo Invasion a Success

Wed Oct 31, 2007 5:44 pm

I managed to get 6 division plus 6 laden supply wagon down the Yazoo River, and land just north of Vicksburg (at Yazoo City). 3 more division are ready to go near Memphis, winthout supply wagons they are fast enough to move down there next turn by foot (the weather has been cooperatively sunny...although Vicksburg itself is in mud):

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I have enough supply in those wagons to live off of for 4-5 turns. Plus, there are 600 tons of supplies in river transports nearby...although they got knocked around a bit in a naval action:

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It seems the CSA fleet in Vicksburg (which included 2 ironclads) came out against Foote and 3 Union ironclads watching the city. I lost the battle, 4 hits to 10...and Foote unfortunately decided to drift DOWN river after the battle...past the fort batteries (plus the guns of two dug in CSA divisions under Bragg. Foote took 50 additional hits (ow!) dealing out only 2 in reply.

To make matters worse, I had a transport fleet plotted to join Foote...who was now south of Vicksburg unfortunately, so...yep, they ran the guns, taking 37 hits. I think a wooded escort gunboat unit got completely destroyed, and hits scattered amongst the transports.

Those laden transports were sent to provide supplies to a hypothetical siege at Vicksburg. Fortunately none were sunk, and they are still in position to provide those supplies (although from an awkward stretch of the river). Foote will have to make New Orleans his new base for the time being.

Porter then got into the act. He had ACTUAL orders to run the guns, with 6 fresh ironclads, en route up the Yazoo to cover my landing. He ran into the victorious CSA fleet, and beat it (2 hits to 8) then took 35 hits running the guns (dealing out only 2 in reply...naval shore bombardment has sure been toned down!):

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I have no idea where that CSA fleet is now...but I getting ready to hurl 9 well supplied Union division against two CSA ones at Vicksburg, so it'll have to find a new base of operations soon enough!
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Pocus
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Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:15 am

Entrenched to level 8 static (the ones with inate protection factor) guns are nearly impervious to naval bombardment yes.
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Hofstadter's Law: "It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's law."

jimwinsor
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The Beleaguered City

Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:04 am

Jackson, the capitol of Mississippi, falls to Union forces in the West...but the larger effort to encircle Vicksburg fails, as Rosecrans wing is hurled back from Port Gibson.

Here's the map. Curtis was plotted to one one zone south, directly to the east of Vicksburg. Rosecrans had a tougher mission; he was to sweep to the east of Curtis, take Jackson on the fly, then complete the sweep by occupying Port Gibson. Heintzelman was to complete the encirclement by occupying Yazoo city (he got held up, however, by partisans cutting the rail line at Memphis?):

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As you can see, Rosecrans managed to take Jackson, beating Polk's cavalry and A.S. Johnston's HQ forces:

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...then, Polk retreated to Port Gibson, where a "Loring detachment" of 7 units was waiting...both Bragg and Curtis marched to the sound of guns, and there was a big battle...which alas, we did not win:

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So, here is the situation: It does not look like I'll take Vicksburg quickly. Marching around enemy territory like this, plus two battles, has badly disorganzied my troops (Rosecrans 3-division have cohesiveness in the teens now, and a total power rating of 50 or so!), so we will have to rest up...and in enemy territory, cohesiveness gains come VERY slowly (about 1 per day on Defend mode). So, we are talking 3 turns before we get back to maximum combat efficiency again.

This is a problem, as we are deep in enemy territory (around Jackson), technically without a supply line back north.

Well, the good news is, Heintzelman's tardy division to the north can open a supply line, by taking control of and repairing the rail line from Memphis. I did not want to rely on this line, as it will be difficult to defend from CSA cavalry raids...but I don't really have a choice now, I suppose.

And Curtis and Rosecrans have enough wagon supply to last 4 turns or so...plenty of time to get the rail route up and running.

Meanwhile, with me sitting in Jackson, he may begin having difficulties keeping Vicksburg adequately supplied. It's all got to go through Port Gibson for him now, what with my naval forces blocking all the river crossings.

Further east, no good news at all. Burnside threw all four of his army's divisions at Beauregard at Chattanooga, and got decisively repelled in two seperate battles:

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It's clear that I don't have the firepower over there right now to blast him out of Chattanooga (and continue on to Atlanta)...his two entrenched division (plus that aggravating Orphan Bde) are too tough a nut. Best strategy seems to me is to flank him out by threatening encirclement (kind of like I am doing at Vicksburg), but with only 4 division in 2 corps I do not quite have the forces to accomplish that. I will after the Mississippi campaign is over, however.
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