Is there life after intervention?

[Cromagnonman]

Currently playing Apr'61wKentuck as the Union. The goal of this particular campaign is to survive and beat back Foreign Intervention. I'm trying not to gain too many NMs or VP, but not let Athena kick my butt, either. I am putting more resources than usual towards my navy. I figure I need to play at the normal intervention level to have enough time to prepare for the British.

However, I'm getting stymied. It's about to be 1862, and FI is only 11. I had it up to 20, but "The Trent Affair: USA Apologizes" seems to have decreased FI. I'm having to back off from an undefended Richmond and Nashville, but I think my forebearance will be all for naught.

Has anyone ever achieved Intervention on the normal setting? Have you done it as the Union, and still won? Did you get to invade anything in Europe, or at least Canada? And what happened in Mexico?

Much obliged...

[OneArmedMexican]

I take it you are getting bored and want a new challenge. Basically that's the reason why I rarely play the Union against the AI at all.

I am sure it is possible to play the Union crappy enough to get an intervention. However, you will have to get unlucky on the bloackade rolls.

An easier way would be to simply mod some events. Go into CSA and/or USA event files search for events containing the command "ChangeForeignEntry" and increase those levels.

As concerns your chances of survival: The French are neutralized by the Mexicans, the British bring roughly six elite divisions (+ two or three more in Canada) to the table. All intervention does is level the playing field (on land and sea). If you play the 63 or 64 campaigns as South you are facing far worse odds. So yes, I think it is definitively possible to survive.
Even if you had to do major damage to your own troops in order to increase Southern NM and VP in order to trigger FI, you still have a fair chance of survival.

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

I've gotten it a few times as the south. I got it on my 2nd PBEM in February 1862, before even the 2nd French expedition had landed. Doing the math, it was just a few turns away from being the earliest it could have happened. It was against a very good opponent. He had me on the ropes really. He attacked the small 1st French expedition with the Mexican army but quickly discovered how weak they are. He then tried to attack Houston with them but I held them off with an undercommanded force half their size. I was able to counter attack and destroy him when the 2nd expedition landed. Moral of the story, dig in with the mexicans and hope they can hold.

I was barely holding onto Richmond and Canada when I gathered up the entire BEF on the entire British fleet, used the French fleet to clear, and sailed up to Washington and took it before he could react. Game over. His invasion of Canada was pressing me, but soaking up alot of manpower and time. If he would have attacked with those forces in Virginia, I would have had to use the BEF in defense and I think he could have got me.

Long story short, as long as the Union continues to hold and build up, you should be able to beat even a PBEM player in 1864/1865. The French are only worth about 20k men and the British are 70-80k plus garrisons in Canada. The problem is they have their own command structure so you can't really integrate them with the CSA armies very well. You can't mix in CSA units and you can't MTSG with CSA corps. That 60/30 division limit is hard to overcome even with the FI armies in the end.

[Cromagnonman]

Ah, thank you. I have been trying to "encourage" the results of my political decisions to budge FI in the upward direction. I do wonder how creative Athena will get with all those ships. Hopefully she won't concentrate her fleet-o'-doom to my detriment. It looks as though I will have to hold off on the Emancipation Proclamation...

[Cromagnonman]

I think I will try to keep my VP and NM down by shuffling around HQ's between generals every turn. I might also try to create a Politics option for a drunken Lincoln to send Queen Victoria a Daguerrotype of his bare derriere, increasing FI by 75 or something. Are the ledger options easily modded?

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[Cromagnonman]

Guess I'll just have to make me an event then.

[Cromagnonman]

Thanks for the help, guys. After a pitched battle with Windows 7, I added a line to the Sink the CSS Alabama event to add 75 to FI. That oughta do the trick, guess I'll find out later today or tomorrow.

[Cromagnonman]

My command "ChangeFI +75" worked, except it decreased FI by 85. Went back and changed the value to "-75," and it worked like a charm. Thanks again for your help. Of course, having given up on letting the CSA achieve FI due to VP and NM, I ended up knocking their NM down to 25 the sane turn that Britain & France DoW'ed.
I've begun the invasion of Canada and aid to Mexico, hopefully that can all be cleaned up before the redcoats arrive in force. Probably not bloody likely.

[Cromagnonman]

"Perfidious Albion" DoW'd in Late Sep '62, and by Late Dec the 6 divisions I sent north have taken Quebec & Fort Erie, earning Meade his 3rd Star. The division I sent to Mexico found itself unable to dislodge the French from Vera Cruz.
With drafts and taxes, I expect to be able to recruit 10-20 divisions this turn, and soon liberate Canada completely. Mexico will take longer; I expect it will be fastest to sail to Matagordo and march south from there with a couple fresh divisions.
So far the British fleet has cruised the gulf stream, but hasn't dared the coastal waters where my monitors hold sway. Their piecemeal entries into the blockade and shipping boxes have been pretty ineffective as well. My expedition to Mexico will probably require a big naval battle somewhere, though. Wish I coulda built some ships out of Live Oak. But I should be able to use the initiative to concentrate my blue-water fleet where & when Adm Milne doesn't expect it.