Fortress Monroe

[CWNut77]

As the CSA player -- can I ONLY advance on Fort Monroe via amplhibious assault? I noticed I cannot cross over from the James City Region with a land force alone.

[Doomwalker]

No, you should be able to advance from where Magruder is without having to do an amphib assault.

[mano'world]

Good question, infact I've been wondering about this aswell. I've tried to get Magruder to attack Fort Monroe from James City but nothing happens. Do you have to be very very accurate about where you drop him? Does the presence of a Union fleet in Hampton Roads prevent it (I often had this problem playing HoI2 whilst trying to attack accross straits)?

I suspect I'll receive a drubbing if I do attack Monroe, but I'd like to atleast be able to give it a go.

[Banks6060]

Yeah I just had this happen to me. Interested to see an informed response to this question.

[CWNut77]

Wow -- I am surprised this has not been brought up before then. Let's see what the development team has to say

[Franciscus]

I too have a related question. I was able (1.10d) to siege and then assault Ft Monroe via a land attack, so this is possible, yes . After, the USA AI has stationed a heavy fleet in Hampton Roads, which I have yet failed to defeat, and my Magruder division is stranded in Ft Monroe (very good AI move, by the way).I can not move either from or to Ft Monroe any land unit (strangely, supplies are getting in ? ). So, it is a water connection, between James City and Ft Monroe, blockable by warships (seems right). But what about supplies ? If unit movement is blocked, so should the supply of Ft Monroe, no ?

[Jabberwock]

There are two possibilities:

1. Magruder retreats before combat when dropped directly into Ft Monroe, rather than into the Ft Monroe region. Fort regions are extremely small and difficult to drop into, as mano'world suggests.

2. The connection between James City and Ft Monroe might be coded as a river crossing. This would cause interdiction in some versions depending on USA naval forces in Hampton Roads. This would be hisorically accurate, as the only land route to Fort Monroe was over a narrow isthmus that would have been under fire from any naval forces in the area. (I may not like the way the interdiction rule works, but it should be consistent with history in how it's applied.)

[mano'world]

Jabberwock, yeah I just tried dropping Magruder very carefully into the Fort Monroe region rather than the fort itself, keeping my eye on the terrain bar and the tool tip to check exactly where I was. I got a message saying 'can't reach the destination from here'. There happens to be a significant Union fleet in Hampton Roads at the moment whilst my 'fleet' is cowering in Norfolk.
I'll maybe try it again if there's no US fleet there and see what happens (I'm not actually playing at the moment. I'm supposed to be doing my invoices so that I can get some money in the bank but, well, you know, priorities....).
Still it would be interesting to hear other views/observations on his.

[Doomwalker]

I have never had an issue with assaulting Monroe from the position shown in the above image. Then again I do bring in some form of naval support as also shown. I will attack Monroe as soon as Magruder becomes active, and most of the time have good results from the assault. It is a very rare occasion that I have to worry about Athena and her naval assets when I start my attack.

[Daxil]

My pbem opponent has no naval forces in hampton roads and i just detected him reducing the fort's defenses. I shall soon provide a definitive answer on this question. apy:

[GShock]

Fleets in Hampton Roads blocked me many times.
That's the only problem i've had. Many times.

[Franciscus]

I too have a related question. I was able (1.10d) to siege and then assault Ft Monroe via a land attack, so this is possible, yes . After, the USA AI has stationed a heavy fleet in Hampton Roads, which I have yet failed to defeat, and my Magruder division is stranded in Ft Monroe (very good AI move, by the way).I can not move either from or to Ft Monroe any land unit (strangely, supplies are getting in ? ). So, it is a water connection, between James City and Ft Monroe, blockable by warships (seems right). But what about supplies ? If unit movement is blocked, so should the supply of Ft Monroe, no ?

Just a quick update on this, mainly to state that, as usual, I was wrong . Supplies were also blocked from getting to Ft Monroe by the AI fleet on Hampton roads (I was using the ample supplies captured there and my division had a supply unit attached). Another mistake that I once made was presuming that my forces were INSIDE Ft Monroe (they weren't) and failing to activate the "bombard ships" option. So, they just sat there a few turns sitting by the beaches and admiring how beautiful the northern armada is

Regards

[CWNut77]

*** UPDATE ***

I have (quite joyfully) proven myself wrong -- last night I successfully took Fort Monroe with a force headed by Magruder in late 1862. I took advantage of the Union fleet being upriver and the force in the fort being lessened. It was a costly assault, but I catured the fort's batteries and hopefully I can hold it. Poor Admiral Farragut will have to run by ME to get close to Richmond now

[mano'world]

Ah yes, I had forgotten about this thread but mainly because I seemed to have solved it.

Not long after my last post I noticed that there was no US fleet in Hampton Roads so, being very careful where it was placed, I got Magruder over to Fort Monroe. I then had to raise the siege because Magruder was needed elsewhere in the Virginia Tidewater but I came back and, again waiting until there was no US Fleet around slipped accross. This time I got lucky. The Feds seemed to have moved their entire garrison elsewhere and Magruder walked into an empty fort.

What happened next was bad luck and I feel like raising this point. A couple of moves later I managed to accidently destroy Fort Monroe! Don't know how but I certainly didn't want to, considering the damage I was doing to US shipping trying to get in and out of Chesapeake Bay. I suspect I accidently clicked the 'Destroy Fort' order in Magruder's tile. I know I was flicking around there in the previous move and it's entirely possible I could have accidently pressed it. The thing I would have appreciated is a 'Are You Sure You Wish To Destroy This Fort' warning.

I then tried to rebuild a fort there but it didn't seem to work. All academic now (September '63) since the Feds have taken it back again.

[Gray_Lensman]

deleted

[mano'world]

Followed by "Are You Absolutely Sure? and then Positive? for us Old Timers, since we're memory challenged. apy:

Yeah, and there might have been a couple of glasses of wine involved aswell

[CWNut77]

This sounds really strange to me -- do you have a screen cap? I thought Fort Monroe was one of the "permanent fortifications" and could not be destroyed?

[mano'world]

This sounds really strange to me -- do you have a screen cap? I thought Fort Monroe was one of the "permanent fortifications" and could not be destroyed?

Sorry, what do you mean by 'screen cap'. And you're right, I thought Fort Monroe was a permanent fixture but it's definately been destroyed in the game I'm playing and was done so by Magruder according to the message log(I'm on patch1.10c if that makes any difference).

[CWNut77]

Screen capture of your event in-game -- like what was posted above.

[Daxil]

This sounds really strange to me -- do you have a screen cap? I thought Fort Monroe was one of the "permanent fortifications" and could not be destroyed?

Fr Monroe's a pre-war fort and they can be destroyed. It's the fortifications you build - which can only be built in cities - which cant be raised. Build one in Norfolk for a similar effect- although thats a risk prop because if the union captures it they have a permanent base of operations.

As far as my attack:

19190 3562 16 + 1CSS Virginia vs 3478 31 = a trouncing. Let this be a lesson to all you Union PBEM players - do not leave Hampton Roads lightly defended. Time to blockade DC!

[CWNut77]

LOL! A Confederate blockade of a UNION port? The thought boggles the mind!

[mano'world]

Screen capture of your event in-game -- like what was posted above.

'Screen capture'. Of course!

I don't believe so. It happened many turns ago. I don't really know whether you can go back to saved games and do this. I'm not very technical in terms of games. I just play them. Even doing this blog is pushing at the limits of my know-how.

[teufel0331]

i'm also playing a pbem '61 campaign game and want to take a stab at monroe while the union's otherwise occupied (heh). however, their Hampton Roads fleet blocks my movement! so what is the final word on this: overland or oversea?

[Daxil]

If they have a fleet of 4+ elements you can try sneaking the Virginia in. Two fleets in defensive mode negate the blocking efect and you might be able to invade next turn - if your fleet isn't driven out. Having a fleet stationed near HR also helps with detection btw, so your forts will have a better chance of bombarding naval traffic.