Earl Grey v Dargeeling

[soundoff]

End of February 62 report and Early March move

Well February went in the Carolinas as I'd expected it to. Savannah fell. Not that there was ever a doubt that it would. My guns actually did a wee bit of damage to Jacksons corp as it assaulted. Ah well another glorious entry in the annals of this war


So my tenuous foothold in North Carolina is now no more. So moving swiftly onto Virginia we find the situation as follows:

Well for starters winter is still firmly upon us and as you can see from the Corp information Grant is still esconced in Stafford but with Sherman now having his divisional command. Ideally I'd have liked to send the Corp surging across the Rappannock but just did'nt believe I had the necessary odds. Even now (with Sherman having a division command) I dont think its advisable to assault both Bonhams and Smiths corps at Fredricksburg so I intend to hold Grant in position.

I'm moving Stevens command of two divisions from Fairfax to Stafford to join Hamilton (currently a corp commander without a corp) Once thats happened I might be able to think offensively with Grant. I do need to be careful though as Lincoln has issued War Order No2 and I'm mindful that I have very little covering Washington should the Confederates spring a surprise on me. Whipples command, having rested for a turn, has now recovered sufficient cohesion to enable me to press on with the decision to move him to Culpeper to work in tandem with Berrys force.

I was severely tempted this time around. Barksdale has a way with him of suckering me in. The temptation. Well for the CSA, Holmes Corp has been removed from Charlottesville. A beautiful target. Berrys Corp in Culpeper is ideally placed. Reluctantly I've decided against it. My reasoning is as follows. The yellow box around my supplies for Berrys Corp demonstrates that supplies are becoming a problem. As shown on the map my only forward supply depots are at Harpers Ferry and Washington. I am building another in Stafford but its not ready yet. Thus Culpeper is about out of resupply range for my troops let alone Charlottesville were I to move Berry there. His situation would become desperate and he's already eating into valuable reserves.

Another detrimental side effect of moving him at this time to Charlottesville would be extending my line a tad too much for my liking. I'd be spread out mighty thin and with Jackson likely to be back by the end of March and Johnston probably raising a new Corp from all the recuits Barksdale called for in December and January in Richmond. So I've decided to sit tight and continue to look no more than whistfully at Charlottesville. I dont like giving up the initative in this way. Particularly as I reckon that my opponent has been surprised by my reluctance to bed down in winter quarters. Its just that I see no alternative than to regroup and consolidate for this turn...and perhaps a few more depending upon what lies before me in March.





Two divisions of Butlers Corp (that is returning from Savannah) landed in home territory so they are being rushed to Washington. At this particular time my only thought for them is to defend the capital but I'm mindful that I can easily be outflanked on my right (as I would look at it) and that Winchester and Harpers are very very lightly defended.

For 62 I'm initally setting myself limited objectives for the Virginia Theatre By the end of the year I'd like to be holding Charlottesville and, if possible, Fredricksburg. If I cant do both or either then I hope I'll have sufficent CSA forces tied down to enable me to make progress elsewhere. The other move I'm planning is to gather a Corp at Taylor. I've started it but it needs nurturing. I want it three divisions strong. Once assembled I intend to strike at Covington and hopefully create a forward supply depot there. It would make a handy forward base from which to raid the confederate interior.




Now on to the centre or specifically the Kentucky and Tennessee Theatre



Here my plans for 61 went sadly amiss. Polk at Isand 10 and the early raised Confederate division at Forts Henry and Donelson really put a spanner in the works, particularly given my decision at the very start not to 'upset' Kentucky. I had toyed with the idea of continuing to respect Kentucky's neutrality during 62 but I need to create another front and it has to be in this area. If I leave Kentucky alone then it limits me to Tennessee and the Mississippi. I'd be risking awfully long lines of supply. So with great reluctance I've decided that Kentucky has to be 'liberated' I've divisions spread out all over. Milroys command at Paducah is nicely placed but I need that force to keep Polk in place (assuming he's still at Island 10) When the weather breaks we are going a scouting for him.

The force that does have serious potential for doing damage is Thomas's at Louisville. Not only does he have a pretty handy Corp but also in the region is Fosters command with the 24th Division which should be enough to keep the city secure. So for 62 the aims are quite simple. Occupy the state of Kentucky and then move into Tennessee. By years end I'd like to hold Humbolt in the east and Nashville in the centre. Ideally I'd like to have taken Forts Henry and Donelson but will be happy if they are 'isolated'





In the very far West again its a stay as you are year if I can get away with it.


Nothing much else to report except Foreign Help ticked up another 1 point and the confederacy went with Full Mobilization so obviously Barksdale needs the troops as much as I do which in a perverse sort of way is comforting.

[soundoff]

The Early March 62 orders have been processed and its time to think about Late March. Early March really was all about taking breath and consolidating. The Virginia Theatre now looks like this:



There is just the start of a spring thaw but lots and lots of mud around. Most uncivilised. The Confederate armies are concentrated in two regions ...Albermarle and Fredricksburg but they hold both in strength. I also have to be aware that the new units that my adversary has purchased will be on stream now and gathering in force somewhere. Jackson and his Corp I presume is now moving back from Savannah to Virginia as fast as the railroad can carry him. I expect him to arrive at the end of Early April. And of course Granny Lee will be active soon, if he is'nt already. So even though I'm quite happy with my strength in Virginia I still intend to play it cautiously, at least for the time being.

So the planned moves are for Whipples Corp at Culpeper to assault Charlottesville in the hope that I can begin to exert pressure on the Confederate left flank. Before I make that move I'm going to transfer the 6th Division from Whipples command to Berry. I cant afford for the CSA to punch a hole through me at Culpeper and perhaps isolate Whipple. Franklins Corp of two divisions at Washington I'm moving to Stafford to support Grant. I'm also channelling some new Brigades to Stafford to enable Hamilton to create another Corp in that region. I'm sending cavalry forward with each corp for scouting and screening.

Butler has now landed and has been given command of the Army of the Potomac. I'm moving him to Washington to take command of the newly created 23rd and 32nd Divisions in that city.

A wee bit further east, just off the map, at Cincinnati I'm moving a division under F Porter to Grafton (unfortunately because of weather conditions it will take the month) When he arrives I will be able to release L Rousseaus small Corp to advance on Covington.


As for Tennessee and Kentucky the weather, I'm sad to report, is still extremely harsh as you can see but a couple of confederate cavalry units have begun to attempt to probe my positions. I've ringed them in yellow. Charleston was being besieged by McCulloch so I withdrew my cavalry unit that had been holding the city. The Rebels duely gained control.

Further west I took Rolla with a cavalry unit but lost Jefferson City to an enemy cavalry unit. I'm going to attempt to take it back with Lyons Cavalry in late March.





Foreign Help has ticked up to 68....looks like I'm going to have to take on the Brits and French at this rate ARRRGH. This really is turning into a case of both Barksdale and myself jockeying for position rather than committing ourselves at this stage. At least for me it makes it all very interesting. I'm not sure whether I'm over or under estimating him. What I fear is Robert E and Stonewall landing a hammer blow somewhere on the front line. I would be far more comfortable if I had one or both of them spotted.....and Johnston come to that.

I've recruited the following:

Indiana
2 x 1 infantry and 1 sharpshooter Brigades
1 x 2 infantry and 1 cavalry Brigade

Ohio

4 x 2 Infantry Brigades
3 x 12lb Artillery

[cobraII]

Keep up the great work i watching attently you have written your aar so well that can feel the suspencion of not knowing where Jackson, lee, and Johnson are. Great job

[soundoff]

Late March 62 result and Early April move. So winter is finally abating. I suppose I can expect significant rebel cavalry moves into my rear areas soon. I hope this year I can return the favour so to speak.

Commencing with the Virginia Theatre well Charlottesville fell to Whipples Corp. It was only garrisioned by a Militia unit so the position was quite easily carried. Sadly the Corps cohesion was seriously compromised. Its just going to have to sit for a move or two. With STILL no sign of Jackson, Lee or Johnston I'm beginning to get really uneasy. So this time around the order is to consolidate some more. To that end I'm intent on moving Berry from Culpeper to Charlottesville to support Whipple. I hope to move Grant from Stafford to plug the gap. That will leave only Thomas's and Hamiltons Corps holding Stafford. I'm going to combine them and trust that the CSA will not make a push in that region this turn (I hope they think that Grant will remain in place)

I reckon that Barksdale may well be surprised that I have not tried to assault Fredricksburg with Grant. Trouble is I'm not sure whether even Grant was strong enough to carry the day. After all the two Confederate Corps are dug in. I also could not be sure that Holmes Confederate corp would not go 'Marching to the Sound of the Guns' and Bonham and Smiths rebel corps would be picking up Beauregards bonuses. Finally I'd have been advancing in bad weather across the Rappannock. At this stage of the war I hardly think it was worth the gamble. Well thats my judgement on it anyway.

Butlers two division army I'm moving as fast as I can to Stafford to stiffen Thomas's Corp and make the region further secure for the future. It is a little easier to move (at least for the time being) as I've repaired many of the railroads in the east.

On a general note I've ordered several cavalry regiments across the continent to advance irrespective of weather conditions. Thus in the Virginia area we have the following moves planned:

1st US Cavalry from Charlottesville to Montgomery
3rd PA Cavalry from Culpeper to Nelson
10th Pennsylvania Cavalry from Manassas to Culpeper


On my right flank in the West Virginia Theatre I have Porters division moving from Parkersburg to Grafton to garrison the city and depot. The depot is too important for my 62 plans to leave lightly defended. L Rousseaus single division Corp at Grafton is moving on assault stance to Covington. It should take exactly 14 days so could happen this turn but any movement delay and he will not arrive till late April.

The 3rd Ohio cavalry at Grafton is moving to Salem in Virginia which should take 9 days with the 1st US cavalry attempting the path from Summer, West Virginia to Lexington Virginia. Not being shown is US Cavalry at Tyler heading for Marion and the 4th Ohio from Lawrence to Sullivan.


Onwards and Upwards to Tennessee and Kentucky A quiet turn in this area and on my side at least another quiet move planned. I'm beginning to push cavalry scouts out, particularly in the Bowling Green area and will try to move 2 supply wagons from Cincinnati to Louisville. The intention being to then provide them with a sizable escort before moving to Bowling Green to create a depot. At Louisville I have the makings of a substantial Corp gathering under Thomas which I think I'll use for the purpose.



In the far West well what can I say. I retook Jefferson City. We really are only sparring in Missouri.

Foreign Help for the Confederacy is now 69. For those who might be interested my NM is 91 the Rebels 107.

In Indiana I'm building 1 Ironclad

On the replacement side I'm calling for:
3 Infantry
1 Light Infantry
1 Skirmisher
1 Field Artillery.
Thats really because moving in inclement weather does have its downside when it comes to troop losses. leure:

On a more personal note Thanks very kindly Cobra for the words of encouragement. Its comforting to know that there is a least one out there who is finding these feeble efforts of mine enjoyable to read. It does make the whole exercise worthwhile. As an aside I have a completely revised opinion of what it takes to keep one of these AAR's going. I thought it would be relatively simple but they take me hours and I dont think its because I'm that slow. I have the greatest admiration for those players who have gone before and completed them often more than once.

[veji1]

Waow, nice AAR. You might want to take one objective city soon, in order to avoid the trickling up of the foreign intervention score... Remember that if you manage to hurt him and push your NM above his, he would have to go on the offensive to restore hope of getting the Foreign intervention...

I have to say, Foreign intervention would make the game even more interesting in the long run... you would be forced to the defensive in Virginia, trying to deal with Canada and protecting your east coast, meanwhile trying to hasten victory "inland" in the West...

[soundoff]

Thankee for the compliment most kindly Veji. Now I'm really stuck on the horns of a dilemma so to speak. I've had the latest processed turn back from Barksdale and in respect of Foreign Intervention it sure does make interesting reading. Hopefully I'll write it up later. I know what I must do to stop intervention happening. The thing is though that the dice rolls whenever I've done the 'Total Embargo' or when Barksdale has invoked the 'Cotton Embargo' have gone so much against me that now I'm almost itching for the event to fire. I've never had it happen which is one reason....and a damn fine one for wishing it to happen. I'd like to know if only the once how it pans out. There's also the fun of having it happen in an AAR PBEM game that's somehow intriguing. Mind you there's also the downside of having it happen in an AAR PBEM game when I'm trying not to make too much of a fool of myself. I also want to give Barksdale a good game and wonder whether I'm up to it if he gets those additional forces particularly as my first game against him was an unmitigated disaster.

So do I actually want him to have those two extra French divisions, The British army with 2 corp and another couple of divisions in Canada. Not to mention the British and the French navies. On the one hand its Oh Heck NO WAY I'm hard enough pressed as it is. Then again though it might just might be a lot of fun, particularly if I can rise to the challenge. What a choice. Mind you that's assuming he'd allow me to do what I'd need to do in order to get that intervention figure falling.

[tagwyn]

Stupid question: What are the little squares which look like a back-bone arising from several units? T

[soundoff]

Well its on to the Early April 62 result and the Late April move.

Well to begin with when I started to scroll through what had occured I was quite pleased. The confederacy went with Paper Money Printing...... more inflation thought I. My feeling of satisfaction was quickly dashed however when I read that the CSA went with the 'Cotton Embargo' +12 to engagement. My luck with the dice rolls for this event, and for the 'Total Blockade' has been abysmal. Would you just look at that intervention figure. I reckon it is going to fire this year unless I can make significant inroads into the CSA position. I will not use my last 'Total Blockade' card until it ticks into the 90's which I do not believe I can stop from happening.






I need some victories, and some strategic cities and I need them this year. So on to the Virginia Theatre. Still no sign of Stonewall or Lee. Now if I were a betting man I'd reckon that Stonewall is sitting just behind Bonham and Holmes at Franklin just waiting to support either of them. But thats me guessing. So this turn I'm attempting to send cavalry forward where ever I can obviously all on evade mode.

The 2nd Pennsylvania is to move from Culpeper to Franklin. The 10th Pennsylvania from Culpeper to Louise The 3rd PA 'Youngs' KY Lt Cavalry from Charlottesville to Henrico. P Kearny with the 1st MD Union Cavalry from Montgomery to Whyte. The 1st US cavalry from Lexington to Whyte (the other one) Finally the 3rd Ohio from Salem to Pulaski. As you can see ( from the sort of yellow rectangle) I took Covington with Rouseaus small command. I intend to stay put for now. In the more critical parts of Virginia Hamiltons small Corp will attempt to move from Stafford to Culpeper. Grant I'll continue to hold...just in case Jackson is behind Bonham and Holmes at Fredricksburg and Albermarle respectively. At Charlottesville I'm going to attempt to assault Lynchburg with H Berrys Corp for reasons I hope to make clear.

The final piece is that Butler has been given an order to locate to Buffalo, just in case that Intervention fires.

Ok so on to my reasoning. The blue lines indicate attempted cavalry movement on my part. As I've already stated all cavalry will be on evade mode. The red line indicates Berrys line of march. Its the yellow lines though that are the most interesting. I figure that Barksdale must cover a possible assault by my two Corps at Charlottesville towards Richmond. After all its the obvious move on the Union side. Amherst county, immediately to the South West of Charlottesville is clear of enemy. That only leaves Buckingham County beyond and then Richmond. Its easily reachable in 14 days so I'm as certain as I can be that he will block the route in some way. Its the move I'd actually make but for one important fact. Whipples Corp is not active. Barksdale will not know that but sadly its true. Its a bitter pill to swallow.

So reckoning that Barksdale sensibily must put a block in that area I've decided perhaps foolishly to divide the Corps and head Berry for Lynchburg. It has no immediate strategic importance but would position him to be able to move both east towards Richmond, or west towards Nashville (although thats far away) I am mindful that I need to get something going in Tennessee. If I had to I could always fall Berry back to Covington.



Thats the plan anyway. As you can see from the image below I dont think I should meet significant opposition. There is VanDorn at Lynchburg with the 1st Virginia Cavalry. JEB Stuart with the Laurel Brigade and a couple of other brigades plus a Militia unit inside Lynchburg.



As to the centre and specifically the Tennessee and Kentucky theatre There is little going on from my side so I'm not showing an image this time around. Here I hope to move Thomas's Corp to Bowling Green from Louisville. Trouble is even by Riverine its going to take 22 days. The US cavalry at Marion I'm sending to Guilford NC and the 4th Ohio at Sullivan to Lexington NC. The Confederate 1st Texas Cavalry has arrived at Meade, I presume scouting out for a possible assault on Louisville.

I really do need to start to co-ordinate my actions in this theatre and get something moving soon.



Finally a little information on general Corp sizes

Franklin 49,000 at Stafford.
Hamilton 21,000 at Stafford moving to Culpeper.
Grant has about 50,000 at Culpeper.
Berry 35,000 at Charlottesville.
Whipple 43,000 at Charlottesville.
Rouseau 10,000 at Covington.
Dix with 18,000 at Cincinnati.
Porter with 12,500 moving to Grafton.
Thomas 22,000 moving to Bowling Green from Louisville.
Foster 12,000 at Louisville.
Sumners 12,000 at Salem.
Pope with 10,000 at Cairo.
Milroy with 24,000 at Paducah.
Fremont 12,000 at St Louis.
J Davis with 5,000 at Lexington.

Well thats about it for now. No recruiting or replacements for me this time around.

[Spharv2]

If you really don't want intervention to fire, you could try some of the other political concessions instead of going for blockade next time. I've never tried them, but then, I've never seen the foreign % get that high in any of the games I've played as the Union either.

[soundoff]

Theres only one other political concession in the armoury Spharv and thats the Emancipation Proclamation which would give me a reduction of 15 - 30 but it has not fired yet. I also cant remember what month and year it does fire....and I'm not going to look it up....more exciting this way.

There is also a 50% chance per turn of plus 1 to intervention for the Confederates having more NM than me and the same again for having a greater number of victory points. So it could increase by 2 per turn.

[cobraII]

soundoff he is right there are other political concessions you can make the area where it says total blockade it is right clickable just like the money and draft options however only total blockade gives you some money and a moral boost while the others take some moral and victory points away

[Spharv2]

Theres only one other political concession in the armoury Spharv and thats the Emancipation Proclamation which would give me a reduction of 15 - 30 but it has not fired yet. I also cant remember what month and year it does fire....and I'm not going to look it up....more exciting this way.

There is also a 50% chance per turn of plus 1 to intervention for the Confederates having more NM than me and the same again for having a greater number of victory points. So it could increase by 2 per turn.

No, you should be able to make commercial or territorial concessions instead of the blockade. Click on the option when you have it open again and you'll see them.

Edit - Doh, that'll teach me no to read page two before I reply.

[soundoff]

No, you should be able to make commercial or territorial concessions instead of the blockade. Click on the option when you have it open again and you'll see them.

Edit - Doh, that'll teach me no to read page two before I reply.

Well slap me in the belly with a wet cod Spharv....I thought I'd got all the politics sorted...how the heck that has passed me by I will never know...its definately an age thing. Mind you the other options dont look that inviting Many many thanks for the insight although Barksdale may well consider it a foul (help from outside and all of that)

[Jabberwock]

You're in an odd situation. I've only seen engagement run up that fast once before, and I was playing the rebs. Those options may not look very inviting in other ways, but they are much more likely to lower the engagement number. Commercial concessions look like the safest bet, but I doubt any of us has much experience with them, we're all just guessing. It's your game, your decision. Great AAR by the way.

[soundoff]

Well Jabber I thought long and hard about the 'Engagement' options particularly as the Late April 62 result was most unfriendly but more about that later. leure:

After mulling it over for the night I've decided that if the Union is still standing and the engagement figure ticks into the dreaded 90's I'm going to go with the 'Total Blockade' option again. For no other reason than its what I intended to do and would have done had Spharv not have put me right. So to use any of the other options (even though now I know they exist) would just not sit right. Its all to do with the British sense of fairplay I suppose. Anyway thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it

And thanks most kindly, for the words of encouragement regarding the AAR. From such as yourself I really do take it as a compliment.

[soundoff]

Well the Late April 62 turn has been processed by Barksdale and the Early May orders are due. I got this update ready last thing yesterday evening GMT time. Found sleeping difficult - funny how the game sometimes gets you that way

Anyhow why the rambling well after I've done and dusted this post sitting in my in tray is an e-mail from Barksdale with the processed Early May result which I'm itching to load up and take a look at but not until this update is out of the way.

So what happened. Well a lot and none of it good. Lets start with the bad or should I say disasterous news first. Just look at this in Virginia



Thats right. Berry's Corp ran slap bang into Jackson who obviously on the same turn whisked himself from place unknown to Lynchburg. His zone of control was so much greater than mine that poor old Berrys Corp had nowhere to run to. Would you just look at how many cavalry units Jackson was fielding. My only area of complaint and its a small one because it would not have altered the actual outcome of the battle, is that Jacksons force received a defensive bonus of 202 for entrenchments. Now there were only two small units in the battle that were at Lynchburg last time around (I've arrowed them in yellow). These brigades must have been comprised entirely of Irish and Chinese navvies to have completed a set of trenches for a whole corp. Mind you I suppose they could have been a leftover from the BoA.

What I really cant get over though is why Barksdale should send Jackson to Lynchburg. There seems no logic to the move. Just look at the more complete map of Virginia and hopefully you will see what I mean. With my cavalry positioned as they are east of Burkeville and South east of Charlottesville I can easily see that Jackson is unsupported. Neither is he supporting the main Virginian forces. Now why send him to Lynchburg? Be blowed if I can figure it out mind you it was a brilliant move as its smashed a whole Union corp. Now to see whether I can extract any of it.



The next image shows that getting any of Berrys Corp out is not going to be easy. Ah well Green\Green stance for his Corp. Pray to the Lord. Make sure we have brown britches on and run like hell back towards Charlottesville.

Barksdales move of Jackson was made even more frustrating for me when I looked at the map and saw that the road to Richmond is unguarded. I still cannot credit that he has not deem it prudent to cover a possible outflanking move. I must be missing something glaringly obvious. All I can think of is that as I've been playing this game somewhat conservatively he guessed that I'd head for Lynchburg rather than Richmond. Mind you in our last game I was anything other than conservative. Ah well, in for a penny in for a pound as we say over here, and onto the most risky strategy of all.

Whipples Corp at Charlottesville is active with a power of 1811. Grant at Culpeper also is ready to go. His power is 2614. Jackson cannot possibly leave Lynchburg can he? I've got Holmes Corp at Albermarle (underlined in pink) spotted together with its strength. The same goes for Smiths Corp at Fredricksburg (green) and good old Granny Lee with Braggs Corp (yellow) at Louisa. That leaves Bonhams Corp somewhere on the loose and a possible Corp under Johnston though I dont believe that either of these will be exceptionally strong. One at least is sure to be at Richmond.

So I'm issuing the general order to Whipple and Grant to assault Richmond. Whipple should arrive in 8 days while Grant who is going the long way through Charlottesville to avoid the enemy positions should be there in 13. I reckon that Whipple will bounce off but am hoping that Grant might carry the day. After all (if I understand the game mechanics correctly) neither Smith nor Holmes can march to the sound of the guns as they are more than a region away. That potentially leaves only Braggs force at Louisa. Of course there is the delightful (tongue in cheek comment) bonuses that Lee will provide to his commanders. I do feel though that there is a chance. Of course I am also assuming that Smith and Holmes will stay put but surely thats entirely reasonable. If one or both were to fall back on Richmond at this time I really would start to believe that Barksdale has the gift of second sight. Both are well dug in and have been in place for some time. Mind you one or the other might decide to assault my positions but I doubt it.

Well wish me luck folks for the die is set. I've already sent the move to Barksdale.






The situation as to what I might face at Richmond was made more problematical following another beautiful move by Barksdale. Last turn I attempted to move the 3rd Pennsylvania 'Youngs' KY Lt Cavalry from Charlottesville to Henrico on Green\Green and evade mode. The intention being to get some information regarding Richmond. Damn me if VanDorn and his cavalry Brigade from Lynchburg (yep the place where I met Stonewall) does not pop up and cut me to pieces as the battle report shows.




Slightly further West my cavalry units have raided deep into confederate territory and are cutting up railroads as fast as they can. Unfortunately supplies levels are dwindling so I must start to bring them home. I'm going to attempt to move them to Christianburg which I'm currently beseiging. My depot at Covington should be operational next turn. If it is the troops will be able to draw supply from that forward depot. Rouseaus small Corp holding Covington I am trickling reinforcements to as fast as I can. It continues to dig in.




In the Tennessee/Kentucky Theatre things are beginning to pick up a head of steam. Polk is at Charleston and a strong Rebel division is under Cheatham is currently on the river (I presume going to join him).

On my side Thomas's two divisions are almost at Bowling Green ( 4 days out) and I'm sending a further strong Division under B Prentiss from Cincinnati to join him. It should take Prentiss 16 days of sailing.

Once assembled, if I'm able, its off to see whats at Nashville. McClellan with the Army of the Ohio (in name only) is also trundling towards Bowling Green and should arrive in 22 days.


In the very far West as you can see there is not a lot of activity. Just three isolated Confederate cavalry units causing the usual damage. I'm not even mindful to attempt to chase them down.



Well thats about it and in a moment or two I can load in that Early May result. It is exciting

Oh before I go my losses are 54,000 against the Souths 33,000. My NM is 91 against 113. Foreign Intervention stuck this time around at 81. Who was it said thank God for small mercies?

On the build side well its all going into replacement infantry much I think as you would expect.

[veji1]

As always, great..

Sooooo ? How is the early may turn going ? Richmond stormed ? Triumph or disaster ?

[soundoff]

A total total disaster Veji....read all about it later. I just cannot credit that after being so 'unworried' about my forward positions Barksdale suddenly took it into his head to move virtually all his commands to Richmond. leure: leure: leure: Its what can I salvage from the wreckage.

[veji1]

Yuck... Hopefully you'll manage to retire ? I can't wait to read it.. hopefully as the union you can recover on a defensive line and try to ramp up the pressure elsewhere (which has been your weakness so far).

You can't let the rebs concentrate so you have to hit them hard in the west and with landings so that he has to send troops elsewhere...

Good luck in your recovery...

[marecone]

Fantastic AAR . I would sit for a while and prepare some attacks on harbors. There should be like 5-6 unguarded coastal cities which, if you get them, can slow down forgein intervention and increase blockade %.

Godspeed

P.S. Can't wait your next move

[soundoff]

Well here it is folks the Early May 62 result and the Late May proposed move. Its taken me a while to get around to writing this up...mainly because I just had to take stock and consider what has happened. For a while I toyed with conceding defeat. Barksdale is so much more experienced than I ...and it shows in his gameplay...so I'm not confident that I can come back from this. Then the old British Bulldog spirit kicked in and I thought....no let him win the game

Anyway as to what happened. Well Whipples attack went in on day 8 as expected and was repulsed as I anticipated. It was'nt that he was repulsed that shook me to the core....it was the SIZE of the force he faced.



At start of battle there were 206 units opposing Whipple. Yep thats right 206 The combat value of his Corp was 1633 That of the CSA was 4589. In addition the dice roll did not favour the Union side being 49 to 52 Having seen that result I knew I'd sent Grant on a suicidal assault and that his troops were blithely marching to their deaths. Sure enough on the 13th Grants command arrives and is decimated.



Being Grant he tried, my how he tried, but against those 206 units the attack was doomed to failure. The global combat value for Grant was 2284. Whipples Corp had done some damage but the CSA figure was still at an awe inspiring 4047. The dice roll went against me in this battle as well 49 against 51 So the position in the Virginia Theatre looks like this:



Now it was on looking around the map that I nearly gave up. It was not the losing of the battles. It was the way of losing and the realisation at Barksdale is matching my every move with a precision I'd never believed possible. It certainly demonstrates that experience counts. For example, when I looked at Lees force I was horrified to see the following.



That means that the move I decide to attack Richmond that my opponent suddenly vacates Albermarle in order to support Richmond. Not only that but the only other area where there is any Confederate force of significance is Spotsylvania. Jacksons Corp that had appeared at Lynchburg only a turn before to decimate Berrys Corp was similarly whisked away to Richmond to stiffen the defences together with EK Smiths Command. What am I doing so wrong to telegraph my moves in such a way to Barksdale? Why move an extremely strong Corp commanded by Stonewall to Lynchburg on one turn only to shunt them away to Richmond the following? Even if it was in order to recover (not that Jacksons Corp had suffered much in the way of loss against Berry)....if it was worth sending Jackson to hold the city...why was it not worth replacing Jacksons command with another? Theres now only a single militia unit in Lynchburg. Why vacate Albermarle after entrenching there for several turns? Had I have moved into the area it would have been undefended and given me a way of attacking Fredricksburg without crossing the Rappannoch. If suddenly Barksdale believed Richmond to be under threat why this turn and not last when Berry was also at Charlottesville with Whipple. I must have telegraphed something but what and how?

So many questions and so much I dont understand. I'm itching to see Barksdales AAR at the end of this game....just to see where I've gone wrong. I'd like to know just so I can learn.

Well as to my Corp strengths and positions just tie up the colours with the map



I only have one order for this time around. Franklin is to hold at all costs so Blue\Red Stance for him. Hamilton the same. I'm not sure Hamilton can carry out this command .....his Corp is just not strong enough but its the best I can do.

Whipple, Berry and Grant are to retreat to Culpeper as fast as they can.

So to other areas. Just to the west we have the following situation



I'm ordering Rouseau to dig in deep at Covington and rushing what meagre reinforcements I can muster to him as quickly as possible. All other Union cavalry are to return to Covington if possible this turn as two attacks on the Militia unit inside Christianburg failed. Supply for the cavalry is now critical.

In the Tennessee\Kentucky theatre the position is as follows:



Cheathams force has joined with Polk at Charleston and evaded the Paducah batteries. Its where Polks force goes from there thats the imponderable. I have naval units (yellow ringed)....all 4 elements strong covering the crossings. Trouble is Barksdale has not employed his navy to date so he's likely to negate any crossing blockade that I put up. I reckon the likely target is Cairo...though I cant rule out....given the time of year a move on St Louis. In many ways I'd go for St Louis. It was only a couple of turns ago that Rebel cavalry were outside the gates scouting the cities defenses. I'll do what I can to strengthen it but that wont be much. I've blue ringed Prentiss division moving to Bowling Green by river ......it should arrive in 4 days. Thomas's Corp that is already there I'm sending to assault Gallatin....I just have to do something in this theatre now.

As to the far west well its so peaceful out there, the birds are singing and alls well with the world so I've decided not to include an image.

Well thats it for another turn good people other than to give you a rundown on objectives.



The real biggie is Intervention cranking up to 82...as if I were not in enough trouble.

As to spending this time around, well guess what, its all going on replacements. Now arn't you surprised.

[cobraII]

after checking out barksdales aar about the battle between berry and Jackson i find he was quite as surpirsed as you were. funny how many of the biggest battles during the civil war happend this way. a couple of examples Gettyburg, Chanclorsville to a degree.
p.s. again great job on the aar i will keep reading attentivly

[acme]

Very nice detailed AAR!
i highly appreciate your courage and attidue to continue playing against a more experienced player.

[soundoff]

Late May 62 result is in and Early June orders are being sent after I've posted this update. The end of the month saw no significant engagements (did I breathe a sigh of relief) Thats not to say that the situation is any healthier than it was last time around. In some respects it may be worse. Anyway, enough of my rambling and on to the detail.

Firstly the Virginia Theatre



As you can see Grant, Whipple and Berry's decimated Corps pulled back as far as they were able. I'm just extremely glad that in retreat we were not harried by the enemy. With the exception of information on Smiths Corp at Fredricksburg my scouting ability is currently very weak. I did not dare keep my remaining cavalry units out forward. I was pleased to see that Lee did not advance and that Jackson moved to Richmond, I presume to refit. If you look at the image below and tie the colours back to the map above you will immediately understand what dire straights most of my significant commands are in.



What to do though. Thats the burning question. Well I toyed with two different strategies which I'll come to in a minute. Oh before I forget I should say that in view of the recent events in Virginia my objectives for 62 have been slightly revised. Its now a question of survival

If you would kindly peruse the next image I'll try to explain what went through my mind and what I eventually decided upon.



My first thought was what if I were to advance into Albermarle with Hamiltons Corp? Its not particularly strong but its in good order. I could perhaps also send Whipples Corp in support. It would'nt take more than 8 days so Hamiltons command would be unlikely to lose anything in the way of cohesion and Whipples command might actually gain a wee bit. I'd leave Berry in Culpeper and let Grant join him. Its only going to take his Corp one more day to arrive so both Corps would regain some cohesion. All of this thinking and movement is indicated by the dark blue lines. I figured that if I pulled it off then Barksdale would have to tie up significant forces in Spotsylvania and Louisa, marked with the yellow crosses. I also reckoned that he'd need to put a sizeable force in Buckingham, marked with the red cross just to prevent me from attempting another outflanking movement in the future. If he retook Charlottesville, a distinct possibility, he'd still not outflank my forces at Culpeper. Anyhow having thought all of that out I tossed it aside as a daft idea It depended so much on Barksdale sitting on his derryaire for another 15 days. Even if he did I doubt my Corps at Albermarle would be anything other than an inviting target next time around.

So plan B came into action. A simple plan.......retreat. The light blue lines indicate the actual line of march for the orders I'm giving to my troops. I intend to attempt to hold North of the Rappannoch as shown by the black line. If I can manage to fall back in good order then over time I'll extend the defensive line to encompass Winchester. Of course much relies upon being granted the time by Barksdale to implement this plan. If he were to punch hard at Stafford, which he has the troops to do, and Franklins Corp was to crumble then Washington would surely fall for I have no reserves neither can I raise any.

Further east the situation is slightly more encouraging, not that I can bring any real pressure to bear in this area.



Rousseau's force has yet to come under any pressure. I've used yellow arrows to highlight the exhausted cavalry regiments that have returned. You can see they are in a critical state just from the strength levels. Indeed three of them have no fighting ability at all. I've marked with a blue line the path of the one remaining forward unit as I attempt to get it 'home' so to speak.

Annoyingly you will notice that the rebel force that was garrisoning Christiansburg has disappeared. Its evidently starved to death. I'd like to hold that city if I could as it straddles the main Confederate East to West highway. The only way I can do it though is to detatch Smith's 35th Division from Rousseau which is what I intend to do. As I dont like weakening the Covington defending force in this manner I'm rushing most of Porters Division at Grafton (off map to the North) to replace Smith's force. I'm just detatching a 3 element Brigade from Porters division and ordering it to hold firm at Grafton until I can supplement it with reinforcements.

Now to Tennessee\Kentucky



Well last time in this area I made a silly move. I targeted with my 11th Indiana Cavalry regiment and attached 2nd Indiana Horse Artillery the 1st Texas Cavalry that was ripping up railroads in Ohio. So, as to be expected, the enemy cavalry retired to Lexington (ringed in yellow)....my cavalry followed....with the inevitable result that they assaulted Lexington (a futile attack that was repulsed). The upshot however is that Kentucky has now been Invaded by USA troops. Whilst I'm slightly annoyed with myself for letting it happen in the scale of the disasters that have befallen me this year it really is no big deal. So this turn I'm sending Fosters Division from Louisville to carry Lexington. The Confederates have long since destroyed the depot in that city but it will deprive them of a forward base of operation.

In red I've highlighted Mansfields Division which took Gallatin. I decided to detach him for the attack from Thomas's Corp which was at Bowling Green because I'd targeted Thomas's command with reinforcements coming from Louisville by river and I did'nt want them running around all over the territory trying to catch him up. This time I intend to move him to Gallatin to rejoin Mansfield.

In taking Gallatin of course I've uncovered that Bonham with two full divisions is in control of Nashville. Thats interesting as I had thought him to be somewhere still in Virginia.



The rest of this theatre remains pretty static. I just dont have the forces available to move to attack Polk or to attempt to cut him off from supply. All I'm going to do is to move Milroy who has just a single battery and a small infantry brigade under his control back to Cairo to help stiffen Rosecrans Corp.

Again I'm giving you no image of the far western theatre simply because there really is nothing of note happening in that area....and I certainly will not have the resources for many months to come to put any effort into Missouri.

Thats about it for this turn. Other than to say Butler is at Buffalo gathering a small division around him in preparation for the expected British Intervention sometime this year - I am a pessimist am I not

Intervention now stands at 83. Somehow my morale is still holding up. Its at 97. The Confederates are on 114. Oh and finally Barksdale went with Paper Money Printing this time around.

[soundoff]

Early June report is back and Late June 62 orders are ready for submitting.

Before I commence I should I'd like to say one thing about the way I play. I'm too long in the tooth now to be much concerned over winning or losing. Providing I dont make too much of a 'pigs ear' of things and I have fun - thats enough. I've long since got out of my system the need to worry about whether my troops have line of sight or can really do a flank attack from that angle (tabletoppers will know what I'm on about). This does lead me to play the game in what some might consider a peculiar way. I've already said in a previous post that I will not use the auto relocate facility for commanders but neither will I transfer divisions or brigades from one corp to another just because the one I wished to move has become 'inactive'. Its always seemed to me that if you dont like the 'inactive' feature of the game then disable it in the options menu rather than sidestep it ingame. I will though sometimes detach a division from a Corp for a particular mission or reassign it but it will be to somewhere else. Anyway thats just a useless bit of information on my style.

So back to the report. And to Virginia My Corps, thankfully unmolested, made it to their designated positions, north of the Rappannoch. But would you just look at the weight of those Confederate forces shepherding us North.



Theres Stonewall, Bragg and Smiths Corps at Charlottesville. Phew how I so dont want to meet that force on a dark night in June. In the centre at Albermarle there is Granny with Smiths command (obviously moved from Fredricksburg) Replacing him at Fredrickburg we have a new Corp under Earl Van Dorn - he's been doing too well to be promoted a two star

I reckon I'm fortunate that neither Jackson nor any of the two corps with him were on assault mode for I have a piddling little cavalry regiment bedded down in Charlottesville that appears to be holding up at least 80,000 seasoned rebel troops. Dont think I'll survive this set of orders with them but its pleasing to see



My own battered corps have started to recover some losses and strength but nowhere near enough. Should Johnny Reb press on in force I'd be hard pushed to stop them. I think Franklins command on my left wing should be safe from attack this time around so I may stand him down from blue\red stance to blue\orange. Its a bit like DefCom1, 2 etc....I love it I dont think that Earl Van Dorn's corp is strong enough to assault him and whilst he could be joined by Lee's army command and Smiths Corp it would require them to march.....so no co-ordinated attack on Stafford.

Its Jackson thats the real worry. With so much Confederate weight on my right wing and given his 'fast mover' trait I'm threatened with a quick dash by his corp to Winchester. I've only a motley Brigade holding that city. If Barksdale were to make the move and succeed then Harpers Ferry comes under immediate threat as does the possibility of a march across my rear, straight to Washington. If Winchester were to fall at this stage as I see it my only option would be to retreat to the Potomac. That would leave my opponent knocking on the Union front door.....not a pretty picture to conjure with.

So I'm going to make the only move I think I can. Grant is ordered to hold at Fauquier. Whipple and Berry are ordered to move to Clarke with Hamilton being commanded to move to Winchester. In all a shunt Northeast for three of my Corps. I dont like it but at this stage I believe my options to be severely limited. All I pray for is another conservative move by Barksdale.



There was a series of cavalry moves on the part of the Rebels into my territory in the east. Obviously to cut up rails but more importantly to gather valuable reconnaissance information as to the state of my reserves.....currently I have none I managed to stop two of them dead in their tracks so to speak but three have managed to bypass my forward pickets. There is the 3rd Mississipi outside of Wilmington. the 1st Louisiana at Media (I've hit this unit twice but not managed to destroy it) and the 4th Black Horse Regiment which eluded me at Culpeper and is now at Chester. The one pleasing bit of information is that one of the enemy cavalry regiments that Barksdale sent tangled with my forward pickets at Manassas. The battle report showed him I had near on 149,000 troops in the region. That may give him food for thought about making any sort of attack on the front line this time even though he will easily pick up that my cohesion levels are still poor.



Further east in West Virginia Well Porters Division arrived to strengthen the Covington defense but Nathan Forrest decided to try to retake Christiansburg. Fortunately for me General William F Smiths extremely small command, though severely outnumbered saw him off. Three cheers for Smiffy....hip hip...ah well perhaps not. Consequently I'm altering my plans slightly and sending Porter forward to Christianburg to join him. Who knows if things in this theatre keep going this way I might just might be able to force the Confederacy into diverting valuable resources from the east. To this end I'm also sending a couple of recovered cavalry units from Covington to Lynchburg. It still seems to be only garrisoned by a militia unit. I'm not intending to assault.....just seige for a turn and try to worry Barksdale a wee bit.



As you can see from the Tennessee\Kentucky image its a stand off for the time being, at least for me. I just dont have the troops available to head for Nashville. Neither do I have enough to secure my lines of advance and perhaps head for an easier target with Thomas's corp (such as Carthage)

Fosters force comprising of Humphreys 24th Division (off map) did take Lexington (good ol' boy) Sadly thats left me rather weak at Louisville so I'm moving a cavalry regiment from Louisville to garrison Lexington for the time being - yes I know its a poor use of cavalry - but needs must when the devil drives. Fosters command is ordered to return to Louisville.





That leads us nicely onto the situation slightly east. X marks the spot where Polks 2 division corp was. So whats the little tinker up to now I wonder? Well my guesses are one of two....the big sweeping arrows (arn,t they pretty?) I think he's either headed for Nashville with perhaps the possibility of shunting either his command or Bonhams further east to counter my efforts in West Virginia.....OR.....and this is the option I favour....he's moving on St Louis. I cant see the sense in having moved Cheathams division up the Mississippi to join him at Charleston just to move him back again...too much like country dancing that would be. So I favour St Louis. Fortunately for me in the St Louis area there is 'MUD MUD glorious MUD' everywhere so that will slow him down.

For my part I've come to a reluctant decision. I've held two divisons at Paducah for almost a year now. Doing diddly squat. I cant move forward and I've been loathe to fall back. Trouble is I need those divisions. So I'm moving a cavalry regiment from Cairo to Paducah it should take 9 days. If they manage it they can hopefully fire the depot next turn. From Keyes command I'm stripping Lyons division and starting to move him towards Bowling Green. It will take some time. When he arrives I'll be able to judge whether he'd be better employed staying in that area or moving further east Covington way. Keyes and his remaining division I'm sending to St Louis just incase I'm right about Polk. If I'm not it will not be too costly in terms of lost time fortunately transporting his command by river does not take that long.




Well this turn, against my better judgement, I decided to provide you with an image of the far west just to enable you to judge for yourself that little is happening. Moseby's turned up and there are one or two irritating cavalry units on the horizon but nothing too serious. With all of my rear towns and cities garrisoned I cant stop Barksdale from chewing up railroads but he sure does quickly run out of supplies.





So thats another turn done and dusted. What else happened? Well I lost a cavalry regiment at Dallas to Sibley who attacked with a mixed formation. Now that Milroy has offloaded the one infantry brigade and one artillery battery he was commanding at Cairo I'm shuffling him to join Butler at Buffalo as quickly as I can. It will however take him some 28 days.

This turn I've gone with Exceptional Taxes and 5% Bonds to enable me to pay a bounty of 3,000 per conscript. It should raise about 480.

Spending will be as follows

Reinforcements
Ohio
1 sharpshooter
4 x 2 infantry element and 1 6lb artillery Brigades
1 x 2 infantry element, 1 6lb artillery and 1 cavalry Brigade
Pennsylvania
1 x 2 infantry elements and 1 sharpshooter Brigade
1 x 2 infantry element, 1 6lb artillery and 1 cavalry Brigade
Connecticut
1 x 2 infantry element Brigade
New York
3 x 2 Infantry element Brigades
3 x 12lb Artillery batteries.

I'm also having to invest in 5 infantry, 2 elite infantry, 2 cavalry and 2 field artillery replacements

Intervention now stands at 84. I could use the 'Total Embargo' option again but as I have said previously I'm saving it till the figure ticks into the 90's

[veji1]

So, with this situation you are right to be a bit defensive, preparing troops for possible foreign intervention. But as soon as you have a bit more air to breathe, if say the total embargo works and lowers the level, you should focus on stretching his forces and strangling him. They are not too many ways to do it :
1) force him to cover everywhere, so disembark on the coast and pillage them if you are not strong enough (as you did in Savannah) or create a new front if you can
2) probe with cavalry behind his lines, create insecurity for his troops and lowly garrisonned reardepots and citys.
3) the most important, engage in a truely ambitious naval campaign : you need to destroy him in the blockade boxes and strengthen you brown water blockade by putting fleets in the harbours of his main ports... try to bombard a few forts and storm them, it will weaken him significantly.. Blockading Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington are costly but efficient ways of hurting him. hunting down his fleets of Brigs is a must. An efficient naval strategy is really an essential part of the Union strategy because it prevents the rebs from having many War supplies and cash and makes it very expensive to build artillery, supply wagons, ironclads, as well as repairing all the railroads...

[Spharv2]

I think it's interesting how true to life the situation in the Eastern Theater has been. Union army prepares for a while, then makes a valiant effort to swing around a flank of the Confederates, a poorly coordinated attack goes in and is repulsed with heavy losses. This results in the Union falling back to defensive positions and creates the opportunity for a Confederate counter invasion. One thing I think AGEOD got perfectly right is the relative importance of the Valley for the North and the South. If the North holds it, it's nice, but ultimately, not that big of a deal, it leads nowhere. But once the South holds it, it's a dagger pointed right at the heart of the NE. From there, they can threaten just about anything. It works out just like it did in real life.

[soundoff]

3) the most important, engage in a truely ambitious naval campaign : you need to destroy him in the blockade boxes and strengthen you brown water blockade by putting fleets in the harbours of his main ports... try to bombard a few forts and storm them, it will weaken him significantly.. Blockading Charleston, Savannah, Wilmington are costly but efficient ways of hurting him. hunting down his fleets of Brigs is a must. An efficient naval strategy is really an essential part of the Union strategy because it prevents the rebs from having many War supplies and cash and makes it very expensive to build artillery, supply wagons, ironclads, as well as repairing all the railroads...

I am acutely aware of my total inability to use the naval elements in any effective or meaningful way. In large measure thats because I 'switch off' from it primarily because, at least with regards to ocean ships, I've come to the conclusion that its been poorly developed/implemented by AGEod and consequently is not worth my time learning. I fully recognise that in this belief I am likely to be sadly misguided and am hoping that Jabberwock, via the Grand Campaign, will truely demistify this aspect of the game and kindle my enthusiasm for it.

Examples of what turns me off of the naval side is an inability to really understand what use the blockade and the shipping boxes have (at least from the Union side). OK so I see the need for the CSA to build brigs to bring in dollars and weapon supplies but thats about it. You get the odd message that a naval engagement has occured and a few hits given or suffered but it does not seem to have any real significance. You dont have to worry about command limitations for fleet sizes. Once I realised that I could group every Union ship I had together and not suffer any combat penalty....that was the start of my disillusionment. Then I came to quickly realise that once a ship had been hit a few times you just sailed it back to a port to recover.....and it cost you nothing to refit. If I loose troops on land at least I have to pay for replacements...apparently sailors, and wood and sails come free of charge (or at least appear to). Then as I've mentioned in another thread I dislike the ability of offloading troops in Ocean (not coastal) zones onto what the game considers to be 'river transports'.

I know its to my own game detriment that I dont use the naval side better (particularly the brown water side). Again though you have an engagement against a fort and all you get is a one liner to the effect that you've been hit umpteen times and caused minor damage back. A travesty of a battle report. Unless Jabber enlightens me or until such time as AGEod give some attention to its deficiences I strongly suspect that I shall continue to use the naval side ineffectively.

[veji1]

indeed the naval side is a major weakness of the game, but allowing the CSA to use it at will because you can't bother to negate it is a big big mistake...

[sval06]

... but allowing the CSA to use it at will because you can't bother to negate it is a big big mistake...

True, despite the fact I am sure the union can win with no embargo at all. But it will be longer and more hazardous... ..