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slimey.rock
- Major
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- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Armies of Virginia
I thought I would give a sneak peak at my army disposition in Virginia. You should note that the corps under Beauregard will be shifted into Lee's command as reason dictates. This is the army structure in Virginia as of turn 29. I should have the rest of the update later today. Also, Van Dorn's cavalry division is not currently under Smith's corps, but Smith's corps is the unofficial parent corps.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 29
Well friends, things did not play out perfectly in this turn. There is room to recover my losses, though. I'm sure you all can guess what I'm talking about. Richmond is no longer in my control. However, I'll talk more about this in a minute.
Longstreet was successful in taking Alexandria. With my full army of 82,000 behind him, I'd hope so
.
For some heroic or idiotic reason, Butterfield send a suicide cavalry charge straight into Beauregard's lines. Two of the cavalry regiments were destroyed. I'm guessing Longhairedlout was slapping his face for this accident.
Well here it is. The disaster at Richmond. All of my unlocked units were able to escape, but I did lose several regiments of infantry and militia. I did underestimate my enemies strength a bit. I calculated his troops with lowered cohesion so it gave a low end estimate.
Just as a side note, when I calculate enemy troop numbers, I'll usually multiply the power rating by 15. This gives a pretty accurate estimation assuming that they are at full cohesion (something you have to watch out for).
This is just a little piddler battle. I'm guessing this cavalry was meant to cut the rail at Louisa. Good thing Jackson was there to set things straight.
Ok, so here's exactly what happened last turn. At day 4 Kearny arrived in Richmond and took the town. Lee along with an army HQ, naval engineer, and some supply wagons retreated into Buckingham. Jackson engaged the cavalry at Louisa at day 8. At day 9, Jackson arrived in Richmond in defensive stance. Kearny WAS in offensive stance, but actually retreated before engaging Jackson; however, he did not retreat out of the region. This means that my opponent retained control of Richmond for the turn.
The impact of this mishap is that now my NM sits at a lowly 74 while my opponents is at 141! This is a consequence of not moving my capital. Another consequence is that my money supply has been reduced to 35/turn. I will not regain my regular money capacity until I regain Richmond or I pay to move my capital. I have opted for the latter because I'm not giving up on Richmond yet.
Amazingly, the event to release Lee has fired on the turn that he fought a battle and would have been released anyway
. I'm not one to complain, though. When life gives you Lee's, make Leemonade 
. Because Lee is unlocked and I just happened to have an Army HQ waiting for him, I've assigned him the Army of Northern Virginia and switched Jackson's corps over to his army. Smith and Longstreet will stay with Beauregard for the meantime. I do plan on switching them to Lee's control soon, tough.
Jackson has been given what he wants. Orders to drive the Yankee dogs from the streets of Richmond. His command still hasn't fully recovered from Alexandria, but Kearny's corps is in no better shape. I don't have 2:1 odds, but I think Jackson's veteran divisions will make short work of the Green Federals. The fate of the South now rests on Lee and Jackson's shoulders.
After the loss of Richmond, Buchanan sent his ships into the James to avoid capture. I think this is a classic case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Buchanan now faces a massive Union fleet with few places to hide. I've decided to sent him South to the port North of Petersburg. He has evasive orders and I can only hope the Northern guns don't catch him.
In Northern Virginia, I've taken the town of Alexandria. This will give me some much needed time to recuperate from the recent battle. A. P. Hill has conveniently arrived this turn. I've taken this opportunity to give Kirby Smith's division to Hill. As you may have noticed from my previous post, Smith has been given command of the 3rd confederate corps.
Some development of note is that the enemy across the river have taken quarters inside the city of Washington. If I had advanced across the Potomac last turn, I would have a healthy siege on the town right now. Of course, there was no way of me foreseeing this and I can't risk trying to trap them inside Washington now in case they opt to come out of the fort while I'm marching toward them. If this happened, my forces would be sent sprawling back to Alexandria and risk loosing everything that I fought to gain.
The Federals have reorganized their forces into two main corps under Pope and Rosecrans. Each has about 1500 worth of power. I'm guessing the enemies strength is somewhere in the ballpark of 50,000; matching my current forces at Alexandria.
It seems that a militia regiment has been recruited at Harper's Ferry, so my little invasion by Van Dorn was not quite successful. Since Van Dorn's cohesion is so low, I've decided to keep him in defensive stance and initiate a siege of the ferry.
Out West, Forrest scared Humphrey's cavalry across the river. Not exactly the direction I was looking for, but oh well. I'm sending Forrest back to Nashville with evasive orders in case Berry's 3 divisions come marching after them. Lee's cavalry will ride down to Humphrey's position to hopefully scare them back to Kentucky.
I've decided to keep J. Johnston in his exposed position one more turn. I just hate to lose those level 4 entrenchments . If Grant does march against him, his force will be facing 7 enemy divisions against his own 2.
Now, I've decided to post another picture of the objectives tab just to give you an idea of how much the NM has shifted the past two turns. You may recall that last turn my morale was at 122 and the enemies at 91. Now the tides have turned for the worse. It is a dark day, indeed, for the Confederacy, but the good people of the South can see light in the distance and can only hope for the best.
Longstreet was successful in taking Alexandria. With my full army of 82,000 behind him, I'd hope so
.
For some heroic or idiotic reason, Butterfield send a suicide cavalry charge straight into Beauregard's lines. Two of the cavalry regiments were destroyed. I'm guessing Longhairedlout was slapping his face for this accident.
Well here it is. The disaster at Richmond. All of my unlocked units were able to escape, but I did lose several regiments of infantry and militia. I did underestimate my enemies strength a bit. I calculated his troops with lowered cohesion so it gave a low end estimate.
Just as a side note, when I calculate enemy troop numbers, I'll usually multiply the power rating by 15. This gives a pretty accurate estimation assuming that they are at full cohesion (something you have to watch out for).
This is just a little piddler battle. I'm guessing this cavalry was meant to cut the rail at Louisa. Good thing Jackson was there to set things straight.
Ok, so here's exactly what happened last turn. At day 4 Kearny arrived in Richmond and took the town. Lee along with an army HQ, naval engineer, and some supply wagons retreated into Buckingham. Jackson engaged the cavalry at Louisa at day 8. At day 9, Jackson arrived in Richmond in defensive stance. Kearny WAS in offensive stance, but actually retreated before engaging Jackson; however, he did not retreat out of the region. This means that my opponent retained control of Richmond for the turn.
The impact of this mishap is that now my NM sits at a lowly 74 while my opponents is at 141! This is a consequence of not moving my capital. Another consequence is that my money supply has been reduced to 35/turn. I will not regain my regular money capacity until I regain Richmond or I pay to move my capital. I have opted for the latter because I'm not giving up on Richmond yet.
Amazingly, the event to release Lee has fired on the turn that he fought a battle and would have been released anyway
. I'm not one to complain, though. When life gives you Lee's, make Leemonade . Because Lee is unlocked and I just happened to have an Army HQ waiting for him, I've assigned him the Army of Northern Virginia and switched Jackson's corps over to his army. Smith and Longstreet will stay with Beauregard for the meantime. I do plan on switching them to Lee's control soon, tough.
Jackson has been given what he wants. Orders to drive the Yankee dogs from the streets of Richmond. His command still hasn't fully recovered from Alexandria, but Kearny's corps is in no better shape. I don't have 2:1 odds, but I think Jackson's veteran divisions will make short work of the Green Federals. The fate of the South now rests on Lee and Jackson's shoulders.
After the loss of Richmond, Buchanan sent his ships into the James to avoid capture. I think this is a classic case of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." Buchanan now faces a massive Union fleet with few places to hide. I've decided to sent him South to the port North of Petersburg. He has evasive orders and I can only hope the Northern guns don't catch him.
In Northern Virginia, I've taken the town of Alexandria. This will give me some much needed time to recuperate from the recent battle. A. P. Hill has conveniently arrived this turn. I've taken this opportunity to give Kirby Smith's division to Hill. As you may have noticed from my previous post, Smith has been given command of the 3rd confederate corps.
Some development of note is that the enemy across the river have taken quarters inside the city of Washington. If I had advanced across the Potomac last turn, I would have a healthy siege on the town right now. Of course, there was no way of me foreseeing this and I can't risk trying to trap them inside Washington now in case they opt to come out of the fort while I'm marching toward them. If this happened, my forces would be sent sprawling back to Alexandria and risk loosing everything that I fought to gain.
The Federals have reorganized their forces into two main corps under Pope and Rosecrans. Each has about 1500 worth of power. I'm guessing the enemies strength is somewhere in the ballpark of 50,000; matching my current forces at Alexandria.
It seems that a militia regiment has been recruited at Harper's Ferry, so my little invasion by Van Dorn was not quite successful. Since Van Dorn's cohesion is so low, I've decided to keep him in defensive stance and initiate a siege of the ferry.
Out West, Forrest scared Humphrey's cavalry across the river. Not exactly the direction I was looking for, but oh well. I'm sending Forrest back to Nashville with evasive orders in case Berry's 3 divisions come marching after them. Lee's cavalry will ride down to Humphrey's position to hopefully scare them back to Kentucky.
I've decided to keep J. Johnston in his exposed position one more turn. I just hate to lose those level 4 entrenchments
. If Grant does march against him, his force will be facing 7 enemy divisions against his own 2.
Now, I've decided to post another picture of the objectives tab just to give you an idea of how much the NM has shifted the past two turns. You may recall that last turn my morale was at 122 and the enemies at 91. Now the tides have turned for the worse. It is a dark day, indeed, for the Confederacy, but the good people of the South can see light in the distance and can only hope for the best.
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slimey.rock
- Major
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- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
I should have moved my capital before Kearny arrived. At the time I was thinking wishfully and decided not to do it. Now that I've already lost my capital, I decided not to move it because I planned on reclaiming it soon anyways.
It was a really frustrating to be exploited like that. I took a risk by organizing the Alexandria attack and I paid the price. My hat's off to Longhairedlout for this one. He took the cream from my donut.
It was a really frustrating to be exploited like that. I took a risk by organizing the Alexandria attack and I paid the price. My hat's off to Longhairedlout for this one. He took the cream from my donut.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 30
Sorry for the long wait. I started writing this turn like three times, but each time got distracted. Anyways, I should be able to produce updates more regularly for the next week or so.
Whew! It seems that the South will live to fight again. Jackson's brave men clashed against Kearny's forces and sent them reeling. I think I was pretty fortunate with this battle. I had roughly 3:2 odds as the attacker against a not too shabby general. Luckily, my enemies cohesion was way down and his forces routed! I believe if this hadn't happened, the day would have been lost. The casualties of the battle are slightly against my favor, but if you factor in the 82 hits the enemy took while retreating, I came out ahead. Besides it is a small price to pay to reclaim my capitol.
As was expected, Buchanan was given a sound thrashing. Thankfully, I didn't loose any ships, but the CSS Virginia is going to need some time for repairs. I'm sending the shattered fleet to Norfolk for that very purpose.
In Richmond, I'm sending Jackson after Kearny. I gave him a bloody nose last turn, but if I can engage him again, I think I can put the last nail in his coffin. Jackson's men are exhausted, but that's never stopped him in the past. I expect my opponent to withdraw Kearny, but I'm going to give him a chase if I can.
Over to the North, not much has changed. I've decided to send A.P. Hill's division to Harper's Ferry to take the town since Van Dorn's cavalry are spent. The cavalry will return to Alexandria this turn to regroup with Smith's corps.
I was fortunate that I didn't try to lay siege to Washington last turn because Pope's corps moved out of the town last turn. If I had moved on Washington it would have resulted in a bloody repulse and possibly the loss of Alexandria. Anyways, it seems that there could be a stalemate on this front for some time.
Well, this was the move that I anticipated most, yet did nothing to prevent. Grant has marched from Ft. Henry and forced A. Johnston from his fortifications. It was a bloody battle heavily against my favor. In the screen shot it indicates that only Grant's corps engaged in the battle, but I'm sure that Thomas was also a part and proved decisive. I gave and received heavy casualties, but I have lost by all accounts. I took more casualties and received 41 hits on the retreat.
Johnston is now West of Columbus and is still exposed to a coordinated attack between Grant and Thomas, so I'm sending him pretty far South to reorganize the line in the strategic region of Madison, TN. From here I hope to fortify and prepare for Grant. This region is ideal because it is behind a stream and its central location between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. It can be outflanked, but it is a long march around. The only drawback is that it is on clear terrain and it is not ideal to fight a good offensive leader like Grant on clear terrain.
My movements will expose Island 10, but it will take Longhairedlout at least 2 maybe 3 turns of commitment to take the fort. If he chooses to take Island 10, it will buy me some time to prepare for the oncoming offensive.
I had several independent brigades inside Columbus at the time of Grant's attack. I was fortunate that the were inside otherwise they likely would have been destroyed. Fortunately, my fleet also resides inside the town so I have loaded up all of the loose men and they are floating down to Memphis and safety.
Because of Grant's offensive, he has left Fort Henry completely open. I'm sending Forrest with Cantey and Breckinridge's divisions to retake the forts. Polk will hold Nashville with Walker, Hindman, and Hardee's divisions.
Once again I'm showing the objectives screen
My morale is still below the enemies, but I'm gaining on him. I have almost twice as many victory points as my opponent so there is no immediate threat there. I have had mixed luck with foreign intervention so far, but it is not a forgone conclusion yet.
My capitol is still not at 100% efficiency. I'm only receiving 78 money this turn as oppose to 110 a few turns ago. My conscription has increased back up to 30, though. I expect in a few turns the Confederate government will be back on track after that rough patch.
Whew! It seems that the South will live to fight again. Jackson's brave men clashed against Kearny's forces and sent them reeling. I think I was pretty fortunate with this battle. I had roughly 3:2 odds as the attacker against a not too shabby general. Luckily, my enemies cohesion was way down and his forces routed! I believe if this hadn't happened, the day would have been lost. The casualties of the battle are slightly against my favor, but if you factor in the 82 hits the enemy took while retreating, I came out ahead. Besides it is a small price to pay to reclaim my capitol.
As was expected, Buchanan was given a sound thrashing. Thankfully, I didn't loose any ships, but the CSS Virginia is going to need some time for repairs. I'm sending the shattered fleet to Norfolk for that very purpose.
In Richmond, I'm sending Jackson after Kearny. I gave him a bloody nose last turn, but if I can engage him again, I think I can put the last nail in his coffin. Jackson's men are exhausted, but that's never stopped him in the past. I expect my opponent to withdraw Kearny, but I'm going to give him a chase if I can.
Over to the North, not much has changed. I've decided to send A.P. Hill's division to Harper's Ferry to take the town since Van Dorn's cavalry are spent. The cavalry will return to Alexandria this turn to regroup with Smith's corps.
I was fortunate that I didn't try to lay siege to Washington last turn because Pope's corps moved out of the town last turn. If I had moved on Washington it would have resulted in a bloody repulse and possibly the loss of Alexandria. Anyways, it seems that there could be a stalemate on this front for some time.
Well, this was the move that I anticipated most, yet did nothing to prevent. Grant has marched from Ft. Henry and forced A. Johnston from his fortifications. It was a bloody battle heavily against my favor. In the screen shot it indicates that only Grant's corps engaged in the battle, but I'm sure that Thomas was also a part and proved decisive. I gave and received heavy casualties, but I have lost by all accounts. I took more casualties and received 41 hits on the retreat.
Johnston is now West of Columbus and is still exposed to a coordinated attack between Grant and Thomas, so I'm sending him pretty far South to reorganize the line in the strategic region of Madison, TN. From here I hope to fortify and prepare for Grant. This region is ideal because it is behind a stream and its central location between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. It can be outflanked, but it is a long march around. The only drawback is that it is on clear terrain and it is not ideal to fight a good offensive leader like Grant on clear terrain.
My movements will expose Island 10, but it will take Longhairedlout at least 2 maybe 3 turns of commitment to take the fort. If he chooses to take Island 10, it will buy me some time to prepare for the oncoming offensive.
I had several independent brigades inside Columbus at the time of Grant's attack. I was fortunate that the were inside otherwise they likely would have been destroyed. Fortunately, my fleet also resides inside the town so I have loaded up all of the loose men and they are floating down to Memphis and safety.
Because of Grant's offensive, he has left Fort Henry completely open. I'm sending Forrest with Cantey and Breckinridge's divisions to retake the forts. Polk will hold Nashville with Walker, Hindman, and Hardee's divisions.
Once again I'm showing the objectives screen
My morale is still below the enemies, but I'm gaining on him. I have almost twice as many victory points as my opponent so there is no immediate threat there. I have had mixed luck with foreign intervention so far, but it is not a forgone conclusion yet.
My capitol is still not at 100% efficiency. I'm only receiving 78 money this turn as oppose to 110 a few turns ago. My conscription has increased back up to 30, though. I expect in a few turns the Confederate government will be back on track after that rough patch.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 31
Hey Acme, after I retook Richmond, my NM was 124 and his was 130. I believe that I gained 50 and he lost 10.
Ugh! A very careless mistake on my part last turn. I had W.H.F. Lee's cavalry division right on top of Humphreys, but I forgot to put him in offensive posture. So Humprey's galloped unmolested to Pulaski and scared off my infantry regiment. If I had my infantry inside the town or with orders to hold at all costs, I don't think I'd have this problem. Now Longhairedlout has my main forwarding depot for Nashville. Luckily, I believe I'll regain it.
Forrest's men stormed Ft. Henry and Donelson last turn. A great recovery for me and another thorn in the side of my enemy.
A.P. Hill's men marched to Harper's Ferry to regain the town. His men were successful and I'm happy to gain the extra VP per turn.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Richmond[/size]
Kearny's men ran back to their boats 1 day before Jackson could arrive. Although the immediate threat to Richmond is gone, I'm not taking any chances. There are a few obvious moves that my opponent could make with Kearny. It is possible that he could make a quick lunge at Richmond from the river. This would pretty much be suicide, but it's possible nonetheless.
Another more likely route he might take is for Norfolk which has basically been abandoned for some time. To prevent this, I'm railing Robert Hoke's division to Norfolk to resist a landing there. I'm sending Jackson to the region just South of Richmond to act as a reactionary force. From there he can rail to Norfolk, Richmond, or Alexandria within 1 turn.
My opponent might also send Kearny to Ft. Monroe or Washington to recover and lick their wounds. I find this to be the most likely, but I'm going to cover all my bases just the same.
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
I now have a solid control of Northern Virginia and even parts of Maryland. To further my defenses, I'm sending Smith's corps to Loudon to cover any flanking attack the enemy might make in that direction. If he wants to go around my position, he will have to trek over the treacherous mountains. A.P. Hill will also be marching to Join his parent corps there.
It appears that McClellan has been sacked. I can't blame Longhairedlout. McClellan's failure at Alexandria was inexcusable. Now Rosecrans has taken his place. This is not really good news because Rosecrans has randomed a respectable 4-3-2. This should increase my difficulty in this theater considerably.
Another corps has been created under Franklin at Baltimore with two divisions. I'm not sure of the strength yet, but I'm pretty sure they are or will be full soon.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
As I mentioned earlier, Humphreys has taken Pulaski which is a vital depot for Nashville's supply. Therefore, I've sent a double whammy against him. Bragg has been given a new corps with Walker's division. He will rail down to Pulaski to save the depot. W.H.F. Lee is also on his way to Pulaski to help track down and destroy Humphreys.
Forrest now has Fort Henry. It is a considerable victory for me and it means that the only ground that I've lost in this theater is at Bowling Green and Columbus. However, I thought about it for a while and decided that it is just now practical to defend Fort Henry. It is too isolated from Nashville to be defensible at this point in the game. I have, therefore, decided to destroy the fort. It will take me 15 days to destroy it so I might be exposed to Grant's forces. I've decided to set Forrest on defend and retreat with evade combat orders. Hopefully, I'll be able to destroy the fort unmolested.
Grant took a swing at Johnston last turn, but just missed. Johnston quickly fled South to Madison to set up defenses there. If Grant decides to march South, he will be greatly outnumbered, but I have 1 division from Memphis on the way along with numerous independent brigades. Any other forces necessary will be railed from Nashville.
Speaking of Grant, there is a major crossroads that my opponent can make here. He can either march directly South and make a dash for Memphis or he can try to cross the Tennessee and wrestle Nashville from my grips. This is a big decision for him and I'd say there's a 50:50 shot at either objective. I'll have to react to whichever one he chooses, but I'm pretty sure I can transfer troops fast enough between Memphis and Nashville to be able to halt his advance.
[SIZE="4"]Transmississippi[/size]
I know I have neglected this theater in the past, but there's a reason for that. Nothing's happening That is until now. Longhairedlout has abandoned Rolla so I'm sending Price there to claim the town. J. Johnston is on his way to Fayetteville with the Army of the Mississippi headquarters. It is still very hypothetical right now, but in my mind's eye, I'd like to capture St. Louis 
Ugh! A very careless mistake on my part last turn. I had W.H.F. Lee's cavalry division right on top of Humphreys, but I forgot to put him in offensive posture. So Humprey's galloped unmolested to Pulaski and scared off my infantry regiment. If I had my infantry inside the town or with orders to hold at all costs, I don't think I'd have this problem. Now Longhairedlout has my main forwarding depot for Nashville. Luckily, I believe I'll regain it.
Forrest's men stormed Ft. Henry and Donelson last turn. A great recovery for me and another thorn in the side of my enemy.
A.P. Hill's men marched to Harper's Ferry to regain the town. His men were successful and I'm happy to gain the extra VP per turn.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Richmond[/size]
Kearny's men ran back to their boats 1 day before Jackson could arrive. Although the immediate threat to Richmond is gone, I'm not taking any chances. There are a few obvious moves that my opponent could make with Kearny. It is possible that he could make a quick lunge at Richmond from the river. This would pretty much be suicide, but it's possible nonetheless.
Another more likely route he might take is for Norfolk which has basically been abandoned for some time. To prevent this, I'm railing Robert Hoke's division to Norfolk to resist a landing there. I'm sending Jackson to the region just South of Richmond to act as a reactionary force. From there he can rail to Norfolk, Richmond, or Alexandria within 1 turn.
My opponent might also send Kearny to Ft. Monroe or Washington to recover and lick their wounds. I find this to be the most likely, but I'm going to cover all my bases just the same.
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
I now have a solid control of Northern Virginia and even parts of Maryland. To further my defenses, I'm sending Smith's corps to Loudon to cover any flanking attack the enemy might make in that direction. If he wants to go around my position, he will have to trek over the treacherous mountains. A.P. Hill will also be marching to Join his parent corps there.
It appears that McClellan has been sacked. I can't blame Longhairedlout. McClellan's failure at Alexandria was inexcusable. Now Rosecrans has taken his place. This is not really good news because Rosecrans has randomed a respectable 4-3-2. This should increase my difficulty in this theater considerably.
Another corps has been created under Franklin at Baltimore with two divisions. I'm not sure of the strength yet, but I'm pretty sure they are or will be full soon.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
As I mentioned earlier, Humphreys has taken Pulaski which is a vital depot for Nashville's supply. Therefore, I've sent a double whammy against him. Bragg has been given a new corps with Walker's division. He will rail down to Pulaski to save the depot. W.H.F. Lee is also on his way to Pulaski to help track down and destroy Humphreys.
Forrest now has Fort Henry. It is a considerable victory for me and it means that the only ground that I've lost in this theater is at Bowling Green and Columbus. However, I thought about it for a while and decided that it is just now practical to defend Fort Henry. It is too isolated from Nashville to be defensible at this point in the game. I have, therefore, decided to destroy the fort. It will take me 15 days to destroy it so I might be exposed to Grant's forces. I've decided to set Forrest on defend and retreat with evade combat orders. Hopefully, I'll be able to destroy the fort unmolested.
Grant took a swing at Johnston last turn, but just missed. Johnston quickly fled South to Madison to set up defenses there. If Grant decides to march South, he will be greatly outnumbered, but I have 1 division from Memphis on the way along with numerous independent brigades. Any other forces necessary will be railed from Nashville.
Speaking of Grant, there is a major crossroads that my opponent can make here. He can either march directly South and make a dash for Memphis or he can try to cross the Tennessee and wrestle Nashville from my grips. This is a big decision for him and I'd say there's a 50:50 shot at either objective. I'll have to react to whichever one he chooses, but I'm pretty sure I can transfer troops fast enough between Memphis and Nashville to be able to halt his advance.
[SIZE="4"]Transmississippi[/size]
I know I have neglected this theater in the past, but there's a reason for that. Nothing's happening
That is until now. Longhairedlout has abandoned Rolla so I'm sending Price there to claim the town. J. Johnston is on his way to Fayetteville with the Army of the Mississippi headquarters. It is still very hypothetical right now, but in my mind's eye, I'd like to capture St. Louis
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 32
Thanks MrT, glad to be back 
I'm afraid I've fallen behind in your own AAR, but I'm looking forward to catching up 
We had a few smallish Skirmishes this turn, but nothing to get in a fuss about. Over at Columbus, Grant finished the job he set out to do and captured the locked garrison at Columbus. I have officially lost the town.
I'm sure this was a mistake on my opponents part, but two cavalry regiments bungled right into my army at Alexandria. I'll take every win I can get and I'm happy to not have to hunt those raiders down.
This last fight was a small skirmish West of Ft. Henry. It is only significant because I came to discover that the single cavalry regiment I thought was under Wallace actually turned out to be 5. The idea of a large force of organized cavalry is not something I'm looking forward to. I'm sure that Wallace is going to be a pain for me, but I doubt if I can do anything about it.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
I was very lucky this turn. I nearly faced a significant defeat. As you will notice from the screenshot, Rosecrans now occupies Harper's Ferry. The lucky part is that A.P. Hill's lone division left the town and narrowly escaped disaster. I will be the first to admit that this was blind luck and I had no inclination that Longhairedlout would even think to strike there. I now have Hill's division attached to Kirby Smith's corps and are within the safety of MTSG. The problem is that Rosecrans is in a perfect position to flank my front lines and capture the critical depot at Manassas. It would be a risky move on his part, but possible nonetheless. To solve this problem, I've chosen my worthy commander Jackson to return from the Richmond area. I've ordered Jackson to rail there and if Rosecrans strikes he will face an uphill battle against hard odds.
Kearny's ships withdrew from the James last turn. I searched for his forces, but have come up with nothing. I have no idea where or when he might turn up, but I have a feeling that it won't be anywhere pleasant. For now Richmond and Norfolk are safe and that is welcome news. From what I can tell, I slightly outnumber my opponent on the front. If Kearny quickly returns to the front that advantage will slip into the opposite spectrum.
I have left Hoke's division at Norfolk as my coastal reaction force. He is basically my reserve. Hood has appeared and I'm sending him to Petersburg to begin organizing a new division.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Humphreys has been stopped and the depot at Pulaski has been saved. I wasn't able to draw him to battle, but I did save the precious depot and that's all that really matters. Bragg is being sent to Decaturville, TN to help Johnston against Grant and Lee is being sent East to drive Humphreys out of Tennessee.
I've decided to draw my front line a little further North on more defensible terrain. Johnston will march North to Humbolt, TN because that terrain is wooded instead of clear. Forrest is still in the process of destroying Ft. Henry, but should finish early in the turn. After he is done, he will march West across the Tennessee river to link my line of defense with MTSG. A.P. Stewart is being given my next division. He is inactive this turn, so I haven't formed it yet, but he has a few brigades with him and will march to Decaturville to meet Bragg there and join his corps.
Grant is now at Columbus, but I have a feeling they won't stay there for long.I know his men are below full cohesion, so I'm hoping that they will stay at Columbus to rest for the turn. If he marches South at all, I'm afraid that a battle may be drawn. I want to avoid this if possible, but I also want that ground.
Some really troubling news is that 3 divisions under Erasmus Keyes have appeared out of nowhere upstream from Island 10. There's nothing I can do to save the fort. It is just one of those keystone steps that the North takes on their unstoppable march South. This means that the enemy will be fronting 13 divisions to my, soon to be, 8. Not quite 2:1, but quickly approaching that. I'm going to really have to coordinate my men efficiently otherwise my opponent will consolidate his forces against my scattered corps. Currently, I'm scrambling to secure my pieces together to withstand Grant's hammer.
I'm afraid I've fallen behind in your own AAR, but I'm looking forward to catching up
We had a few smallish Skirmishes this turn, but nothing to get in a fuss about. Over at Columbus, Grant finished the job he set out to do and captured the locked garrison at Columbus. I have officially lost the town.
I'm sure this was a mistake on my opponents part, but two cavalry regiments bungled right into my army at Alexandria. I'll take every win I can get and I'm happy to not have to hunt those raiders down.
This last fight was a small skirmish West of Ft. Henry. It is only significant because I came to discover that the single cavalry regiment I thought was under Wallace actually turned out to be 5. The idea of a large force of organized cavalry is not something I'm looking forward to. I'm sure that Wallace is going to be a pain for me, but I doubt if I can do anything about it.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
I was very lucky this turn. I nearly faced a significant defeat. As you will notice from the screenshot, Rosecrans now occupies Harper's Ferry. The lucky part is that A.P. Hill's lone division left the town and narrowly escaped disaster. I will be the first to admit that this was blind luck and I had no inclination that Longhairedlout would even think to strike there. I now have Hill's division attached to Kirby Smith's corps and are within the safety of MTSG. The problem is that Rosecrans is in a perfect position to flank my front lines and capture the critical depot at Manassas. It would be a risky move on his part, but possible nonetheless. To solve this problem, I've chosen my worthy commander Jackson to return from the Richmond area. I've ordered Jackson to rail there and if Rosecrans strikes he will face an uphill battle against hard odds.
Kearny's ships withdrew from the James last turn. I searched for his forces, but have come up with nothing. I have no idea where or when he might turn up, but I have a feeling that it won't be anywhere pleasant. For now Richmond and Norfolk are safe and that is welcome news. From what I can tell, I slightly outnumber my opponent on the front. If Kearny quickly returns to the front that advantage will slip into the opposite spectrum.
I have left Hoke's division at Norfolk as my coastal reaction force. He is basically my reserve. Hood has appeared and I'm sending him to Petersburg to begin organizing a new division.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Humphreys has been stopped and the depot at Pulaski has been saved. I wasn't able to draw him to battle, but I did save the precious depot and that's all that really matters. Bragg is being sent to Decaturville, TN to help Johnston against Grant and Lee is being sent East to drive Humphreys out of Tennessee.
I've decided to draw my front line a little further North on more defensible terrain. Johnston will march North to Humbolt, TN because that terrain is wooded instead of clear. Forrest is still in the process of destroying Ft. Henry, but should finish early in the turn. After he is done, he will march West across the Tennessee river to link my line of defense with MTSG. A.P. Stewart is being given my next division. He is inactive this turn, so I haven't formed it yet, but he has a few brigades with him and will march to Decaturville to meet Bragg there and join his corps.
Grant is now at Columbus, but I have a feeling they won't stay there for long.I know his men are below full cohesion, so I'm hoping that they will stay at Columbus to rest for the turn. If he marches South at all, I'm afraid that a battle may be drawn. I want to avoid this if possible, but I also want that ground.
Some really troubling news is that 3 divisions under Erasmus Keyes have appeared out of nowhere upstream from Island 10. There's nothing I can do to save the fort. It is just one of those keystone steps that the North takes on their unstoppable march South. This means that the enemy will be fronting 13 divisions to my, soon to be, 8. Not quite 2:1, but quickly approaching that. I'm going to really have to coordinate my men efficiently otherwise my opponent will consolidate his forces against my scattered corps. Currently, I'm scrambling to secure my pieces together to withstand Grant's hammer.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 33
There's not a whole lot to report this turn. The only battle was the one sided assault on Island 10 with predictable results. With the loss of the fort, the Federals have access to all of the Mississippi and it's tributaries.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
Well it seems that Rosecrans' only mission was to destroy A.P. Hills division. Fortunately, lady luck was on my side and Hill's forces are still full of piss and vinegar. Rosecrans has seen fit to withdraw back to the defenses of Washington. I believe that Jackson is behind their line of sight so he shouldn't know I have an extra 25,000 men ready to MTSG on my front line. However, I don't expect him to attack any time soon and I have no plans of doing the same.
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk[/size]
I failed to mention this last turn, but I have officially "swapped" Lee and Beauregard. Now all of my corps are under the army of Northern Virginia. Beauregard is still of use to me, though, and right now his services are being rendered at Norfolk with Hokes division.
I finally spotted Kearny. It turns out that he simply went to Ft. Monroe. His three divisions are still in play around Richmond so I think it's important that I keep Jackson and Beauregard "loose" so that they can react to any movements.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Nashville[/size]
It seems fairly clear to me that my opponent's next goal is Memphis. With that in mind, I don't anticipate much action around Nashville in the coming months. I will, of course, remain vigilant and look for any opportunities.
W. Lee is still chasing down Humphreys. I suspect that by next turn he will be out of Tennessee.
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
Things are getting dicey here. With the loss of Island 10, my enemy has the opportunity to flank my position. I was hoping that the swamps of the region would act as a shield on my left flank, but now that they occupy the swamps, I must shift the line to protect the flank. Johnston will march West to Dyer, TN and Bragg will march Northwest to Johnston's old position. Bragg now has two corps under Walker and Richard Taylor, who appeared this turn. At this point my line is very weak. Taylor's division needs replacements and more artillery. The only advantage is that he is in the center and capable of drawing on all of my divisions from the front line. If Grant strikes my wings, I'm only going to be able to draw a total of 4 divisions to the field against perhaps 10.
I would feel much better if all of my corps supported each other, but with the loss of Island 10, I have to protect Memphis from the exposed flank.
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
Well it seems that Rosecrans' only mission was to destroy A.P. Hills division. Fortunately, lady luck was on my side and Hill's forces are still full of piss and vinegar. Rosecrans has seen fit to withdraw back to the defenses of Washington. I believe that Jackson is behind their line of sight so he shouldn't know I have an extra 25,000 men ready to MTSG on my front line. However, I don't expect him to attack any time soon and I have no plans of doing the same.
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk[/size]
I failed to mention this last turn, but I have officially "swapped" Lee and Beauregard. Now all of my corps are under the army of Northern Virginia. Beauregard is still of use to me, though, and right now his services are being rendered at Norfolk with Hokes division.
I finally spotted Kearny. It turns out that he simply went to Ft. Monroe. His three divisions are still in play around Richmond so I think it's important that I keep Jackson and Beauregard "loose" so that they can react to any movements.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Nashville[/size]
It seems fairly clear to me that my opponent's next goal is Memphis. With that in mind, I don't anticipate much action around Nashville in the coming months. I will, of course, remain vigilant and look for any opportunities.
W. Lee is still chasing down Humphreys. I suspect that by next turn he will be out of Tennessee.
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
Things are getting dicey here. With the loss of Island 10, my enemy has the opportunity to flank my position. I was hoping that the swamps of the region would act as a shield on my left flank, but now that they occupy the swamps, I must shift the line to protect the flank. Johnston will march West to Dyer, TN and Bragg will march Northwest to Johnston's old position. Bragg now has two corps under Walker and Richard Taylor, who appeared this turn. At this point my line is very weak. Taylor's division needs replacements and more artillery. The only advantage is that he is in the center and capable of drawing on all of my divisions from the front line. If Grant strikes my wings, I'm only going to be able to draw a total of 4 divisions to the field against perhaps 10.
I would feel much better if all of my corps supported each other, but with the loss of Island 10, I have to protect Memphis from the exposed flank.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 34
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk/Richmond[/size]
Well it seems that we have had nice quiet turn for a change and for the most part, I'm happy with that. All is smooth along the James River. Kearny is still idle inside Fort Monroe and Beauregard is content to guard Norfolk. The only movement I'm making is to send Hood's division in the making over to Charles city to help build some fortifications along the peninsula.
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
Ok, so after having a turn to regain cohesion, I've found that the Army of Northern Virginia is actually quite strong. To give you an idea, of the 10 divisions within the army, only 1 doesn't have silver or gold bars of experience. What does this mean exactly? Well it means that pound for pound, my army packs quite a punch. I was taking all of this in when I compared the power ratings of my army versus the Army of the Potomac at Washington. It seems that a total strength of 3,000 power is guarding the capital and between my three corps, I'm wielding 6,117 power. Now this was a tough decision for me because 2:1 odds against a fortified opponent isn't exactly a given, but if you factor in my leader bonuses, I figured that the risk was worth the reward.
Now, I forgot to mention that when Rosecrans took over the Army of the Potomac, Longhairedlout took a considerable hit to his NM. Since Rosecrans has been in charge, I have had the lead in VP and NM. This is of little significance at the moment, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Anyways, to prepare for the attack, I'm sending Jackson and Smith across the Potomac so that they could avoid the river crossing penalties. I'm leaving Longstreet where he is to prevent an enemy push down Alexandria. Milroy is stationed at Baltimore with two divisions, whos strength I estimate at 800. If Milroy comes down to Washington this turn, I'll send Jackson and Smith over to Baltimore and Annapolis instead of Washington. This is going to be a very risky attack and if I fail to take Washington, it may be the end of hope for victory. There is a chance that Kearny will get wise and make another strike at Richmond, but I'm confident that my two reserve divisions under Hood and Hoke will be able to handle Kearny's three.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
There's some pretty bad news in this theater. It seems that Grant was able to powerhouse through Bragg's nerves. At the sight of Grant and his formidable army, Bragg tucked tail and ran. This poses a pretty major problem for me because Now Grant has cut my army in half with access to each side individually or even a quick strike at Memphis.To resist this new threat, I'm retreating back South. Johnston and Forrest have evade combat orders because I think it's most likely that they are engaged. Bragg will march to Corinth to begin establishing defenses there while Forrest and Johnston will meet up East of Memphis to hold the line against Grant. I'm confident that if I can engage Grant in a defensive battle with ALL three of my corps, I'll win decisively, but right now I'm not in a good position at all. If all of my movements are uninterrupted this turn, then I should be able to stop Grant. Otherwise, my forces may be destroyed, piecemeal.
Keyes is back on the ships and I wouldn't be surprised for a backdoor attempt at Memphis. I'll have at least one turn before he can pull off a landing, but after that I may have to send a corps to protect the town.
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk/Richmond[/size]
Well it seems that we have had nice quiet turn for a change and for the most part, I'm happy with that. All is smooth along the James River. Kearny is still idle inside Fort Monroe and Beauregard is content to guard Norfolk. The only movement I'm making is to send Hood's division in the making over to Charles city to help build some fortifications along the peninsula.
[SIZE="3"]Northern Virginia/Maryland[/size]
Ok, so after having a turn to regain cohesion, I've found that the Army of Northern Virginia is actually quite strong. To give you an idea, of the 10 divisions within the army, only 1 doesn't have silver or gold bars of experience. What does this mean exactly? Well it means that pound for pound, my army packs quite a punch. I was taking all of this in when I compared the power ratings of my army versus the Army of the Potomac at Washington. It seems that a total strength of 3,000 power is guarding the capital and between my three corps, I'm wielding 6,117 power. Now this was a tough decision for me because 2:1 odds against a fortified opponent isn't exactly a given, but if you factor in my leader bonuses, I figured that the risk was worth the reward.
Now, I forgot to mention that when Rosecrans took over the Army of the Potomac, Longhairedlout took a considerable hit to his NM. Since Rosecrans has been in charge, I have had the lead in VP and NM. This is of little significance at the moment, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Anyways, to prepare for the attack, I'm sending Jackson and Smith across the Potomac so that they could avoid the river crossing penalties. I'm leaving Longstreet where he is to prevent an enemy push down Alexandria. Milroy is stationed at Baltimore with two divisions, whos strength I estimate at 800. If Milroy comes down to Washington this turn, I'll send Jackson and Smith over to Baltimore and Annapolis instead of Washington. This is going to be a very risky attack and if I fail to take Washington, it may be the end of hope for victory. There is a chance that Kearny will get wise and make another strike at Richmond, but I'm confident that my two reserve divisions under Hood and Hoke will be able to handle Kearny's three.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
There's some pretty bad news in this theater. It seems that Grant was able to powerhouse through Bragg's nerves. At the sight of Grant and his formidable army, Bragg tucked tail and ran. This poses a pretty major problem for me because Now Grant has cut my army in half with access to each side individually or even a quick strike at Memphis.To resist this new threat, I'm retreating back South. Johnston and Forrest have evade combat orders because I think it's most likely that they are engaged. Bragg will march to Corinth to begin establishing defenses there while Forrest and Johnston will meet up East of Memphis to hold the line against Grant. I'm confident that if I can engage Grant in a defensive battle with ALL three of my corps, I'll win decisively, but right now I'm not in a good position at all. If all of my movements are uninterrupted this turn, then I should be able to stop Grant. Otherwise, my forces may be destroyed, piecemeal.
Keyes is back on the ships and I wouldn't be surprised for a backdoor attempt at Memphis. I'll have at least one turn before he can pull off a landing, but after that I may have to send a corps to protect the town.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 35
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
Things have begun to develop in the Eastern Theater. My forces under Jackson and Smith have crossed the upper Potomac and are in position for a direct attack on Washington. The weather is fair and as far as I can tell, the odds of success are as high as they are going to be. Milroy has, for some reason, vanished. I don't have any idea where he has gone to. I have a detection rating of 2 in Baltimore so it's not like I'm just not detecting him. Anyways, I think this greatly increases my odds of not having to deal with his forces in Washington; something I think would push the odds against my favor. So, I have given the green light to all of my generals: 10 divisions, three corps, and 1 army...
Jackson and Smith will arrive on day 4, while Longstreet will arrive on day 5 (as it will take 1 day to cross the potomac). I'm hoping that Longstreet will MTSG on his way to Washington to support Jackson's main assualt. Lee is also on his was, but he has some siege guns with him so it will take him 7 days. He may also MTSG, but it's not really critical that he does. I'd say that I have a 50% chance of success. I have right about 2:1 odds and I just hope that my advantage in leaders will outweigh their advantage in entrenchments. This attack may very well mean the end of the war and guarantee the success of the Confederate States of America.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Ok, so things have not worked out perfectly for me in this theater, again. As Johnston was marching South, Grant caught up with him before he could leave the region. You can see that Grant's troops forced marched to catch up with Johnston and I think that is one of the reasons the battle results were so pleasant for me. Although the report gives the appearance of a victory through the casualty screen; in reality, I took just as many casualties as Grant from the hits I took on the retreat. The battle could have been much worse, but it could only be described as a defeat. Fortunately, I retreated into the region I was going for in the first place, so all of my corps are in position where I wanted them.
Like I said, my forces are where I wanted them, but now, my hand is being forced by the arrival of Keyes offshore from Memphis. I'm sending Forrest's corps to Memphis and it will take him 4 days. If Longhairedlout chooses to make an amphibious assualt, it should take him 5 days. So he will come onshore facing the guns of 2 full divisions against his halfcohesioned ragamuffin divisions.
Another possibility is that Grant will make a lunge down my left flank and make a strike at Memphis. I'm not sure if he can make the march, but if he can, I'm sure that he would be able to push Forrest out.
Grant also might head directly South into the region occupied by Johnston. If this is the case, I hope that Johnston will stand and fight and let Bragg MTSG and hopefully repulse the invaders.
Also, I gave command of the forces with Johnston to Theo Holmes. He now commands the 4th corps of the Army of the Tennessee.
Polk is sitting tight at Nashville. I don't expect any enemy movement in his vicinity.
Things have begun to develop in the Eastern Theater. My forces under Jackson and Smith have crossed the upper Potomac and are in position for a direct attack on Washington. The weather is fair and as far as I can tell, the odds of success are as high as they are going to be. Milroy has, for some reason, vanished. I don't have any idea where he has gone to. I have a detection rating of 2 in Baltimore so it's not like I'm just not detecting him. Anyways, I think this greatly increases my odds of not having to deal with his forces in Washington; something I think would push the odds against my favor. So, I have given the green light to all of my generals: 10 divisions, three corps, and 1 army...
Jackson and Smith will arrive on day 4, while Longstreet will arrive on day 5 (as it will take 1 day to cross the potomac). I'm hoping that Longstreet will MTSG on his way to Washington to support Jackson's main assualt. Lee is also on his was, but he has some siege guns with him so it will take him 7 days. He may also MTSG, but it's not really critical that he does. I'd say that I have a 50% chance of success. I have right about 2:1 odds and I just hope that my advantage in leaders will outweigh their advantage in entrenchments. This attack may very well mean the end of the war and guarantee the success of the Confederate States of America.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Ok, so things have not worked out perfectly for me in this theater, again. As Johnston was marching South, Grant caught up with him before he could leave the region. You can see that Grant's troops forced marched to catch up with Johnston and I think that is one of the reasons the battle results were so pleasant for me. Although the report gives the appearance of a victory through the casualty screen; in reality, I took just as many casualties as Grant from the hits I took on the retreat. The battle could have been much worse, but it could only be described as a defeat. Fortunately, I retreated into the region I was going for in the first place, so all of my corps are in position where I wanted them.
Like I said, my forces are where I wanted them, but now, my hand is being forced by the arrival of Keyes offshore from Memphis. I'm sending Forrest's corps to Memphis and it will take him 4 days. If Longhairedlout chooses to make an amphibious assualt, it should take him 5 days. So he will come onshore facing the guns of 2 full divisions against his halfcohesioned ragamuffin divisions.
Another possibility is that Grant will make a lunge down my left flank and make a strike at Memphis. I'm not sure if he can make the march, but if he can, I'm sure that he would be able to push Forrest out.
Grant also might head directly South into the region occupied by Johnston. If this is the case, I hope that Johnston will stand and fight and let Bragg MTSG and hopefully repulse the invaders.
Also, I gave command of the forces with Johnston to Theo Holmes. He now commands the 4th corps of the Army of the Tennessee.
Polk is sitting tight at Nashville. I don't expect any enemy movement in his vicinity.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 36
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Washington[/size]
Well folks, here it is. The results of my Washington attack. It was a bloody conflict and I payed dearly for it, but it seems my rashness has payed off. The forces of Rosecrans have been driven back towards Annapolis! Although it didn't show it in the battle log, I think Longstreet's men did participate in the fight (although very much in the background). Smith's corps was hit pretty hard as was Jackson's. Longstreet's corps lost a bit of cohesion, but for the most part remained out of the fray.
I'm pretty sure I was incredibly lucky in this fight. I think that either an independent command or one of the corps decided to retreat which then sent the other corps retreating. If Rosecrans had held his ground, I think it may have ended in disaster for my men as you will note from the casualty ratio along with the fact that I inflicted no hits on the enemy's retreat. However, casualty ratio or no, I couldn't be more happy with the results.
Now, my entire army sits on top of a 300 power garrison. Longstreet's corps is in good order so his men have the privilege of capturing the city. Jackson will move West to Montgomery, MD to prevent a flanking motion from the enemy and to position himself for one. He is in passive posture for quick recovery of his cohesion. Smith will stay at Washington, but he will also be in passive posture to regain cohesion and replacements faster. If the enemy were to counter attack this turn, it would be disastrous, but I found that highly doubtful since my forces are in much better order than their own.
Unfortunately, my opponent will have an easy chance to move his capitol and I will miss out on the big NM gain. Oh well, I can't have my pie and eat it.
Milroy's two divisions are still nowhere in sight. I don't have a clue where they have gone to. Maybe the West? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk/Wilmington/Mobile[/size]
I made a scary discovery this turn. Kearny has left Ft. Monroe. There has been a scouting squadron outside of Wilmington for the past few turns, so I think he might be planning a landing there.
The other, more likely possibility is that he is at Fort Pickens. As you can see from the screenshot, Ft. Pickens seems to be filled to the brim with troops, however, I can't imagine ships making it from Fort Monroe to Fort Pickens in 1 turn. Currently I don't know where he is or where he is going and I don't have the forces to spare to protect the coast on a hunch. Therefore, I'm going to wait until he reveals his intentions and hopefully by that time, I'll be in a better position to shift some troops.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Ok, so now we have some more missing corps. Keyes who, one turn ago, was outside of Memphis has now disappeared. Once again, I don't have a clue where he's gone to or what his intentions may be. For now, I have Grant pretty handily outnumbered if I'm able to combine my forces which I suppose is easier said than done. I'm sending Forrest back East so that he will be in position to MTSG to Johnston and Holmes' aid should Grant attack.
I called an embargo last turn and it turned out positive. I gained +11 FI so now my intervention level is up to 41. Suddenly, I might have a chance at FI and hopefully soon I'll capture Washington. This may mean I have a real, if long, shot of winning this fight
[SIZE="3"]Washington[/size]
Well folks, here it is. The results of my Washington attack. It was a bloody conflict and I payed dearly for it, but it seems my rashness has payed off. The forces of Rosecrans have been driven back towards Annapolis! Although it didn't show it in the battle log, I think Longstreet's men did participate in the fight (although very much in the background). Smith's corps was hit pretty hard as was Jackson's. Longstreet's corps lost a bit of cohesion, but for the most part remained out of the fray.
I'm pretty sure I was incredibly lucky in this fight. I think that either an independent command or one of the corps decided to retreat which then sent the other corps retreating. If Rosecrans had held his ground, I think it may have ended in disaster for my men as you will note from the casualty ratio along with the fact that I inflicted no hits on the enemy's retreat. However, casualty ratio or no, I couldn't be more happy with the results.
Now, my entire army sits on top of a 300 power garrison. Longstreet's corps is in good order so his men have the privilege of capturing the city. Jackson will move West to Montgomery, MD to prevent a flanking motion from the enemy and to position himself for one. He is in passive posture for quick recovery of his cohesion. Smith will stay at Washington, but he will also be in passive posture to regain cohesion and replacements faster. If the enemy were to counter attack this turn, it would be disastrous, but I found that highly doubtful since my forces are in much better order than their own.
Unfortunately, my opponent will have an easy chance to move his capitol and I will miss out on the big NM gain. Oh well, I can't have my pie and eat it.
Milroy's two divisions are still nowhere in sight. I don't have a clue where they have gone to. Maybe the West? I'm sure I'll find out soon enough.
[SIZE="3"]Norfolk/Wilmington/Mobile[/size]
I made a scary discovery this turn. Kearny has left Ft. Monroe. There has been a scouting squadron outside of Wilmington for the past few turns, so I think he might be planning a landing there.
The other, more likely possibility is that he is at Fort Pickens. As you can see from the screenshot, Ft. Pickens seems to be filled to the brim with troops, however, I can't imagine ships making it from Fort Monroe to Fort Pickens in 1 turn. Currently I don't know where he is or where he is going and I don't have the forces to spare to protect the coast on a hunch. Therefore, I'm going to wait until he reveals his intentions and hopefully by that time, I'll be in a better position to shift some troops.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Ok, so now we have some more missing corps. Keyes who, one turn ago, was outside of Memphis has now disappeared. Once again, I don't have a clue where he's gone to or what his intentions may be. For now, I have Grant pretty handily outnumbered if I'm able to combine my forces which I suppose is easier said than done. I'm sending Forrest back East so that he will be in position to MTSG to Johnston and Holmes' aid should Grant attack.
I called an embargo last turn and it turned out positive. I gained +11 FI so now my intervention level is up to 41. Suddenly, I might have a chance at FI and hopefully soon I'll capture Washington. This may mean I have a real, if long, shot of winning this fight
JK, I know you mean Washington.-
slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
-
slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Army of Tennesee
Since the structure of the Army of Tennessee has become somewhat permanent, I've decided to map it out much like that of the Armies of Virginia. If you're curious, it will let you know the ratings of my randomized generals. Enjoy!
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 37
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
Longstreet was successfully able to storm the heavy fortifications of Washington. The enemy put up a good fight and sent many Southern boys to their graves, but in the end no matter how extensive the fortifications, the fortress city fell. I now have a healthy boost in my NM and a few extra captured guns from the Washington works.
It seems that the enemy feared a strike at Annapolis and have subsequently abandoned the city. All of Rosecrans' army has moved North to Baltimore where they have begun digging their front line. Jackson and Smith's corps are in good order now and are being sent to Annapolis to liberate the city. I say liberate because it has a rebel loyalty of 51%! Jackson's corps will storm the city while Smith's men stay on the defensive in case Rosecrans decides to poke his nose down in this direction.
Alfred Pleasanton has made a dashing move and captured the Manassas depot from my hands. He has a cavalry division of some sort with unknown strength. His power is down to 77, so I'm sending Van Dorn's cavalry division down to send him back across the Potomac. Van Dorn will arrive in 5 days which is hopefully soon enough to save the depot.
JEB Stuart has been promoted to a 2 star. His division is being sent South to Port Tobacco to rid the town of it's Union garrison. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to liberate every town in Maryland. Although, I don't think that Longhairedlout will give up Baltimore without a fight.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Grant is on the move again. He marched directly into my front line at Madison. I believe that Enf may have been right about Holmes because the first thing he does at the sight of Grant's army is march as fast as he can to Corinth. I would be more angry at him, but the Army commander, Johnston, was there and I'm sure the order came from him. Also, this is not the first time this has happened to me. Bragg did the same thing a few months ago with my two other corps within range to MTSG. Not all is lost, though. I still have a strong front line protecting Memphis and Corinth. I'm sending Bragg's corps to meet up with Forrest because I think it is more likely that Grant will march to this region and I'd rather the majority of my forces be in the region instead of MTSG to make sure that there is no preliminary retreating like before.
Also, I'm not exactly sure what's happened, but Keyes' divisions have been returned to Grant's command. I'm not sure where Keyes is, but Grant's army has been reorganized into 3 corps under Pope, Thomas, and Meade. Each corps is powerful packing an average power rating of 1,500 each. I'd estimate his troops at 70,000 men. I'm boasting about 55,000. Good odds if I can just get my generals to fight and MTSG.
A new corps has been made at St. Louis under Sumner with a division under Prentiss. I've decided to pull out from Rolla and return to Springfield in case the corps decides to attack. I've also withdrawn Joe Johnston's army headquarters back to Little Rock in case Grant takes Memphis and threatens Arkansas. I had dreamed of retaking St. Louis, but now that there is an entire division there, there is no way I could divert that many troops for an offensive mission for away from secure lines of supply. For now, I will try and hold the parts of Missouri that I've got and keep an eye open for a chance to catch my opponent off guard.
Longstreet was successfully able to storm the heavy fortifications of Washington. The enemy put up a good fight and sent many Southern boys to their graves, but in the end no matter how extensive the fortifications, the fortress city fell. I now have a healthy boost in my NM and a few extra captured guns from the Washington works.
It seems that the enemy feared a strike at Annapolis and have subsequently abandoned the city. All of Rosecrans' army has moved North to Baltimore where they have begun digging their front line. Jackson and Smith's corps are in good order now and are being sent to Annapolis to liberate the city. I say liberate because it has a rebel loyalty of 51%! Jackson's corps will storm the city while Smith's men stay on the defensive in case Rosecrans decides to poke his nose down in this direction.
Alfred Pleasanton has made a dashing move and captured the Manassas depot from my hands. He has a cavalry division of some sort with unknown strength. His power is down to 77, so I'm sending Van Dorn's cavalry division down to send him back across the Potomac. Van Dorn will arrive in 5 days which is hopefully soon enough to save the depot.
JEB Stuart has been promoted to a 2 star. His division is being sent South to Port Tobacco to rid the town of it's Union garrison. Hopefully soon, I'll be able to liberate every town in Maryland. Although, I don't think that Longhairedlout will give up Baltimore without a fight.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
Grant is on the move again. He marched directly into my front line at Madison. I believe that Enf may have been right about Holmes because the first thing he does at the sight of Grant's army is march as fast as he can to Corinth. I would be more angry at him, but the Army commander, Johnston, was there and I'm sure the order came from him. Also, this is not the first time this has happened to me. Bragg did the same thing a few months ago with my two other corps within range to MTSG. Not all is lost, though. I still have a strong front line protecting Memphis and Corinth. I'm sending Bragg's corps to meet up with Forrest because I think it is more likely that Grant will march to this region and I'd rather the majority of my forces be in the region instead of MTSG to make sure that there is no preliminary retreating like before.
Also, I'm not exactly sure what's happened, but Keyes' divisions have been returned to Grant's command. I'm not sure where Keyes is, but Grant's army has been reorganized into 3 corps under Pope, Thomas, and Meade. Each corps is powerful packing an average power rating of 1,500 each. I'd estimate his troops at 70,000 men. I'm boasting about 55,000. Good odds if I can just get my generals to fight and MTSG.
A new corps has been made at St. Louis under Sumner with a division under Prentiss. I've decided to pull out from Rolla and return to Springfield in case the corps decides to attack. I've also withdrawn Joe Johnston's army headquarters back to Little Rock in case Grant takes Memphis and threatens Arkansas. I had dreamed of retaking St. Louis, but now that there is an entire division there, there is no way I could divert that many troops for an offensive mission for away from secure lines of supply. For now, I will try and hold the parts of Missouri that I've got and keep an eye open for a chance to catch my opponent off guard.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 38
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
A couple smaller battles this turn. The first contact started at Port Tobacco where the newly promoted Stuart captured the Union garrison there. Port Tobacco has no strategic value, but it was free experience and I don't like to see Union cities in the wake of my invasion.
At Manassas, Van Dorn engaged Pleasanton's cavalry. Although outnumbered, Pleasanton fought well and was able to destroy the depot. A sad day for confederate cavalry.
Jackson's men were easily able to capture Annapolis. Smith's men were in reserve, but weren't needed as the Federals didn't contest our occupation of Annapolis.
Harper's Ferry has changed hands once again as Federal cavalry overwhelmed my lone regiment.
My forces are now in sound control of Southern Maryland. I'm very pleased that I was given Annapolis without a major fight. Annapolis provides an excellent buffer between the enemy and Washington for me. Plus it is a long region and isn't particularly prone to flanking movements.
Now, I have some interesting developments to share. Due to the situation in the West, which I will explain below, Jackson is being sent West to help the effort there. Because my forces are equal to the enemies in this theater, I'm not worried about loosing Jackson's men. In order for Longhairedlout to get a solid foothold in Virginia, he's going to have to retake Washington and in order to do that, he's going to have to make a frontal assault on my fortifications. So there is really no point in me having equal odds in this theater unless I want to be on the offensive and for now, I'm content standing behind my lines.
So Jackson is being railed west, Smith is staying put, and Longstreet is marching to Annapolis to bolster the defenses there. Lee and the Army HQ will stay at Washington to protect the city.
Van Dorn is in control of Manassas, chewed rails and all. I've ordered him to repair the rails and proceed up to Harper's Ferry to retake the town.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
Wow, I don't know what to say. It seems like my generals simply won't fight Grant. Once again my forces retreated without a fight and this time they have exposed Memphis completely to the enemy! I have 1 infantry regiment between Grant and Memphis and something tells me that's just not going to cut it. There's nothing I can do to save the city and I just have to accept that it is lost.
I really don't know what to say about this. Every one of my corps commanders who has been put up against Grant has retreated without a fight. I think it is an excellent example of a weakness to MTSG. Banks has pointed this out in his last AAR about how at the face of an overwhelming enemy, regardless of how many corps are within range to MTSG, the defending corps is liable to simply abandon the field. After this experience, I would recommend that you should not count on MTSG if the enemy can field 3:1 odds against any one of your individual corps. I would suggest trying defend at all costs, but that can lead to even worse disaster. As annoyed as I was from loosing Memphis without a shot fired, it is better to let my army live to fight another day than destroy it. And ordering your men to hold at all costs is inviting destruction.
After all of this happened, I realized I'm just going to have to cut my losses. There is no imminent threat against Corinth now, so I'm sending Forrest to Pensacola to stop Kearny (who I think is definitely there now). Bragg and Holmes are now entrenched and should be able to hold against Grant should he decide to lurch that way. Jackson will be on his way from the East and I expect him to be ready for action in three turns. I haven't decided if I'll send him to Corinth or Nashville yet. Corinth makes more sense because then Jackson would replace Forrest's detached corps, but if I sent Jackson to Nashville, Polk and Jackson's men could team up and strike Berry's 3 divisions at Bowling Green and capture the depot there. Either option is open and for now, I'm going to wait to make a decision.
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
I'm pretty sure that it is Kearny inside Fort Pickins. He hasn't made his move yet, but a cavalry regiment did sneak out of the fort last turn and capture Milton and Sparta. The raider is out of my radar, but I know he's still in the region. Forrest is being railed down to Pensacola and he will arrive at day 13. Hopefully the enemy won't be able to get there sooner. I'm guessing that Kearny has his old 3 divisions from back when he captured Richmond. As long as I fight defensive battles in this swampy region, I should be able to soundly defeat him and send him back to the sea.
A couple smaller battles this turn. The first contact started at Port Tobacco where the newly promoted Stuart captured the Union garrison there. Port Tobacco has no strategic value, but it was free experience and I don't like to see Union cities in the wake of my invasion.
At Manassas, Van Dorn engaged Pleasanton's cavalry. Although outnumbered, Pleasanton fought well and was able to destroy the depot. A sad day for confederate cavalry.
Jackson's men were easily able to capture Annapolis. Smith's men were in reserve, but weren't needed as the Federals didn't contest our occupation of Annapolis.
Harper's Ferry has changed hands once again as Federal cavalry overwhelmed my lone regiment.
My forces are now in sound control of Southern Maryland. I'm very pleased that I was given Annapolis without a major fight. Annapolis provides an excellent buffer between the enemy and Washington for me. Plus it is a long region and isn't particularly prone to flanking movements.
Now, I have some interesting developments to share. Due to the situation in the West, which I will explain below, Jackson is being sent West to help the effort there. Because my forces are equal to the enemies in this theater, I'm not worried about loosing Jackson's men. In order for Longhairedlout to get a solid foothold in Virginia, he's going to have to retake Washington and in order to do that, he's going to have to make a frontal assault on my fortifications. So there is really no point in me having equal odds in this theater unless I want to be on the offensive and for now, I'm content standing behind my lines.
So Jackson is being railed west, Smith is staying put, and Longstreet is marching to Annapolis to bolster the defenses there. Lee and the Army HQ will stay at Washington to protect the city.
Van Dorn is in control of Manassas, chewed rails and all. I've ordered him to repair the rails and proceed up to Harper's Ferry to retake the town.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
Wow, I don't know what to say. It seems like my generals simply won't fight Grant. Once again my forces retreated without a fight and this time they have exposed Memphis completely to the enemy!
I have 1 infantry regiment between Grant and Memphis and something tells me that's just not going to cut it. There's nothing I can do to save the city and I just have to accept that it is lost.
I really don't know what to say about this. Every one of my corps commanders who has been put up against Grant has retreated without a fight. I think it is an excellent example of a weakness to MTSG. Banks has pointed this out in his last AAR about how at the face of an overwhelming enemy, regardless of how many corps are within range to MTSG, the defending corps is liable to simply abandon the field. After this experience, I would recommend that you should not count on MTSG if the enemy can field 3:1 odds against any one of your individual corps. I would suggest trying defend at all costs, but that can lead to even worse disaster. As annoyed as I was from loosing Memphis without a shot fired, it is better to let my army live to fight another day than destroy it. And ordering your men to hold at all costs is inviting destruction.
After all of this happened, I realized I'm just going to have to cut my losses. There is no imminent threat against Corinth now, so I'm sending Forrest to Pensacola to stop Kearny (who I think is definitely there now). Bragg and Holmes are now entrenched and should be able to hold against Grant should he decide to lurch that way. Jackson will be on his way from the East and I expect him to be ready for action in three turns. I haven't decided if I'll send him to Corinth or Nashville yet. Corinth makes more sense because then Jackson would replace Forrest's detached corps, but if I sent Jackson to Nashville, Polk and Jackson's men could team up and strike Berry's 3 divisions at Bowling Green and capture the depot there. Either option is open and for now, I'm going to wait to make a decision.
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
I'm pretty sure that it is Kearny inside Fort Pickins. He hasn't made his move yet, but a cavalry regiment did sneak out of the fort last turn and capture Milton and Sparta. The raider is out of my radar, but I know he's still in the region. Forrest is being railed down to Pensacola and he will arrive at day 13. Hopefully the enemy won't be able to get there sooner. I'm guessing that Kearny has his old 3 divisions from back when he captured Richmond. As long as I fight defensive battles in this swampy region, I should be able to soundly defeat him and send him back to the sea.
I am also in agreement with your view about MTSG, however I must say, that when MTSG is ment too take a day or so depending on distance weather rail and other factors, from a dispasionate point of view its realistic that the troops wont fight 3-1 odds under weak leaders. Holmes is especially prone too these acts of cowardice.
Overall looking good, like the fast move with Jackson, its one of my favorites also, swinging left with him, the enemy is normally so busy checking Pittsburgh or some other town, he nearly wets himself when Jackson shows up in the West.
Lets hope you can recover from that situation in the West as the east looks rather cosy.
Overall looking good, like the fast move with Jackson, its one of my favorites also, swinging left with him, the enemy is normally so busy checking Pittsburgh or some other town, he nearly wets himself when Jackson shows up in the West.
Lets hope you can recover from that situation in the West as the east looks rather cosy.
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W.Barksdale
- AGEod Grognard
- Posts: 916
- Joined: Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:17 pm
- Location: UK
MrT wrote:I am also in agreement with your view about MTSG, however I must say, that when MTSG is ment too take a day or so depending on distance weather rail and other factors, from a dispasionate point of view its realistic that the troops wont fight 3-1 odds under weak leaders. Holmes is especially prone too these acts of cowardice.
Lol they'll fight for sure if they have the numbers to do it. Often the leader will be thinking on his feet, and withdraw to fight another day, rather than risk the annihilation of his command. I love this feature it often works on the offensive too.
Even some leaderless small commands will do this for you.
edit: sorry for cluttering up your AAR
"Tell General Lee that if he wants a bridge of dead Yankees I can furnish him with one."
-General William Barksdale at Fredericksburg
-General William Barksdale at Fredericksburg
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 39
Sorry for the long delay on this update. I started making it and to put it shortly, I got distracted . I'll puck back up where the recent discussion left off.
@Barksdale - No worries. Your comments were on topic and provided useful insight. I just don't want flame wars in my thread
I don't think that Holmes is more likely to exhibit this behavior than other generals. Forrest also retreated at the face of Grant's three corps even though plenty of reinforcements were ready to MTSG. I believe that this behavior is more historic than a-historic. Like MrT said, MTSG is supposed to replicate forces marching up to an existing battle and that would mean Forrest's one corps would have to face Grant's whole army until reinforcements could arrive to relieve them. If this had really happened, Forrest probably would have made the right call by withdrawing before battle than try to hold the line until the other corps could arrive.
However, I think the way MTSG actually works, I'm pretty sure if there was a battle, I would have won. That's why I've been so annoyed with this campaign. I know if I could bring all of my forces into a defensive fight, I would win decisively. I guess that is part of the beauty of this game. Maneuvering is half the battle and my opponent gets an A+ for this maneuver. His reward is Memphis on a golden platter
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
The Eastern Theater is going to start becoming pretty bland in the coming months, but I swear the fighting's not over Over in Winchester, Hays' cavalry detachement has shaken my cavalry from their shallow fortifications. Although, I still control the town, it is rather annoying. Hays is now a hunted man
Longstreet and Smith continue to buildup their fortifications along Annapolis. Right now, we have quite the Mexican standoff and it would be suicide for either to attack. I'm quite content with this because I own Washington
Van Dorn has retaken Harper's Ferry....again. Pleasanton ran back home before Van Dorn could arrive. Now Van Dorn is going to hunt down Hays and remove his presence from the Virginia topsoil.
Winter is starting to set in. Probably because it's Early November, 1862. Luckily, I'm ready to hunker down and accept the cold.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Nashville[/size]
It has been a long time since I've shown this region. Little has changed. Berry is protecting the depot at Bowling Green and Polk protects Nashville. Berry has two divisions and Polk has two divisions plus change. I thought about sending Jackson here to force Berry out, but since I've taken Forrest to Mobile, I decided to fill the void and send Jackson to Corinth.
W.H.F. Lee's cavalry are still romping around the region. I have some big plans for them in the future.
[SIZE="3"]Corinth[/size]
Memphis has finally been lost and Grant paid the price of 186 men and 92 horses. Taliaferro's regiment was able to escape towards Madison, AR, but they didn't destroy the depot in time for Grant's arrival.
Meade's corps sits in Memphis while Pope and Thomas hold the front line NW of Corinth. I've decided to send Bragg's corps North to help protect Polk from Grant's main army. Mud is covering the region so I doubt if Longhairedlout has any offensive plans this turn, but you never know. Jackson is 16 days away from Corinth, so that is a major relief.
[SIZE="3"]Corinth[/size]
Kearny hasn't moved out of his fortress yet, but more cavalry raiders have been spotted. Butterfield has taken Mississippi City and I'm organizing an anti Butterfield force under John Wharton.
Forrest is currently at Penescola, but I'm marching him to Milton to resist a direct landing there. Should Kearny try a land crossing here, he will be bloodily repulsed. Hopefully I can make it to the region first, because it will take me 15 days to get there.
. I'll puck back up where the recent discussion left off.
@Barksdale - No worries. Your comments were on topic and provided useful insight. I just don't want flame wars in my thread
I don't think that Holmes is more likely to exhibit this behavior than other generals. Forrest also retreated at the face of Grant's three corps even though plenty of reinforcements were ready to MTSG. I believe that this behavior is more historic than a-historic. Like MrT said, MTSG is supposed to replicate forces marching up to an existing battle and that would mean Forrest's one corps would have to face Grant's whole army until reinforcements could arrive to relieve them. If this had really happened, Forrest probably would have made the right call by withdrawing before battle than try to hold the line until the other corps could arrive.
However, I think the way MTSG actually works, I'm pretty sure if there was a battle, I would have won. That's why I've been so annoyed with this campaign. I know if I could bring all of my forces into a defensive fight, I would win decisively. I guess that is part of the beauty of this game. Maneuvering is half the battle and my opponent gets an A+ for this maneuver. His reward is Memphis on a golden platter
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
The Eastern Theater is going to start becoming pretty bland in the coming months, but I swear the fighting's not over
Over in Winchester, Hays' cavalry detachement has shaken my cavalry from their shallow fortifications. Although, I still control the town, it is rather annoying. Hays is now a hunted man
Longstreet and Smith continue to buildup their fortifications along Annapolis. Right now, we have quite the Mexican standoff and it would be suicide for either to attack. I'm quite content with this because I own Washington
Van Dorn has retaken Harper's Ferry....again. Pleasanton ran back home before Van Dorn could arrive. Now Van Dorn is going to hunt down Hays and remove his presence from the Virginia topsoil.
Winter is starting to set in. Probably because it's Early November, 1862. Luckily, I'm ready to hunker down and accept the cold.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Nashville[/size]
It has been a long time since I've shown this region. Little has changed. Berry is protecting the depot at Bowling Green and Polk protects Nashville. Berry has two divisions and Polk has two divisions plus change. I thought about sending Jackson here to force Berry out, but since I've taken Forrest to Mobile, I decided to fill the void and send Jackson to Corinth.
W.H.F. Lee's cavalry are still romping around the region. I have some big plans for them in the future.
[SIZE="3"]Corinth[/size]
Memphis has finally been lost and Grant paid the price of 186 men and 92 horses. Taliaferro's regiment was able to escape towards Madison, AR, but they didn't destroy the depot in time for Grant's arrival.
Meade's corps sits in Memphis while Pope and Thomas hold the front line NW of Corinth. I've decided to send Bragg's corps North to help protect Polk from Grant's main army. Mud is covering the region so I doubt if Longhairedlout has any offensive plans this turn, but you never know. Jackson is 16 days away from Corinth, so that is a major relief.
[SIZE="3"]Corinth[/size]
Kearny hasn't moved out of his fortress yet, but more cavalry raiders have been spotted. Butterfield has taken Mississippi City and I'm organizing an anti Butterfield force under John Wharton.
Forrest is currently at Penescola, but I'm marching him to Milton to resist a direct landing there. Should Kearny try a land crossing here, he will be bloodily repulsed. Hopefully I can make it to the region first, because it will take me 15 days to get there.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 40
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
The stalemate continues in this theater. I haven't provided an overview picture because little has changed. The only movement was Van Dorn's cavalry division, who was able to engage Hays' cavalry. I now have complete control of the Valley. Van Dorn is going to bed down at Winchester because the weather in the mountains is not favorable for movement. There is no threat of attack and Van Dorn's division is badly in need of rest so I've put them inside Winchester away from the elements. Longstreet and Smith will tight and keep a watchful eye on the Yanks.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Northern Tennessee[/size]
There's good weather in Northern Tennessee and Illinois and W.H.F. Lee is in a convenient position to inflict some substantial damage to the enemy. There is a clear path from Lee straight to Salem, IL where there is a major crossroads depot. I imagine that there is only a single infantry regiment guarding the depot so I imagine it will be no problem for 7 cavalry regiments and 1 horse artillery element. My plan is to take the depot, destroy it, and head back home as soon as possible. This is a risky move because it is the brink of winter and bad weather could come at any moment. Hopefully I'll have a clear path home next turn and everything will run smooth.
[SIZE="3"]Western Tennessee[/size]
There was quite a bit of unexpected action this turn. The fighting kicked off at Covington, TN where Sherman was sent to capture the town. I, of course, lost the garrison and the town and I'm guessing that Sherman is one step closer to commanding a corps.
This was a truly unintended fight for me. Normally you want to avoid any fights that you don't choose to make, but in this case, you have to take a piece of good luck when you can and swallow the bad when it comes your way. Fortunately, this fight was heavily in my favor. Bragg was ordered North from Corinth to block Grant from Nashville and to my surprise, Heintzelman was brought to battle with less than a division in clear terrain against Bragg's two divisions under strong leaders. You may remember that Heintzelman was the leader who Jackson had so much trouble engaging in the east. This time, i caught him in assault posture so a battle was imminent. Heintzelman lost over 3 times as many men and that's not counting the hits he took on the retreat, which happened to be 31. In total, I estimate he lost about 2,500 men. A lucky victory that I'm happy to have. I'll need more battles like this in the future.
Jackson is only 1 day away from Corinth now which is good news for me.With Jackson's divisions added to my Johnston's men, I'll have about 41,000 men (if you don't count Forrest at Mobile) and I estimate the enemy has about 60,000 effectives around Memphis.
I don't have any major movements planned except for Jackson's corps moving to Corinth. I'm not sure what Longhairedlout is going to do this turn. There's a lot of mud around Memphis so another idle turn would not surprise me. He has a cavalry regiment in the same region as Jackson so I know that he knows that Jackson has changed theaters. I know I caught him off guard with that move .
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
Longhairedlout has thrown a curveball here. I thought he would take the mainland by Pensacola, but little did I know he would sail around and land in Mississippi City. He was sneaky enough to capture the city with Butterfield last turn so his ships were able to sail right into port. So much for a contested landing A piece of good fortune has fallen my way, though. Last turn I ordered Forrest to move to Milton, where I thought Kearny would land. Anyways, Forrest was somehow delayed and was 1 day behind schedule and because of this, he is still in the Pensacola region and not in the Milton region. Now, I'm railing Forrest across the swamps to cross the Mobile River. He will arrive in 11 days, which is way sooner than Kearny could ever make it because of the mud.
Now this little phenomenon of being able to magically turn around mid march is a small flaw I've never really been happy with. Even though Forrest was one day away from Milton, he was still technically in the Pensacola region and could have marched to any region just as quickly as if he hadn't marched at all last turn. If I had made my march 1 day faster and made it to Milton, it would take me twice as long to march towards Mobile than if I was 1 day away from Milton. Of course, I can't think of any better way to model marching so I'll bite my tongue on this one accept it. It does favor me in this instance anyways
There's been a lot of cavalry raiding in this region for the invasion. I think I have everything mostly under control. The only town he occupies now is Mississippi City which I have no hope of retaking unless he gives it to me.
From what I can tell, Mobile is more than safe. However, it did occur to me that he might make a jab at New Orleans. Luckily, there are 3 regions of nothing but muddy swamp between New Orleans and Kearny and Should he make a run for it, I'll rail Jackson South to save New Orleans. He might also take to the seas again and run the Fort's at the Mouth of the Mississippi River. If he takes this course, it may be a little more difficult to save New Orleans and that is a city whose resources I can't afford to lose. I have 9 regiments of infantry protecting the city, but that won't stop 3 divisions. Also, I'm sending the European Brigade to Fort Pike to help protect the Fort and New Orleans in case he makes a run at it. I don't know if you've ever tried to assault a fort with 6 experienced regiments of infantry and full fort batteries and coastal artillery, but it's no cakewalk.
The stalemate continues in this theater. I haven't provided an overview picture because little has changed. The only movement was Van Dorn's cavalry division, who was able to engage Hays' cavalry. I now have complete control of the Valley. Van Dorn is going to bed down at Winchester because the weather in the mountains is not favorable for movement. There is no threat of attack and Van Dorn's division is badly in need of rest so I've put them inside Winchester away from the elements. Longstreet and Smith will tight and keep a watchful eye on the Yanks.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Northern Tennessee[/size]
There's good weather in Northern Tennessee and Illinois and W.H.F. Lee is in a convenient position to inflict some substantial damage to the enemy. There is a clear path from Lee straight to Salem, IL where there is a major crossroads depot. I imagine that there is only a single infantry regiment guarding the depot so I imagine it will be no problem for 7 cavalry regiments and 1 horse artillery element. My plan is to take the depot, destroy it, and head back home as soon as possible. This is a risky move because it is the brink of winter and bad weather could come at any moment. Hopefully I'll have a clear path home next turn and everything will run smooth.
[SIZE="3"]Western Tennessee[/size]
There was quite a bit of unexpected action this turn. The fighting kicked off at Covington, TN where Sherman was sent to capture the town. I, of course, lost the garrison and the town and I'm guessing that Sherman is one step closer to commanding a corps.
This was a truly unintended fight for me. Normally you want to avoid any fights that you don't choose to make, but in this case, you have to take a piece of good luck when you can and swallow the bad when it comes your way. Fortunately, this fight was heavily in my favor. Bragg was ordered North from Corinth to block Grant from Nashville and to my surprise, Heintzelman was brought to battle with less than a division in clear terrain against Bragg's two divisions under strong leaders. You may remember that Heintzelman was the leader who Jackson had so much trouble engaging in the east. This time, i caught him in assault posture so a battle was imminent. Heintzelman lost over 3 times as many men and that's not counting the hits he took on the retreat, which happened to be 31. In total, I estimate he lost about 2,500 men. A lucky victory that I'm happy to have. I'll need more battles like this in the future.
Jackson is only 1 day away from Corinth now which is good news for me.With Jackson's divisions added to my Johnston's men, I'll have about 41,000 men (if you don't count Forrest at Mobile) and I estimate the enemy has about 60,000 effectives around Memphis.
I don't have any major movements planned except for Jackson's corps moving to Corinth. I'm not sure what Longhairedlout is going to do this turn. There's a lot of mud around Memphis so another idle turn would not surprise me. He has a cavalry regiment in the same region as Jackson so I know that he knows that Jackson has changed theaters. I know I caught him off guard with that move
.
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
Longhairedlout has thrown a curveball here. I thought he would take the mainland by Pensacola, but little did I know he would sail around and land in Mississippi City. He was sneaky enough to capture the city with Butterfield last turn so his ships were able to sail right into port. So much for a contested landing
A piece of good fortune has fallen my way, though. Last turn I ordered Forrest to move to Milton, where I thought Kearny would land. Anyways, Forrest was somehow delayed and was 1 day behind schedule and because of this, he is still in the Pensacola region and not in the Milton region. Now, I'm railing Forrest across the swamps to cross the Mobile River. He will arrive in 11 days, which is way sooner than Kearny could ever make it because of the mud.
Now this little phenomenon of being able to magically turn around mid march is a small flaw I've never really been happy with. Even though Forrest was one day away from Milton, he was still technically in the Pensacola region and could have marched to any region just as quickly as if he hadn't marched at all last turn. If I had made my march 1 day faster and made it to Milton, it would take me twice as long to march towards Mobile than if I was 1 day away from Milton. Of course, I can't think of any better way to model marching so I'll bite my tongue on this one accept it. It does favor me in this instance anyways
There's been a lot of cavalry raiding in this region for the invasion. I think I have everything mostly under control. The only town he occupies now is Mississippi City which I have no hope of retaking unless he gives it to me.
From what I can tell, Mobile is more than safe. However, it did occur to me that he might make a jab at New Orleans. Luckily, there are 3 regions of nothing but muddy swamp between New Orleans and Kearny and Should he make a run for it, I'll rail Jackson South to save New Orleans. He might also take to the seas again and run the Fort's at the Mouth of the Mississippi River. If he takes this course, it may be a little more difficult to save New Orleans and that is a city whose resources I can't afford to lose. I have 9 regiments of infantry protecting the city, but that won't stop 3 divisions. Also, I'm sending the European Brigade to Fort Pike to help protect the Fort and New Orleans in case he makes a run at it. I don't know if you've ever tried to assault a fort with 6 experienced regiments of infantry and full fort batteries and coastal artillery, but it's no cakewalk.
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
Turn 41
[SIZE="4"]Eastern Theater[/size]
Once again, little is happening in this theater. I went ahead and provided a picture just in case you all forgot The real action is in the West this turn, so that is where we will head.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
I was really surprised by this move, but luckily my generals had their hats on straight and were able to deal with the problem. Longhairedlout sent Pope and Thomas' corps against Bragg North of Corinth. Heavy fighting ensued and the attackers were sent back time and time again. The casualty ration wasn't exactly like Bragg's performance last turn, but he fared pretty well. Pope took a few hits on the retreat as well. Jackson and Holmes did MTSG, but they didn't engage in much fighting. I believe Johnston held them in reserve. Longhairedlout expressed that he didn't think Thomas' corps engaged in the fighting. I have no idea if this is true or not, but if it is true, I think he got pretty lucky with the casualties, because it could have been a lot worse especially since I had all of my corps to bare in the fight.
Now Pope and Thomas are still in the same region as Bragg. Pope's corps is pretty shaken up, but Thomas appears to be in decent order (except for Heintzleman's division who took that pounding from Bragg last turn). Anyways, I've decided to go on the offensive here and take the battered and isolated corps by force. The weather is really against my favor (frozen), but I've been looking for a way to regain the initiative in this theater and I think an assault upon Pope and Thomas without Grant is just the way to go. I think if I engage them, I'll take heavy casualties at first, but if I can get Pope's shaken men to retreat or rout, Thomas will be forced to withdraw under pressure. So, I've ordered Holmes and Jackson to march across the frozen ground in offensive posture to seize the field. Bragg will stay in defensive posture because I don't want to engage the enemy until Jackson and Holmes arrive.
If you look over at Grant in Memphis, it appears that Sherman got his promotion. Now longhairedlout will have a good offensive corps commander in the region.
[SIZE="3"]Pulaski[/size]
Yet another unexpected move by longhairedlout. His inactivity in the East is overcompensated by his scheming in the west Robert Mitchell with 4 cavalry elements chased off my infantry guarding the Pulaski depot South of Nashville. This is the second time the same infantry regiment has been chased away from that depot. I'm about to throw them in the stockade if they don't start acting like Southern soldiers. 
Anyways, the Tigers Brigade has arrived in Nashville from Louisiana and I've sent them under Ruggles to retake the depot. I'm sending them by rail so they should have no problem saving the depot in time.
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
Over in Mobile Forrest has arrived and settled into the nice trenches that Pemberton was nice enough to dig for him . Kearny also was on the move last turn. It seems that he decided to walk around the mud to try and make it to Mobile. He now sits on the rails North of the city. He brought three divisions with him, but I'm afraid that's too little too late. The Mississippi River would dry up before he will be able to dislodge me from the Mobile swamps with only three divisions. I'm not sure what his plans will be, but I do know that Mobile is safe. He also has another division under Banks at Mississippi City where he has established a depot. It seems that he plans on being in the region for a while and he is adamant about keeping his depot if he has a whole division guarding it.
I can rest easy knowing that Mobile is safe. The problem is that Kearny now has new options. Meridian isn't out of the question and I think he could make the march in a turn even though the ground is frozen. I have no troops to spare for the crossroads depot and if he takes it, I'll just have to live with it. This is the kind of situation that is very advantageous for the Union. Several clear objectives that can only be guarded one at a time. If I were to split my forces to cover both Meridian and Mobile, he could capture each one piecemeal.
As I mentioned earlier, it looks like Kearny and Banks are in this invasion for the long haul, so I have decided to give them a few more things to worry about. I have two ironclads inside Mobile that I'm sending to the coasts of Mississippi City along with Raphael Semmes entire blockade running fleet to cut of the flow of supplies to Banks' army. If successful, Banks and Kearny will be forced to head North and meet up with Grant, capture a town along the Mississippi River and draw supplies from there, or withdraw from the coast altogether and head home. I hope for the latter.
[SIZE="3"]Salem[/size]
My worst fears have been realized with W.H.F. Lee. First, he was unable to completely destroy the garrison and capture the depot. Second, the ground is completely frozen all along Illinois extending South down the Mississippi valley all the way to Meridian. I have two option here. I can either head home and hope the weather clears next turn or I can assault the city again and capture the depot and supplies. Naturally I chose the latter.
There are two demi divisions at St. Louis, but I'm in the process of busting up the rail lines between Salem and St. Louis so hopefully they won't be able to reach me in time. Although, I have noticed that troops are quite capable of using rail lines the turn that they are destroyed.
Once again, little is happening in this theater. I went ahead and provided a picture just in case you all forgot
The real action is in the West this turn, so that is where we will head.
[SIZE="4"]Western Theater[/size]
[SIZE="3"]Memphis[/size]
I was really surprised by this move, but luckily my generals had their hats on straight and were able to deal with the problem. Longhairedlout sent Pope and Thomas' corps against Bragg North of Corinth. Heavy fighting ensued and the attackers were sent back time and time again. The casualty ration wasn't exactly like Bragg's performance last turn, but he fared pretty well. Pope took a few hits on the retreat as well. Jackson and Holmes did MTSG, but they didn't engage in much fighting. I believe Johnston held them in reserve. Longhairedlout expressed that he didn't think Thomas' corps engaged in the fighting. I have no idea if this is true or not, but if it is true, I think he got pretty lucky with the casualties, because it could have been a lot worse especially since I had all of my corps to bare in the fight.
Now Pope and Thomas are still in the same region as Bragg. Pope's corps is pretty shaken up, but Thomas appears to be in decent order (except for Heintzleman's division who took that pounding from Bragg last turn). Anyways, I've decided to go on the offensive here and take the battered and isolated corps by force. The weather is really against my favor (frozen), but I've been looking for a way to regain the initiative in this theater and I think an assault upon Pope and Thomas without Grant is just the way to go. I think if I engage them, I'll take heavy casualties at first, but if I can get Pope's shaken men to retreat or rout, Thomas will be forced to withdraw under pressure. So, I've ordered Holmes and Jackson to march across the frozen ground in offensive posture to seize the field. Bragg will stay in defensive posture because I don't want to engage the enemy until Jackson and Holmes arrive.
If you look over at Grant in Memphis, it appears that Sherman got his promotion. Now longhairedlout will have a good offensive corps commander in the region.
[SIZE="3"]Pulaski[/size]
Yet another unexpected move by longhairedlout. His inactivity in the East is overcompensated by his scheming in the west
Robert Mitchell with 4 cavalry elements chased off my infantry guarding the Pulaski depot South of Nashville. This is the second time the same infantry regiment has been chased away from that depot. I'm about to throw them in the stockade if they don't start acting like Southern soldiers. Anyways, the Tigers Brigade has arrived in Nashville from Louisiana and I've sent them under Ruggles to retake the depot. I'm sending them by rail so they should have no problem saving the depot in time.
[SIZE="3"]Mobile[/size]
Over in Mobile Forrest has arrived and settled into the nice trenches that Pemberton was nice enough to dig for him
. Kearny also was on the move last turn. It seems that he decided to walk around the mud to try and make it to Mobile. He now sits on the rails North of the city. He brought three divisions with him, but I'm afraid that's too little too late. The Mississippi River would dry up before he will be able to dislodge me from the Mobile swamps with only three divisions. I'm not sure what his plans will be, but I do know that Mobile is safe. He also has another division under Banks at Mississippi City where he has established a depot. It seems that he plans on being in the region for a while and he is adamant about keeping his depot if he has a whole division guarding it.
I can rest easy knowing that Mobile is safe. The problem is that Kearny now has new options. Meridian isn't out of the question and I think he could make the march in a turn even though the ground is frozen. I have no troops to spare for the crossroads depot and if he takes it, I'll just have to live with it. This is the kind of situation that is very advantageous for the Union. Several clear objectives that can only be guarded one at a time. If I were to split my forces to cover both Meridian and Mobile, he could capture each one piecemeal.
As I mentioned earlier, it looks like Kearny and Banks are in this invasion for the long haul, so I have decided to give them a few more things to worry about. I have two ironclads inside Mobile that I'm sending to the coasts of Mississippi City along with Raphael Semmes entire blockade running fleet to cut of the flow of supplies to Banks' army. If successful, Banks and Kearny will be forced to head North and meet up with Grant, capture a town along the Mississippi River and draw supplies from there, or withdraw from the coast altogether and head home. I hope for the latter.
[SIZE="3"]Salem[/size]
My worst fears have been realized with W.H.F. Lee. First, he was unable to completely destroy the garrison and capture the depot. Second, the ground is completely frozen all along Illinois extending South down the Mississippi valley all the way to Meridian. I have two option here. I can either head home and hope the weather clears next turn or I can assault the city again and capture the depot and supplies. Naturally I chose the latter.
There are two demi divisions at St. Louis, but I'm in the process of busting up the rail lines between Salem and St. Louis so hopefully they won't be able to reach me in time. Although, I have noticed that troops are quite capable of using rail lines the turn that they are destroyed.
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