I will be starting two threads, for players to discuss their favorite overall strategies with either side. This one is for the USA. Needless to say, this refers mainly to the main campaign game covering the entire war. While the purpose of this thread is more to discuss GRAND strategy, feel free to discuss finer details as needed.
So, what do YOU do, to win as the USA?
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slimey.rock
- Major
- Posts: 211
- Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:11 pm
- Location: Arkansas
I thought I would subsidize the Union strategy thread 
I personally am a fairly aggressive player and so I really can't tolerate passive buildup of manpower until a crushing victory can be made. During the early months of the game, I invest most of my troops to the West and TransMiss. There are several key positions that there really is no excuse for letting the Conf. have: Bowling Green, KY; Springfield, MO; Rolla, MO; and Jeff City, MO.
I've played several players who will ignore Missouri as the north, providing just enough men to defend St. Louis. However, most towns in Missouri are quite beneficial to have. Rolla and especially Springfield really have great production of ammunition and general supply and Jefferson City is the recruitment depot for Missouri. Both Rolla and Jefferson City are easily captured early and with the smallest investment of a few brigades and some cannons, Springfield can almost always be rested from the South.
Another important thing, I feel, is garrisoning depots and other cities of productive importance i.e. Lancaster and Reading. As the south there is nothing more I like to do than send a cavalry regiment and capture those undefended cities for a few turns for precious free war supply.
On the main fronts I'm always trying to maneuver my forces to get around the main enemy positions of forcing them to move. Forcing the enemy to attack you is always a good thing to do. Something even the inactive commanders of the North can accomplish. Also in the West I like to keep my fleet nearby my armies for rapid naval strikes. Capturing independent Harbors with a cavalry regiment is a good way get your army within striking distance of a city without incurring the river crossing penalty.
I suppose how I distribute my troops depends on the game, but generally I spend more resources on the West. I feel that capturing the West is just as important as Richmond and also requires a lot more garrisoning and maintaining military control. I think of the East as a hard nut that once cracked is open for the taking, while the west is more a large piece of bread that isn't done until every crumb is eaten. (Pardon my metaphor, but I'm hungry
) Anyways the point is, once you have Richmond, the majority of your work is done in the east. While in the west, there is no central point of control.
I like to capture Charleston via naval invasion and from there Savannah is only a turn or two away. It is really hard to defend against a naval invasion and most coastal cities are a really juicy prize.
That is basically what I try to accomplish when I play as the North. I like to think of myself as such a player to adapt to any situation and therefore to have no central strategy, but then I would just be vain
Anyways, my suggestions and comments are probably very generic and obvious, but there might be some useful information in there for someone.
I personally am a fairly aggressive player and so I really can't tolerate passive buildup of manpower until a crushing victory can be made. During the early months of the game, I invest most of my troops to the West and TransMiss. There are several key positions that there really is no excuse for letting the Conf. have: Bowling Green, KY; Springfield, MO; Rolla, MO; and Jeff City, MO.
I've played several players who will ignore Missouri as the north, providing just enough men to defend St. Louis. However, most towns in Missouri are quite beneficial to have. Rolla and especially Springfield really have great production of ammunition and general supply and Jefferson City is the recruitment depot for Missouri. Both Rolla and Jefferson City are easily captured early and with the smallest investment of a few brigades and some cannons, Springfield can almost always be rested from the South.
Another important thing, I feel, is garrisoning depots and other cities of productive importance i.e. Lancaster and Reading. As the south there is nothing more I like to do than send a cavalry regiment and capture those undefended cities for a few turns for precious free war supply.
On the main fronts I'm always trying to maneuver my forces to get around the main enemy positions of forcing them to move. Forcing the enemy to attack you is always a good thing to do. Something even the inactive commanders of the North can accomplish. Also in the West I like to keep my fleet nearby my armies for rapid naval strikes. Capturing independent Harbors with a cavalry regiment is a good way get your army within striking distance of a city without incurring the river crossing penalty.
I suppose how I distribute my troops depends on the game, but generally I spend more resources on the West. I feel that capturing the West is just as important as Richmond and also requires a lot more garrisoning and maintaining military control. I think of the East as a hard nut that once cracked is open for the taking, while the west is more a large piece of bread that isn't done until every crumb is eaten. (Pardon my metaphor, but I'm hungry
) Anyways the point is, once you have Richmond, the majority of your work is done in the east. While in the west, there is no central point of control.
I like to capture Charleston via naval invasion and from there Savannah is only a turn or two away. It is really hard to defend against a naval invasion and most coastal cities are a really juicy prize.
That is basically what I try to accomplish when I play as the North. I like to think of myself as such a player to adapt to any situation and therefore to have no central strategy, but then I would just be vain
Anyways, my suggestions and comments are probably very generic and obvious, but there might be some useful information in there for someone.
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Chaplain Lovejoy
- Brigadier General
- Posts: 440
- Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:20 am
- Location: Fairfield, OH (near Cincinnati)
1. Maintain initiative. Force the CSA to react to your moves rather than the reverse.
2. Emphasize logistics. Spend 20-40 per turn on rail until it reaches 600; spend 5-10 each turn on river transports until it reaches 300.
3. Don't skimp on blockading.
4. Keep an eye on CSA fund raising and troop raising efforts. If he's doing lots of both whilst you stick with volunteers and normal taxation, you may be in for a nasty surprise.
5. Create multiple simultaneous threats that CSA cannot defend adequately against all at once.
6. Purchase at least one unit per turn in the far NE. These will accumulate into a robust amphib force soon enough.
2. Emphasize logistics. Spend 20-40 per turn on rail until it reaches 600; spend 5-10 each turn on river transports until it reaches 300.
3. Don't skimp on blockading.
4. Keep an eye on CSA fund raising and troop raising efforts. If he's doing lots of both whilst you stick with volunteers and normal taxation, you may be in for a nasty surprise.
5. Create multiple simultaneous threats that CSA cannot defend adequately against all at once.
6. Purchase at least one unit per turn in the far NE. These will accumulate into a robust amphib force soon enough.
This game..
Hi, I'm a first-time poster from England and bought this game a several months ago. I knew very little about the Civil War but have now become quite hooked. I've played this game several times as both CSA and Union (against AI). The biggest frustration is that the game seems to end due to attaining the target National Moral, or shattering the oppositions, before I have actually achieved my strategic goals. My most recent campaign (July 1861) as the Union is a case in point:
In the East I decided to go on the defensive throughout 1861, build up reasonably strong forces in Alexandria and Washington, a strong command near Harpers Ferry and a reserve force at Philidelphia (intending to transport by sea to Fort Monroe region or Norfolk). In the West I immediately went on the offensive by tranferring by rail two of the divisions located at Alexandria straight to Bowling Green. Any unfixed units or generals in the Ohio, Indiana region were also sent straight to Bowling Green. Further west, I sent anything available (from St Louis, Wisconsin, Illinois) down to Cairo and Paducah. Immediately that my forces arrived in Bowling Green I was attacked by Polk's CSA command. He was defeated and retreated to Clarksville. I then noticed that Nashville was undefended so I sent a division to occuppy it (because in previous games the CSA Army of Tennessee arrives in Nashville and takes a very long seige to dislodge it). I used the rest of 1861/early 1862 reinforcing and building up an Army and 2 corp in the Nashville/Bowling Green area, a strong command around Paducah (this becomes the Western Army as soon as I am able to transfer a HQ) and a robust force in St Louis. I ensured that Cinncinatti, Louisville and Evansville were well garrisoned. Only offensive action was to capture Clarksville.
In February 1862 I captured Fort Henry and moved south towards Corinth. In the meantime my reserve force at Philidelphia was moved by sea (with a strong naval escort and a few blockade squadrons) down to Mobile, Alabama. Mobile was captured as were the nearby forts and surounding area. In the east I remained on the defensive around Alexandria but attacked into Virginia with several corp from the Harper Ferry region. By November 1862 I had accumulated 170 national moral points and was in control of Mobile, Memphis (and the Mississippi between St Louis and Memphis), Corinth, Decatur (alabama) and was threatening Chattanooga. Thought the game was going to be over by the year end so I started holding back on my movements and and taking actions (such as forced conscription and printing money) in order to lose some moral points.
In May/june 63 I sent 3 corps by river and captured Vickburg and Jackson, and sent a small command east along the railway line. At the same time I sent my force at Mobile (now numbering some 50,000) north to Meridian (Mississippi) and then west along the rail line towards Jackson where they met with the Vicksburg army. No signifiacant CSA force counterattacked so I planned a campaign to capture New Orleans. Chattanooga was captured and a force of some 80,000 was assembled. Missouri was completely under control and I had a force at Fort Smith (I think) preparing to advance on Little Rock. In the east a force of 30,000 was being sent to Fort Monroe area (to attack toward Richmond) and a large army was assembled near Harper Ferry & Shenendoah to attack behind Mannassis and Fredericksburg and move to Richmond. First thing I did (in sept 63) was advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta. This was captured within a month and....Game Over - enemy national moral has been shattered.
So no 'March to the Sea', no campaign to capture New Orleans and no 'pincer' attack on Richmond. Previous games have also ended prematurely but not this early - usually in late 64.
In the East I decided to go on the defensive throughout 1861, build up reasonably strong forces in Alexandria and Washington, a strong command near Harpers Ferry and a reserve force at Philidelphia (intending to transport by sea to Fort Monroe region or Norfolk). In the West I immediately went on the offensive by tranferring by rail two of the divisions located at Alexandria straight to Bowling Green. Any unfixed units or generals in the Ohio, Indiana region were also sent straight to Bowling Green. Further west, I sent anything available (from St Louis, Wisconsin, Illinois) down to Cairo and Paducah. Immediately that my forces arrived in Bowling Green I was attacked by Polk's CSA command. He was defeated and retreated to Clarksville. I then noticed that Nashville was undefended so I sent a division to occuppy it (because in previous games the CSA Army of Tennessee arrives in Nashville and takes a very long seige to dislodge it). I used the rest of 1861/early 1862 reinforcing and building up an Army and 2 corp in the Nashville/Bowling Green area, a strong command around Paducah (this becomes the Western Army as soon as I am able to transfer a HQ) and a robust force in St Louis. I ensured that Cinncinatti, Louisville and Evansville were well garrisoned. Only offensive action was to capture Clarksville.
In February 1862 I captured Fort Henry and moved south towards Corinth. In the meantime my reserve force at Philidelphia was moved by sea (with a strong naval escort and a few blockade squadrons) down to Mobile, Alabama. Mobile was captured as were the nearby forts and surounding area. In the east I remained on the defensive around Alexandria but attacked into Virginia with several corp from the Harper Ferry region. By November 1862 I had accumulated 170 national moral points and was in control of Mobile, Memphis (and the Mississippi between St Louis and Memphis), Corinth, Decatur (alabama) and was threatening Chattanooga. Thought the game was going to be over by the year end so I started holding back on my movements and and taking actions (such as forced conscription and printing money) in order to lose some moral points.
In May/june 63 I sent 3 corps by river and captured Vickburg and Jackson, and sent a small command east along the railway line. At the same time I sent my force at Mobile (now numbering some 50,000) north to Meridian (Mississippi) and then west along the rail line towards Jackson where they met with the Vicksburg army. No signifiacant CSA force counterattacked so I planned a campaign to capture New Orleans. Chattanooga was captured and a force of some 80,000 was assembled. Missouri was completely under control and I had a force at Fort Smith (I think) preparing to advance on Little Rock. In the east a force of 30,000 was being sent to Fort Monroe area (to attack toward Richmond) and a large army was assembled near Harper Ferry & Shenendoah to attack behind Mannassis and Fredericksburg and move to Richmond. First thing I did (in sept 63) was advance from Chattanooga to Atlanta. This was captured within a month and....Game Over - enemy national moral has been shattered.
So no 'March to the Sea', no campaign to capture New Orleans and no 'pincer' attack on Richmond. Previous games have also ended prematurely but not this early - usually in late 64.
Three general pieces of advice, mostly gleaned from other postings on these excellent pages, but that I've found particularly useful. I believe they apply to players playing either North or South, but . . . .
1) Use cavalry to spy out where the bad guys are. I don't know the ideal size for cavalry divisions, but having a couple of them wandering around really helps plan. (This from Bank's excellent AAR postings, and later from my own game as the North.)
2) Always maintain a reserve. Two reasons: First, you don't know what the bad guys are going to do to you next turn, and you'd better have some fresh troop just in case. Second, you might want to follow-up a victory by hitting the bad guys again, and your original combatants might well be pooped out.
(Historical note: Stonewall Jackson once got really mad at his troopers: he marched them 57 miles in 3 days, had them fight a battle at the end of it, and then got angry when, instead of chasing after the Union soldiers who broke, the rebels sat down and ate the Union troopers' dinners, still warm by the fires. Moral of the story: even Stonewall couldn't get tired troops to chase a routing enemy when cohesion is too low.)
3) Just because someone isn't fighting doesn't mean they aren't doing something important. In my current game, Fremont has been sitting out west with a 2-division army for the past two years (in/around Springfield). I had originally planned to have the Army of the West come down through Dallas and attack Texas, but J Johnston has been sitting in Santa Fe (or is it Phoenix?) with a corps. So Fremont and JJ have been facing one another across miles of empty indian territory.
I figure this is possibly the best outcome (for me, anyway.) Fremont has somehow neutralized JJ, with equal numbers of troops. (how often do you get a chance to say that!!:))If JJ attacks, he'll experience significant fatigue before he gets to me. If he leaves to defend the rest of the CSA, I'll move in after he's gone. In the meantime, Fremont is in position to deal with those pesky indian raiders -- about all he's really good for anyway.
1) Use cavalry to spy out where the bad guys are. I don't know the ideal size for cavalry divisions, but having a couple of them wandering around really helps plan. (This from Bank's excellent AAR postings, and later from my own game as the North.)
2) Always maintain a reserve. Two reasons: First, you don't know what the bad guys are going to do to you next turn, and you'd better have some fresh troop just in case. Second, you might want to follow-up a victory by hitting the bad guys again, and your original combatants might well be pooped out.
(Historical note: Stonewall Jackson once got really mad at his troopers: he marched them 57 miles in 3 days, had them fight a battle at the end of it, and then got angry when, instead of chasing after the Union soldiers who broke, the rebels sat down and ate the Union troopers' dinners, still warm by the fires. Moral of the story: even Stonewall couldn't get tired troops to chase a routing enemy when cohesion is too low.)
3) Just because someone isn't fighting doesn't mean they aren't doing something important. In my current game, Fremont has been sitting out west with a 2-division army for the past two years (in/around Springfield). I had originally planned to have the Army of the West come down through Dallas and attack Texas, but J Johnston has been sitting in Santa Fe (or is it Phoenix?) with a corps. So Fremont and JJ have been facing one another across miles of empty indian territory.
I figure this is possibly the best outcome (for me, anyway.) Fremont has somehow neutralized JJ, with equal numbers of troops. (how often do you get a chance to say that!!:))If JJ attacks, he'll experience significant fatigue before he gets to me. If he leaves to defend the rest of the CSA, I'll move in after he's gone. In the meantime, Fremont is in position to deal with those pesky indian raiders -- about all he's really good for anyway.
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