Big VA brigades = small divisions

[runyan99]

If you are playing with the standard limitation on CSA divisions, you will have all of your allowed divisions in the field some time by late 62 or early 63. What to do then to fill out those corps?

I like to recruit those big Virginia brigades which have 4 infantry regiments, a cavalry regiment, and two artillery batteries, and attach any available brigadier to them, and think of them just like a small CSA division. In fact, at around 5000 men apiece, they are just as big as many CSA divisions were historically, about the same size as Pickett's division at Gettysburg was.

The big KY and TN brigades are almost the same size, but have only one artillery battery.

So, to my mind, the division limitation in the game is only a limitation on the 'big' divisions, but the player can still recruit small 4000-5000 man divisions.

[Gabriel]

Do you usually use regular infantry?

My first games I called up only volunteers, but I think that may be too much management to combine them into very small brigades and find artillery and cavalry to add.

I was thinking of calling up only enough volunteers in the start to garrison my cities with a regiment or two (maybe 3 at the border) - and then focus on building divisions out of regular infantry. Usually of the large 5 regiment Mass brigades with infantry, cavalry, and artillery, combined with a couple smaller infantry only brigades.

Have also though of experimenting with Infantry only divisions and reserving all artillery at the Corps level but I would probably take CP hits.

[McNaughton]

There is a difference between 'regulars' and 'volunteers' and 'militia'.

Regulars, are US Army Regular regiments, of soldiers of the pre-war Regular Army (or army units raised during the war).

Volunteers (what Runyan was talking about as 'regular infantry', as in the bulk of men you will use in the war) are soldiers who volunteered for 'federal service', as in they fought for the USA or CSA under central Federal Command (even though they are raised by state).

Militia are soldiers who are primarily state equipped and led, fighting primarily for local defence.

As the CSA, those large Virginia brigades are very useful, they have optimized the CP usage (7 elements using only 4 CP). As individual units, they are exceptionally efficient, but as divisional forces, their efficiency dwindles. It is better to deploy smaller brigades as divisional units, and these larger ones (any brigade with 5+ elements) as independent forces (better yet, put a brigadier in charge).

With the limit of divisions as the CSA, this is a good strategy, to suppliment your divisions by powerful brigades.

[Gabriel]

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I didn't need any clarifications.

I was speaking strictly to the game and the units available under the 'REGULAR' and 'MILITIA' tabs in the reinforcement pool, with the latter all being called in the game Volunteer regiments.

Thanks.

[McNaughton]

I didn't need any clarifications.

I was speaking strictly to the game and the units available under the 'REGULAR' and 'MILITIA' tabs in the reinforcement pool, with the latter all being called in the game Volunteer regiments.

Thanks.

Actually, in all accounts but that one screen they are militia. Best to call them militia, and all other troops volunteers (to differentiate between US Regulars).