Beginner questions

[jdturner1987]

I know there must be about a thousand of these types of questions and pleas for clarification on some of the basics of this game. Having bought this game and having spent many, many hours playing it to death, I have to admit that I really don't understand how it all works. I understand the ideas of divisions, corps, and army leaders, along with much of the political aspects of the game, but what it throwing me, among other things, is some of the more seemingly complex issues. I'll just go ahead and start then:

1. I have been playing the CSA only, and have run into the issue of what to do first (I start right at Ft. Sumter). I know there isn't much you can do until the Beauregard is moved to Northern Virginia and you can begin to move freely there, yet I always seem to be lagging behind the Union as they can move their troops before me. Does this have something to do with the Replacement Screen? Which leads me to my second question.

2. Could someone explain to me how the damn replacement pool works. The concept of it is simple, but I struggle with it's actual function in game and hate to admit that I ignore it more often than not.

3. I know that it is folly to attack and move around without a plan of attack, and that is the best way to lose before it ever begins, yet I find it near impossible to know where to focus other than in Northern Virginia.

4. How close does a Corp even have to be so that it can mutually support, or MTSG?

I have been experimenting with moving the capital to Atlanta (only to see how the game was affected) and with industry and war production means, however I always seem to get bludgeoned in Tennessee before I can make any suitable units. I suspect that my lack of knowledge with the replacement pool, and some of the finer nuances of the game lead to this. I don't mean to sound like a dunce, but I have been a strategy gamer since I was 14, and a lover of history and the ACW since I was 10. As it stands I feel like a fool (even knowing that the game was beyond complex) and even having read up on many AAR's and guides and tips, I find myself throwing in the towel before I even make it to '63, and it makes me sort of ill. Any help would be appreciated, as I want to learn as much about this as I can because the game is truly awesome and has so much potential for replayability and fun. It just is discouraging to see that people seem to get this so fast and I'm left to feel like a McClellan over here, a fool left holding the bag.

[Durk]

Jdturner1987, welcome to the forums. Do not be discouraged as many veteran players also struggle with this game. It is excellent and very complex.

My suggestion, use the July start. It skips the early months and starts at a more interesting time.

You will need to learn the replacement process, which is not hard. It just takes some time. Men, plus money, plus factory output equals new units on the production board. On the replacement board it is more direct. You are building chits to rebuild damaged units. Just play with it. If that is not enough guidance, respond.

AI is heartless, but with time you will master her.

Corps must be in the adjacent region to support.

I use the historical lines of CSA advance and defense. Richmond, a river defense in Tennessee and north of Memphis.

I am brief, others will add to you questions.

[ArmChairGeneral]

I play as CSA only. Here is what I do (against Athena):

Early builds go heavily to Virginia (artillery from NC when it becomes available, the VA pool runs out quickly). The SC troops that Bory uses to take Sumter go north as soon as NC opens up to help out in NVA. When JJ's army in the Shenandoah becomes active I try to defend/retake Harper's Ferry as soon as I can. Athena will send a large (but rarely large enough) 1500-2000 PWR stack to take it back, but this weakens Alexandria (sometimes it comes from DC, which makes things more complicated). If I have gotten enough troops built/moved to Manassas by this point I attack and lay siege to Alexandria as soon as this happens. The Union force going to Harper's now has to decide which is more important. It is never large enough to really contest Harper's without serious losses (sue to river crossings, defensive terrain, etc.) and so usually goes back to Alexandria to lift the siege, but is now on the offensive rather than the defensive and my besiegers can usuallyhold the field against them and inflict heavy casualties. Sometimes that Union Army will go to Manassas instead, which makes things harder but not insurmountable. I try to leave behind a 200-300 PWR stack inside the Manassas depot so that the Union can't get the Manassas supplies without a siege. If they can't they are living off their wagons. This gives enough time to cut off their supply line and organize a counterattack to send them back over the Mason-Dixon Line. Once this initial period of maneuvering is over and the Union stack has been beaten and retreats I finish the siege at Alexandria (for yummy early NM and VP points) and solidify the Potomac line.

I build in Springfield MO on the first available turn. Get at least one of the infantry brigades and one of the cannons into Springfield as soon as possible, preferably more. This combined with forces moving quickly up from Arkansas should be enough to hold it initially. Build everything you can in MO (not much, BTW, but if you can't keep Springfield you won't be able to build any of the MO force pool) and combine with AR and IT forces to take back Jefferson City and set up an eventual push against St Louis. MO needs troops on the first available turn. Don't forget to build a militia unit in Rolla (also on the first turn MO is available) to blow the depot before the Union can capture it. Without it they have a difficult time operating around Springfield.

Kentucky will take a while to open, so there is plenty of time for a slow build up in Tennessee. I put build just enough to cover the River at Memphis and move it to Isl. 10, or Ft. Pillow to control the river and Paducahland. A division sized force is scripted in Nashville and always arrives before KY opens. I try to build this up slowly to two divisions, scavenging from around the rest of the state to do so. As soon as the lights go on in KY I race to Louisville and almost always catch it and Lexington still lightly defended. KY opens in the winter of 61, spring of 62, so this is a medium term objective (after VA and MO) but needs to be ready as soon as KY declares or the Union will reinforce it and make a quick strike impossible. If you have a cav scouting stack ready to repair the damaged rail line you can get Louisville under control in 3-5 turns after KY comes online. Athena will then have to focus on defending Cincinnati and Indianapolis (strategic and objective cities), and not have time for silliness in Tennessee. The KY force pool is huge and you will now be able to build them right at the front lines (Louisville) to pressure the Midwest.

Athena rarely amphibs the southeastern seaboard (Charleston, etc.). She will eventually make a try for New Orleans, but there is plenty of time to get it defended so is the lowest priority (but don't neglect it completely.) I have never seen her go after it before summer 1862 unless I have left it completely undefended and vulnerable to something coming out of Pickens (which has a division or so scripted in it early). Usually the Pickens troops invade AL/FL, which is great because you can mostly ignore that. Build just enough down there to keep her out of Mobile and Montgomery and she will just spin her wheels in the area.

If you have managed to do some or all of these thing (particularly establishing the Potomac line and taking Louisville quickly) you can begin planning offensives wherever you see vulnerabilities with the first portion of the game well in hand.

EDIT: This is for the April start

[ArmChairGeneral]

The Union has some loose brigades that can be active in the Shenandoah before you, but their main armies become available at the same time yours do so you should be able to get a sizable stack into Harpers before the AI can prevent it.

Moving the capital is only for when the Union is about to take Richmond. Otherwise it is expensive and has no real benefit other than moving your capital to the back lines. On that note though, watch out for a sucker punch from Athena coming out of Ft Monroe along the peninsula to catch you unawares in Richmond. It may require a bit of scrambling and not completely stripping Richmond for the fights further north, but this attack is almost always premature and ineffective on her part.

I forgot to mention that on the second or third turn there is a militia unit that spawns in the region west of Norfolk VA (Suffolk I believe?). Send it to Assault Norfolk immediately and the Union garrison will withdraw (triggering a scripted event) giving you Norfolk for free.

[ArmChairGeneral]

For an overview of replacements, check out the wiki entry.

[Gray Fox]

Welcome! By an amazing coincidence, I have an uncle J.D. Turner. Small multiverse!

1. You might want to try a short scenario first. A smaller game with narrower goals may be easier going.

2. The units you have take 'hits' from combat and attrition that indicate losses of men, horses and guns. You must purchase replacement 'chits' to redress these losses so that your units are once again at full strength. You can also build up a supply of these chits as a reserve. If you purchase no replacements at all, then your units will gradually be depleted in combat and vanish.

3. Do a walk-through of a few turns and set one simple goal. Assemble one really good Corps stack and take a northern city, or attack a Union stack. See what succeeds and what doesn't. When you know what it takes to succeed, then you will better know what to do to make Athena fail at taking your cities or defeating your stacks.

4. Corps stacks of an Army must be in adjacent regions to MTG. Other factors also apply, like being in offensive mode or not, command ratings, whether the commanders are active, etc.

Good luck!