AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (Full Version)

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Gil R. -> AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:16:26 AM)

Figuring that Hard Sarge shouldn’t get to have all the fun, I’ve decided to post my own AAR. I’ve been playtesting as the CSA, testing difficulty and balance-level issues. This means that I’ve been playing to win, and not just to look for stability issues or other types of bugs. Last night, I got to fight a battle in the Wilderness, and decided that I should snap some shots so I could share them.

First, the background. The battle takes place in August, 1862. I’ve been playing the standard scenario (= Nov. 1861 start-date), on a relatively high difficulty setting, and with just about all of the advanced options on. As the CSA, my strategy is always to devote 1862 to trying to build up my economy and forces while holding on to as much territory as I can – I’m not about to engage in any opportunistic adventures, unless the enemy messes up and invites me to do so. With the exception of the Union’s successful siege of Wheeling, which was just too difficult for me to get forces to in time, all of the fighting has been out west. Here I’ve been lucky: I drove off an attempt to invade the Mississippi River in the area of Memphis, Island No. 10, etc., using some superior soldiers armed with superior weapons to do so. And then I got lucky again: I chased off another corps that was invading Arkansas, and then all but eliminated it when it came back for more. (I’ve seen the AI when it’s defeated spend many turns licking its wounds and regrouping, but this time the AI was on rabid pit bull setting, and kept attacking me in an increasingly vain hope of dislodging me from Little Rock. I guess some general was afraid to disappoint his superiors by failing his assignment.) With the trans-Mississippi area safe, I could then concentrate my western forces to beat back a siege on Ft. Donelson and keep Tennessee free.

I’m winning in the west, but none of the battles have been major. Out east, the Union has been keeping the Army of the Potomac in Maryland, presumably building it up. I, too, have been building up the Army of Northern Virginia, but since the fighting has been out west most of my resources have been poured into those western forces. This means that more than half of my brigades in the ANV are poorly armed when the Union suddenly invades Fredericksburg province. Now, from experience I’ve learned that one can soften up the enemy by giving him a few turns to get slaughtered by the big guns and rifle pits of my forts, and I’ve armed two forts there with 10-inch Rodmans and rifle pits. However, I’ve made a mistake – since I’ve been concentrating my resources on the western forces and forts, I never built abatis or palisades or bombproofs in Fredericksburg, so those forts will fall soon and I’ll lose the province. So, I send in the ANV after having only two turns to bulk it up with what meager resources I could find. (I also attempt to send one of my best divisions by rail from Tennessee, but it doesn’t arrive in time. It turns out that my battle will be my 94000 men against 103000 Yankees.

Here is a screenshot (in black and white, for Windows reasons) that shows what the province looks like just before the battle begins.


[image]local://upfiles/16018/8B6A8447916140CB90EDC610F0FC73C7.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:17:07 AM)

The battle begins, and I’m asked to choose terrain. Having wanted to fight in the Wilderness, that’s what I choose.

EDIT: Note that this terrain is actually a mixture of Wilderness and deep woods. Pure Wilderness would have less open space.

FYI, the file for terrain is modable, so if you wanted, say, EVERY battle in Fredericksburg to be in the Wilderness, you could do that.


[image]local://upfiles/16018/51CB7BA401DE46739FFA56119F3FEC05.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:17:46 AM)

Since this is my province, I also get to make a scouting check before battle, and am given several options for how to use my cavalry. Most of them would fatigue my cavalry too greatly, so I choose “Feint,” which has about a 50% chance of success and about a 50% chance of fatiguing a given cavalry unit. Here is the manual’s description of Feint: “If successful, each enemy unit has a 25% chance to begin in the enemy’s reinforcement queue rather than on the battlefield.”

I’m very lucky, since the Feint succeeds, meaning that an unknown but significant number of the enemy’s brigades are not in the battle when it begins. This means that I’m probably outnumbering the Union forces – but only for a few hours.

I didn’t take a screenshot of the scouting check menu, but here’s one showing my army before the battle. As you can see, lots of cavalry (and a lot more brigade cavalry you can’t see), but only two artillery units.


[image]local://upfiles/16018/0ABABA27F09E4EDCBB01DE76623753DE.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:18:27 AM)

The battle begins, and first there is the chance to place my units. As you can see, they start off in a single line (and if you look in the lower right at the overview map you’ll see the red diagonal line showing all my forces).

[image]local://upfiles/16018/ABEE1A90D4824CA4B7E52BE09F321316.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:18:57 AM)

The fighting begins, and it’s mostly at the center and lower-left parts of the map. Here’s the fighting at the center early on.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/88C8D425FC4D4BAEA1D2B4DBABE31C8C.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:19:28 AM)

Here’s fighting further down the line. Note one of my two artillery units at the very bottom of the scene. This spot was one of the few times I could actually use my artillery in this battle, since usually there were trees screening the enemy.

This is still very early on in the battle, when the Union’s brigades are in formation and acting in a disciplined manner. Also, there is still something like battlelines, but note that one Union brigade at the top is firing in the opposite direction – that’s because I’ve brought the left wing of my army in to flank the Union. Too bad their own wing must have fallen for the feint...


[image]local://upfiles/16018/415AFBFC689440428FC48DB4CD0F7355.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:19:54 AM)

Here’s a shot a bit later. Note how the two armies’ lines have converged, so there’s one big melee at the center of the map. The two sides are starting to mix together a bit more.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/884C6B68BBCA410A9A53FF929D177CCD.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:20:27 AM)

Pretty much the same scene, except that you can see muzzle-flashes, showing which units are fighting which in certain cases.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/68FBDF2322224FE89D66E374939762F1.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:21:40 AM)

Here’s the scene somewhat later. The Union has finally ordered forward some of its brigades that were waiting for me in their hasty entrenchments, making them easier to attack. Note in the upper-left that one artillery unit is firing (the one from the 5th Division). Also note that several of my units are out of supply. It’s VERY difficult to resupply in this terrain, even though I have several supply wagons. Also, near the top you can see (but the enemy can’t) some of my brigades hiding in the trees, waiting to attack the Union from behind.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/99FC10F6CF5E4640A8FDF893F71DCE72.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:22:11 AM)

I’m now definitely winning. Look how many of the Union brigades are scattered, their men no longer in formation. This means that they are shaken or disordered. (In the game, they are animated, and you can see them shaking. Here it’s harder to tell.) In the upper right you’ll see a cavalry unit of mine about to charge one disordered unit. Cavalry is not very good at charging units that are in formation, but when they’re disordered it’s excellent. However, in Wilderness terrain so many of the cavalry’s potential victims are sent by the AI to hide in the woods, where the cavalry can’t hurt them. If this were open terrain I’d be killing thousands more with my cavalry units and brigade cavalry.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/4B7421ED35DF4FC0B7DFB4022A350B5A.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:22:42 AM)

The Union at this point is in nearly complete disarray. And what few units are still in fighting shape are facing multiple CSA brigades. (See, for example, the lower-right corner, where I’ve got a unit surrounded. Sadly, three of my units there are out of supply, and can’t easily be resupplied, so they’re doing little damage. If only my supply wagon were closer I could obliterate that unit.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/F8FBB6D6268446E19F8D1300086F1963.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:23:09 AM)

Once the game realizes that one sides morale has broken, it announces the winner and the rout begins. Here’s a shot as one USA unit is being chased from the field.

[image]local://upfiles/16018/E8AE05655BC445F7B7BD09C4835461D2.jpg[/image]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:23:42 AM)

And here are the results of the battle. Note that since this was a major battle it affected National Will, which is a crucial stat in the game. Also, I only inflicted 15000 casualties while suffering 10000. If only I had been building up the ANV all this time, giving it more brigade artillery, sharpshooters, etc., plus better guns, I could have done a lot more harm. [Interesting point: I re-ran the battle from the pre-battle save game and did an “instant resolve,” in which the computer calculates the winner based on the size, quality and nature of the forces – that is, the AI is left out of the equation – and the result was that I won, but did 30000 casualties while taking 15000. Of course, this instant battle might not have taken place in the Wilderness, and I’d have to run at least ten instant resolves to be certain that my victory was inevitable, but this at least suggests that I did not overmatch the AI.]

Because I badly hurt the Union army but came nowhere close to breaking it I should resist the temptation to invade Maryland and try to take Washington. If I did that, I’d be fighting at a disadvantage as the attacker, and I know that even if I defeat the Union army again I’d have trouble capturing the forts and capital there, since I haven’t been building any siege artillery. So, I’ll go back to my defensive posture now, and try to go on the offensive in 1863, knowing that the Union’s armies in all theaters have taken quite a beating. (Unfortunately, I only destroyed one enemy brigade, and took none of their weapons. They can get back the 15000 men they lost in a matter of months, so I've achieved no permanent result here. Hard Sarge seems to have all the luck when it comes to getting the enemy to lose weapons and surrender brigades...)

Okay, Hard Sarge, the spotlight’s back on you now...


[image]local://upfiles/16018/2070893593374457AA5CBC3CEF0D60C9.jpg[/image]



moose1999 -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:42:32 AM)

Great AAR!
I love the screenshots - very intensive stuff.
It's gonna be great fighting in the wilderness.



spruce -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:46:55 AM)

wow, the Union nat. will is at 2 ... what happens if the will is really low ? Revolts ? Or armies won't move ?

cool AAR [:D]



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 1:52:35 AM)

Good question. Reading from the manual, we find that:

National Will affects a nation’s Victory Points and also modifies the morale of mustered and conscripted units. National Will is chiefly modified by winning and losing large, important battles.

And:

National Will (“NW”) represents the general support for the war effort among the general populace of the USA and the CSA. It varies in value between -12 and +12. NW is largely determined by winning and losing decisive battles; winners gain NW, and losers typically lose NW. Plunder of Mansions and Plantations also causes loss of NW.



USSLockwood -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 2:05:18 AM)

Great AAR!  I am really anticipating this game!


Dave
San Diego
Home of the World's Busiest Radar Approach Control



Joram -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 8:44:55 AM)

Yes, very nice!



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 12:17:46 PM)

Hey Gil
Send me the save of the start of the battle :)

ahhh, I'll PM you



jchastain -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 5:37:38 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Hard Sarge

Hey Gil
Send me the save of the start of the battle :)

ahhh, I'll PM you



Ut oh Gil. Get ready to look foolish.

Hard Sarge is without question the best battlefield commander in the playtest. I know I would hate for my battle results to be compared with what he was able to achieve with the same setup.



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 6:20:51 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: jchastain

Ut oh Gil. Get ready to look foolish.

Hard Sarge is without question the best battlefield commander in the playtest. I know I would hate for my battle results to be compared with what he was able to achieve with the same setup.



Are you kidding? It would be an honor, like having a great artist or band do a cover version of a song I wrote. I'll feel like the guys from Badfinger would have felt when Mariah Carey covered "Without You," if they hadn't been dead.

The files are in his in box.



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 7:24:32 PM)

Well, to be honest, I have had trouble with part of what is going on and would like to see it work, plus it looks like a interesting battle



Grotius -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 8:17:43 PM)

Great AAR, Gil! I hope you continue this game, and keep posting here. Of course, I'm buying this game regardless of what you do, lol.



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/4/2006 8:23:00 PM)

Thanks. I played another six hours last night, and have advanced a year. There hasn't been a major fight, but the Union recently took Shenandoah and I've now got my ANV in adjacent Fredericksburg. I was waiting for another artillery unit to finish being produced before attacking, but am now ready to do so. Also, I've taken Kentucky's capital and am about to take the rest of the state. Necessity forced me to do this, since when the Union emancipated I lost a lot of my income, and Kentucky is a rich state. Nothing can stand in my way in Kentucky, but the Union in Virginia can still mess up my plans. I'll play again tonight, and if it's an interesting battle I'll share.

Also, I sent Hard Sarge the save game, so if he wants he can fight for the Shenandoah too. (In either case, we'd be the attacker there, so the Union would have an advantage.



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/5/2006 1:24:05 AM)

this is a not really a fair replay, as I am not able to get the same set up as Gil had

what is odd, I got Wilderness, Wilderness for the terrain

this is going to be bloody though

[image]local://upfiles/1438/254F493331DC4D34963F55EA07ADC1E0.jpg[/image]



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/5/2006 2:06:10 AM)

well, here was the ending of my battle, not really fair to compare as they were not the same battle or set up

but it was a fun one

[image]local://upfiles/1438/2076B63325B444999F493E02E61DCB7D.jpg[/image]



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/5/2006 2:12:46 AM)

LOL
I didn't think about it, but for both of us, that was a Defending battle, and both of us were on the off from the start



Gil R. -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/5/2006 2:15:32 AM)

I take it that those high USA casualty numbers can be explained to some extent by the enormous number of cavalry and the openness of the terrain? That's a perfect battlefield to let loose the equestrian team.



Hard Sarge -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/5/2006 2:26:52 AM)

Not really, I didn't get to let the Horses loose, you do not set yours up like I do :)

most of mine in this battle were way out on both flanks and never got to the battle until it was over



elmo3 -> RE: AAR: Battle in the Wilderness (11/9/2006 10:38:02 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Gil R.

I take it that those high USA casualty numbers can be explained to some extent by the enormous number of cavalry and the openness of the terrain? That's a perfect battlefield to let loose the equestrian team.


I'm no Civil War expert so can you give me any examples of where large numbers of cavalry fought infantry in the open? There were plenty of large cavalry charges in the Napoleonic era but I can't think of any in this war. I also can't recall any battles where large numbers of infantry in retreat were ridden down by cavalry. Thanks.



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