Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (Full Version)

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seydlitz_slith -> Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 5:02:17 AM)

This is my first go at being the Union. I don’t know how I will do, but I figured that my bumbling along may help others who are also trying to learn the game. I have done about 5 starts at the CSA after reading the manual and completing the tutorial. Finally, things started clicking and I saw stuff that I had previously missed. Key to my newfound understanding was an AAR in this same format on AGEOD’s forum, where a new CSA player started on turn one and went through the first few turns describing what he was doing, and how he saw things. He also made observations about items that were confusing or not crystal clear, and others came in and posted clarifications, comments, and questions. In short, I saw that my problems starting off were about the same as his, and the open discussion on the AAR thread helped clear things up greatly for me. On my final restart, it was a whole new ballgame, and I finally got the CSA off the ground.

Sadly, the AAR, as well as many of the strategy tips on the AGEOD forum were posted before the patch that changed the DIVISION HQ rules. As such, it does change slightly the applicability of the advice.
What I want to do here is to start an AAR using the most current version (v 1.05E) and see where it goes.
My main point will be to cover the first 6 months of the war. If I screw up and have to restart, maybe others will learn from my mistakes and avoid the same problems. Otherwise, posted comments and discussion on my AAR thread will help me learn, as well as provide a reference for others starting the game. I will be playing the AI with the AI set to default settings (normal, no spotting bonus) but with the “give AI extra time” box checked. Scenario will be the April 1861 Grand Campaign.

Here goes nothing…..



Richard III -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 5:16:13 AM)

As a new player to no ZOC type Games I look forward to your AAR. The guy on the AGEOD never finished his CSA one , but I found it very helpful anyway. I`m especially interested to see how you deal with the Cav. raiders tearing up your RR`s, and larger units waltzing deep into your interior.[8D]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 5:49:15 AM)

Turn 1: Early April 1861

After reviewing the starting forces, I think that the Union is initially going to be short on MANPOWER.
Money: 200(+187)
Manpower: 50(+39)
War Supplies: 50 (+126)

Money looks OK, although you can never have enough. War supplies also look pretty good at start, at least as compared to the CSA.

I want to make sure that I have plenty of cash and manpower right from the start to build up with. As such, I plan to immediately to the following on turn 1:

1. Enact EXCEPTIONAL TAXES to gain $373,000. Cost is 1% inflation and 2 NM points.
2. Enact PARTIAL MOBILIZATION to gain 532 Manpower. Cost is 25 vp and 4 NM points.
3. CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS to gain an additional 138 manpower. No negative costs.

This means that right off the bat my starting VPs will go from 50 down to 25! This is not a problem since victory points are only important if I am unable to achieve the conditions for automatic victory by the end of the game, and I have over a hundred turns to do that.

National Morale is one thing that I will have to watch, since I can lose if it DROPS TO 40. In addition, the NM level will affect my unit cohesion, economic output, and number of recruits. So, I will start out as follows: NM 85-6=79. This will be well worth it to gain this money and manpower right on turn one.
REMEMBER: If you do not do this and the CSA does, then they will gain a significant advantage over you early in the game. Same will hopefully go for you. If you do this and they do not, you will build much faster than them, and will be able to hurt them earlier.

I also purchased 20 additional Rail transport on the premise that you can never have enough, and turn one is a good time to buy since you really can’t build new units yet.

No unit movements this turn as everything seems locked. In going through the rosters, I see that I have few generals to start with, but my navy and naval commanders are more than adequate at start. I also have plenty of artillery at start (compared to CSA) and also compared to my infantry forces at start. This is good since artillery is more expensive to build than infantry.

At this juncture I am ending the turn and processing.



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 7:11:58 AM)

Turn 2: Late April 1861

Victory Points: 62
National Morale: 79
Money: 732 (+184)
Manpower: 813 (+38)
War Supplies: 242 (+118)

Transport Pool:
Rail: 165
River: 30
Sea: 121
Events:
Pratt Street Riot (-5 war supplies. –10 gen supply production and ammo production in Baltimore)
Carl Schurz: +1 regiment of Cavalry with Brig General Schurz raised in New York City
Fort Sumter Bombarded: Sumter surrenders
Comments:
Note that the actual numbers realized from the draft and tax actions are different than projected. This must be due to changes in the NM level. Here are how they came out:

Action: Projection: Actual Result:
Volunteers 138 manpower 130 manpower
Partial Mobilization 532 manpower 524 manpower
Exceptional Taxes $373,000 $366,000

Merchants brought in $5 and 24 war supplies this turn.
Territory Lost:
Norfolk
Fort Sumter
Harpers Ferry

Norfolk and Sumter are pretty much done deals. All the CSA player has to do is attack using the closest militia units on turn one and they will fall. Norfolk hurts because it gives the south a large seige artillery unit, a regular artillery unit, a bunch of ammo and supplies….and also the hull of the Merrimac, which they will quickly build into the first ironclad. A smart CSA player will make use of the seige guns to help capture Fortress Monroe over the next few turns.

Sumter gave the CSA the artullery unit “Sumter’s Guns” but they are pretty depleted, and will take over two months just to get out of the fort and back to the nearest city.

I have the feeling that Harper’s Ferry will be traded back and forth several times over the course of the game. I lost it in a 1 militia v 1 militia battle that lasted for 4 days.
All land units and most naval units are locked.
My only move (only unit that could move) was to move the Chesapeake Squadron from Cape Henry into Hampton Roads. I set the stance to Orange, with do not bombard. I want to see if they will take fire from Norfolk. If they don’t, then I will leave them in Hampton Roads to establish a close in blockade.

I did receive 13 one star and 2 two star generals in DC this turn, none of them activated.

Also, the rail line in Baltimore was torn up, and right now I can not give the order to repair it.

Builds:
New units are not available to build yet.
I did start building some replacement factors as follows:
Line Infantry: 4
Light Infantry: 2
Militia: 4
Cavalry: 2
Field Artillery: 3
Heavy Arty: 1
Supply Train: 2

My projected balance will be $679,000 735 manpower, 304 war supplies

With nothing left to do I end the turn. Turn 3 should see the arrival of 5 divisions in Alexandria, VA.
According to the manual, they will start at 30% strength and be locked for 3 turns.




seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 8:49:50 AM)

Turn 3: Early May 1861

Victory Points: 96
National Morale: 82

Transport Pool:
Rail: 209
River: 45
Sea: 121

Money: $797 (+178)
Manpower: 805 (+38)
War Supplies: 374 (+117)

Merchants bring in $9 and 20 war supplies.
The 5 promised Divisions arrive in Alexandria.
Actually had a few units unlock and activate this turn, so I will have stuff to move.
Events:
Lincoln Inaugural Address (+1 NM)
St.Louis Massacre (-20 loyalty in MO, -30 Loyalty in St.Louis. Get Gen Lyons in St. Louis)
Martial Law in MD. (+20 manpower and +5 war supplies)
Ericsson’s Folly (-5 war supply. Adm Dahlgren and USS Monitor start construction in NY. Ironclads now available for construction.
Territory Lost:
Laredo in West Texas.
Noticed that the rails were torn up in Norfolk VA
Builds for the turn:
Now this is where I get controversial. This might work, or it may not. I am going to spend just about all of my money and war supplies this turn. I am committing to two things early:
1. Build as many militia as possible in contested and border states to maintain control, protect rail/supply lines, and prevent the CSA from having free walkovers in undefended cities. It will also allow for some limited offensive action in contested areas as well unless the CSA likewise makes a heavy investment in militia. Militia are dirt cheap and you can build a lot of them.
2. Build as many blockade flotillas as I can afford early and see if I can get the blockade established early and effectively. With very little industrialization, and precious few dollars to invest each turn on industrializing, the CSA will be critically dependant upon blockade runners to bring in cash and war supplies. The earlier I can choke this out, the shorter the war will be.

Militia Builds:
MO: 13 (yes, 13…that will make MO a pain for CSA to hold)
MD: 2
PA: 5
WV: 2
OH: 4
IN: 4
IA: 3
IL: 4

Regular Unit Builds:
1 STR 63 Infantry Brigade in KY

Naval Builds (all in Mid Atlantic):
1 Armored Frigate
8 Blockade Flotillas (yes, here is where all my money went, at $82 per flotilla = $656 here alone)

My balance will be: $5, 491 manpower, 27 war supplies.
That should be fine, we make plenty of money and war supplies each turn.

Naval Moves:
Constellation from Atlantic Shipping to Atlantic Blockade
St. Louis from Ft. Pickens FL to Gulf Blockade
Brooklyn from FL Keys to Gulf Blockade
Continue blockade in Hampton Roads.

WEST Army Moves:
Attack Rolla MO with Gen Lyon (red posture) from St. Louis. Use rail. 10 days..

East Army Moves:
Assign 1st MD Brigade in Baltimore to Hooker. DO NOT make a division. Set to orange posture and send unit to Harper’s Ferry to retake. Use rail. 8 days.

In DC, assign the Washington Brigade to General Erasmus Keyes. Set to Orange posture and move by rail to attack Mannassas, which shows being defended by 1 militia.

These two movements are important since Harpers Ferry is an important rail junction for the US. Also I want to take Winchester before the Shenandoah Force can become active and get there. It is the only level 3 city in the area and the CSA needs it to help the forces constitute quickly.

Manassas is important since it is a rail junction and provides the shortest path for the CSA to move reinforcements up to Winchester. If I can cut it, I can seriously delay the arrival of reinforcements to that area, and force him to use a lot of rail moving up the long way into the valley.

That is it for the turn. More tomorrow night as I get time to work the next turns.

Feel free to make comments as appropriate. This is my first time playing the US. I am sure that some of my strategy will be different enough to warrant comment one way or the other. By commenting you will help everyone learn, myself included.




Pocus -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 10:57:04 AM)

A little screenshot there and there? 



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 2:04:55 PM)

Certainly. I will start including them immediately.



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 2:37:04 PM)

Here is the first screenshot. I am leaving the image size fairly large so that you can see the wonderful detail on the map. This is the Area between Harpers Ferry and Manassas at the start of the late May turn. Thanks to the fog of war, you will only see enemy units if you detect them. Often this means only units in adjacent territories.

Due to the size of the screen capture, I had to reduce jpg quality by 75%, so expect the detail in the real thing to be much better. Future snaps will be resized better.

You can see that the Union troops are beseiging Harpers Ferry and Manassas. Note how these points are indeed important rail junctions.

As one final quick tip this morning, I would say that it is important to have a planned method to doing your turn and to follow tha tdiscipline every turn in the same order.

I normally go through the buttons just to the left of the message display box first, one at a time. These filter the messages into a rational order.
Then I do movemen orders. Use the E/R keys to go through land units, and T/Y keys to do the naval.
Finally, I do any builds. Often I know exactly what I want to do so I just click on the books at teh top of the screen. Later, I will go through these screens in order using the F1-F9 keys in order.

Detailed turn info later tonight. It's off to work for now.

[image]local://upfiles/6829/CE4ACD88597D4C4990CA8E038C2E9CE7.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 2:39:09 PM)

Again I want to say that this picture snap is only 25% as good as the real thing. The game art looks much better than this...about 4 times better in fact.



rastak -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/5/2007 4:47:53 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: seydlitz

Again I want to say that this picture snap is only 25% as good as the real thing. The game art looks much better than this...about 4 times better in fact.



Hey great AAR. I just bought the game and now have plenty of time to play. I tore a bunch of tendons in my ankle playing tennis yesterday and can't walk. [sm=00000945.gif]

But not for a long while so it looks like a long weekend with this game if I can get my head around it. Maybe many weekends.








seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 2:30:02 AM)

Continuing along with turn 4...


[image]local://upfiles/6829/B6D0F1836C274C228FA882BC09C15EF0.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 3:36:38 AM)

Movement with discussion...


[image]local://upfiles/6829/E4E660578F3F43058C8769DDB530A132.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:03:25 AM)

Remember last turn I built a bunch of Militia units in all the border states. Several of the units in PA and MO were ready this turn.

I am using the Missouri Militia units to fan out, protect the rail line around St. Louis, and began wresting control for the nearby confederate territories. By putting the units in offensive posture, they will start to win over control of the land. I need this control to reduce the likelihood of partisans, and also to reduce the ability of the Rebels to hide among the populace when they raid me. Given the number of Militia that became available in MO, I am going to send a couple to take Jefferson City, and also leave Lyon's force in Rolla reducing the will of the people.



[image]local://upfiles/6829/D6AE500B1A45455F932D1FEEBD5A894A.jpg[/image]



Gem35 -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:07:14 AM)

This is fantastic, I really appreciate your efforts, it's helping me decide on buying this game.
I look forward to more of the action, good luck to you.



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:11:24 AM)

In the area around Harpers Ferry, I move the newly formed PA Militia units up to cover the rail area around Chambersburg, Harrisburg, Susquehanna, and Fulton. Think defense in depth. If there is a rail line there, try to put someone there to guard it. If I can get a little bit of depth going, it should be harder for the Rebels to sneak cavalry behind my lines.



[image]local://upfiles/6829/1A31C6DD35BC471E85D7DE852969BF70.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:18:04 AM)

Thanks for the comments. It is a bit of work to go into thismuch detail on the AAR, but at least for the first few turns I plan to do so. I want to post in enough detail so that everyone can see how rich the game is. Also, I want to be able to show exactly how to do stuff and what type of tactics I am trying. Even after reading the manual and playing the tutorial, it was still initially hard to "get my hands around what I needed to be doing." Kind of like the first few days with WITP. The sheer size of the map and detail level leaves you unclear as to where to start, and if you don't figure it out in a few tries it can be frustrating with any game. I want to help others get past that "learning cliff" so they can start really enjoying the game. I just bought the game this past week, so I am very much a newbie to it. With this being my first time attempting the Union side, you can't exactly take my strategies as gospel. Even I have no idea what will work. At any rate, we will all learn together, eh?



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:37:45 AM)

Here is the Naval notes. The south is just starting to get their initial blockade runners to sea, but they are also building an ironclad in Norfolk which will be completed soon. If it finishes before I can get my own ironclad down there, he will be able to break the blocakde and release all of the rebel runners trapped on the James River at Richmond.


[image]local://upfiles/6829/41BA3ECA818F4DABA60A79D9BCE39B7D.jpg[/image]



Gem35 -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 4:39:53 AM)

A few questions.
Keyes troops are going to try to take Manassas, why destroy the railroad unless you don't plan on keeping it?
Militia can forage and are cheap to build, is there a limit to the number of them you can have?
Would you give them a good general and form a militia army?
What sort of combined arms is good for defense?
I think I would struggle deciding how to balance my forces and then there are the ships to worry about too.
I'm about to click the buy button...[&o]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 5:48:16 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Gem35

A few questions.
Keyes troops are going to try to take Manassas, why destroy the railroad unless you don't plan on keeping it?
Militia can forage and are cheap to build, is there a limit to the number of them you can have?
Would you give them a good general and form a militia army?
What sort of combined arms is good for defense?
I think I would struggle deciding how to balance my forces and then there are the ships to worry about too.
I'm about to click the buy button...[&o]


I am destroying the railroad because I am certain that I can not hold the place. Pretty soon the rest of the Rebel army will be swarming up here like mad hornets, while the bulk of the Union army sits back on their duffs in Alexandria VA building up and generally being inactive.

I want to take the Town, get my general and the elite troops some battle experience, rip up the rails, burn the supply depot, and haul off whatever I can back to the safety of my Alexandria without taking undue casualties.

The south will then be faced with a broken supply link that they can't rail troops through. Marching takes forever compared to riding the train. It really puts the crimp into their movement of troops andsupplies between Winchester and Richmond. That in turn helps protect against an early Harpers Ferry-Chambersburg end around (like Antietam in 1862 and Gettysburg in 1863). <At least I hope>

If they want to garrison Manassas, then I can raid them on my terms. The reverse would apply if I left my troops there.

Regarding Militia, there are limits to the number of units that each state will field at any one time. They are cheap, small, fragile units. Good for rear area control and for fights against other militia, but not for pitched battles. That's not to say that you can't do things with them. On turn one the CSA uses Militia to attack and capture Norfolk and Sumter. I sometimes gather up more than one unit under a general and use them that way, but I will quickly pitch them if any regular troops are available instead.

You will need militia on both sides to protect your interior lines due to the amount of raiding that occurs. I was shocked earlier this week when I had pulled most of my militia up towards the central battle front as CSA. The Union landed in Florida and marched straight on my Capital in Montgomery. I had left a few Militia to guard the coast, but no enough. Even worse, I couldn't get them back down in time to stop the raid because I had no interior garrisons to slow the enemy down.....ugly.

I am still struggling on the best mix of forces. Time will tell as well as playing style.



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 5:49:49 AM)

Now for turn 5:


[image]local://upfiles/6829/2233A754E0F74A7683351F51CFC44B38.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 6:06:49 AM)

And let's see how Keyes did at Manassas....


[image]local://upfiles/6829/5646690B96CC4294B3884066B5100F1C.jpg[/image]



Richard III -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 6:12:39 AM)

Great AAR and the Pics really help, thanks !

Since your Rolling The Dice, why not go all the way and issue 5% Bonds and a one time Tax, even taking the morale hit that should really generate enough to buy the units to overwhelm them by late 1861.

Unless the AI is smart enough to know what your doing and does the same [:'(]




seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 6:48:07 AM)

Looks like the AI is doing their first deep cavalry raid in Ohio!!!


[image]local://upfiles/6829/BB40E237B7554DADB24AA9E8E2ADB3A4.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 7:00:10 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Richard III

Great AAR and the Pics really help, thanks !

Since your Rolling The Dice, why not go all the way and issue 5% Bonds and a one time Tax, even taking the morale hit that should really generate enough to buy the units to overwhelm them by late 1861.

Unless the AI is smart enough to know what your doing and does the same [:'(]



I think that it will be lack of decisvie leadership rather than money that holds me back from crushing the enemy. I did the tax, but I am shying away from the war bonds this early in the game. I wonder if anyone else has tried that strategy yet?



Bloodybucket28th -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 8:41:05 AM)

If I'm reading you right, your overall strategy is to go heavy on the "Anaconda Plan" and build up quickly hoping to build a heavier force than the Rebs early in the game...are you going to go for an early assault on Richmond or hold in the East while your MO force gathers strength, and what have you got in mind for amphibious ops?  It seems to me that a few landings might make the blockade easier to maintain.  Are you playing with the naval cohesion automanaged?



Massattack -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/6/2007 6:35:49 PM)


Thanks for your efforts in making this AAR.[&o]

Regards



Gem35 -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/7/2007 3:57:29 AM)

Hello seydlitz,
I may have made some mistakes and I am a bit confused. I am in turn 3 and I can only purchase replacements. For some reason I cannot purchase reinenforcements. I have ALOT of divisional commanders and several 2 and 3 stars guys and a few brigades in and around DC.
Is there something I am missing or maybe wait a few more turns?



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/7/2007 6:22:51 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Gem35

Hello seydlitz,
I may have made some mistakes and I am a bit confused. I am in turn 3 and I can only purchase replacements. For some reason I cannot purchase reinenforcements. I have ALOT of divisional commanders and several 2 and 3 stars guys and a few brigades in and around DC.
Is there something I am missing or maybe wait a few more turns?

I was thinking that reinforcements became available for purchase in Late May. Turn 3 or 4. You should be able to get them soon. Remember to check each tab in the reinforcements page. Each tab is a different type of unit. If You are on a tab that is not available to build yet, then you will see no units.
Here are some samples of what the reinforcements tabs look like when units are available. Each tab is a unit class, and within that the units are sorted by origin states.

First, regular infantry:


[image]local://upfiles/6829/718DB2E468424ACD84927BCD6898E598.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/7/2007 6:26:53 AM)

Here is the militia tab. Note the tool tip (black box). It explains what the numbers mean.


[image]local://upfiles/6829/7784282B597A4F9CB89BD804418AAE00.jpg[/image]



seydlitz_slith -> RE: Learning as USA..An open Discussion AAR on the April 1861 Campaign (7/7/2007 6:29:31 AM)

Support Units:


[image]local://upfiles/6829/5888267800B748EAA942C9935C1FB00C.jpg[/image]



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