JD Walter
Posts: 235
Joined: 6/20/2003 From: Out of the Silent Planet Status: offline
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Hi jscott991, Your questions are very good and, in the interest of helping future new players who may come to this game, I'll try to help. I've thoroughly played 5 major strategic-level Civil War games: WC's Forge of Freedom, AGEOD's Civil War I & II, Mark Herman's For the People (GMT), 3W's A House Divided and Gary Grigsby's WBtS. Out of them all, this game is, imho, the most accurate strategic study of the Civil War. It clearly shows why major offensives were cyclical and so difficult to plan, organize & execute, and why each side could only conduct a limited number of them. Whereas in every other Civil War game of this level, one can move every force every turn, only in Grigsby's and Herman's games are activations limited and highly prized. Unfortunately burdened with a rather unfriendly user interface, GG's WBtS is still an excellent example of economy of design and focus on the truly significant factors of the War in each theatre. I hope other gamers with an interest in this period will pick this game up. They will be provided an excellent experience in Civil War theatre strategy (East, West, Frontier & Coastal/Blockade). 1. For Theatre Command, I follow the historical Union practice: EAST: TC Scott, replace with Little Mac (McClellan) upon death. AC's: McClellan, McDowell, Burnside and/or Hooker until Grant is no longer needed in the West and can replace them. WEST: TC Halleck. Use an activation to place him on the map. I take exception to the strategy notes regarding Presidential Promotions in this one instance (20.0): Fremont is too incapable, and a human opponent will run rings around him if you leave him in charge. It is vital you obtain initiatives in the West; without them, a Confederate player will easily take KY and even invade OH or IL. You must prevent this! Spend 100 PP's to make Halleck a 4-star, discharge Fremont, and make Halleck the new TC. AC's: Lyon (until death), Buell (for training militias), Grant (until transfer to East), then Sherman and Rosecrans. Ben Butler is a good garrison commander, but not the best choice for a TC or AC. You will find far better candidates come 1863-4. 2. Read the CSC rules (18.3) carefully. Each bird colonel can csc 1 unit. Each general can csc (# of stars +1). Add enough division commanders to equal or exceed the number of regiments you have in the corps. 3. The best trick I have found for invading Confederate ports is...DON'T! Invade the adjacent region. Establish a base there (Fort + 2-3 Depots) and assault them overland. Works like a charm in '64 when the Confederacy is stretched thin. Until then, concentrate on (a) building Cruisers and implementing the blockade and (b) taking the Mississippi (New Orleans, Island No. 10 & Vicksburg). 4. Yes. Lyon is an excellent AC. Especially if he wins a Major Victory or 2. His command rating will equal Buell's or McClellan's. His only drawback is his mortality rating: he is destined to eat a bullet at some point in the war. 5. Playing solitaire, HA is unnecessary. Playing against a live Confederate, you will rue the day you do not have at least 4xHA in each of New Orleans, Cairo IL, Ft. Monroe, Cincinnati OH & Washington DC. with an artillery leader in command. 6. IIRC, you must attack New Orleans by land. 7 & 8. For the Union, artillery works best grouped separately into its own grand battery, commanded by its own Arty leader. Grant is an exception. He can command infantry & artillery equally well. The Confederacy has a number of good artillery Corps Commanders that can mix both together. Hope this helps!
< Message edited by Def Zep -- 5/6/2015 10:42:20 PM >
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