AACW Quick Reference Guide v1.4

[HobbesACW]

Here is an updated quick reference and guide to the game. It now includes information from many AGEOD forum posts http://www.ageod.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=72 and what I thought was good advice from several posters. A lot of this is subjective and you may well have superior ideas on strategy. If nothing else it should help newcomers get an idea without having to search through hundreds of posts. If you see any errors please let me know.

VP & NM
Strategic City: 1 VP per turn.
Objective City: 1-3 VP’s per turn.
Destroyed enemy units: per each unit.
In 1864 the Union is more vulnerable to defeat through morale loss.

National Morale is influenced by:-
Capturing objective regions.
Winning battles.
Promotions and dismissals.
War weariness in later years.
Certain player options.

Below a certain level as long as a side is still in control of it’s capital it will start to regain NM.
NM affects: unit cohesion, economic output, recruits.

CSA NM starts higher and the Union will lose 10 points for not closing on Richmond. This means that even if the Union VP total is higher than the CSA the foreign entry will stay basically the same (there is a roll for the side that has the higher VP and another roll for the side that has the higher NM each turn). If the CSA do not attack they waste their early leader advantage while the Union can out produce it but all things being equal the Union NM will fall faster than the CSA because of war weariness. Therefore the onus is on the Union player as he has got to scramble not only to maintain or increase NM but to keep that narrow margin of accumulated VPs growing.

(Note for new players: taking Nashville, Memphis, Richmond and New Orleans as stated in the briefing is not an automatic victory condition, rather it is an example of one way by which you may conceivably break southern morale; there are many other ways to do so. Interior cities such as Atlanta are also important to CSA morale and VP and are worthy objectives as well).


Control & Loyalty
Indians and Partisans will only take control of a city if region has > 50% loyalty, depots and forts will be destroyed by them.

Benefits of loyalty :-
Objectives do not need to be garrisoned to earn VP.
Enemy troop movement detection.
The region will produce more supply, resources and money.
Under-garrisoned regions loyal to the opposing side will gradually erode and a chance that partisans will appear.
In very hostile regions (< 11% loyalty) non-garrisoned cities may openly revolt.
Capturing strategic cities will send a wave of loyalty checks across the map.

If a D100 < the sum of the police value of all elements in a region loyalty will shift 1% in your favour. You can apply a policy which will bind the loyalty of all regions in the state between 2 values, shifting 1% a turn the value. This will only apply in regions where you have troops or are 51% military controlled.

If you have declared martial law in a state, any region in that state which has a loyalty less than 30% in which you have stationed troops or have at least 51% military control will shift loyalty 1% in your favour. In those regions with a loyalty greater than 70%, loyalty will shift 1% against you. You will also lose VP's rather than gain them for each city you control in that state.

The same rules apply for suspension of Habeus Corpus, except that the lower and upper limits are 15 and 85%, and you will simply not gain any VP's for controlling cities in that state.


Movement & Cohesion
Units moving into regions with tracks will not pay > 150% of clear terrain cost.
Units moving into regions with roads or rails will not pay > clear terrain cost.

Cohesion cost during movement :-
Passive posture: -0.25.
Offensive posture: +0.25.
Tracks or rails: -0.20.
Roads: -0.30.
Forced March: +1.
On rail: +0.10 (fixed no other effects apply)
On ship: +0.25 up to +2.25 for severe storm.
Only for Ships: same as above, but add the ship’s model type intrinsic cost (CohMove) instead of the naval move cost.
For land units add the weather modifier (BWP) and the model’s intrinsic cost.
Units with low cohesion will move more slowly. At 0% cohesion movement will be 50%.
Movement will increase cohesion loss more when enemy units are present in the region.

Base daily rate for non moving land unit cohesion recovery: 0.75 modified by :-
Passive posture: +1.
Inside a structure: +0.75.
Entrenched outside structure: +0.5.
In a loyal region: up to +0.5.
Irregular: +0.5.

Besieged: -1.5.
Besieger (non passive): -0.5.
On ship: -0.5.
Offensive posture: -0.5.
Naval unit in port: +2.

A unit with cohesion of zero no longer fires.
From 60% cohesion or less the unit receives an assault penalty of 1% for every 2 pts below that threshold. From 40% cohesion or less the unit receives a fire penalty of 1% for every 2 pts below that threshold. Every time a unit is hit during combat and it has 50% or less of its max hit value a cohesion test is made. If D100 > the modified cohesion value the unit routes.

You cannot enter a land region if the (enemy patrol value/friendly evasion value) > (your military control + (2 * friendly evasion value)) in the region you want to move into.

Evasion Value:
The unit with the lowest evasion value will determine the evasion value of the unit stack.
Bad weather will give a bonus to the evasion value. Additionally you will get some bonus/penalty for a small/big stack.

Patrol/Zone of Control value:
The patrol values of all elements are added.
A fort gives a large bonus to the patrol value (depends on fort level and military control).
Military control in a region also gives a bonus to the patrol value.

Note that a small ZOC will probably not be sufficient to prevent you from entering a region where you have no control at all (reason for the 2 * friendly EV).

A force will adopt an offensive posture if friendly military control < 6%.
A force will also adopt an offensive posture if friendly military control < 11% during amphibious assaults or river crossing unless the force consists entirely of irregulars.
To use rail network: 25%+ military control in region required.


FoW
Detection points in a region are generated by 3 sources :-
51% Military control: 2.
51% Loyalty: 2.
Units: Highest detection level.
Extends to adjacent region at -1.

A stack has the hide value of the worst unit modified as follows :-
Only contains leaders: +1.
Small force (< 5 CP or units) or passive: +1.
Wild terrain: +1.
Bad weather: +1.
Large force (> 12 CP or units): -1.
If a unit is in a region with a structure it’s hide value is set to 1 unless in a passive posture.


Combat
An Army stack is more reactive so it will be more likely to join Corps in adjacent regions by the sound of guns, or will commit to help another corps in the same region more quickly. But an Army does not benefit from the bonus coming from itself which Corps get, so a given Division will be more efficient in a corps compared to being in the Army. An Army stack will never initiate combat alone.

Multiple Corps engagement in a region is dependant on the strategic rating of each Corps commander, if he is activated or not, if he has a command penalty, and what is the speed of the corps (full cavalry corps react faster). Also there can be a screening effect if you have a Corps in offensive against another in offensive, unless your first corps is overwhelmed, a second Corps in a defensive stance will not intervene. Factors influencing chance of marching to the sound of the guns: Military control in both regions, distance, Corps cohesion and Corps leader strategic rating. Corps will support each other in a region more quickly than independent forces.

Trenches: level 5 – 8 can only be built if artillery is present in the region. These only increase artillery firepower and allow river and coast defence. The strategic level of the general will influence the amount of time required for entrenchment.
Pre-war forts are level 1. Trench 5+ are level 2 for siege calculation. The more units in a besieged fort the more supply consumption and the more losses due to siege. With the high level of fortification now allowed consider fortifying outside of non-fortified towns with a large force but realise that units will have an increased frontage when compared to town defenders. Garrison town with militia.

The sharpshooter gives all elements in the same unit the initiative bonus. It does not work by attaching one sharpshooter to the Corps. You need on in every division to get all your divisions with the bonus. Or, you can stick it in a couple of divisions and hope those are the ones selected for the combat phase. But, its a unit level attribute, like strong morale and entrencher.
Morale checks are made in combat based on cohesion level and the following :-
Militia fighting in it’s own State.
Trench level (capped at 4).
Loss level of sub unit.
Fighting for a symbolic objective.

A force will not be able to retreat from battle into regions with < 5% military control.
33% of battle casualties are added back to your pool.

Siege factors :-
(Besieging side).
Artillery combat factors.
Siege Engineer ability.
Breach achieved.
Defender lack general supply.

(Besieged side).
Artillery combat factors.
Engineer or fort defender ability.
Fort level (pre-war forts: 1. level 5+ trenches: 2).

Each 30 points of artillery will give you +1 (or -1 if defending).

Results
Surrender: SRV > defending units average discipline.
Breach: SRV >= 3.
Hits: SRV > 0 5 hits per SRV point.
Breach repair: SRV < 0.


Replacement Rate
Base land unit recovery rate: 5%.
Irregular: 10%.
Depot: 20%.
City: 10%.
Fort: 10%.
Indian Village: 5%.

Union rate (x0.5).
Naval Units 5% per port level.


Leaders and HQ
1* 4 CP
2* 8 CP
3* 12 CP

Max CP in single stack: 16 + bonuses.
CP Bonuses: Signal +2, Recon +1, Army Commander (strategic –2), Aide de Camp (strat 4+) +1, + leader bonuses.
Independent force CP (x0.5).

Each stat (strat/off/def) is rolled for a chance to get an increase from 0 to +3, with +1 being fairly easy, +2 more difficult and +3 seldom reached. This chance being vastly influenced by the base rating of the army commander. For strategic, the roll is the same, except you get less and can even get a penalty if the army leader is poor.

Command Cost: Basic Unit 1 to 4, Division 4, HQ 4.

USA:
Early May 1861: 6 Divisions
Early June 1861: 12 Divisions
Early July 1861: 48 Divisions

CSA:
Early May 1861: 3 Divisions
Early June 1861: 6 Divisions
Early July 1861: 24 Divisions

Division cost 10 monetary units, 5 war supply, 1 conscript company.
Max Division size: 18 elements.

Increase in combat efficiency per off./def. stack commander ability point: 5%.
Increase in combat efficiency per off./def. Division/embedded Brigade leader ability point: 3%.

If a leader is inactive the following penalties apply :-
Movement reduced -35%.
Regular offensive posture prohibited.

Whatever your stance you get a combat penalty equal to the lack of military control in the region maxed at 35%. i.e. if you are inactive and fight in a region with 65% or less military control, you are at -35%. This is the same penalty as lack of CP so this does not double if you are already at -35%.

Leaderless troops suffer from movement and combat penalties but can assume
an offensive posture. Leaders can gain experience in battle which also leads to better seniority.


Naval
Currently cohesion, strength and the supply level of Naval units does not have an impact on blockade effectiveness.

Blue Water Blockade
Type Patrol Blockade Detect
Frigate 8 5 5
Steam Frigate 7 4 4
Brig 6 2 3
Blockade Ship 9 10 3

Blockade ships are the best for blue water blockades aided by a frigate for higher detection value. In the blockades box, stance has no impact, the strongest side will try to find the weakest. The calculation is made by using the patrol value and evade values.

The parameter used to calculate the blockade % is the blockade value of a given element. The % is a reduction to the output of all the CSA cities. This is in addition to the cut done to a given port by a brown blockade strategy. The two are complementary.
The % are halved when you compute output, i.e. a 40% blue water blockade gives a 20 % reduction in money, WSU, ammo, supply in all the CSA.

The overall blockade % is weighted toward the less blockaded box to force a spread.
The maximum being 99% (meaning that all the high seas are under control, thus reducing CSA production output by 49.5%). Before reaching this costly high point it is better to brown water blockade the bigger CSA ports one by one.

For the runners make sure you have the "Evade" command selected. If you don't combine them into fleets it doesn't risk anything but that one ship when detected. Brigs make good Blockade runners.


Shipping Box
For escorting transport fleets in the shipping box, the frigate seems like the best choice.
Having the highest detection value, giving your fleet the best chance to find confederate raiders. Split fleets in this box into two groups, the transport group, with one or two escorts, set to evade combat and the hunter group, with largely frigates and the occasional steam frigate in case combat gets heavy set to seek out CSA raiders.


Brown Water Blockade
Type Off fire Def fire Initiative Range ROF Protect
Brig 4 4 8 6 3 0
Frigate 5 5 7 7 3 1
Steam Frigate 10 9 8 8 2 2
Monitor 14 10 7 7 2 11

Brigs are good for brown water blockades simply because blockade thresholds per sea area are in terms of "units," and a Brig is the cheapest combat unit available.

A blockaded harbour gives systematically a 50% cut on all the above. Then this is further adjusted by your national morale and region loyalty.


Pacific
An event (planned but not yet implemented) makes the USA lose VP if the fleet leaves (political and national prestige loss). Also a Pacific fleet will impact on the Union favourably during the 'Chapman Plot' and 'CSS Shenandoah in the Pacific' events.


Economics
Don't always industrialise the "best" states. The cost to industrialise the lower potential states is significantly less than the higher potential ones. As CSA set North Carolina and possibly Tennessee to light industrialization and the cost is still lower than setting Georgia to low.
Consider industrialisation of states close to combat regions to reduce resupply distance to units but beware of improvements falling into enemy hands.

The CSA need to be pulling in at least 70-80 war supplies per turn to maintain an effective army. You can get that with blockade runners but if they're bringing in War supplies then they're not bringing in money. The less money that comes in, the more you have to raise, the higher your inflation gets, the more things cost.

Be aware that you can click on the text in the financial and draft options to change the option available.


Raids
Put militia in every border city and the cities behind the first line. If raiders destroy RR repair it with a group of roving militia. Place gunboats on rivers to prevent land units from passing.

Buy small groups of cavalry (possibly 2 cavalry and one horse artillery) to sit in or near the forward border cities. Try and get at least 3-4 groups. If decent cavalry leaders with high strategic values are available use these to lead the groups. Raiders should be chased down within a couple of turns and by then their cohesion should be low making them slow and weak.
Do not let raiders capture cities as they will then be able to resupply.


Supply
Generation (General/Ammo) :-
City: 8, 2.
Depot: 4,1.
Harbour: 4,1.
Fort or Stockade: 2,0.
Indian Village: 1,0.
This is modified by: Investment, Loyalty (+50%), NM, Blockade.

Units lacking supply will start taking hits and lose cohesion. They also incur a moderate combat penalty. Units lacking ammunition will incur a sever combat penalty.

Attrition is reduced in civilized regions (x0.9) by supply wagon (x0.9), entrenchment (x0.8).

Towns (level 1-2) cannot push supply forward unless they contain a depot.
25% military control is required to allow supply to pass through a region.

Transport assets river: decreased by 1% per turn.
Transport assets rail: decreased by 3% per turn.

Blockading a port will result in a 50% loss of production for that port.

For riverine supply distribution using the riverine pool, movement is blocked by regions which have either an enemy naval unit or are under the guns of a fort with artillery or a unit with positioned artillery (lvl 5+ entrenchments).

For oceanic supply distribution harbours will not be able to receive supply if blockaded but neighbouring enemy forts alone, without some ships, will not blockade a harbour.


Recruitment
Militia can be merged (CTL-C on both units) freeing up a slot in the force pool and have an event driven possibility of becoming regular units.
Partisans will only appear in the force pool after specific events ('Southern Unionists' for the Union, the 'Partisan Rangers Act' for the CSA) otherwise they will appear by chance. The patriot trait will increase this chance. Partisans and revolters are not the same. Revolters appear in ungarrisoned towns, partisans in hills or forests.
In late 1862, your troops will start to upgrade equipment. For example late infantry have defensive fire which is much stronger than the offensive. The same process applies to cavalry benefiting the Union with a faster upgrade rate. This simulates the Union cavalry's possession of the Sharps Carbine late in the war which was able to fire several shots in a matter of seconds. This is reflected by an increased fire rate for the unit.

If you put a recruitment officer in a city with at least a size 5, he will give you a bonus to your national manpower of 3-6 conscript companies per turn.


Misc
Kentucky.
KY secedes: 10% chance until it either becomes neutral or mid 1862 reached. Condition: CSA morale must be higher than USA.

KY neutral: automatic if it does not secede before mid 1862. Chance influenced by the presence of troops at the border. If CSA masses roughly 5-6 bdes there is a 25% chance each turn that KY will go neutral (if you want it to secede, don't mass troops nearby). If USA, place 4-5 bdes for max 35% chance of forcing neutrality (the Dick Robinson event increases this chance).

Invasion: the invasion event is triggered by an attack of one camp on the KY militia units of the other side causing KY to enter the war on the side of the defending militia.

Cheers, Chris

[general billy]

Very good stuff. Thanks

[Gray_Lensman]

I'd post the converted PDF version here, but Matrix site does not support PDF or ZIP formatted uploads.

However see: http://www.ageod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4213

the link for the PDF format is near the bottom of the first page under the same Gray_Lensman name.

Enjoy.

[Gem35]

thanks for the information and links folks.[:)]