Union vs. Confederate AI AAR

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Joel has asked us testers to post an AAR against the AI so here is my attempt at one against the Confederate AI. This is the full 1861 campaign. I'll try to add screenshots here and there as I go along and the situation warrants. I'll try my best to post a turn a day so as to keep this rolling along.

Not too many of my generals have initiative to start so I won't get carried away with attacking and primarily concentrate on.....well concentrating and organizing my forces. McClellan did have the good ol' red arrow, which denotes initiative, in West Virginia. Of the forces under his command, who also had initiative, I sent Kelly to take Charleston in an overrun and McClellan and Rosecrans to Grafton. Kelly took Charleston in an overrun and McClellan took Grafton after most of the Rebels reacted out rather then stand and fight. In the past I would have sent all the forces to Grafton for an overrun and then shifted McClellan elsewhere for a better command picture but I've found that it can be harder then heck to get initiative in that area again and the Rebel AI will run some troops into Charleston to make you work for getting control of West Virginia. This way I've managed to take both regions though I'll need to shift McClellan somewhere else next turn.
Out west I sent Sturgis and his cavalry to overrun Joplin and built a depot in Jefferson City hoping that will help Lyons get initiative next turn so he can take Springfield and complete control of Missouri.
All the rest of the Union troops out west were gathered up along the Ohio River in preparation for the invasion or a counter-invasion of Kentucky. Troops in the east were gathered in Washington or Philadelphia. In all these areas all militia regiments were put with the generals with the best infantry training value in hopes of converting them to regulars as soon as possible. Also converted two militia regiments in Washington to cavalry and placed them under command of a cavalry general to begin training. I'll need plenty of horse out west but I like to start with two in Washington to counteract Stuart right away as I'm not in contact out west until the invasion of Kentucky. I also moved naval assets to allow for the invasion of some of the coastal islands which will bolster my blockade. Moved one cruiser into the box to contest any Confederate raiders. Also called for the draft so I can rapidly bolster my numbers and have plenty of troops on hand. I also activated Halleck this turn as he'll get promoted and be available for Theater Command next turn. Unfortunately I forgot to use my second activation which would have probably given me Grant and this might slow down things for me later.
In my production phase we concentrated most of the inland factories on the production of guns except for a few more gunboats along the Ohio and most of the coastal factories are producing transports or cruisers to allow for coastal invasions, bolstering the blockade, or chasing down Confederate raiders. I'm in a very good supply situation and left very few factories to produce supply this turn.

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On to Turn 2. Rosecrans got initiative so I decided to send him into Franklin with McClellan to take advantage of the rare opportunity. In the west I was able to send Sigel and Dietzler into Springfield to complete the conquest of Missouri and bring it into the Union fold. In the east we limited ourselves to making amphibious invasions of coastal islands along the Eastern seaboard and in the Gulf plus sending cavalry to scout Manassas. Hope to take the rest of the islands in the next turn. Busy training all the new recruits up to regular status. Did manage to get Grant as a Western leader with one of my activations and I immediately loaded him up with troops. Also managed to get Morgan as one of my Eastern leaders. His combat ratings aren't that great but he has a very high infantry training rating and he is loaded with militia. Didn't do much in the production phase as most of my factories are still busy with last turns orders. Speaking of production the Union recruitment is really kicking in.
In the combat phase the Rebels chose not to reinforce Franklin and we won a minor victory. All the coastal islands were over run. In the Rebel turn the Confederates invaded Kentucky which is going to get them some political points but it also means we can counter-attack and not face the political penalty. Currently the Union has 965 points to the Confederates 972.

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Well a boring turn for the Union as we didn't have enough initiative to do any attacking so we settled for bringing in new troops and organizing them with leaders to expedite our training. Dismissed Fremont at a cost of 12 pp and replaced him with Halleck. Decided against moving McClellan east and instead sent him to Indiana to hopefully get us initiative to launch a counter-invasion of Kentucky before the weather gets too bad. Toyed with the idea of promoting Banks or Hunter to Army Commander but decided against it as I didn't want to face the PP cost of dismissing them when Grant got enough stars to be promoted. Also positioned my naval forces to finish the conquest of the coastal islands and the Jacksonville area of Florida. The Rebels were seen reinforcing Kentucky which is going to make my job harder there. They also were seen reinforcing Fayetteville, AR for a possible move into Missouri to try and reclaim part of that state.

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It is now November and I got a mixed bag on initiative. McClellan himself wasn't showing to have it but Grant and some of the other infantry leaders stacked with him did so we crossed the Ohio to contest Louisville. No one else in any other regions had it except for Grainger in Cairo and he isn't strong enough to go for Paducah himself so will have to content ourselves with shuffling regulars/militia around to suit us. In the East both Scott as Theater Commander and McDowell as army commander had initiative but I decided against an offensive into Manassas at this time. Did complete the conquest of the coastal islands and will set up to invade Jacksonville next turn. It is usually a safe bet as the Confederates never seem to have the resources to spare to garrison it as it's value is much smaller then the other coastal regions but it will basically take Florida out of the war. In the production phase I did get the message that Grant has been promoted to two stars so his future is about to take a turn for the better. Also lost a merchant ship to raiders, which cost me PP, plus they captured 4 supplies. There is a picture of that screen below. Well the attack into Louisville did not go well as Beauregard ate McClellan's sack lunch with the Union suffering double the losses of the Confederates.

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Little combat to report as the December weather is just too bad to make major movements. Most notable occurance this month was the naming of Grant and Buell to Army commanders and the dismissal of McDowell to make room for them. Buell is moved to Cincinnatti and McClellan to Washington. This gives me 3 army commanders poised to strike at Kentucky as soon as the weather improves. Sigel did manage to take Fayetteville Arkansas in the months only combat. Will have to get a move on pretty soon as the Rebels have a big Political Point lead right now.

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The only Army to get initiative this month was Buell's army in Cincinnati and he didn't have the strength to tackle the Confederates we scouted in Kentucky across the Ohio. So this turn was spent organizing forces as we moved newly trained regulars from their training commands to their combat commands and moved more militia to those leaders with high infantry training values. Had a high chance to activate Phil Sheridan with my first leader activation but received David Stanley instead. So instead of getting another infantry commander I opted to go ahead and get Sheridan. He is now consolidating Union cavalry with Grant while I moved Stanley to do the same job with Lyon in Cairo. Hopefully these two good cavalry leaders will allow me to increase my scouting ability while at the same reducing the Confederates ability to do the same to me.

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Well Union Armies were on the march south this turn and after combat we were on the march back north. Lyon lost in Paducah, Grant in Louisville, and McClellan in Manassas. I was unable to get as many men committed as I had hoped and the Confederates were able to react and outnumber my forces in all three battles. However in two of these three battles the Confederates lost more men then I did so it wasn't a total failure....though it felt like it. The one bright spot in for the Union in February was the invasion and capture of Jacksonville. Hoping that the Union Navy will keep a fair number of Confederates tied down watching the coast.

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Well I was unable to do anything in my first turn this morning as I didn't have any initiative and needed to reorganize. However when that turn was done I checked and all my armies had initiative so I played a second turn. Lyon moved on Paducah, Grant on Louisville, Buell on Lexington, and McClellan on Manassas. The battle in Manassas was huge with both sides committing over 100,000 men. Losses were heavy on both sides but eventually the Confederates gained the upper hand. Casualties were hight on both sides. Buell easily carried Lexington and Grant quickly squashed the opposition in Louisville. Lyon had a very tough time with the rebels in Paducah and was forced to retreat after heavy losses. Also managed to sneak in and take Fort Smith in Arkansas. Sorry no screen shots as I was really pushing my time to finish the turn and get to work on time. Maneuvered my naval forces to give a go at one of the districts at the mouth of the Mississippi.

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A relatively quiet turn for the Union as we licked our wounds from the previous turn. We did put the Navy to work this time and slipped some troops into a undefended Pensacola and took that area. Also attempted to take Fort St. Phillip at the mouth of the Mississippi but the small garrison with it's heavy cannon and fortifications were able to drive our forces. I've attached the start of the combat display. I also snuck in and captured the undefended region Lexington in Kentucky. Activated Hooker and Sumner this turn which are improvements over my current leaders in the East only to have Sumner resign for 10 months at the start of the next turn. Also maxed out the cavalry builds in the west so as to have plenty of scouting ability and to have the ability to defend against Confederate attempts at scouting and raiding.

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Only Lyon had initiative this turn so I spent the month reinforcing with returning regulars and arriving militia. Reinforced Pensacola to deter a Confederate counterattack. Activated Ezra Taylor to command artillery in Grant's army and McDowell returned to the East to command troops. Winfield Scott resigned so McClellan was promoted to Theater Command and Hooker given Army command. Sent a bunch of cruisers to reinforce the hunt for Confederate raiders. May not be the best use for them but those raiders annoy the hell out of me and I usually go for them. Any more cruiser builds will go to the blockade.

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Well this month saw all the Union Generals get initiative so all the Union armies were on the move. Lyon moved on Paducah, mainly to try and hold some forces from reacting to other parts of Kentucky. Grant moved on Bowling Green where he had his first engagement with R.E. Lee. Buell moved on Glasgow. Hooker took a stab at Manassas but I was doubtful of positive results there. Also launched an amphibious move against Baldwin bordering Mobile Bay. William Tecumseh Sherman and John Sedgwick were activated this turn. Here is screenshot early on in the Battle of Bowling Green.

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And here is the results of the Battle of Bowling Green.

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In the other battles Lyon was once again repulsed from Paducah but Buell did take Glasgow without much trouble. Hooker and Beauregard fought a horrific battle where Hooker was finally forced to retreat after heavy losses. According to the battle display the Rebels had 320 guns! Williams did manage to take Baldwin so as soon as I move some heavy guns in there it should put a crimp in Mobile's imports. And here is a screenshot showing why I hate Confederate raiders!

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Lyon, Grant, and Hooker had initiative this turn but still licking my wounds from the last general attacks so Lyon and Hooker stood pat. Grant, rather then beating his head against the fortifications in Bowling Green moved on Livingston, TN and took it. Political gain wasn't much but it does put me in a position to move on central Tennessee and hopefully the Confederates will weaken Bowling Green or Paducah, or both, to reinforce that area. Attached a screenshot showing the effect of my blockade efforts, particularly the fact that Mobile is now closed to trade with the capture of Baldwin and the installation of the heavy guns, which damaged a Confederate transport this turn.

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Nothing to report for September 1862 as we mostly absorbed replacements and shuffled troops around for future moves.

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In October 1862 almost all my armies had initiative but we really weren't in a good position to exploit it yet. Did send Grant into Murfreesboro in what I thought would be an easy battle. However the Confederates had plenty of initiative of there own and were able to react in and greatly outnumber in infantry while the Union had a great edge in guns. As you can see from the screenshot the Union lost the battle but the Confederates suffered much more.

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November 1862 sees bad weather kick in and attrition is kicking my butt. Not much to do but hunker down and prepare for spring. I've got to start making some serious inroads in the Confederate PP total this next year and increase my total as I start losing points in January 1863 for not having declared the Emancipation Proclamation.

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December 1862 left me with little to do as the weather and lack of initiative has brought the campaigning to a halt.

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February found me being repelled from Paducah once again. R.E. Lee was leading the Rebel forces there so hopefully I can find a weak leader somewhere.

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March 1863 saw another big battle in Manassas which the Confederates once again won. Don't know if I'm going to be able to break the Confederate fortifications at Manassas or not, especially with the number of guns they've managed to gather there. The Confederates have managed to put a small battle fleet together and they are busy chasing me around the Gulf of Mexico. Biggest problem is that they have broken the blockade of New Orleans and Galveston. Gathered up all the transports from that area and placed them off Port Royal and Burnside managed to take it in an amphibious assault. Union is in dire straits as they PP are favoring the Rebels by almost 400 points. Going to take some serious luck in the next few months or the war could be lost.