PBEM AAR - Long Live the Union!

[jchastain]

And that's it for another turn. It is back in Gil's hands now.

[jchastain]

This is a turn from last night I just didn't have time to post it, so you may have already seen Gil's actions.

Ack! We "won" the attack on the fort... but there were no casualties on either side????? Hmmmmm.... I'm thinking that's a bug. There was a bug report on that earlier but I thought it had been resolved. Clearly it hasn't been. I'll report that one and lick my wounds at the wasted time.

[jchastain]

Doh! DC is hit by disease. This could get ugly. I'm counting well over 5000 men lost on this page along.

[jchastain]

Oh my... a whole 'nother page. Ouch. I don't even want to think about counting this up. Let's just say it's bad and leave it at that.

[jchastain]

There's the end of them but I think it is safe to say that the AoP was decimated. Maybe I shouldn't have left them quite so concentrated.... especially considering that Washington is in no danger.

France support for the CSA increases. This is getting old. Will this nonsense never end?

[jchastain]

Alright... here's the east and what's left of my army in Washington.

[jchastain]

And the middle Tennessee Army. There was no battle so they apparently got out of Knoxville safely. Odd to see his one unit out by itself. An attack that didn't go as planned or just recon? I'm really not looking for a fight with this army, but if all he's going to send is a cabin full of boyscouts then maybe I could take him. For now, I'll just hunker in here.

[jchastain]

Now... back out west. Keyes will try to get away and attack yet again due to the... difficulty in taking the fort. Either way, it shouldn't hinder us much longer.

[jchastain]

See as how Tennessee might actually see some combat, I suppose this art unit ought to go there for now.

[jchastain]

Time to review supplies priorities once again. There are a few that seem a little out of whack. That artillary used a lot of supply moving. And the division it is landing in was already low. Time to use high priority for the first time in this game.

[jchastain]

My favorite subject... diplomacy.... grrrrrr.... I'll nudge France back up... but only a little. Guess it will have to come from England. Not like my huge investment there have been bearing any fruit. That's been a real disappointment.

[jchastain]

I can build one unit this turn... I think I'll go with a siege art unit. For some reason, I'm thinking I might need it before this war is over.

And with that, yet another turn is done...

[jchastain]

Though one might not see it at first glance - afterall, there has yet to be any clash of any significance - the war is going well and the Forces of Freedom are on the move.

The siege on Ft Henry continues with the full force of our armies bearing against them.

[jchastain]

And the fort which has caused so much trouble falls into friendly hands.

Lansing will begin its improved horse production next turn. Both camps and cavalry depend on horses so every little bit helps.

Reinforcements.... well.... we'll just say there is now ample need.

[jchastain]

After all my efforts there, britain is now reducing its support. At least the Rebs are falling out of favor on the continent. I still think with my investment level that everyone should be downright in love with me, but I'll settle for neutral relations all the way around so I'll call this a win for the goods guys and move on.

Yet another governor wanting yet more stuff. I really haven't been paying much attention to them. I'll at least give it some consideration this turn just to make sure I'm not creating any real political problems for myself.

[jchastain]

This time, I'll start by looking out west where the real action is. Keyes did move down to Hatchie, but it appears the rebs evacuated before I got there. Looks like we're going to be playing hide and seek. That's all right as long as we're turning the map blue as we go.

[jchastain]

I'm going to want to chase Sibley and Hindman down. The objective after all is to destroy those forces and leave the west open. Before I move down there though, I've finally got enough weapons to buy that big cannon I've had my eye one. Let's get an Ordnance Rifle for the Art unit attached to Keye's army. I feel sorry for any unit that falls into the sights of that baby, but that's what they get for wearing dingy gray on a bright summer day.

[jchastain]

OK, while I am thinking about it, let's also move a couple junk brigades into Ft Henry. I worked hard enough to get the darn thing; I don't want to move on and leave the place unattended so that enemy troops can come along behind me and take up residence and make me take the darn thing all over again.

[jchastain]

OK, now we finally move in to lay siege to Nashville. That fort seems well manned... see all those green dots below it? And I bet he's got a mean gun there too. But it is still a jewel worth the effort because it is the captial of Tennessee. Not only do provinces have owners, so do states. By taking the capital, I will control the state government and can depose the current governor and install someone more... suitable. While you get income from all provinces and cities you control, resource production is halved if you do not control the state. So by taking Nashville, I will not only take its production away from the Rebs, but I will also halve the production he is getting out of Chattanooga and Knoxville. And while we may have some big guns, I have a lot of low quality cannon fodder in these armies that are perfect for soaking up the casualties and a fleet of gunboatds that will make sure that he takes his share of damage too.

I'm still not sure what Johnston and Bragg are up to. I think I'll move my army from Lexington to Bowling Green. This actually serves a couple of purposes. First, he'll see all the armies in close proximity and be less inclined to come my way - that's the theory anyway. And since these are my shock troops, I'd just as soon not engage him quite yet. In addition to that though, I like the thought of taking the railroads that connect kentucky with Nashville. That will give me additional supply and reinforcement options. Finally, those raiders need to be adjacent to an enemy province to be effective. Pulaski still tocuhed him, but eventually, he'll have to move on (unless Gil forgets to deal with him in which case I'll benefit even more). With the move, I'll still be close enough to Lexington to react if need be. But I see a lot of benefit in turning Bowling Green to blue.

[jchastain]

My primary army will enter mississippi in chase of his fleeing forces. With any luck, we'll engage. I am purposely going to bypass Memphis. He's clearly invested a lot of time and money into those forts. Let them rot. His entire underbelly is soft for the taking. He's chosen to make a stand at a place that isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things and he's wasted a lot of money building defenses that I don't need to scale. If he expected me to delay myself there, he's sadly mistaken. I've learned my lesson the hard way at Ft Henry. I won't make that mistake again.