Stategy/tactics questions

[jlewis42]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any solutions to the following problems (I am playing as the Union vs. a computer Confederate opponent):

1) It seems very difficult to get the Rebs to commit to a fair fight, instead they always seem to be able to retreat with minimal loss when outnumbered. Even surrounding Confederate armies and leaving them with no retreat destination fails, they just retreat to one of my blue territories and capture it. Surely there must be a way to destroy tiny annoying depleted enemy armies that keep retreating? Is there a way to corner an army and force it to battle?

2) It seems impossible to defeat a large rebel army with home-field advantage. In my last game I've been attacking the Confederate eastern army at Richmond every other turn, it is always about 100,000 of my men vs. 50,000 of theirs, I have some 10+ artillery brigades they have maybe 2, sharpshooters and rapid fire guns on almost all of my brigades, and I kill twice as many men as I lose but still lose the battle and suffer 5-10k "pursuit" casualties just about every time! Is there anything someone could recommend to add to my army in order to win an offensive battle on Rebel turf?

All in all I applaud the designers on a well made game, most of the experience fits the historical reality perfectly. The gameplay is solid too though and that is also important.

[moose1999]

Are you playing detailed battles or quick combat/instant resolve?

And welcome to the forums, by the way!

[MilRevKo]

You might want to take in to account the Logistics and Command ratings of all of the Norths container units.
--
Utinam populus romanus unam cervicem haberet!

[Anthropoid]

I've found that mastering the tactical combat is the key to kicking the AIs butt. Use of terrain, entrenchment, proper deployment of brigades based on different weapon types & attributes, as well as generals, quality, numbers, morale, all critical for milking it for the best possible outcomes.
 
One other thing: in order to 'surround' an enemy unit, it must have absolutely no place to go, meaning enemy units in every tile around it, and not only that, but enemy units that 'got there quickly.'

[Ironclad]

Impassable terrain - mountains and lakes - provides for useful economy of force when surrounding enemy units and splitting units is another helpful device - for those with the minimum strength of 2000 or more and which have the necessary 6 movement points remaining.

[MorningDew]

1) It seems very difficult to get the Rebs to commit to a fair fight, instead they always seem to be able to retreat with minimal loss when outnumbered. Even surrounding Confederate armies and leaving them with no retreat destination fails, they just retreat to one of my blue territories and capture it. Surely there must be a way to destroy tiny annoying depleted enemy armies that keep retreating? Is there a way to corner an army and force it to battle?

2) It seems impossible to defeat a large rebel army with home-field advantage. In my last game I've been attacking the Confederate eastern army at Richmond every other turn, it is always about 100,000 of my men vs. 50,000 of theirs, I have some 10+ artillery brigades they have maybe 2, sharpshooters and rapid fire guns on almost all of my brigades, and I kill twice as many men as I lose but still lose the battle and suffer 5-10k "pursuit" casualties just about every time! Is there anything someone could recommend to add to my army in order to win an offensive battle on Rebel turf?

Spoken like a true Union general! Sounds like something every commanded of the AoP would have said, which speaks highly for the game.

[meisterchow]

I'm currently playing as the South, and I've had the opposite reaction to the "Virginia Meatgrinder."  From 11/61 to about 10/62 I fought 8 major engagements in Virgina.  I would win battle after battle against the AotP, but even with a 2:1 casualty ratio, my brigades were wearing out.  By the middle of 1862, most of the Brigades I had in Virginia would have morales above 8.5 or 9 but only have 800 or 900 troops.  I had to pull back from the Maryland border to give my troops some breathing space so all the camps I've been building could actually regrow the brigades instead of trying to plug holes from the last battle.  Believe me, I'm taking notes for when I play the Union.
 
Interestingly enough, the Union backed down for a few months, as well, then came on strong in early 63.  They initially invaded with a giant clump 200,000 strong, which I simply couldn't deal with so I tried to stay out of its way.  Then, the clump broke up to besiege the various forts scattered around Virginia and actually try and conquer the state.  That's when I struck - first by breaking the siege of Richmond and all but annihilating the Union group there, and now I'm rolling up the various corps scattered around.  Just for grins, I declared Emancipation (and luckily only Florida bowed out), and the result is that the VP level is now -11 for the Union and 4 for me (though National Will is in the toilet for both of us).  I'm hoping that the combination of repeated losses in Virgina, my resurgence in Kentucky, and the Emancipation will wear out the Union by the end of the year.

[Gil R.]

Sounds fun. If desperate, you can always send a few garrison units from a relatively safe area to join the ANV and then disband those units AFTER they've safely arrived inside a division container, and thus reassign their men to your depleted units. (DO NOT try to do this all in one turn, because if the garrison unit doesn't make it to your army for some reason, such as bad weather, then you've simply disbanded your unit and wasted it. Make sure it gets there first.)

[meisterchow]

Hmmm, that's an interesting idea. I'll have to sock that away for future reference.

[meisterchow]

Let me just add that I find it fascinating that Grant's strategy does seem to be the best way to deal with a Southern army - grind 'em down! The fact that the usually superior Southern troops only get better in the process makes it a fun challenge for both sides.

I'm actually kinda anxious to finish my CSA game so I can start a USA game and apply some of this stuff to the other side.

[GShock]

I've used as CSA many times this disband feature to refill the other Bdes...i've always wondered what happens with their equipment (attributes and guns you buy)?

Is it lost or perhaps half of it is given back to you?

[Gil R.]

ORIGINAL: GShock

I've used as CSA many times this disband feature to refill the other Bdes...i've always wondered what happens with their equipment (attributes and guns you buy)?

Is it lost or perhaps half of it is given back to you?

I believe that guns are lost, though only Eric knows for sure. Someone might have suggested on the wish list that brigade attributes get assigned to another brigade, and that's something to consider for the future, but it doesn't work that way now.

Regarding CSA garrison units, I think it's smart to move the ones from the areas between Memphis and New Orleans into the Memphis and Nashville areas to resist the North's incursions. After all, the North can't besiege Jackson until it's taken Tennessee, so that garrison in Jackson can do a lot more good by rushing to Fort Donelson or Island No. 10. Likewise, the Atlanta garrison should be sent by rail to Knoxville or Chattanooga, especially if Kentucky goes with the Union.

[sirduke_slith]

[/quote]

I believe that guns are lost, though only Eric knows for sure.

Why would the guns be "lost" that doesn't make any sense!?

[Gil R.]

It's a game. We might not have thought of every possible rule. This might be one of the ones we didn't think of.

The truth serum wears off in two more hours, so if there are any other questions for which any of you wants an honest answer instead of spin, this would be the time to ask...

[Gil R.]

Ahh, I feel its effects wearing off...

[Missouri_Rebel]

ORIGINAL: Gil R.

so if there are any other questions for which any of you wants an honest answer instead of spin, this would be the time to ask...

O.K then. What is the subject of your next game and it's working title?

[Gil R.]

"Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition"

The serum wore off, but that's still the truth. (You should have phrased your question better.)

[soeren01]

ORIGINAL: Gil R.

Sounds fun. If desperate, you can always send a few garrison units from a relatively safe area to join the ANV and then disband those units AFTER they've safely arrived inside a division container, and thus reassign their men to your depleted units. (DO NOT try to do this all in one turn, because if the garrison unit doesn't make it to your army for some reason, such as bad weather, then you've simply disbanded your unit and wasted it. Make sure it gets there first.)

You can even disband some of the normal brigades to fill up your other ones. This also has the additional advantage that you have fewer brigades to pay for.
As CSA in the beginning I muster as much as I can and use this mustered troops during the winter to fill up my regular brigades by disbanding them inside a container.

[GShock]

Acceptable that guns get lost and attributes too but how about the unit quality? I mean the units who got replacements coming from the disbanding of Garrisons and other depleted brigades do affect the receiving unit's quality like Camp reinforcements do? 

[ericbabe]

Actually if the quality of the unit receiving disbanded strength is lower than the unit that disbanded, then the quality of the unit receiving strength will increase, not decrease.