AAR Jon Pyle (Union) vs Joel Billings (Confederate) - Confederate POV

[Joel Billings]

In the east, a large force under McClellan attacked Charleston, SC. Much of the defending militia was routed, however Charleston held (no thanks to Kirby Smith who failed his 80% initiative roll and did not bring his 10000 men to help out in the defense). Polk who had rushed south from North Carolina to take command was awarded the victory and promoted to 3-Star General after the success. Losses were heavy however with 8200 Confederate casualties to only 1900 for the Union (although the south did capture 20 guns).

McDowell continued to sit in Washington, although with good weather I was finally able to recon the area and found the forces there to number over 90000 men (probably 100,000 plus another 30,000 in the valley. Lee now has about 60,000 men in all of Virginia to face these.

A Confederate commerce raider was sunk in March, and the remaining two were ineffective in April. At the end of April there were about 530,000 union soldiers facing about 290,000 Confederates. The Political score is now Union 1004 Confederate 1047.

[Joel Billings]

May 1862 saw Union forces on the move. Lyon, led an army of 75000 men to take Corinth Grant, frustrated by the costly assault on Nashville, crossed the Tennessee River east of Nashville and moved on Murfreesboro with 40000 troops. In Murfreesboro, Beauregard reinforced by Hardee, met Grant with 55000 troops and soundly beat him. The shell of Grant's once strong army retreated back to Gallatin. Joe Johnston's 62000 men in Corinth were not as lucky. After putting up a spirited defense, Johnston was forced to retreat. The battle could have gone either way as the retreat odds at the end of the battle were only 1.02 to 1 (Murfreesboro was .82 to 1, not as close). Pemberton had 10,000 troops in Clarksdale, but without initiative he was unable to move to Corinth. Lyon's past successes have increased his command rating, and he was able to commit his entire force into the battle, thus securing the victory. After the battle, James McIntosh was killed along with 1000 of his cavalry while scouting the Union forces in Memphis. Having split Strategic Victories, eyes turned east to where a force of over 20000 soldiers led by McClellan, supported by over half of the Union navy assaulted Charleston. The defending force of 22000 troops (many militia), suffered 5800 losses during the month of operations, compared to 4500 Union casualties, but McClellan, unable to take the key forts, withdrew. Recruiting has been good lately and Union volunteers have fallen off, so I'm no longer outnumbered as badly as I was (maybe 1.7 to 1 in trained troops instead of 2 to 1). The Union player has focused on building a huge navy, so his artillery advantage is not as great as it could be (about 1.5 to 1 in field guns).

In other news, McDowell has finally been relieved from command in Washington (one year without moving). Sherman has been put in command.

I really thought I could beat both Lyon and Grant this turn, so the loss against Lyon was disappointing. In hindsight I had the chance of moving 4000 troops from near Nashville to either of the battles, and had I moved them to Corinth instead of Murfreesboro, that could have made the difference. As I was unsure of the exact size of Grant's forces, I felt I needed them there, but in hindsight I could have moved them west and probably done better. I hope that decision isn't the one that dooms the Confederacy. That loss is a 30 point political swing.

The current political score is Union 1026 Confederate 1037.

[Joel Billings]

In June 1862, Lyon settled into Corinth, building depots to prepare for further advances. Grant, bloodied badly from the fighting of the past few months, was content to rest and receive reinforcements. In the east, Sherman elected to stay in Washington training the thousands of fresh recruits that have accumulating there over the past few months. McClellan launched a move toward Savannah. Having previously taken Tallahassee, McClellan advanced up the rail toward Savannah. In Valdosta, a Confederate cavalry brigade shot up an untrained Union cavalry unit before retiring toward Savannah. In Waycross, 23000 Union troops commanded by Joseph Hooker came ashore (either from Washington or Jacksonville, I'm not sure). The Confederates reacted by assembling a force of 16000 men under Kirby Smith. Assisted by the ample naval forces, Hooker forced the Confederate forces back to Savannah. The screenshot below shows the dispositions of the forces at the end of June 1862.

In May and June, my heavy artillery forces had forced the Union gunboats to retreat up the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers. This allowed me to consolidate my artillery and send units to the east. I now have several heavy artillery units in both Savannah and Charleston, as well as Mobile and Wilmington. I don't expect Hooker to be able to move north in July, but by August McClellan will likely be sitting in Waycross at the gates of Savannah with what may be a large army. If that happens, I will be hard pressed to meet the threats coming from all four Union Army commanders.

[Joel Billings]

This screenshot shows the positions in Virginia and North Carolina at the end of June 1862. Notice the Union enclaves in New Bern, Elizabeth City and Fort Monroe. Sherman now has close to 80000 troops in Washington available to push south if he so chooses. Lee has about 55000 troops in northern Virginia, but he could possibly call on another 10000 from southern Virginia.

[Joel Billings]

The situation in the west at the end of June is shown in the screenshot. Beauregard was moved to take over the forces opposite Lyon, as it seems to be the biggest threat. Beauregard is positioned with Longstreet’s corps in Grenada, from which point he can react either east or west depending on where Lyon goes. If Lyon moves on Decatur, Beauregard will have to have initiative to meet him there. I do seem to have cleared the Tennessee of Union gunboats and the 80 heavy artillery in Lawrence may keep the river clear enough to keep communications open between the forces in Nashville and Decatur. Joe Johnston was moved to take command of the troops around Nashville. Hardee controls most of the troops in the town. If only one Union army attacks, I may be able to combine my forces and defeat it. If both attack, I could still do well unless Buell’s forces in Memphis join in the attack (unlikely since he is not an army commander, but it possible, especially if Halleck gets initiative in July).

Confederate cavalry raids in June destroyed 37 supplies and captured 6, with Jeb Stuart doing the most damage. Stuart was promoted to 2-Star General at the end of the month. One of the two remaining Confederate commerce raiders managed to capture and bring home 1 supply point.

The current Political score is Union 1027 Confederate 1032. The Union will be in a position to call for more troops next month if he wants to, at a cost of 50 political points. I need to win a few strategic victories to drop his political score. I can't afford to lose much more ground.

[Joel Billings]

Feel free to ask any questions you have regarding the the AAR or the game in general.

[kingwanabee]

Surprisingly little buzz going on in here for this game.[&:] I'm really looking forward to it as I love Civil War games, so I'm emerging from my normal lurker mode to ask a question [:)]

Could you please provide a description of the icons and numbers on the unit and leader counters? I looked at some previous threads and couldn't find anything.

Are we still headed for a May/June release? Is Keith working on his areas and making good progress?

Thanks!

[Joel Billings]

Keith is making steady progress. He finally hooked up the music system this week. He’s got a half dozen items left, including a couple of big ones, but he keeps making progress. Until he’s done (at least with the major items), I don’t want to speculate on a release date (but we want the game out already, it’s been in testing way too long).

As for the leaders, they have a red arrow if they have initiative (very important for attacking and being able to react in defense against enemy attacks). If the red arrow has 2 blue waves under it, this is amphibious initiative, which allows them to make an amphibious invasion. The two numbers at the top are the command points available/command rating. This indicates how many units you can have attached and how many you can help in combat. Very important for an Army or Theatre commander as a bigger number helps you control the size of the battle and the number of units that get involved. Command Rating is how many command points you have available each turn. The number on the top right is the number of movement points remaining (a green arrow under this indicates the unit moved this turn, a blue arrow indicates it moved strategically via rail or transports). The three numbers in the middle are the attack rating, defense rating, and skill rating of the leader’s type (so for an infantry leader, his infantry skill). Skill impacts combat bonuses and movement points for units attached when the leader has initiative. The rank of the leader is show on the left along with the leader’s type. A binoculars symbol indicates the leader has been spotted (enemy knows he’s there). Let me know if I missed something.

[Grell]

Hi Joel,

Is this game mod friendly like WAWAWD? In the game manual it tells you how to modify the game, will this game have that ability?

Regards,

Grell

[Joel Billings]

In July, Lyon advanced his 85,000+ army along the rail line toward Jackson, MS. Beauregard met him in Grenada with just over 70,000 troops. Lyon was unable (or unwilling) to take advantage of his superior numbers. Beauregard, assisted ably by Longstreet, committed 60,000 soldiers into battle, while Lyon only managed to get 35,000 of his soldiers into battle before he chose to withdraw. A great victory for the Confederates was spoiled by the wounding of General Longstreet. Longstreet was sent home to recover from his wounds, leaving a big hole to fill in Beauregard's army. Richard Taylor and Nathan Bedford Forrest have arrived in command and will try to fill Longstreet's shoes.

McClellan now commands a large army just south of Savannah, while Grant has received large reinforcements opposite Nashville. If all four army commanders are able to move in August, I could have a very difficult time holding my ground. I've had to shift sizable forces to Savannah and Charleston, weakening the western armies.

The political score is Union 1004 Confederate 1061.

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: Grell

Hi Joel,

Is this game mod friendly like WAWAWD? In the game manual it tells you how to modify the game, will this game have that ability?

Regards,

Grell

Yes the game can be modded. It is set up like World at War, using data files, so many things can be adjusted.

[kingwanabee]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Let me know if I missed something.

On the unit counters, the number in the upper left corner is strength? What is the icon in the lower left corner that looks like three dice?

Thanks again

[Grell]

Hi Joel,

That's great, thanks.

Regards,

Grell

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: kingwanabee

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Let me know if I missed something.

On the unit counters, the number in the upper left corner is strength? What is the icon in the lower left corner that looks like three dice?

Thanks again

Yes, the number in the left corner is the number of that type of unit in the area. The symbol in the lower left is supposed to be crates stacked together representing the unit has been supplied this turn.

Well, the Confederate nightmare finally happened in August 1862. Both Union Theatre Commanders got initiative and they were able to help all four Union Army Commanders get initiative. With that kind of coordination, the Union player had lots of choices. What do you think he did? I'll post later today what happened. It wasn't pretty.

I keep waiting for Scott to die, but no such luck. His living has given the Union player a better chance getting initiative. In most games, he dies in 1861 or early 1862, but occasionally he lives longer.

[Grell]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

ORIGINAL: kingwanabee

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Let me know if I missed something.

On the unit counters, the number in the upper left corner is strength? What is the icon in the lower left corner that looks like three dice?

Thanks again

Yes, the number in the left corner is the number of that type of unit in the area. The symbol in the lower left is supposed to be crates stacked together representing the unit has been supplied this turn.

Well, the Confederate nightmare finally happened in August 1862. Both Union Theatre Commanders got initiative and they were able to help all four Union Army Commanders get initiative. With that kind of coordination, the Union player had lots of choices. What do you think he did? I'll post later today what happened. It wasn't pretty.

No Joel, no!

Say it ain't so!

Regards,

Grell

[Forwarn45]

Just looking at the 2 AARs, it seems like random leaders gives the South a pretty big advantage since it is mainly on the defensive. Is this your experience, Joel, or is it just a fluke?

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: Forwarn45

Just looking at the 2 AARs, it seems like random leaders gives the South a pretty big advantage since it is mainly on the defensive. Is this your experience, Joel, or is it just a fluke?

It can go both ways. I was in a PBEM game as Union where I was lucky enough to have 2 excellent leaders show themselves early in the war. Of course, in that game, the Confederates had several great defensive leaders as well. I was able to get on a roll and keep it going. The random system is stacked to generally give the Confederates a leadership edge at the high levels early in the war, while things tend to even out later on. Rafael had the worst luck I've ever seen with random leaders, having 2 of his starting Army commanders be totally incompetent on the attack, and my first AC turned out to be excellent on defense. This cost him early on and allowed me to get off to a good start. This kind of extreme luck is hard to beat, but assuming the luck turned around with other leaders coming in later, there's still a chance if the Union makes the right moves. Figuring out who is good and who is bad while not getting too far behind on Political Points (or losing too many troops) is a key to random leader play.

WBTS is not an easy game to figure out how to play well. We've got video tutorials and an ample manual with strategy notes to try to help people out, but there's a lot to learn. Even after many months of testing I'd say there are only three top players that have really figured out the system (Jan, Pyle Driver, and myself - Jan actually hasn't played in awhile and the game has changed some during development, but Jan is a master so I'm sure he could absorb the changes within a few turns). Although luck is a factor, especially with random leaders, the play level of the players is what will dictate who wins. To me the game is more like Backgammon than Chess. There is luck in Backgammon, but the better player will win the majority of games. There is luck in WBTS, but the better player will win the overwhelming majority of games, and unlike Backgammon, a much better player will probably never lose to a weaker player.

I think playing with historical leaders is good at first, but I think playing with random leaders is what keeps the game fresh in repeat play, especially against the same opponent. I really enjoy the twists and turns that come from not knowing for sure which leaders are worthy of high command.

[Joel Billings]

As I said earlier, all Union leaders got initiative this turn (about an 18% chance of happening given the good Union leaders in place and the fact that they all were in areas with fully stocked depots). The Union took advantage of his good fortune. In the west, he moved Lyon to Decatur, thus keeping me from being able to reinforce Nashville with any troops from south of the Tennessee River. Unable to cover both Decatur and my forts on the Mississippi River, I had elected to focus on resting Beauregard's army and positioning it to be able to block any move south into Mississippi. Knowing that Grant was moving on Nashville, Lyon's move to Decatur was a smart move. This, combined with the fact that Cooper did not have initiative and could not prod the troops in Livingston to go to help Nashville, forced Joe Johnston to evacuate Nashville and retreat toward Chattanooga. Unfortunately not all of the garrisons of Decatur and Nashville were able to escape the crushing Union blows, and 20000 Confederate troops were lost.

Seeing an opportunity presented by these Union moves, recently promoted Nathan Bedford Forrest led 6000 cavalry on a raid on Corinth and Shiloh, destroying lots of supplies and rail stock. A smaller raid was launched by 2000 cavalry on Grant's supply lines in Gallatin, getting some payback for the losses in Nashville. William Hardee and Earl Van Dorn led a mixed infantry cavalry force of 12000 men into Kentucky, brushing aside a Union cavalry brigade. At this point I can only hope that the Union armies will fell the need to pause before moving on. I'm resigned to having to retreat to Chattanooga, but I'm hoping that I can delay Grant's army from threatening Eastern Tennessee until winter. As for Lyon, I have no idea where he's going next. He could elect to march off rail over the mountains toward Atlanta, or he could turn south toward Selma (also off-rail). More likely he will move back toward the Mississippi River in an attempt to clear its banks once and for all. I've positioned Beauregard in Tupelo, just southwest of Decatur. If I had enough troops I'd consider going on the offensive, but things haven't been going so well on the Eastern Front either.

[kingwanabee]

What kind of challenge does the a.i. put up? I know it can never compare to a competent human, but does it avoid big bone-head moves? It would be great to see an AAR vs. the a.i.[:)]

[Joel Billings]

ORIGINAL: kingwanabee

What kind of challenge does the a.i. put up? I know it can never compare to a competent human, but does it avoid big bone-head moves? It would be great to see an AAR vs. the a.i.[:)]

Hopefully some of the testers will chime in on this question. There are several play levels. I play against the AI on the Hard level (2 up from Normal). It challenges me at that level, although I have almost always been able to beat it. I haven't tried the hardest level yet. Higher difficulties provide production bonuses and leader initiative and training bonuses. All levels give the computer some transport bonuses. These can all be customized by the player. As the computer is not as "smart" as a human player, we feel these bonuses make up for some of the basic weaknesses in the AI (all AI's are weaker than human players unless the game is designed in such a way to force the player to use elements of the AI.

Testers have posted that the computer can be aggressive as the Confederates, in some cases surprising the Union player. However, it can also occasionally make overly aggressive attacks that can hurt it (but so can a human). From what I can tell it has kept the testers busy for quite awhile, and given you're willing to turn up the play level, it will be a challenge for many games. It is not a human player, however, and like World at War and AWD, if you want the best experience with WBTS there is no substitute for a human player (a good one that is). My sense is compared to other games we've made, it takes testers longer with WBTS to get good enough to consistently beat the AI at the lower difficulty levels. We've always made providing a good AI a major part of our development efforts. I invite any of the testers to give their opinion about the AI.