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Late January 1864 (Turn 64)



Sharps guns may provide a cheaper alternitive to the Spencer ones. or maybe not.



As the CSA seems to be using more and more charge attacks, this should be useful training.



a nice short report, but then again with the grip of winter on us, whats to be expected.

I build a engineering Collage in Denver to improve relations with Governor Burton. the sharps rifles have better range than the spencer guns, and at the moment are cheaper, so I decide to switch to those - at current prices/weapons production I can upgrade 1 sharps and 1 imp. springfeild a turn. but with low labour I can't build much more. I switch back to labour production so that i can produce more Brigades.

Mainly just a time for all forces to rest from a very bloody few months. - the last three months of the war cost a combined 145,000 lives. and the CSA 14 brigades and nearly 20 generals. I've lost 5 or so generals and two brigades. (mine were disbanded rather than captured.) I've managed to go from -2/10 in the victory to 4/4 - i'm only trailing on the national will now, and I can sort a good chunck of that after I win another battle and Emancipate the slaves.

Early Febuary 1864 (Turn 65)



More ship stuff, even though I barely use the Fleet. I also seem to have missed clicking on Bayonet Training, so I do that this turn.



Disease Strikes again. I need to get someone inventing pencicillin.
More Arsenals = more guns = more dead rebs, so thats a good thing, and that training ground should help the replacement brigade quality when recruited - although the camps throwing out nearly 10,000 men every two weeks should mean that my brigades are not going to run short any time soon.
The loss of Yazoo shows Early being agressive again. time to see what hes's doing.



42,000? And the report quality is great, I've hurt Early a lot more than I thought, and him cutting my supply lines just means I'm going to have to go after him again! most of the forces I was seeing were garrison troops! I throw both Robinson and Meridith into battle, hoping to compleatly crush Early before the french troops massing in Texas can reach him. on their own they won't be able to face my battle hardened army, they need the hardened core of Earlys forces to do that.

Celburne on the other hand Matches my forces. so unless I can trick him into attacking, I'm going to have to wait until my losses from the rout in Petersburg are replaced.

Great report, it is fun reading.
Why don't you send some cheese from Wisconsin to Kentucky to improve your fast food? This might help you to supply your units faster.

Glad your enjoying it. the series of large battles is slowing me down at them moment. battles with 150-200,000 people take a white to fight in detailed combat, especially when your trying to write about them at the same time.

that said, I'm 1/2 way through the second battle of Yazoo. and going back to it now.

Better battlefield defenses. They can make or break a battle.

2nd Yazoo.



Over 2-1 odd to me. but the moral stands in their favour, due to the defender bonus and a higher disposition. well, lets see how long that lasts under fire.
I split my troops into two main bodies, one to meet Earlys flanking move, and the other to hammer into his flank once hes engaged. we've only been on the battlefeild 40 minutes before we encounter a brigade of scouts.



Not a good place to ride into.
Soon after the Department of Norfolk Division is spotted, but by this point my 16th is ready and waiting. Having confirmed that early is again attacking rarther than digging in, I begin to swing the main body of my force against him.



I seem to have slightly misplaced his army - theres more of them near my main body than I thought, but this isn't a bad thing - me men will have less distance to march to get into combat, and his smaller force will be more spread out.  I manage to engage the Jefferson Davis battery - this has been a bane in my exsistance since the begining of the war. and I now see a chance to take it out once and for all. A calvery unit tries to charge my battery from behind, but only gets this



but then Buford is wounded and I loose 800 men to another charge. they have 4 calvery brigades, and Early is not afraid to use them!
I surround one of the calvery units and the 47th French brigade, who both surrender to my forces after a single volley from the encircling units, and the Jeff. Davis battery flees from the battlefeild before I can surround it. on the the northan flank I loose a supply wagon to the enemy.  but I should be able to concentrate on them now.


One of my 16th div. units wounds the CSA general Smith. I proceed to use my greater numbers in the south to encircle another french brigade and another calvery one.  in the north the rebs capture the second supply wagon. but they have yet to make much impact on my troops. I soon get the reports that their wavering.

The northan units are holding, but I can't drive them off and encircle until mopping up is finished in the south. I may have to realise that compleatly destroying the army was unrealsitic. but that doesn't stop me trying!I manage to capture another French brigade. all they seem good for is dieing and surrendering. I manage to capture one of the enemies supply units thats now behind my lines, having pinned the bulk of the rebel army to the north behind a wall of blue troops and with their back to a stony hill. its time to cut them off and make them surrender.

I manage to push three brigades into the area in front of that cliff, and there they are forced to surrender when the rest of the army retreats. such as is left of it.

Late Febuary 1864 (turn 66)



two more generals and six more brigades. thats means that Earlys army has been reduced in size once more. By looking at the numbers on the mississippi river, standing at 48,000 and taking the 32,000 garrison troops that are there, I figure that the battle cost the confederates somewhere in the region of  25,000 men. 16,000 dead and more captured.

I order Robinson and Meridith to attack. this could be the chance to destroy the confederate forces in the west once and for all.



In the east Cleburne is attempting to retake Richmond. So I send Haupt and the Army of Washington supported by 3rd corp to take him on. I can't let him retake the capital, and its another oppertunity to inflict real harm on the army there.

Things are slowly turning my way. If only I could do something about the massive loss in National will. maybe  capturing Early and holding some sort of Tribute for Robinson and Haupt may help.

Can you build  hospitals near enough to fight the disease?

ORIGINAL: Drex
Can you build  hospitals near enough to fight the disease?

If the hospital is in the same region as your army, it will help reduce disease losses. Otherwise, if you are in range of the hospital, it will help restore disposition. The only way to reduce disease when you are away from regions with hospitals is to purchase the medical attribute for a brigade in each division.

Regards,

- Erik

I also do that. there is a logistics improvement that you can choose that increases the effect of hospitals by 50% but I don't think he has received that option yet.

Early March 1864 (Turn 67)



More training to try an beef up my calvery to combat the confederates.



Hmm, the Brits are getting a little close to joining the war. but their on maximum diplomacy already, so theres nothing more I can do.



Dammit. the two armies passed each other. But I'm not going chasing. If Cleburne wants to fight me, he can do so on the james.  if he wants to push on to washington, I'll cut his supply lines and then destroy him. if he retreats, then I'll retake fredsricksburg and then go after him.  his options are not great at this moment, as i think to bulk up his numbers from the last battle, he must be using large numbers of french troops - and we all know about their quality.



In the West I decide to take a risk. I send Meridith alone after Earlys forces. merdiths smaller, better armed force should be able to chase more effectivly than Robinsons army, the only risk is if more french troops arrive to back Early up. I increase Op. F.L.G's supply to high, as they seem to burn it rapidly and they are no use to me catching early with no way to engage him.

I arm up some more of the eastern armies. i'm slowly getting to the point where most of them have improved springfeilds.

Finally, some big guns for my troops.



and ambulances to help with troop losses. which are getting pressed streight into action.

3rd James River



Cleburne attacked. Hes obviously hoping to strike a killing blow on the army of Washington.



and he gets off to a good start. I'm going to have to depend on my slight number advantage, my boys moral from the recent victories, and of course, better weapons!.

the First charges come out fairly equal, with 300 lost on each side. then the battle begins proper. no time to take up defenses, no time to think through a battle plan, its up an at em!



unfortuantly his main attack has come in right where the gap in my lines is and an area bordered by weaker units - it'll be some time before the stronger units on my flank can move to match this.



The other side of the gap is held by the 18th - once my green divison, now thrust into holding off the largest concentration of confederate forces yet seen in this battle. Big Hill will be the focal point of this battle, I can see that now.
Cleburne starts to form his units into line opposite mine. this will be no hell for leather Early attack, hes coming in slow and steady to try and grind me down.



I loose French, not a large loss, but I don't like loosing generals, even if I should have become used to it by now. i concentrate fire on a few confederate divisions, hoping to break them and seed panic through their ranks.



at least its not my corp commander Meridith, must be a brother, or cousin or something.



Now I'm getting the feeling that this battle is really going sour on me. you know the saying - high officer casualties means trouble on the front line.



That hole in my line is big enough to fit a corp through, and I've got nothing to plug it. at big hill to the east its not to bad, but the scattered and understrength units west of The Gap (now with capitals) are taking a pasting. over at Big Hill, my general miles is gunned down and the confederate movetwards the gap, abandoning the hill.
On the left I move the 13th Division in to try and plug the gap, or at least shore up the sides. If they can hold then I can press the confederates between two forces. on big hill I kill CSA general Hampton.



on big hill I manage to get one of the CSA brigades to surrender, allowing me to move more troops to the main fight.  Smith Is wounded over on the left flank, and the confederates are laying down a steady hail of fire.  my mens moral is showing definate signs of cracking. my brigades are begining to slip away, the lack of time to prepare for the assault has left them in dissaray, and instead of pinning the confederates, their the wedge keeping my forces from meetinging up.
Barlow is killed, bringing my total up to 4 dead and one wounded.  My left flank shatters and the right is held down and manuver enougth to help.  potter is Killed for 5 dead generals.  the army breaks and routs. during that Rout custer is killed.



Owch. just Owch. loosing 25% of your army is always going to hurt.

1st Mississippi River Natchez

Earlys on the attack again! he attack Meridith and Robinson with a force thats out numbered by 60,000!
that saying he does manage compleate surprise, it seems all my generals are asleep today.
It seems that hes hitting both my flanks at once, but with a river between the FRI division and the main body, I see little I can do to help them.



I decide to send to divisions to help. but to concentrate on destroying the forces on my right flank where I can bring more guns to bare. It looks like Earlys even brought up the garrison units for the attack! you can't fault the man for courage.



Although, I must say his common sense I definately in question.
In Fact the 18th French seen above take 600 casualties and rout the very next turn. I divert two more divsions to the left, as i now realise that that is where the "bulk" of the confereate forces are, although the FRI division seem to be holding their own for now. one of their units breaks but rallys beofre it has run very far.



I discover the CSA supply wagons, and divert a division down to take them out. that could be more long term use if the army flees the feild.  on the right it actaullt looks like the FRI division doesn't need the help i'm sending it. as they seem more than a match for the garrison units hitting them. now if onlt they hadn't been two hours hard march away from the rest of the army!

Soon I get the enemy wavering reports. and its the normal rush to surround as many units as possible and to try and capture early this time. Pope is wounded just as the enemy begin their retreat. I manage to get the Jefferson Davis Battery to surrender to me! thats one of the few confederate artillary units under my control!

Late March 1864 (turn 68)



Hmm some good some bad.

25% of the army of washington dead or captured, and 2 national will lost, on the other hand, in the west I've taken out 5 brigades and taken three generals - Early, Lee and Johnston. Loosing Early means that the West is now commanderless. - I'm not sure how I feel about that, at least Early could be counted on to rush headlong at anything in his way.



I give the order for meridith to continue to hunt the army, and Robinson will continue to seige the river. he may be there for while, but I want to make sure hes not needed around there for a while before moving him off to the East - Its clear now that Haupts AoW will need the support.  Hes going to hold in Rapponoak until I can replace the lost weapons and men - at least they didn't leave any spencers behind this time.

I also order up 4 railroad stations. I've not needed to move troops around rapidly up until now, but its apparent that I need to be able to rush large numbers of troops around soon. - Even if I don't send Robinson, I'll sent Meridith to the East.

Hmm, maybe I can do something about the enemy blockade runners now.

1st Rappanoak



Here we go again, Looks like Cleburns keeping up the pressure. no surprise attack though this time, but no decent defensive positions either. I go for a single line, I'll have to try and flank him when I know his postions.

I've just set up when the confederates hit my line. they seem to be targetting my left flank.



This then develops into an attack all along my line.  The CSA have brought more clavery than I've ever seen in one battle - I count six brigades worth - SIX! they make a mess of my flanking units. wounding Grierson, Then killing him in a later charge.



I move the 15th, who are stationed on that flank, into combat, and they manage to make a good showing for themselves, but i have no troops to send as a reserve, my entire line is under attack and I'm outnumbered, I hate fighting without a reserve.



disaster! The OC is killed, as well as being one of my better generals. I must hope that someone compiteant steps up to replace him. Plummer follows him a few minute later.  and Sully a few after that.  when Wagner is killed. I sense that this  may not be the day for the union.

I sound the retreat, all I can hope to do is get my men out of there before this becomes another desisive defeat.

Early April 1864 (turn 69)



Not much to be said for that. I'm getting my posterior kicked. I must start moving Meridith across now - so I give the orders.



In the east I know that Cleburne will attack again, so I send my forces to attack Freidricksburg, that way I may be able to retreat back to washington. I also set for mustering all around washington. I've had to disband a fair few brigades, and its not like the governers can hate me any more than they do now.

Robinson abandons the siege to go after the remains of Earlys army. destroying them is more important than holding ground now.  In the Army of Washington I have to promote 80% of my generals to fill the losses of the last few battles. I now have no real 1 star generals on that front, and I've not seen any for a good while. I need West Point to churn a few out, or I'm going to have to walk through the ranks and pin the generals lapels on the first soldier that looks like he knows what hes doing.

Late April 1864 (Turn 70)



not bad. One dead general but two more getting better. and no cataclismic battles.  and my wide ranging promotion sceme seems to have made the governors happy, or at least less angry with me than they were before.



In the west I decide to detach Stahls Corp to hunt down the CSA 3rd Army - now under the command of a Smith. Meridith continues to move towards the west. hopefully I can speed them up when my rail network comes online.



 In the West I replace some more lost weapons and give the order to move back to the potomic.  Cleburne will continue to push after the army, and I need at least one turn to make good the losses.  I tell them to avoid battle. that should give them the chance to get out of there without gifting the rebels any more guns.

What Scares me though is the amount that the CSA runners will be bringing in - 145 guns, 135 money, there seems to be more of those than I could ever hope to patrol. this is why the southern economy has yet to crumble. but I cannot spare the resources from troops at the moment to build up my long neglected fleet.  I do however shut down the blocades and go hunting. maybe I'll get lucky.

More training for the troops. they need it.



Stahel Catches the 3rd Army. now to try and take him out once and for all. although this is the first time Stahel has commanded a force on his own.



As I'm advancing, Smith rides out into veiw at the head of a battered calvery brigade. It seems as If hes learned his lessons of Early.  Charge Charge Charges. - To paraphrase Wellington, if hes coming on in the same old way, I'll meet him in the same old way.
He then goes off to harrase my supply units. So I let the 14th continue their march on the main body of his army. The Illinous Volunteers on the other hand, turn around to teach him some lessons Early never learned.



one of which being Avoid the enemies guns. a Garrison unit has appeared as well, It must have been stationed somewhere along the line I bypassed.



I loose Rosecrans to a volley in the south, I suspect Guildenstien has also been killed. Berdens Shapshooters are charged with heavy losses, I expect them to break soon. but I manage to almost surround the attacking unit.  it escapes, but Smith in the north is not so lucky, and surrenders. that makes the second Army commander I've captured this year. soon after Reynolds is killed. costing the CSA another general. their losses are much lower than me on that front, but it still feels good to remove a thorn in my side.



not the bloodyest of battles, but not one to be discounted either. sometimes the number of people killed doesn't state how important a battle is.

Early May 1864 (turn 71)



short but sweet. battle won, confederate general captured, my guys learned something and only some garrison troops died of disease.

Stahel continues to persue the 3rd army, now under the command of Longstreet.  Prince and the AoW hold on the ptomic, I'll move them out when I get a chance. for now I continue to move Meridith east. but that may take him another couple of months at this rate.

Late May 1864 (Turn 72)



once again disease takes its tole on my ranks, no word yet on the anti-biotics I ordered.

Meridith continues his march towards the East. Stahel continues to follow Longstreet and Robinson continues the seige. I order up another infantry brigade and adjust supply. my only worry is that Meridiths forces will arrive with low supply. I am pushing them hard.

Still nothing from Col. Sanders and my chicken.

Early June 1864 (Turn 73)



I always take the view that more guns is better.



Owch. That was quick. Not sure how my one or two brigades defending Richmond could take 18,000 casualties, but anything that takes out 6,000 of their men is a good thing.
It also seems that my acadamies have been churning out staff officers. and Longstreet has avoided Stahel again.



Theres a good chance I will be able to link Meridiths men up with the main force soon. then I can use the 50,000 well armed men to break Cleburnes army. and this time I'm not going to give him any time to rebuild.  I order Stahel in the West to continue to hunt Longstreet.