PBEM AAR - It Ain't a Lost Cause Yet!

[Ironclad]

Post moved to discussion thread.

[Paper Tiger]

Are we to guess that this AAR has been left on hold until after release to tease all of us who are waiting for the game even more?
Another dastardly Matrix plan to only do the next turn after everyone on here has bought their own copy of the game.
A cunning plan gentlemen and it just might work...

[Gil R.]

Not a ruse. Trust me, I want to know who wins the Battle of the Floridian Gulf, and whether even a single man makes it out of Florida to tell the tale. (From the last report I received on the size of that Union army there, I'd have to think that my secret weapon -- the alligator and cottonmouth population -- has entered the fray.)

[Gil R.]

Twenty-Seventh Turn

Well, this past turn had a mixture of successes and failures. Sadly, my attempt to relieve Jackson failed, leaving that city even closer to defeat.

First, the Events Report.

The Union began its siege in Cumberland River, and the fact that it has an "Excellent" artillery advantage indicates to me that that small Union force has some siege artillery (unlike last time, I believe), plus those dratted gunboats. For a Type III fort like Fort Donelson to go from 100% to 69% in a single turn is positively alarming. I'll need to do something about that force.

Jackson is down to 52%, and might last just one more turn, or could fall this turn. (As will be discussed below, I'm gambling that it can hold out a bit longer, since I need to strengthen my forces in the area before a final attack. If I'm going to chase the enemy away from Jackson, I have to give it my best shot.)

And in Tallahassee, the defensive rating is getting quite low, but I'm quite confident that the corps there will fail to take the city, since I've managed to minimze the amount of supply it will get.

[Gil R.]

On to the battles. First, it looks like the 1st Corps easily chased that besieging Union force out of Cumberland River. The lack of casualties suggests to me that the Union may have been set to "Avoid Battle," since they high-tailed it out of there.

Unfortunately, my attempt to have the 4th Corps relieve Jackson failed, though fortunately the casualties were light (just 1400). (I would love to know why I didn't win. I was fighting on my own terrain, and though outnumbered, I can't help but think my forces were superior AND the enemy was low on supplies.)

The most entertaining news is that my gambit of arming my Ironclads with Dahlgrens seems to have worked, since I first chased the Union fleet from the sea zone just offshore from Tallahassee, and then soundly defeated it one sea zone over. (More on this later.)

And then some bad news: my second Raiders unit was destroyed in Jackson, leaving me just with those Partisans. To produce more Raiders will take 100 Horses and two turns, meaning that they will not be able to help in Jackson. (When this turn starts I have more than enough Horses, but decide to put them to another use, as described below.)

This turn I also got two more Mints (every little bit helps) and a new Camp, giving me more of those reinforcements for which I'm so desperate.

[Gil R.]

And now some really bad news: disease hit the 1st Corps in Cumberland River just after it had arrived to relieve Fort Donelson. While the two Hospitals there help to minimize the losses, too many brigades had their dispositions drop.

[Gil R.]

Rather annoyingly, now Gen. Sibley has been killed in action (during the fighting to relieve Jackson). Also, my Blockade-Runners brough in some Iron, but this turn I have some wretched luck, since there are no runners' goods available at all.

Now on to governors, where some fascinating things happen. First, that ungrateful governor of Alabama, despite my having given him an Arsenal, now wants an Iron Works, which I can't possibly afford, much as I'd like to have one. Much more irritatingly, Gov. Brown of Georgia, who has been hostile since the game began, now is opposing Labor production, which means that each turn I'll receive lose 15 Labor because of him...

...but wait! November is the time for elections, and since things are going well for the Confederacy (as reflected in Victory Points and National Will) the good people of Georgia have thrown Brown out of office, replacing him with "firm ally" Herschel Johnson. The timing of this is absolutely perfect.

Only two other CSA governors were replaced: in South Carolina, the new governor (MaGrath) won't be too different from the former governor, but the Constitutional Unionist Andrew Donelson in Tennessee is from an opposition party and therefore could be trouble.

In contrast, the Union had a whole bunch of governors swept from office, and some of the new ones (Gove Saulsbury, Charles Wickliffe, Joel Parker, John Brough and Henry Dodge) are from opposition parties. This means that the Union is more likely to have trouble from its governors than it had before, which is all to the good...

[Gil R.]

Part 2.

[Gil R.]

Virginia is quiet. That division failed to move into Kenawha last turn, so I try to send it into Grafton from Abingdon, so as to make that CSA territory again.

It hasn't escaped my attention that the Union has no forces near Wheeling, so if I can build up that other division in Abingdon a little I'll see if it can retake Wheeling, which should give me some much-needed income. It will be a few turns, though.

[Gil R.]

And here's Florida in the aftermath of the naval battle. Note that the Union fleet is diminished in size. Also the corps is down to 10,417 men, while the garrison inside is still quite strong. That corps has got to be low on supply, as would be indicate by its diminished strength.

Unfortunately, after first having been chased from Apalache Bay to Mouth of the Mississippi, the second sea battle forced the Union fleet to retreat back to its original position, meaning that the corps is in sea-supply again. That's just bad luck -- if the fleet had been chased southward into Floridian Gulf that corps would be completely cut off by now.

[Gil R.]

So here's what I do about it. I send my fleet right back, but in case the Union fleet has decided to flee I deliberately tell my fleet to overshoot Apalache Bay. Since it's set on "Intercept" and "Seek Battle" it will fight that fleet as soon as it's in range.

If I can trounce this fleet again that'll be a very welcome development. And while it's bad to dream too large too soon, it does occur to me that if the Union doesn't realize I've taken on superior armaments I might soon be able to pick a fight with the other Union fleet, the one near Virginia, and do some serious damage there. I'll watch that fleet carefully to make sure it doesn't go into a port for a turn -- a possible signal that it's rearming itself.

[Gil R.]

Now on to the western theater. In southern Mississippi, my defeated corps can be seen in Biloxi, waiting to pounce again.

Also worth noting is that Natchez has just one more turn of unrest, and so far none of my buildings there have been destroyed.

[Gil R.]

Here are my forces in Biloxi. The 4th Division is what's left of the division that began the war in Virginia after I removed its best brigades to replace brigades in the corps itself that were captured by the enemy. The 4th Division can now be used to retake lost territory, or can soon be stuck into the 2nd Army when then 4th Corps goes in.

Instead of attacking this turn I'm going to gamble that Jackson can survive for at least another turn. This will allow me to bulk up this corps with reinforcements and some new weapons and attributes for the brigades, so it doesn't get beaten up in its own territory again.

Therefore, I put this corps on "Normal" supply priority, to ensure that reinforcements end up here and not in some unimportant Texas garrison.

[Gil R.]

One reason I can gamble on Jackson is that there isn't much of value there. Losing the Capitol or Plantation would be very bad indeed, but the war effort could survive the fall of Jackson, since Jackson itself produces just 3 Horses and 5 Labor, and the rest of the state isn't all that productive. Of course, losing any state would strain my resources, but it's not the same as losing Georgia.

So rather than rushing right back in, I'll wait a turn (and hope that disease doesn't hit the troops in Biloxi, which would seal Jackson's fate).

On the left, it shows that I'm due two new upgrades, and not too far away from two more.

[Gil R.]

And here's the Nation Screen after I tinker with the supply levels of my various western divisions. I will be completely reliant on my runners for income until those divisions are reinforced and resupplied sufficiently that I can put them back on the lower supply priority settings, which are far less costly. I'd actually be taking in a good amount of Money and Labor each turn if not for the need to boost supply levels because of the constant possibility of combat. (At least things are quiet in Virginia. If the Union were to attack and defeat the Army of Northern Virginia even once I would be unable to resupply and reinforce all of the divisions in need of supplies or fresh troops.)

[Gil R.]

Back to that 4th Division. I decide to send it and its two brigades by rail to Aberdeen, where it will be in a better position to retake CSA territory or cut off rail supply, or join up with the 2nd Army (which I just moved to Tuscaloosa).

The 4th Corps stays behind in Biloxi.

[Gil R.]

I've gone a bit out of order. Here's the northern half of Mississippi. The really big news is that that giant Union army finally left Hatchie and is in Oxford -- what I have been fearing would happen. The forces in Jackson are now in direct rail supply, meaning that my attempts to deprive them of supplies have failed. If I defeat the Union in Jackson now it will be because of superior brigades and officers, not reduction of supplies.

The presence of the enemy in Oxford is my reason for moving the 2nd Army to Tuscaloosa -- after setting it on "Avoid Battle," of course.

[Gil R.]

And here's that move. I forgot to mention that I removed Stonewall Jackson, who long ago was promoted to 4-star rank, from the 1st Corps in Cumberland River and sent him to Tuscaloosa to meet up with the 2nd Army, which he is destined to command.

It might still be a while before that army has more than two brigades in it, though...

[Gil R.]

In Tennessee, as can be seen, my gamble of sending that small division from Pulaski into Hatchie was successful, so I retook that province and am cutting off rail supply to the Union. But I don't for a second expect that the giant Union army will let me keep the province, so this is a temporary victory. (At least depriving the Union forces in Mississippi of rail supplies for a turn will perhaps force the Union to spend more money by using a higher setting for resupply.)

Over in Bowling Green can be seen the force I just chased out of Cumberland River.

[Gil R.]

I need to have more forces down south, where the main action will be, so I use the railroad to send one of the three divisions in the 1st Corps to Tuscumbia. Depending on where the Union is stationed, I'll either use it to reinforce my control of Hatchie or send it south to join up with the 2nd Army. The division probably can't get down to Jackson in time to help save the city, since it would need to travel by rail, and the Union controls Oxford, so it would have to move two provinces by foot before hopping aboard rail cars. And since this is winter the winter movement rules are in effect, and there is about a 50% chance it wouldn't budge because of inclement weather.