Matrix Games Forums

Hello everybody!

I'm now playing my first steps on this huge game.
Win against the AI seems to be very easy, however, playing with Union, i was heavy defeated with huge losses when i try to assault and take some of the coastal forts in North Carolina. Just for fun, anyway.
I used two marine brigades with heavy naval support, two monitors, two armoured frigates and ten other ships, gunboats, and minors and with a previous bombardment. Only 5 hits on land and 25 hits on my ships.

Anyone take some of this forts?
So many troops used?

I've taken three forts in my current campaign game (Ft. Jackson, Ft. Pulaski, Ft. Macon). In each case I had to send a solid division (about 7,000 troops, say 3 brigades?) with some artillery. I usually landed and put on a siege and then the following turn I set the fleet to bombard and launched an assault. Against a "standard" fort garrison (one infantry, a couple arty) it has worked each time.

However, I am beginning to doubt whether these investments are worth it. For starters, holding a fort does not blockade the associated port (to blockade Savannah I still had to park ships in the exit zones, even though I held the fort). The forts do bombard passing confederate ships, but they usually don't do fatal damage. I've also found you have to leave at least one brigade in place after you take it because the AI often builds up a force to come take the fort back. I lost Ft. Pulaski that way after about a year.

The best method to capture a fort is to breach the defenses. Have a formation with much artillery lay seige to the fort. Within several turns, you should see a breach developed. Once a breach occurs, you can easily assault and destroy the defending units.

Forts along the coast are very valuable as harbors. Often I will build a depot and add a naval engineer. Then I use the fort as a resupply and refit base for brown and blue water fleets. Much quicker than sailing all the way back to Philadelphia or New York when your ships run out of supply or cohesion.

Thanks a lot!. Seems like i used very small number of troops to this task.