Brother Against Brother DAR

[Mad Russian]

I was given a warning by my gaming partner that he is going to send me turns for another match of FoF. He will again take the Confederacy.

As I did with An Uncivil War DAR, I'll document each turn once we start and use the same format.

I look forward to playing the game again after such a long break from the game. My friend lost his wife last fall and this is his first game after trying to put it all back together.


Good Hunting.

MR

[Gil R.]

Another AAR would be a fine thing.

I think I remember your mentioning your friend's wife earlier. I'm glad he's at least starting to do a bit better.

[Mad Russian]

I'm playing a very long standing friend in FoF. This is our fourth game. You can see the results of our third game in "An Uncivil War DAR" here in the After Action Section.

I've played the Union side each time. I am this time as well.

I have a 9 point plan for the first 12 months. (This has been modified since we played the PBEM documented in  "An Uncivil War DAR".  This time from April to April I want to achieve:

1) Build 2 Naval Academies. I need to get my navy built as quickly as possible. Naval Academies give me naval upgrades and I need all of those I can get. The most effective I can be against the Confederacy early on is against his ports and blockade runners.

2) Build a location with 3 barracks to allow me to build Army organizations.  I need Army organizations quickly to add to the Confederacy's problems. I need a place to stack generals.

3) Make 8 Divisions and 4 Corps.  The Union Army needs organizations early. They offer lots of options to take whatever opportunities the Confederates make available.

4) Build the Union rail capacity to 75.  It is EXTREMELY important that the Union be able to move troops by rail anywhere in the Union. If a Confederate force comes north we want to be able to move in by rail behind them.

5) Relocate Garrisons from North to South.  The north needs troops. There are plenty of them sitting in garrisons not needed.

6) Build enough fleets to have a blockade at every southern port with no less than 6 ships in each.  Ports need to be blockaded as quickly as possible. This is my number one operational offensive priority in the first year.

7) Create 3 Armies. I want the flexibility to bring large amounts of troops to bear early. You never know what will happen or what opportunities present themselves.

8) Build 5 river monitors. With a large force of river monitors cities can be destroyed in a single turn. That can be crucial in the early fighting. Depending on how things go early I'll build more than 5 if I get the chance.

9) Muster all cities each turn with a success rate at 50% or higher. If there is an excess of brigades on the map move them into central garrison locations. The Union Army needs to be BIG. I need to make it BIG as soon as I can.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

In the past my opponent has been pretty passive early on. That's probably because he invaded Missouri once and I came very close to trapping his forces there. Since that time he doesn't go north much.

That may change this time.

I intend on staying pretty defensive until I get my fleets built. Followed closely by the Union rail capacity rating and Army/Corps/Division containers to put my troops in and start training.

As in the past my overall strategy is:

1861 defensive on land and offensive at sea.

1862 begin to move offensively on land.

1863 to win the war.

That strategy has worked three times now. No reason to think it won't work this time as well.

Good Hunting.

MR

[SlickWilhelm]

Sounds like a good plan to me, MR. But why do you want to have a minimum of 6 ships in your fleets? It was my understanding that having three ships in each is sufficient to effectively blockade a port.

[Mad Russian]

ORIGINAL: Slick Wilhelm

Sounds like a good plan to me, MR. But why do you want to have a minimum of 6 ships in your fleets? It was my understanding that having three ships in each is sufficient to effectively blockade a port.

3 ships is the minimum for blockade. In the old rules 6 ships were needed for full blockade. As we get deeper into the game I'll make sure if that still stands.

Reading "An Uncivil War DAR" here in the AAR section can explain a lot before we get started. We are set to do the first turn by this weekend. This time around I plan on supporting the DAR with screen shots the entire game.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

The Options we are playing with. We are taking Advanced Game rules.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

What I know of our starting locations.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

How the Nation feels about the whole thing.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Here is the situation map at the moment.



July 1861:

I made no movement of my forces except to bring garrisons down out of the north. They are all moving further south.

I build 2 Naval Academies, 2 Horse Farms, a bank and an iron mine.

Good Hunting.

MR

[SlickWilhelm]

Still playing? 

[Mad Russian]

I haven't gotten the turn back from him. Called him tonight but it went to voice mail. That's my question too. I know he's got some health issues and an upcoming trip to the doctor tomorrow....after that I'm not sure.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

There were two battles in Late July 1861. Both went in my favor.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Early August 1861. State of the Union:

The two battles were both in the Shenandoah Valley. I won them both but they were nothing to write home about.

I didn't move any of my troops this turn because I need some breathing space. I want to know what the Confederates are up to. I've moved all the troops I moved south into cities as garrisons.

I didn't move any of my main troop bodies. I'll let there be another battle in the Shenandoah Valley if that's what he wants. I need to keep Confederate troops from moving north. If we fight in the Shenandoah Valley that's better than fighting in Baltimore.

Next turn I'll start moving my forces back to the Union proper. I'll have more weapons by then and I can decide how I want to arm my men.


Current Builds:

Barracks - 2 / these are needed so that I can build containers up to Army level.
Camps - 1
Engineer Colleges - 2 / these are needed because they give siege bonuses and those are extremely important
Frigates - 2 / time to start building the blockade fleet.
Horse Farms - 5 / the Union starts with almost no horses. Have to start breeding them now.
Mine - 1
Mints - 7 / wars cost money. The way I fight costs more money. Time to start making some.
Naval Colleges - 2 / the colleges get me to a point where I can increase my chances of catching blockade runners.


Current Economy:
Mint - 3
Factory - 7
Mine - 3
Horse Farm - 1
Arsenal - 24
RR Station - 4
Bank - 10
Iron Works - 12
Barracks - 24
Foundry - 12
Ship Yards - 3
Training Grounds - 21
Mfg. Centers - 10
Academy - 2
Armory - 3
Laboratory - 0
War College - 2
Engineering - 1
Naval College - 2
School - 3
University - 5
Camp - 3
Hospital - 3
Telegraph - 6
Signal Tower - 1
Capital - 36
Mansion - 71
Plantation - 0

In a strategic game I can see no need to build either Telegraphs or Signal Towers.

Neither side has any Upgrades at this time.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

I promoted a single General to 2 Star. I'll make some containers/formations this next turn. There were some major things that needed started sooner than containers/formations.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

I treat my officers different from most gamers. I've yet to find a reason to demote a General officer. That's because in my FoF gaming experience to this point I've not found a General that is uniformly bad. There is nothing that makes Governors more unhappy than demoting Generals from there state. So, if they aren't what you need at the moment then send them to the cribbage club up in Detroit or someplace out of the way. I NEVER DEMOTE.

As I get more containers I'll add more generals to fill my needs.

Good Hunting.

MR

[gchristie]

MR,

I do hope you and your opponent continue this game and you your AAR. I found your "Uncivil War DAR" very helpful in learning how to play the game from the Union side (only against the AI for now).

Regards

[Gil R.]

Mad Russian, I sure hope you don't sue WCS for trademark infringement: tt.asp?forumid=808

[Mad Russian]

And we are moving along again.....Union Late August 1861.

Good Hunting.

MR

[Mad Russian]

Late August 1861. State of the Union:

No battles this turn.

I moved the division in the far west back towards Missouri.

I have put any troops that were mustered that couldn't reach containers in forts or cities as garrisons. These are the forts and cities closest to the Confederacy.

He is apparently building the Army of Northern Virginia. If he doesn't attack with it this turn I'll pull the Army of the Potomac back out of the Shenandoah Valley.

The most important part of the game at this stage, for the Union, is the naval blockade. I have a fleet blockading New Orleans, Charleston and Norfolk. I've got 4 more Frigates being built and next turn I'll build another fleet container. We will soon escalate to blockade runner combat. I need to start hurting his blockade runners as soon as possible.


Current Builds:

Barracks - 2 / these are needed so that I can build containers up to Army level.
Camps - 1
Engineer Colleges - 2 / these are needed because they give siege bonuses and those are extremely important
Frigates - 4 / time to start building the blockade fleet.
Horse Farms - 9 / the Union starts with almost no horses. Have to start breeding them now.
Rail Capacity - 2 One of the most important aspects of the Union forces are their ability to move anywhere with almost no notice.
Mine - 2
Mints - 8 / wars cost money. The way I fight costs more money. Time to start making some.
Naval Colleges - 2 / the colleges get me to a point where I can increase my chances of catching blockade runners.


Current Economy:
Mint - 3
Factory - 7
Mine - 3
Horse Farm - 1
Arsenal - 24
RR Station - 4
Bank - 10
Iron Works - 12
Barracks - 24
Foundry - 12
Ship Yards - 3
Training Grounds - 21
Mfg. Centers - 10
Academy - 2
Armory - 3
Laboratory - 0
War College - 2
Engineering - 1
Naval College - 2
School - 3
University - 5
Camp - 3
Hospital - 3
Telegraph - 6
Signal Tower - 1
Capital - 36
Mansion - 71
Plantation - 0

In a strategic game I can see no need to build either Telegraphs or Signal Towers.

Neither side has any Upgrades at this time.

Good Hunting.

MR