Brother Against Brother -- Ultimate General: Civil War(Interactive)

[Brian Swartz]

We're here for an interactive journey through the US Civil War with Ultimate General: Civil War; there's plenty of info in the thread to see more on what we're doing. Having lost the whole first post to an editing error, I'm not going to go through it again. This post is now for reference info, assuming I can manage not to keep accidentally deleting it. As always, the more the merrier and feel free to sign up at any time.

Weapons Reference

** As a reminder, I'll put a note here that the difference between Shock and Carbine Cavalry is that the Shock variant carries a sabre or similar weapon for close fighting. This is reflected in the melee ability of the listed weaponry. Also useful here would be the standard starting brigade sizes for reference: 1000 for Infantry, 4 guns for Artillery, 250 for Cavalry, 150 for Skirmishers.

Farmer(Infantry)

.69 Musket Single Shot. Old and heavy musket, useful as a melee weapon.

Damage: 18
Effective Range: 200
Fire Rate: 38
Accuracy: 10
Melee: 95
Cost: $8
Availability: 0(0)

Re-bored Farmer

.69 Musket Single Shot. Lighter musket with longer barrel for improved accuracy and range.

Damage: 18
Effective Range: 220
Fire Rate: 38
Accuracy: 12.5
Melee: 89
Cost: $10
Availability: 1,257(0)

Springfield M1842(Infantry)

.69 Musket Single Shot. Smoothbore musket with percussion cap system, a quite effective weapon at medium range.

Damage: 18
Effective Range: 250
Fire Rate: 40
Accuracy: 12.5
Melee: 88
Cost: $11
Availability*: 2,657(11,743)

First number denotes Armory weapons, i.e. those in the Army's possession. These are free to equip and can be sold if desired. In parentheses are the Shop total, those weapons that can be purchased for the listed price.

Palmetto M1842(Infantry)

Single Shot .59 Musket. Enhanced design of Springfield 1842 Percussion Musket, with better accuracy and improved bayonet.

Damage: 18
Effective Range: 250
Fire Rate: 40
Accuracy: 13.5
Melee: 91
Cost: $13
Availability: 728(6,077)

M1841 Mississippi(Infantry)

.58 Rifle Single Shot. The first US rifle-musket using the percussion lock system, still considered a reliable weapon

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 300
Fire Rate: 39
Accuracy: 40
Melee: 85
Cost: $17
Availability: 552(0)

MJ&G Type II(Infantry)

.58 Rifle Single Shot. Based on the M1841 'Mississippi' Rifle design, it provides increased accuracy and range.

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 320
Fire Rate: 40
Accuracy: 45
Melee: 86
Cost: $19
Availability: 355(0)

Lorenz(Infantry)

.54 Rifle Single Shot. This imported rifle-musket is made in Austria and accurate at long range but like all muzzle-loading weapons, it has a rather slow reload rate.

Damage: 11.5
Effective Range: 340
Fire Rate: 40
Accuracy: 75
Melee: 82
Cost: $22
Availability: 153(3,385)

Pattern 1853 Enfeld(Infantry)

.58 Rifle Single Shot. Rifle-musket of British design with overall great characteristics for its price.

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 340
Fire Rate: 48
Accuracy: 67
Melee: 65
Cost: $29
Availability: 0(1,820)

Springfield M1855(Infantry)

.58 Rifle Single Shot. The first rifled-musket that exploted the advantages of 'minie-ball' bullets is a good buy for its price.

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 340
Fire Rate: 49
Accuracy: 65
Melee: 60
Cost: $31
Availability: 1,271(10,651)

Harpers Ferry M1855(Infantry)

Improved version of Springfield M1855 made in Harpers Ferry weapon manufactory.

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 350
Fire Rate: 50
Accuracy: 70
Melee: 58
Cost: $33
Availability: 217(9,002)

Colt Model 1855(Infantry, Skirmishers)

.56 Revolving Rifle 5-Shot Cylinder. This repeating rifle with high reload rate is devastating but is expensive to buy and support with ammo.

Damage: 12
Effective Range: 280
Fire Rate: 133
Accuracy: 50
Melee: 65
Cost: $100
Availability: 0(154)

Henry(Infantry)

.44 Repeating Rifle 15-round Magazine. An expensive 'piece of jewelry' for an infantry soldier providing magnificent reload rate.

Damage: 9.5
Effective Range: 280
Fire Rate: 167
Accuracy: 50
Melee: 70
Cost: $110
Availability: 0(25)

Hunter(Skirmishers)

.69 Long Range Rifle Single Shot. Hunter musket, appropriate for long range fights.

Damage: 15
Effective Range: 450
Fire Rate: 27
Accuracy: 25
Melee: 87
Cost: $20
Availability: 98(0)

Sharps Model 1855(Skirmishers, Carbine Cavalry)

.52 Carbine Single Shot. Reliable carbine of older design.

Damage: 11.5
Effective Range: 230
Fire Rate: 86
Accuracy: 39
Melee: 54
Cost: $34
Availability: 351(572)

Smith(Skirmishers, Carbine Cavalry)

.50 Carbine Single Shot. Standard carbine with decent accuracy and fast reload rate.

Damage: 11
Effective Range: 230
Fire Rate: 100
Accuracy: 40
Melee: 50
Cost: $52
Availability: 147(992)

Burnside(Skirmishers)

.54 Carbine Single Shot. Breech-loading carbine of the finest quality.

Damage: 13
Effective Range: 275
Fire Rate: 55
Accuracy: 50
Melee: 55
Cost: $70
Availability: 0(154)

Sharps(Skirmishers)

.52 Rifle Single Shot. Standard weapon of choice for sharpshooter regiments.

Damage: 11
Effective Range: 450
Fire Rate: 45
Accuracy: 82.5
Melee: 48
Cost: $100
Availability: 38(327)

J.F. Brown(TS)(Skirmishers)

.45 Rifle with Scope Single Shot. Sniper rifle of the best quality.

Damage: 9.5
Effective Range: 600
Fire Rate: 46
Accuracy: 95
Melee: 40
Cost: $180
Availability: 0(146)

Sawed-Off(Carbine Cavalry)

.52 Shotgun Double Shot. This cavalry shotgun offers devastating short distance shots.

Damage: 25
Effective Range: 135
Fire Rate: 50
Accuracy: 20
Melee: 65
Cost: $12
Availability: 62(0)

Cook & Brother(Carbine Cavalry)

.58 Musketoon Single Shot. Cavalry musket, adequate for distant fighting and dismounted skirmishing.

Damage: 16
Effective Range: 185
Fire Rate: 50
Accuracy: 35
Melee: 60
Cost: $18
Availability: 0(0)

Palmetto M1842(Shock Cavalry)

.54 Lock Pistol Single Shot. Basic cavalry equipment that is quite effective in mounted charges.

Damage: 17
Effective Range: 75
Fire Rate: 75
Accuracy: 30
Melee: 100
Cost: $30
Availability: 90(1,250)

Colt M1855(Shock Cavalry)

.31 Revolver 5-Shot Cylinder

Standard revolver and sabre for powerful mounted charges.

Damage: 11
Effective Range: 75
Fire Rate: 200
Accuracy: 30
Melee: 100
Cost: $40
Availability: 34(500)

Remington M1861(Shock Cavalry)

.44 Revolver 5-Shot Cylinder. A deadly, high calibre revolver and standard sabre are useful in short distance combat.

Damage: 12.5
Effective Range: 75
Fire Rate: 214
Accuracy: 30
Melee: 91
Cost: $44
Availability: 0(128)

Sharps Model 1859(Carbine Cavalry)

.52 Carbine Single Shot. The most popular carbine in the army, cost-effective and accurate.

Damage: 11.75
Effective Range: 250
Fire Rate: 100
Accuracy: 52
Melee: 55
Cost: $57
Availability: 0(514)

Frank Wesson(Carbine Cavalry)

.44 Carbine Single Shot. Breech-loading carbine, known for its deadly accuracy.

Damage: 10.5
Effective Range: 275
Fire Rate: 55
Accuracy: 75
Melee: 45
Cost: $60
Availability: 0(188)

Maynard(Carbine Cavalry)

.52 Carbine Single Shot. Premium breech-loading carbine with fast reload rate.

Damage: 12.7
Effective Range: 260
Fire Rate: 67
Accuracy: 62
Melee: 50
Cost: $67
Availability: 0(154)

Burnside(Carbine Cavalry)

.54 Carbine Single Shot. Breech-loading carbine of the finest quality.

Damage: 13
Effective Range: 275
Fire Rate: 55
Accuracy: 50
Melee: 55
Cost: $70
Availability: 0(154)

6pdr Field(Artillery)

Smoothbore Gun 6lb. Standard smoothbore cannon, very weak in long range fire.

Damage: 41
Effective Range: 1300
Fire Rate: 30
Accuracy: 10
Melee: 10
Cost: $870
Availability: 12(36)

6pdr Wiard(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 6lb bolt. Rifled-cannon that is weak at short range but very accurate at long range.

Damage: 19
Effective Range: 1600
Fire Rate: 32
Accuracy: 30
Melee: 10
Cost: $1000
Availability: 0(5)

12pdr Howitzer](Artillery)

Smoothbore Gun 12lb. Cost-effective howitzer for medium range bombardment.

Damage: 56
Effective Range: 1000
Fire Rate: 29
Accuracy: 10
Melee: 10
Cost: $1390
Availability: 0(15)

12pdr Napoleon(Artillery)

Smoothbore Gun 12lb. The mainstay of civil war armies, offers devastating fire at short and medium range.

Damage: 65
Effective Range: 1400
Fire Rate: 30
Accuracy: 10
Melee: 10
Cost: $1650
Availability: 10(39)

10pdr Ordnance(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 8-10lb. With fast reload and exceptional accuracy it is the most widely used rifle-cannon of the war.

Damage: 23
Effective Range: 1500
Fire Rate: 33
Accuracy: 33
Melee: 10
Cost: $1710
Availability: 0(39)

10pdr Parrot(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 10lb. Rifle-cannon suitable to destroy enemy artillery from afar but not for short-range defense.

Damage: 25
Effective Range: 1700
Fire Rate: 30
Accuracy: 25
Melee: 10
Cost: $2000
Availability: 2(25)

12pdr Whitworth(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 12lb bolt. This rare rifled-cannon offers extreme firing range and excellent accuracy.

Damage: 38
Effective Range: 2400
Fire Rate: 30
Accuracy: 15
Melee: 10
Cost: $2700
Availability: 0(3)

14pdr James(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 14lb bolt. Rifled-cannon which uses 'James' patented ammunition, offering good accuracy at all ranges.

Damage: 41
Effective Range: 1400
Fire Rate: 27
Accuracy: 26
Melee: 10
Cost: $2760
Availability: 0(3)

24pdr Howitzer(Artillery)

Smoothbore Gun 24lb. Large howitzer that deals great damage from medium range.

Damage: 75
Effective Range: 1100
Fire Rate: 23
Accuracy: 12.5
Melee: 10
Cost: $3100
Availability: 0(12)

20pdr Parrot(Artillery)

Rifled Gun 20lb. Powerful cannon, designed for long-range bombardment.

Damage: 73
Effective Range: 2000
Fire Rate: 25
Accuracy: 16
Melee: 10
Cost: $3200
Availability: 0(6)

[ntndeacon]

Strategist, Cavalry, Politics, Union

[BYU 14]

Tactician, Cavalry, Army, Union

[JonInMiddleGA]

Observation/question rather than a vote or application.

Since Recon takes two points to upgrade, isn't taking Calvary experience one of the bigger no-brainer choices ever? (Not a nitpick, I'm just musing from a design standpoint I guess)

[Brian Swartz]

I may not have been clear on the explanation there, but I wouldn't say so. It's the same 0-10 scale, only takes 1 point to upgrade ... but only every other point does any good. I.e. having 1 in Recon is the same as 0, 7 is the same as 6, etc. There are only 5 'levels' to it instead of 10 upgrades for all the other ratings -- you only get a bonus for every other point invested.

I hope that makes sense. The 'point value' of all the starting choices is identical.

[DavidCorperial]

Tactician, Training, Army, Union

[collegesportsfanms]

Tactician, Training, Politics, Union

[Qwikshot]

Tactician, Artillery, Business, Union

[JonInMiddleGA]

I hope that makes sense. The 'point value' of all the starting choices is identical.

Thanks, it was probably just me misunderstanding it. #MyBad

As I initially interpreted it I thought it was kind of a curious design choice, one that almost seemed to force you down a certain path at startup.

[Brian Swartz]

I'll get this started either Monday evening or sometime on Tuesday. I am quite surprised at the Union being the unanimous choice right now. I figured there would be more love for the historical losers. But that's one reason why I like to do these kinds of things; unexpected choices. It also looks like Tactician has a strong lead, but the other two options are still up in the air. I'm hoping we'll get a couple more in here and I won't have to, but if necessary I'll go with the highly sophisticated process of 'digital coin-flip' to resolve ties.

[tarcone]

Tactician, Cavalry, Army, Confederate

[tarcone]

Cant wait. You do a great job with these. Really enjoyed the Stellaris dynasty

[Brian Swartz]

Here's a little more info to throw at you, and also something to think about for those half-dozen brave souls who are already in here.

Brigade Types

There are four different 'building blocks' on which the army is built:

** Infantry -- Largest in number by far, line infantry is the backbone of combat in this era, often known as the Age of Rifles for that reason. Single-shot rifles and muskets are the most commonly used weapon on the battlefield. Closely-packed firing lines allow for concentration of firepower, but also guarantee high vulnerability to taking losses, particularly when you consider this is an era where range and accuracy improvements are improving the lethality of these weapons. As the war begins, the maximum brigade size is 1500 men; it can reach 2500 eventually. Standard initial size is 1000 men.

** Artillery -- Field guns are dragged around the battlefield by horses and placed into position. They are often the first sound that is heard in an attack during a major battle, and capable of inflicting damage up to a mile away from their positions(somewhat less at the start of the war, somewhat more for the more advanced types by the end). Each gun requires a number of men to operate effectively, set at 25 per in-game. Artillery pieces are very expensive, but properly used they can significantly shift the fortunes of battle. Maximum brigade size here begins at 24 guns(600 men) per brigade. Standard initial size of 4 artillery pieces.

** Cavalry -- Mounted horsemen are the fastest type of unit, valuable for scouting, harassing small enemy forces, and flanking maneuvers. There are two types; Carbine Cavalry generally use quality longer-range small arms, and can dismount and fight on foot if the situation requires it. Shock Cavalry don't dismount, but are a powerful force in melee combat. Gone are the days when even elite cavalry can overwhelm a prepared infantry line with a massed charge; the lethal capabilities of rifles are simply too great for that to succeed. As a flanking force or taking out smaller enemy formations or artillery though, they can still be quite effective under the right circumstances. Mobility tends to be the greatest asset. The initial maximum is 750 soldiers per brigade. Standard initial size is 250 horsemen.

** Skirmishers -- To avoid unpleasant surprises and ambushes, or create our own, smaller infantry units that are spaced more widely and can move more quickly are used to harass the enemy, scout, fight delaying actions, etc. They tend to use carbines that are more accurate, deadly, and expensive than those given to the rank and file infantryman. At need, skirmishers can also be detached from any standard infantry brigade, but as they will not have these specialized weapons they will be somewhat less effective. In both scouting and avoiding detection by the enemy, skirmishers are the best the army can offer. In a prolonged engagement though, they will be overwhelmed by the massed fire of standard infantry. 500 men is the maximum starting size here. Standard initial size of 150.

Choose Starting Unit

Prospective commanders are encouraged to indicate what type of brigade they would prefer to start with. Pick any of the four, or simply reply Any/Random if you don't care. As mentioned, Artillery/Skirmishers might start out at a lower rank(Captain, Majors or better are required for Infantry/Cavalry), so this might be a factor in the choice if you want to quickly move up the chain of command.

[ntndeacon]

Cavalry

[DavidCorperial]

Artillery

[tarcone]

Infantry

And with this added info can I change my original from Cavalry to Training or is it too late?
If so, no worries.

[Brian Swartz]

You can change you original vote, but the two aren't related(unless you are thinking for RP reasons). I.e., the initial choice on Mexican-American War experience has absolutely nothing to do with how effective each type of brigade will be; all it impacts are the career points mentioned.

[collegesportsfanms]

Cavalry for me

[chesapeake]

Tactician, Training, Politics, Union. And sign me up for the infantry. Looking forward to this.

[Brian Swartz]

Thanks everyone for joining. I'll just mention again that there's plenty of room for anyone who wants in -- I'm getting this going now but the more the merrier.

Campaign Setup

I'm calling the start-up vote at this point. On the one point that really makes a big difference there is still a clear consensus.

I've chosen to name our character James Stewart, after the well-known actor who served in WWII and eventually became a Brigadier General in the US Air Force.

In the game world, General James Stewart graduate West Point with a Tactician specialty. This taught him that reconnaissance is key to any effective flanking maneuver. In the Mexican-American War, he served as a infantry officer, distinguishing himself by leading an assault on the town of Monterrey. Remaining in the army after the war, Stewart rose through the ranks and became a General of Militia in his home state of Pennsylvania.

When the final break of secession happened in the spring of 1861, he vowed to help restore the Union. Utilizing the manpower and material advantages of the North, his efforts were devoted to overwhelming and crushing this rebellion, and making all men equal under the law.

General James Stewart was named one of the top subcommanders in the US Army based on his experience, and put in charge of developing his own Corps. The seven brave/foolhardy younger officers who have signed up will be key subordinates, and others are encouraged to join up at any time.


Difficulty

Ultimate General has four difficulty levels

** Colonel -- basically the Easy setting; gold and recruits are increased, strength of the enemy decreased, and reputation hits are smaller.
** Brigadier General -- Standard/Normal, no modifications of any kind. That's what we'll be using.
** Major General -- Opposite of Colonel, with several penalties to make things more difficult. At this difficulty you can also choose Legendary Mode which doesn't even try to be reasonable or historical. Opposing armies are much stronger, better-equipped, and have far more elite units.

Standard, generic vanilla out-of-the-box for us, 'the way it was meant to be played', etc.

https://i.imgur.com/rX3bJ3K.png


The final screen of campaign setup shows what we've got so far. Training is a major strength: Politics, Economy, Medicine, and Logistics are non-existent. Beginning with 10 out of a possible 70 points(if all categories were fully trained up), we have a lot of work to do.

There is no time to discuss anything in committee; we are taken immediately to the first battle. At other times we'll have choices in terms of what part of the army to commit to the engagement, but here at the start of the war we're sort of flying by the seat of our pants. Ultimate General pretty much drops you in the deep end of the pool immediately. Esp. earlier in development, many have found the first couple of battles to be the toughest part of the game. Interestingly, since I expected Conferederate to be selected, I did my learning and exploring the game on the Union side, playing through the first three battles. I'm not going to use that knowledge to cheese anything, but it should help me at least get us off to a decent start.

By the way, if you lose the first battle, which is very possible -- it's quite winnable, but you have to know what you are doing and even then it's not a walk in the park -- here's what happens:

https://i.imgur.com/y0YMfo4.png


Below this is the following text: "President Lincoln honored you, giving you command of a considerable army, but the task was greater than your skill and so you have been replaced. Due to these recent failures and your insignificant performance, you came to realize the military is not for you. You were forced to resign from the army and returned to the peaceful life of a civilian."

Career stats then follow. It's quite unforgiving, a la XCOM in this way: fail the first battle and it's Game Over. Later battles don't automatically end the game immediately if you fail, but losing often will eventually get you to the same point.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Preview: Capture the Train Station


https://i.imgur.com/XJ8JSkf.png


The staff gives us a basic rundown of what to expect. In this case, it's a pretty straightforward, sensible objective; this train station has strategic and logistical value. The Union must capture it.

https://i.imgur.com/qu9HDF9.png


This location is to the southeast of the town. Apparently we haven't got all day to achieve our objective either.

https://i.imgur.com/j6kUqLe.png


And we are arriving from the southwest. After this, the briefing is over and the battle begins. It is June 1, 1861, 10:15 AM. The name of the town we have been sent to capture is Phillipi. The Civil War, as we call it -- others will term it the War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression, and other such things -- officially began May 12th when the South fired on Fort Sumter. This is based on the actual Battle of Phillipi, which took place June 3rd and is considered the first land battle of the war, though it was somewhat different than what you'll see here.

[tarcone]

Just keep me how I originally stated then

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/gNa179T.png


This is a zoomed-out view of the battlefield. As we make our way roughly northeast towards out objective, we have three basic paths we can take. Going up the road here is basically asking to be ambushed, particularly from the rockly cleft on the west. We could also head to the forest on the east, but taking the high ground on the west seems best.

https://i.imgur.com/pQHtW5z.png


The initial force here is two skirmisher brigades(Schaefer and Stockton), carrying Sharps .52 Carbines. Zook's Brigade is a standard infantry with the Springfield smoothbore musket, and the general's unit behind it can improve the efficiency(we'll get to exactly what that means after this battle) of any units in the command radius.

Moving through the forest will slow us down, but it really can't be helped in this case.

https://i.imgur.com/9hpB7mo.png


10:22 AM -- We spot an enemy skirmisher unit on the edge of the rock face, watching over the road. Stockton and Schaefer move in to drive them away.

10:27 AM -- After a brief exchange, a single volley from each of the three units involved, they've lost 26 men to 7 of ours. The Confederates retreat, and we're able to keep moving along the ridge.

https://i.imgur.com/hQjSmxQ.png


10:31 AM -- A second group is encountered further on and given similar treatment, while a third skirmisher brigade is spotted to the south, attempting to attack us from the rear. They seem determined to be an annoyance. Stockton is repositioned behind us in order to protect Zook from that direction. One of the cardinal rules is 'don't get flanked, especially from the rear'. Casualties and morale hits are far worse.

10:41 AM -- The rear-flanking group makes the mistake of being too aggressive, and gets a nice full barrage for our full infantry brigade under Zook, in addition to the damage Stockton has done to them. They've lost about 50 men, a quarter of their number, in this maneuver, and retreat. Our losses were just 3 of Stockton's men. So far things are going even better than I had hoped for.

A short while later ...

https://i.imgur.com/ahME2Kb.png


This is to the west of our present position. There's more coming than this single cavalry brigade; two more infantry and a couple of artillery units join the fun as well, along with a supply wagon.

10:45 AM -- As the reinforcements arrive, a timer starts. We have five hours to capture Phillippi. Many objectives have a time limit, often as here due to needing to accomplish it before the enemy can bring in additional forces.

10:51 AM -- As Bristow's cavalry moves up the road, the last of the confederates abandon the hill to avoid being cut off. We can now see a full infantry brigade(McHenry) in the town on this side of the river. Before we attack though, it's a good idea to get all of our troops in position. That'll take some time, especially for the artillery.

https://i.imgur.com/b48vCae.png


11:22 AM -- Half an hour later, the guns have taken positions on the hill, and open fire on the men in the town. We'll attack from the south and west here, using the fields for cover where possible. Looking at the river, it is possible to ford some of them but it's too deep here; the only way to cross is over the bridges. We've got to eliminate all resistance on this side first.

I'm also going to relocate one of the artillery brigades; Scales has rifled 10-pounders, which are good in the position where they are. Woods' guns are 6-pound smoothbores though, and not nearly as accurate from long range like this. They'll head west of the town and try to find a reasonable position closer to the action.

11:30 AM -- As we start to move in, Confederate artillery opens up from somewhere in the general direction of Phillippi. We can't see them yet.

https://i.imgur.com/P2CWJyI.png


A few minutes after we get in firing range with our infantry, the defenders of the town, badly outnumbered here, decide to ... charge. Gotta give em credit for courage, if nothing else. Melee combat is brutal and we take some losses, but not nearly as many as they take with the rest of our brigades shooting at them.

https://i.imgur.com/xGeyoxu.png


11:56 AM here. They appear to have retreated across the river, or at least to it. We have control of this side, but their artillery continue to complicate things a bit. You can also see Law and Root's brigades in fortified positions on their side of the bridges. Charging across now would be suicidal.

One must always be mindful of the terrain. Fortunately there are some trees near the north bridge(just south of it, on our side) that will provide decent cover for us. Walton and Loomis will move in there. Their fire and the artillery will focus on driving off the defenders from that bridge, while Zook holds the other crossing.

Casualties so far number over 350 confederates, just over 100 of ours. That's pretty good, but the hard fighting is clearly ahead.

12:50 PM -- The confederates had stocked that north bridge in defense, and both sides were taking significant losses. Then they tried to charge across and dislodge us, a definite error.

1:15 PM -- Everyone still left standing is quite tired now. Took this to show the supply wagon bit; every unit with the shown circle can be gradually resupplied with ammunition. We're wearing them down, but it's a bloody business.

2:01 PM -- There were less than 300 defending the north bridge now: we outnumber them nearly 3:1. On the other hand, we've got less than two hours to take the town, and Zook has been getting pummelled to the south. Over half our supplies are gone.

2:10 PM -- They finally abandon the north crossing. About freaking time. It's been a bloody day already, and it's not over. Bristow's cavalry is first across, followed by Schaeffer. They are fresh and duck into the woods northwest of town to give us a foothold on the other side, holding it while the infantry moves in more slowly.

Root reforms and tries to charge them, but this doesn't go well. He doesn't have enough men, and loses plenty more while doing no further damage to us.

https://i.imgur.com/aU4I5JH.png


2:31 PM -- We've secured the northern crossing, and the artillery has moved forward to pound their gun positions in the town. However, Major Gene Zook was killed to the south, his brigade having been baited into leaving their position by confed skirmishers. Morons. Whenever a brigade commander is wounded or killed, that unit will function with severe penalties for the rest of the engagement. This 'wandering-off' thing can happen from time to time, so you have to watch things closely and I was focused on the north. There isn't much left of what will have to be called something else after this battle: there is no more Zook in Zook's Brigade.

Note the icons that look like white shields or whatever. Those are fortifications, some in the town and some just beyond it. If we occupy them, we can have a defensive bonus for a change. Loomis makes for the one that controls the north end of town immediately, while the rest of our men will sweep towards the south, with the aim of taking out those blasted guns and securing that bridge.

2:39 PM -- The Confederates bring up more men out of reserve and storm the southern bridge. Zook and Stockton try to hold them off as best they can, but they are badly outnumbered. It's a race to get down there and cut them off ...

2:57 PM -- We are able to flank them in time. One of the new brigades, Harland, tries to push us back to the north but is overwhelmed. Unable to find a secure position, their artillery under Davies retreats in disarray. The town is almost ours.

3:03 PM -- Finally they sound the general retreat. Phillipi is ours!! We had less than an hour to spare.

** Note: I've usually found this to be somewhat easier when I've done this battle. Usually McHenry retreats across the south bridge not the north one, making the job of bashing through there less difficult. Battles can play out somewhat differently though general flow of them is always the same due to the objectives and the amount of forces available to each side. In this case, the way they retreated made things more difficult and I wasn't entirely sure at points that I was even going to win it.

[Brian Swartz]

Bridge Battle - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lapRunkElfA)

Took a gameplay video of the bridge part of the battle, about a minute and a half, to show some of the flow, graphic effects, sound, etc. Might help give a little better feel for things. Came out pretty blurry, but whatever -- I'm not going to spend a ton of time figuring out why :(.

[BYU 14]

Infantry for me

[Brian Swartz]

I expected a transition to the campaign progression, battle summary, etc. at this point when first I got to this point. Instead, we are greeted with this:

https://i.imgur.com/yGHz7J6.png


It ain't over yet, folks. Those blasted rebels aren't taking this lying down. Multi-part battles are all handled the same way. Your initial position is pre-determined, but casualties carry over. Note that Zook in the north has been decimated.

https://i.imgur.com/N9UVnQe.png


This is to the east-northeast of the town.

https://i.imgur.com/HKSX4nP.png


Coming from the southeast towards Phillipi.

https://i.imgur.com/T7WtOTV.png


At least there's something. Then we're told "It's going to be a hard fight, General. Ready to receive your orders!"

[Brian Swartz]

Capture the Train Station: Part 2

It is 4:15 PM, just over an hour after the previously-reported events. We must hold out until nearly 7, presumably due to darkness coming at that time.

https://i.imgur.com/bhV3kjD.png


Seems that slowing them down to buy time for our reinforcements to get here will be important. Bristow's cavalry wasn't heavily involved earlier in the day and is at nearly full strength; Schaefer's men are at over 80% so they aren't doing too bad either. Those two will head out to the northeast roads and try to scout out what's coming along with harrassing them to whatever degree is reasonably possible.

In the town itself, I'm going to rearrange some things. Zook and Stockton having been decimated, especially the former, they won't be able to do much and will pull back just into Phillipi. Walton will move up to that position on the north flank, while Loomis, the only infantry brigade to not suffer 50% casualties already, will move into the primary defensive position by the train station itself. I'm also going to pull the artillery back a bit as I think they are too exposed being as far forward as our infantry.

No plan survives contact with the enemy and all that, but that's the goal here. As beat-up as we are, I hope our new men get here before it's too late ...

4:25 PM -- Schaefer spots infantry coming down the southern of the two roads. He moves into the woods to try and cause them a few headaches. Soon we spot some further along on the north road. Then cavalry and artillery start showing up. Definitely time to fall back to the town.

4:33 PM -- To the north, Walton is the first to make contact. He's outnumbered but has a good position and the artillery starts opening up in support. I think he's ok for now.

4:40 PM -- Reinforcements are here!! Well, not quite. They've still got a long ways to travel, but they've entered the map.

4:45 PM -- The armored train begins it's approach. Oh super. All in all we have 3 infantry, 2 artillery, and another supply wagon inbound on our side, but it's going to be some time before they can join the fray.

https://i.imgur.com/xQwuhgQ.png


4:52 PM -- There's just too many of them, especially on the south end. This could get ugly very soon. Milroy and Colquitt, the two lead infantry brigades coming up, are double-quicking it to the bridges. I don't know how much of us will be left by the time they get here though.

https://i.imgur.com/y7ey80n.png


5:02 PM -- Grant tries to charge us on the north, and only a counter-charge by Bristow's cavalry saves the position. He's got the 'skirmisher' rather than the 'melee' version of the horsemen, but they are still capable of throwing their weight around. There's little doubt that Walton will break before long though. Meanwhile, the train has arrived, and the artillery will have to focus it's fire on that.

5:05 PM -- Milroy's brigade has reached the southern bridge, and none too soon.

https://i.imgur.com/cvnztfF.png


5:10 PM -- Loomis breaks in the face of close-range fire by the train, and Milroy tries to take up a defensive position in the town to hold the line. We've done some damage to the train(150 men there initially), but not enough.

5:21 PM -- Major Bobby Woods, one of the artillery commanders, is wounded as he pulls back through Phillipi, and Milroy has been driven from his position by overwhelming force. The two support batteries are in place, but the south flank is caving nonetheless.

5:26 PM -- Down to less than half strength, the train is retreating! Perhaps we can still hold without the barrage from that monstrosity.

https://i.imgur.com/63laLjI.png


5:36 PM -- We appear to have reached the critical point, as a melee ensues in the south. The fresh brigade of Colquitt is right in the middle of it, while the others are just barely holding.

6:07 PM -- They soon pull back a bit, and a brutal firefight ensues for the next half-hour. By then though, it appears that we are set to narrowly hold on both flanks. Unable to press into Phillipi and recover more supplies from there, the rebels soon start running out of ammunition. All they can do is charge into a superior position or retreat. They try some of each, without success.

6:55 PM -- Finally the Confederates give up. We have won the day ... but just barely. Phillipi is strewn with dead soldiers of both-color uniforms, and craters from countless cannon impacts dot the surrounding countryside. It'll be a long time before this can ever be a peaceful, sleepy town again.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Enemy Commander: Innis McArthur

Strength

Infantry: 4255 Union, 7498 Confederate
Cavalry: 224 Union, 239 Confederate
Artillery: 20(462) Union, 10(224) Confederate*
Combined Personnel: 4,941 Union; 7,961 Confederate

* That's total number of guns, soldiers in parentheses.


Casualties

Infantry: 2,224 Union; 4,025 Confederate
Cavalry: 78 Union; 47 Confederate
Artillery: 0(18) Union; 3(78) Confederate
Missing: 0 Union, 121 Confederate

Total Losses: 2,320 Union; 4,271 Confederate

The shattered remains of Revere's command surrendered to us near the end, trapped and surrounded in the town. That accounts for the 'missing' number here. We are also given information on number of weapons captured, killed and lost by brigade, etc. Both of the initial infantry commanders(Walton and Loomis) were promoted as well from Major to Lt. Colonel. All of that stuff will make a lot more sense once commands have been handed out though, so I'll bypass it for this first engagement.

Summary

Outnumbered considerably, we nonetheless inflicted almost twice the damage on them and secured the railway, an important stop on the Baltimore & Ohio. A costly success, but under the circumstances quite an impressive showing nonetheless.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/Wda5lyS.png

Time now to get into the campaign stuff, which is handled in-between battles. Upon completing an engagement this screen is presented. Starting at the top, we'll get to assign another point to Stewart's ratings due to this battle being rated a Victory. Reputation I'll get to later. Below that, we receive $53.7k in funding and 3300 potential recruits. Then the Civil War Campaign Medal(which as far as I can tell just is awarded for successfully starting the campaign), and we trade the captured men for another 127 recruits.

Ok, so what do we do between battles? A whole bunch of explaining will be coming. We alternate between Battle and Camp stages during the campaign. Starting battle is complete, now it's time for the first go-round at camp. It wouldn't be fair to ask anyone to make choices without understanding what's going on. All information will be added to the first post of the thread for reference, as well as in the next post(s), which will come as I am able to prepare them.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Outline

Camp stages will take place in two steps. This means we'll progress at a fairly slow pace when you take into account the 48-hour waiting period, but it can't be helped.

** Step 1: Career Points. I've outlined what these do in general in the OP: I'll give you specifics of what the next point will add, and then await voting on the topic. If it's close and I think one is definitely better than another, I'll swing it that way. If the choice is clear, I'll stick with it no matter how stupid I may think it is :). We skip this step if we don't win a battle(only Victory grants career points), but if that happens often it'll be a short, unsuccessful run.

** Step 2: 'Outfitting. Here's where it gets complicated and I need to get into a number of game concepts, ratings, and whatnot. Let me emphasize that you may feel free to ASK QUESTIONS. I don't want to treat anyone like an idiot, but I may not always explain things as clearly as I intend. I've already confused a couple people just in what we've gone through already in the setup.

1. Emphasis. This will be voted on every time, as our situation will change. Upon receiving the briefing on the current state of the army and what is known about our enemy, we will need to choose whether to focus our resources on Improving Weaponry, Veteran Replacments, or Additional Recruits. Improving Weaponry means better weapons for the infantry, more guns for the artillery, etc; veteran replacements means paying for the training of recruits so that they don't dilute the abilities of our experienced brigades; additional recruits means we need numbers, get as many boots on the ground first or foremost. You may choose Balanced to do some of each, or choose to Focus or Strongly Focus on one of those three areas. Strongly Focus on Veterans, for example, would mean that you think most of our funds should go to that before considering other needs. If you find these formulations to not really fit what you want then try explaining it other terms; the point here is to get a sense of what you, the officer corps, think we need in terms of general strategic direction.

2. Reputation Investment. Reputation is a measure of well-respected General Stewart's leadership is. Any amount above a minimum level can be invested to 'purchase' additional things from the government. This is risky, because below a certain reputation point morale will start to take hits, and if it falls low enough of course we will flat-out lose. Nonetheless, the option will be presented.

3. Specific Command Orders. This part will not be a vote. Each of you will make 'requisitions' for what you want to focus on with your specific responsibility, be it brigade, division, or corps. Here you can react to what happened in the previous battle by getting reinforcements, upgrading your weaponry, hiring subcommanders, assigning training, etc. as appropriate to your individual situation. There will often(always?) not be enough men and resources to do everything we might like to do, so you won't always get what you want in some areas, but the instructions you set here will at least point your command in the direction that you choose.

4. Supply. I'll handle this one myself, but every corps has a supply wagon and some money will need to be invested from time to time here so that we can have enough ammunition in battle. There is no limit, other than how much we are willing to spend on it.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Specifics

1. Commanders. The way that officers are presented in Ultimate General is actually fairly bland and simplistic. You do not have a bunch of ratings for your character per se. Your rank determines your effectiveness; you need to reach a certain minimum to rank to be eligible for higher-level commands, and the higher your rank is, the more men you can lead effectively. That's pretty much it. The options and complexity kick in mostly on the brigade-level. Experience is gained on the basis of combat hours, and when you have enough you will achieve the next rank.

2. Brigades. So what can you do here then? A lot. There are multiple ways to distinguish one brigade from another.

** Experience/Training -- Every unit has specific ratings which I'll get to in a moment. As these increase through various activities, a brigade's overall experience level will improve and a specific perk, or special training, can be chosen. Once selected, these cannot be changed. Brigade experience is indicated by stars: *, **, and ***. Rookies have no stars, and get no perks. Adding a bunch of rookies to an experienced brigade can erode experience and lose the perks until they 'level up' more, so that's something to be aware of. Through the use of this, you can easily have brigades of the same type, size, equipment, and experience who nonetheless have their own distinctive capabilities.

** Ratings -- There are six ratings for each brigade. Command is a pass/fail one, indicating whether the brigade commander and the division commander above them have enough rank and experience to effectively lead a unit of this size. If not, significant performance hits will occur. Efficiency is improved by killing enemy soldiers, and improves shooting, reload speed, and strength in melee combat. Morale is gained with combat hours and can be impacted by Stewart's reputation. Morale will take smaller hits and regenerate faster as this improves. Low morale results in reduced efficiency and melee effectiveness. Stamina is increased based on how much marching around a unit does in battles, and helps keep Condition high. Better condition affects the speed, morale, and melee combat of a unit; when it drops low enough and the brigade becomes tired, some actions such as charging or double-quick movement are not possible. Firearms is improved by shooting at any target in combat: the accuracy of the brigade is improved here. Finally, Melee improves by killing enemies in melee combat, and improves the hand-to-hand effectiveness.

I think it is a basic, but quite good bit of design to tie these generally to doing the activities involved. However a brigade is used, it will tend to get better at it.

** Size -- Increasing the size of a brigade means adding more recruits and weaponry. There are two considerations for each. Rookie recruits pretty much suck, but they are free. They also dilute the abilities of any unit they are added to. You must pay for the training of Veterans, with the cost scaling based on it's currente ratings. For weapons, they come from two sources: the Armory and the Shop. Armory weapons are available at a 50% discount; they are what the Army has in it's possession. Shop weapons can be purchased from other sources for the full price. If you run out of both, you don't get no more -- so we have to use what is available. Similarly, recruits are not infinite and limited to the current pool. Also, it's one weapon to one brigade; co-ordinated movements are not possible with different reload rates, ranges, and the like, so you have to choose only one.

The next bit that will be a list of available weaponry.

[Brian Swartz]

I've decided there isn't much point in throwing all the weapon details in here: I've added them to the end of the OP, which has now been edited with all of the explanatory details thus far. One bit of info that was added to the brigade stuff is the default starting amount for new brigades, useful for having a reference point: 1000 for infantry, 4 guns for artillery, 250 for cavalry, 150 for skirmishers.

General Briefing: State of the Army

Every time you see this, it will detail our current force. Knowing what we have will allow you to choose intelligently how to proceed. At present, we have only one corps and one division, with four brigades:

** Loomis(Infantry, *, 96 soldiers, Springfield M1842)
** Walton(Infantry, *, 171 soldiers, Springfield M1842)
** Woods(Artillery, *, 5 guns, 6PDR Field)
** Scales(Artillery, *, 5 guns, 10PDR Ordnance)

Commander Assignments

Finally, at long last, it's time for our seven brave/foolish heroes/goats to-be to receive their commands. The realities of our present situation dictate that one, and only one, additional division will be needed right away. We have no division commanders right now, and no brigade commanders high enough to promote. So the first question is, who will take the existing First Division, and who will have the new Second Division?

Colonel rank is required. We have one in 'reserve'(meaning, on staff and not assigned yet). One more needs to be 'hired', and we'll take the cheapest of those(cost scales with experience, but we have no need of spending more than necessary right now). Which volunteer is assigned to which commander is of course done completely at random.

First Division -- Col. Luis Wagner. BYU14, this is you. As of right now, you are the highest-ranking subordinate to BG James Stewart -- BG standing for Brigadier General(1-star, *).

Second Division -- Col. Rafael Durrell, retained for 3,353 warbucks. Step right up now, ntndeacon. The details of your first command have yet to be determined: it is unknown how much you'll have to work with.

That leaves four brigades and five volunteers left; the fifth with get a new brigade that will be formed shortly.

Lt. Col. Adam Loomis(Infantry) -- chesapeake. You survived the first battle but we can't say much more.

Lt. Col. Kerry Walton(infantry) -- tarcone. Looking a little better here, but not by much.

Maj. Bobby Woods(artillery) was injured, and needs a replacement. Great spot for Qwikshot to jump in. Henceforth you shall be known as Capt. Walter Seymour. Your fee was $352.

Maj. Wade Scales(artillery) -- DavidCorperial. You are now our most experienced artillery commander, which is to say only experienced artillery commander.

collegesportsfanmas remains unassigned; if either division adds cavalry you'll get that, otherwhise you'll get whatever's available.

Cash is now at $49,995 after these hires, recruit pool remains at 3,427.

[Brian Swartz]

It's now time to get this show on the road with our first choice, dealing with our Career Points. We have 1 to spend as mentioned. Here's what it can get us:

** Politics(0) -- Increase gold and recruits from +0 to +2.5%. In this last battle for example, that would have meant an extra $1,342 warbucks and 82 more recruits.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%. Just as effective as having more money is getting the same return while spending less of it.

** Medicine(0) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 0 to 2%. 46 soldiers with combat experience would have been retained with this.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(2) -- Increase the maximum size ofthe army. We currently have a max of 1 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 1500/Brigade. The next level will add a third Division. Given our available manpower, I am recommending against this right now -- we probably won't end up quite filling out even the two divisions we have given the sustained losses. We definitely want to keep a close eye on this though; ending up in a situation where you have more money and men than you can field because this hasn't been upgraded is not something we want. No danger of that yet though.

** Logistics(0) -- Increase ammunition from normal to +5% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against.

All Commanders are now on the clock, 48 hours as always though I'll be flexible with things at first so people can get in the flow. Voting on the Career Point investment is called for. At that time, or before if everyone has checked in, we will add a point to the relevant category and proceed to Outfitting.

[Brian Swartz]

While that's going on, I'll add one more bit to this spam-posting epidemic I've had here today and talk about the bigger picture. The game is organized into mini-campaigns, usually of a few battles each, and often culminating in a big, decisive(or not) Grand Battle. We are now in the 1861 1st Manassas Campaign. They can be fought in any order which is kind of weird. We'll be doing them in chronological order. There are a couple things to be seen when looking at the Battles Map. First, there's this:

https://i.imgur.com/QZ438QH.png


A bit of flavor here with intercepted communications. This comes from the Intelligence Service, which gives us three addition bits of info.

Army: 28-33k. This is the estimated size of the rebel force in total. Note that we aren't expected to be that big yet, as Stewart has only a single corps, not the entire Union Army. We have some influence on how fast this number grows by virtue of how many casualties we inflict in combat.
Training: 25-30%. A general measurement of the quality of the rebel troops.
Armory: 14-19%. Measures how well-equipped they are in terms of weapons.

https://i.imgur.com/Vr43O9l.png


Here's the next engagement we have coming up, which may be of interest. Aside from the description, note the different rewards for finances, men, and reputation below the Victory/Draw/Defeat result options. You can also see the 'wreath' or whatever by the other battle that wasn't selected; that's our first Grand Battle, which will come later. But first things first.

[chesapeake]

Politics
Money is always good, and we have already established a high initial training rating. It seems to me that we can restock our own units with a number of comparatively cheap veteran soldiers while creating new green brigades that will be blooded at Bull Run.

As it turns out, I live across the street from a historic Confederate outpost that watches one of the main roads to Manassas. I'll keep an eye on the troop movements around here :).

[Brian Swartz]

I was hoping for more than one vote here, but I'm going to move on -- Politics it is. I'd like to progress to our next battle, Distress Call, by the end of Tuesday and I want to leave plenty of time for people to respond to their individual situations. I also think the best way for those who have signed up to see what they're in for is to keep things moving, and I don't have any real good reason for arguing against the pick here.

[Brian Swartz]

Outfitting: Army Choices

To start with, these are the things that everyone can weigh in on.

1. Emphasis. I think I've already got Chesapeake on the record here, which I would think qualifies as basically looking for a balanced approach. You can also choose to have us Focus or Strongly Focus on improving weapons, adding experienced veterans, or going for mostly new recruits to increase our almost non-existent numbers.

2. Reputation Investment. We're at 28, which means we are allowed to spend up to 8 if we choose, though letting it get too low is risky as mentioned. The options for us right now, at 4 Reputation apiece:

** 2000 Palmetto M1842s(Infantry)

** 10 10Pdr Ordnance(Artillery)

** BG John Gibbon(Brigadier General, *)

At our current level we can choose between zero and two of these.

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

Now it's time to look at the individual situations.

Wagner's Division

BYU14, you're up here. I'll refer to this as Wagner's Division instead of I Corps 1st Division just to make it a little more personal. You have the two mostly-depleted infantry brigades of Loomis and Walton, and we'll be moving one artillery unit out to the other division but you will keep the other one. Two things are needed here:

C Luis Wagner is approx. a third of the way to his next promotion(I can't see precise amounts above the brigade level).

** What type of brigade would you like for the open spot? Skirmishers/Infantry/Artillery/Cavalry/Random for the options here. To keep things sensible, I'm going to keep a minimum of half of each division going infantry, but you already have that so you can pick anything. If you wish, you can further choose a preferred weapon for that new brigade to carry, or you can leave that choice to the new commander of that unit. Go for a well-rounded division or one that hits harder -- the choice is yours.

** Similar to army-level choice but specific to your divisional command, you may request that we bias outfitting of your division in favor of veterans, recruits, or better weapons. If you want to spend extra on infantry/artillery/whatever and correspondingly less elsewhere, this would also be the place to note that.


Durrell's Division

ntndeacon, you have the same basic choices, but the option to do more to shape things.

C Rafael Durrell is a fairly recently promoted colonel and is probably around 10-15% of the way to his next tier.

** Division Makeup. Seymour's brigade, the 6-lb. guns, is all that you will start off with for sure. We may not have enough men to add more than just some infantry to that, but you'll at least get that much. It would still be good to know what you would like to work towards in terms of the 4th optional brigade(2 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 ?). As the army grows you'll have gradually more freedom to shape things.

** Same as above, any directions on the outfitting of your division you might have. Note that the only Seymour will be able to receive veterans; all of the other brigades will be new and automatically green. This limitation is also an opportunity; choosing a specific weapon is best done when a brigade is first formed, since you're not replacing the existing ones but merely doing a first-time outfitting.


Now on to the specific brigades.

Loomis's Brigade

Adam Loomis was promoted to Lt. Col. after the last battle, and has made minimal progress in that rank of 13%.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

Men: 96
Experience: *, 54% to **
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed)

Note that in the future you will be able to choose perks when the brigade 'levels up' -- these men already were experienced going into the first battle, so we get them 'as is' and can't make that choice here.

Efficiency: 36
Morale: 45
Stamina: 50
Firearms: 58
Melee: 23

All on a 100-point scale. By comparison, rookie recruits average 8-11 in all categories.

Weapon: Springfield M1842

** Weapon -- If you want to switch to a different weapon, that choice should be made here. The cost of that will reduce what is available to increase your manpower.

** Reinforcements -- Numbers vs. Veterans here basically. At the current abilities of your brigade, veterans will cost $28 per man. You can choose some of each if you wish to hedge your bets. The most recruits we can add to maintain your * status(and the endurance course perk) is 114. At that point the ratings would be 24/25/34/32/16. Additional veterans trained to this lower level would cost $13 apiece. You can choose All Veterans, All Rookies, or give me a number of some kind for how many rookies to add.


Walton's Brigade

LC Kelly Walton is 37% of the way to his next promotion.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Men: 171
Experience: *, 67% to **
Perks: Endurance Course

Efficiency: 37
Morale: 45
Stamina: 50
Firearms: 64
Melee: 30

Weapon: Springfield M1842

Same choices naturally. Choose a different weapon if you prefer. You have slightly more skilled men and therefore veterans are initially more expensive, $31 each. Maximum # of recruits while maintaining your perk(but still losing progress towards the next tier) is 265. At that point ratings would slide to 23/23/32/32/18, and veterans to maintain that level would cost $12.


Scales's Brigade

Major William Scales is nearly to his next rank, 98% of the way there. He's now got the initial brigade of our new division.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Field Guns: 5
Experience: *, 46% to **
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 36
Morale: 45
Stamina: 48
Firearms: 52
Melee: 21

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Weapon changes if any are now indicated. Note that you'll want to check the Weapon Reference in the OP for availability and price before doing that if you choose it. The costs here are per gun, not per man: 25 men required per gun, so the numbers are going to be a lot higher even without factoring in additional weapons. Cheaper/more expensive weapons would change how much the cost is of course. $3600 ea. to add veteran crews, $1710 for rookies. 4 guns could be added without losing the current perk, resulting in 26/29/35/34/16 ratings. At that point additional veteran crews would cost $2690
each.


Seymour's Brigade

Capt. Walter Seymour was just commissioned and assigned, and as a result has no promotion progress.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Field Guns: 5
Experience: *, 23% to **
Perks: Logistics(+50% ammunition, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 34
Morale: 45
Stamina: 39
Firearms: 49
Melee: 21

Weapon: 6pdr Field

Weapon changes if any are requested, as well as upgrade choices. We can and will outfit you with the one additional field gun we captured in the last battle. Veterans for that would cost $1823, with no cost for rookies. Assuming that you go the veteran route, additional pieces would be $2693 each. 2 rookie crews could be added without losing perks, at $870 each. $2201 would be the cost for more veteran crews at that point.

Editorial Note: I also want to add a note here about infantry size and the veterans/recruit thing. Large, inexperienced brigades and those with smaller number of veterans or better weapons(or both) are both valuable. Generally the 'meat shields' would be used in the primary line esp. on bigger battles, with the more elite troops used in flanking or in reserve to be committed to key points as needed. No reserve or flanking maneuver is going to be successful without the grunts to hold the line though, so both are essential. For the other brigade types, their skills are more important but there is still an argument in favor of throwing in a bunch of raw recruits, esp. when resources are tight, and letting them hopefully improve.


All Commanders are now on the clock. Feel free to ask any questions which may occur to you.

[tarcone]

I want to add veterans? How many can I add?

[Brian Swartz]

It's impossible to give a specific answer on that, because it depends on what requests are made with the other units: there's only so much money to go around. If you want to add all veterans, then you will get fewer than you would if you accepted some rookies, ending with a relatively smaller but more capable brigade.

This has to be done a little more generally; how many rookies are you willing to accept taking on, if any, to grow your numbers. I'll add as many veterans as I can after that, balancing the needs of the various brigades.

[ntndeacon]

Durrell's Division

ntndeacon, you have the same basic choices, but the option to do more to shape things.

C Rafael Durrell is a fairly recently promoted colonel and is probably around 10-15% of the way to his next tier.

** Division Makeup. Seymour's brigade, the 6-lb. guns, is all that you will start off with for sure. We may not have enough men to add more than just some infantry to that, but you'll at least get that much. It would still be good to know what you would like to work towards in terms of the 4th optional brigade(2 infantry, 1 artillery, 1 ?). As the army grows you'll have gradually more freedom to shape things.

I would like to build towards a Carbide Cavalry brigade with Smith weapons

** Same as above, any directions on the outfitting of your division you might have. Note that the only Seymour will be able to receive veterans; all of the other brigades will be new and automatically green. This limitation is also an opportunity; choosing a specific weapon is best done when a brigade is first formed, since you're not replacing the existing ones but merely doing a first-time outfitting.

For the infantry brigades, I would like to start with Lorenz guns
otherwise I want a fairly balanced approach.

[ntndeacon]

For the Army level...
1) I prefer balance as well
2) reputation wise I would want to spend 4 on the Palmettos. (I think regardless of which of the 3 we take, we should only take 1 of them)

[tarcone]

ALL VETERANS

[DavidCorperial]

With more ammo, I could use a larger sized unit, so I'm fine taking as many rookies as wanted.

[Brian Swartz]

With more ammo, I could use a larger sized unit, so I'm fine taking as many rookies as wanted.

FYI, the ammunition is done on a 'per-man' or in this case 'per-field gun' basis, in case the affects your decision. It's not a total amount per brigade. Thanks for the contributions here, a good start on what we need to pursue.

[chesapeake]

Loomis's Brigade

Adam Loomis was promoted to Lt. Col. after the last battle, and has made minimal progress in that rank of 13%.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

Men: 96
Experience: *, 54% to **
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed)

Note that in the future you will be able to choose perks when the brigade 'levels up' -- these men already were experienced going into the first battle, so we get them 'as is' and can't make that choice here.

Efficiency: 36
Morale: 45
Stamina: 50
Firearms: 58
Melee: 23

All on a 100-point scale. By comparison, rookie recruits average 8-11 in all categories.

Weapon: Springfield M1842

** Weapon -- If you want to switch to a different weapon, that choice should be made here. The cost of that will reduce what is available to increase your manpower.

** Reinforcements -- Numbers vs. Veterans here basically. At the current abilities of your brigade, veterans will cost $28 per man. You can choose some of each if you wish to hedge your bets. The most recruits we can add to maintain your * status(and the endurance course perk) is 114. At that point the ratings would be 24/25/34/32/16. Additional veterans trained to this lower level would cost $13 apiece. You can choose All Veterans, All Rookies, or give me a number of some kind for how many rookies to add.

We need warm bodies right now, and I think you've identified the best way to get some of those and still maintain some basic competence. Add the 114 rookies and then, as funding permits, add veterans to maintain our * status.

As for spending reputation points, I'm inclined against the palmettos, as they seem to me to be only nominally better than the muskets we are carrying. The 10PDRs seem like they'd give us the best overall upgrade in firepower.

[collegesportsfanms]

Sorry guys, school has been kicking my ass the past few days, I haven't even had time to get to my FBCB Interactive Dynasties. Hopefully I can in the next few days.

As for this, I'm hoping that I can get assigned to something soon, it's a good read, and kinda fits right in with the history class I'm taking this semester.

As it stands, I'll just wait and see what happens.

[Brian Swartz]

Couple of quick notes here. On the reputation front, we've got one vote for palmettos, one for the field guns. It'd be good to hear more from others on what you think of the choices there.

I'm hoping that I can get assigned to something soon, it's a good read, and kinda fits right in with the history class I'm taking this semester.

Good to hear. You will get assigned to something tomorrow night: that's a guarantee. What exactly I don't know.

I'm going to set the cutoff point for 8pm Tues. EST, so that I'll have enough time to do the required math and get everyone updated for our next (mis?)adventure. Unless of course everyone has reported in before then.

[tarcone]

Field guns

[Brian Swartz]

Union Army Outfitting Results
June 1, 1861

** The game is a little confused on the point of this date. It says it is July 21 in the save file ... and yet our next battle is more than a month before that. Oops.

The vote on reputation was 2 for buying the 10-pd artillery, 1 for the Palmettos, none for the general or for doing nothing. So 10PDR Ordnance it is.

We didn't have the manpower to do more than reinforce the two battered infantry brigades in Wagner's Division and add one more. Scales got the six new requisitioned artillery pieces, maintaining basic * experience by adding four rookie and then two veteran crews. That put him up to 275 men(11 10PDR Ordnance). Seymour was moved to Durrell's Division, taking rookies to fill out one more crew to use the added field gun that was captured; he's up to 6 and 150 men.

On the infantry under Wagner, Loomis saw the lion's share of the influx, his numbers increasing to 1,337 with the Springfield M1842. Not particularly skilled, but there's a lot of them. Walton focused instead on training select recruits to maintain skills, adding less than 500 new bodies to come in at 644. One new brigade was added, infantry to Durrell's Division. Major Steven Preston(2% to next promotion) was added to commander's list: that's you, collegesportsfanms. Division had requested imported Austrian Lorenz rifle-muskets, and Preston's Brigade debuts significantly below the standard thousand, 665 men.

2000 units of supply were purchased, an educated guess based on what I've seen of the game. The cost there is simply a dollar per unit, simple and basic.

Why did the numbers come out as they did above? In this case, hard currency. We have just $56 remaining -- the choices to go for as many veterans as we did, and the more accurate(and expensive) imported weapons ensured we would not be able to equip all of our manpower. 855 recruits remain willing and able, but are not yet part of the Army. I'm not judging the decisions made; they may well turn out to have been for the best, but what Loomis wanted was a lot cheaper than what the others wanted, and that's reflected in the new makeup.

Interestingly, we ended up using almost all of our available Springfield M1842s ... just 35 are left, and we'd have had to start buying them after that. 100 of the 1855 Model, and no artillery remains. The only thing we have in significant quantity is the Sharp's skirmisher/carbine cavalry weapon, around 250 of them. So if we get a chance to capture more weapons, we'll definitely want to do so.

Here's how things look as we wrap up our first Camp stage:

https://i.imgur.com/73F3523.png


It would be nice to add in some specialized troops, skirmishers/cavalry we do not have yet. Lots of things would be nice; this is where we are. I don't have a good handle on how things work for Corps Commanders, but that one perk there on the right is Tactics(+5% speed for all units).

Without further ado, it's time to take a look at our next engagement.

Battle Briefing: Distress Call
June 15, 1861

Two weeks have passed, and as we saw before our task is to provide cover for the evacuation of critical supplies from an area that is pro-Confederacy. That brings up this:

https://i.imgur.com/G9TGdsY.png


The description of things is on the left; a little more detail but nothing not already covered. The map in the middle shows our one corps already deployed. Later in the game, I think the idea is that you choose which corps are deployed where, but here there's one location and one corps so it's not really a decision to be made. Looks like we're going to be attacked from the north and east, with our army coming in from the west, according to the arrows. Also note the army information on the top and bottom of the map. Here's where our limited Recon ability comes into play. We can only see expected # of men and guns on each side; it appears that we are outnumbered, but only slightly.

We have 12 brigades on the bottom and only our 5 shown on the map; this is because we'll be given assistance by other elements not under Stewart's command, as will be seen. We didn't see this screen in the first battle but I think it happens in every other battle from here on out. At least we'll have an idea what kind of disaster we might be in for. We won against greater odds in our first fight, but it doesn't appear this will be easy.

https://i.imgur.com/0mOZeMx.png


https://i.imgur.com/SMptFQp.png


https://i.imgur.com/HJg7Xgu.png


https://i.imgur.com/nmJ3xyt.png


Well that's superb news ...


https://i.imgur.com/fdznjjx.png


On paper, it sounds like a lot of the second half of the train station battle; hold them off until more help arrives. I'm hoping we don't come as close to disaster as we did two weeks ago.

At 8:30 AM, our supply wagon and the infantry from Wagner's Division have arrived, along with BG Stewart himself. He takes command of the defense of the area, and must now decide how to proceed.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/96ugc6g.png


Here we can see the bird's-eye view of things. That bridge on the east is an opportunity for a super-cheesy way of winning due to poor design. The only way they can approach is across the bridge, so if you properly blockade it in time you've got an invincible kill zone as they'll get stuck and slaughtered(no way for them to go around when they enter literally on the bridge). That's bad scenario design or whatever.

Since we have skirmishers available to sniff out the enemy approaches, our infantry can stay put near the depots themselves, reacting as needed. At least, that's the plan. Two 200+ skirmisher units, one in each direction, a group of carbine cavalry, and 600+ men occupying each depot in defense. That's the garrison, in addition to what we've got. But no artillery yet.

For the time being, we've nothing to do but hurry up and wait.

8:33 AM -- That didn't take long. Multiple infantry brigades coming down that road to the north. Anything that comes from the eastern road will take a lot longer to reach the depots. Clearly the northern one will need the most protection. There's a lot of open ground around the depot here, and we'll have to try to goad them into coming out of the forest before engaging. The best defensive positions are to the east, so we'll position out that way; on the west, the ground slopes downward and is a bit rocky. That could be trouble.

8:36 AM -- Our skirmishers engage Law's and Ransom's brigades coming down that northern road; artillery and something else approach more directly north through the forest, according to the cavalry.

A few minutes later, it's reported as a pair of cavalry units and another infantry brigade. That's too much firepower for us to hold them off with just light troops. No choice but to fall back here.

https://i.imgur.com/XL1LHpF.png


8:49 AM -- Whitehead's horsemen make a quick foray from the forest, then retreat when they see what awaits them. So far so good.

8:56 AM -- Infantry and artillery are spotted coming over the bridge to the east. Our skirmishers out that way open fire and pick off a few of them as they come across, but they won't be able to hold long. They take out one of the gun crews and then some, losing about 20 men as well, then fade into the woods.

https://i.imgur.com/Bef6TDb.png


9:06 AM -- To the north, Walker's brigade here comes straight at us(Loomis and Walton are positioned just below this shot). Meanwhile Daniel is chasing our skirmishers into the woods to the west, and he can do that as much as he wants -- it keeps him away from the depot. 25 minutes until more help arrives, or so they say.

A few minutes later, it becomes clear that Walker are only acting as spotters. Shells start exploding at the northern depot. Well, there's no reason for us to just stand there and let them do that. Without support, we can fire at them in the open with both infantry brigades and our cavalry.

9:18 AM -- Walker has lost over 140 men, and they rout, fleeing to the woods. Total losses on our side are 31 from this skirmish, almost all from Loomis. Now that's what I call a profitable exchange rate. We've still got them bogged down in the woods elsewhere.

Their cavalry foolishly comes too close to the depot, and Richards' garrison inside gives far better than it gets before they back off. We've managed to delay and inflict a substantial cost on them in all directions so far. Frankly this is going quite well(and better than it went in my brief test campaign. Not that I'm complaining).

https://i.imgur.com/rSuqktr.png


9:30 AM -- In comes our new infantry under Preston, and both of the artillery brigades. In order to secure everything we need, the local commander informs me that we must hold for two more hours.

https://i.imgur.com/yrHPUbj.png


The rebel general and more infantry approach from the northeast. It could soon get complicated trying to hold them back in all directions without being flanked, to put it mildly. Harrassment from Edwin's cavalry will get us only so far.

9:37 AM -- Multiple brigades now approach the northern depot from the northeast and northwest. We have no choice but to withdraw and try to form some sort of defensible position. I have the feeling things are coming to a head. Preston's men double-quick down the western approach, trying to get into the fight as quickly as they can.

9:41 AM -- Walker is back, charging headlong into the depot, losing about another 170 men in the next few minutes in another lopsided defeat, and then fleeing out the other side. That'll give Preston a target for the time being.

https://i.imgur.com/6UwjBwb.png


9:56 AM -- Supported by both artillery batteries, Preston tries to find a defensible spot at the edge of the forest while Ransom closes to firing range. Meanwhile, the depot is under attack from both sides, and Wagner's Division must stand and fight on the east. It's a strange, disjointed battle and the outcome is far from certain.

It soon becomes clear a number of them are headed for the southern depot, and our artillery can't retreat to safe positions in time. It's become a disorganized mess. And yes, that's meant to be redundant.

https://i.imgur.com/lrfmtGZ.png


10:07 AM -- Aided by every last inch of flanking and harrassment we can muster, Woods' garrison soon routs two infantry brigades at the south depot. That situation is looking a lot more tenable now if we can keep up the pressure.

Chaos continues for some while, but it increasingly looks like we are going to hold our positions. Rarely is there more than a moment without the sound of a weapon firing somewhere, and no unit is spared the loss of life.

https://i.imgur.com/ofLG0iz.png


10:37 AM -- The southern depot is no longer under serious threat, and we need only hold the northern one for another hour. Preston and the cannons move forward to support the defense in that direction, to the trees seen in the center of this depiction.

With Richards breaking and leaving defense of the depot, Preston's fresher troops and longer, more accurate reach seem well-suited for the job. Hard to blame the garrison men too much: nearly half of them had fallen, and they'd been under constant attack from multiple sides for some while, not to mention the shelling. A man can only take so much. Most men, at least.

10:44 AM -- In a desperate charge of a battered brigade, Bee charges on the east. Lt. Col. Kelly Walton is wounded, though his men give far better than they take.

10:51 -- Our cavalry manages to maneuver around and close the distance on a couple of artillery batteries on the edge of the eastern forest, ending their involvement.

11:02 -- Colony Johnny Jareth, one of the skirmisher commanders, is killed. Not all that surprising, as they've taken a lot of heat today esp. in the early going. Meanwhile, the supply train has run out. Guess that answers the question whether we had enough or not(no).

https://i.imgur.com/ebTwcGk.png


11:10 -- The remaining rebel battery rips holes in Walton's lines during a close range barrage ... but after that, we close the distance in the northern woods and teach them not to forget their manners. It's over, and it doesn't take much longer for the rebels to figure that out.

[Brian Swartz]

Distress Call: Battle Statistics

Enemy General: Joseph Johnston

Strength

Infantry: 4392 Union; 4785 Confederate
Cavalry: 236 Union; 476 Confederate
Guns: 17(425) Union; 21(525) Confederate
Total: 5,053 Union; 5,786 Confederate

Casualties

Infantry: 1163 Union; 3077 Confederate
Cavalry: 20 Union; 218 Confederate
Guns: 0(18) Union; 12(366) Confederate
Total: 1,201 Union; 3,471 Confederate

As chaotic as it was, that went a lot better than I expected. Generally I think this is the toughest battle of the early-going overall, so this is a huge, rousing success of which all should be proud. The quite limited losses we sustaind here will really help us build for the future.

Col. Johnny Jareth, though not of Stewart's command, is the first notable officer to meet his end in this war. Lt. Col. Kelly Walton led his men well, but he was unfortunate to sustain a serious injury. Major Wade Scales, as anticipated, is now a Lieutenant Colonel as well, having been promoted.

Weapons

Lorenz: 78 rescued(rescued meaning recovered from our casualties)
Springfield M1842: 384 rescued, 682 captured
6pdr Field: 3 captured. Seymour will be glad to know of this, I'm sure.
Sharps Model 1855: 129 rescued, 2 captured
Cook & Brother: 43 captured

Brigade Performance

Preston: 531 kills, 157 losses
Loomis: 471 kills, 77 losses
Walton: 311 kills, 275 losses
Scales: 270 kills, 6 losses
Seymour: 163 kills, 12 losses

Any decent commander will make every effort to protect the artillery which operate best behind the lines, which is why their losses are typically low. I was surprised to see Loomis not lose more men, while Walton's brigade as a whole was generally unlucky. For quite a period during the battle the enemy artillery was fixated on his men. I thought those two would be flipped, and it's unfortunate to lose nearly half of our best brigade in terms of skill. I doubt that kind of thing will continue as a general rule, but we shall see.

Rewards

** 1 Career Point
** +4 Reputation
** $66k funding
** 3900 recruits

No medal this time :(.

[Brian Swartz]

Deserters Roll Call. Unfortunately we did not hear from BYU14 or Qwikshot. Your commands will be removed if you are AWOL for three consecutive battles. Right now it's only at one, but the Army is only as good as those of you who participate.

Want to add another editorial comment here; I was skeptical about investing reputation to buy the 10pdrs, but the extra firepower was vital in defending the southern depot, and it would have been a lot more dicey without them. So well done to those of you supported that, and of course to our artillery commanders themselves.

Intelligence Service

https://i.imgur.com/cRydGbl.png


Army: 30-35K
Training: 38-43%
Armory: 13-18%

Coming Up ...

https://i.imgur.com/JDAeY0R.png



As at least one of you alluded to, it's time for 1st Bull Run(or 1st Manassas to the Confederates). This is the first Grand Battle of the war -- as you can see from the reward amounts the stakes are much higher here. Career point gains are doubled as well if we are successful. Doing well in Distress Call will help -- the decisions to come now in camp are also critical. To the far right of the date there is an icon indicating effects on this battle from what we've done so far. By protecting the supply depots, we denied the rebels access to our war materials. As a result, their weapon quality will be reduced 20% from the standard amount at 1st Bull Run. That should prove quite helpful.

Career Points Briefing

1 Point again here.

* Politics(1) -- Increase gold and recruits from +2.5% to +5%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%. The more we want better weapons like the Lorenz, Smith, more artillery, the more valuable this will be.

** Medicine(0) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 0 to 2%, retaining slightly more of our battle-hardened vets.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(2) -- Increase the maximum size ofthe army. We currently have a max of 1 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 1500/Brigade. The next level will add a third Division. It's borderline whether this would be useful right now; we'll be reinforcing what we have, and there are three brigade slots not used as of right now. If we did start a third division we won't have the resources to put much in it yet. It'll depend on the instructions of all the individual commanders, but right now it's slightly more likely than not that we'll stick with filling out the two we have.

** Logistics(0) -- Increase ammunition from normal to +5% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against.

All Commanders are now on the clock, your votes on where to put our shiny new Career Point requested.

[ntndeacon]

I think I am leaning towards Medicine. We definitely want to keep as many vets as we can.

[Qwikshot]

Training..apologies for being absent, I will try to stay active.

[chesapeake]

Our rifles are weak. I can see a lot of utility in upgrading them soon. I vote for Economy first and Medicine second.

[DavidCorperial]

Medicine, we want to try to save lives after a grand battle, so we need to grab this now.

[tarcone]

Economy then Medicine

[Brian Swartz]

Interesting. I'll tabulate the votes tomorrow night, but right now we have 2 for Economy, 2 for Medicine, 1 for Training.

apologies for being absent, I will try to stay active.

No apologies are necessary -- if anyone needs to go on hiatus for whatever reason or decides to drop, just let me know.

[Cap Ologist]

Enjoying this so much I went and bought the game, slightly addicted, laid awake for a couple of hours replaying a few battles and thinking about other plans of attack.

[chesapeake]

I've been tempted to do the same. I've resisted the urge so far, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold out.

[Brian Swartz]

Enjoying this so much I went and bought the game, slightly addicted, laid awake for a couple of hours replaying a few battles and thinking about other plans of attack.

Excellent! I think.

The vote remains tied, so it is up to General Stewart to break the tie. Both choices have their merit, but I find the argument of saving some extra lives in our first major battle to be the most compelling. Stewart uses his influence to improve the support given our medical personnel, and the rest of the camp decisions will be up later tonight.

[Brian Swartz]

A few housekeeping things have now been done. The Weapon Reference in the OP is now updates with the latest amounts available to us. No new weapons are technically available, but the 43 Cook & Brother cavalry muskets we captured at Distress Call are new; we cannot purchase those from anywhere at least right now, and it's not enough to be of any practical use, but the specifications have been added. I also more than doubled our supply amount to 5000 units, which should be roughly adequate based on expected increase in manpower and the fact that we did not have enough for the last battle. A new officer was required to replace our injury; Major Andrew Kemper was added.

As far as injuries go, they present a few questions. I don't know how long it will take them to heal; we've had one officer down each battle. I'll have to wait and see on that. Right now I think the most reasonable approach is to have the injured officer continue to make decisions for their command, and put them back in charge of it once healed. You could argue for having the new guy take over but I'd rather keep some loyalty there, and it will give everyone something to do.

Also, one more point of clarification. I previously, and quite wrongly, stated that the half-price on weapons is what we are charged for using 'Armory' weapons. That is incorrect. We can sell them for the half-price cost. This will be a new camp option: whether or not to sell any of our existing equipment.

Edit: And now I ran into something I've seen a couple times before on these forums, which really cheeses me off. The OP edit didn't save: it completely erased everything. Arglebargle. This will take a bit longer now while I redo the weapons list.

[Brian Swartz]

Outfitting: Army Choices

After our most basic, required expenses(supply and replacement commanders), we currently have $62,149 to spend. There are 4,755 recruits available.

1. Emphasis. Currently we are following a generally balanced approach between the priorities of more manpower, better weapons, and recruiting veterans. Speak up if you think this is a time to change that general approach for the Army as a whole.

2. Reputation Investment. We're still at 28: "The Government is still skeptical of your skills but is willing to support you." This is exactly the same number we were at prior to Distress Call. There are only two options remaining:

** Palmetto M1842(2000)
** BG John Gibbon

Both still cost 4 reputation each. Choices are to purchase either, both, or neither and save up our rep.

3. Weapon Sales. This is the new one. Should they be considered superfluous, we can raise additional cash by selling our Armory weapons, which are listed below along with amounts and prices. As always, see the Weapons Reference in the OP for specifications.

** Springfield M1842(1,101 @ $5 ea.)
** Lorenz(78 @ $11 ea.)
** Springfield M1855(100 @ $15 ea.)
** Sharps Model 1855(374 @ $17 ea.)
** Cook & Brother(43 @ $9 ea.)
** 6pdr Field(3 @ $435 ea.)

Vote to sell any or all of these(you can also suggest selling only a portion, selling half of a weapon stockpile and keeping the rest as an example). Alternatively, vote not to sell any and retain them for the Army's use, either now or in the future.

Invidual command choices are up next once again.

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

Wagner's Division

Col. Luis Wagner appeared to gain very little and is around a third or just over to his next promotion. It was a short battle, but it also appears that you don't just shoot through the ranks here. At present, your divison comprises a little over two-thirds of Stewart's Corps, our part of the Army. Loomis, Walton, and Scales are your sub-ordinates if you wish to review their details, with one open brigade slot remaining.

Alter Ego: BYU14

** No order has yet been filed for the open brigade type, be it infantry/cavalry/skirmisher/more artillery.

** You can enter division-specific outfitting instructions if you wish, similar to the Army-level emphasis, request specific weapons, etc. Or, you can leave that to the brigade COs.


Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell showed marginal progress, and is now about 20-25% to the next rank. His subordinates are Preston and Seymour, with two open brigade slots. This division is not as large as Wagner's, but is likely to see significant investment here.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

** You need another infantry brigade, for which the current instructions are for Lorenz weapons, the same as Preston currently carries. A Carbine Cavalry brigade with Smith weapons has also been requested. These instructions are on hold pending resources. If you wish any changes, now's the time to issue such instructions.


Loomis's Brigade

Lt. Col. Adam Loomis is now up to 51% in his current rank(+38%).

Alter Ego: Chesapeake

Men: 1260
Experience: *, 23% to **(+23%)
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed)

Efficiency: 29
Morale: 33
Stamina: 41
Firearms: 37
Melee: 20

Weapon: Springfield M1842

The same two choices as before are available. Change your weapon if you wish -- it's advised to keep a close eye on the Availability of your desired gun before doing so. As for Reinforcements, you are close to the maximum strength of 1500 and will quite likely reach it. Veterans currently cost $14-$15. Maxing out on rookies would only reduce your xp progress from 23% to 13% even if you took the full 240: abilities would then reduce to 27/29/37/33/18.


Walton's Brigade

Lt. Col. Kelly Walton was a victim of misfortune and injured in Distress Call. I cannot see precisely, but he appears to have gained very slightly if at all from his previous experience level of 37%. That won't change until he is healthy again. Maj. Andrew Kemper is his interim replacement, but Walton still has the option of making all important decisions for his brigade.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Men: 369
Experience: *, 68% to **(+1%). Quite surprised this gain is so ... well, non-existent basically. I'm guessing it's because of the high losses sustained.
Perks: Endurance Course(same as Loomis)

Efficiency: 40
Morale: 52
Stamina: 55
Firearms: 68
Melee: 33

Weapon: Springfield M1842

Time to make any weapon change you may wish, or direct reinforcements. Veterans would cost $35 each at the moment. 459 rookies could be taken on while maintaining * status, reducing abilities to 26/27/35/36/20. Additional veterans would be $15-$16 after that.


Scales' Brigade

William Scales was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and is now 25% towards the next rank.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Field Guns: 11
Experience: *, 19% to **(+19%)
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 29
Morale: 34
Stamina: 40
Firearms: 37
Melee: 16

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Scales has a crucial role as the commander of the strongest artillery battery in our part of the Army right now. Any changes to weapons are requested. For reinforcements, veteran crews(of 25 men) would cost $2942 each, $1710 for rookies(the cost of the weapon). Up to 4 rookie crews could be added for the lower price at * skill, reducing abilities to 23/27/35/30/14. Additional veteran crews would then be $2553 apiece.


Seymour's Brigade

Capt. Walter Seymour has improved to 27%; he was freshly commissioned prior to the battle.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Field Guns: 6
Experience: *, 20% to **, +20%
Perks: Logistics(+50% Ammo, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 32
Morale: 44
Stamina: 39
Firearms: 46
Melee: 19

Weapons: 6pdr Field

Seymour's guns aren't as numerous or accurate from distance as Scales', but they are the only ones that are effective in short-range situations. This proved vital in defending the depot in our last battle. Any change in weapons can now be ordered. For reinforcements, additional veteran crews are $1692 each. One rookie crew can be added at no cost(3 captured guns are available, reducing these prices), while maintaing your perks. 28/36/32/38/17 would be the new abilities. At that point, veteran crews would cost $1294. If additional crews are added beyond the three available guns, $870 for the weapon will be added to the price of each.


Major Steven Preston presently stands at 57% progress to promotion. Normally his brigade briefing would commence here, but Preston has requested a cavalry command and is expected to be transferred shortly to what will be our first such brigade, unless those orders are changed by the instructions of the division COs. As a result, that briefing is waived for the time being. I will mention for the benefit of others that there are 508 Lorenz-bearing men remaining. It's still a low-skill unit, though improved: 71% of the way from Green to * experience.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanmas


Also, I was remiss is not offering all brigade commanders the opportunity to rename their unit. If you want something other than 'so-and-so's brigade', please say so.

All Commanders are now on the clock. As it's a weekend again, I plan on giving another three days. Early Monday evening is the deadline this time, at which point I intend to commence with our first Grand Battle. Goes without saying that the orders given between now and then will play a significant role in how that turns out. As always, ask any pertinent questions.

[Coffee Warlord]

If a commission opens up, I'd happily throw my name on the list.

[DavidCorperial]

Again, give me as many people as possible while taking as many rookies as I can without losing rank, but I definitely want enough men to put the 3 6pdr fields we have in storage onto the unit.

[ntndeacon]

We'll stay the course.

[Brian Swartz]

If a commission opens up, I'd happily throw my name on the list.

Good to have you! We've got a spot for you right away. I don't know what character you'll be playing as yet, but Preston will now be taking a cavalry unit for sure and that opens up his brigade. Let me know if you'd prefer a specific assignment(i.e., artillery/infantry/cavalry/skirmishers), but for now I'll assume that'll be your spot. Go ahead and hold forth on an any of the general outfitting options as you may wish. Here's the particulars:

Men: 508
Experience: Green, 71% to *
Perks: None yet

Efficiency: 15
Morale: 15
Stamina: 17
Firearms: 21
Melee: 13

Weapon: Lorenz

The distinguishing mark of this brigade is that it is the only one with the Austrian-imported Lorenz rifle, smaller caliber than the standard Springfield but with longer range and a ton more accurate(more expensive too, of course). You can request a different weapon, in which case there'd need to be a pretty good argument for Stewart to over-rule Lt. Col. Rafael Durrell, your division CO, who made the initial requisition. In terms of reinforcements, veterans cost $6 - $7 each to train. There are no perks to lose; rookies would simply dilute the skills somewhat. 8-11 is the range for them to come in at across the board, and right now your current men have nearly double that. They would also reduce the training cost. The choice is yours, but I'd suggest that given the quite small cost of training, and the fact that there aren't many men we can add without throwing in $22 each for the rifle purchases, the facts here probably lean in the direction of going with veterans here. I don't know how much of the thread you've read, but 'veteran' is a relative term. It just maintains the current ability of your brigade.

You're officially in, Coffee Warlord. Go ahead and put in your .02 here, and I'll have a character for you before the next battle.

[tarcone]

Recruit as many rookies as you can. If Im gaining anything. I may as well add men to die.

Seems we are the death squad.

If I have any money add some vets.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm digging my specialty rifles. Sharpshooter brigade. Give me as many veterans as I can afford. We've got some catching up to do.

They don't get a catchy name until I see them perform on the field.

[Qwikshot]

William Scales was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and is now 25% towards the next rank.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Field Guns: 11
Experience: *, 19% to **(+19%)
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 29
Morale: 34
Stamina: 40
Firearms: 37
Melee: 16

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Scales has a crucial role as the commander of the strongest artillery battery in our part of the Army right now. Any changes to weapons are requested. For reinforcements, veteran crews(of 25 men) would cost $2942 each, $1710 for rookies(the cost of the weapon). Up to 4 rookie crews could be added for the lower price at * skill, reducing abilities to 23/27/35/30/14. Additional veteran crews would then be $2553 apiece.

Based on everything...the 10pdr Ordnance is a meat and potatoes type thing, so no upgrades for now but I do like those 12pdr Whitworths.

Would I have to upgrade all weapons or can I have a mix?

At this time, I'm still fine with 10pdr just curious for future planning.

I'd like 4 rookie crews...it's still early and I'd have more than experts...they'll get field experience.

[Brian Swartz]

Would I have to upgrade all weapons or can I have a mix?

You have to upgrade all of them -- each brigade has a single type of weapon and a single type only. The whole brigade moves and fires together, which would be really problematic if you have weapons of different ranges etc. grouped together. If you went with something like the Whitworth which doesn't have enough of them available at any price, you'd have to make a new brigade(disbanding the current one is possible but you lose the experience from your soldiers I think when they go back into the recruit pool. The weapons return to the Armory and are available to be used at that point).

[Coffee Warlord]

By the by, this game is on sale on steam right now.

Sorry.

[chesapeake]

I'd recommend to the CO that a brigade of skirmishers be added to one of the divisions. That seems to be the only capability that we are currently lacking at the moment.

For my brigade, we'll fill with rookies to keep saving cash. But I would like to put in for a weaponry upgrade when we capture enough of a new model to make it cost effective.

[ntndeacon]

After our most basic, required expenses(supply and replacement commanders), we currently have $62,149 to spend. There are 4,755 recruits available.

1. Emphasis. Currently we are following a generally balanced approach between the priorities of more manpower, better weapons, and recruiting veterans. Speak up if you think this is a time to change that general approach for the Army as a whole.

keep it balanced

2. Reputation Investment. We're still at 28: "The Government is still skeptical of your skills but is willing to support you." This is exactly the same number we were at prior to Distress Call. There are only two options remaining:

** Palmetto M1842(2000)
** BG John Gibbon

Both still cost 4 reputation each. Choices are to purchase either, both, or neither and save up our rep.

purchase neither and save reputation

3. Weapon Sales. This is the new one. Should they be considered superfluous, we can raise additional cash by selling our Armory weapons, which are listed below along with amounts and prices. As always, see the Weapons Reference in the OP for specifications.

** Springfield M1842(1,101 @ $5 ea.)
** Lorenz(78 @ $11 ea.)
** Springfield M1855(100 @ $15 ea.)
** Sharps Model 1855(374 @ $17 ea.)
** Cook & Brother(43 @ $9 ea.)
** 6pdr Field(3 @ $435 ea.)

Lets hold off on selling the weapons at this point.

[Brian Swartz]

The die is cast, and we'll be off to Bull Run shortly. Here's how things turned out:

** Emphasis: Still balanced.
** Reputation: Saved, nothing invested here.
** Armory Weapons: Nothing sold.

Wagner's Division


The suggestion of Lt. Col. Loomis is well taken vis a vis adding skirmishers. This was already planned due to weapon availability. Namely, the only weapon we have in significant, un-needed quantities is the Sharps 1855 Carbine, of which there are 374. Skirmishers max out at 500, so we wouldn't need to buy any and they are the cheapest Skirmisher firearm at $34 apiece.

** Loomis Brigade -- 240 rookies added to bring you to maximum strength of 1,500 men. Most of 'your share' of the money wasn't spent, and was therefore used elsewhere: you've got over $6k that you are 'owed', if you will, by the Army for future upgrades. Won't get you that far in terms of weapons ... even if you just wanted Palmettos and sold your Springfields it would be half of what you need. But it's a start.

** Walton's Brigade(Kemper in temporary command due to injury) -- 459 rookies, 672 veterans, a good chunk of the cash from Loomis went here. You are also up to 1500, slightly less experienced but not much, and with different skills(actually slightly better marksmanship here, FWIW). We had to buy a couple hundred Springfields but not many.

** Lynch's Brigade -- Introducing Capt. Scott Lynch, who'll take up command of our first skirmisher brigade. Their share of the cash was enough for a max-size 500-man skirmisher unit with the Sharps Model 1855 carbine. Some money left over here as well but we couldn't come close to affording a better weapon.

** Scales Brigade -- The four rookie crews pretty much used up your allotment Up to 15 guns, 375 men. Almost two-thirds of maximum strength here, which is quite large for artillery which tend to be smaller.


Durrell's Division


** Walker's Brigade -- That's Major Andre Walker, the new commander here with Preston transferring to the new cavalry unit. 325 new vets gets this group up to 834 men.

** Duryee's Brigade -- Had to spend some extra here just to get them to the minimum size of 500. Another infantry group with the Lorenz, Major Oscar Duryee the new commander here.

** Preston's Brigade -- Now the new cavalry brigade with Smith weapons as requested. It appears that it costs $10 per man above the cost for hiring a commander and adding the weapons; I believe this is the price of the horses. They'll start with 116, just above the minimum of 100. When you consider the price of $50+ for the carbine plus the horses, this quality of cavalry is not cheap. Stewart would be well-advised not to risk them without need.

** Seymour's Brigade -- 1 rookie and 5 veteran crews are added. Total of 12 guns now, three that were captured and three that were purchased. Half of maximum artillery strength here, and 300 men in all.


Combined, we're at 5,070 soldiers for the two divisions, 27 guns. The money was all spent with $34 left; Another several hundred recruits could not be used, and we have 1,674 in that pool.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/OBvXmbS.png


With our Corps committed, we now slightly outnumber the Confederates as you can see. Or rather, you could have seen if this screenshot went as low as intended. 22k for us, but the big difference is having 57 guns to their 36. Just over a quarter of the Union force is our 5k, but there will be many others on the field obviously.

https://i.imgur.com/TiIvs1k.png


https://i.imgur.com/KawUT0b.png


https://i.imgur.com/owJdfEj.png


This is far to the northwest.


https://i.imgur.com/zXhYAGv.png


The camera moves southeast to here, through the territory on the rebel side of the river.

https://i.imgur.com/9r7KUKT.png


I rather like this final amusing/tragic bit, mostly because of how true to history it is. Both sides thought the war would surely be over in a year, at most. One wonders how many would have still participated if they knew what the full price would be.

At any rate, yes, let's end the war today!(spoiler: not gonna happen). But we are ready for the first Grand Battle to commence.

https://i.imgur.com/rC30NMH.png


https://i.imgur.com/WDwQ0mP.png


https://i.imgur.com/rpw5FqP.png


This is followed by "Until then, keep the rebels busy! Good luck General."


And we are underway.

[Coffee Warlord]

Am I the General Formerly Known As Andre Walker?

[Brian Swartz]

Oops. Yeah you are. Actually still known as Andre Walker, since I can't change their names in the game.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yeah, I've been playing. Being unable to change general names and division names is driving me insane.

[Brian Swartz]

** 7:30 AM, July 21, 1861.

https://i.imgur.com/mIpBbaN.png


Within a few minutes, we have a good look at our diversionary force. Three infantry brigades over just over 800 each, two from Ohio and one from New York. They've all got Springfields, and are better than raw recruits, averaging about 20 per category in rating. Two 4-gun batteries with six-pounders as well. This is sensible, a credible threat but we're not throwing caution to the wind. That's how I'll play it.

Note: This is the last battle I've done before, so I tried just speeding it up and sitting on my arse here on the edge of the map for that first hour to see if there was any penalty to it, what the game would do if you don't actually carry out the diversion. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't really do a whole lot of anything that I could tell -- maybe something is triggered later in the battle, but I doubt it. Another example of how you can game things if you are bound and determined to, but IMO it's no fun playing that way. We're going to act as if it really is important to occupy their attention(realistically, it is). We've been ordered to attack the stone bridge, so we are going to attack the stone bridge. Not in kamikaze style of course, but sensibly. Diversions like this were/are quite common; here's our part in this case.

** 7:48 AM -- Rebel artillery opens up on our infantry as they approach the bridge.

https://i.imgur.com/DPPL925.png


** 7:54 AM -- The 2nd Ohio and 2nd NY get into the best positions they can find on this side of the river. The other Ohio unit is held back in reserve. Our artillery opens up, they've got almost as much on that side, fortifications, skirmishers, and dragoons. We still outnumber them a bit but only an idiot would charge across this crossing.

Proving themselves to be idiots almost immediately, their dragoons do exactly that. It seems they always do exactly that in this kind of situation, one the weak points of the AI. Shockingly, charging headlong into 1600 armed men doesn't work out too well for them. In minutes, the majority of Clay's Dragoons are slaughtered.

** 8:08 AM -- Their six guns are doing a number on the New Yorkers. About 15-20 go down with each salvo. We're informed that some cavalry has snuck across the river and is coming to help. They say there are 'scouts', yet they are equipped as shock cavalry. We'll keep them in support in case there is a purpose to counter-charge.

** 8:10 AM -- Lt. Col. Rodney Mason of the 2nd Ohio is killed. They've only lost 42 men so far, so that was decidedly unlucky. Still, they'll fall back to the reserve position while the other, fresh New Yorkers come up to take their place.

** 8:12 AM -- As that maneuver is taking place, I'm informed that my soldiers are here to lead the flanking attack! Yes by all means McDowell, put my guys in front to get shot while you clean up later. Heck of a guy you are. And we're almost 20 minutes ahead of schedule -- it hasn't even been 45 minutes yet.

https://i.imgur.com/Xoi2Lm8.png


It'll be a bit before I can do anything though -- we've got to cross the river and even if we don't run into any opposition, that many men and cannon won't be able to do that in a flash.

** 8:25 AM -- James Stewart is almost in position, Lynch's skirmishers aren't that far behind, and rest of the Corps is some ways behind but they're mostly across the river now. I think it's safe to call our diversion a success at this point. Thanks to the suicidal dragoons, we got the best of it overall at the bridge(281 to 218 in casualties by my count), though the New Yorkers have lost 20% of their strength in just over half an hour. It's not a good day to be from the Empire State.

https://i.imgur.com/mSCfhKM.png


Seen on the lower right here is Matthews Hill. We apparently have until 10:30 AM, just over two hours because reasons, to capture it. Not sure who Matthews is except maybe the guy who owns that farmhouse and the surrounding land, but he's in for a bad day. The approach is over open fields from all possible directions. Not the greatest tactical situation in the world. Just west of straight north of Matthews though, is a grove of trees(just south of the road). That strikes me as a good spot for the skirmishers to hide for the time being and scout out the situation. Between the trees and the fence in front of them, Lynch reports it's a near-perfect cover situation, and they'll be nigh-undetectable, though slowed a bit. I can't think of a better idea while we wait for the infantry to get here. A couple of our brigades haven't shown up yet either; we're missing Preston's cavalry and Walker's sharpshooters, though the new boys led by Duryee and all the artillery is here. I'm assuming those other two will eventually get their arses in gear and join the fun.

** 8:29 AM -- A new messenger from McDowell reminds us that 'Matthew's Hill must be secured!'. Yeah, we got that memo already and are working it.

** 8:31 AM -- Walker and Preston arrive. Oh, how good of you to join us. If you could move with a purpose now that you are finally here 15 minutes behind everyone else, that'd be great. The supply wagon is finally here too.

https://i.imgur.com/X0LFwfZ.png


A few minutes longer, and Lynch is in position. He reports no movement near him, but to the south Bee's Brigade shows up and enemy artillery fires on yours truly. I don't think I can actually die, as this would be a real short campaign otherwhise. But I'm not hanging around to find out. I fall back into the woods to the north, waiting for the rest to get here. Like now. And Bee's got a lot of men.

** 8:37 AM -- Lynch spots another brigade under Bartow coming over the hill. Apparently they are serious about trying to defend it. Best ground around, so you can't argue the choice.

As our brigades start to come up, Kemper is in front and he heads into the woods to push the over-anxious defenders back, while Lynch slides over that way looking for a flanking opportunity. Preston moves off to the south to scout things out, Scales sets up his guns a ways back in case they are needed to support. Loomis will dress off the south edge of the woods alongside Kemper, with Duryee's greenhorns behind those two larger brigades in a reserve position. The stragglers are across the river now, but still some ways back.

Meanwhile at the stone bridge, about two-thirds of the artillery ammunition is gone and we have no more supplies in that area. The New York boys have now suffered losses of about a third, and they are in danger of breaking when I pull them out and put the leaderless 2nd Ohio forward to give them a break. We've done a number on their skirmishers as well but the infantry behind the breastworks there and the rebel artillery(from Louisiana and Virginia, if you care) have taken minimal losses. Things are not going great over there, and there's no time to waste in our push from the northwest.

** 8:48 -- McDowell's men are starting to arrive. The two brigades in front, well over two thousand strong each, are Franklin and Wilcox.

https://i.imgur.com/kyWE1NV.png


** 8:50 -- The battle proper begins here, for all intents and purposes. Bartow stands and fights; Kemper is outnumbered and headed straight at him, but Lynch is flanking, the other infantry is coming up, and the closer they get the more damage Scales is going to do to them. Meanwhile, Bee is off somewhere chasing Preston's horsemen to the south. That's a really, really bad idea and I wasn't even trying to provoke it, but he'll lead them on a wild goose chase so long as they are in the mood. We've spotted Pelham's battery well-positioned on top of the hill, looks like 6 or 7 guns there. That'll be a problem.

Bartow gets caught out in the open, and figures out pretty quick that taking fire from artillery plus two different units from different directions that are in the woods is not a real good recipe. Bee has come to his senses though, and returned to cover Bartow's retreat. So we turn our attentions to him.

https://i.imgur.com/cBFXKbE.png


** 9:11 AM -- The rebels are overwhelmed, and both brigades rout. That's the good news; the bad news is that there is a second battery, Imboden, in position on the hill making our life miserable. It's time to return the favor and push them off. Loomis is the only one who hasn't given far worse than they've gotten; he's lost almost 150 men already.

** 9:24 AM -- We start making our way up the hill, and see Hampton's Legion, an elite group of 1000 men, take the key defensive position at the top. Superb.

https://i.imgur.com/mgWLGXO.png


And then they do this(which I didn't see before in my other attempt at this battle, in which they sensibly stayed on top of the hill). Umm ... points for courage. Not for intelligence.

https://i.imgur.com/StwGPN6.png


** 9:40 AM -- Their artillery has its affect as we march up over the crest exposed, but sheer numbers are so heavily in our favor that there's no question they won't be able to hold. Meanwhile to the northeast, 3000 infantry have arrived under Sherman, with a dozen guns in support. They'll try to find a way over the river from a third direction ... minutes later, Keyes brings up another 3k behind him. We've got men pouring in from almost all directions now.

** 9:51 AM -- We've done it! Matthew's hill is ours!! ... which means they're pulling back to Henry Hill, a long distance to the southeast.

** Message from McDowell: "General, we outnumber the enemy and must keep pushing forward!". I tell ya, that guy isn't a high-ranking General for nothing. His command of the obvious is inspiring.

Part II will conclude this battle a little later today.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/h8dibSw.png


Oh. I guess he does know something worth knowing.

"General Jackson has been spotted with fresh troops coming from the south." That's less good.

"We must break this hill's defenses before the arrival of rebel reinforcements. Awaiting your orders to attack!"

And so the plot stinkens. Apparently our day has just nicely gotten started. We've got two more hours to do the job, so apparently more reinforcements for the rebels are expected a little before noon.

https://i.imgur.com/fHn39mf.png


Big-picture time. The stone bridge is east, Sherman and Keys approach that crossing in the northeast, we're coming from the northwest. The very southeast there is what we need to capture, and there's a lovely valley there where the river runs through no matter what direction we approach. It's an even better defensive location, and it appears there's only one solution to this: overwhelming force. We appear to have that, but time is of the essence and all that. There's no time to pause for afternoon tea.

I figured McDowell's three larger brigades could do more of the heavy lifting now. Our Corps has already seen a lot of action; Kemper is reporting his men are exhausted. They've done great so far, but we'll have to keep an eye on that. The Confederate gun crews couldn't move fast enough to escape the advancing blue wall, and the artillery commanders' eyes lit up at all the guns they were leaving behind on the far side of the hill.

** 10:09 AM -- The far side of Matthew's Hill is steep, but even so Beauregard has rallied a couple of brigades to try to slow us down there. Sherman is across the river without resistance, and moving to join the push from that direction.

The rebels held only a few minutes, then fell back again. Soon we see the first elements of Jackson's fresh Virginians holding on both sides of the stream. It could get a little interesting here.

** 10:35 -- Col. Orlando Wilcox, leading one of the largest brigades that I was relying on to push forward, is killed by a lucky shot. That's not going to be helpful. Still the rebels fall back again, this time across the stream. Keyes pushes down the east side, and flanks the long-standing fortification blocking the stone bridge. Final crossing secured, and the worn and battered brigades can come over and, hopefully, get resupplied.

https://i.imgur.com/buGnJ2R.png


As it neared 11 AM, we prepared to make the final push across the steam and up the hill. Massed in the woods were what appeared to be the final defenders, hoping to hold out, hoping they would get support soon. It was then that our supply wagon ran out. I was rather astonished ... I thought we would have enough.

** 11:14 AM -- As we push across, Capt. Lynch is wounded. Argh. Duryee's new brigade nearly reached the top of Henry Hill, but were pushed back by a brigade from South Carolina, flanked a bit, and had to withdraw.

https://i.imgur.com/bpqj4Ll.png


Exhausted, the Army nonetheless dislodged the final defenders.

Or so we thought


https://i.imgur.com/vRNhN2W.png


GO AWAY. Seriously.

Noon passed. We raced to find salvageable defensive positions while we got the artillery across the stream so that it could help.

https://i.imgur.com/USdZa6C.png


Ewell. Cocke. Holmes. Brigade after brigade of confederates poured in from the south. The next hour was positively brutal. By 1pm though, it was clear they could no longer make a sustained push, while our position had held. Barely, esp. in the east. But it had held.


https://i.imgur.com/mZl6zaa.png


The undertakers would be busy for a while ...

** 1:19 PM -- As we pushed forward, an ambush by Ewell, hiding in the trees, felled Major Andre Walker. His men had been doing well overall, but they'll have to carry on without him.

** 2:30 PM -- Gradually the Confederates were pushed back to the south and east, but they refused to leave the field. Probing, ambushing, occasionally succeeding, they were annoyingly stubborn. It was nearly 3pm by the time they finally gave in to the inevitable.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Strength

Infantry: 20,107 Union; 18,839 Confederate
Cavalry: 316 Union; 531 Confederate
Guns: 59(1475) Union; 36(810) Confederate
Total: 21,898 Union; 20,810 Confederate

Casualties

Infantry: 6,835 Union; 12,913 Confederate
Guns: 0(9) Union; 25(589) Confederate
Cavalry: 79 Union; 379 Confederate
Total: 6,923 Union; 13,881 Confederate

Weapons

** Cook & Brother: 106 captured
** Farmer: 2,528 captured
** 6pdr Field: 6 captured
** Hunter: 74 captured
** Sharps Model 1855: 107 rescued, 4 captured
** Springfield M1842: 3,138 rescued
** Smith: 38 rescued
** Lorenz: 311 rescued
** Palmetto M1842: 1 rescued
** Re-bored Farmer: 299 captured

Brigades

** Kemper -- 1567 kills, 402 losses
** Loomis -- 1009 kills, 542 losses
** Walker -- 702 kills, 394 losses
** Lynch -- 637 kills, 218 losses. Would have been better but they got caught up in a melee near the end.
** Scales -- 563 kills, 1 loss
** Duryee -- 467 kills, 241 losses
** Seymour -- 233 kills, 4 losses
** Preston -- 111 kills, 77 losses. A good start, and bad finish for our cavalry. I'm not even sure what happened. I looked over and they'd gone from 80 to 40 men in a short period. My guess is they did something stupid like charge the infantry unit they were supposed to be harrassing.

Commanders

William Sherman, Erasmus Keyes, and Oliver Howard are three new generals after this battle, though aren't ours.

** Steven Preston has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
** Major Andre Walker was killed in action. Coffee Warlord, you just have the touch for dying in my projects.
** Oscar Duryee is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Not sure he really deserved it here.
** Capt. Scott Lynch was wounded.
** Adam Loomis was promoted to full Colonel.
** Andrew Kemper was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
** Looks like our artillery guys are the only ones staying where they are in terms of both health and rank.

https://i.imgur.com/WQvBrxk.png


James Stewart has been awarded the War Service Medal. Sorely missing in these is any kind of description whatsoever.

Rewards

Career Points -- +2
Reputation -- +10
Funding -- $228,200
Recruits -- 13,500

Also, our maximum Corps has automatically been increased from 1 to 2. We'll have ourselves a few things to do here.

[Brian Swartz]

Campaign Complete!

First Manassas campaign is over, and we have reversed history; the Confederacy actually 'won' the Battle of Bull Run(1st) though it was not particularly successful for either side. Organization on both sides was a big deal. A unit bigger than a brigade wasn't necessary in the Mexican-American war; the logistics of divisions and corps would be sorted out, and it was also apparent the war would be longer and bloodier than either side had counted on. Neither was about to step back from the brink however.

Although we have met each test so far, all had their moments. It looked like Phillipi would be overrun in the first battle, they were close to breaking us at the southern depot in the second, and here, though it went well from start to finish, we had a whopping four minutes to spare in taking Henry Hill. I wonder if we'll reach a tipping point where it gets easier, or whether a similar grind is in store.

Intelligence Report

Army: 39-44k
Training: 31-36%
Armory: 9-14%

Their numbers are still growing slowly but we do seem to be successful in keeping the quality of Confederate weapons down.

https://i.imgur.com/HCBVisT.png


https://i.imgur.com/DyRnxhs.png


Clearly we are expected to win according to the rewards listed. The rebels are determined, but there was a minor impact from our victory at Bull Run. 5% of the force that will next oppose us deserted, slightly reducing the enemy army.

Army Status

Money: $228k
Recruits: $15.2k

Infantry: 3,071
Artillery: 670(men, not guns -- that would be 27)
Cavalry: 40
Total: 3,231

Officers: Lynch was wounded, Walker killed. On the other hand we get the previously-wounded guys back, Walton and Woods. They weren't injured at the same time, so there must be some sort of variance in how long they were out.

With a new Corps now available and a whole bunch of resources, we can do a lot of things here. This may be even more crucial than the last Camp -- it's time to set ourselves up for a new campaign.


Career Points Briefing

2 Points this time around.

* Politics(1) -- Increase gold and recruits from +2.5% to 5 or 7.5%

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5 or 5%. be.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4 or 6%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5 or 20%.

** Army Organization(2) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 1500/Brigade. The next level will add a third Division, the one after increases the maximum brigade size to 2000(assuming types other than infantry scale up proportionally). Based on what has happened in the last two camps, I would suggest at least one point here. The extra divisions will give us a place to put relatively cheap new men, and we'll probably have some resources to spare after maxing out what we have. Just a guess though really, since it depends on how greedy we decide to be :).

** Logistics(0) -- Increase ammunition from normal to +5 or 10 % for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. We could reach that level now if we put both points into it.

All Commanders are now on the clock: cast your votes for the two points. Can be in two different ratings or put them both on the same one, as you choose. Also, would be good to know if Coffee Warlord wishes to put himself to the hazard. Have to start at the bottom again, but then you were already there. And you'd get your pick of brigade type this time I would think.

[ntndeacon]

What happened to the medicine we got after the last battle?

[Coffee Warlord]

Death cannot stop the Lord of Coffee!

Gimme another Infantry brigade.

[Brian Swartz]

What happened to the medicine we got after the last battle?

The glories of copy-and-paste. Particularly the inaccurate kind. We have it. Editing momentarily.

[Coffee Warlord]

Assuming I get a vote...

1) Army Organization
2) Logistics

[DavidCorperial]

Politics and Army Organization for me, gotta get that income train rolling.

[ntndeacon]

1 Army Organization
2. Economy

[chesapeake]

** Adam Loomis was promoted to full Colonel.

So the army just gave me the bird, huh? Probably a mistake on their part.

Assuming I get a vote...

1) Army Organization
2) Logistics

+1 to both.

I bought the game when it was at $21 and have been tinkering with it the last couple of days. One thing I learned is that if you click through on the campaign map to select a battle, you can find out how many corps/divisions/brigades it will let you take. I made the mistake of creating 2 corps with 2 divisions each between 1st Bull Run and River Crossing. River Crossing allows a max of 1 corps and 12 brigades. When I played the battle with one of my smaller corps (8 total brigades), it didn't go so well. It went much better with 12 full brigades.

Normally, I don't like to know too much before going into a scenario, as I like to play through at least once with the fog of war turned on. But if the game is putting an arbitrary cap on the number of brigades you can bring, I think that is fair game to know ahead of time.

[collegesportsfanms]

am I an artillery guy? Sorry, I'm kind of out of the loop, admittedly I don't check this as often as I should.

[Brian Swartz]

So the army just gave me the bird, huh? Probably a mistake on their part.

By giving you a promotion? I think there's a joke here I'm not getting ...

am I an artillery guy

Yessir. Major Steve Preston has the 6-pounders in Durrell's Divison(second division, 1st Corps).

[tarcone]

Was I Kemper that battle?

Army Organization

[JonInMiddleGA]

By giving you a promotion? I think there's a joke here I'm not getting ...

Full colonel, aka "bird colonel"

[Brian Swartz]

Was I Kemper that battle?

Army Organization

No, you were injured that battle; Kemper was the temporary commander of your brigade, which you will now get back as you are healed.

Is this a vote for putting both points in Army Org?(just to clarify)

Thanks for the explanation JIMGA, I figured it was something going over my head.

[tarcone]

Yes to both points

[chesapeake]

Full colonel, aka "bird colonel"

Not a very good joke. But, yes, that is what I as going for.

[Brian Swartz]

Barring a late-comer to the voting, we are looking at Army Organization for sure on one point, and Logistics has a small edge for the second one. I also just updated the Weapon Reference information in the OP again. The following are new weapons we have enough of to consider using:

** Farmer(Infantry) -- We still can't produce these but captured enough to outfit a brigade or two.
** Springfield M1855(Infantry) -- This isn't new, but we only had access to a few hundred of them before. Now that number approaches 5k, and they are better in general than our current Springfields, in particular much more accurate due to the use of minie-balls. They also cost almost 3x as much, so there is that.
** Harpers Ferry M1855(Infantry) -- Generally similar to the newer Springfields and also now available by the thousands.
** Sharps(Skirmishers) -- Expensive, but we've got a little over 300 of these now so a true sharpshooter unit would be feasible ... if we can spring the cash.

We have access to somewhat higher quantities of artillery now, but none that really make a huge difference. If someone really wanted to make an impression, they might notice the 24-pdr Howitzers have more than doubled their availability though.

[Qwikshot]

Barring a late-comer to the voting, we are looking at Army Organization for sure on one point, and Logistics has a small edge for the second one. I also just updated the Weapon Reference information in the OP again. The following are new weapons we have enough of to consider using:

** Farmer(Infantry) -- We still can't produce these but captured enough to outfit a brigade or two.
** Springfield M1855(Infantry) -- This isn't new, but we only had access to a few hundred of them before. Now that number approaches 5k, and they are better in general than our current Springfields, in particular much more accurate due to the use of minie-balls. They also cost almost 3x as much, so there is that.
** Harpers Ferry M1855(Infantry) -- Generally similar to the newer Springfields and also now available by the thousands.
** Sharps(Skirmishers) -- Expensive, but we've got a little over 300 of these now so a true sharpshooter unit would be feasible ... if we can spring the cash.

We have access to somewhat higher quantities of artillery now, but none that really make a huge difference. If someone really wanted to make an impression, they might notice the 24-pdr Howitzers have more than doubled their availability though.

Is that directed at me?!? :p

I'd go for Logistics

[Brian Swartz]

Heh. Nah, not directed at anyone. Just saying they are really big, really powerful, and also really expensive.

[Brian Swartz]

Army Organization and Logistics are the winners, and entered.

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis -- We've stuck with Balanced so far, but can choose to switch our resources focus to Weapons, Recruits, or Veterans.

2. Reputation Investment -- Up to 38 now, and I think the game is confused as to what that means. "Your fame is growing and the soldiers under your command have increased morale." Cool, but then later it says under the specific impact that there is "No morale effect". Which is it? Darned if I know. Go drunk game, you're home.

We do have a lot more options now.

** $75k cash(18 Rep). A big hit, but a straight-up funding boost here.
** 4k recruits(18 Rep). This would not seem to be wise given that we haven't been able to outfit all of our recruits once yet. Men aren't the problem, at least the way we are going about this.
** 2k Springfield M1855(7 Rep). A more reasonable price, and one way to improve our weaponry without a financial cost.
** 4 24pdr Howitzer(6 Rep). A few big guns.
** BG Irwin McDowell(4 Rep). Guy who was in charge of Bull Run. That's interesting.
** BG William Sherman(4 Rep). Was also there in a supporting role like us.

Do we choose any of these, or conserve our reputation? In terms of the generals, it's worth mentioning that we will need one for the new II Corps. If we choose not to purchase one here, that will be Heintzelman, at a cost of 5k in currency.

3. Weapon Sales

Here's what the Armory presently has available, should we choose to go for the cash:

** Farmer(2,582 @ $4 each)
** Re-bored Farmer(299 @ $5 each)
** Springfield M1842(3,138 @ $5 each)
** Lorenz(311 @ $11 each)
** Springfield M1855(100 @ $15 each)
** Hunter(74 @ $10 each)
** Sharps Model 1855(111 @ $17 each)
** Smith(38 @ $26 each)
** Cook & Brother(149 @ $9 each)
** Palmetto M1842(1 @ $15 each)
** 6pdr Field(5 @ $435 each)

[Coffee Warlord]

2000 M1855's would be really nice. We could outfit a full regiment with those.

[tarcone]

I would like to see our emphasis changed to veterans.

And I like the idea of buying the 2000 M1855s.

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

Army Structure

Putting this at the beginning so everything is clear.

I Corps(James Stewart)
***Wagner
------ ??(Infantry)
------ Walton(Infantry)
------ Scales(Artillery)
------ ??(Skirmishers)
*** Durrell
------ ??(Infantry)
------ Duryee(Infantry)
------ Preston(Cavalry)
------ Seymour(Artillery)
** Loomis(new division)
II Corps(new corps)

Lots of question marks but we do have an established nucleus now.

Wagner's Division

Col. Luis Wagner got a modest boost, up to just over halfway to the next rank.

Alter Ego: BYU 14

Any adjustments in terms of outfitting specific weapons or preferred brigade types(one could easily be transferred elsewhere if you'd like something else) would be indicated here.


Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell saw a similar modest increase, now around 40% to his next promotion.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

You've now got what you initially asked for; two infantry brigades with Lorenz weapons, and cavalry with Smith, along with the artillery of course. At this point it's just a question of if you want anything changed.


Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis has been promoted after 1st Bull Run, and given the 3rd Division in I Corps. He is 13% on his promotion path.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

Big choices for your career now. Almost certainly you are going to get greenhorns in here. You'll need at least two infantry brigades, but you may choose the other two out of all four types. You can also choose their weapons, or you can leave it up to me. You've moved up from the junior commander ranks to join the elite of the Army now. Fashion your brigade as you see fit, Colonel. Your promotion has already saved better than $3k over what a new Colonel would have cost(the difference between that and a brigade CO).


Loomis's Brigade

Obviously Loomis isn't still the commander of this. I don't have a name for that person yet.

Alter Ego: Coffee Warlord.

Men: 968
Experience: *, 51% to **(+28%)
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed)

Efficiency: 36
Morale: 46
Stamina: 50
Firearms: 43
Melee: 18

Weapon: Springfield M1842

While Walton's men are a little more skilled, this is the best infantry brigade around in terms of their fighting spirit; morale and esp. stamina are tops. A good place to hopefully not die. Hopefully. We have more weapon options now that you may or may not wish to consider. Veterans cost a little under $25 each here. Maxing out with rookies would give you 534 of those, lowering experience to 21%, and ratings to 29/33/39/32/16.


Walton's Brigade

Lt. Col. Kelly Walton was injured at Distress Call, and did not take place in the first major battle of the war at 1st Bull Run. Accordingly, he remains at only around 40% on his promotion. Kemper is officially relieved here, though he will certainly have a more permanent command elsewhere as he proved capable in tough conditions.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Men: 1,106
Experience: *, 46% to **(-22% due to the rookies that were added, they gained a fair bit during the battle)
Perks: Endurance Course(same as above)

Efficiency: 40
Morale: 45
Stamina: 46
Firearms: 48
Melee: 22

Weapon: Springfield M1842

This is the most skilled infantry brigade under Stewart's command in both overall efficiency and their shooting accuracy(firearms). Physical attributes are just below the previous unit though. Veterans cost just over $26 each. Taking on all rookies(394) would reduce experience to 22% and result in ratings of 34/36/39/38/19.


Scales' Brigade

Lt. Col. Wade Scales is up to 80%, and is expected to be promoted to full Colonel soon if he continues to perform to expectations.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Men: 374(15 guns)
Experience: *, 35% to **(+16%)
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 30
Morale: 45
Stamina: 43
Firearms: 43
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Scales continues to have the best long-range guns in our arsenal, though many things will change with the coming investment. Veteran crews are $3182 each; $1710, the cost of the weapon, for rookies. No amount of rookie crews would dip this brigade down below * status. Adding 9 rookies would drop them down to 8%, and put them at 19/31/34/31/13 for ratings.


Preston's Brigade

Lt. Col. Steve Preston was promoted after 1st Bull Run, where he lost about two-thirds of his men, many late in the battle. Currently he's at 16% to the next rank.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanms

Men: 40
Experience: None, 79% to *(new)
Perks: None

Efficiency: 11
Morale: 29
Stamina: 16
Firearms: 18
Melee: 11

Weapon: Smith

Interestingly, our lone cavalry unit here seems to have improved as much if not more in terms of morale than in all other aspects combined. Veterans cost just over $24, rookies $10(price of the horse there). This price is for the first 38 only; after that we'll need to buy the weapons, increasing the cost to $76 and $62 respectively. Maxing out with rookies(710 more) would only reduce experience slightly, to 58%, but ratings would dip to 6/11/10/11/11.


Seymour's Brigade

Capt. Walter Seymour continues to progress and I would be shocked if he did not reach Major after his next engagement. 96% of the way there right now.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Men: 296(12 guns)
Experience: *, 30% to **(+10%)
Perks: Logistics(+50% ammo, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 27
Morale: 50
Stamina: 40
Firearms: 48
Melee: 17

Weapon: 6pdr Field

Most of the improvements here came from morale, though the crews here also gained significantly in accuracy. Another 5 captured rebel pieces gives them a chance to expand the numbers at limited cost for our top(i.e., only) defensive artillery unit. $1794 each for veteran crews, nothing for rookies for those first 5. $435 added to each price after that. Up to 6 rookie crews could be added without losing experience. Down to 2% at that point, ratings at 12/37/30/36/15. Additional veterans at that point would be $1579, down from $2229 now if you factor in the weapon price.


All Commanders are now on the clock. Seems sensible to aim for Monday night again. Brigade commanders can submit names, reinforcements, and weapons considerations. Outfighting and brigade types are indicated for the division COs. All are reminded that their input is most valued on the Army-level choices; emphasis, reputation investment, and weapon sales.

We have started well, but the Confederacy is far from beaten.

[DavidCorperial]

We definitely want to add those 5 extra 6 pdrs, but I'm good with however you want to do that with regards to vets and rooks and if we purchase more artillery or not.

[tarcone]

Waltons Brigade wants more Vets. We are setting the standard in many areas and want to keep that distinction. The more vets the better. We will think of getting some better guns at a future point.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'd like to outfit my regiment with about half and half for Veterans / Rookies. Mitigate the experience loss, but I'd like us at full strength.

Assuming the army orders those M1855's...we're totally putting in for those. But I'm sure more senior officers will get priority. :)

[Qwikshot]

Scales is holding...I don't think I need vets, I don't need more men...weapons would be nice but I can hold if need be.

[chesapeake]

I don't know that we need more than 1 brigade of cavalry and skirmishers in the corps at this point, so I'd like my division to have 3 full infantry brigades backed by 1 artillery brigade.

If money is an issue, you can give one of the new greenhorn brigades the farmer muskets, even though those are pretty weak. We can dump those later. The other 2 units can have standard Springfield muskets. When one of the units distinguishes itself, I'll recommend giving them improved rifles.

I'd like between 8 and 12 12pdr Napoleons for the artillery brigade.

I'd also recommend using your reputation points to requisition the M1855's as others have suggested. Give them to the best veteran brigade. It may even make sense to outfit the two most veteran brigades with M1855s. I suggest making a note in the name of the units that have them on the battlefield. You'll always want to know where they are.

[Brian Swartz]

Money is always an issue, and we're unlikely to have enough cash to spring for that many Napoleons. However, by being willing to take on Farmers for one brigade I will be able to transfer some of your divisions' money over. We'll see what's available.

Last time we had $6-$7k per brigade, this time it's likely to be more like $9k or so even with the need to add four full divisions. 8 Napoleons is $13k+. Just for reference. Might end up more like 6, but we'll see how things fall.

[Brian Swartz]

All settings are now final -- working on expanding the Army. Probably going to take a while to do all the calculations.

[Brian Swartz]

Turns out there's something I've not been paying enough attention to, and it'll impact what we end up with here. I mentioned once before that if we don't have officers with enough experience in charge, a large brigade can take an efficiency hit. That's already happening a bit, and will impact how much I can usefully reinforce some brigades.

[Brian Swartz]

Some surprises, but generally pleased with how things went.

Camp Results

** The 2000 Springfield M1855s were requisitioned, costing 7 Reputation. That drops Stewart to 31 there, still higher than it was before 1st Bull Run.

** There was a vote for emphasizing veterans, so I'll do that slightly more here.

I've found it works best to start at the top, so I'll present things in that manner.

** II Corps will now be led by BG S. Heintzelman. As he does not have a sponsor, I made the selection of his perk at random. Strategy(+20% Ammunition), Tactics(+5% Speed, which Stewart starts with), and Training(+10% XP) are the options. The lot fell to Training. There are three tiers of General's Perks, just as there are for brigades. This is a bit of new information.

** Supply: At Bull Run 5k supply was not enough, but I don't really know how much of it ultimately went to McDowell's troops. We may get a better reading on that here. Regardless, it seemed a moderate increase was best. With the expanded corps, each will start off now at 10k; actually 9.5k for II Corps since it comes in 1k increments and they started off at 2.5k so I couldn't make it even.

** Officers: We only had a few low-level ones left in the pool. There was no choice but to spring for a number of Lieutenant Colonels, instead of the baseline Majors/Captains that many came in as at first. That means better leadership, but increased cost and therefore less for other things. Majors run in the high hundreds usually, Lieutenant Colonels about 1.5k. So it's not a huge difference, that kicks in when you go up to division-level COs(full Colonel). After pondering this for a bit I decided to leave II Corps a division short. The only other option would be to leave just a single officer remaining in the pool ... and what happens if we get a bunch of them wounded?

Ultimately this is good thing in the short term for those of you participating, as it means a sixth more funding for your units. I'm hoping we will have more officers available to be recruited soon though. Combined with the command/efficiency issue, this meant that some brigades would get very little, and others would get quite a lot.

It also made the choice of who would fight in this next battle easy. I was considering the possibility of having the new II Corps fight it ... but that plan has been shelved given that it will be understrength.

Ok, now for the details:

I Corps, Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade

Lt. Col. Gregory Race is the most experienced of the new brigade officers recruited. It just fell that way, a rather surprising bit of good luck out of a dozen possibilities. He's at 58% to his next promotion, so a divisional command would seem to be in his future.

Alter Ego: Coffee Warlord(again)

The request for the new 1855 model Springfields has been granted. As things turned out, there was enough money for you to get both those and all veterans. Maxed out at 1500.

Walton's Brigade

You didn't request better weapons, opting for maxing out on veterans. Under the circumstances, you get both anyway. Had to purchase a few hundred of them, but you get the Springfield 1855s as well. At full strength as well.

Scales's Brigade

An easy CO to satisfy. I took your instructions as a request to divert some of your funding to more needy brigades, a sacrifice to improve the Army as a whole. I was still going to give you half of it, but as it turns out I couldn't add any more without an efficiency hit. For one more gun(veteran crew) it was nearly imperceptible, so I went ahead with that. Afterwards though it would drop 3 points to add another. 16 gun now(400 men), and you need more experience to effectively lead more than that.

Woods' Brigade

Maj. Bobby Woods, previously an artillery CO injured in our very first battle over the train station, takes over the Skirmisher brigade. I could only boost the numbers here by 12 veterans to 298 without taking an efficiency hit.


Durrell's Division

First brigade here was taken by Lt. Col. Andrew Kemper, and that was enough to move it up to * XP. Our first such infantry unit with Lorenz's! We've seen the Endurance Course with a couple of other units; the other option is Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency). The RNG sez we stick with Endurance Course, and the speed and stamina bonus instead of the morale one. Up to 1015 men.

Duryee's Brigade

Also veterans since they've got Lorenz. They were less than 300; now they're up to 848.

Preston's Brigade

Cavalry and their weapons aren't cheap. Still, he's now back up to more than double his original size at 269. Hopefully they'll fare better.

Seymour's Brigade

Seems I've screwed up with your brigade. Adding more 6-pounders would actually be a bad thing; you are taking an efficiency hit due to not being a high enough rank to command this many guns. Adding more would just make it worse. So I'm standing pat for now. I'm thinking after you get a promotion we can probably throw more in.


Loomis's Division

This went much better than I thought it would. Gerald Moody, Duane Ferrero, and Andy Wright are your infantry commanders. All Springfield M1842s, all near full strength at 1436-1437 men. Gordon Wright has the artillery, and I was able to get him up to his maximum of 14 12-pounder Napoleons. That'll be some nice firepower ...


II Corps

None of us are involved with Heintzelman's command, though of course that could change particularly if we get some more division-level people. McCook and Liddell are names to know in passing for the moment; Colonels with the divisional commands. A couple of infantry brigades with the Farmer's weapons, three with Springfield M1842s, another skirmisher unit. Also used the spare 6-pounders here for another artillery brigade, and we've got our first shock cavalry. 455 of them to be exact, Palmetto M1842, our most cost-effective pistol/sabre combo.

[Brian Swartz]

Army Status Summary

I Corps -- 9,858 men, including 42 guns and 269 cavalry
II Corps -- 6,424 men, 9 guns and 455 cavalry.
Total -- 16,282 men, 51 guns, 724 cavalry.

The size of General James Stewart's command has now more than tripled here.

Cash -- $7
Recruits -- 1,642

Still didn't use all the new men, but we were close ... less than 200 gained. To accomplish that I often had to just throw out the cheapest weapons we had, but soldiers in the field and gaining experience should be valuable. Our first Corps in particularly is looking quite strong now. I think. Let's see what happens. This is all new to me from here on out ...

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/Ws0D1r8.png


We certainly didn't bolster our numbers too much; both sides have brought almost 11k total men, though we've got a 50% edge in guns and I would expect now a significant edge in the quality of weapons as well. On the other hand, it looks like in this situation they've got the best of it in terms of the terrain.

https://i.imgur.com/aOfHeFL.png


You said that already.

https://i.imgur.com/l7Waada.png


Sounds hazardous. There's a lot to be said for being fashionably late ...

https://i.imgur.com/W1ilpmv.png


Figures.

https://i.imgur.com/a9t3LtJ.png


https://i.imgur.com/tjanexU.png


Ok then.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/ZOlO1Fx.png


** October 25, 1861. 2:00 PM. Apparently these locations have been named River Dam Hill and Crossroads Hill. Quite original nomenclature, if I do say so myself. Loomis will take his greenhorn division and smash that northern crossing. Durrell will head south where there is more cover, and the sharpshooters may have more effect. Wagner's the elite troopers, and they'll commit wherever it seems best.

Looks like we've got three hours to get this done.

** 2:09 PM -- Artillery fire to the north, and Confederate skirmishers are spotted. Loomis holds his men up in the fields on the ridge overlooking the river. Gordon Wright is in front, and his men suffer the first couple of casualties. We soon push them back, but have too many men in the open.

https://i.imgur.com/XShpsOu.png


** 2:26 PM -- Taylor is eviscerated in the valley there ... but now we must cross. That's just asking to be torn up. I think I'm ok with Loomis just holding this side while the other two take the south path where there's more cover. No resistance has been spotted out that way yet.

** 2:58 PM -- The rebels try to cross the gully in the north, but get bogged down. Those Napoleons are helping, but it's really just bad ground. They should have been happy to just keep us where we were.

https://i.imgur.com/YsSMn6g.png


To the south, we weren't sure if there was going to be any resistance, but now a couple of brigades are into position. Kemper has already fired a volley at Elzey here, Duryee is getting in position, while Wagner's Division is coming up behind.

** 3:11 PM -- Elzey routs. We're making some real progress over here. One tough-minded rebel group has made it across to the north, but they haven't been able to dislodge Loomis.

** 3:36 PM -- Enemy skirmishers sneak across the river and capture our supply wagon while I wasn't expecting it. That ... sucks.

https://i.imgur.com/7W0wBlo.png


Soon afterwards though, we reach the southern hill with only one brigade defending it. It's taking a beating from us too. Walton's men secure the nearby forest while the others fall in elsewhere. They make a push to retake it, but it's prettyt half-hearted and one-sided.

** 4:33 PM -- We're content with what we have and waiting for them to realize they've lost the crossing, but Lt. Col. Wade Scales is injured in a minor skirmish. Just can't have a battle without some kind of drama, can you. There wasn't much left to this one though.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Strength

Infantry: 9,469 Union; 9,456 Confederate
Cavalry: 269 Union; 422 Confederate
Guns: 42(1069) Union; 28(668) Confederate

Total: 10,807 Union; 10,546 Confederate

Casualties

Infantry: 943 Union; 3,624 Confederate
Guns: 5(154) Union; 0(1) Confederate
Cavalry: 1 Union; 171 Confederate
Missing: 120 Union

Total: 1,218 Union; 3,796 Confederate

Weapons

Springfield M1842 -- 248 rescued
Lorenz -- 130 rescued
Sharps Model 1855 -- 92 rescued
10 pdr Ordnance -- 2 rescued
Springfield M1855 -- 81 rescued
Terrill(supplies) -- 4983 rescued
Farmer -- 372 captured
Sawed-off -- 34 captured
Re-bored Farmer -- 266 captured
Hunter -- 87 captured

Brigade Breakdown

Ferrero -- 1372 killed, 353 losses. This was the central brigade in Loomis's division, holding the ridgeline on the northern passage. A killing machine.
Duryee -- 355 kills, 166 losses.
Scales -- 328 kills, 147 losses. Big screwup by me letting their skirmishers capture the supply wagon and get too close to him. I had Woods' skirmishers in that area, then moved them away thinking it was secure. It wasn't, obviously.
Kemper -- 297 kills, 97 losses
Wright -- 296 kills, 0 losses
Race -- 294 kills, 28 losses
Moody -- 227 kills, 38 losses
Wright -- 175 kills, 120 losses
Seymour -- 92 kills, 7 losses
Preston -- 28 kills, 1 loss
Woods -- 23 kills, 4 losses

We really didn't take any big losses. The Confederates just fought in the wrong place basically here. Didn't outfight them so much as out-smart them.

Officers

** Capt. Wade Seymour has been promoted to Major.
** Lt. Col. Wade Scales was wounded.

Rewards

Career Points -- +1
Reputation -- +4
Funding -- $103.8k
Recruits -- 4700

[Brian Swartz]

Intelligence Report

Army: 39-44k
Training: 31-36%
Armory: 9-14%

These numbers have not changed one iota as a result of this battle.

https://i.imgur.com/WPt6jc6.png


https://i.imgur.com/NPf3nQE.png


We have now actually reached the year 1862, and will head to Logan's Crossroads, another 'minor scrap'. 9 Brigades is the max for this: we will be using II Corps here. That means all of you get a rest. A rest from fighting, not from decision-making. Also, this time there is no bonus from previous performance -- we'll face standard opposition in this scenario.

Career Points Briefing

* Politics(1) -- Increase gold and recruits from +2.5% to 5%

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(3) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 1500/Brigade. This increase would up our brigade size to 2000(assuming types other than infantry scale up proportionally).

We have enough money that we should be able to use the additional size -- or we could spend it on weapons upgrades instead. We don't need this right now, but we could use it.

** Logistics(1) -- Increase ammunition from +5% to +10% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. A point here would be an investment towards that, but would reap no immediate benefit.

All Commanders are now on the clock. You know what to do.

[Coffee Warlord]

I say we bump Politics, get some more money and men before our next mission. Figure on going Army Org after the next fight.

And top me off with Vets.

[ntndeacon]

I think we should look to reconnaissance

[chesapeake]

Politics.

[tarcone]

Politics.

[DavidCorperial]

politics

[Brian Swartz]

Politics it is then. Given the lack of casualties in our last battle and the fact that ya'll are taking this one off, I'm not going to put up the voting for the next phase: I'll just handle it this time myself. The battle won't be coming until probably Sunday at least, with this weekend's wedding frivolities(my brother) taking up most of my time.

[Coffee Warlord]

By the way, enjoy the hell that is Shiloh. :)

[Brian Swartz]

Umm, thanks. Maybe? No??

To recap and get back into things, we upped Politics to 2. We didn't have enough for any of the pricier rep. investment stuff, and nothing lower down was worth it. For the sign-up guys, all in the I Corps so far, it was pretty much just a re-stocking with your portion of the funds. Due to my supply screwup, each brigade had to contribute a few hundred each to getting that back where it needs to be.

Wagner's Division

** Race's Brigade -- 28 vets maxed it out at 1500.

** Walton's Brigade -- 134 to do the same.

** Scales's Brigade -- You're injured, so Lt. Col. Tom Trimble is hired as the replacement. Added a couple vet crews to get to 13 guns for now.

** Woods Brigade -- 46 men added, half of the weapons available in the armory. At 340 now.


Durrell's Division

** Kemper's Brigade -- 234 added, now at 1152 men.

** Duryee's Brigade -- Up to * experience, the only promoted unit here. They opt for Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency). 270 total men added, up to 955. Not as large or as skilled as Kemper, but the gap has closed here.

** Preston's Brigade -- 109 horsemen added, now at 377. Slowly getting stronger.

** Seymour's Brigade -- Still at 12 guns due to the command efficiency issue. 11 men added to fill out all crews at maximum effectiveness.


Loomis's Division

** Moody's Brigade -- 101 replacements, to max out at 1500.

** Ferrero's Brigade -- 408 added, also back to max 1500.

** Wright's Brigade -- Less than 200, I forget the actual number, to top out at 1500 as well.

** Wright's Brigade -- This is the artillery one. Another Napoleon added for 15 guns here. That maxes out the command efficiency limit.


II Corps

Since we needed a 9th brigade, a 3rd division was added under Col. Henry Church. Increased the size of the brigades here as much as I could, including putting every last Farmer's musket we have in the field for the two units that have them.


Outlook


We used up all the cash again($35 left), and all the recruits we gained plus almost 200 of what we had saved up. Still 1,240 in the pool, but we have just over 20k total in the field now for our part of the Army, so that isn't a whole lot by comparison.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/TMdXGnz.png


And so it is that Heintzelman's II Corps heads for Mill Springs. He is outnumbered a bit, esp. in terms of artillery. 11.1k Confederates with 25 guns, vs. 10.6k for us(almost all of it his corps) with 9 guns on our side. This might not go as well for us as the last battle did.

https://i.imgur.com/O0AUunU.png


https://i.imgur.com/UCTpD3H.png


A defensive/delaying-action engagement. That's all Stewart has to say to Heintzelman. He's a man of few words.

[Brian Swartz]

** February 17, 1862, 6:00 AM.

https://i.imgur.com/njxpPLx.png


The immediate task is to hold here at Logan's Crossroads of course. For two hours they say. It's early morning, it's cold, it's a lousy job I don't care who you are. But it's the job that must be done. Either intelligence is poor or the hand-holding phase is over with, because we aren't told anything about how much is coming or where from.

Lawton's 1500 men deploy to the north in those trees, hoping their farmer's muskets are enough to slow down any approach across that river ... more a stream really, if not a brook. Hagood will attempt to block the road that swings east to the south of this little interchange. Devin's cavalry, 570 strong, are probably the greatest asset in II Corps and they will be relied upon if things get too hairy. That's all we got right now. Both infantry brigades detach skirmishers in the hopes of further harrasment.

** 6:06 AM. Apparently the rebel alarm clocks work just fine, as nearly a thousand of them approach from across the stream to the north. There's not going to be any subtlety there. Lawton's skirmishers are recalled and he takes up position in the trees. Almost immediately, a second brigade is spotted. Not good. No way his untrained, ill-equipped troops can hold long against them. Hagood has trouble of his own, pushing into the forest to the south before it's taken by Anderson, a rebel commander marching with 1200+.

The only real hope of holding then north is goading them into coming across, then having Devin try to flank them.

** 6:10 AM -- To the west, Wharton's skirmishers are first in line as the rest of the Corps has wasted no time in showing up. Good thing too ... I think we're going to need them.

https://i.imgur.com/5epdfxh.png


** 6:13 AM -- Hagood reports two more rebel brigades headed his way. He won't hold long against those odds.

** 6:15 AM -- Devin reports another rebel brigade crossing the stream further west. It'll still be some time before the rest of our men are in position. It's looking that's going to be time we don't have.

** 6:25 AM -- Devin's men charge at an unprepared brigade in the north. This causes confusion in the rebel lines, but he loses about 100 men in the process. It does buy a few minutes' valuable time though.

** 6:31 AM -- Pond's brigade has gotten around Hagood to the south, and is approaching the crossroads. There's no choice but to fall back into some semblance of a cohesive battle line, with the enemy pressing on both sides and cavalry and skirmisher units spotted. It looks like it'll be in mostly open ground, making things even worse.

https://i.imgur.com/qlARREM.png


Here, Lawton tries in vain to hold off Pond while we form up to the south and west in greater numbers.

** 6:35 AM -- Heintzelman: "Damn, it's not just a patrol, it's an attack!". What was your first clue there, General?


https://i.imgur.com/LzayjB4.png


** 6:50 AM -- We've managed to find a stable, somewhat defensible position. Lousy terrain but they have to cross it to move us further west, and they have been somewhat less co-ordinated in their efforts. Artillery has opened up on us from the east, and we've only got a few 6-pounders to try to aid the cause. Holding here is not enough; to retake the cross roads we need to be able to push them back on one of the two flanks. So far that's proven problematic.

** 7:09 AM -- Russell and another brigade charge in the south, countered by Devin. It doesn't go well for the rebels.

https://i.imgur.com/Ximz01X.png


** 7:30 AM -- We've been able to push back slowly, their resistance weakening on both flanks. Logan's Crossroads is under our control again ... barely. Neither side is having a super day, but the momentum has shifted.

** 7:40 AM -- A few minutes after Hagood breaks momentarily in the south, Lawton, having reformed in the center, collapses as well. We can't afford this -- there's no reserve to plug the hole. The situation is quite tenuous again as Heintzelman urges his men to hold their ground.

** 7:45 AM -- All categories of chaos ensue. We're still more unified than them but are having increasing trouble keep everyone in position, and they seem to still have us outnumbered.

Eventually the rebels realize that they are not going to break our will(though it wavers considerably), and they retreat to the east and north of the crossroads. I really thought they were going to win this one, and they probably should have.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Strength

Infantry: 9,221 Union; 9,889 Confederate
Cavalry: 570 Union; 466 Confederate
Guns: 9(225) Union; 25(605) Confederate
Total: 10,016 Union; 10,960 Confederate


Losses

Infantry: 2,502 Union; 4,325 Confederate
Guns: 1(44) Union; 0 Confederate
Cavalry: 266 Union; 70 Confederate
Total: 2,812 Union; 4,395 Confederate

We still ultimately won the casualties comparison here, but by less than we have in any other battle to date.

Officers

** Lt. Col. Dave Kirk, who took the recently added infantry brigade and was a big part of the south section of the battle, is promoted to Colonel.

I actually managed not to injure any commanders. I do believe that is a first. I can't chalk it up to anything other than random luck, since we lost over a quarter of the men we had in two hours' time. Far better circumstances have resulted in wounded leaders before.

Weapons

** Cook & Brother -- 14 captured
** Farmer -- 397 rescued, 305 captured
** Re-bored Farmer -- 508 captured
** Hunter -- 53 captured
** Sharps Model 1855 -- 57 rescued
** Springfield M1842 -- 782 rescued
** Palmetto M1842 -- 130 rescued

Rewards

** +1 Career Points
** +4 Reputation
** $106k funding
** 4.8k recruits

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/rnziRbA.png


Intelligence Report

Army Size: 43-48k
Training: 32-37%
Armory: 11-16%

Despite having been defeated at every turn, the Confederates continue to amass more men. We have been quite successful in keeping them from gaining more quality men and arms however, as those are just very slightly up.

https://i.imgur.com/WUv29ba.png


As the Coffee Warlord mentioned, it is now time for another Grand Battle at Shiloh. Our last two victories have earned us -10% morale and -5% size for the force we will face there. We have $106k in funds, and 6.4k recruits to handle that with. Based on the rewards listed, it appears that this next fight could go either way ...


Career Points Briefing

* Politics(2) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 5% to +7.5%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(3) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 1500/Brigade. This increase would up our brigade size to 2000(assuming types other than infantry scale up proportionally).

Half of our infantry brigades are maxed out at 1500, with most of the others above 1000. The other types are mostly limited in how much they can increase in size by the command efficiency issue. There are still three empty brigade slots but we don't have commanders for them. I'm recommending this to get a boost here so that we can use the resources we have: the alternative option, also quite viable, is to use more of the funds to upgrade our weapons while essentially maintaining our current numbers. Under that scenario, more units would get the newer, more effective Springfields while the Lorenz brigades under Durrell would get increased funding to max out or get close to that.

At present, we have four experienced infantry brigades(*). Two each have Lorenz and the M1855 Springfields. The eight inexperienced ones are mostly M1842s(six of them), with two possessing the Farmer's weapons.

** Logistics(1) -- Increase ammunition from +5% to +10% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. A point here would be an investment towards that, but would reap no immediate benefit.

All Commanders are now on the clock. You know what to do.

[chesapeake]

I'll support your decision to improve army org.

We've really used up all the commanders in the barracks? Wow! My first choice would have been to up politics to get us more money down the road and to use what we have to build up all the brigades in the II Corps. But if we don't have any eligible commanders in the barracks, I'll support your suggestion to try and fill up the brigades we have.

I think it that you probably can do both things that you suggest if you do it right. If you improve the weapons of a * or ** unit or two first, those don't necessarily need (or are cost effective) to be bumped up to 2000 soldiers. The weapons they used to carry can be given to new recruits in rookie brigades, making them cost only manpower, which we appear to have a lot of.

[Coffee Warlord]

Yep, bump the Army Org, and try and max out as many of our regiments as possible. We'll need the men.

[ntndeacon]

agreed on Army organization, but we need soon to add to our reconnaisance in the near future, even if it doesn't immediately help. it will pay off in the long haul.

[Qwikshot]

agreed on Army organization, but we need soon to add to our reconnaisance in the near future, even if it doesn't immediately help. it will pay off in the long haul.

Ditto

[tarcone]

Im a yes man here. Army Org.

Load up on men.

[DavidCorperial]

I'll go with you as well.

[Brian Swartz]

We've really used up all the commanders in the barracks? Wow!

Not all, but there are three left. All Colonels. So I could add the last three brigades with them, but they'd be overqualified and they are expensive for that job -- would cut into the money for other things. We also have two wounded Captains. Technically five without a job at the moment.

I think it that you probably can do both things that you suggest if you do it right. If you improve the weapons of a * or ** unit or two first, those don't necessarily need (or are cost effective) to be bumped up to 2000 soldiers. The weapons they used to carry can be given to new recruits in rookie brigades, making them cost only manpower, which we appear to have a lot of.

That's a good idea, but it's really already been done. Four * brigades, all have the better weapons. All the others are at 'Green', or no experience boost yet. In other words, no 'veteran' units that are still using baseline Springfields or whatnot.

A majority having already put in their votes, I'll put in the organization boost and move on to the second phase of Camp later tonight.

[Cap Ologist]

I believe the barracks are reset after each grand battle and I think that's when wounded officers come back too, unless they are wounded in that one, then they have to wait for the next.

[Brian Swartz]

So far as I can see that's correct. That also seems to be the time when the type and amount of weapons available in the Shop updates; it seems to be the best time to make major changes for multiple reasons.

Weapons Reference is updated. We haven't captured enough of any type to be practically useful, though it's getting close in some cases.

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis. Last time we switched from Balanced to a small lean towards Veterans. Weapons or sheer Manpower can also be emphasized if chosen.

2. Reputation Investment. We're up to 39 now, same range we've been in for this particularl mini-campaign. The remaining options:

** $75k cash(18 Reputation)
** 4k recruits(18 Reputation)
** 4 24pdr Howitzers(6 Reputation)
** BG Irvin McDowell(4 Reputation)
** BG William Sherman(4 Reputation)

We have no need of further recruits(still have yet to run out) or generals(both spots are filled right now). Money and artillery are always beneficial though, so it's worth weighing whether or not they are worth the cost.

3. Weapon Sales

So far we've chosen not to sell anything, and have from time to time made use of captured equipment. Nonetheless the option must be presented. The Armory reports the following prices and quantities.

** Farmer(702 @ $4 ea.)
** Re-bored Farmer(1073 @ $5 ea.)
** Springfield M1842(782 @ $5 ea.)
** Hunter(214 @ $10 ea.)
** Sharps Model 1855(93 @ $17 ea.)
** Sawed-off(34 @ $6 ea.)
** Cook & Brother(163 @ $9 ea.)
** Palmetto M1842(130 @ $15 ea.)
** Sharps Model 1855(93 @ $17 ea.)

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

Army Structure

I Corps(Stewart)
*** Wagner
----- Race*(Infantry, Springfield M1855)
----- Walton*(Infantry, Springfield M1855)
----- Trimble*(Artillery, 10 pdr Ordnance) Scales wounded
----- Woods(Skirmishers, Sharps Model 1855) Lynch wounded
*** Durrell
----- Kemper(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- Duryee*(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- Preston(Cavalry, Smith)
----- Seymour*(Artillery, 6 pdr Field)
*** Loomis
----- Moody(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Ferrero(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- A. Wright(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- G. Wright(Artillery, 12pdr Napoleon)

II Corps(Heintzelman)
*** McCook
----- Hagood(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Lawton(Infantry, Farmer)
----- Devin(Cavalry, Palmetto M1842)
----- Root(Artillery, 6 pdr Field)
*** Liddell
----- Carruth(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Tannatt(Infantry, Farmer)
----- Elder(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Wharton(Skirmisher, Sharps Model 1855)
*** Church
----- Kirk(Infantry, Springfield M1842)

Weapons added to this section as the Army is growing, and it should help to keep one's eye on the overall picture.


Wagner's Division is now under AI control(i.e., mine) unless BYU14 pipes up and wants in.

Race's Brigade

Lt. Col. Gregory Race actually survived his first battle ... and looked pretty good doing it. More than 10 of the enemy died for each man he lost in our most one-sided battle to date. He's at 79% to his next promotion, which would make him eligible for division command ...

Alter Ego: Coffee Warlord

Men: 1500
Experience: *, 59% to **
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed)

Efficiency: 39
Morale: 53
Stamina: 56
Firearms: 45
Melee: 18

Weapon: Springfield M1855

No gain in accuracy was made despite sending almost 300 of the enemy to meet their maker. Stamina saw a good jump though, and some efficiency boost. A full batch of 500 rookies would drop ratings by 9-11 points in most categories. Rookies cost $31 each(price of the weapon), veterans almost twice as much at just under $59 each. You can always mix-and-match as always if you prefer. That(relatively) pricey piece of hardware they carry makes it unlikely that we will max out in any case.

Walton's Brigade

Lt. Col. Kelly Walton is at 61% towards becoming a divisional CO. He had a bit rougher time of it, but still better than 2:1 casualties at River Crossing.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Men: 1500
Experience: *, 64% to **
Perks: Endurance Course

Efficiency: 43
Morale: 51
Stamina: 52
Firearms: 52
Melee: 22

Weapon: Springfield M1855

Profile here is pretty good at everything. Better shooters and soldiering than Race still, though this unit also improved the most in Stamina and trails there by a bit. Overall, the top infantry brigade we have though. By a hair. Rookies also $31 each, and 500 would drop ratings by 8-10. Vets are a little under $61 per man.

Scales' Brigade

Lt. Col. Tom Trimble continues to lead in place of wounded Lt. Col. Wade Scales, who was close to getting his full Colonel ranking. 80-85% I'd say. This will be Trimble's first actual action.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Guns: 13
Experience: *, 45% to **
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 33
Morale: 51
Stamina: 46
Firearms: 49
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

The usual mostly stamina with some efficiency that other units got improvements in at the last battle. The command-efficiency limit will allow up to 2 more guns. $1710 for rookie crews, $3437 for veterans. I expect to be able to afford both, so there's probably no real choice here unless you want rookies to save up for more investment in other brigades.


Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell continues to be just shy of halfway to his next promotion. He has the smallest division in the I Corps in terms of numbers, but the Lorenz makes up for that somewhat with it's accuracy. Unless there is an outfitting change, things pretty much are what they are here.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

Preston's Brigade

Lt. Col. Steven Preston takes his life into his hands every battle, and that of his men; I freely admit I am far worse at using cavalry effectively than any other unit type. He is still pretty young in his rank, with a 32% progress bar. Last time out there was only one casualty ... but only 28 inflicted. Hopefully that will change as the brigade grows.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanms

Horsemen: 377
Experience: None, 89% to *
Perks: None

Efficiency: 11
Morale: 38
Stamina: 19
Firearms: 19
Melee: 11

Weapon: Smith

A barely-noticeable morale improvement is all that happened at River Crossing. Indeed the other categories refuse to grow much at all. Hoping that they can take the next step soon, as it would be nice to have a strong cavalry unit. I don't think it's worth considering rookies until you've at least gained the first experience rank. Right now they would cost $62, $81 for veterans. Not enough savings to really be worth considering losing what minor gains have been made. But it's not my call of course; if you want rookies to increase the size a little more, that can be done.


Seymour's Brigade

Maj. Walter Seymour stands at 27% to his next promotion. Didn't do as much as usual at River Crossing, with only 92 casualties inflicted, by far the smallest of any fight so far. Gen. Stewart was partly to blame as the positioning could have been better at points in the fight. A more productive and active role is hoped for an likely in the brawl ahead.

Guns: 12
Experience: *, 45% to **
Perks: Logistics(+50% ammunition, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 31
Morale: 57
Stamina: 45
Firearms: 52
Melee: 17

Weapon: 6pdr Field

Highest morale rating in the I Corps now; that's something to be excited about. A hair better accuracy than any other artillery unit, though Scales's boys get things done a bit quicker and don't tire quite as fast. I can't do anything here, as additional weapons would inflict a significant command-efficiency hit. We could consider a different weapon type as a long-term consideration, or else just reserve the investment for other parts of the Army.


Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis is the most junior of the six division commanders that we have, counting both Corps. Maybe 10-15% to his next promotion, which will require him surviving a long time on the battlefield. He's got a lot of infantry(3 brigades * 1500 men each) who really don't know much about what they are doing, but they got some experience at River Crossing. And of course the 15 Napoleons, the heaviest guns we currently have in use. It would seem that we are going to mostly just try to add more men here, as none of the brigades have really justified the expense for a weapon upgrade yet.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

All Commanders are now to make their orders. Even in cases where things seem obvious, feel free to submit contrary instructions. Shiloh awaits as soon as this is concluded. Anytime between now and midnight Wednesday is soon enough -- and as always, don't forget the Army-level stuff.

[DavidCorperial]

Nothing to do for me really so spend the money elsewhere

[chesapeake]

Fill my ranks to 2000 with all the men you can find. We'll teach 'em which end of the musket means business.

[Coffee Warlord]

Like to keep the skills up this time, so whatever you can budget to my boys, give me Vets.

[collegesportsfanms]

Alright, sorry guys, out of the loop again. Trying to play catch up. What specifically am I voting on at the moment, if anything? I see I am part of Preston's brigade, whatever that means. (Kinda clueless at the moment lol)

[Brian Swartz]

You're in charge of Preston's brigade. Preston = you :P. So, you can decide whether to add rookies, veterans, or some of each with the money that will be available to your brigade. More rookies = less skill but more men. The costs provided are for guidance to that decision. You can request different weapons if you like instead, but it's what your Division CO wanted so you'll need a good reason if doing so. In the post before the brigade breakdowns, there are higher-level, Army-wide choices you can vote on if you choose.

[collegesportsfanms]

You're in charge of Preston's brigade. Preston = you :P. So, you can decide whether to add rookies, veterans, or some of each with the money that will be available to your brigade. More rookies = less skill but more men. The costs provided are for guidance to that decision. You can request different weapons if you like instead, but it's what your Division CO wanted so you'll need a good reason if doing so. In the post before the brigade breakdowns, there are higher-level, Army-wide choices you can vote on if you choose.

I'm fine with the weapons that my Division CO wanted. No rookies needed, give me a few quality vets with the money that is available for my brigade.

As for the other choices:

1. Small lean toward veterans is a good emphasis for me, I'm ok with that.

2. 18 reputation seems like a lot to get more cash, but I could deal with the loss of 6 reputation to get more artillery, so that's my vote.

3. I don't think we need to sell anything yet.

[ntndeacon]

1. No change
2. No reputation spending
3. No sales.

[tarcone]

I want more vets. Fill me up. We want to be the best.

No change
No rep spending yet.
No sales.

[Coffee Warlord]

And yes, I concur with the high level choices as well.

[Coffee Warlord]

I really wish there was an option that allowed you to bump up weapon stocks, or whatever.

I've been theorycrafting skirmisher armies with Sharps as your front line troops.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Results

No changes on the Army-level stuff. There was a vote for investing reputation in artillery, but we don't have a brigade that could use it right now and others voted to hold pat on that.

The supply situation looked good and we didn't need any new officers. That meant everything could go towards training and equipping soldiers for the larger brigades.

Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade

Veterans were requested. 124 added, 1624 total.

Walton's Brigade

Veterans as well. 119 added, 1619 total.

Scales' Brigade

Trimble receives two more veteran crews, increasing to 15 rifled 10-pounders, the command-efficiency limit here. Veteran crews.


Duryell's Division

Kemper -- +167, 1319 men.

Duryee -- +199, 1154 men.

Preston's Brigade

89 vets, up to 466 now. A credible-sized cavalry unit at this point, well over half-strength. Let's hope that makes a difference in the battle.

Seymour's Brigade

As has been mentioned, all maxed out with nothing to do.


Loomis's Division

Request was made to max out at 2000, but I had to stop short of that as we started running into command-efficiency limit issues here. First time I've seen that with infantry but I figured it would happen eventually. So they were all filled up to the point where it started dropping. 1786 for Moody, 1686 for Ferrero, 1807 for A. Wright.


II Corps Notes

** We outfitted two brigades with Farmer's muskets, but only have enough for one now with the increased size and losses from the last battle at Logan's Crossroads. The more experienced of the two was outfitted with Springfield M1842s instead. This cost over a tenth of our available funding by itself($11.6k), but it couldn't be helped if we are going to continue increasing numbers across the board. The one remaining Farmer's unit has an experienced CO, and was able to take advantadge of the available weapons by expanding to nearly the maximum. It's now our largest brigade by numbers at over 1900, hopefully helping to mask the fact that it sucks. They've got 'cannon fodder' imprinted on their foreheads at this point basically.

** Still woefully short on artillery, but we did add two more guns.

** The infantry brigades in this Corps still lag behind a bit overall in size, but they are at about 1500 on average.

Outlook

I Corps numbers nearly 12k, II Corps a little over 10k. We used up the money again($17 left) and have 1,325 recruits. That's 85 more than we had one battle ago, and it's been staying fairly steady. Optimally I'd like to have it a little lower but it's not like there's a huge number going unused.

[Brian Swartz]

There will be many posts for this battle. I haven't finished it yet and I can already tell that for certain.

CW said to 'enjoy the hell' of Shiloh. A journalist is reported to have noted that 'the South never smiled after Shiloh'. I'm hoping this ends up being more of the latter than the former. Gen. James Stewart is unbeaten so far.

https://i.imgur.com/FFPeSwY.png


Even with our advantadges from the last two battles, we are still somewhat outnumbered. The Confederates are reported to number 43k and 112 guns; 38k and 57 for us. I'm particularly concerned about that kind of a difference in artillery. It also appears that Stewart's command comprises about 60% of the total Union force. He's moving up in the world -- but that could be both good and bad.

Both Corps are to be placed side-by-side, so it didn't seem to matter much who starts where here.

https://i.imgur.com/3rkIPK8.png


https://i.imgur.com/llE8pX3.png


This is quite a distance to the southwest from Pittsburgh Landing.

https://i.imgur.com/8ZDRe6l.png


Basically east from there, roughly due south from our positions. As described, the river is just east here, barely off-screen.

https://i.imgur.com/P5WKomZ.png


Tomorrow? Oh, so we are just going to enjoy a quiet day of strolling through the countryside today. Sounds great.


I'm given control for a moment, but before I can do anything ...

https://i.imgur.com/R55bJbe.png


https://i.imgur.com/7UV4oml.png


https://i.imgur.com/IOCXZeE.png


Oh Major Woods .... we have a 'task'(aka suicide mission?) for you ...

https://i.imgur.com/lNFaUPt.png


If you could just deploy them right now, that'd be great ...

And so it begins. I have the feeling that it's actually going to be quite possible for me to potentially screw this up.

[Brian Swartz]

Shiloh, Part I

** April 6, 1862, 6:30 AM. Weather's a bit warmer than at the Crossroads, but it's still freaking early. Briefing did a good job of showing the battlefield. Right now Wagner's whole division is in play, and most of Durrell -- but they are missing Seymour's 6-pound guns. Most disconcerting is that the supply wagon hasn't arrived. The immediate task is to Hold Shiloh Church until 9 AM. A lot can happen in two-plus hours.

The infantry has good defensive positions here. Woods' skirmishers move to the indicated advance scouting location, with Preston's cavalry following to support if needed. Trimble positions the 10-pounders as best he can to support our defensive location in case of any surprises.

** 6:42 AM -- Woods reports cavalry to the west of his position as he nears his assigned waypoint. Upon hearing the news, Stewart ponders whether this is the first sign of an organized rebel attack, or just a raiding party or patrol. Not wishing to be caught out in the open, Woods repositions between them and our main force.

** 6:49 AM -- Over two thousand rebel infantry are spotted. Looks like that's our answer. Time for a 'tactical withdrawal'.

** 6:58 AM -- Another few thousand rebels show up. At this point there are almost as many of them as there are of us.

** 7:04 AM -- More spotted in a slightly different direction, due south. No way we can slow down this many for long.

** 7:16 AM -- They charge and push us back, but get over-anxious. Walton and Kemper's men are in good firing positions to flank their cavalry as it crosses the stream ... and gets ripped apart

https://i.imgur.com/q1J4vL4.png


** 7:32 AM -- We may consider the battle fully joined at this point. About those reserves, fellas? Walton here is being rushed by thousands of Confederates, and there's another group close behind them though not as anxious.

** 7:35 AM -- Scouts report that Maj. Gen. Albert Johnson has been spotted. Walton retreats across the stream, having buckled under the pressure from so many attackers. Woods and Kemper cover the retreat, while Duryee and Race look to hold off the other wing of the attack in the trees just to the west and north. All our positions are now under fire from rebel artillery.

Bloody hell.

https://i.imgur.com/EJ0zcid.png


** 7:54 AM -- After holding one charge, Kemper's men break the second time. Stewart shifts everything he can that way in the hopes of preventing our position from collapsing completely.

** 8:00 AM -- Unable to sustain their push, the rebels retreat across the creek in disarray ... but more are coming up. Meanwhile, the first division of II Corps has showed up. I don't know when they showed up, they look like they've been here a while. Good grief. Get down there and join the fight boys!

If some supplies could show up sometime this century ... Trimble's guns are almost dry already.

** 8:31 AM -- Here, Woods skirmishers have crossed on the east side, and flanked Cleburne. When he tried to turn and face them, he got a nice broadside from Walton and Lawton(that's one of the brigades from Heintzelman's Corps, the one who got Springfields instead of their old Farmers actually). The result was this flank collapsing from what was already a bad position for the Rebels; we had matched their numbers and had superior positions, using the trees as cover for almost everyone. Preston's having a quiet day of it watching the other flank and making sure Trimble's artillery, now almost completely out of ammunition, doesn't get any unexpected surprises.

As nine-o-clock arrives, we're feeling pretty good about ourselves all things considered ...

https://i.imgur.com/Qf36Pvl.png


That doesn't sound good ...

https://i.imgur.com/QoIAdcD.png


My guess is they get here an hour after 'too late'.

https://i.imgur.com/UGUnkTi.png


https://i.imgur.com/P80YKOY.png


That's two objectives, how can they both be our 'main'?

"Godspeed General".

*Sigh*


** 7:30 AM. Yeah I know I said it was 9 AM now. We appear to have warped to a different part of the battle, an hour and a half previously. Never knew there was time-travel in the mid-1800s did you? Me neither.

Either way, here we've got Seymour's artillery(they weren't missing, they just went somewhere else apparently), all of Loomis' Division which accounts for I Corps, and the balance of II Corps as well, another division more or less. So it appears that we've got two distinct parts of the battle to be time-jumping in between, because reasons. Both Stewart and Heintzelman were in the other part, and are not here. Just all in all weird freaking design.

It just so happens that both cavalry units were in the other part, so we have none of that here, and the one skirmisher unit from II Corps isn't around either(about the only brigade I can't yet account for). There'll be no skulking around. What we do have here is tons of inexperienced infantry, and a good amount of artillery. I try to spread us out to cover all approaches: three sizable artillery batteries with one left, middle, and right each. We'll have to see what the rebels have in mind before deploying better than that. Spain Field and Bell Larkin Field are the two objectives to defend -- for three hours this time. It doesn't look like there's going to be the least thing subtle about this part of the battle.

** 7:53 AM -- The west gets hit first ... I'm told this is elements of Bragg's Corps, while Polk's Corps was involved in other section. Only one large brigade, which follows the bizarre attack 'strategy' of marching sideways in front of our lines, routs and retreats. K.

https://i.imgur.com/Ssd8lMR.png


** 8:20 AM. These guys caused us some trouble at the crossroads. Here, they go for the 'stand in the valley and get shot' option. They might be providing cover so we fire at them and not the artillery behind them, but you'd think they'd want to be in the trees or close to within firing range. Anderson is next up and at least does that much.

** 8:38 AM -- Reinforcements. Last infantry brigade from II Corps, and also Wharton's skirmishers, who seek out a flanking position on the east.

** 8:51 AM -- This is a cakewalk so far. The rebels have accomplished little more than get themselves killed. Haven't really tried much, TBH. We even have a supply wagon now. Informal check of casulaties for this part of the battle shows 30 for us, over 800 of the enemy.

** 9:09 AM -- I'm told Breckenridge, another Corps commander, is now here for the Confederates. They're finally stepping up their game, attacking across the entire width of this area. Not in nearly enough force to dislodge us from superior positions though.

https://i.imgur.com/VPRGY4r.png


** 9:21 AM -- I now count about 14,000 of them on the attack. Toe-to-toe in an open field we'd be history very quickly, but here we still have enough to hold, at least for now.

** 9:53 AM -- It's no longer quite such a joke, as one of the enemy brigades makes it to our eastern camp. They are repulsed after an extended melee, but I pull a brigade out of the west, where they haven' gotten close, to reinforce that position on the right.

https://i.imgur.com/xQZZWgY.png


They haven't made another major push, but the rebels are slowly advancing up the slope despite our best efforts.

** 10:27 AM -- One final charge, and Elder's men break despite the extra support with two freaking minutes to go. As this section of the battle comes to a close, Larkin Bell Field is considered to be Contested. I don't know what that will mean.

[Brian Swartz]

Shiloh, Part II

Withdraw to the Hornet's Nest

That's the title the game gave this section; it ended up being rather quite misleading.

https://i.imgur.com/rWKCzlp.png


https://i.imgur.com/V5sQuAc.png


"It is advised to quickly secure this area before our flanks get overrun." I'm getting hungry. A sandwich sounds like a much better plan.

https://i.imgur.com/ACTE1Cv.png


This is a modest distance west of where our new plan of defense lies.

** 10:30 AM -- Both parts of the battle now unify under one command; both Corps, all 5+ divisions. We're getting pressed on both sides and it seems a 'fighting retreat' is in order here. Properly co-ordinating it doesn't look like a lot of fun. It's been a hell of a morning ... literally. Our new goals are to hold both Shiloh Church and the Hornet's Nest for another two hours.

I still think that sandwich is a better idea.

In all seriousness though, it looks like we can hold the church for a while in the west, but the rebels are going to break through on the east eventually. Heintzelman takes that flank, and I send the elements of his Corps(two infantry brigades, Devin's cavalry) that way with him. Loomis's division will remain in the centre of that side keeping things solid, while Stewart remains on the west with most of Wagner and Durrell's divisons to hold this. Main goal is to inflict as much damage as possible, and then retreat is something resembling order when it finally becomes necessary.

We do finally have both supply wagons on site, so that will help.

** 10:37 AM -- The first supply wagon, led by Branch, reports that he's out. Fantastic. The second one just coming up now is full. That's Barrett, but I have a feeling he's going to be drained quickly. He'll start on the more pressured positions in the east and move up and down the line a lot until he runs out. Hopefully that doesn't happen for a while. Nobody's run out of ammunition completely, but I don't know how long it will last. Above all, I'm keeping a close eye on our artillery, trying to balance effective firing positions with the need to keep them secure from attack.

** 10:46 AM -- Sometime recently our time goal switched to three hours: about 1:30 PM now we need to hold until.

** 10:50 AM -- CRAP. Just what I was trying to prevent. And I messed up the screen I had of it as well. Cavalry makes it's way undetected through to one of our artillery units, and Cpt. Darryl Root is wounded early on in the attack. Preston is nearby, but the damage will have already been done by the time he arrives.

Half of Root's brigade is taken down by the time we chase them off. Meanwhile, Gen. Buell is early, or at least the division led by Nelson is. Three fresh infantry brigades coming up will be most useful.

** 11:08 AM -- Ammunition is our biggest concern. Continuing to scrap with the rebel horsemen, Lt. Col. Steve Preston has been killed. His men were doing well holding them off -- a pretty unlucky leader.

** 11:35 AM -- Unless they press us harder, it's looking like we may not have to fall back to the Hornet's Nest at all.

** 11:56 -- We lose another one. Lt. Col. Kelly Walton is killed defending the left flank over on the western side of the Shiloh Church area. So far his men have done well, with over 1800 rebel casualties that they can take credit for. The heavy fighting has taken it's toll though, and with their leader dead they retreat into the woods a bit.

** 12:08 -- The line hasn't moved in some while. That's a good thing, because Bartlett is now empty as well. Once again I am rueing not having more supplies. I'll definitely need another sharp increase there after this is over. More than an hour to go, and I have to pull a few brigades out based soley on the fact that they have nothing left to shoot with. I'm hoping Nelson's men can fill the gaps adequately enough.

Soon I'm no longer concerned with the integrity of keeping Corps and Divisions together -- it's more a case of the closest brigade that has something to fire at the enemy here.

https://i.imgur.com/qlr8b7V.png


** 12:35 AM -- Another charge in the east is repulsed: Elder and Kirk send Martin scurrying here. They are pushing us back, but only slowly; this is where most of the ammunition went so they've still got plenty.

** 12:41 AM -- The final volley from Kemper's Brigade(last of our Lorenz guys to have anything left) sends the rebels scurrying, gaining valuable time. Nelson's relief division takes over defense of the church area, and none too soon.

https://i.imgur.com/LrlwfoE.png


** 1:03 AM -- Looks like we're going to hold, but none of the artillery and only half the infantry is still firing. What used to be Preston's cavalry helps turn the tide of a pitched melee in the forest here, right in the centre of the battlefield.

** Note: In game terms, you can still shoot if you are out of supply, but your volleys are much less effective and reloading takes a long time. Kind of a strange 'middle ground' between normal combat ability and having nothing but your guns and bayonets to club people with.


Hold Pittsburgh Landing!


https://i.imgur.com/bk5WFUr.png


Line of defense with what? Are we supposed to throw rocks at them or something??

https://i.imgur.com/YwH3eYi.png


Good news at least.

** 1:30 PM -- We need to keep this up for another four hours. That's hilarious. Nobody cares about the other objectives anymore though, so it's time to pull back where at least the ironclads can help us.

https://i.imgur.com/a5EZGDe.png

** 3:00 PM -- 90 minuts later most, but certainly not all, of our units make it back to fortifications at Pittsburgh Landing. Woods' skirmishers, from Wagner's 1st Division on I Corps, notably don't make it. As in, none of them do -- the brigade is utterly annihilated. The choice of who defends this is simple; if you still have something resembling a projectile to fire out the businss end of your rifle, it's you. Those ships are helping, but it's still not the best of situations.

At least by now, ours aren't the only men running out of ammo.

https://i.imgur.com/8Z3LuoB.png


What happens next is pretty much hell on earth. A constant, unending barrage from both sides. Charges are repulsed, defenders rout and reform, and it was clear the undertakers were going to be the only winners here. The only goal is survival.

A couple of artillery batteries bravely tried to take position at the center of the wall. They didn't accomplish anything except making themselves targets; there wasnt' enough to shoot with to make an impact. First time I've seen artillery fortifications though, so I had to try, right?

For the last hour-plus I couldn't do anything to really adjust or improve position. I could only sit there and watch the men on both sides die. Fortunately the rebels didn't have enough left to dislodge us.

I did take a quick gander at our generals, and noted that we lost about a quarter of I Corps and a third of II Corps. In one freaking day. Ballparking it, that's about 7,000 men.

And I'm confident the rebels fared worse.

Anyway, *phew*! We did it!! Thus ends Shiloh ...

https://i.imgur.com/I0tXuvW.png


Oh. That's only the first day. How droll.

Coming up later today: the conclusion of the Battle of Shiloh, and the aftermath.

[Brian Swartz]

Shiloh, Part III

https://i.imgur.com/hxQh4Xo.png


They've still got the edge in guns, but the numbers say in manpower, with Buell's full force up with us now, we outnumber them 2:1.

https://i.imgur.com/ghbGzrN.png


'Desperately' is the operative word.

https://i.imgur.com/WF9kbpe.png


I'm thinking we let the good General take the lead here, inasmuch as I'd like to retain some semblance of an Army to reinforce when this is over.

** April 7, 1862, 6:00 AM. We have four hours to basically retake everything we lost yesterday. I've got to figure out what we have left, and form something resembling an assault plan.

I think 'rush at them till they beg for mercy' is a good one. Any opportunity for our cavalry to seize guns or supplies will also be taken. The first order of business was to get Buell's supply wagon in position to start replenishing those who were involved yesterday. Wouldn't last long, but it'd be nice to have something to start with. Our positions at the fortifications will remain for now, while the three fresh divisions begin the forward push. Once that happens the rest will support them.

https://i.imgur.com/lB6OZ7c.png


** 6:33 AM. The fresh divisions have pushed forward into something vaguely resembling a battle line, and for the most part the rebels, largely worn out and low on supplies themselves, are not having a fun time of it against them. He has the center himself, with Stewart on his left(east) and Heintzelman taking the right(west) flank.

** 6:51 AM -- Grant's new supply wagon is empty. LOL. That didn't last long. We've got what we've got now.

https://i.imgur.com/7DeG16d.png

** 7:04 AM -- In the west, Devin's shock cavalry made an end to one large artillery unit before rebel horsemen counterattacked. At this point he sustained heavy losses, but the Confederate position on that wing was compromised. It wasn't long until the whole line was, as we steadily pushed them back to the south.

** 7:46 AM -- Our progress not only continues, but seems to be accelerating. Pond's 600+ men surrender as the rebel center collapses. We've got a long way to go though, and a little over two hours to get there ...

** 8:10 AM -- The rebels are now in full retreat, offering only momentary resistance and only that on occasion. One division on each side presses down the flank towards our objectives, and also in an effort to possibly surround more of the enemy.

https://i.imgur.com/pJmxKT3.png


** 8:53 AM -- II Corps's 2nd Division has captured the church. This is Wharton's skirmishers with Carruth coming up behind, a couple more brigades also en route.

** 9:16 AM -- Larkin Bell Field, on the east flank, is ours. Most of the army cannot even see the enemy now.

https://i.imgur.com/wPD6zrP.png


** 9:37 AM -- A sea of bluecoats in all directions. All resistance has been crushed.

** 9:45 AM -- Spain Field has been secured, our final goal for the moment at least. 15 whole minutes to spare. It is finally over.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Commanders

** Union: J. Stewart, S. Heintzelman, D. Buell
** Confederate: J. Breckenridge, A. Johnston, B. Bragg, W. Hardee

Strength

Infantry: Union 43,168; Confederate 39,014
Cavalry: Union 1131; Confederate 1890
Guns: Union 69(1716); Confederate 112(2700)

Total: Union 46,465; Confederate 43,604

Casualties

Infantry: Union 10,391; Confederate 30,347
Cavalry: Union 352; Confederate 1,000
Guns: Union 11(334); Confederate 78(1929)
Missing: Union 0; Confederate 649

Total: Union 11,077; Confederate 34,325

Historically Shiloh went badly for the Confederacy -- but not this badly. Over half of their force coming in is gone. Ouch.

Brigades

Doing this alphabetically this time, should be easier to find your men. I'm also only listing those for our 'sign-ups'. This information is recorded so I can still summarize it later by division or whatever if I want.

Preston -- 486 kills, 64 losses
Race -- 2,353 kills, 426 losses
Seymour -- 1,458 kills, 122 losses
Trimble(Scales) -- 975 kills, 2 losses
Walton -- 2,353 kills, 858 losses

Officers

We have a ridiculous amount of promotions here. It also only listed the results of Day 2. As experience for officers is based on battlefield time, pretty much everyone who was brigade-level before got a promotion. Multiple promotions in some cases. One of Loomis's commanders, Maj. Duane Ferrero, might now outrank him; he was boosted up all the way to Brigadier General! Among our survivors:

** Maj. Walter Seymour was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.
** Lt. Col. Gregory Race was promoted to Colonel, and is now eligible for division command.

Scales was wounded coming in, and the other two(Walton and Preston) were both KIA in the early hours of the first day. The only ones who were, by the way. Stop wearing the order of the purple target, people.

Weapons

** Re-bored Farmer -- 146 rescued, 3509 captured
** Sharps Model 1855 -- 256 rescued
** Colt M1855 -- 136 captured
** Springfield M1842 -- 3384 rescued
** 6pdr Field -- 5 rescued, 17 captured
** Smith -- 31 rescued
** Lorenz -- 328 rescued
** Springfield M1855 -- 634 rescued
** Farmer -- 378 rescued, 4164 captured
** Palmetto M1842 -- 126 rescued
** Cook & Brother -- 15 rescued, 135 captured
** 12pdr Howitzer -- 3 captured

And so our first multi-day battle is in the books.

[Brian Swartz]

Rewards

** Career Points -- +2
** Reputation -- +10
** Cash -- $289k
** Recruits -- 14.7k

The captured prisoners were exhanged for an extra 1000 recruits. Additionally, the army is granted a third Corps and the services of Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant(**).

We have finished a second mini-campaign. Next up is the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. This time there are three minor battles leading up to our next grand battle at Gaines Mill. This takes us through the April-June '62 timeframe.

https://i.imgur.com/S2C1mP3.png


https://i.imgur.com/AC7qeiZ.png


Our max. here will be a dozen brigades, which is the size of full Corps at our current abilities. Note that while we have no advantadges in these earlier battles, winning one will make the others easier. Therefore this first one is probably the most important. The victory at Shiloh will have it's affect at Gaines' Mill, but that is some ways off.

Intelligence Report

Army: 59-64k
Training: 29-34%
Armory: 15-20%

Despite the rate at which we have slaughtered them, the rebel army continues to grow. It seems there's no end to those willing to throw themselves against us.

There will be much to do in camp this time; many brigades have been promoted and will have perks to choose. But first, the necessary:

Career Points Briefing

* Politics(2) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 5% to +7.5% or 10%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5% or 5%.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4% or 6%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5% or 20%.

** Army Organization(4) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 2000/Brigade. One point would give us a 5th Brigade in each Division; the second would allow for a 4th Division in each Corps. Now is when we have the most time to do such expansions, if we choose. The short-term view would hold that 12 brigades per Corps is enough for all of the coming minor skirmishes(none of them allow more than that, and some less).

** Logistics(1) -- Increase starting ammunition from +5% to +10% or 15% for all brigades. This is not to be confused with the supply on the wagons, which I will endeavor to be less incompetent in predicting the need for. Biggest reason for that screwup is that I was judging it on a per-brigade basis; we enlarged our brigades and I failed to account for that.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. We could boost up to that level if we invested both pointjs.

All Commanders are now on the clock. It would also be good to know if tarcone and collegesportsfanmas would like new commands. If so, you may retain your previous unit preferences or go with something new. There will be plenty of opportunities at the moment, so if you do want to rejoin(or others want to sign up), now is a great time.

[Coffee Warlord]

I'd say with a couple smaller skirmishes coming, it'd be a good thing to jack up politics, and stock up on cash & men for the next big battle.

[DavidCorperial]

I'd say double politics as well.

[ntndeacon]

I'm for double Reconnaissance. (I could compromise and do one of politics and one of reconnaissance instead, but I'd much h prefer to know more.)

[Coffee Warlord]

Recon. Feh! Money buys more troops which can be used for Recon!

[Brian Swartz]

Amusing, but FYI it actually doesn't -- they'll tell you what's in a specific location, but no amount of skirmishers/cav can tell you what the Recon ability does. Just sayin'.

[ntndeacon]

RECON BABEEEEEE!

[Brian Swartz]

A few more hours to go, our casualties haven't reported in yet, and the way the vote is at the moment it would be 1 Politics and I'd have to break the tie between that and Recon for the second point.

[tarcone]

Who am I now?

[Brian Swartz]

Nobody. You died at Shiloh and I didn't hear anything about what you want to do next. You can still vote, esp. if you want to rejoin -- in that case I need to know what kind of unit you prefer(another infantry brigade or something else).

[collegesportsfanms]

Rewards

** Career Points -- +2
** Reputation -- +10
** Cash -- $289k
** Recruits -- 14.7k

The captured prisoners were exhanged for an extra 1000 recruits. Additionally, the army is granted a third Corps and the services of Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant(**).

We have finished a second mini-campaign. Next up is the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. This time there are three minor battles leading up to our next grand battle at Gaines Mill. This takes us through the April-June '62 timeframe.

https://i.imgur.com/S2C1mP3.png


https://i.imgur.com/AC7qeiZ.png


Our max. here will be a dozen brigades, which is the size of full Corps at our current abilities. Note that while we have no advantadges in these earlier battles, winning one will make the others easier. Therefore this first one is probably the most important. The victory at Shiloh will have it's affect at Gaines' Mill, but that is some ways off.

Intelligence Report

Army: 59-64k
Training: 29-34%
Armory: 15-20%

Despite the rate at which we have slaughtered them, the rebel army continues to grow. It seems there's no end to those willing to throw themselves against us.

There will be much to do in camp this time; many brigades have been promoted and will have perks to choose. But first, the necessary:

Career Points Briefing

* Politics(2) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 5% to +7.5% or 10%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5% or 5%.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4% or 6%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5% or 20%.

** Army Organization(4) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 2 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 2000/Brigade. One point would give us a 5th Brigade in each Division; the second would allow for a 4th Division in each Corps. Now is when we have the most time to do such expansions, if we choose. The short-term view would hold that 12 brigades per Corps is enough for all of the coming minor skirmishes(none of them allow more than that, and some less).

** Logistics(1) -- Increase starting ammunition from +5% to +10% or 15% for all brigades. This is not to be confused with the supply on the wagons, which I will endeavor to be less incompetent in predicting the need for. Biggest reason for that screwup is that I was judging it on a per-brigade basis; we enlarged our brigades and I failed to account for that.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. We could boost up to that level if we invested both pointjs.

All Commanders are now on the clock. It would also be good to know if tarcone and collegesportsfanmas would like new commands. If so, you may retain your previous unit preferences or go with something new. There will be plenty of opportunities at the moment, so if you do want to rejoin(or others want to sign up), now is a great time.

I will be glad to take a new command.

[collegesportsfanms]

Also, I vote to double up politics. Not that I'm familiar with this game at all (obviously), but Recon feels like too much of a crapshoot. If we can get more gold and more men, that's a good start.

[Brian Swartz]

Double politics it is. Further updates will come throughout the day today.

[Brian Swartz]

Weapons Reference in the OP updated. New weapons now available:

** Henry Repeating Rifle -- Expensive and for now extremely rare, not enough of them to be put to any practical use.
** Many of the more speciality weapons have increased numbers somewhat, but not enough to really be useful.
** Farmers/Re-bored Farmers -- We captured enough at Shiloh that we should be able to outfit multiple infantry brigades with them should expenses dictate that. Obviously that is not a preferred solution, but it may be necessary at least on a temporary basis as several new infantry units will be required.

All in all, not a lot of changes and I would speculate it will remain that way for a bit given the short and relatively compressed time-period of our current campaign.

I also did one real obvious thing, putting Ulysses Grant in charge of III Corps. He's our highest-ranking general right now, even above Stewart(Major General, ** instead of Brigadier General, *). That means two perks for him. The RNG falls on Trainer(+10% XP) and Cavalry Specialization(+5 Melee, +5 Firearms, +10% Charge Bonus). At the MG level they are all unit type specializations, other two being Artillery and Infantry of course. So that's some new info. Naturally, we'll be looking at adding horsemen to as many of his divisions as possible.

I also replaced the commanders where needed. Lt. Col. Wade Scales is healthy again and has his artillery unit back. Two II Corps commanders, Col. Kirk(infantry) and Cpt. Root(artillery) are back with their previous units. The only other officer with experience in this war, Lt. Col. Tom Trimble, moves from Scales' artillery, also in I Corps Wagner(1st) Division, to the elite(by our standards) infantry unit that Kelly Walton led until his unfortunate demise in the early hours on April 6 at Shiloh. Keeps him in the same division, and an experienced man heading such a unit made sense to me.

Officer Synopsis

This seemed useful to me given that we've got more of them in the Barracks now, we're going to need more, etc.

Generals -- Required rank for Corps Command. We need three, and have five. Stewart, Heintzelman, and Grant in charge of the Corps, while Hugh Lawton got the remarkable 3-rank promotion after his men lost half their strength but took over 1400 rebels with them at Shiloh. I'm still very surprised that he got so much more than others did, but he was involved heavily both days. Either way, we don't have a Corps command for him but he'll definitely be getting the first division of III Corps. I can't actually give him a perk until he gets his own Corps, which he would seem to be in line for eventually. Duane Ferrero of Loomis's Division got similar treatment and will get another division. We're quite oversupplied here.

Colonels -- Required for Division Command. With Lawton and Ferrero each taking one division, we need seven of these to fill out all Corps with division commanders, but won't have enough officers to do that. We have 12, a full dozen, so we're doing just fine and half of them will remain at brigade level. With no open division commands available, they'll just have to wait their turn.

Others -- We need another 20 total officers to fill out three Corps completely. We have 18 available. Some are unquestionably going to get injured in the process. This means that III Corps is not going to be able to be filled up. We'll have one full division there and one partial, leaving a few Colonels in the Barracks still without jobs as backup options in case somebody gets wounded or killed.

Given the situation, that we don't have enough officers to fill out the Army right now, never mind any expansions, it's safe to say that we have sufficient Organization for what we can do during this campaign.

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis continues to be a slight bias towards Vets. Sheer Manpower, Weapons, or a Balanced approach are the other options.

2. Reputation Investment -- We are 49 which confers a +3 bonus to Morale for all units. "Your fame is growing and the soliders under you have increased morale. The Government is very supportive to your efforts". How wonderful.

** $100k cash(18 Rep.)
** 5k recruits(18 Rep.)
** 2k Springfield M1855(10 Rep.)
** 1.75k Harpers Ferry M1855(7 Rep.)
** 6 20pdr Parrot(6 Rep.)
** BG John Sedgwick(4 Rep.)
** BG Joseph Hooker(4 Rep.)

We never have a problem with having enough recruits, at least not yet, and have no need of further generals as we have two to 'spare'. However, the others are worth possibly considering.

3. Weapon Sales

The Armory reports the following availability:

** 5411 Farmer @ $4
** 4278 Re-Bored Farmer @ $5
** 3384 Springfield M1842 @ $5
** 328 Lorenz @ $11
** 634 Springfield M1855 @ $634
** 214 Hunter @ $10
** 256 Sharps Model 1855 @ $17
** 31 Smith @ $26
** 34 Sawed-Off @ $6
** 313 Cook & Brother @ $9
** 126 Palmetto M1842 @ $15
** 136 Colt M1855 @ $20
** 31 Smith @ $26
** 22 6pdr Field @ $435
** 3 12pdr Howitzer @ $695

[chesapeake]

1 for army org and 1 for politics. I think we need to gradually grow our army and blood new brigades to build up a larger number of veteran units.

I find recon to be of very modest value ahead of battles. The limited foreknowledge we would get isn't worth not having the 9,000-12,000 additional soldiers you can have from the 6 additional brigades gained from army org.

[Coffee Warlord]

We should take either the regular 1855's, the Haper's Ferry variants, or both. Free rifles are free rifles.

[chesapeake]

Dola

I meant to post in the morning but was called away. Apologies for the above belated post.

FYI-once you use all the officers in the barracks, anytime you create a new brigade, a new officer of the minimum rank necessary is created and assigned to the unit. So, you never have to worry about not having any officers as a limitation on army building. I found this out yesterday. I wish I had known sooner. It does mean that you'll have generals working in odd places, but that is not the end of the world. If you shift around your officers before using up all those in the barracks, you can at least put the generals you have to hire in charge of divisions.

This being the case, I recommend using rep points on the good rifles and giving those to the 1-star (or better) units. Then, I suggest steadily maxing our our brigade numbers with rookies and cheap rifles.

I see we have a lot of the 6pdr field cannon in the armory. Don't be afraid of using those. What they lack in ranged power they make up for when deployed close to the lines and firing canister into the enemy ranks. And if a couple get lost from time to time, they're cheaply replaceable.

[Qwikshot]

Also, I vote to double up politics. Not that I'm familiar with this game at all (obviously), but Recon feels like too much of a crapshoot. If we can get more gold and more men, that's a good start.

Politics is fine with me

[Brian Swartz]

once you use all the officers in the barracks, anytime you create a new brigade, a new officer of the minimum rank necessary is created and assigned to the unit. So, you never have to worry about not having any officers as a limitation on army building

Well ... crap. That's very good to know. I guess we'll definitely be spreading out the funding and filling all three Corps then.

I find recon to be of very modest value ahead of battles. The limited foreknowledge we would get isn't worth not having the 9,000-12,000 additional soldiers you can have from the 6 additional brigades gained from army org.

True, but the next level(and some of the higher ones) give you real-time information while the battle is going on of increasing detail. That could potentially be more useful.

[tarcone]

I want to be a cavalry commander this time.

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

The plan for this campaign is to use a different Corps for each of the minor battles. This way they all gain experience. The first is the most important; largest and it will make the others easier if we win. Therefore our best, I Corps will handle that. II Corps in the second, and the new III Corps will hopefully be reasonably outfitted in time for the third. Then we all join together for Gaines' Mill at the end. Hopefully.

Army Structure

I Corps(Stewart)
*** Wagner
----- Race(Infantry, Springfield M1855)
----- Trimble(Infantry, Springfield M1855)
----- Scales(Artillery, 10pdr Ordnance)
*** Durrell
----- Kemper(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- Duryee(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- ??(Cavalry, Smith)
----- Seymour(Artillery, 6 pdr Field)
*** Loomis
----- Moody(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- ??(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- A. Wright(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- G. Wright(Artillery, 12pdr Napoleon)
II Corps(Heintzelman)
*** McCook
----- Hagood(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- ??(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Devin(Cavalry, Palmetto M1842)
----- Root(Artillery, 6pdr Field)
*** Liddell
----- Carruth(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Tannatt(Infantry, Farmer)
----- ??(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
----- Wharton(Skirmishers, Sharps Model M1855)
*** Church
----- Kirk(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
III Corps(Grant)
*** Ferrero
*** Lawton
*** Elder

I Corps, Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade

Col. Gregory Race was promoted after his efforts in Shiloh. He currently qualifies for Division Command bu is presently around third on the waiting list, which is based on experience/seniority(70%). He'll get there, but his time has not yet come.

Men: 1207
Experience **, 16% to ***
Perks: Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed). A second one must be chosen between Assault Course(+10 Melee, Morale, and Stamina), Firearms Course(+10 Firearms, -10% Reloading time but also -10 Accuracy), or Marksman Training(+10 Firearms, +10% Reloading Time and Accuracy).

Efficiency: 54
Morale: 78
Stamina: 67
Firearms: 64
Melee: 21

Weapon: Springfield M1855

The first four ratings all rose sharply as a result of the extended action. This unit is tops in stamina and near the top in other categories among our current brigades. Veterans cost $41-$42 each; up to 52 rookies could be added while still remaining a 2-star unit. This would reduce the veteran cost to just under $37 per man, reducing ratings by 4-7 points(only 1 for melee).

Scales's Brigade

Lt. Col. Wade Scales is close to full Colonel status at 80%. He returns to action having recovered fully, or so they say.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Guns: 15
Experience: *, 83% to **
Perks: Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency)

Efficiency: 40
Morale: 77
Stamina: 56
Firearms: 61
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Big gains esp. in Morale and then Stamina. One more crew can be added, with a cost of $4223 for veterans. That should be well within budget, unless we want to work towards different weapons or something.


I Corps, Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell has made significant progress towards earning his General's star; about 60% of the way there, give or take.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

Brigade promotion perks are not as widespread here. Two of them are very, very close at better than 90% of the way there for Kemper and Seymour. As Division CO your authority on such things is not absolute; I'll add extra weight to your recommendation though and it will most likely carry the day. One such recommendation is needed for the cavalry formerly led by Preston before he fill in action. They have reached * status.

** Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency)
** Horseback Riding(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10 Mounted Speed)
** Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Foot Speed)

Also the option to change any of your weapon or recruit/vet preferences always remains.

Seymour's Brigade

Lt. Col. Walter Seymour was promoted after Shiloh like basically everyone else who lived through it. He's at 26% on the path to full Colonel.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Guns: 8
Experience: *, 96% to **
Perks: Logistics(+50% ammo, +5 efficiency)

Efficiency: 42
Morale: 83
Stamina: 54
Firearms: 71
Melee: 17

Weapon: 6pdr field

No melee gain as is common for artillery, a modest one in Stamina with major improvements in the other three. While trying to hold the outer embankments at Pittsburgh Landing, a goodly number of guns were lost. Fortunately we have plenty of replacements available at $2916 per veteran crew, rookies for the price of free. Given your lack of requisitions in past battles I'm inclined to invest more heavily here. We can go as high as 14 total guns, 6 more, while staying within the command-efficiency limit. Probably won't have the money to do more than 3-4 of them with veterans this time around, so you can either wait for the rest later or accept some skill dilution by taking a couple of rookie crews.


I Corps, Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis saw surprisingly little experience progression. It seems that once you hit the Division level it slows down considerably. About 30% of the way to getting your star.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

Colonel, you are directed that there is much to do in your division. All four brigades need promotion perk recommendations:

Moody(1426, Springfield M1842), TBD with Ferrero's promotion above you to General(1029, Springfield M1842), and A. Wright(1245, Springfield M1842) all have the standard infantry choices for making * status. You may choose the same one for all of them, or elect to split things up a bit.

Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency) or Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed).

** G. Wright(15 guns, 12pdr Napoleon) also is up to * status. Logistics(+50% ammo, +5 Efficiency), Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency), or Discipline(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency) here.

II Corps, McCook's Division(1st)

Second Brigade

Prospective Commander Unnamed, I have sent you to II Corps because I think it will be more interesting not to have all our sign-up eggs in the same basket. Naturally you will have a better name once the officers have been assigned to their units.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanms

Men: 699
Experience: *, 67% to **
Perks: None. You must choose from one of the three starting infantry ones(see Loomis briefing just above this one for what those are).

Efficiency: 29
Morale: 53
Stamina: 42
Firearms: 45
Melee: 21

Weapon: Springfield M1842

This brigade fought hard at the Crossroads(487 losses, 454 kills) despite having just Farmer's muskets. They were rewarded with Springfields and offered up a kill ratio of better than 2:1 at Shiloh, also posting rather spectacular improvements in the middle three ratings. There aren't a lot of men and they need reinforcements(almost 1200 lost already between the two battles), but they are already showing decent performance. A little over $26 per vet, or you could sacrifice some experience to cheapen it. No amount of rookies will lose your * status, but if you take a lot it will naturally make your skills take a big hit.


All Commanders, your orders are now requested. Please note the promotion perk choices as it's the first time we've done that. Cavalry commander tarcone(new name pending), you will be given such a unit in the first division of III Corps, where our top general Ulysses Grant specializes in effective units of that type. Therefore the only choice before you, should you choose to make one, is whether you prefer Shock or Carbine cavalry roles. Weapons will be of the cheaper varieties to start -- until you and your men prove yourselves, at least.

Presuming RL permits, our next battle will commence Friday evening.

[DavidCorperial]

I'm fine with the skill dilution, we are definitely a unit that wants all the guns it can use.

[collegesportsfanms]

I'll go with logistics for my perk. Thanks.

[Coffee Warlord]

Marksman Training, then mix the rookies/vets to preferably max us out.

[chesapeake]

I Corps, Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis saw surprisingly little experience progression. It seems that once you hit the Division level it slows down considerably. About 30% of the way to getting your star.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

Colonel, you are directed that there is much to do in your division. All four brigades need promotion perk recommendations:

Moody(1426, Springfield M1842), TBD with Ferrero's promotion above you to General(1029, Springfield M1842), and A. Wright(1245, Springfield M1842) all have the standard infantry choices for making * status. You may choose the same one for all of them, or elect to split things up a bit.

Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency) or Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Speed).

** G. Wright(15 guns, 12pdr Napoleon) also is up to * status. Logistics(+50% ammo, +5 Efficiency), Physical Training(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency), or Discipline(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency) here.

Discipline for the infantry units, logistics for the artillery.

I'd like my units increased back to 1,500 with veterans and I'd also like to outfit as many of these units with better weapons, if possible. If you need to scrimp a little, you can add some rookies to cut costs as long as no unit loses its star.

I recommend transferring one of the veteran infantry units to one of the new divisions in the III Corps and replacing it with a 2,000 man green brigade in my division. Those divisions will need a few brigades that can pack a better punch and give the green units more confidence, and my division can use some comparatively inexpensive shock troops.

Please bring Wright's artillery back up to 16 guns with veteran troops. Veteran artillery is the bee's knees.

[ntndeacon]

Command Briefings


*** Durrell
----- Kemper(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- Duryee(Infantry, Lorenz)
----- ??(Cavalry, Smith)
----- Seymour(Artillery, 6 pdr Field)

I Corps, Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell has made significant progress towards earning his General's star; about 60% of the way there, give or take.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

Brigade promotion perks are not as widespread here. Two of them are very, very close at better than 90% of the way there for Kemper and Seymour. As Division CO your authority on such things is not absolute; I'll add extra weight to your recommendation though and it will most likely carry the day. One such recommendation is needed for the cavalry formerly led by Preston before he fill in action. They have reached * status.

** Discipline Training(+10 Morale, +5 Efficiency)
** Horseback Riding(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10 Mounted Speed)
** Endurance Course(+10 Stamina, +5 Efficiency, +10% Foot Speed)

Also the option to change any of your weapon or recruit/vet preferences always remains.

Seymour's Brigade

Lt. Col. Walter Seymour was promoted after Shiloh like basically everyone else who lived through it. He's at 26% on the path to full Colonel.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Guns: 8
Experience: *, 96% to **
Perks: Logistics(+50% ammo, +5 efficiency)

Efficiency: 42
Morale: 83
Stamina: 54
Firearms: 71
Melee: 17

Weapon: 6pdr field

No melee gain as is common for artillery, a modest one in Stamina with major improvements in the other three. While trying to hold the outer embankments at Pittsburgh Landing, a goodly number of guns were lost. Fortunately we have plenty of replacements available at $2916 per veteran crew, rookies for the price of free. Given your lack of requisitions in past battles I'm inclined to invest more heavily here. We can go as high as 14 total guns, 6 more, while staying within the command-efficiency limit. Probably won't have the money to do more than 3-4 of them with veterans this time around, so you can either wait for the rest later or accept some skill dilution by taking a couple of rookie crews.



Let's go with the Horseback training for the Calvary
Let's lean a little more towards veterans, but we want to have as many brigades at full strength as possible!

[Qwikshot]

I'll add a vet crew for Scales

[collegesportsfanms]

Also, give my brigade a couple vet crews and a rookie crew, 699 men might not be enough.

[Brian Swartz]

That's everyone so I'll go ahead and get moving on this. Just a little terminology explanation here:

** Crew = 25 men, the number required per gun for artillery brigades to be at peak effectiveness. Does not apply to other types, since you can add individual recruits to them and each man has their own equipment.

[Brian Swartz]

It has become clear as I experiment with this camp that # of recruits is going to become an issue for the first time in this game. Therefore everyone with experienced units is getting all veterans whether you wanted them or not. This is necessary in order to ensure that there are a reasonable amount of recruits to fill out III Corps and the missing brigades in II Corps. It will limit our numbers in some places, but that's going to happen anyway and it seems best to the Army brass(aka, yours truly) to not lower the skill of those who have acquired it. The sheer numbers will then be focused on those brigades where they are most expendable, and those who are more highly capable will not become less so.

This is also going to take a while to do my best to balance everyone's requests with the needs of the Army as a whole. Might not be done until tomorrow -- it's getting quite complicated and as ever I want to get it 'right'.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Results

** Supply Matters -- Starting now I'm projecting supply needs on a per-soldier basis to avoid further shortages ... or at least ones as severe as we dealt with at Shiloh. Last time I had about one supply point per soldier. Given how woefully inadequate that was, I'll up it to three per and see how things go.

** Reputation -- There was a consensus for investing in better rifles, so I got both types. That drops us from 49 to 32 in Rep, but also gives us almost four thousand rifles that would have cost $120k in cash to purchase on our own. Given that this is almost half what we have to spend, that would obviously have been prohibitively expensive.

I Corps, Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade -- Marksman Training confirmed. Total of 1358.

Scales's Brigade -- The one veteran crew permitted is added, now at 16 guns.


I Corps, Durrell's Division

** Kemper -- 1016 men.
** Duryee -- 1167 men.
** Cavalry -- Col. Allen Birney, best available officer, took over for Preston here. That's both good and bad since he was also the most expensive. With a new commander there was no challenge to your training recommendation of Horseback Riding. 437 men.

Seymour's Brigade

Two rookie, four veteran crews to get back to 14 guns, a rare exception to the no-rookie rule. You received nearly double the standard allotment, but as mentioned you deserve it after past deferments. The captured guns from recent battles certainly helped as we didn't need to buy them at least.

I Corps, Loomis's Division

Moody and new 2nd brigade CO Col. Julian York followed your lead with Discipline training; A. Wright elected to go with the Endurance Course, claiming your hand-written orders were 'vague and misleading'. G. Wright's artillery went Logistics as requested also. As a result of this 'miscommunication', Col. Andy Wright was immediately reassigned to the III Corps where he'll have a General supervising him not just in Grant, but also Division CO BG Hugh Lawton. We'll see if he behaves himself there. The powers that be did not look favorably upon you(in other words, the RNG came up wanting), and all you were given for the new fresh infantry unit was the minimal help of Maj. Herbert Pease. There was only one lower-ranking officer in the pool. After all that, here's how things look:

** Moody -- The requisition for better rifles was approved for only one brigade(many qualifying units in II Corps also put in requests), and this is the more numerous one. There is a distinction to be proud of here; this is the first and right now only brigade to carry the Harpers' Ferry M1855 modified Springfield, which is slightly better than the standard version. As such, the men here will be the best-equipped around, even moreso than the more-skilled and experienced brigades in Wagner's Division. 296 men were also added, for a total of 1722.
** York -- More skilled that than the first brigade but lacking in numbers, they add 186 for a strength of 1215. York's men still carry the Springfield M1842.
** Pease. In the slightest of nods to the fact that you weren't exactly getting what you requested, Pease was given the Springfield M1842, better of than the Farmers variants given to most fresh infantry brigades. His command-efficiency limit dictated his numbers start at 1502 men. I discovered a bizarre trick here; if I create a brigade at 1000 and reinforce it to 1500, I get charged for the extra 500 men. No charge if you know how many you want when you create it. Shouldn't make any difference since the result is exactly the same, but for whatever reason it does.
** Wright's artillery -- you now only have one Wright, Gordon -- exceeded requests by adding two guns for a total of 17 now. I'm told he is said to have manipulated the new major into getting the last small bit of funding required transferred from the third brigade.

** Note: After the initial run-through, I realized there was enough money to buy the 1855 Springfields for one more small brigade, and York was definitely the most deserving, but we were a few thousand short of being able to buy enough for that many men(31k left, 38k price tag). So close, but no cigar. He's at the top of the list to get them in the future.

II Corps

** Col. John Hagood's men, first brigade under McCook in the first division here, are the second to recieve the requisitioned rifles; Springfield M1855s in this case. They are unquestionably the best among those with significant numbers in this Corps.

** A smaller unit in the second division also received the 1855 model Springfields; it would have been too expensive to supply another larger unit.

** Col. Darryl Egan, in the same division, is our newbie. They take the Endurance Course perk and are now up to 938 men(+239). The small size worked in their favor as there was just enough money at the end to give them an upgrade to the newer Springfields. That also occasioned a switch to the second division to keep things a little more balanced.

** Col. Norman Devin's cavalry upgrade to the Colt M1855, some of which we have captured so only a limited number needed to be purchased. His men have been judged good enough to merit the investment, which will allow a much faster firing rate.

** Tannatt's Brigade, in the 2nd Division under Liddell, has received Springfield M1842s. They've gained enough experience that it's an insult at this point to require them to use Farmer's muskets.

III Corps

Lt. Col. Bryan Baldwin has the Shock Cavalry of the 2nd Division here, under BG Duane Ferrero. Palmetto M1842s, the weapons recently liberated from Devin's command.

Summary

** In case you didn't wade through the whole rundown, collegesportsfanms is now Col. Darryl Egan(3rd brigade, 2nd division, II Corps) and tarcone is Lt. Col. Bryan Baldwin(3rd brigade, 2nd division, III Corps).

** I Corps -- 9728 soldiers. 9171 infantry, 1175 artillery(47 guns), 437 cavalry
** II Corps -- 9638 soldiers. 9256 infantry, 675 artillery(27 guns), 262 cavalry
** III Corps(NEW) -- 11,300 soldiers. 10,367 infantry, 200 artillery(8 guns), 813 cavalry.

Total: 30,666 soldiers. 28,794 infantry, 2050 artillery(82 guns), 1,512 cavalry.

III Corps is the biggest by numbers for a few reasons. More cavalry just because that's Grant's focus; that's also why, at least for now, they don't have much artillery. They actually have one fewer infantry brigade(six) than each of the other Corps do. The differnce is they are very big ones. The command-efficiency limit is more lenient there due to having Generals in command of a couple of divisions, there was no veteran penalty to worry about, and crap weapons are in pretty good supply(even mix of '42 Springfields and Farmer variants). Suffice to say that even with their numbers, I wouldn't take them in a fight against any of the other two. At least, not yet.

Whew. Used up all the barracks officers plus a pair of 'auto-generated' ones. It was a productive and fair camp but also complex and difficult to handle. I'm anxious to get back out on the battlefield now after all that figuring. We actually used up every last recruit this time, and have $1,110 left in the bank. The only weapons left in significant numbers in the Armory are the two Farmers musket types. Every single artillery and skirmisher weapon was used without exception, and almost all of the cavalry ones. We put out a 12pdr Howitzer unit, used up the Hunters we captured for a small group of skirmishers, etc. No stone was left unturned in using what we have available.

As always, feel free to ask any questions if something isn't clear.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/5NpBm1D.png


The numbers don't look good for us here. Guns are virtually even but overall we are deploying with 11k in men -- the rebels under Bragg have just over 18k. Stewart's I Corps is skilled and well-equipped, and we'll have to hope that's enough as it has been so far.

https://i.imgur.com/Amunh0p.png


https://i.imgur.com/e5TH1S3.png


Looks like a pretty good defensive position, just behind the treeline and with open fields of fire. I'm getting a bad feeling about this ..

https://i.imgur.com/ZjjmKeu.png


Fairly easy ... potential 'heavy losses'. Which is it here??

[Brian Swartz]

** April 15, 1862, 10:15 AM. We have until about half-past noon, a little over two hours, to get the job done. We approach from the west as shown in the briefing. On the south flank will be Durrell's sharpshooters, Loomis' infantry-heavy division in the center, and the north flank will have the elite Wagner division, hoping to swing around Bragg's position and flank them.

Our objective has been named Forest Hill. This will be known as the Secure River engagement.

** 10:22 AM -- The ironclads open fire on a rebel artillery unit heading out to the north, a max-sized group of two dozen guns. Weird to see artillery before anything else. Cpt. Lynch is back in charge of a new skirmisher unit under Wagner, his first action since Bull Run. He'll move in under the best cover he can find to investigate a bit.

https://i.imgur.com/SuEckAG.png


** 10:42 AM -- Almost to our initial positions and figuring out what we're going to do as the northern flanking maneuver has been cut off -- but there's no cover for them on that hill which I still like better than trying to figure out what's in those forests. One of their brigades tries to force the issue though, charging right at Moody, Loomis's first infantry brigade. Soon a second rebel unit joins in, and then a third. Meanwhile they keep us honest on the southern flank, where another large rebel infantry unit

https://i.imgur.com/r9u3Hu5.png


** 11:03 AM -- We have the better of it at first, but then Maj. Pease's greenhorns get a frontal assault by the confederates ... and soon they break. Insert joke here about how the good Major really is better served as a 'man of peace(sp)'.

https://i.imgur.com/Yvql4ZX.png


** 11:31 AM -- Bragg's men are stacking up in the field to the north ...

https://i.imgur.com/m2oKjhu.png


Allowing Durrell to get into the forest from the south. If I can get him enough support(tough with over a thousand infantry having run away already), we may just be able to pull this off. York moves up in the center to flank Pond's position(didn't he surrender in Shiloh?), while Moody ensures that he is secure in doing so. In the north, Wagner's job is to basically keep the rebels occupied and not get his men killed any more than necessary.

https://i.imgur.com/X2Bjyuj.png


** 11:43 AM -- The maneuver works nearly perfectly. With fire coming from three directions, Pond soon routs. The cavalry gets around the flank of their artillery, and they flee(Birney chasing them off the top of this shot). The lone remaining brigade had no chance at that point.

** 11:51 AM -- Rebel skirmishers force our cavalry to abandon the slaughter of their artillery, and while trying to hold a pair of their infantry units at bay, Col. Gerald Moody is wounded.

** 11:59 AM -- Moving through the forest to the north, we capture Forest Hill! The Confederates shift men that direction, and the fighting is fierce against superior numbers. Col. Race's men move up to Moody's previous position, distracting one of the brigades to relieve the pressure. It's enough to hold them.

Another victory for the Union army, and while Maj. Pease did not exactly cover himself in glory, everyone else fought well.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Strength

Infantry: 9171 Union; 15925 Confederate
Artillery: 1175(47 guns) Union; 1200(48 guns) Confederate
Cavalry: 437 Union; 792 Confederate

Total: 10,783 Union; 17,917 Confederate

Casualties

Infantry: 1406 Union; 4207 Confederate
Artillery: 14(0 guns) Union; 311(12 guns) Confederate
Cavalry: 34 Union; 15 Confederate

Total: 1454 Union; 4533 Confederate

Outnumbered badly and we still inflict better than 3:1 losses. Bragg's incompetence had a lot to do with that, but just as much was about our superior men and weapons. Impressive regardless.

Officers

** Col. Gerald Moody's wound is the only one to report. There were no promotions

Brigade Performance

** Pease recorded 39 kills and 226 losses. Shameful. I don't care if they were greenhorns. Absolutely shameful.

** Race -- 514 kills, 75 losses. That's what an elite unit should do.
** Scales -- 189 kills, 0 losses.
** Seymour -- 197 kills, 2 losses. Solid day at the office for both artillery brigades. Wright's Napoleons were killing machines(538 inflicted).
** Duryee(Durell's Division) took the most losses at 372. Moody(220) and Kemper(180) also took significant hits. Trimble(139) a moderate amount while holding down the north.

It was a rough day for the families of those in Durrell's Division, but his men took the Forest Hill and secured our path to advance. Wasn't at all the idea for the sharpshooters to do that kind of fighting, but it's what ended up happening. Supply held up very well, but it was only a two-hour fight. Real test will come when we have to slog through another whole day or more.

Weapons.

** Springfield M1842 -- 175 Rescued, 315 captured
** Harpers Ferry M1855 -- 108 rescued
** Smith -- 16 rescued
** Lorenz -- 270 rescued
** Sharps Model 1855 -- 30 rescued
** Springfield M1855 -- 105 rescued
** Re-bored Farmer -- 526 captured
** 12pdr Howitzer -- 2 captured
** 6pdr Field -- 1 captured
** Cook & Brother -- 3 captured

Rewards

https://i.imgur.com/L2IWQur.png


Pretty sharp-looking. Once again we are given no indication of why we get this.

** Career Points -- +1
** Reputation -- +4
** Funding -- $110k
** Recruits -- 5k

[Brian Swartz]

Intelligence Report

Army: 60-65k(+1k)
Training: 30-35%(+1%)
Armory: 16-21%(+1%)

The opposition continues to improve, however marginally, despite our best efforts.

https://i.imgur.com/mKXzu3J.png


Size of the enemy army is reduced 2.5% because of our success at Forest Hill. I Corps now has the next two battles off. "Assault on the rebel capital"? We are thinking rather highly of ourselves, and clearly hoping to end the war soon ...

Career Points Briefing

** Politics(4) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 10% to 12.5%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%%.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(4) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 3 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 2000/Brigade. This woudl give us a 5th Brigade in each Division.

This seems to me to be an appropriate point to decide how we want to approach the rest of this mini-campaign. If we want that extra brigade for each of our 12 divisions, we should get them now or we won't be able to have them reasonably staffed for Gaines' Mill. It's a strategic size vs. quality decision point. If we choose to invest elsewhere, we're more locked in to working on improving our numbers/weapons/experience in the existing units, as opposed to having more sheer manpower to throw at the rebels.

** Logistics(1) -- Increase starting ammunition from +5% to +10% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(2) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. The next level doesn't kick in until 4, when we'll know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against. With only one point, we can make a partial investment here if we wish.

All Commanders are now on the clock. II Corps is of particular importance for our next engagement.

[DavidCorperial]

Logistics

[ntndeacon]

I'm still on the Recon train. It's a mistake to not invest there.
If I can't convince folks to join me there. Then I'd be more willing to invest in army organization.

[Coffee Warlord]

Don't think Army Organization is worth it until we can max out what we have.

I can deal with Recon this time.

[chesapeake]

Do we have 3 divisions per corps or only 2?

One big advantage of the Union is that we have access to a lot more manpower than do the rebs. I favor a strategy that enlists every available man we have available. That said, I don't think each brigade needs to have the maximum amount of men--particularly the veteran ones. Maintaining them at 2k is awfully expensive.

If we can use the full allotment of manpower with our existing structure, I'd go with politics. If we need some new brigades to use all the manpower we can afford, I'd choose army org.

[collegesportsfanms]

I'm going to go with Recon this time

[Brian Swartz]

Do we have 3 divisions per corps or only 2?

3. Our last camp(post-Shiloh) was the first one in which we were able to use all recruits. I expect that situation to continue. Money was the limiting factor for the first two mini-campaigns; Recruits are that factor now.

[chesapeake]

My question was more to the point that in your review of Army Org, you note that we are currently limited to 2 corps, 2 divisions and 4 brigades. Isn't it 3 divisions per corp?

[Brian Swartz]

Got it. I think I've been listing that wrong for a long time. Fixed.

[Brian Swartz]

Recon it is. Weapons Reference in the OP updated. Next set of briefings coming hopefully tomorrow, assuming RL permits.

[Brian Swartz]

Weapons Distribution: Who's Using What?

We've reached the point where I think this is something useful to track and report. The idea here is to give a sense of the distribution of weaponry across the Army, so that theoretically intelligent choices can be made on where/if/when to upgrade.

In each category I'll list the weapons currently in use, and the experience of those using them(grades are green, *, **, and ***, just as a reminder -- though we don't have any of the elite *** units yet). The goal for this is for it to serve as a snapshot of the Army's current capabilities. Hopefully it can be looked at as a quick and useful source of information.

Infantry

** Farmer(2 brigades, 3540 total, all green)
** Re-bored Farmer(2 brigades, 3108 total, all green)
** Springfield M1842(8 brigades, 11549 total, 3 green and 5 * brigades)
** Lorenz(2 brigades, 1643 total, all *)
** Springfield M1855(5 brigades, 5437 total, 3 * and 2 ** brigades)
** Harpers Ferry M1855(1 brigade, 1506 total, all *)

Skirmishers

** Hunter(1 brigade, 214 total, all green)
** Sharps Model 1855(2 brigades, 487 total, 1 green and 1 * brigade)

Cavalry

** Cook & Brother(1 brigade, 313 total, all green)
** Palmetto M1842(2 brigades, 500 total, all green)
** Colt M1855(1 brigade, 262 total, all *)
** Smith(1 brigade, 404 total, all *)

Artillery

** 6pdr Field(4 brigades, 38 guns total, 2 green and 2 * brigades)
** 10pdr Ordnance(1 brigade, 16 guns total, all *)
** 12pdr Howitzer(2 brigades, 11 guns total, all green)
** 12pdr Napoleon(1 brigade, 17 guns total, all *)

[Brian Swartz]

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis -- We have a slight lean towards veterans right now. Weapons would emphasize putting more recent, effective, and expensive equipment in the hands of more brigades; Manpower would see us ensuring that all recruits get used, and that our newer, greener brigades get the priority in terms of making sure they max out their numbers.

2. Reputation Investment -- We stand currently at 36 Reputation, which is a good safe number but also does not present any morale effect.

** 6x 20pdr Parrot(6 Rep.)
** BG John Sedgwick(4 Rep.)
** BG Joseph Hooker(4 Rep.)

Once again we are oversupplied with generals(3 minimum needed, we have 5). It seems that at the Division/Corps level, wounded officers are either extremely rare or not a thing in the game; every injury has come to the Brigade CO. I looked at the help file for this; Corps commanders are essentially invulnerable but Division ones have the same mechanic as the Brigade level but an apparently lower chance; opportunity to get injured is based on how many losses have been taken in their command for a battle. So I guess we've mostly just been lucky on that front.

As far as this battle's reputation situation goes, it looks like it's either nothing or those big guns.

3. Weapon Sales

I'm not going to list them all this time; the better weapons we need for our Army. The way I see it there are three that may be worth considering.

** 3053 Farmers @ $4 ea.
** 2146 Re-Bored Farmers @ $5 ea.
** 34 Sawed-Off @ $6 ea.

All three weapons cannot be purchased, so if we run out that's it -- at least until the end of this campaign. The two Farmer's variants are supplied exclusively to new infantry brigades when we just need to give them something to get them out in the field -- a case of a bad weapon being better than no weapon and not being able to fund putting them out there. Once they reach their first unit perk promotion(* status) they get the 1842 Springfield at a minimum. It's still good to have some around, but we may not need as many as we have; selling all but several hundred of each could be an option. Of course, it's not known whether we will need more for additional Corps in the future, but so far each campaign has resulted in another Corps being added so I'd call that likely, and then we could use them if needed at that point.

The Sawed-Off is an inaccurate but high-damage carbine cavalry weapon. We could sell those and make about two hundred bucks since we're unlikely to need them anytime soon, or save them in the hopes of eventually capturing more.

[Brian Swartz]

Command Briefings

As a reminder here, the coming battle will involve II Corps. That means those of you not in II Corps can afford to take a more long-term approach, since you won't be fighting again right away.

Army Structure

I Corps
** Wagner
---- Race(Infantry, Springfield M1855)**
---- Scales(Artillery, 10pdr Ordnance)*
** Durrell
---- Kemper(Infantry, Lorenz)*
---- Duryee(Infantry, Lorenz)*
---- Birney(Carbine Cavalry, Smith)*
---- Seymour(Artillery, 6pdr Field)*
** Loomis
---- Moody(Infantry, Harpers Ferry M1855)*
---- York(Infantry, Springfield M1842)*
---- Pease(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
---- Wright(Artillery, 12pdr Napoleon)*
II Corps
** McCook
** Liddell
---- Egan(Infantry, Springfield M1855)*
** Church
III Corps
** Lawton
** Ferrero
----- Baldwin(Shock Cavalry, Palmetto M1842)
** Elder

To keep the above from getting too ungainly, I only listed stuff below the division level if the Brigade or Division CO in question is a controlled sign-up character. I.e., obviously Egan isn't the only Brigade in the 2nd Division of II Corps, but he is the only one that is relevant for the command briefings here.

Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade

Col. Gregory Race will be a General soon; he is currently 81% of the way there.

Alter Ego: Coffee Warlord

Men: 1284
Experience: **, 25% to ***
Perks: Endurance Course, Marksman Training

Efficiency: 57
Morale: 78
Stamina: 69
Firearms: 75
Melee: 24

Weapon: Springfield M1855

Stamina and Firearms saw the most improvement from the action in the last battle. Almost $44 a man for veterans, not including the weapons which will be another $31 each. Could take on as many as 264 rookies while maintaining ** status. Additional veterans would be reduced some to $36-$37 each. It's likely though that limited rookies will be available to the more experienced brigades -- maintaining their good skills and putting the most men into the newer, greener units is likely unless the Army Emphasis changes. This continues to be the best brigade from a shooting standpoint, though in other aspects the smaller brigade under Trimble is superior.

Scales's Brigade

Lt. Col. Wade Scales is 93% of the way to full Colonel, which I imagine he should accomplish after his next engagement assuming the worst doesn't happen.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Gun Crews: 16
Experience: *, 91% to **
Perks: Physical Training

Efficiency: 41
Morale: 77
Stamina: 58
Firearms: 65
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Nice Stamina boost this time, the other abilities improved only marginally. We may be able to give you one more gun crew; it would drop your efficiency by just a single point(3 points each after that). To absolutely maintain peak effectiveness though, we'd need to stand pat in terms of numbers.


Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell appears to be roughly 70% of the way to getting his general's star.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

Col. Kemper -- 840 infantry(Lorenz, *, 98%)
Col. Duryee -- 803 infantry(Lorenz, *, 82%)
Col. Birney -- 404 carbine cavalry(Smith, *, 54%)

The infantry took a beating while playing the pivotal role last time out. In both cases they inflicted almost twice the casualties received, but it's still been a struggle getting them up closer to full strength. Cost for veterans are in the upper 30s for Kemper, low 30s for Duryee. They'll probably get slightly more funding to improve things, but what they really need is a successful battle where they don't lose much and can actually function more of the time as the sharpshooters they are supposed to be.


Seymour's Brigade

Lt. Col. Walter Seymour has a ways to go at 39% to full Colonel.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Gun Crews: 14
Experience: *, 77% to **

Efficiency: 38
Morale: 69
Stamina: 47
Firearms: 62
Melee: 16

Weapon: 6pdr Field

No big jumps anywhere but efficiency saw the biggest increase. You'll get the one additional gun crew you can afford within the command-efficiency limit, unless you want to go for a different weapon.


Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis is about a third of the way through this rank, so he's got some ways yet to go.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

** Col. Moody -- 1506 Infantry(Harpers Ferry M1855, *, 18%). Moody is wounded and irreplaceable ... it appears there's no way to generate a new officer to replace the wounded when there aren't any in the barracks. This means that your best infantry brigade is going to be severely hampered(efficiency of four instead of being in the mid-upper 20s) until he's back. I'll keep this unit in a reserve role as much as possible for that reason. I'm thinking that it would probably be best to give their weapons to a more battle-ready unit, at least for now.
** Col. York -- 1085 Infantry(Springfield M1842, *, 99%). Like say, perhaps this one?
** Maj. Pease -- 1281 Infantry(Springfield M1842, green, 61%). Can't go any worse for him than it did last time, can it?
** Col. Wright -- 17 Artillery(12pdr Napoleon, *, 54%). The all-powerful command-efficiency limit sez he can have one more crew.


Egan's Brigade

Col. Darryl Egan is subordinate to Col. Liddell, II Corps 2nd Division. Egan is presently just getting started, 23% to his general's star.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanms

Men: 938
Experience: *, 58% to **
Perks: Endurance Course

Efficiency: 34
Morale: 50
Stamina: 52
Firearms: 45
Melee: 21

Weapon: Springfield M1855

A decent-enough unit that benefited from it's small size in having just enough money to get them the latest Springfields. They're solid enough skill-wise for the most part, but need more drilling(efficiency) to really be quality. Going rate for veterans is $26, with the weapon costing $31 of course so that's going to be the limiting factor here. Interesting choice(at least IMO) here. I can add more men if you want to return to the worse 1842 Springfield; otherwhise you're pretty much locked in to, for now, a relatively small but effective brigade since there's only so many of the new guns I'll be able to buy for you. Very roughly speaking, just to give you some numbers, we are probably talking about getting 70 or so new men as is, maybe 200 if you go with the reversion. Not enough of a difference to be huge, but I know you were concerned about being down on manpower last time so I thought I'd throw out the choice. Those numbers could change based on what's happening elsewhere, it's purely a guess.


Baldwin's Brigade

Lt. Col. Bryan Baldwin is 24% of the way to full Colonel. He serves in III Corps, 2nd Division, under BG Duane Ferrero.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Horsemen: 250
Experience: Green, 59% to *
Perks: None

Efficiency: 11
Morale: 9
Stamina: 10
Firearms: 16
Melee: 16

Weapon: Palmetto M1842

There's not a whole lot in choices here. Rookies/vets aren't a thing for you yet; have to get close to * status before you can bother trying to train up the recruits. You can request a different weapon, switch to Carbine Cav. if you want, but as a new, green brigade such requests may not find the most eager hearing. Otherwhise, you'll get whatever men can be given, and it will be hoped that you don't kill them all/yourself in your first engagement. After that, things can be re-assessed.

It's that time. Fire off your orders. And questions. And insults. Whatever. Friday, let's call it 6pm EST, is the deadline unless everyone speaks up before then.

[Coffee Warlord]

Stick with Vets for me. As many as you can budget.

[DavidCorperial]

I'll take one extra gun crew, your choice on vet or green.

[Qwikshot]

Standing pat is fine with me

[chesapeake]

Didn't realize that you can't replace a wounded CO with an newgen. They'll still be useful if kept in line with other brigades and not asked to move around much. Still, unfortunate.

I agree with your suggestion to swap weapons with my other veteran brigade. Growing York's unit to 1500 with veteran replacements is a priority. Pease's brigade can be increased with as many rookies as you want to assign. The artillery unit should have vets added to it to keep all the existing gun crews full. Other than that, I think 17 guns is plenty. It appears that there isn't a huge difference in effectiveness once you get past 12-14 guns.

[ntndeacon]

We need more bodies. Give as many veterans as we can get and some rookies, but we still want to get our second star this next battle

[collegesportsfanms]

Col. Egan has decided to go with what he has for now. Definitely don't want to go back to a lower rated weapon, and the men that we have seem to be getting the job done. Finding a way to get better efficiency out of them will be key though, I think.

[Brian Swartz]

we still want to get our second star this next battle

FYI that won't happen until at least Gaines' Mill, because you won't be fighting until then.

I'll take one extra gun crew, your choice on vet or green.

There'll be enough money for vets, no need to dilute the abilities of one our best artillery units.

[Brian Swartz]

Took a bit of family time tonight so I didn't get to anything with this -- hopefully I'll get camp done and start on the next battle tomorrow.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Results

No additional supply was needed, and no officers were available, so everything went straight to the brigades. No changes, rep investment, etc. were requested.

Wagner's Division

Race -- +81, now at 1363
Scales -- No change

Durrell's Division

Kemper -- 140 rookies(down to 80% xp), then switched to veterans, 105 of them. 1085 men now.
Duryee -- 12 rookies(same level, wasn't quite as experienced). Also 105 veterans. Up to 920 men.
Birney -- +46 vets, now at 450 cavalry
Seymour -- +1 veteran crew, up to 15 now

Loomis's Division


Moody -- Given replacement Springfield 42s and other than that they did nothing, money transferred to York's brigade.
York -- With the extra funding and new guns, added 202 men for a total of 1287.
Pease -- Added 303 men, now at 1584.
Wright -- Needed about a dozen men, holding at 17 guns.

II Corps

Egan -- +75 veterans for a total of 1013 men.

III Corps

Baldwin -- +103 cavalry, 353 total.

Outlook

We end up with almost 3k left(bit of a down-payment on future weapon upgrades, can't do anything significant with that amount) and almost 2k recruits. Looks like we're back to money running out first; I'm starting to think that's going to be a continual see-saw between the two key resources.

Why? Well, as more brigades get improved weapons, the costs go up a lot. Also, the green units are pretty much all maxed out now. So basically we spent over 100k to put just over three thousand men in -- but they are relatively well-trained and equipped men in most cases. In that vein for example, we have enough Re-Bored Farmers that only one unit still carries the standard, and slightly worse, standard Farmer musket.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/uIHTppv.png


The numbers say we have the upper hand here, but we won't be able to use the entire Corps so I don't know if I trust that.

https://i.imgur.com/THmtu2o.png


https://i.imgur.com/xlAgkAw.png


Even 'only' six thousand against one division(3000 or so) is ... not good.

https://i.imgur.com/1NY1QLz.png


https://i.imgur.com/g7mdNuo.png


Seems a reasonable plan.

"We cannot afford extensive losses before our attack on the Rebel capital, so you must be cautious. Good luck, General".

I think they are building mighty castles in the sky on the basis of a rather spurious plan.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/LTGl0Fb.png


** May 27, 1862, 6:03 AM. Small battlefield here; we have until just after 8:30 to capture the meetin point, which is close by(the grey banner). Elements of the 2nd and 3rd Divisions are here; three infantry brigades, supply wagon, artillery and cavalry. Egan is not among them. Two brigades(Carruth and Tannatt) have the older '42 Springfield, while Hagood has the more modern ones. He'll be kept in reserve at the start.

** 6:15 AM -- Moving in, Devin's cavalry spot the 28th North Carolina, 800+ infantry*, moving in on our destination. They're going to beat us there. Five minutes later, Captain Root's artillery opens up on them as we move in. No point in being subtle here.

** 6:25 AM -- They run, having sustained 150 casulaties to less than 20 for us.

** 6:30 -- We capture the destination, and spot another small NC brigade across the brook.

https://i.imgur.com/FReIyDP.png


** 6:38 -- Looks like that was a mere diversion. They have two brigades formed up in the woods to the northwest, and appear to be preparing to attack on multiple fronts. Hagood is tasked with making sure the eastern road across the stream stays in our hands, while everyone else will face this new threat.

** 6:43 -- Two more small units further west, says Devin. We are now half-surrounded, and could well have unwitting walked into a trap here ...

Tannatt and Carruth both detach skirmishers -- I'd rather keep Hagood's men intact. One will cover the stream crossing, the other will head west to harrass and slow down the latest couple of brigades spotted out that way.

https://i.imgur.com/waDPBev.png


** 6:46 -- Skirmishers appear behind us(southeast) and take out a few men from our artillery. Devin will head that way immediately to show them the price of such things, but we are now literally being attack on all sides. He takes heavy losses and doesn't do much to them, as a second skirmisher brigade appears. Hagood will have to head all that way, but meanwhile they are pressing us hard from the trees to the north. It's not looking too good.

** 7:11 AM -- We have the balance of 2nd Division now incoming; Appler, Rains, and Egan approach from the east, along with Stuart's 16 6-pounders. They are badly needed. Hagood has routed one skirmisher unit and is charging into the second one, Tannatt's skirmishers are managing to bother one approaching brigade from the west, but we are still threatened with being overrun by the rebels in the northern woods.

https://i.imgur.com/HxdXd10.png


Maj. Dean Appler will take his men into the woods here and handle the skirmishers, allowing Hagood to pull out and the rest to proceed across the stream to relieve the remainder of our men.

https://i.imgur.com/e73vib8.png


** 7:32 AM -- The brunt of the rebels have moved off the west some, pursuing another avenue of approach I think. Tannatt here has lost over 300 men, inflicting just slightly more than that as their position has been forced three times, but without success. This shift is giving us the time we need to bring up our new brigades, and I think we'll be able to do much better now.

https://i.imgur.com/Ibcj4B5.png


** 8:05 AM -- The rebel skirmishers cross the stream again, but soon find themselves sandwiched between three different brigades. To the north, Rains falls in between Tannatt and Carruth, while Egan protects the western flank and both artillery units focus their fire out that way. Our defensive position is now much more secure.

By 8:30, it is clear they will no longer be able to threaten us seriously. We have secured our forward vector, and won yet another battle.

[Brian Swartz]

Battle Statistics

Commanding Generals: Samuel Heintzelman(Union), Lawrence Branch(Confederate)

Strength

Infantry: 8521 Union, 6427 Confederate
Cavalry: 310 Union, 0 Confederate
Artillery: 650(26 guns) Union, 0 Confederate
Total: 9,481 Union, 6,427 Confederate

For once we outnumbered them, though that was not the case until the last hour when the reinforcements showed up.

Casualties

Infantry: 843 Union, 2701 Confederate
Cavalry: 112 Union, 0 Confederate
Artillery: 10(0 guns) Union, 0 Confederate
Total: 955 Union, 2701 Confederate

Good numbers here overall, almost 3:1. Tannatt accounted for over half our losses, and Devin's "elite"(meaning, the best in the Army, but only *) cavalry did not do as well as hoped against the skirmishers. Everyone else pretty much cleaned up though.

Brigades

Since it's a smaller engagement, I'll list em all here.

** Appler -- 278 kills, 95 losses
** Carruth -- 346 kills, 28 losses(on the northern front with Tannatt, but he was rarely targeted for whatever reason)
** Devin -- 61 kills, 112 losses(not good, to put it mildly)
** Egan -- 206 kills, 18 losses(good work in a short period of time on the field)
** Hagood -- 256 kills, 98 losses. Never stayed in one place for long, and despite the short fight was exhausted by the end of it. Protected our rear against the skirmishers very effectively.
** Rains -- 324 kills, 32 losses. When he joined the main line against the north, this battle was effectively ended.
** Root -- 318 kills, 10 losses
** Stuart -- 25 kills, 0 losses
** Tannatt -- 876 kills, 570 losses. Definitely the heroes of the day here, taking about 40% casualties but the good Colonel was not hit. Without them, this is not a success.


Officers

** Lt. Col. Stephen Carruth is promoted to full Colonel.
** Col. George Tannatt is promoted to Brigadier General(*). Can't argue after the way his men stood their ground in minimal cover(a wheat field) against repeated rebel assaults.

Weapons

** Re-Bored Farmer -- 46 rescued, 357 captured
** Springfield M1855 -- 74 rescued
** Springfield M1842 -- 294 rescued, 121 captured
** M1841 Mississippi -- 4 captured. This is a new weapon we haven't seen before. Short version is that in terms of accuracy and price they occupy a middle-ground between the two Springfields; better than the '42, not as good as the '55. The price reflects that. Obviously we'll need a lot more before we can consider using them.
** Hunter -- 0 rescued, 128 captured. III Corps has a skirmisher unit with fairly low numbers using these. They'll be up next, and will be glad of the chance to bolster their numbers as we'd used up all the previously-captured ones.
** Colt M1855 -- 55 rescued. About half of the ones Devin lost.

Reward

** Career Points -- +1
** Reputation -- +4
** Funding -- $110k
** Recruits -- 5k

https://i.imgur.com/InXJDJf.png


Here's our next fight, which will involve III Corps just four days after Rendezvous, and the latest Intel Report. Nothing much has changed there. Due to our last two victories, we'll face a 5% smaller army than normal.

[Brian Swartz]

Time to get set for our last minor battle in this campaign.

Career Points Briefing

** Politics(4) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 10% to 12.5%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%%.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(4) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 3 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 2000/Brigade. This woudl give us a 5th Brigade in each Division.

** Logistics(1) -- Increase starting ammunition from +5% to +10% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(3) -- Currently we know the starting enemy army size going into battle. Having invested a point last time, another one will allow us to know how many men the enemy is fielding in real-time during battle, and what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing off against.

Get your votes in or hold your peace, as it suits you.

[DavidCorperial]

Recon

[ntndeacon]

Recon

[chesapeake]

May as well finish out recon.

[Coffee Warlord]

Recon.

[collegesportsfanms]

Recon

[Brian Swartz]

Recon has it, unanimously. Weapons Reference updated with no major changes. It is worth noting though that we are starting to run out of some of the cheaper/smaller artillery piece types. Depending on what becomes available for the next campaign, it could become necessary to upgrade just to keep everyone firing. We're ok for now though.

[Brian Swartz]

Weapons Distribution

Infantry

** Farmer(1 brigade, 2000 total, all green)
** Re-bored Farmer(3 brigades, 4555 total, all green)
** Springfield M1842(8 brigades, 12529 total, 5 * and 3 green)
** Lorenz(2 brigades, 2005 total, 2 *)
** Springfield M1855(5 brigades, 5677 total, 2 ** and 3 *)
** Harpers Ferry M1855(1 brigade, 1287 total, *)

Skirmishers

** Hunter(1 brigade, 214 total, all green)
** Sharps Model 1855(2 brigades, 621 total, 1 * and 1 green)

Cavalry

** Cook & Brother(1 brigade, 316 total, all green)
** Palmetto M1842(2 brigades, 706 total, all green)
** Colt M1855(1 brigade, 200 total, all *)
** Smith(1 brigade, 450 total, all *)

Artillery

** 6pdr Field(4 brigades, 49 total, 2 * and 2 green)
** 10pdr Ordnance(1 brigade, 16 total, 1*)
** 12pdr Howitzer(2 brigades, 17 total, all green)
** 12pdr Napoleon(1 brigade, 17 total, *)

[Brian Swartz]

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis. Continued slight lean towards veterans is being maintained until there is a contradicting proposal.

2. Reputation Investment

We are at 40 right now, enough to give a +1 morale boost to all units.

** $100k cash(18 Rep.)
** 5k recruits(18 Rep.)
** 6x 20pdr Parrot(6 Rep.)

The two generals are still around but we have plenty of those.

3. Weapon Sales

We're up to almost 4600 Farmers($4 each). Nothing else really worth considering right now.

[Brian Swartz]

Strange week. The most blame for the delay here goes to the new FM beta.

Command Briefings

A lot of this is copy-pasted since it hasn't changed a whole lot; I only changed what is different. Once again rookies are most likely to be funnelled into the green brigades, though we will have some available for the more experienced units if desired now.

Army Structure

I Corps
** Wagner
---- Race(Infantry, Springfield M1855)**
---- Scales(Artillery, 10pdr Ordnance)*
** Durrell
---- Kemper(Infantry, Lorenz)*
---- Duryee(Infantry, Lorenz)*
---- Birney(Carbine Cavalry, Smith)*
---- Seymour(Artillery, 6pdr Field)*
** Loomis
---- Moody(Infantry, Springfield M1842)*
---- York(Infantry, Harpers Ferry M1855)*
---- Pease(Infantry, Springfield M1842)
---- Wright(Artillery, 12pdr Napoleon)*
II Corps
** McCook
** Liddell
---- Egan(Infantry, Springfield M1855)*
** Church
III Corps
** Lawton
** Ferrero
----- Baldwin(Shock Cavalry, Palmetto M1842)
** Elder

Wagner's Division

Race's Brigade

Col. Gregory Race will be a General soon; he is currently 81% of the way there.

Alter Ego: Coffee Warlord

Men: 1363
Experience: **, 25% to ***
Perks: Endurance Course, Marksman Training

Efficiency: 57
Morale: 78
Stamina: 69
Firearms: 75
Melee: 24

Weapon: Springfield M1855

Almost $44 a man for veterans, not including the weapons which will be another $31 each. Could take on as many as 281 rookies while maintaining ** status. Additional veterans would be reduced some to $36-$37 each.

Scales's Brigade

Lt. Col. Wade Scales is 93% of the way to full Colonel, which I imagine he should accomplish after his next engagement assuming the worst doesn't happen.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Gun Crews: 16
Experience: *, 91% to **
Perks: Physical Training

Efficiency: 41
Morale: 77
Stamina: 58
Firearms: 65
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Orders were to stand pat last time, so I assume unless stated otherwhise that will remain the case.


Durrell's Division

Col. Rafael Durrell appears to be roughly 70% of the way to getting his general's star.

Alter Ego: ntndeacon

Col. Kemper -- 1085 infantry(Lorenz, *, 80%)
Col. Duryee -- 803 infantry(Lorenz, *, 80%)
Col. Birney -- 450 carbine cavalry(Smith, *, 54%)

Last time the instructions were take on some rookies but you want the ** available after the next battle. That probably means all vets here, but it's up to you -- I can take some newbies to increase numbers(and drive that experience number down a little more) if you wish.


Seymour's Brigade

Lt. Col. Walter Seymour has a ways to go at 39% to full Colonel.

Alter Ego: DavidCorperial

Gun Crews: 15
Experience: *, 77% to **

Efficiency: 38
Morale: 69
Stamina: 47
Firearms: 62
Melee: 16

Weapon: 6pdr Field

Maxed out last time; new weapons are always an option to at least request, otherwhise there's nothing to do here.


Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis is about a third of the way through this rank, so he's got some ways yet to go.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

** Col. Moody -- 1506 Infantry(Springfield M1842, *, 18%). Still stuck without a leader for a couple more battles.
** Col. York -- 1287 Infantry(Harpers Ferry M1855, *, 99%). Continuing to get the lion's share of the funding; goal was 1500 men last time out, we may be able to get close here.
** Maj. Pease -- 1584 Infantry(Springfield M1842, green, 61%). Command-efficiency limit reached.
** Col. Wright -- 17 Artillery(12pdr Napoleon, *, 54%). Able to take on one more gun, but that was declined last time.


Egan's Brigade

Col. Darryl Egan is subordinate to Col. Liddell, II Corps 2nd Division. He's up a bit to 32% now on his progress after our last engagement, in which he played a reinforcement role.

Alter Ego: collegesportsfanms

Men: 995
Experience: *, 65% to **(+7%)
Perks: Endurance Course

Efficiency: 36(+2)
Morale: 54(+4)
Stamina: 55(+3)
Firearms: 46(+1)
Melee: 21

Weapon: Springfield M1855

Modest improvements as you can see. Previous orders were to maintain the current weapon and work on increasing numbers. Cost per veteran is $28 + $31 for the weapon, so split about 50-50. Quite a few rookies could be taken as well but default here is all vets with a quality rifle on offer.


Baldwin's Brigade

Lt. Col. Bryan Baldwin is 24% of the way to full Colonel. He serves in III Corps, 2nd Division, under BG Duane Ferrero.

Alter Ego: tarcone

Horsemen: 353
Experience: Green, 59% to *
Perks: None

Efficiency: 11
Morale: 9
Stamina: 10
Firearms: 16
Melee: 16

Weapon: Palmetto M1842

No veteran option given the inexperienced status. Assuming no weapon change requests, we'll just add as many as we can afford.


Ok Commanders, hold forth with your instructions. We'll aim for the end of Tuesday here -- probably will get this battle going on Wednesday.

[DavidCorperial]

No changes for now, maybe an upgrade in the future.

[ntndeacon]

Definitely all veterans. And I would certainly send up the chain of command any recommendations on artillery the good Ltd. Col. Wishes.

[chesapeake]

Loomis's Division

Col. Adam Loomis is about a third of the way through this rank, so he's got some ways yet to go.

Alter Ego: chesapeake

** Col. Moody -- 1506 Infantry(Springfield M1842, *, 18%). Still stuck without a leader for a couple more battles.
** Col. York -- 1287 Infantry(Harpers Ferry M1855, *, 99%). Continuing to get the lion's share of the funding; goal was 1500 men last time out, we may be able to get close here.
** Maj. Pease -- 1584 Infantry(Springfield M1842, green, 61%). Command-efficiency limit reached.
** Col. Wright -- 17 Artillery(12pdr Napoleon, *, 54%). Able to take on one more gun, but that was declined last time.


Give Wright the 18th gun. Veteran crew, please. Try to fill up York's brigade as well.

Shame about Moody's unit. Any way to give Pease command and have the green brigade play backup?

[Coffee Warlord]

Same deal. As many veterans as you can budget.

[collegesportsfanms]

Default option is fine with me. All vets, quality rifle

[Brian Swartz]

Any way to give Pease command and have the green brigade play backup?

Unfortunately not. The only way to change what brigade a commander is in is to replace them first -- and there's nobody to replace him with so he's stuck.

[chesapeake]

Unfortunately not. The only way to change what brigade a commander is in is to replace them first -- and there's nobody to replace him with so he's stuck.

I thought that was the case, but I was hoping that you had found a workaround I wasn't aware of.

[Brian Swartz]

Camp Results

Camp Results

No changes to army-level stuff and obviously no officers to move around means no expenses there. III Corps, due to it's size, did need some more supply. I hit the maximum limit on this interestingly enough(35k).

Race's Brigade added 47 men(1410 total)

Durrell's Division

** Kemper adds 63, for 1148 total.
** Duryee adds 63 as well, 983.
** Birney adds 47, 482 for his cavalry.

Loomis's Division

** Moody does nothing, on account on being leaderless.
** York adds 355, now at 1642.
** Pease was already maxed also
** Wright gets the 18th crew.

Egan's Brigade is up 58(1053 men)

Baldwin's Brigade is up 83(435 cavalry)

It's becoming obvious that we're going to develop an excess of recruits here, but we'll be able to use them next time we expand the army I'm sure. The only real question then is how to spend the cash. Most of it goes to veteran/weapons for increasing our numbers, but I did also spend a sizable portion(22k) to give one of our infantry brigades in the III Corps Springfield M1842s. This was the last unit that had the baseline Farmer, and we don't have enough of the slightly better Re-Bored ones to go around. Also benefitting was York's brigade under Loomis, the only one currently using the Harpers Ferry M1855. Seemed better to heavily invest in a unit when we had their weapons available in the Armory and didn't need to buy more, reducing costs. The only thing in the Armory left that is useful(and that only marginally) are the Hunters, 81 of them. The lone skirmisher brigade that we have using them has hit the command-efficiency limit. I also put a bit of extra emphasis into getting more artillery into the III Corps, as they are up next and that's the weak point.

Overall we drained the treasury($83 left) and have still 4,814 recruits.

[Qwikshot]

Scales's Brigade

Lt. Col. Wade Scales is 93% of the way to full Colonel, which I imagine he should accomplish after his next engagement assuming the worst doesn't happen.

Alter Ego: Qwikshot

Gun Crews: 16
Experience: *, 91% to **
Perks: Physical Training

Efficiency: 41
Morale: 77
Stamina: 58
Firearms: 65
Melee: 14

Weapon: 10pdr Ordnance

Orders were to stand pat last time, so I assume unless stated otherwhise that will remain the case.

You read my mind

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/cE07E4v.png


https://i.imgur.com/R4x16Y0.png


Guess we'll have to forego afternoon tea then .

https://i.imgur.com/1hyuRZn.png


Optimism doesn't seem to be in much supply ...

https://i.imgur.com/zTJsAIZ.png


Ok then. MG Ulysses Grant takes his first battle with us here. Let's hope he knows what he's doing ...

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/5ZsrH2X.png

** May 31, 1862, 9:03 AM. The six brigades we are allotted don't happen to include Bryan Baldwin's cavalry, though the horsemen from the 1st Division are here. If you can make out Canfield's infantry brigade, it's notable for being our only max-size one(2k men) and also for being the unit that we bought the big shipment of baseline Springfields for. Of the four infantry brigades, three have those and one the re-bored Farmers. This is a new, green Corps remember. 10 of the 12-pound howitzers isn't bad for the artillery, and the horsemen are of the carbine variety; the Cook & Brother specifically, all of which were captured in previous engagements. So it's sort of a hodgepodge.

We do have a high amount of men here for a division and a half. Those numbers will have to count for something given the lack of quality weaponry and experience. That objective banner thingy in the trees right where all the roads converge is our target. The game simply says 'Capture Center'. Timeframe is two hours. Well lets get cracking, first by reinforcing Berry & Birney(dunno what relation they are to the Birney who commands cavalry in the I Corps under Durrell), nearby to our west.

Also, our newfound recon skills tells us we have the numbers advantage; 14.8k men and 25 guns against 12.3k men and 11 guns. So that's good news.

** 9:07 AM -- The previous shot shows a confederate advance on the north, and it takes a whopping four minutes for an engagement to occur in the south. A melee soon ensues which we get the better of, but they have more men in position and one of our defending units routs as well.

** 9:16 AM -- We've formed up Grant's men with two brigades on both sides of the center, such as it is, and a general advance is ordered.

** 9:24 AM -- The north flank is collapsing, and the south isn't doing a whole lot better. Some troops will be diverted to try to prevent a complete disaster.

** 9:28 AM -- We capture the center, but what had been the north and south flanks half an hour ago have both been decimated, esp. the artillery who were flanked by thousands of infantry. That went very poorly for the boys in blue.

https://i.imgur.com/qBDWxwg.png


Canfield and Ledlie, shown here, are now giving the rebels something else to worry about however.

9:51 AM -- We've definitely turned things around, but BG Hiram Berry is wounded.

https://i.imgur.com/1XZ4Dpw.png


** 10:01 AM -- Ledlie's men have routed because apparently they are cowards, while the rebels are shifting to the north and we attempt to wheel starting from the bottom of our line to follow them.

** 10:20 AM -- Wright, one of the III Corps brigades, and Robinson, from the force that was already here, have found and decimated most of the confederate artillery.

It's all cleanup at that point, as we gradually push the rebel scum off to the north. Our position here is secured.


Battle Statistics

Strength

Infantry: 13,896 Union; 12,212 Confederate
Cavalry: 316 Union; 0 Confederate
Artillery: 591(25 guns) Union; 264(11 guns) Confederate
Total: 14,803 Union; 12,476 Confederate

Casualties

Infantry: 2,898 Union; 4,437 Confederate
Cavalry: None
Artillery: 97(4 guns) Union; 184(7 guns) Confederate
Total: 2,995 Union; 4,621 Confederate

After the first 15-20 minutes, once we got into position, Grant was able to unify and strengthen our defense. The rebels never really had a chance in the grand scheme of things after that. He arrived just in time.

Our infantry units took significant losses. Ledlie in particularly(285 kills, 440 casulaties) didn't have a good day, with Canfield and MacIntosh also sustained over 300. In the end though, it must still be acounted a success.

There were no promotions: Berry, not part of our command, was the only wounded officer.

Weapons

** Re-Bored Farmer(164 rescued)
** Springfield M1842(440 rescued)
** Springfield M1855(816 rescued, 849 captured) -- Not real happy to see them fielding these in significant numbers.
** Sharps(38 captured)
** 10pdr Parrot(2 rescued)
** 12pdr Napoleon(2 captured) -- This will make Col. Loomis happy I presume.

[Brian Swartz]

https://i.imgur.com/TGaqkJS.png


Not much change here in the enemy situation. The rebels continue to slowly grow their numbers but we're keeping their capabilities fairly stagnant.

Career Points Briefing

** Politics(4) -- Increase gold and recruits from + 10% to 12.5%.

** Economy(0) -- Increase weapon discount from 0 to 2.5%%.

** Medicine(1) -- Increase casualty recovery rate from 2 to 4%.

** Training(6) -- Increase the discount on veteran recruits from 15% to 17.5%.

** Army Organization(4) -- Increase the maximum size of the army. We currently have a max of 2 Corps, 3 Divisions, 4 Brigades, and 2000/Brigade. This would give us a 5th Brigade in each Division.

** Logistics(1) -- Increase starting ammunition from +5% to +10% for all brigades.

** Reconnaissance(4) -- Currently we know the enemy army size going in real-time, and while I haven't used it much yet, what Corps/Division/Brigade we are facing. The next level will give us more detail on the individual units they are fielding, described the game only as 'partial info', whatever that means.

Let's hear the votes on how to use our latest career point, and then we'll be on to preparations for our third Grand Battle.

[DavidCorperial]

Medicine

[ntndeacon]

Medicine

[Coffee Warlord]

I'm voting Logistics. More ammo during battles.

[Qwikshot]

I'm voting Logistics. More ammo during battles.

Me too for Logistics

[Brian Swartz]

Welp, some bad news here. The computer I use for this is having something break. I think its the power supply in which case I could be up and running again in two weeks. Could be the motherboard also, which would mean it'd be longer. Go ahead and vote here, but we won't be able to proceed for a while.

[Brian Swartz]

And you can ignore that post now. Ended up being incredibly stupid -- basically had a bad connection inside my tower. Everything appears to be still working, so as long as that holds, pull steam ahead and all that.

[collegesportsfanms]

I'm going with medicine this time. Having our troops recovering back to full strength quicker seems pretty darn important to me right now

[Brian Swartz]

Close vote between two reasonable options, but Medicine it is.

[Brian Swartz]

Weapons Reference updated in the first post.

Army-Level Choices

1. Emphasis. Still leaning slightly to veterans here.

2. Reputation Investment. We sit at 44, enough to give a +2 morale boost across the board.

** $100k cash(18 Rep.)
** 5k recruits(18 Rep.)
** 6x 20pdr Parrot(6 Rep.)
** BG John Sedgwick(4 Rep.)
** BG Joseph Hooker(4 Rep.)

We have plenty of recruits right now and still don't need any more generals. It goes back to cash, big artillery, or nothing here.

3. Weapon Sales

6593 Farmer's Muskets @ $4 each are there, and we've almost totally phased them out ... for now. If we add another Corps after the coming battle we may well want to use some of them. Everything else that we have a significant amount of is useful to some brigade.

[Coffee Warlord]

Going to forgo my chunk of the budget this time. Spend some money, boys.

[Brian Swartz]

Weapons Distribution

Quick side note here; we are now using about 60% of the stockpile of '42 Springfields, which once seemed a massive, inexhaustible amount.

Infantry

** Farmer
** Re-bored Farmer(3 brigades, 4449 total, 3 green)
** Springfield M1842(9 brigades, 14241 total, 5 * and 4 green)
** Lorenz(2 brigades, 2131 total, 2 *)
** Springfield M1855(5 brigades, 5969 total, 2 ** and 3 *)
** Harpers Ferry M1855(1 brigade, 1642 total, 1 *)

Skirmishers

** Hunter(1 brigade, 261 total, 1 green)
** Sharps Model 1855(2 brigades, 673 total, 1 * and 1 green)

Cavalry

** Cook & Brother(1 brigade, 316 total, 1 green)
** Palmetto M1842(2 brigades, 860 total, 2 green)
** Colt M1855(1 brigade, 260 total, 1 *)
** Smith(1 brigade, 482 total, 1 *)

Artillery

** 6pdr Field(4 brigades, 56 total, 2 * and 2 green)
** 10pdr Ordnance(1 brigade, 16 total, 1 *)
** 12pdr Howitzer(2 brigades, 20 total, 2 green)
** 12pdr Napoleon(1 brigade, 18 total, 1 *)