Andre Bolkonsky

Welcome, nice to see you over here, BZM.

I appreciate your kind words, Sully. It is always nice to know someone is actually listening to the voices inside my head besides me.

Actually, what was discussed a while back was @Col_Kelly filming a battle with a few of us doing one liners in the background. That could be fun.

Yeah, funny how a teenage daughter and roughly 50" of rain during a five day hurricane flooding out a good chunk of the fourth largest city in America gets in the way of what's important. However, I was sitting in traffic thinking of the next installmet. It is back on the table.

No, no. At one star, the cost in veterans is very palatable going from around 1,000 to 2,500; assuming you have rifles already in stock. A 2,500 man three star brigade; yeah, those puppies are expensive. Break glass only in the event of war.

Pro tip: Spencers are great on the flank or in line with your other brigades, but always make sure you shade your best units. The AI will target the closest brigade. If you're doing micro, move up a lesser brigade just a smidge to absorb damage, pulling it back before it breaks if you can and nudging another 1 star into the spotlight. The Rifles and Assault units in the back do their thing, pouring volleys into the Rebs weak spot where you're also focusing available artillery, and more often than not by the time you're pulling your unit back the enemy is wavering and about to break.

I have mentioned this before, but perhaps its a good time to reiterate. I have only two veteran builds for infantry: The first units are Rifle brigades, and Rifle is always in their name. Astor Rifles, Scots Rifles, etc. They level up using Discipline / Marksmanship / Sharpshooter. They are designed to stand in line and exchange volleys. And that is all about discipline. You stack the discipline bonuses from a commander, stockpiling Prestige points, and Discipline and you have units that rarely waver and break. Rifles almost always deploy skirmishers who get into mischief of their own. These units are the pride of their corps with the finest arms available. The second units upgraded are Assault brigades, they are normally named after a state's mascot: Wolverines, Badgers, Buckeyes, etc. They level up using Endurance / Firearms / Elite. Like Soldier said, they move fast and are designed to get in your face and stay there; and if you waver they're going to charge. They get the best weapons available after the rifles have dinner. Unless I know they are the trump card for assaulting a fortified place, then they get the best melee weapon available. Green brigades are leveled up depending on their initial role in the division. Corps are based on their battlefield assignment. We use the Bill Belichek gameplan offense. I know the battles pretty well, and keep notes on how to stack my divisions based on each battle. The core of the army is infantry, but there is plenty of artillery, cavalry and a few long range sniper units mixed in. And always one cavalry corps commanded by a 3-star cavalry commander in the late game, but even that usually has brigades of infantry and artillery attached to it. A base infantry division when 24-brigade corps become available is composed of one 2-star rifle brigade, one 2-star assault brigade, one or two 0/1 star brigades and some combination of artillery / skirmishers / cavalry depending on their battlefield assignment. My Old Guard is my Scottish Division composed of: the Blackwatch, a 3-star assault brigade; 3-star Scots Rifles, 3-star 'Lord Spencer's Own' (Guess what arm they carry?); Highlanders, 2,500 man 2-star assault; Mons Meg, a 12-gun 24 PDR howitzer; and the Scots Greys dragoons, carrying Spencer Carbines. 'She's a tiger, a fast ship sailing in harm's way'. BTW, all my units get names, and the running narrative in my head as I play would be fun to put on film.

The Union solution. Sure, that volley is a bit ragged; but 2,500 veteran Federal troops in line with M1855 Harper's Ferry rifles is a force to be reckoned with. Quantity has a quality all its own. However, as you yourself have pointed out in the past, the one advantage to small infantry brigades is they level up their XP faster. Small green brigades, but once they pick up that star push 'em up to 2,500 (weapons and ORG permitting).

I cede the point.

Spencer's are worth their weight in gold. Buy 'em all.

Very nice thread, William.

M1855 and Enfield are the best bang for your buck as Union. This does not stop me from buying as many high end accurate rifles as I can get my hands on. Lorenz is only preferable when you are building an assault brigade. Personally, I focus on the 'wall of fire' to shred and soften the enemy until they begin to break, and will only use the bayonet when a sure victory is at hand. The caveat is when you have a fortified position you know you have to assault and then a two star Lorenz brigade is just peachy. But before they fix bayonets and charge, a line of 2-star line infantry with quality rifled muskets have softened them up 9 times out of 10.

If you liked the clip, watch the movie; one of the best examples of how the Navy actually works mixed in with a fair to middling story of personal lives in a war zone. BTW, John Wayne is in tons of movies dressed in Civil War uniforms. Always Union. Usually cavalry. His usual names are frequently Kirby, Yorke, and Donovan. Or, his masterpiece, Doniphon in 'The man who shot Liberty Valance' - the greatest Western, and the best example of US self-opinion after WWII, ever made. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Just watch it, you'll thank me later. Just remember: "Link Appleyard done run ya out of town'. Of course, John Wayne also played Longinus, the Centurion at Crucifiction in 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'; truly, this was the worst casting ever.

Welcome! McClellan loved his army so much he never wanted to see it hurt. RE Lee had nothing but respect for him. I would like to share a clip from a movie, "In Harm's Way" in which the greatest compare & contrast of McClellan and Grant is made. BTW, the entire movie is awesome!

Welcome to the forums, we're glad you enjoy the game. My quibble with your post is you want to START playing on Major General level, then complain the enemy is too strong. You seem like a rational sort of fellow. I've played this game as much as anyone. I've seen this game when it was truly unbeatable. Right now it is fair and balanced. The only difference between Colonel, Brigadier and Major General is the bonus to enemy forces deployed on the field. I mean zero disrespect when I suggest you suck up your pride, learn to beat the AI on an easier level, then revisit these battles you find unwinnable. I rather suspect your outcome will be different when you try it this way rather than your way. Good luck.

One small addition . . . I don't know you, so forgive me for suggesting this if you are a student of history, or at least of historical wargames, and all this is second hat to you. A working knowledge Linear Tactics is essential to this game; just like and understanding of Armored Breakthrough Tactics is essential to understanding warfare during WWII. An understanding of how Line Infantry works in conjunction with cavalry, skirmishers and artillery to create Combined Arms Effects on the battlefield is necessary. You need to know the basic capabilities of each type of weapon to use them most effectively. Now, one of the great things about this game is it will teach you what all that means, or you can learn it on your own; but you're going to have to understand why these units move so slowly and how to use your cunning to overcome numbers. But that's half the fun of the game, right there. There is a learning curve, there are tricks. And there are lots of people on this forum who are happy to help. Just ask. I wish you luck.

You are correct. A brigades efficiency can be throttled by an inexperienced commander. This is directly related to the size of the unit. Just make sure you don't assign more men to a brigade than its commander can handle.

Elite units need elite names. It adds to the fun of it, and allows a narrative to be constructed out of the game. Unless you're @A. P. Hilland believe you shouldn't get to know your men by name before you send them off to die.

Efficiency has multiple roles. A weapon has an efficiency rating that is applied to its combat values and has a direct correlation on the combat ability of a brigade to reload/fight/aim etc. according to the specific weapon. It goes without saying, there is a massive difference between a Revolutionary era Pennsylvania Jaeger Long Rifle and a fresh-from-the-factory Spencer Rifle. Both rifles will kill, just ask Alvin York, but the Spencer is a bit higher up the food chain. A brigade has an efficiency rating based upon its size. The command chain of Corps/Division/Brigade must provide enough command points for its officer to properly command the unit or the brigade suffers a penalty based on the size of the efficiency loss. Keep a good stock of quality officers, try to keep your best officers in the highest point in the chain of command as possible. Give a corps a 3-star, a division a 2-star, and a brigade a 1-star commander and you have no problems running full divisions of 2,500 man brigades. Give a captain a 2,500 man brigade with a colonel division commander and we invite you to post all of your frustrations on Steam, we don't need them around here.

I think he is referring to the Virginia Penninsula and McClellan's Penninsula Campaign. Not the British Peninsular War waged by Arthur Wellsley and Richard Sharpe. However, I will say this game SCREAMS for Napoleon to show up sooner or later. But, Sterner is a hell of a lot closer to Borodino than the Lines of Torres Vedras, after all.

I have long been impressed with the amount of time, devotion, and study that went into making this game. But, at the end of the day, this is a game. There is always a divide between historical reality and game play, and if the game doesn't win the argument; who cares how historical it is.

Welcome to Arkansas.

With all due respect, the South does not want, nor need, such a champion. Please do not lump him in with us. The SS was not a military unit of the Confederate States, and we'd like to keep it that way.

I have been reading Wargamer for decades. They are almost always right. And reading this review, it is pretty damn accurate. Flags! Yes, please. The AI guesses my intention 9/10 times? Sounds about right. Maps are drop dead gorgeous? Yes they are. Quibble: Rodman Columbiads? No, not in this game. Columbiads are coast guns / naval rifles and not found in the Shop. But that is not the first time a 3" 'Griffin' Ordnance Rifle from the Phoenix Iron Works has mistakenly been called a Rodman Gun.

Tabletop miniatures is wargaming at its finest. Unlike computers, it requires a human being to interface with, enjoy a cocktail, and roll some dice. Plus, a full blown Linear Battlefield in minatures is just plain gorgeous when done correctly. I was part of a group many years ago, I have very fond memories.