Albert Sidney Johnston

.... whoa. Thank you so much, Andre! This will really help me get on my feet!

Thanks so much, guys! Well, I suppose I'm off to accept commission of Union forces at the Battle of Philippi. I'll drive those rebels clear back to Richmond!

I finished my latest campaign the other day on Major General difficulty. I have a tough decision now. I haven't played Legendary since before the fixed army feature. I haven't played as a bluejacket since, like, Chancellorsville came out. So should I start a legendary CSA campaign? Or should I turn in my grey coat for a blue one, and try to crush the Rebellion? What are the main differences between the Union campaign and the CSA campaign? Is it more fun, less fun? Which do you guys prefer?

560,000 new troops, 20,000 Fayettevilles, and 26 three star brigades later...

What's the maximum surrender you guys have ever gotten? One time at Gettysburg, I was pushing my way up Big Round Top from the south. I captured both Round Tops and the peach orchard, but I never dislodged the Union brigade at Devil's Den. They were completely surrounded. I rushed my 3rd Texas Brigade down from Big Round Top, and when they turned to fire, I nailed them from behind with Jeb Stuart's cavalry. They surrendered on the spot. Over 1,200 bluecoats, still in good condition, with their leader alive. I have no idea what caused it.

*Disguises laugh with a loud cough*

As far as I know, captured supplies are turned into money on a 1:1 basis.

I'm SO sorry to necropost. You guys don't mind, right? Please don't kill me. Please don't... c'mon, guys, don't point those 25pdr Howitzers at me...heh... But seriously, I hate posting on this so late, but I heard this fantastic song the other day, and I really wanted to share it with people that would actually appreciate it. I ran across it by accident the other day, and it instantly became one of my favorites. It's simply beautiful in every way.

Alright, alright, fair enough. Sorry I went a little overboard there. But yeah, pretty good advice for the Union campaign. Maybe I'll be a bluecoat on my next go 'round...

My scoring system: -Had the decency to say "congrats if you read to the bottom". Probably the most polite thing he said the whole time. +1 point -Threw in some colorful language including the S-word. Clearly swearing helped solidify his position somehow, because that's obviously how swearing works, especially when trying to arrive to a logical conclusion based on intellectual reasoning. +1 point -Says, and I quote, "everyone involved in the Confederacy" wanted to preserve slavery. That's a very audacious generalization. However ridiculous, I think he deserves some credit for the sheer absurdity of his hasty generalization fallacy. +1 point -Had an original insult (perverted): +1 point Sorry, Hill, he got four points fair and square ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hold on a second, that's actually a really sweet idea! Maybe there could be a system like Rome II: Total War, where if you disband a brigade, you can form a new brigade "in the same tradition as the old", with all the same history as the old brigade. That would be great for players who like to regularly disband/reform their brigades to get better rookies.

Time for ASJ's review reviews! The part of the show where ASJ does a review of a gaming review! Me reading this: >Oh, cool, someone beat it on Major General, I should congratulate them! >Good advice, I should think about starting a new campaign, I haven't played as a bluecoat in a while... >Wow, he's got some good stats! >Good army composition >Looks like we're at the end... >Oh wait! He added a note! It's probably some special advice >Uh, or political views, I guess that's okay. I'm sure he'll be respectful >*Wondering what the heck this has to do with winning on Major General difficulty* >Or you can, uh, not be respectful about it I guess, I mean, that's cool too... >blahblahblah, he says the war is about slavery, insults everyone that disagrees with him and calls them ignorant. >Whoa! Never seen this before! Oh wait a sec, I've seen this in the comments on every single thing having to do with the Confederacy. >Seriously, do these people just copy/paste this exact same speech and spread it over everything Southern on the internet? I'm beginning to get the feeling... >You know what, I think I'm going to rethink my entire worldview based on what some dude said at the end of a gaming review on Ultimate General. Oh wait, that's right, I'm not. >*Continued contemplation on what this actually has to do with winning on MG* >"Perverted"? Well I have to admit, that's a new one on me. Chalk one up for originality. >Oh! We're at the end. That was.... interesting... OVERALL SCORE: The portion of the review where he actually talked about the game: 10/10 The portion where he shoved unrelated and unoriginal political views into it for pretty much no reason at all: Eh... 4/10.

That's okay. I was halfway through my first legendary campaign before I realized it even existed

Perhaps I'm odd, but I kind of like the later battles. I like examining enemy fortifications, and finding weak points to attack, and trying to strategically breach their fortresses. Hall's Ferry Road is one of my favorite battles in the whole game! Again, it's just my opinion.

Cavalry reporting for duty, sir. We're ready to preserve the Union at all costs, though we fight against our brothers to do so. We will crush this rebellion with pistol and saber.

Holy cow! That's incredible!! Only 18,000 casualties?? Oh my gosh! Any other advice??

I think my veteran CSA soldiers will be hard-pressed to fight against a brilliant general like yourself. Best of luck at Shiloh, my friend.

Amazing! While it's rather terrifying that the Federals have such excellent tech analysts, I no less commend you on your work.

This is truly the most amazing game I have ever played. As incredible as this final version is, I'm rather sad to see development coming to an end. It's been a long, exciting journey, and I am loath to finish it. But all good things must come to an end. And hopefully the next game won't be too long in coming

At one point I had two AP Hills, but I can't remember how I got the first one. He's either available to be purchased in two separate campaign phases, or he's a reward and purchasable with reputation.

Awesome! Thank you so much, sir, for everything you've done to bring us this fantastic game. It is truly incredible.

I know, right? There's such a huge gap between BG difficulty, and MG difficulty. And to top it all off the tutorial missions are legitimately really tough. It's the perfect storm for failing the initial mission, and I think even the most veteran strategists have faced defeat. The ironic part is, at least for the CSA campaign, 1st Manassas is actually EASIER then the tutorial! Anyways, I have very limited experience with the Union tutorial, but I always immediately rush the Rebels guarding the bridge, without "softening them up". I always try to sweep the city as quickly as possible, regardless of casualties. Because generally, just biting the bullet and charging immediatly will leave you with less losses then slow, careful strategy to "try and minimize casualties", especially when trying to clear a city like Philippi Then again, maybe I'm wrong, but that's what's always worked for me.

I generally have three corps. Two "defending" corps, and one "flanking" corps. The "defending" corps are very heavy on the infantry, with two or three divisions of fully loaded brigades (almost always green rookies), and a few skirmishers thrown in here or there. MAYBE I'll throw in a few dragoons, but very rarely. They also have at least one full division of artillery, generally howitzers. My artillery divisions always have one brigade of infantry, designated as "guards". They serve as my rearguard and prevent any enemy attack on my flanks. Their main task is to protect the artillery if the division is randomly thrown into some far-away part of the map, as the game is so fond of doing. My third corps, the "flanking" corps, conducts all my offensive maneuvers. This includes a division or two of cavalry. Each cavalry division has one or two brigades of infantry, three brigades of mounted infantry, and one brigade of melee cavalry. Cavalry takes a lot of micromanaging, but it is magical. The main point of my "flanking" corps, is that there is NEVER any artillery in it. This is more important then it sounds. Nobody wants to go dragging around a bunch of artillery when they're trying to conduct a lightning-fast assault on the enemy rear. All my very best veteran brigades are in this corps, ready to make that devastating attack to the enemy flank. Anyways, that's how I handle things... it's interesting to hear other opinions...

Agreed! I have the same problem! I like 2000 man brigades, but I'm more or less forced to switch to 2500s. Most games, I'll even hesitate maxing out my army organization, simply because I don't want to deal with brigade sizes.

Good words, sir, a very interesting take. However I think the interesting thing about Johnston, was that he was both a hero and a planner. He had the courage of John Bell Hood, but tempered by the tactical mind of "Stonewall" Jackson. In other words, he was reckless with his own life, but never with the lives of his men, like Hood was. I consider Johnston and PGT Beauregard to be the sort of Lee/Jackson duo of the West. Beauregard was like Lee, a master strategist with big maneuvers and fancy battle-plans. Johnston was like Stonewall Jackson, a sharp tactical mind with the ability to actually execute those plans, and a heroic lead-from-the-front attitude that would inspire the men. I think, had Johnston survived, he and Beauregard would have been held with Robert E Lee, as one of the greatest generals and Southern war-heroes of all time.