LAVA

You should be fine. Looking forward to Stones River.

Have you gotten medicine to 10?

I decided to re-fight Antietam because I believed I could win by attacking... So... played it 3 times. First overly aggressive, second defensive and now this one. I am an aggressive player by nature and I believe that a more controlled aggressive style was what was necessary to really nail this one on the head.

Got it! Well done!

Great battle! Almost 4 to 1 K/D ratio.

Both links are broken for me, so I am unable to see the screenshot.

The intelligence report warns of 20,000 more men coming in by rail. So, yea, could be 95,000 strong. They are vulnerable in the North, but you must not over extend. When I started seeing 3 start Union regiments attacking me from the bridge, I knew I was going to take a hit. It is an excellent and challenging battle actually. Looking forward to seeing you clobber them.

I'm sure you will do well. How many troops does the intelligence report say you are against?

Thanks mate, for the pat on the back. Actually, I do replay battles, not many, but I will replay a battle. I played Antietam twice, in fact. The first time I took my forces and attacked in the North and completely wiped out the Union forces there. But I over committed and I lost everything to the south and had to recapture both objectives. I lost something like 30,000 men and at least a dozen of my brigades were totally destroyed. When I thought it over I felt I had been too aggressive given the amount of Federals on the battlefield, so I replayed it with a much more conservative and defensive posture. So here it is, Antietam:

So here are my campaign stats up to and including Antietam: CSA Campaign Losses Battle CSA Losses USA Losses USA Missing+ Potomac Fort 2,466/05 5,337/11 846 Newport News 1,652/02 4,925/00 0 1st Bull Run* 7,500/12 23,909/42 2,957 Ambush Convoy 283/00 1,870/00 308 Stay Alert 4,085/00 14,769/27 1,419 Shiloh* 9,471/05 28,449/62 0 1st Winchester 3,759/01 12,151/24 553 Cross Keys 3,690/01 15,149/00 0 Port Republic 2,769/00 11,451/50 1,069 Gaines Mill* 5,626/02 13,063/64 237 Malvern Hill* 12,467/10 32,040/104 1,190 Cedar Mountain 6,849/03 22,716/48 120 Manassas Depot 5,118/00 7,824/02 327 2nd Bull Run* 10,337/01 43,360/102 1,482 Chantilly 5,938/05 18,166/14 111 Weapons Factory 2,010/00 8,526/55 0 Antietam* 20,888/24 47,820/62 120 Totals 104,908/71 311,524/375 10,739 K/D Ratio: 2.97 # = men/guns + = included in loss numbers * = Grand Battle Antietam knocked my K/D ratio down from 3.13 to 2.97. Dammit!

Some nice battles there. Loved the army wipe at Chantilly. Well played.

The Yanks lost 48,000 and I lost 21,000. I also lost 10 officers. My army started at 46,960 men with 111 guns and ended up (due to the medicine thing) with 31,068 men with 91 guns. I have 9,600 recruits. I'll do the video soon... but these long battles are exhausting, so I might take a bit of a rest. P.S.: The Yanks had 75,975 men and 190 guns to my 42,761 men and 111 guns.

So I played Antietam and though I won, I had horrendous losses. Going to have to think about this one for a bit...

Hoping to play it tonight, but a personal matter got in the way. Tomorrow!

Great use of cover! Well fought. Had no idea I didn't need to respect the timer on that one.

Nice result! I'll take that any day.

I'm really stoked for the Battle of Antietam. By winning this battle I can significantly change the course of history. I've had some folks warn me about how many troops the Yanks will have. Looking at the Intelligence report it states 66,000. Having said that there have been times in my campaigns where the intelligence report was wildly wrong. Also most Grand Battles have a "minimum" AI force and I have not a clue as to what that is at Antietam. A captured message warned of 25,000 men en-route to the area by rail, but that was never reflected in the intelligence report number. So I will not be surprised if I am outnumbered by 2 to 1, putting the Army of Potomac at 91,000 men. Given that the 3 -5% to army size perks are applied, that would drop their force by 14,000 leaving them at 77,000 men. Overall then I think I can safely say there will be somewhere between 66 to 91,000 men present for the battle, with a more likely range of 77 to 91,000. My army stands at 45,000 men. We have faced 2 to 1 odds before such as at the Battle of 2nd Bull Run. They are veterans and they are well armed. We have taken up defensive positions behind Antietam Creek and expect McClellan to attack us this morning...

I surround the Yankee army during the Weapons Factory battle, but they slip through my fingers... On a brighter side... my intelligence service is estimating 66,000 Yankees at Antietam and my army now stands at 45,000.

Something to think about between battles: USAWC = United States Army War College

At Chantilly I fail to push hard enough on the enemy and whip them out before the time runs out. Nevertheless, I inflict 18,166 men and 14 guns in losses to my 5,938 men and 5 cannon.

Thanks for the info! So... it really is... All In.

Haven't touched them yet. But going forward, I will only reinforce what I need to play the minor battles in hopes of capturing more weapons, prisoners and supplies. I will also be increasing economy so that by Antietam economy will have gone up another 3 points. So my economic discount on weapons should go from 7.5% to 15%. THEN, when I have the greatest discount on weapons, I will re-equip my entire army and enlarge it as well as I will need 3 Corps for Antietam. We'll see what happens. BTW: By the time I get to Antietam my reputation will be 48. If I lose the battle it is -48 to your reputation. That would bring my reputation to 0. Would that end the war for me?

I was just probing at first with my skirmishers in the central area of the battlefield because I saw all those supply wagons. BTW, I captured 11 in total in the battle. But very quickly it became apparent that the 2 Union forces were split. Napoleon loved those circumstances and would send a small force to pin down one side and the rest of his army to destroy the other. Once one of the forces were destroyed he would then attack the other with the full strength of his army. On the last day, after having destroyed the Union right flank I could have continued the fight, but I figured my men had done enough and we would all camp on the battlefield for the night and rest.

I needed to play this small battle several times but finally managed a win. I believe how you handle your artillery is key to the battle. Manassas Depot: Twice I pierce the Union center and annihilate their right flank at 2nd Bull Run. The Yankees receiving a stunning 43,360 casualties and the loss of 102 guns. My army losses 10,337 men and 1 gun. It is a true slaughter and probably my greatest Grand Battle playing Legendary, both from the Northern and Southern perspective. We are now prepared to march on Antietam. 2nd Bull Run:

This should be posted elsewhere for the Developers to see. The guy is just playing the game and doing well too.