Defensive Tactics Advice

[Mr. Mercanto]

It may just be because I'm pretty inexperienced in RTS games, but I just can't seem to defend to my satisfaction. I can do so against the less aggressive AI but the more aggressive AI just masses their troops and walks over me. Sometimes its as if I just don't have enough soldiers to cover all of my weak points. 

I was wondering if anyone could give me some defensive pointers? Its pretty clear that most of the Early Access players are more experienced tacticians then I am so any and all advice would be appreciated .

[Davidon]

I might be able to give you some pointers.  I have been winning all my defensive battles as the Union, but I'm not doing anything that I didn't learn in a Total War game.

 

So here's what's important.  

 

• You want the high ground when you are defending.  
• You want to make sure that your artillery are in a useful spot and doing damage.  
• Since it's a VP game, you know that the attacker will try to hit you near the VP areas; often, he attacks right at them.  So you want your best quality troops near those spots.  
• If you are playing as the Union, your morale needs constant watching.  You need to keep your generals near the troops at the front line of the main attack.  Your generals are skittish and will move if they think they are threatened, so keep an eye on them.  They are pretty important to the morale.
• Since it's a map based game, choose areas where you can use an edge of the map as a natural flank protector.  (You may object to using this tactic, it's possible to win without it so don't worry.)
• Keep a back line at critical areas (you will know where these are by the number of troops you are facing off against) so that when your front line troops tire or break, there is someone to replace them immediately.
• Allow broken troops time to rest and then when you bring them back, make them back line first.
• It's best to keep reserves for emergencies but I don't think these need to be high quality troops.  I've used them mostly to delay an attack that would give a decisive advantage while I get my better troops into a good position.
• If you are playing as the Union, do not charge with your rifles if you can avoid it.  Your troops are not good at it.  But they will have an advantage if the fire fight lasts, because they use better quality weapons.  So it's in your interest to prolong the engagement rather than try to end things quickly with a charge.
• The exception to this is in attacking artillery.  Use cavalry if you have them.  I've found it hard to actually get a charge out of cavalry on artillery, but they do overrun the cannon positions and that works.  Light troops can charge but you have to sneak them up using something to distract the artillery because a good barrage will break your men.  But it is important to even the odds in artillery or even get an advantage if you want to have a decisive victory or better.  I've had an epic and a heroic I think it was called and I'm betting it was taking out the artillery that made it happen.

Now other than this, I can say that I've found you don't have to micromanage your lines.  You'll see them shifting around, but if they aren't breaking and leaving a gap, you don't need to fuss with them most of the time.  Let them alone so that they continue firing.

 

These strategies seem to me to be the main part of holding on during the early stage of the game and providing yourself with an advantage as the Confederates tire.  If you can hold the line on Seminary Ridge, say, until your reinforcements arrive, you will be able to bring some to the flanks and begin to roll up the Confederates lines.  This is a tried and true Medieval Total War strategy and it works in this game as well.

 

With this basic strategy, I've won with all the AI's I've tried, but I've yet to use the top left AI.. I forget what it's called suddenly, but that's the most "attacky" AI.  I'm about to try it and see if this strategy will work as well against it.  

 

But I have to admit, when I tried using the Rebs, my efforts were much less fruitful.. I'm not a very good attacker.

[R.E.B.Blunt]

Defense is far easier to master than attacking. The key to defense is setting up a proper battle line and moving units from parts of your battle line that are not being attacked to parts that are.

 

A good ideal battle line will have your Brigades 3 Brigades deep as long as you can stretch it in the part that the enemy will mass troops, Staggered and with Artillery placed up close, far behind and on your flanks (side of your battle line). Artillery on the flanks can decimate an enemy Brigade before it ever gets close to your battle line. It is worth it to send a Brigade or Skirmisher to the far flank on a hill and have him guard as many guns as you can place up on that hill that faces your flank and let the guns just annihilate the enemy as they press the attack.

 

The key to defense is the Fallback. What you should do is where the enemy is massing troops you need to bring up Brigades from parts that are not being threatened. Do not place them all in a straight line this is a recipe for disaster. Instead stagger them like I said before. When the enemy attacks the first line wait till the enemy makes contact with your Brigade and they start Hand to Hand. Then have the first line fall back behind the next line. This will allow constant fire from the Brigade behind your front line to keep fire up while your men fall back. This will drain the enemy of Organization and Morale. They will then keep pushing and attack the second line of Brigades. When they begin to Hand to Hand again you fall back behind your next line of Brigades. If you have 3 or 4 lines of Brigades staggered so that they are not side by side but offset a few feet so one brigade further down the line can hit the flank or turn their line as they press the attack. This will drain them faster if you can shoot up their flanks. Also Artillery, Protect them at all cost. Do not put all your guns on the front line. One or two batteries on the front line is all you need for canister shot. If the enemy begins to march around your flank you need to fall back as fast as possible and maneuver your Brigades so you can intercept them.

 

If you follow this strategy do not worry if you lose a VP the enemy will be so tired it will be impossible for them to hold it and when you notice them waiver press the counter attack and do not let up till they are on the run.

 

If you play a strictly defensive game with this strategy on hardest difficulty you will win.

[Mr. Mercanto]

Defense is far easier to master than attacking. The key to defense is setting up a proper battle line and moving units from parts of your battle line that are not being attacked to parts that are.

 

A good ideal battle line will have your Brigades 3 Brigades deep as long as you can stretch it in the part that the enemy will mass troops, Staggered and with Artillery placed up close, far behind and on your flanks (side of your battle line). Artillery on the flanks can decimate an enemy Brigade before it ever gets close to your battle line. It is worth it to send a Brigade or Skirmisher to the far flank on a hill and have him guard as many guns as you can place up on that hill that faces your flank and let the guns just annihilate the enemy as they press the attack.

 

The key to defense is the Fallback. What you should do is where the enemy is massing troops you need to bring up Brigades from parts that are not being threatened. Do not place them all in a straight line this is a recipe for disaster. Instead stagger them like I said before. When the enemy attacks the first line wait till the enemy makes contact with your Brigade and they start Hand to Hand. Then have the first line fall back behind the next line. This will allow constant fire from the Brigade behind your front line to keep fire up while your men fall back. This will drain the enemy of Organization and Morale. They will then keep pushing and attack the second line of Brigades. When they begin to Hand to Hand again you fall back behind your next line of Brigades. If you have 3 or 4 lines of Brigades staggered so that they are not side by side but offset a few feet so one brigade further down the line can hit the flank or turn their line as they press the attack. This will drain them faster if you can shoot up their flanks. Also Artillery, Protect them at all cost. Do not put all your guns on the front line. One or two batteries on the front line is all you need for canister shot. If the enemy begins to march around your flank you need to fall back as fast as possible and maneuver your Brigades so you can intercept them.

 

If you follow this strategy do not worry if you lose a VP the enemy will be so tired it will be impossible for them to hold it and when you notice them waiver press the counter attack and do not let up till they are on the run.

 

If you play a strictly defensive game with this strategy on hardest difficulty you will win.

Thanks you! Laid out like that I can definitely see how that would work. I still have some questions though. How do I stop my line from being flanked though? Would I just rely upon interior lines to move brigades if the enemy shifts his attack and rely upon skirmishers and flanking artillery to hold the enemy back until my line infantry arrives? Or do I draw my lines at angles and give up the majority of ground until the enemy is to tired to defend it. 

Also, you mentioned the greater difficulty in attacking, I agree with that prognosis, I've just been obsessing over the defensive lately. I don't suppose I could bother you for some sagely advice for taking the offensive? 

[Mr. Mercanto]

I might be able to give you some pointers.  I have been winning all my defensive battles as the Union, but I'm not doing anything that I didn't learn in a Total War game.

 

So here's what's important.  

 

• You want the high ground when you are defending.  
• You want to make sure that your artillery are in a useful spot and doing damage.  
• Since it's a VP game, you know that the attacker will try to hit you near the VP areas; often, he attacks right at them.  So you want your best quality troops near those spots.  
• If you are playing as the Union, your morale needs constant watching.  You need to keep your generals near the troops at the front line of the main attack.  Your generals are skittish and will move if they think they are threatened, so keep an eye on them.  They are pretty important to the morale.
• Since it's a map based game, choose areas where you can use an edge of the map as a natural flank protector.  (You may object to using this tactic, it's possible to win without it so don't worry.)
• Keep a back line at critical areas (you will know where these are by the number of troops you are facing off against) so that when your front line troops tire or break, there is someone to replace them immediately.
• Allow broken troops time to rest and then when you bring them back, make them back line first.
• It's best to keep reserves for emergencies but I don't think these need to be high quality troops.  I've used them mostly to delay an attack that would give a decisive advantage while I get my better troops into a good position.
• If you are playing as the Union, do not charge with your rifles if you can avoid it.  Your troops are not good at it.  But they will have an advantage if the fire fight lasts, because they use better quality weapons.  So it's in your interest to prolong the engagement rather than try to end things quickly with a charge.
• The exception to this is in attacking artillery.  Use cavalry if you have them.  I've found it hard to actually get a charge out of cavalry on artillery, but they do overrun the cannon positions and that works.  Light troops can charge but you have to sneak them up using something to distract the artillery because a good barrage will break your men.  But it is important to even the odds in artillery or even get an advantage if you want to have a decisive victory or better.  I've had an epic and a heroic I think it was called and I'm betting it was taking out the artillery that made it happen.

Now other than this, I can say that I've found you don't have to micromanage your lines.  You'll see them shifting around, but if they aren't breaking and leaving a gap, you don't need to fuss with them most of the time.  Let them alone so that they continue firing.

 

These strategies seem to me to be the main part of holding on during the early stage of the game and providing yourself with an advantage as the Confederates tire.  If you can hold the line on Seminary Ridge, say, until your reinforcements arrive, you will be able to bring some to the flanks and begin to roll up the Confederates lines.  This is a tried and true Medieval Total War strategy and it works in this game as well.

 

With this basic strategy, I've won with all the AI's I've tried, but I've yet to use the top left AI.. I forget what it's called suddenly, but that's the most "attacky" AI.  I'm about to try it and see if this strategy will work as well against it.  

 

But I have to admit, when I tried using the Rebs, my efforts were much less fruitful.. I'm not a very good attacker.

Thank you very much for the advice! I think I have definitely been failing to keep my generals at critical points and I have on occasion used the bayonet on as the Union though I try to avoid it.  I tend to get antsy when I see my brigades shifting so your explanation that they are just rectifying their position is very welcome news lol. 

Does the high ground make a difference in this game though. I know it acts as a superior artillery platform but does it have any effective on infantry? I haven't been able to tell.

[R.E.B.Blunt]

 How do I stop my line from being flanked though? Would I just rely upon interior lines to move brigades if the enemy shifts his attack and rely upon skirmishers and flanking artillery to hold the enemy back until my line infantry arrives? Or do I draw my lines at angles and give up the majority of ground until the enemy is to tired to defend it. 

 

 

The only way to stop your line from being flanked is through maneuver. When ever you see the enemy Brigade moving on Column formation you know that their destination is a good deals away from their current location.

 

If you can, do not follow with the brigade w/ that which is on your farthest flank instead bring a brigade or two you have in reserve sitting in back of your line. As the enemy brigade marches in column is the best time to attack. As soon as your men open up fire usually the enemy will stop marching and form a line to defend against you. Instead I like to tell my brigade to charge when they get close as fast as possible and smash into the enemy as they are still in column. If you hit them while in Battle line and they are in Column they will rout.

 

Does the high ground make a difference in this game though. I know it acts as a superior artillery platform but does it have any effective on infantry? I haven't been able to tell.

 

Yes, standing on the high ground does give your men an advantage. It takes more energy on part of the enemy to launch an attack up hill and push you off than the energy you will spend telling your Brigade to hold the hill. While on the hill it is easy to get over-confident and not pay attention when 2 or 3 brigades hit your 1 brigade guarding the hill. If your Brigade is being attacked on their flank and you can not bring up any reserves to counter, you should fall back. Its better to lose the good ground than have your Brigade drained of Morale and Organization all because you wanted to hold a hill. Your brigade will be worthless if it has 0 Morale and Organization. Better to fall back and keep your Brigade a viable fighting unit.

 

 

Also, you mentioned the greater difficulty in attacking, I agree with that prognosis, I've just been obsessing over the defensive lately. I don't suppose I could bother you for some sagely advice for taking the offensive? 

 

When attacking I follow the same rules as I do when defending. I form 2, 3, and even 4 lines of Brigades one behind the other. Instead of falling back. I will leap frog my Brigade and inch my Battle line closer and closer to the enemy. When I am close enough to charge I like to do so with a FAT Brigade rather than a smaller one. Armistead or Law or Barksdale to name a few that are good at charging. I will keep one or two of these FAT brigades in reserve and will not use them and let them rest while I press the attack with my leap frog tactics. Then, when I am close enough I will advance my FAT brigade you do not want to tire them by running them instead I will walk them until they can see the white of the enemy eyes. Then I will charge.

 

When the enemy begins to fall back or retreat I will tell my charging unit to HOLD. Then I will begin to leap frog my Brigades again and repeat the process. Even if you have taken the VP and have won the battle. You still want to press the attack. Kill as many as you can. Because unless this is the final battle you will have to face those Brigades again and better to kill as much as you can and drain their morale and organization and the next battle they will be much weaker.

 

Also a good tactic is when ever reinforcements arrive. Unless your battle line is crumbling you NEVER want to deploy a brigade where another brigade exists. Instead either Extend your battle line and try and Flank. Or hold that Brigade in reserve behind your lines.

 

Hope this helps.

[Mr. Mercanto]

The only way to stop your line from being flanked is through maneuver. When ever you see the enemy Brigade moving on Column formation you know that their destination is a good deals away from their current location.

 

If you can, do not follow with the brigade w/ that which is on your farthest flank instead bring a brigade or two you have in reserve sitting in back of your line. As the enemy brigade marches in column is the best time to attack. As soon as your men open up fire usually the enemy will stop marching and form a line to defend against you. Instead I like to tell my brigade to charge when they get close as fast as possible and smash into the enemy as they are still in column. If you hit them while in Battle line and they are in Column they will rout.

 

 

Yes, standing on the high ground does give your men an advantage. It takes more energy on part of the enemy to launch an attack up hill and push you off than the energy you will spend telling your Brigade to hold the hill. While on the hill it is easy to get over-confident and not pay attention when 2 or 3 brigades hit your 1 brigade guarding the hill. If your Brigade is being attacked on their flank and you can not bring up any reserves to counter, you should fall back. Its better to lose the good ground than have your Brigade drained of Morale and Organization all because you wanted to hold a hill. Your brigade will be worthless if it has 0 Morale and Organization. Better to fall back and keep your Brigade a viable fighting unit.

 

 

 

When attacking I follow the same rules as I do when defending. I form 2, 3, and even 4 lines of Brigades one behind the other. Instead of falling back. I will leap frog my Brigade and inch my Battle line closer and closer to the enemy. When I am close enough to charge I like to do so with a FAT Brigade rather than a smaller one. Armistead or Law or Barksdale to name a few that are good at charging. I will keep one or two of these FAT brigades in reserve and will not use them and let them rest while I press the attack with my leap frog tactics. Then, when I am close enough I will advance my FAT brigade you do not want to tire them by running them instead I will walk them until they can see the white of the enemy eyes. Then I will charge.

 

When the enemy begins to fall back or retreat I will tell my charging unit to HOLD. Then I will begin to leap frog my Brigades again and repeat the process. Even if you have taken the VP and have won the battle. You still want to press the attack. Kill as many as you can. Because unless this is the final battle you will have to face those Brigades again and better to kill as much as you can and drain their morale and organization and the next battle they will be much weaker.

 

Also a good tactic is when ever reinforcements arrive. Unless your battle line is crumbling you NEVER want to deploy a brigade where another brigade exists. Instead either Extend your battle line and try and Flank. Or hold that Brigade in reserve behind your lines.

 

Hope this helps.

All of this helps me a great deal! Thank you very much for the lesson in tactics.

You know the leap frog technique you describe kind of reminds me of a divisional advance technique that Rosecrans was experimenting with before the disastrous defeat at Chickamauga. It never panned out due to his replacement by Thomas, who despite being a better general overall, did not like to experiment with new formations. 

Oh, and I noticed from one of your comments that you're a re-enactor. I'm an 1812 re-enactor in Canada. Its always fun to talk to a fellow historic re-creator!

I do have one other question, is there anyway to encourage the recuperation of morale and condition, or can that only be achieved by pulling the brigade out of the line and allowing them to rest? 

Thanks again for all the help!

[R.E.B.Blunt]

I do have one other question, is there anyway to encourage the recuperation of morale and condition, or can that only be achieved by pulling the brigade out of the line and allowing them to rest? 

Thanks again for all the help!

 

 

I am not a designer nor am I a tester. I am simply a player just like you.

 

The way I have figured it was that to encourage recuperation quicker your brigade must be not in combat and it goes faster if the Brigade is within a Corps General's radius. It goes even faster if that Brigade belongs to that same Corps as the general. But from what I am told all Generals will give a boost.

[TheRomanRuler]

Reserves, reserves, reserves, reserves... Just form simple line, and when you see enemy massing their troops against some point of it, bring in your reserves.  

 

It might also help if you form first line of defense somewhere infront of position you want to defend, becouse that way as your reinforcements arrive, your front line soldiers have propably retreated to those positions, and now you have extremely strong position. 

Utilise cover as much as you can,  even if that means leaving caps to a line, then place artillery to those caps. 

[CmdrMctoast]

What they said, rinse and repeat, hit at angles but always moniter your troops, when they start to get worn out rotate them in and out

if at all possible, fire a volley hit fallback have next one in back advance forward.

[JohnnyJingles]

This thread has also helped me improve also thank you to mr. mecanto for opening the thread and a big thanks to the posters.

[Davidon]

I finally got back in to try my tactics against "Cunning," and it was harder, but I still won.  It was definitely a good AI opponent.  I've seen people say that the Confederate AI is too strong, but I think it could stand to be a tad stronger at the top level.