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

[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.




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.







This is quite a distance to the southwest from Pittsburgh Landing.




Basically east from there, roughly due south from our positions. As described, the river is just east here, barely off-screen.




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 ...










Oh Major Woods .... we have a 'task'(aka suicide mission?) for you ...




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




** 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.




** 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 ...




That doesn't sound good ...




My guess is they get here an hour after 'too late'.







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.




** 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.




** 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.




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.







"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.




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.




** 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.




** 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!





Line of defense with what? Are we supposed to throw rocks at them or something??




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.



** 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.




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 ...




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




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.




'Desperately' is the operative word.




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.




** 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.



** 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.




** 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.




** 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.







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]

Originally Posted by 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.







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]

Originally Posted by 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.

Politics is fine with me

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

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.

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

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]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

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]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

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]

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.







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 ..




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.




** 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




** 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)'.




** 11:31 AM -- Bragg's men are stacking up in the field to the north ...




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.




** 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




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.




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]

Originally Posted by chesapeak

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?