A Newbie's AAR Introduction to HPS ACW Campaign series

[mntineer]

A Newbie's AAR Introduction to the game,
as written by a semi-newbie

Introduction to the Dance.

Here's a newbie's introduction to the HPS Civil War Campaign series and a "rolling" AAR of "Probing Westward", a 27-turn scenario from HPS Sims' Campaign: Gettysburg. My opponent, Bluto, picked this out from my suggestion that we do a 25-35 turn scenario from the list. This was easier said than done with Campaign: Gettysburg, where most scenarios are in the 50+ turn range. "Probing Westward" is a tough scenario for the Confederates by looking at the Scenario Database on the Blitz site. The scenario table listed all past games as won by the Union players. In this game, Bluto has taken the Confederate forces and I have the Union.

I've played Bluto in one other game, Campaign: Atlanta, and the results were disasterous for me playing the Union. I was way too aggressive, and my casualty victory points quickly racked up in favor of the Confederates, whose forces were smaller, better quality and even better played by my opponent. Although I captured many VP areas, the 10,000+ casualites and very sloppy play with my artillery were destined to lead to a very Major Union Defeat. I turned this into a learning lesson for myself, and I was determined to apply lessons learned from Bluto in our next game.

This AAR is written from my (the Union) perspective, which is also from the viewpoint of a player still learning the ropes of the HPS Civil War Campaign games. My many trip-ups during the course of the game will also be duly recorded. :) I'll post as the game progresses, but without giving away my strategy to my opponent.

Give me a hollar on this thread if you have something to add, or want me to add something more. Please hold off on any strategy tips for the scenario!! I want to screw-up on my own. :) I'll post as the game progresses.