Civil War Battles - Optional Rules Guide 1.3(4.04.1)

[-72-]

The problem with your example is it sort of implies unfamiliarity with the battle of Gettysburg as well as the first day.

Buford's cavalry only stood so long as it took 1/I to get into position. They also did not have to overly expose themselves to do this -use your reverse slopes in a game and ZoC -and if you run into a CSA player that pitches into you blindly- they you pretty much have an idea of what type of player you are up against (which is to say -a rash one.).

I don't play the single day -only the three day battle, as if you isolate the first day - then you are ditching the entire context of the battle. For the record, it is not really that balanced in favour of the Confederate -although I did get a Union player to concede once when I got the score to the point where it forced him to attack me. (Which is what can happen if you get a Union player that is into standing and not preparing a position and falling back to it.).

I also beat a Confederate player (a couple of them, mind you) - by doing just that.

I am not arguing the math calculations - the idea with the defensive fire is that you get the chance for multiple opportunity fires during your opponent's movement phase -but then again this can be modified by- unit quality (which is an optional rule), and if you have changed the defensive fire range settings - which I generally do -not point plinking away at 500 yards and risking a low ammo result -not unless I have a lot of protected wagons.

Again - as I was saying - you set up a line on some high ground or with intervening low ground to keep your opponent off of you - you stack to the max limit in the hex to prevent your own guys routing through your hex, you base your line upon your weaponry to its max advantage (napoleons closer to the front than 3 in rifles), create breastworks covering as many angles as possible in the time you have created for yourself -and by the time your opponent makes their way up to Cemetery Hill - then they got a big problem.

That being a position that can and will fire from a position of depth, multiple times... and with a height advantage on top of that. As a CSA player (or an attacking player) -you have some problems then. Even more if you blow a melee attack.

I guess the point is - that sometimes you cannot pick and choose your attack's focal point if the defensive point is actually the main objective on the map -or a series of interconnected objectives -which is exactly what you are facing in Gettysburg as the Confederate player.

The other point is - as a defending player you have to work some to put yourself in that position - you need to really know your map that you are playing on. You make the attacker have to attack you where it is to your advantage.

Optional rules can play a big part in how this all plays out - I usually don't care and let my opponent pick out whatever rules they want ... which normally never works to my advantage, although I have run into some guys who inexplicably don't use artillery capture- (and recapture) and then wonder why it is that they end up losing a battle because they lost guns that they can't recover because they no longer exist on the map -- never minding the fact that when recovered I think they function as F morale units (? not sure on that one - that might only be when they are used when captured)... what I am saying is - that it is the points back on the board that are really what is important. I think they do function at a reduced capacity once recrewed ... which is why losing a crew can be important...

I am not interested in PBEM at the moment... Gettysburg is all about how well each player knows the battle and the entrance points (I know Gettysburg probably better than any other -in the sense that I have been playing it out since TSS days before computers...) and timing of reinforcements - not to mention the relative quality.

I did recently finish up playing a Spotsylvania match from Overland (as part of a campaign) with Don Van der Griff -the match ended due to his other duties overseas. Don was a tester for Overland (one who came along after I had left the project myself). I don't think that he realized I was a tester as well - and while he misunderstood what I was doing in our first couple of matches -and called me 'by far the most cautious player he has ever played', I think he got a different opinion in the 3rd match at Spotslyvania.

These scenarios can become about intangibles like player psychology -in the sense that you can work things so that your opponent thinks one thing- but it is really actually another all together -in this case Don thought I was retreating in total disarray instead of deciding I had inflicted a casualty imbalance and that was going to be good enough for me. He was also, I think, ticked because he managed to throw away about 40 odd (not a typo) artillery pieces for (imo) no apparent reason... I tended to protect mine a bit better ... let the infantry stand in front and below them as a buffer -do the heavy damage with the arty... got multiple pieces -hey you got multiple firing opportunities (ie -not plinking then.). Anyway the point being - he was in the process of making a massive assault on what he thought was my left flank ... it sort of was -excepting for the fact that I had the entire IX Corps massed on his own flank -and they were fresh.

He got beat by my initial limited attacks, but could not come to terms with that and it (I think) got to him to the point where he did something unwise- and threw troops already partially (to substantially) fatigued at me -and I guessed that he had no reserve whatsoever ... looking at the map after he conceded - it turned out that was indeed exactly what happened.

Christian, I know that you are in the ACWGC - and I tell you what- probably the single best player on the Union side is Alex Krolikowski - if you can get some tips from him (or even just play him in a maneuver if he is willing - you will learn a lot about the system.).