The Story So Far

This is a continuation of the game of SPI's American Civil War (1974)
begun in a previous post. See that post for a brief description of
the game.

The situation at the beginning of turn 7, Winter '63:

Confederates:

New Orleans: 3 SP in a fort
Meridian: 1 SP Selma: 1 SP in a fort
Montgomery: 1 SP
Memphis: Leader E (who I'm calling Early), 5 SP, and
a fort
Between the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers: Leader F (Johnston), 1
SP, and a fort (which I'm calling Fort Henry Donelson)
Nashville: 2 SP and a fort
Corinth: 1 SP
Decatur: 1 SP in a fort
Chattanooga: 1 SP in a fort
Knoxville: an empty fort
Atlanta: 1 SP

Savannah: 1 SP in a fort
Charleston: 1 SP in a fort
Fort Sumter: 1 SP
Wilmington: 1 SP in a fort
New Berne: 1 SP
Norfolk: 1 SP in a fort
Fortress Monroe: 1 SP
Richmond: 1 SP in a fort
Manassas: Leader D (Lee), 4 SP, and a fort

Yankees:

Proctorville (near New Orleans): 3 SP
Mobile: Leader C (Sherman), 4 SP, 1 USMRR
Pensacola: 2 SP
Fort Pickens: 1 SP
Cairo: 1 SP in a fort
Midway between Memphis and Nashville: 1 USMRR
Outside Fort Henry Donelson: Leader A (Grant), 7 SP
SE of Nashville: 4 SP
Across from Louisville: 1 SP in a fort
Cincinnati: 6 SP and a fort

DC: 4 SP, 1 USMRR, and a fort
Arlington: Leader B (Burnside), 9 SP

On the Mississippi at Cairo: 1 RP (riverine point)
On the Mississippi at Vicksburg: 3 NP (naval points)
On the Mississippi at New Orleans: 2 NP
On the coast between Mobile and Pensacola: Farragut, 1 RP
On the Chattahoochie near Tallahassee: 1 NP
Off the coast of Florida: 1 NP, 1 RP

Turn 7 (Winter '64; no attrition)

Both sides' command control rating improves this turn.

Confederates:

Reinforcements at Richmond, Raleigh, Augusta, Chattanooga, Decatur,
Jackson, and Texas.

The forces at Texas, Memphis, Fort Henry Donelson, Meridian, Atlanta,
Corinth, and Raleigh are out of command control. In all command
control phases, I don't bother rolling if I don't plan to use a
force.

The forces at Fort Henry Donelson and Nashville are in supply, but
only barely.

The force at Jackson moved next door to Vicksburg. The reinforcements
that arrived at Decatur and Chattanooga moved to surround the Yankee
force outside Nashville. It was a very bad mistake to put that force
there. They are probably doomed due to being out of supply. The
reinforcement at Augusta and 1 SP from Richmond moved to Manassas.

The forces at Montgomery and New Berne built forts.

Yankees:

No naval reinforcements this turn, just the usual land reinforcements.

As usual, the Yankees suffer atrociously in command control: all
forces on the Gulf, Grant, Cincinnati, and DC are out of command
control.

The 4 SP outside Nashville are out of supply.

The 3 NP at Vicksburg ran the batteries there, went to Memphis, and
partly ran the batteries there. The 2 NP near New Orleans tried to
run those batteries, but failed. The 2 naval units off Florida moved
to off Louisiana. The riverine unit at Cairo moved up the Tennessee
to Paducah.

The USMRR unit in the west converted another rail hex, and then moved
north. It can't do any more now because of ZOCs.

Two SP from Cairo joined Grant. The force in Arlington is too small
to attack Manassas, so it moved to DC.

The 4 SP outside Nashville attacked the 2 SP putting them out of
supply at +0, because they are halved for being out of supply. Each
side lost 1 SP.

The force outside Nashville is eliminated for being out of supply.

After turn 7
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 0 15 1 6 21
North: 3 30 1 7 37
Naval: - - 0 1 1

Leaders:
South: D 2/1 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 0/0 (Johnston)
North: A 0/0 (Grant); B 0/1 (Burnside); C 0/0 (Sherman)

Turn 8 (Spring '63; no attrition)

Confederates:

Reinforcements at Richmond, Raleigh, Augusta, Nashville, Decatur,
Jackson, and Texas. The Yankees are doing so badly because of command
control problems that the Confederates are running out of unit
counters.

Forces in Texas, Meridian, Memphis, and Nashville were the only ones
out of command control. Memphis is doing as badly as the Yankees in
this regard.

The SP left over from putting the Yankee force outside Nashville out
of supply moved to Fort Henry Donelson. The SP at Raleigh, Atlanta,
and Augusta moved to Montgomery, planning an offensive against the
Yankees on the Gulf coast.

Forts got built in Vicksburg, Jackson, and Corinth.

Yankees:

In addition to the usual land reinforcements, they Yankees got an NP
off Jersey and an RP in Cairo.

A relatively good turn for command control: only Grant and Pensacola
were out of command control.

Five out of this turn's 15 sealift points were needed for supplying
the forces on the Gulf coast.

Since the Confederate unit in Corinth was now in a fort, it lost its
ZOC, so the western USMRR unit could convert the rail lines all the
way down to that city. It then ran back to Cairo.

On the Gulf coast, Sherman and 4 SP moved north to Meridian, where
they used the double-match option against the city and its garrison.
The garrison retreated, and Sherman attacked the city at a reduced
differential of +1. The Yankees lost an SP, and the city fell.
Sherman gained a promotion point for the city. Sherman stopped in
Meridian, which gives him lots of choices for next turn. The USMRR
unit in Mobile moved up the rail line to Meridian.

The 3 SP in Proctorville went by sea to Mobile. The NP and RP off
Louisiana moved to between Pensacola and Fort Pickens, where they can
help defend in case of a Southern offensive in that direction. The 2
NP near New Orleans again failed to run the batteries there.

The new RP at Cairo moved down the river a little bit. The new NP
moved to off Florida.

The force at Cincinnati, with 11 SP moved to attack Fort Henry
Donelson.

Six SP from DC moved by sea: 3 on either side of Moorehead City (one in
a swamp). Burnside and 18 SP from DC moved next to Manassas.

At Fort Henry Donelson, 11 SP attacked across the river against 2 SP
in the fort. Thed differential was thus +3 (2 tripled plus 2 for the
river). Each side lost 2 SP, the fort was destroyed, and Johnston
skedaddled to Nashville. The Yankee force advanced after combat.
Since the attackers were next to Grant, he gains two promotion points.
Johnston also got a promotion point, despite his army having been
destroyed.

At Masassas 18 Yankee SP attacked 5 Southern SP in a fort plus 1
outside, for 18:16 or +2. Each side lost 1 SP, and Burnside and Lee
each got a promotion point.

Sherman attacked out of Meridian at a reduced differential of +1.
Each side lost 1 SP (this eliminated the Southern force), and Sherman
got a promotion point.

After turn 8
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 0 15 4 10 25
North: 0 30 4 11 42
Naval: - - 0 1 1

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 0/1 (Johnston)
North: A 0/2 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 0/2 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian

Turn 9 (Summer '63; attrition)

Confederates:

Reinforcements at Richmond, Wilmington, Augusta, Nashville, Selma,
Jackson, and Texas.

Attrition: 1 SP in New Orleans, 2 at Nashville, 1 at Wilmington, 1 at
Norfolk, and 1 at Richmond.

Only Texas was out of command control.

One SP from Jackson, 1 from Selma, and 4 from Montgomery moved to
attack Sherman at Meridian. An SP from Richmond moved to replace the
Norfolk garrison. The SP at Augusta moved to New Berne.

Early and 3 SP moved from Memphis to Corinth.

The Confederates attacked Sherman with a reduced differential of +2.
The Confederates lost 2 SP and Sherman 1. The Confederates created a
new leader, G, who I'll call Bragg. Sherman does not get any
promotion points because he was defending.

Yankees:

Only land reinforcements.

Attrition: 1 SP at Fort Pickens, 2 at Cairo, 1 from the force that
took Fort Henry Donelson, 2 at Cincinnati, 1 from one force outside
Moorehead City, and 3 from Arlington, for a total of 10.

(Semi) good luck at last for command control. Only the 2 forces at
Moorehead City are out of command control.

Six sealift points out of 16 were needed for supply.

The force at Pensacola split: 1 SP went to Fort Pickens to replace the
garrison, and the other built a fort. One SP in Mobile built a fort,
while the other 2 joined Sherman, who retreated from Mississippi and
moved to Alabama, to a point equidistant (approximately) from Selma
and Montgomery. From here he also threatens Columbus. Meanwhile, the
USMRR unit moved back to Mobile, crossed the river, and moved up the
line towards Montgomery, converting along the way.

Grant, along with 2 SP from Cairo, moved to attack Memphis. The force
that had taken Fort H. D. moved to attack Nashville. Cairo's USMRR
unit converted rails all the way to Memphis. An SP from Cincinnati
went to the spot across from Louisville.

In the east, 6 SP moved by sea from DC to Pensacola and joined
Sherman. Burnside and his force at Arlington built a fort. Lee's
force is too big to attack this turn. The USMRR unit in DC moved to
near Louisville.

The naval unit off Florida moved north to Moorehead City. The two
near New Orleans got part way past the batteries. Other naval units
shifted their positions a bit.

Grant attacked Memphis with 11 SP. Memphis had 2 SP in a fort, plus
the city's intrinsic defense, for a total of 7. The attack was
resolved at +4. Grant lost 2 SP, and the Confederates 1. Grant got a
promotion point and a promotion.

At Nashville, the attack was 8 to 5 or +3. Each side lost 2. The
Confederates took their loss as 1 SP plus the city. This leaves 1 SP
in the fort. Johnston got a promotion point.

After turn 9
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 6 21 4 14 35
North: 10 40 5 16 57
Naval: - - 0 1 1

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 0/2 (Johnston); G 0/0 (Bragg)
North: A 1/0 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 0/2 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian

Turn 10 (Autumn '63; attrition)

Confederates:

Reinforcements: Richmond, Wilmington, Augusta, Nashville, Decatur,
Memphis, and Texas.

Attrition: 2 from Texas, 1 at Jackson, 1 at New Orleans, 1 at
Montgomery, 1 at Memphis, 1 at Decatur, 1 at Wilmington, and 2 at
Manassas, for a total of 10.

Command control: Memphis, Decatur, and Meridian were out of command
control.

The 1 SP at Augusta moved to Montgomery to replace the garrison lost
to attrition. An SP from Richmond went to Manassas. One of the
Texans replaced the lost garrison of Jackson, while the other joined
Bragg outside Meridian, An SP from New Berne went, partly by rail, to
Wilmington, which is a more important city.

Yankees:

In addition to the land reinforcements, the Yankees get 1 NP and 1 RP
off the Jersey Shore.

Attrition: 2 from Grant's force, 1 from Across from Louisville, 1 from
Cincinnati, 1 from next to Moorehead City, 2 from DC, and 1 from
Arlington, for a total of 8.

Command control: Cairo, and everything in the East was out of command
control.

The naval reinforcements went to Moorehead City. One day the North
may be able to attack it.

Two SP from Cincinnati moved, party by rail, to reinforce the troops
outside Nashville.

Sherman and 9 SP moved on Montgomery. He attacked in a double-match
at +4. Each side lost 2 (the defender should have lost 3, but he
didn't have that many), and the city fell. Sherman got 2 promotion
points, and a promotion. Sherman then finished his movement by moving
next to Columbus. He did not have enough movement points left to
double-match attack.

The USMRR in Alabama converted 3 hexes towards Montgomery. The one in
Tennessee converted some lines towards Nashville.

In the combat phase, Sherman attacked Columbus. This called forth the
Georgia militia, who stopped eating their goober peas long enough to
aid in the defense of that city. Sherman had 7 SP, the defenders 1,
plus 1 for the city, plus 2 for being across a river, for a total of
4. This gives a +3 differential. Each side lost 2, the city fell,
and Sherman got another promotion point.

This made me realize that I had forgotten to activate the North
Caroline, Mississippi and Alabama militias. To compensate, I added 1
to Moorehead City, 1 SP to Bragg's force (now in Alabama), and 1 to
Memphis.

Next Grant attacked Memphis with 7 SP against 2 SP in a fort plus the
city, which also adds up to 7. But 3 naval points joined in, giving a
+3 differential. Grant lost 1 SP and 1 NP, and Memphis lost 1 SP.
Grant got a promotion point.

At Nashville 8 SP attacked 2 in the fort (the city strength had been
destroyed earlier), for a +2. The North lost 2 SP and the South 1.
Johnston got a promotion point and a promotion.

After turn 10
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 10 31 4 18 49
North: 8 48 7 23 72
Naval: - - 1 2 2

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 1/0 (Johnston); G 0/0 (Bragg)
North: A 1/1 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 1/2 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian, Montgomery, Columbus

Turn 11 (Winter '64; no attrition)

Units in forts now have a Primary ZOC. Both sides' command control
improves.

Confederates:

Reinforcements: Richmond, Raleigh, Augusta, Nashville, Selma, Memphis,
and Texas.

Command control: Jackson, Decatur, and Nashville were out of command
control.

Bragg moved to just south of Montgomery, overrunning the USMRR unit
(which returned to DC), and cutting off Sherman from supplies. The
Texas reinforcements moved to Jackson. The Augusta reinforcements
moved to Atlanta. Early and 2 SP moved from Corinth to Memphis. The
Raleigh reinforcements moved by rail to Macon. Moorehead City built a
fort.

Yankees:

Only the normal land reinforcements.

Command control: Good luck this turn. Only the force outside
Nashville and 1 SP at Moorehead City are out of command control.

Four sealift points were needed for supply, leaving 13 available for
transport.

Grant moved from Memphis to Corinth, where 4 SP from Cairo joined
him. Two SP from Cincinnati moved by rail to reinforce the Nashville
force, while another reinforced Grant.

Sherman, out of supply, moved from Columbus to attack Atlanta.

One SP from DC moved by sea to the mouth of the Chattahoochie, so that
that river can supply Sherman. This is a requirement I had not
noticed before. Two other SP move to reinforce the Moorehead City
attackers. Five SP and the USMRR moved to Mobile.

Sherman is now back in supply, so he attacked Atlanta with 5 SP. The
defenders have 1 SP and the city, so the differential is +3. The
string of lousy die rolls continued (virtually all have been 3 or
less, this time it was a 1), and Sherman lost 2 SP and the
Confederates 1. They lost the SP, and Sherman got a promotion point
and a promotion.

At Corinth, Grant attacked with 11 SP against 2 SP in a fort plus the
city, giving a +4. Another 1 was rolled, and Grant lost 2 SP, and the
city point was destroyed. Grant got a promotion point.

At Moorehead City, 3 SP and 2 NP attacked 1 SP in a fort plus the
city, for 5:4 or +1. Each side lost an SP, the South taking theirs as
the city point.

After turn 11
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 0 31 1 19 50
North: 0 48 5 28 77
Naval: - - 1 2 2

The above table does not include city defense points lost.

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 1/0 (Johnston); G 0/0 (Bragg)
North: A 1/2 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 2/0 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian, Montgomery, Columbus

Destroyed City Defense Strengths:
Nashville, Corinth, Moorehead City

Turn 12 (Spring '64; no attrition)

Confederates:

Reinforcements: Richmond, Raleigh, Augusta, Atlanta, Decatur, Memphis,
and Texas.

Command control: Everybody in command control.

Bragg moved against Sherman, pinning him between himself and Atlanta.
He launched a double-match attack at +3. He lost 2 SP and Sherman
lost 1. He gained a promotion point.

The reinforcements from Memphis and Decatur went to Corinth. The
Texas reinforcement went to Meridian, as did the one from Jackson.
The Raleigh reinforcement went to New Berne, while the one from
Augusta went to the Florida rail terminus on the Chattahoochie, with
the idea of building a fort and keeping the Yankees from using the
river for supply. The Richmond reinforcement went to Manassas.
Atlanta and Macon built forts.

In the combat phase, Bragg attacked again, this time at +2. He lost 2
SP, and Sherman lost 1. Bragg got another promotion point.

Yankees:

Normal reinforcements, plus an RP at Cairo and an NP off Jersey.

Command control: Grant, Sherman, Cairo, DC, and 2 SP at Moorehead City
are out of command control.

Seven out of 19 sealift points were needed for supply.

Five SP from Mobile march on Meridian, and launch a double-match
attack at +3. The attackers lose 2 SP and both defending SP are
eliminated (the CRT called for 3, but they didn't have that many).
The attacker then moved west to Jackson. The USMRR unit at Mobile
moved up to Meridian, and then converted one rail hex to the east and
two to the west.

The two naval units at Memphis failed to run the batteries there.

Farragut didn't quite make it to Moorehead City (he should have been
there a long time ago). The riverine unit that had been at Moorehead
City moved to Florida (half a movement point short of making it to the
Gulf).

The 3 SP at Cincinnati moved by rail to reinforce the Nashville force.

The SP in Florida moved to attack the Confederate SP on the river, and
was joined by an NP from Pensacola.

They attacked at +1, again rolling a 1, and the attacking SP was lost,
while no Confederates were lost.

At Nashville, 11 SP attacked 2 in a fort at +5. Two attackers were
lost and all the defenders, and the city fell. Finally. Johnston
displaced to Decatur.

At Moorehead City, 3 SP and 2 NP attacked 1 SP in a fort at +2. A 5
was rolled (when a 1 would have been sufficient), and each side lost 2
SP (according to the CRT; the defenders only had 1 to lose). The city
fell at last: the Yankees landed there a mere 18 months ago.

At the end of the turn, Sherman and his 1 remaining SP died from lack
of supplies.

After turn 12
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 0 31 9 28 59
North: 1 49 10 38 88
Naval: - - 0 2 2

The above table does not include city defense points lost.

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 1/0 (Johnston); G 0/2 (Bragg)
North: A 1/2 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 2/0 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian, Montgomery, Columbus, Nashville,
Moorehead City

Destroyed City Defense Strengths:
Nashville, Corinth, Moorehead City

Turn 13 (Summer '64; attrition)

The end of this turn is election time up north. If the Confederates
have a supply net worth 40 or more points, McClellan will win the
election and the war will end.

Confederates:

Reinforcements: Richmond, Wilmington, Charleston, Atlanta, Decatur,
Jackson, and Texas.

Attrition: 1 SP in Jackson, 1 in Selma, 1 with Bragg, 1 in Macon, 2 in
Memphis, 2 in Corinth, 1 in Charleston, 1 in Richmond, and 2 in
Manassas, for a total of 12. A very bad year.

Command control: Chattanooga, Bragg, and the force on the
Chattahoochie in Florida were out of command control.

Johnston and 1 SP from Decatur reinforced Corinth. The Texas
reinforcements reinforced Jackson. One SP from Wilmington moved to
into Charleston, while an SP from Atlanta did the moved to Macon.

Yankees:

Normal land reinforcements.

Attrition: 1 SP at Pensacola, 3 SP from Grant, 2 at Nashville, 2 at
Cincinnati, 3 at Arlington, and 1 at DC, for a total of 12.

Command control: Everybody except the forces in Arlington and DC are
out of command control. Typical. Forty percent should have been OCC,
while 77% of the mobile forces failed their die rolls.

Four sealift points were needed for supply, leaving 16 for transport.

USMRR units in the west converted the rails near Nashville. The USMRR
in Mississippi returned to Mobile, so that it can move by sea to North
Carolina, if the game continues.

Three SP moved by sea to cut off Norfolk (worth 2 supply points). One
replaced the garrison of Pensacola. Nine more moved to Moorehead
City, then next to New Berne. They don't have the strength to
double-match.

Farragut and 1 RP moved next to Moorehead City, and 3 NP moved next to
New Berne.

Burnside and 6 SP moved into DC.

At New Berne, 9 SP and 3 NP attacked 2 SP in a fort plus the city, for
+5. A 5 was rolled, so each side lost 3: 2 SP and 1 NP for the North,
and 2 SP and the city point for the South. The city fell.

After turn 13
Losses
Attrition Combat
This turn Cumulative This turn Cumulative Total
South: 14 45 0 28 73
North: 12 61 0 38 100
Naval: - - 0 2 2

The above table does not include city defense points lost.

Leaders:
South: D 2/2 (Lee); E 0/0 (Early); F 1/0 (Johnston); G 0/2 (Bragg)
North: A 1/2 (Grant); B 0/2 (Burnside); C 2/0 (Sherman)

Destroyed Southern Supply Cities:
Mobile, Pensacola, Meridian, Montgomery, Columbus, Nashville,
Moorehead City, New Berne

Destroyed City Defense Strengths:
Corinth

Here is the largest Southern supply net at the end of turn 13:
Richmond 4
Raleigh 1
Wilmington 2
Savannah 5
Charleston 5
Columbia 3
Augusta 5
Knoxville 3
Atlanta 6
Macon 2
Chattanooga 3
Decatur 1
Total 40

So the South got exactly the minimum they need to win, Lincoln lost
the election, and the war ended with Southern independence.

COMMENTS

While I don't think I played a great game for either side, I think the
biggest factor in the Northern loss was lots of terrible command
control die rolls, and lots of bad combat die rolls. Of course, it is
only too easy to blame luck for one's own failings, but look at the
last turn: 77% of Union mobile forces (that is, forces other than fort
garrisons) could not move. The Union forces that landed at Moorehead
City had to wait 5 turns before they could attack. There was only 1 6
rolled on the CRT, and only 2 or 3 5s (higher numbers are better for
attackers, and the South rarely attacked). And Fortress Monroe was
lost when its garrison was lost to attrition on the same turn that the
only possible source of reinforcements was out of command control. If
it sounds like I'm whining, I am.

I want to like this game, I really do, but it has some serious
problems. Take attrition. I think having attrition in pre-20th
century games is a very good idea, because sickness and accidents were
a very serious source of losses. The problem is with the
implementation, and the problem with the implementation is that the
size of the forces is so small that when attrition losses occur they
are disproportionate in particular cases. Overall, things may even
out, but it is too easy to lose a third, a half, or all of a force to
attrition. I'm not sure that that every happened, at least in this
war. But did happen in the game, and in the case of the loss of the
Fortress Monroe garrison on the same turn as DC was out of command
control, it might have decided the entire war, since it meant that
Richmond could only be approached overland.

This problem could have been avoided if all the forces had been
multiplied by 10, for instance, so that what is in the actual game a
force of 1 SP could lose a reasonable fraction of its strength without
being exterminated. But that would have required a lot more counters,
which would have increased production costs.

I think there is a simple solution to the elimination of 1 SP forces
by attrition: just make 1 SP forces immune to attrition. Of, if that
is too extreme, allow the player to take the loss from another force.

Command control is another problem with the game. Not in principle,
but again in application. (I'm assuming that the player is not using
the original hex-number based table, which involves far too much
totally artificial gamesmanship.) Specifically, I think it is too
extreme to not let forces out of command control do anything at all
(except, presumably, eat and sleep). An out-of-command-control (OOCC)
force that is out of supply won't even have the sense to try to get
into supply.

I would allow OOCC forces to fortify, move by sea or rail, or move
with half their movement allowance. (OOCC) I would not let them attack, or
enter a Primary ZOC, or enter a Secondary ZOC unless they do so by
leaving a Primary ZOC, or move adjacent to an enemy-occupied fort or
an enemy city with an intact defense strength.

I would also, or alternately, give forces in or next to DC or Richmond
a better command control rating (perhaps as if a leader of rank 1 were
present).

As for an alternative to the hex-number-based system, I rolled a
10-sided die for each force, with a result of 1 through the current
command control level plus 1, inclusive, meaning that the force was
out of command control (adjusting for leaders, of course). Next time
I will slightly modify that, and allow all forces under the influence
of a particular leader to use a single die roll, so that they are all
either in or out of command control. After all, if Grant can get one
corps off its collective butt this turn, he should be able to get them
all going.

Supply is another serious problem. Quite simply, the supply rules
prevent some things that happened in the real war from happenig in the
game. Lee can't invade the north without losing his entire force to
supply attrition. Chattanooga can only be attacked from the east
without the surviving attackers also being eliminated due to lack of
supply. Sherman's march to the sea is also impossible.

I don't think there a simple fix to this. One thing that would help
would be to allow foraging to take place in a zone of control, but
this wouldn't help much.

Amphibious operations are a problem, too. Even with perfect command
control, an amphibious attack takes 3 turns or 9 months: 1 turn to
move to a port, 1 to move by sea, and 1 to attack. But as we saw with
the attack on Moorehead City, one seldom gets perfect command control.
That particular operation took a year and a half to take the city.
That, I think, is unreasonable.

My fix would be to allow land movement before embarking, and to allow
an attack on the turn of landing. Or perhaps allow just two of the
three steps in a single turn.

CONCLUSION

Even with these problems, I think the game is a pretty good
simulation. Some of the problems are inherent in any simulation at
this level. For instance, more turns would solve some problems, but
that would mean a monster game, which is not what this is. Or a
thirty-page rule book would solve some other problems, but again, that
would be a different level of game.

The game does capture the strategic realities facing both sides, and
the victory conditions are what they should be. That is the basic
test of a wargame.

--
T.M. Sommers -- -- ab2sb
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