American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

Can anyone explain in simple terms, or point me to the correct part of the game manual for an explanation on the limits of Bridges within the games?

What do the bridge 'strength' points mean in game terms? and how do I interpret them as far as bridge repair goes? I'm playing a game where there are a number of Bridges over a major river. Some are intact (of varying size) whilst some are destroyed. It seems that 700+ Infantry can get over one bridge but it remains unusable to a supply wagon. I'm desperately trying to repair another bridge and have know idea how long it will take before I can have it ready to get everyone safely across. Men...Horses...Guns...Wagons. The rules seem rather sketchy on the subject.

Lt.Col. Jim Wilkes.
2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, XX Corps.
AoC. U.S.A.

Jim,

This is from the movement section of the manual:


<font face="Arial"><b>Bridges</b>

Normally movement into Water hexes is prohibited. However, depending on the scenario, Bridges may be present that allow Water hexes to be crossed. However, in order to move onto a Bridge, the unit must be in Column formation (Limbered for Artillery and Mounted for Cavalry) and no more than one non-Leader unit may attempt to enter or leave the Bridge hex at one time.


<b>Bridge Repair</b>

By default, a bridge must have a nonzero strength before it can be crossed by units and any bridge that has been damaged cannot be repaired. When the optional Bridge Limit and Repair rule is in effect, there are two changes that occur.

The first change is that there are minimum strength values that the bridge must have to support movement depending on the type of unit. These values are based on the Maximum Bridge strength value determined by Parameter data.

· A bridge must have a strength of at least 1/4 the maximum to carry infantry units or dismounted leaders.

· A bridge must have a strength of at least 1/2 the maximum to carry cavalry units or mounted leaders.

· A bridge must have a strength of at least 3/4 the maximum to carry artillery or supply wagons.

For example, if the maximum bridge strength is 200, then a bridge must have a strength value of 50 to carry infantry or dismounted leaders, 100 to carry cavalry or mounted leaders, and 150 to carry artillery or supply wagons.

The second change is that it is possible to repair bridges using infantry or cavalry. You use the Repair Bridge option of the Command Menu in the main program to toggle the state of units that you want to repair a bridge. There are several requirements for this:

· The unit doing the repair must be in column and must be facing the bridge.

· The unit cannot be Disrupted or Routed.

· The unit cannot have moved, fired, or meleed in that turn.

At the beginning of each subsequent turn, a calculation is performed to determine how much repair is achieved. For each 100 men repairing, the Repair bridge parameter value is used to determine the gain in strength of the bridge. Once the bridge reaches the maximum strength, it cannot be repaired any further.</font id="Arial">


[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/acwgc/acw.htm"]General Antony Barlow[/url]
[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/acwgc/western_theater.htm"]Commander, Western Theater, Union Army[/url]

A Bridge Question:
In Peninsula Campaign, there are several "3 part" bridges below Richmond. My opponent was able to destroy the middle section of one bridge (value down to 0), yet I was able to cross on the bridge with several units of cav, one consisting of over 200 men. The outer portions of the bridge were untouched. Cannot find any rules re this particular subject. Any thoughts?
thanks
Pete Russo
BGen
5/3/XXIII/AoO

If the map/scenario designer put a trail or road under the bridge, then you could still cross. If not it may be a bug, or an update issue.

MajGen Al 'Ambushed' Amos

The Union Forever! Huzzah!