These notes pertain mainly to the big Overland scenario, but some points may apply to other games and scenarios. I offer the notes with trepidation, because I expect a flurry of replies saying that I am dead wrong about this, that, and the other thing. If they apply, if you see where you can improve your game, please take them to heart. If you disagree, then continue as you are, and you need not bother to tell me.
1. Cavalry is less "expensive" in Overland, being 12 points instead of 20, but that is no reason that it should be expended in combat more suitable to the infantry. There is a tendency for cavalry used (rightly) in advance of a column to stick around (wrongly) and get decimated when contact is made, instead of being withdrawn to fight another day.
2. You know that old disagreement between the historical purists and the gamers? There is a third faction, those of us who like to see the games played based on military principles. After about thirty years of real military service it sort of became a habit with me.
a. Brigades should be fought as brigades, with organic regiments adjacent. People think that as long as they are within command radius that it is all right to have them spattered across the front, interspersed with other brigades and divisions. This is incorrect. You get a "plus 1" if regiments are adjacent to others of their own brigade.
b. There is a tendency to stack units of different brigades, and fight them that way, and it is thought to be OK as long as they are in command range. This, too, is incorrect. You suffer a "minus 1" if units fighting together in the same hex are from different brigades.
3. I added subordinate leaders to cut down on all those "anonymous" dudes that end up all over the place. At some time during the campaign they each ended up in command of the brigade. They should stay with their brigades, not be scattered across the backfield. Judiciously placed, they will cut down on routs, and rally troops quicker. Above all, they should not be used as scouts, or in ways to prevent isolation by themselves.
4. At all times, on the line, on the march, brigades should be together. Taking a moment, each turn, to get all units together, will make a difference, if not in outcome, then at least in the satisfaction that you took the time to do things right. Using the "highlight organization" and "brigade colors," it should be very easy to do. It also simplifies things when you need to march 30,000 men down a road and can do it with one keystroke.
Following is a suggested SOP, (Standard Operating Procedure) which I continue to work on, to help move things along.
Overland scenario
Marching
Standard Operating Procedure
The purpose of this SOP is to simplify march movement to enable using the column movement shortcut, whereby an entire column of the same organization, up to the entire army, can be moved with holding "alt" down while clicking on the leading unit and then the destination. Use of this SOP will enable a commander to be confident that his army will be ready for any encounter on the march. It also reflects the methods which commanders had to use without radio, when the speed of a message to a subordinate unit was about ten miles per hour.
Speaking of that, I have made a variant of the scenario which includes couriers for carrying messages in real time, and also staff officers which can lead a column just like the commander.
1. Route march
a. Routine route march is 10 hexes/Turn.
b. March rate for units which have gaps in their column is 8 hexes for the vanguard, 10-12 hexes for trailing units for the purpose of closing the interval.
c. The use of the 8 hex speed leaves four movement points, enough to form line if necessary.
d. Brigades march as units.
e. Divisions march as units.
2. Order of march is combat brigades, followed by attached artillery, followed by supply wagons. When speed is essential, wagons are left behind to move as their own march unit, and should always have an escort unless safely behind the lines.
(In all scenarios, the heavy artillery battalion (infantry) attached to each artillery brigade, is not a front line combat unit, but rather for guarding artillery and supply. In the "monster" scenario there are no replacements for these battalions if they take 50% losses.)
3. Commanders should be at, or near, the front of their units. You can't push a string; you have to pull it.
4. Stacking of units on the march is discouraged, unless used to clear units from an entry hex.
5. Standard procedure for outposting roads intersected by the march column.
a. A forward regiment of a brigade will turn off on the side road, 1-2 hexes, and remain, in column formation, until relieved by the next brigade, and fall in at the rear of its brigade, always attempting to keep all regiments of a brigade together.
b. During halts of the column the outposting unit will form line with skirmishers.
Anyway, in the Campaign Scenario with its length and huge cast of characters, if you do not constantly police up your stray units you will end up with a patchwork of units, with no way to plan effectively or use your army coherently.
And finally, it has been just a year since I joined the club, and I want to express my appreciation to all the gentlemen who have made me feel at home. Thanks very much!
John Ferry
Overland co-designer
15 Jan 2014