Battleground Civil War Strategy Guideby Dave Moser and Richard Hamilton This is being written with the novice in mind. The experienced player has already formed his own opinions regarding the use of the various elements, and we would certainly welcome others thoughts on these matters, but we write from the perspective of a somewhat experienced player and hope the following comments will be useful to those of you who are new to the BG Civil War series, and are looking for ideas as to how to improve your play. GENERAL TACTICSUse line of sight to your advantage. Try to conceal your intentions buy keeping as many of your troops out of sight for as long as possible. If you have enough men, try using decoy units to make your opponent think you will be attacking someplace else... When setting up a defense, always take the high ground with as much cover as possible (i.e. trees, rocks, etc.) If there is time, build breastworks. Anything to help improve your defensive rating. Also try to create overlapping fields of fire. If at all possible you want to be able to hit your opponent from multiple directions (with artillery preferably) before he can do much damage to you! LEADER TACTICSLeaders are extremely important!!! I can not emphasize this too much! You must keep your units together with their Brigade commanders at a minimum and preferably near their whole chain of command. This is even more vital when you are playing the Union as the quality of the army makes a route very likely, if not probable! Make sure to dismount your leaders when close to enemy units. A mounted man makes a much better target! Additionally, you need to use leaders for melee purposes. This will greatly enhance your chances for a successful melee. Some players, myself among them, also like to aggressively use their corps and army leaders just behind the lines to both hold the lines and to rally other troops behind the line. INFANTRY TACTICSWith respect to the infantry arm, there are only so many things you can do, which would include movement, firing, and meleeing. So we will look at each of these functions in turn. Every game and scenario is different, so we will look at these in general terms here, and will look at specific scenarios and battles later. The Civil War unit that is represented in the game is the regiment. Unlike the Napoleonic series where skirmishers can be deployed to protect your movement, the Civil War series does not allow this. The regiment can move in two ways only; in line, and in column. It can change facing during the movement phase as well. MOVEMENT
1. Line Movement By keeping your units in line formation you allow them to be in the maximum condition to fight should they encounter unseen foes. Remember to align your facing in the way you desire before advancing into "unknown" areas since when they encounter an enemy, their movement points are reduced to zero,and you will not be able to change facing at that point. A word here is probably appropriate regarding how the units are aligned. One can use the "every other hex" method, which is commonly employed, or the "contiguous line" method of deployment. The advantage of the former is that it allows you to establish a contiguous zone of control along your line, while stacking your units in one hex, making them less vulnerable to your opponents counterattacks, specifically melee. This is very different from the Napoleonic consideration, where units in line are all subject to opponents artillery fire, while in the Civil War series, only one unit receives the artillery fire in a given hex. The "contiguous hex" method of deployment has the advantage that your opponent must successfully defeat two hexes to create a breech in your line, but since by deploying in this fashion, it becomes easier for him to do so. In general, I would recommend the "every other hex" method of deployment, but there are times when the "contiguous hex" method is best. One should try and keep reserves behind the front line to fill any holes created by routs, but this is often hard to do, as your opponent will generally try and stretch you line as thin as possible. If you do have units behind the front line, you should probably allow spaces in between them to allow for routs to get through without disrupting your reserve units, as a routing unit moving "through" your reserve units will often disrupt them, making them less useful in the "plugging the hole" function.
2. Column Movement The only time that column movement should be used across the "open fields" is when you need to get a body of troops to a given point quickly, and don't have the time to change their formation into line. Be forewarned, though, that if you are caught in column formation by artillery or counter attacking troops, that you will suffer significant losses by defending in column formation.
3. Facing The only real "tactic" involved in most charges is to bring pressure on a salient in the line. As most of you know, it requires about a 3:1 superiority to crack a line, and salients offer this most easily. Pay attention to these points where your line bends, and make sure you have the maximum number of troops that you can put there, and that you do not expose a flank to the enemy. These areas are the points of the line that are most easily broken. FIRETry to make every shot count! For example, if your in close quarters and its your offensive fire, look for the disrupted units in your enemies line and then concentrate on them. This is especially effective against the Union army. By doing this you will greatly increase the chances that some (or all, hopefully) of his troop will route on the subsequent movement phase. When defending a position and heavy artillery fire is expected, have the regiments defend on the backside of a ridge, out of line of sight of the artillery. This is mainly useful in BGG on day 1 for the Union as they pull back to their historical defensive position. This is still a good tactic for holding a position and avoiding artillery fire. Also supporting artillery units can be placed behind the infantry, thus getting 2 or 3 hex range shots on any attacking infantry. Very devastating for attacking units. The other advantage of this defense is that the enemy doesn't know exactly your position or strength. Another big rule is never leave artillery without any infantry support. Artillery can't hold ground against a melee attack. So if artillery is near the enemy's front lines, within one turn move, provide some infantry to protect them, either in the same hex or in front hopefully not blocking LOS. Once again this is especially true for Rebels in BGG. I have won a couple of games by wiping out Rebel batteries, getting 30pts per gun. (from Steve Findley) If it is your defensive fire and you are in close quarters try to pick out his best troops, both in quality and order. If you are using extreme fog-of-war you will not know much beyond weather they are disrupted or not, that is unless you have played that army before and remember the troop ratings. By doing this you stand a decent chance of disrupting his units and preventing him from meleing you successfully. If you are at a distance try to let your artillery do most of the damage. You can fire at your enemy with most troops from a range of 5 hexes, but your chances of doing much damage decrease with every hex. My friend Tom would also like to point out that in longer scenarios you need to watch your ammo depletion. You might want to rotate which units you fire each turn to ensure you have ammo when you really need it! Two other points need to be brought up in relation to artillery. You can de-crew a battery if you are lucky. I recommend when in close quarters, devote at least one unit to fire at the opposing battery. You may get lucky and it will save you a lot of troopers. Also it pays to melee artillery just to disrupt it. Once disrupted, it seems to take a very long time to reform, which subsequently effects its fire capacity and movement allowance. CAVALRY TACTICS
Cavalry has two main functions for me: Rapid response - If you are trying to hold a long front with minimal resources you can keep you cavalry in reserve to help plug holes as they appear. They can cover a battle field much quicker than infantry, as long as you keep them mounted. Just remember, they can not fire in the offensive fire round after there movement if they dismount, so either dismount at a safe distance and move in next turn, or melee if you think they can withstand your opponents subsequent movement and fire turns. As a note if you are approaching another cavalry force, remember that they can move a long way, too, and if you do not have your flanks and rear protected you can be surrounded very easily and devastated and have no time to react. Particulary noticeable in the Stuart Arrives! scenario. ARTILLERY TACTICSThis is difficult to say. On the one hand if you place your cannon on your defensive line you will make your oponent pay dearly for the ground near it and if they assault you. The draw back is you loose a lot of victory points for cannons. In some scenarios you have no choice but to do this, as in Shilo, where the terrain does not provide large open areas for LOS. This has been my normal policy, but from recent games I have learned the other method is probably best. Place you art. at high elevations behind your line so they can pick at the enemy as they move closer. If the enemy breaches your line you have them in reserve and can most likely wear the survivors out before they reach your artillery. This works well in Gettysburg, Bull Run, and Antietam. Guard you horse artillery carefully, they are a very valuable asset as they can limber up, move, and unlimber all in the same phase if not moved too far. They can also keep up with your calvary units. The majority artillery falls into two main types. N for the 12-pounder Napoleon and T for the Rifled Cannon. N should primarliy be used against infantry, they are very effective in this role, while T should be used primarily against enemy batteries. T is also effective against infantry, but not as much. The novice should be wary of taking long range shots early in the scenario with artillery though, as one tends to waste your ammo for minimal effect when later in the scenario, you may have to pass on close shots because you've used up too much. Check the help files for artillery ammunition rules. ARTILLERYOne of the cheapest and most effective ways to instill damage upon your enemy is with the use of artillery. Units defending or advancing can be dealt deathly blows without the ability to retaliate. This is a guide to help you put your artillery to its most effective use.
I. Movement Limbered artillery is highly susceptible to destruction. If it is possible for enemy units to be in the area, then move your artillery in conjunction with infantry or cavalry so that at the end of the movement phase, your artillery is either surrounded by an impenetrable perimeter of protective infantry/cavalry or is sharing a hex with one or more infantry/cavalry units. Exposed and limbered artillery is a favorite target for enemy raids around your flanks into your rear.
When closing on your enemy with all or a portion of your army and your intention is to do so as fast as possible, move your artillery out of the way and have them bring up the rear. Artillery is not intended for highly fluid situations because artillery must unlimber and then wait to fire. The battlefield not only can move out of range during this period, but the artillery battery is slowing up other units having to go through or around them. Additionally, your artillery is subject to be highly vulnerable to a counter attack by your opponent or to an enemy unit that was accidentally bypassed by your lead units. If left to the immediate rear, once the battlefield stabilizes, the artillery is then available to be brought forward and unlimbered.
When the location where you are going to unlimber is not within a field of fire from either infantry range fire, cavalry charge, or artillery fire, then you can move at the maximum movement points allowed in order to reach your hex and unlimber. However, when the hex is within a field of fire, it is best to be able to unlimber in the same movement phase that you reach your hex. In order to this, you may have to stop your artillery in a hex prior to arriving at your destination which is not in a field of fire but is close enough to your destination that in the next movement phase, you can move and unlimber in the same turn. Unlimbered artillery does not have good odds of surviving fire unscathed. Also you get to use the artillery in the next defensive fire phase if unlimbered. Remember that cavalry artillery is especially valuable because they have more movement points and possibly can limber, move, and unlimber in the same turn.
II. Placement It is usually preferable to place artillery in open hexes or on roads because they can then limber and move in the same turn. This could mean the difference in living to fire again or destruction. If your line of battle where artillery placement is being considered is weak and subject to being overrun, then placing your artillery in positions from which it can quickly escape override more ideal placements taking advantage of line of sight and supporting fields of fire. However, if your line of battle is strong and is expected to withstand your enemy, or your position is one where retreat is out of the question, then refer to the subjects below.
1. Friendly Ideal placement of artillery is normally immediately behind the line of battle on high ground with the best line of sight for the area that you wish to control with your fire. Being behind the line protects the artillery from melee, but sometimes there is no high ground with a clear field of fire and in order to bring artillery fire to bear to your front, you must place the battery in the front line. When doing so, always have infantry/cavalry units in the hex with it for protection from melee.
2. Enemy
When possible, establish supporting fields of fire. Artillery batteries may be spaced along your line of battle but should be placed so that a battery can fire in support of the battery next to it. This allows artillery support along a wide front, yet allows a concentration of fire at any point in the line where an enemy attack may occur. When your opponent has only limited avenues of attack, artillery can be concentrated in stacks in those areas so as to break up or cripple the attack before it ever reaches your battle line. Seldom do you get the opportunity to place artillery to fire into the flanks and rear of your attackers, but take advantage of it when the opportunity does exist (e.g. your battle line is in a “V” shape with your opponent attacking into the interior middle of the “V”. In this case, artillery placed along the sides of the “V” would be firing into the flanks of the attacker).
III. Ammo
IV. Types of Artillery
V. Union Artillery |