Tips for the first confederate campaign battle?

[emcdunna]

How do you win this expert level battle?

You get piss poor troops, are outnumbered 3:1, have to storm a fort and then hold it for 3 hours.... If this isnt the most serious kick in the nuts the game gives you, idk what is.

Can someone with a savegame for hard difficulty email me the save right after you beat this level?

[wrenchman.rk]

So no tips? Just cheat your way to the next battle? Here's a tip. Change your strategies or play an easier mode.

[Marcomies]

Haven't played on hard but have you tried intercepting and delaying the enemy when it's approaching the fort. Then it should have just one defending infantry unit in addition to the artillery when your reinforcements arrive.

When defending move the artillery into canister distance of the enemy infantry. Shooting at the ships doesn't do much.

[wrenchman.rk]

Originally posted by Marcomies:

Haven't played on hard but have you tried intercepting and delaying the enemy when it's approaching the fort. Then it should have just one defending infantry unit in addition to the artillery when your reinforcements arrive.

When defending move the artillery into canister distance of the enemy infantry. Shooting at the ships doesn't do much.

Same strategy I use, except I let one cannon keep the ironclads hurting. Also, I combine division on the front line so my unit is able to dish more damage out from the fort.

[emcdunna]

There are strategies to use, yes intercepting them should work to help you out a bit. Sure skirmishign a bit to slow them down (Second half of the battle) also helps.

What I am talking about is not the non-existence of strategies, but the frustrating difficulty of pulling those off with crappy 1 star brigades who are heavily outnumbered with no significant cover advantage, and when your reinforcements show up so late, so far away, and when your enemy's men show up so early and so close to the fort.....

you seriously have to sprint your brigades past the first line of enemy skirmishers, taking tons of damage in the river, so you can just barely persuade the enemy line infantry to stop and attack you, but at thatpoint you are exhausted, took damage, and are surrounded and outnumbered with only a slight cover advantage.

THIS IS THE FIRST FRICKING MISSION. I mean serious howwwww? how is this the first mission?

[Imbezile]

The first battle is more about tactical manouvers and less about overall strategy.

Usually in P1 I rush the infantry brigades to intercept union reinforcements while using skirmishers, detached skirmishers and cav to deal with skirmishers. The AI moves are quite random so there is no one overall playbook how to deal with it.
Another thing that helps is leaving the fort alone until your units are rested and resupplied. Thus they will be in better condition for P2.

In P2 I leave an infantry brigade, its skirmishers and all the artillery to defend the fort and take the other two brigades and their skirmishers to a flanking position south of the enemy route towards the CP.

Using carolinian tactics flanking and fall back command every time I can I just hammer down the infantry on open ground while it is either engaging or heading towards the fort. When reinforcements arrive one brigade takes the woods behind the enemy while the other one joins the rest of the flanking force. Positioning the artillery right behind your fortified troops is a good idea.

[emcdunna]

Not bad ideas, I am just exasperated that this is the first mission... and I already know from playing before that the Newport news mission and first bull run are also MURDER that wants to make me snap my keyboard in half. Ugh. The glory days of rushing the enemy with 10,000 more men than they have (as the Union) are over

[Imbezile]

Originally posted by emcdunna:

Not bad ideas, I am just exasperated that this is the first mission... and I already know from playing before that the Newport news mission and first bull run are also MURDER that wants to make me snap my keyboard in half. Ugh. The glory days of rushing the enemy with 10,000 more men than they have (as the Union) are over

In Newport you want to stick to the town as much as you can. It is one of the two battles where you don´t have the time to completely annihilate the union force (ambush convoy is the second one)

1st bull run... Well I never send any units to the western CP as it doesn´t matter. just use your reinforcements to block the main union attack and keep core units by the bridge. Taking out the three batallions (2nd NY, 1st&2nd Ohio) arriving first helps a bit. You can flank and take them out before Keys arrives.

It is a lot more glorious to take out the much larger union force with a small band of rebs :)

[emcdunna]

Just seems silly that you get to bring 4 units to that battle whereas the union gets to bring a full corps of what like 15 units? haha seriously its masochistic

[Imbezile]

The reason I so much more prefer the CSA campaign. Used to love it even more when I was always outnumbered and outgunned pre 0.9. There is something weirdly satisfying in destroying an opposing force 1,6 your size and taking less than 1/6 casualties. K/D ratios of 10:1 are just darn glorious at times.

Something from the good ol´ days: https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/155778251309759523/A585A2D7B512F36C152B79849054EF6C3B2C7974/

[emcdunna]

That does seem glorious yes. I think that this game makes you play significantly differently as Union and confederate. As union, i cant rely on any one unit really making a difference. I need a coordinated strategy that often requires sacrificial charges from cheap units while my 2 - 3 star units pour on the fire.

I think as confederacy, you actually need a small elite group of highly dependable units, that just totally massacre the enemy when used right, but you have to get really good at efficiently micro-ing them because you cant afford to lose too many men from any of your units.

[wrenchman.rk]

Originally posted by emcdunna:

Just seems silly that you get to bring 4 units to that battle whereas the union gets to bring a full corps of what like 15 units? haha seriously its masochistic

You have a lot more reinforcements in 1st bull run as confederacy, I think. Honestly, I think its better how it is than before. Was way harder trying to build an army of 3 confederate corp for shiloh in the early release versions that had that happen.

[Imbezile]

That is the primary difference. CSA recruits are also a lot better than union ones which makes it easier to keep even the rookie units alive and kicking long enough to make them your "little terminators". BTW stock Fays whenever applicable. Those guns mean business.

[wrenchman.rk]

Originally posted by Imbezile:

Originally posted by emcdunna:

Not bad ideas, I am just exasperated that this is the first mission... and I already know from playing before that the Newport news mission and first bull run are also MURDER that wants to make me snap my keyboard in half. Ugh. The glory days of rushing the enemy with 10,000 more men than they have (as the Union) are over

In Newport you want to stick to the town as much as you can. It is one of the two battles where you don´t have the time to completely annihilate the union force (ambush convoy is the second one)

1st bull run... Well I never send any units to the western CP as it doesn´t matter. just use your reinforcements to block the main union attack and keep core units by the bridge. Taking out the three batallions (2nd NY, 1st&2nd Ohio) arriving first helps a bit. You can flank and take them out before Keys arrives.

It is a lot more glorious to take out the much larger union force with a small band of rebs :)

It's true everyone has different strategies. I typically just make a stand wherever i can keep hold and go from there. Kept the union at the farm for one 1st bull run while jackson came and took his position at henrys hill. At counter attack phase, i had moved jackson and johnston up and decimated all but 3 brigades between the bridge and farm. Best defense can be a great offense at times.

[emcdunna]

the most interesting part of the game is when you're defending a point, but the ai is targetting most of their units to breach one position in your line, and you take advantage of that by leading a flanking manuevere out of your protected positions into the open, just to get those glorious flanking shots that annihilate the enemy advance

[emcdunna]

UPDATE: I listened to everything you guys suggested. I distracted union inf first day. I did some good damage that first day. Still had 2/3rds of my men for the second day. I lost. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ UNBELIEVABLE how many union men they get. I had 3 inf units, 400 men each, and they had 6 inf average 700, and 3 skirmisher units with 200ish men, and support artillery.

My reinforcements were 2 more weak units.

IDK How the heck you win this battle.