Just enjoyed (frustratingly so) a grand, pyrrhic victory

[LCcmdr]

Playing as the Union (on Hard/medium), I barely survived a cunningly played (yes, the AI was awesome) battle at Winchester, VA. My 48K versus CSA 72K.

AI made perfect maneuvers to confuse me, then pin me, while making a major flanking effort that rolled my right flank. My left broke his diversionary feint; but, the AI kept just enough reserves to keep me trapped and unable to shift my lines to bolster the crumbling right flank. it became an open field melee. I lost 9k while killing 22k. Though declared a major victory, I just barely stayed in the field, with nearly 40% of my Army of Pennsylvania being broken. The computer's ability to maneuver is so much better.

Well, it's so rare that I'm given that level of opposition--thought I would testify that this game, though having some issues, can still be FUNTASTIC (intentionally misspelled) to play.

[Didz]

I know what you mean. It's great when the AI manages to deliver a really dangerous tactical plan. I'm struggling in my current Battle of Fort Adam because for some reason the AI has found the weakness in my defences and is using some sort of brigade strength wave attack strategy to just wear down my defenders. I've never seen the AI do it before so it really took me by surprise and makes me wonder whether commanders really do make a difference. This is the first time I've faced the Army of Indiana, commanded by Major General John Pope, and if this is him, then he has my respect.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3490738394
I am seriously thinking of withdrawal at this point.

[LCcmdr]

one day, I'm going to learn how to post such pics

[Didz]

Originally posted by LCcmdr:

one day, I'm going to learn how to post such pics

To post a screenshot on Steam:

1. Take a screenshot on Steam using the in-game overlay, or use your own tool.
   (I use the f8 key to capture screenshots during gameplay)
   
2. Check that you can see the screenshot in Steam by pressing Library and selecting your game. [Or you can choose 'View' on the Menu Bar and select 'Recordings and Screenshots.]
   
3. Your screenshots will appear listed in the Post-game summary section.
   
4. If you wish to edit your screenshot then right click and select 'Show on Disk'. Load and edit the image, but save it back on itself (don't click 'Save As' or change the name.)
   
5. Select View>Recordings and Screenshots .
   
6. Choose your scheenshot and click 'Share', give it a title.
   
7. Wait for it to upload the click on 'View on my profile'
   
8. Click on share button and copy the link.
   
9. Paste it anywhere.

[LCcmdr]

many thanks!

[ArIskandir]

Yup, it is really fun when the game challenges you like that.
I find the tactical AI does a competent job when it isn't hampered by some terrain bug.
I'm starting to dread the AI winter campaigns (playing on very hard setting, the AI apparently goes full Russian-style and moves freely over the winter Campaign map), my Armies are all fixed deep in snow, unable to move so the AI has the strategic initiative.
On the tactical level, the AI becomes really dangerous when visibility is really low and freezing temperatures.
Yesterday I was defending the Bull Run line, but the river was frozen and there was a heavy blizzard so visibility was like 500 yards. I was outnumbered by 50% but I was well entrenched and my army was well equipped with riffles and some artillery ready to canister the choke points.
To my surprise the AI cavalry did a Light Brigade charge over the frozen river and routed half of my artillery, then did a massive bayonet assault on my right flank... 6 brigades across the frozen river. I did have some reserves on place but it was very costly to repulse that first attack.
Then came a flanking attempt over the left end of my line with another 3 brigades over the frozen river, I had a scout detachment far on my flank for spotting such a threat so I barely had time to use my Zouave Division (last reserves) to check the assault before it smashed my defensive line. Again the AI went for a bayonet charge against my Zouaves, neutering their firepower advantage and making it more costly to repulse the attack.
Meanwhile all along the front the AI was probing my defenses, piece meal and not very well coordinated but by late afternoon all but 2 of my brigades were on low or exhausted ammo. I was resorting to bayonet charges to repulse the river crossings. At last the AI morale broke after losing 34% of their forces but it was a very challenging and fun affair.

And there was that time when the AI marched a whole Corps into my rear, along an unfinished railway line, during a blizzard, slipping between a gap in my pickets, and then coordinated an almost simultaneous pincer attack on my line... it was awesome to behold.

[LCcmdr]

that sounds like a pyrrhic loss...

[ArIskandir]

Originally posted by LCcmdr:

that sounds like a pyrrhic loss...

It was a close thing. My picket line spotted the force coming from the front before the threat on my rear was revealed, I was already in the process of crushing the front assault, when the pincer attack happened. I used skirmishers and one brigade to stall the back and pushed hard to quickly sweep the front, then turned and dealt with the infiltrated corps, had it happened simultaneously I would had been crushed.

[LCcmdr]

Outstanding, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.

Some of my battles are so intense that I can't tell anything more than the fact that I have marginally less losses than the enemy, with the top bar alternating from slightly winning to a slight loss.

In fact, I another intense battle last night, just less pyrrhic--I lost 11K while the enemy suffered 23K. My average is 1:3 losses, so this was a much better AI opponent whose cunning was very good, pulling my entrenched troops out to counter numerous flanking moves. WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE!

Well, it would be nice if the economy made a more visible impact at the holistic, strategic level.

[ArIskandir]

Originally posted by LCcmdr:

Well, it would be nice if the economy made a more visible impact at the holistic, strategic level.

The thing about the economy imo is there's not enough time to make it relevant. The military victories on the field carry a lot more strategic weight.
For my next campaign I'm gonna try to neuter the strategic impact of combat results (via campaignpref edits), the idea being giving more relative weight to the economy. Hopefully breaking the AI morale will take more than just crushing her at the battlefield.

[LCcmdr]

Let me know how you do that. I've not engaged in modding files to this point; so, that's all alien to me.

[Alavaria]

Ah well the AI can continue to keep recruiting and keep all its troops supplied even if it happens to have no factories, foundries and so on to produce the Weapons, Artillery, Ammunition etc. Basically the economic system seems able to just create all the goods you want to buy, it's just a matter of price and the actual IIP throughput.

Money isn't much of a constraint if you keep things rolling for a couple years. Yes, I noticed the AI ended up paying like 2x to 4x more per soldier for upkeep (some of this is rebuying supplies lost due to defeats, though), but it was only the lack of recruits that held it back... or rather it ran low but just not enough to trigger doing Enrollment Act until it was too late.

By letting the AI keep on fighting even at 0 morale, I found that at least in my run, by the time it did Enrollment, I had already captured every single town/city so it could hardly draft... also occupied states will start reducing their support level (a full 100% after a year of complete occupation, and proportional to amount taken) and that combined with casualties mean it can be stuck with just no where to recruit, either by using it all (low population states) or just having chewed through so many (high population states) that the state won't allow recruiting anymore.

By the end, it had still norminally 160,000 but only about 60,000 really able to fight with the rest of the AI armies stuck perma-retreating in rivers deep in now-my territory. Seems there was no path they could take, even just left alone they sat there (not necessarily starving or anything though, presumably due to being "transported" on the river)

[ArIskandir]

Originally posted by LCcmdr:

Let me know how you do that. I've not engaged in modding files to this point; so, that's all alien to me.

It's also the first time I'm doing this so I'm experimenting as I go. Check the Mods subforum if you are curious, there's a lot to unpack there, but I'm trying to keep it simple and change only specific values to help the AI keep the war going.
On the install folder of the game, there's a file called campaignprefs.txt it is a simple file you can edit, there's a LOT of preferences there you can edit to your liking, it is all reasonably well explained in the text (just be careful not to break something).
There are many sections within the file, the one I'm focusing is labeled Objectives & Interventions, it determines the triggers and consequences of the different objectives like breaking the enemy morale (end game), taking their capital, etc. What I'm doing is setting the enemy morale drop to minimum levels so I can complete the objectives without crippling the AI morale (for example I can take Washington or Richmond and the AI gets -5% instead of -20%). There are also other important sections that rule the loss of state support for each casualty and the morale impact of each battle defeat, I'm minimizing every value so the only significant morale/support loss comes from losing territory.
I also just learnt how to switch sides in the middle of a Campaign, so I'm jumping on the AI seat a couple times to set her on a more useful path by adjusting the OOB, doing some recruiting, policy selection, weapon orders, spending and projects.
As I'm an organizational freak I'm getting double the fun at this lol.
This is the link to a tutorial, it's fairly easy to do.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/654890/discussions/3/600770111531452954/