Chickamauga

[RebBugler]

Your talents amaze me, and let me add my own thanks for all your efforts. Somehow I missed the Chickamauga Mod and just found it. But, though it works fine, I just can't figure out how to select Jolly's map. I look in the Mods/Chicamauga folder and find two folders, Maps and Optional Maps. I'm guessing it will be in Optional Maps. How do I select it?
Thaks again.

Much Appreciated!

We're still waiting for Jolly's latest terrain enhancements, but to clarify, this is not another map. The 'Optional Maps' folder contains another version of the maps by Crikey. To see and use them rename the present Maps folder and then rename 'Optional Maps' to Maps.

[jlan5031]

RedBugler,
Thanks for your prompt reply. I'll just wait patiently. I've had SOWGB for several years. It's a great game, and it just keeps drawing me back. Thanks again.

[RebBugler]

Update 3.25...

- Four new CSA flags
- Updated Chickamauga B&F OOB to include new flags
- Both sandbox OOBs updated with new flags

Hardee Pattern, left to right:

33rd Alabama
38th Alabama
17th Tennessee
1st Arkansas

Hardee Pattern 1863.jpg (75.35 KiB) Viewed 1178 times

Had to even things up...Now both sides have twenty flags each built especially for this battle.
I'm still searching for Hardee patterned flags to represent the Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia regiments. I would appreciate any posts or leads furthering this quest...Thanks in Advance

[Jolly]

Also, nearly there with the terrain 'n trees. Testing grab ...

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David(jolly)

[Jolly]

Cor Blimey, it's getting more like I want it to look, and is capable of!

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A few wee alpha's to fix as you can notice on the left!

David(jolly)

[Jolly]

Unt ....

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[Zeke]

Absolutely brilliant flags and a fantastic endeavour. Here are a couple of flags that I have found both from 1864 but they did have very similar flags in 1863 (of the Buckner/Hardee design) this is the 54th Georgia

http://www.tmealf.com/digital/0015-54th ... 201864.jpg

here is one for Mississippi 32nd & 34th Volunteer Infantry later consolidated

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~msciv ... 060508.pdf

Most of the Mississippi units preferred the St Andrews/Saltaire cross (known as the Southern Cross) or the earlier Army of Mississippi flag. This design was based on the cross that the apostle Andrew was crucified on which was an X-shaped and as there was a large population in the south from Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry so it was not surprise that this was a popular choice. The St Andrew/Southern Cross adoption was also championed by Joe Johnston when he took over full control in the west in mid-late1863

In terms of Louisiana like Mississippi they preferred the Southern Cross flag on the forum link below there are a number of flags including the 3rd Louisiana Infantry – although they also liked the French inspired striped state flag and the pelican flag although there is no documented proof of western Louisianan troops using these types in combat

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/flags- ... 806/page-6

Hope this helps

Regards

Zeke

[mkeogh76]

I finished the Union version of "Morning of the 19th."

This was such a brilliantly designed scenario and I had so much fun playing it that I couldn't resist writing about it.

I played with HITS and couriers and won a major victory. Granted that victory came with the assistance of 2-3 false starts which certainly helped with my winning effort such as seeing where additional victory objectives would appear and knowing the timing of reinforcement releases.

These were the things that helped and/or stood-out about this terrific scenario:

1) Do NOT be too aggressive! This warning stands for two reasons:

(a) Unlike our real-life counterparts, the player knows that there isn't a single Rebel brigade waiting to be "gobbled-up." Instead, we know, to quote "Platoon," that "somewhere out there's the 'beast,' and he hungry tonight."

(b) You're initially opposed by cavalry which unfortunately in SOW is extremely and unrealistically overpowered against infantry in melee. If you're too aggressive then you'll see saber-wielding frontal charges (in wooded terrain!?!?) descending upon your infantry inflicting massive casualties and routs. [This one of my biggest complaints about SOW. It is utterly absurd in both terms of historicity and gameplay.]

So, the solution is not to push too hard or at all. Yes, there are two objectives that you're supposed to push toward, but you can win this scenario with only one of them and that one can wait. Also, if you do advance then one way to lessen the chances of triggering those ridiculous cavalry charges is use the probe stance which appears to keep your infantry out of the triggering range.

2) You're General Thomas- use him! Unlike the Three Bridges scenario where it was impractical to move General Mitchell around the map, General Thomas should be ridden toward the fighting as soon as possible. He's got great leadership stats that give staying power to units in the firing line and the ability to quickly rally retreating regiments. Plus, unlike Three Bridges, your forces are much more concentrated so it's easier to be hands-on. General Thomas should be near the thick of the fighting.

3) Reserves: early in the scenario your only active unit is Col. Croxton's large brigade: it starts with five regiments, but it's eventually reinforced to six. With my false starts, I was ordering Croxton forward with his entire brigade. He'd spread six regiments out and that would result in a very thin line that was relatively easily broken. So, I'd detach two of his regiments and kept them near the spot of a soon-to-appear victory location. Whenever one of Croxton's fighting regiments retreated then I'd detach it and use it to replace one of the reserve regiments which would be reattached back to Croxton. This worked really well.

4) Let General Brannan handle it. One of the real cool things about HITS is how you can really see the value of able subordinates. Good commanders in SOW can be a real help. Gen. Brannan is a good commander. However, I didn't want him interfering with my handling of Croxton's brigade. So, he remained on TC until Col. Connell appeared and joined Col. Van Derveer on the Reed Bridge Road. Upon Connell and Van Derveer uniting that's when I unTCed Brannan and let him handle those two brigades. (I kept Croxton detached.) Brannan did a great job- holding one objective and taking another.

5) First time- I've never used the "Detach Regiment" feature. However, mid-game Croxton's brigade was being hit from the east, south, southeast, and southwest. He had his regiments facing every which way. So, I used the Detach Regiment order which split Croxton's brigade into two demi-brigades which allowed me to face one of them to the east and the other to the south.

6) Artillery struggles: the dense woods limits fields of fire, but canister can still be effective. So, it's temping to push batteries forward. However, while I was dealing with Croxton, one of my batteries was caught unsupported with its canister munitions spent. The result: four cannons lost to capture.

7) The real neat thing about this scenario is its script which handles the release of reinforcements. The AI will move them towards their historical destinations and upon reaching them that's when they'd finally be released to the player. (Although the three 1st Division batteries were never released- WAD?)

8) King's Regulars: By far the best part of the scenario was when Baird's division was released. By then Croxton's demi-brigades were nearly spent. So, Baird's arrival came at the right moment. I quickly ordered him to use two of his brigades, Scribner and Starkweather, to "sweep" the Rebels in an attack on their perceived flank. I detached King's regular brigade to hold another popped-up victory location in what appeared to be a quiet area. Wrong! The Rebels struck Baird's division hard. They had moved-up maybe two batteries into position which blasted Scribner and sent his regiments reeling. The Rebels then descended in force upon King's regulars. It was titanic fight with close-range musketry and even some hand-to-hand combat (another neat thing about HITS is that melees aren't as frequent as they are in standard mode which is more accurate). General King was killed (my only leader loss) and two of his battalions were routed, but his brigade held that victory location which put me over the victory threshold.

I apologize for the wall-of-text, but there is something about this game that makes me want to write about it. The cavalry vs. infantry issue aside, this is such a brilliant game and this scenario really made it shine. I really do hope that the SOW series isn't dead.

[RebBugler]

mkeogh76

Thanks again for an uplifting and well crafted AAR. Like your start-overs, this scenario went through several start-over designs until it finally worked. Your praise for it's design makes the effort all the more worth while, much appreciated.

The 1st division battery wasn't called forward for this morning battle, so I followed the lead historically. You obviously didn't need them, earning a major victory playing HITS and couriers is a miracle in itself. Especially if you can handle the afternoon battle, stretching across the entire length of the battlefield with three major HOT zones, happening almost simultaneously.

[mkeogh76]

mkeogh76

Thanks again for an uplifting and well crafted AAR. Like your start-overs, this scenario went through several start-over designs until it finally worked. Your praise for it's design makes the effort all the more worth while, much appreciated.

The 1st division battery wasn't called forward for this morning battle, so I followed the lead historically. You obviously didn't need them, earning a major victory playing HITS and couriers is a miracle in itself. Especially if you can handle the afternoon battle, stretching across the entire length of the battlefield with three major HOT zones, happening almost simultaneously.

Reb Bugler;

Thanks for the reply, and for this wonderfully designed scenario.

In my play through, the 1st Division artillery batteries all advanced and all three were engaged. They played a short, but big role near the end of the scenario which is why I was confused why they were never released. The 1st Division Artillery CO was released, but none of his batteries despite their moving into the combat zone.

I don't want to give the impression that I'm winning these scenarios using the game's extreme "realism" settings. I play HITS with a custom difficulty setting. The game's "Historical" difficulty level setting isn't very historical due to the AI forces receiving significant boosts as to experience and leadership. So, I use a custom setting that keeps the AI experience and leadership levels at "normal." Also, I think the blank mini-map is just too much of a handicap especially for corps or army level scenarios. So, I use a mini-map option that shows the location of my forces and some of the enemy's. The blank map would be great if my AI subordinates could provide me with intelligence/status reports as in real-life, but, unfortunately, they're not coded to do so in SOW. Thus, I think the blank mini-map makes things too opaque and difficult. So, I am using some "cheats" while playing HITS.

I'm also using Marching Thru Georgia's "Enhanced Arty and Flank Fire" mod which increases the range of canister and improves the lethality of long-range munitions. For me, this mod has transformed SOW's artillery from an afterthought to a valuable battlefield asset which I think is much more in tune with historical reality. However, it may be making things a little easier because the player can use his artillery much more effectively than the AI. Even the late arriving 1st Division artillery batteries were able to inflict damage and rack-up points. Still, in this scenario my troops were on the receiving end of some devastating Rebel artillery fire. Scribner's brigade was absolutely shredded by Rebel guns located on a ridge to the south. So, the AI does benefit from this mod's effectiveness, but it may be throwing-off scenario balance.

Yes, I checked-out the Afternoon of the 19th scenario and it does appear daunting. Army level scenarios with HITS can be very difficult due to command-and-control issues. Plus, the carryover point thresholds look pretty tough. It can be frustrating trying to get AI commanders to sit still on victory level locations long enough to achieve points. Still, I'll give it a shot. I've been extremely impressed by both this mod and the quality of the scenarios so I'll definitely keep playing.