Learning basic techniques on the battlefield, sharing secrets
Other guides:
- Ultimate General: Civil War – interface guide
- Ultimate General: Civil War – a guide to the types of troops and their structure
Introduction
Greetings! Now it’s the turn of the holy of holies – strategies and tactics. You can build corps and divisions for a long time, arrange personnel leapfrog from officers, arm and disarm soldiers. All this only precedes the moment when the army masses will converge in a decisive battle. And here it will be not so much your organizational skills and theoretical knowledge that will rule, but, I apologize, straightforwardness of hands and clear thinking. And they flow out of the gray matter without direct convolutions – such is the paradox.
The most interesting thing is that even strategy and tactics are responsible for different parts of the brain. Strategy is the ability to see the picture in a comprehensive manner, to capture the whole essence of the battle through analysis. And tactics are the ability to quickly respond to crises with non-standard solutions. Accordingly, you can be a good strategist, but a bad tactician, and vice versa. In the game itself, you will have to combine these two hypostases, because one follows from the other. After all, when describing the entire battle point by point, it is worth remembering that not a single plan has survived a collision with a real enemy, and improvisation is the key to success.
Historical context
In the era preceding the Civil War in the United States, the theory of military affairs was actively developing in the world. Two powerful theorists, Clausewitz and Jomini , proposed their own recipes for “how to achieve success in military affairs.” Jomini believed that the basis of victory was mathematical calculation, the concentration of superior forces both in the offensive and in the defense, as well as the consistent improvement of the quality of the troops. Clausewitz disagreed, emphasizing spirit and morality that defied calculus, and focused on energetic maneuvers. I’ll make a reservation right away that I’m more of a Clausewitz supporter.
It is better to defend in fortifications
Defense
Despite the widespread prejudice, it is sometimes more difficult to defend than to attack. This is partly due to the fact that defense is a forced form of action against a superior enemy. In such situations, it requires very competent microcontrol and tight control over resource consumption. The main task is to inflict maximum damage on the enemy at the minimum cost.
The main element of defense is positioning. It should be maximally protected from enemy fire. If possible, place your troops on high ground, in the forest, or among houses. Ideally, all approaches to the position should be shot through and in open areas. And it is best to occupy narrow defiles, like bridges, where the opponent will not be able to maneuver and use his numerical advantage.
Do not stretch the lines of defense over the entire map. It is better to gather compactly to protect key locations, and by reducing the front, allocate reserves that will fend off crises. In this case, of course, you should not build festungs (circular defensive positions) at a distance from each other. The attacker will simply knock them out one by one with a concentration of forces. The optimal distance will be for several rifle shots, for timely assistance, as well as for taking the advancing enemy columns into a fire bag.
Rely on pre-created fire loops and layouts. Your task is to keep your opponent’s troops at a distance, imposing remote firefights from advantageous positions. In no case do not fall into the chaos of hand-to-hand combat, where dull numbers rule. Better to show tactical flexibility and retreat to reserve positions. Trolling with skirmishers is best suited for this. Use concentrated fire to push out brigade after brigade, reducing the number of active bayonets.
Reduce wiggle room
Infantry brigades, with artillery attached to them, will become the basis of your line of defense. In which case, the line soldiers can repel even a massive assault, if they are supported from behind by grape-shooters. The main thing is to deliver ammunition on time. At the same time, there should be a reserve regiment nearby, which should quickly plug the gap if the brigade runs. And it’s just worth periodically changing people on the front line, so that the fighters have a rest and restore morale.
Defensive skirmishers are invaluable units, especially when armed with rifled hunting rifles. They can fire from distances inaccessible to most fittings. One battalion of skirmishers can successfully fire off an entire infantry brigade until it guesses to attack. And even then they drive them to exhaustion due to the higher speed of movement. It is also not a pity to put them forward under massive fire, due to a sparse formation, in order to conduct flanking shelling.
Cavalry on the defensive is rarely used and wasted. It is this kind of troops that can quickly move to the place of a breakthrough and securely seal it. It is necessary to have a couple of regiments to counter the actions of the enemy cavalry, which strives to enter from the rear. At the same time, it is not necessary to wait for the development of the enemy’s offensive, but also to organize a swift counterattack himself, defeating the vanguard that had beaten off from the main forces. Periodic raids on the rear pay dividends in the form of captured convoys and cut artillery.
Maneuver and push!
Offensive
An attack is a decisive action aimed at defeating the enemy. Its essence can be conveyed in a few phrases “concentration” and “pressure”. The ratio of the attackers should be at least 3 to 1. The attack is carried out by all available forces against the weakest point of the defense, as soon as possible, so that the reserves do not have time to intervene. The rest of the forces should be portraying vigorous activity on the rest of the front, diverting attention from the main events.
To begin with, select skirmishers from the brigades and send them forward for reconnaissance and detection of ambushes. Then, after establishing fire contacts, you determine the configuration of the enemy troops and grope for the “Achilles’ heel.” Further, the advancement of the assault infantry brigades begins. Feel free to use the terrain for stealth and the roads for faster travel. Do not tear off the cavalry from the main forces, so that it does not lose strength and personnel ahead of time.
The assault phase should be bright and short. After artillery preparation, the most trained brigades rush to storm the redoubts. At this point, the cavalry skirting the battle and either strikes in the rear to cause panic, or rushes further to fend off a counterattack by the reserves. After the breakthrough of the front, the phase of the line folding begins, when the divisions of the second line simply go and sweep into the flank everything they see. Anyone can handle it.
A very big problem even after the defeat of the enemy is the pursuit of fleeing units. If the task is to recapture the positions, then catching up with the alarmists is not worth it – fix on the reclaimed points and let them storm you. If the goal is to smash the enemy, then here it is worth thinking about a successful encirclement in the cauldron. This is the only way to capture or disperse most of it. Pursue the defeatists who have broken through the ring with skirmishers and cavalry so as not to reduce the heat of the panic.
Concentration of fire is the key to success
Tactical tips and hints
- “Robbery of carts”. First of all, send the most maneuverable units to the rear of the enemy in order to capture all the vans you see. You will see the effect when their cannons are silenced and the infantry starts firing sluggishly without supplies.
- “Down with your head!” … To hell with nobility – destroy enemy commanders and officers. And it doesn’t matter with anything – either sniper rifles or “parrot” rifled cannons. This will immediately hit the morale and efficiency of the entire army.
- “Trolling the Cavalry”. The computer is quite adept at using cavalry for flanking maneuvers, so the first step is to knock this dangerous tool out of its hands. Send out skirmishers or dragoons, aggro enemy cavalrymen and hastily retreat under the cover of infantry and cannons. Sometimes a divorce is obtained and the color of the horsemen dies under rifle and cannon volleys, after which it no longer has any operational impact on the situation.
- “Take your time. ” Do not chase the infantry and cavalry for nothing. Condition is quickly spent and is slowly restored. Forced marches and hand-to-hand combat are especially tense in this sense. Be guided by the principle “The quieter you drive, the further you will be.” The exception is force majeure.
- “Hit in the back!” … Shooting at the front of a deployed infantry brigade hardly affects morale. Try to tickle the flanks or the rear, and then even seasoned veterans will run headlong. Skirmishers and cavalry are best suited for this. Shooting at marching columns is also encouraged, as additional damage is inflicted on the infantry.
- “Counter-battery fight”. Shooting cannonballs at the infantry masses, hoping to kill another hundred, is pointless, in the context of many thousands of losses in battles. Therefore, focus your fire on enemy artillery, especially if you can’t get it in any other way. Best suited for this are rifled “orders” and “parrots”.
- “Dash”. If you are carrying out a firefight between two infantry brigades, then use the reload time of the enemy muskets to move a little closer. Several such rapprochements and you can go to the assault, firing a volley as the last argument. The morale of the enemy by this time is already seriously undermined.
- “Revolvers, sir!” … Saber Cavalry has revolvers in their arsenal, but have you ever seen how they use them? You just attack the enemy through RMB, and the cavalry is rebuilt into attacking lava. You need to crash into the enemy with a marching column, drawing a route through the enemy’s battle formations. This does not apply to dragoons who shoot first and then retreat. Although they can be used in hand-to-hand combat.
- “How to take prisoner?” … There is no clear formula, especially since the divisions always differ in quality and training. However, there is always a chance to hear the song of the group “Hands up” if you shackle running enemy soldiers with hand-to-hand combat, and still shoot at them from all barrels. The cavalry also brings in its own destabilizing factor. The prisoners’ weapons are automatically transferred to the trophies, and they themselves can join your victorious troops. True, no more than 1000 per battle – for cheat and imbalance.
- “Cheats? No – hint. ” This technique may soon be closed with patches, so use it. If you want to replenish the infantry brigade’s ammunition, then select the skirmishers from it and send them to the van. The patrons are miraculously teleported to their colleagues!
Outcome
Hopefully, this whole set of rules for strategy and tactics in Ultimate General: Civil War is at least a little stuck in your memory. But even if not really – do not rush to be upset. These are just good wishes, with which, as you know, the road is paved you know where. Nothing will give you better preparation than constant practice. In military affairs, the developed intuition sometimes means more than hours of reflection on the map. As Mark Antony said at the Battle of Philippi: “If you don’t know what’s going on and you are overcome by doubts – attack!”.
