I have been beaten.....
Absolute_sad's CSA forced my Union surrender in mid 1862 after a stunning Union defeat outside Washington. He played very well and earned the victory.
Absolute_sad and I had a post game strategy wrapup which we have agreed to post here.
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Union Strategy (Misfit)
> My strategy was to build up quickly by having Coal Plants in the major
> cities and factories in the smaller ones. Over time I could overwhelm
> you with troops (which is pretty much what happened in the real war).
>
> I wanted to harass with naval landings, but it wasn't a big part of my
> game plan. I had worked out a possible way to attack New Orleans, but
> it would have required far more units than I could realistically
> transport. I was pleased that my naval combat techniques were
> successful, but I doubt I would try to duplicate my river campaign
> again (at least not quite as deep a strike with no way to return).
(side note: My Springfield MO division moved due east from week 28, 1861, eventually capturing Little Rock, Helena and Arkansas Post and getting as far south as Monroe before getting killed. I captured Johnsonville early in the war (using my transports) and moved 3 Divisions down to ravage the cities of Jackson and Corinth. There wasn't a rail line left anywhere in near a river by the time I was done. Unfortunately the CSA recaptured Johnstonville and my units were trapped.)
>
> I think giving the CSA a golden age was a mistake. There is far too
> much buildup possible than should historically be realistic. Even in
> my BEST game as the CSA I never built more than 8 additional divisions
> (and 4 of those were with military great leaders). There wasn't any
> realistic chance of me being able to catch and surpass you.
>
> Hmm, maybe we should try the next game with a 5 turn golden age for
> the CSA and no golden age for the Union. The CSA will also get the
> potential benefit of running the blockcade for a cash injection every
> 15 turns.
>
> The slight changes to the Union cavalry and skirmisher attack should
> help somewhat with these supporting units, and the removal of disease
> will let the Union production advantage materialize more quickly.
>
>
>
CSA Strategy (Absolute_sad)
>
> In the East, my initial strategy was to wait for your attack, but it
> never happened. After upgrading to Rifles and building the Valor, I
> realized that I couldn't just wait or you'll become too strong. So I
> tried to harass you with the NVA. It was risky (especially when I
> attacked your Veteran Div in a Fort) but it paid well. The important
> point in this strategy was the ability of the NVA to attack and then to
> retreat. Perhaps I should have started to harass you sooner, when you
> had only Volunteers, but I was too scary to lose the NVA, the only Div
> or to be counter-attacked while my stack is far from my towns.
>
> In the West, I haven't thought about your strategy of using naval
> transports to avoid front lines and of quickly moving troops while
> preventing me to react by destroying the railroads. It was an error for
> me to attack in Mississippi, a static front is the best I can get here,
> even with 5 Divisions. Later you probably could have saved the 2 Rogues
> Divs by moving the 4 Rifle stack close to the river (I wouldn't have
> attacked them, too risky) and then land them.
>
> About production: it is clear that the Golden Age was very useful, for
> example for paying the cost of Rifle updating. Since the beginning of
> the war, my Top 10 cities started to produce divisions; the result is
> that now I have 13 Divisions while starting with only 6. I also had a
> lot of Rifle Brigades (especially in the West), so I could sacrifice
> some to achieve strategic goals. Several cities have produced Coal
> Plants, and it was the only building I've ever built, except some walls
> in very strategic towns. It is clear that it is a short-term strategy,
> so if the war waged up to 1863, I would have been outnumbered
> financially and scientifically.
>
> About the science, two things helped. The Golden Age of cause but also
> espionage. Around turn 20, I stole you the Banking and a dozen turns
> later the Higher Education. The military report was also very useful as
> I could see that you were creating almost no Divisions, but a lot of
> Engineers and some Transports. That's why several of my Brigade were
> guarding the East coast.
>
> If the war would have continued, I was preparing several things. First
> a massive attack in Kentucky with 2 Rifle Divs, 1 Cav. Div, 5+ Rifle
> Brigades. Perhaps I would have managed to ambush you south of
> Lincoln... I was also translating 3 Irregulars to the east to make some
> surprise ambushes where you weren't expecting it. You must have seen
> that I used near a dozen of scouts, who were very important sometimes
> as I could exactly know what forces were ahead. I was even thinking
> about researching the optional tech to get the 2-movement scouts.
>
> In Maryland, the extra Divisions would have allowed me to block you in
> Baltimore while harassing you in Washington and the town east of it. I
> was also sending a Division to the north because my scouts reported
> that you only had one Brigade there.
>
> I think that your best strategy was to leave Washington two turns ago.
> Without a good supply line, my attack would have been slowed and
> Baltimore was safe with your 7 Divisions. In a dozen of turns, with
> extra Divisions and an Army, I would have lost the initiative. Then it
> is your job to carefully re-conquer the lost lands.
>
> The naval war was really bad. I've made some serious mistakes,
> especially on rivers, but because of your strategy, I think I had no
> chances anyway in the sea. I was building several Ironclads, but
> without illusions. The transport danger was serious, but once you were
> under heavy pressure in Virginia, I knew you could hardly spare a
> Division to make a landing.
>
> Well, I think that's it !
>
> It was a pleasure and a challenge to play with you. You've surprised me
> more than once and without some luck my lines could have collapsed in
> the West.