germanicus12
First Citizen of Rome
Thanks to EQ for the usage of some of his rule set.
Victory
Victory is achieved in this NES-game differently for both factions. The following are how each side can defeat the other:
1. Dissent Victory: If dissent for either side reaches over 75%, that side’s people force the government to peace at any cost. Dissent rises more quickly for the Union than the Confederacy, for the people of the South view the war as a struggle for survival. A nation’s dissent stat changes with the outcomes of battles and the capture of major cities.
2. Total Victory (Union only): If the Union completely occupies the south or captures all of the South’s major cities, they win automatically as the South loses capacity to fight a war.
3. Electoral Victory (Confederacy only): If by November 1864, at least 7 Southern cities are not captured by the Union, it is assumed McClellan wins on a peace ticket. Therefore, the North will only have until inauguration day in March 1865 to achieve a total victory.
4. Concession: At any time if they view the situation as hopeless, the head commander can concede victory. That’s rather straightforward I think.
Regiments
Regiments are the basic unit of an army. Without regiments you have no soldiers. Each individual regiment is historically named and in their proper locations with the start of this NES.
Regiment Stats:
New York 15th Regiment (Union)
-Infantry
Attachment: Artillery
550 men
Springfield (35 rounds per man)
Seasoned Troops
High Morale
Marching from New York.
Regiment Strength
Rather than percentages, this will utilize actual numbers. An average regiment holds about 1,000 men, so with the regiment example above, the 15th New York is close to 50% strength. Lower strength regiments usually have better quality men that will stick it out to the end rather than those who are at full capacity, as these tends to be new recruits and never seen combat.
Regiment Types
There are three types of regiments; Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery. Each serve different historical purposes, which I will briefly detail for those who need more knowledge on the Civil War military aspect.
Infantry: Infantry regiments are the backbone of an army. During the Civil War, they acted as front line assault forces and provided the vast majority of the manpower available to the commanders of both sides. These soldiers are always on foot, require the least amount of funds and training, and will likely be the mainstay of your armies.
Cavalry: Cavalry acted as screening and scouting forces during the war. They also acted as raiding forces, and Confederate cavalry occasionally struck as far north as New England. Though expensive, cavalry can severely damage the enemy’s ability to fight a war, or provide vital on-the-spot information to a commander on the battlefield.
Artillery: Artillery Battalion. For the purposes of this NES, an artillery battalion is a massed group of cannon for siege and strategic purposes. An Artillery Battalion is vital for besieging an enemy city or for a massed bombardment on the front. However, the high cost of artillery makes production en masse prohibitive, meaning that only the largest armies can afford to deploy these massed groups.
Attachment Types
The three regiments listed above qualify as only a small portion of the types of regiments and units available to commanders during the civil war. Attachments represent regiments of one type attached to regiment of another. Essentially, they act as support or protection for a regiment. A regiment can have as many attachments as the supreme commander is willing to allow (as long as they are different types), but remember, if you lose the regiment, you lose the attachments, which could make a “super-regiment” a very expensive mistake. Here are the types of Attachments and a brief description of each.
Infantry (Artillery only): This represents an infantry regiment assigned to protect an artillery battalion.
Cavalry (Infantry only): This represents a cavalry regiment attached to infantry in order to provide intelligence and scouting.
Artillery (Infantry or Cavalry only): This represents a smaller group of artillery which provides localized light artillery support for infantry or cavalry regiments.
Engineers (Infantry or Artillery only): Engineers during the Civil War constructed bridges, fortifications, military railroads, and other vital works for the military apparatus. If you want to cross a river without a bridge or establish defensive works, engineers are a must.
Sharpshooters: Sharpshooters are specialists with long-range rifles who focus on killing the enemy’s commanding officers. Feared and hated by the infantry, Sharpshooters can single-handedly break a regiment’s will to fight.
It should be noted that there are other types of regiments which will be revealed as the NES progresses. These regiments will not be able to be constructed, but will be provided as part of special circumstances.
Experience
Experience shows the bonus granted by continued exposure to combat by a particular regiment. The more the regiment fights, the higher this rises. This is to offset losses in strength. The more the regiment fights, the better the soldiers get at staying alive. There is no upper limit to experience.
Weapons
This represents the quality of your weapons, guns in the Civil War varied from gun to gun, the North had mostly well made Springfields while the South had reversed engineered Springfields stolen from the Union. There are also many others, southern farmers brought their own guns from home and so on. This will be represented in the Regiment stat.
Updates and Orders
Updates will be done in a much different fashion than regular NESes. Each “turn” will be a month, and that month will have gerneralized orders from the General-in-Chiefs and specific orders for subordinate commanders. What I expect from monthly orders will be detailed below separately. Each monthly update will include basic descriptions at what occurred throughout the month, both within the war itself and information internationally which relates to the war. Brief descriptions of military movements and battles will also be included.
The unique part about this NES is that the monthly main NESes will vary in their frequency of updating. At times within a month, armies will occasionally meet in battle, sometimes more than once. When this occurs, I will post stating that two armies have met in battle on a certain day at a specific place. As detailed below, the subordinate commanders involved in the battle will have a chance to send orders tactically relating to the battle. Fighting will continue until an obvious victor has emerged. Only when all battles are completed will the monthly update be posted.
Rules for Subordinate Commanders
Armies
A Subordinate commander can be granted any position or positions the General-in-Chief believes them capable of handling. This means that a subordinate commander is allowed to command more than one army at a time, if the General-in-Chief is willing to allow it.
Within an army, the commanding general has full ability to carry out any policies relating to the army. I’d recommend looking into this, and trying to carry out historical regards. Armies don’t merely fight battles, and problems can tear at an army from within. Importantly, choices by commanders relating to their armies can result in benefits or failures to the national cause as a whole. This policies also relate to treatment of occupied territories and individuals within your area of control.
Regiments, Brigades, Divisions and Corps
As a subordinate commander, you have complete control over the units in your command. You are free to merge under-strength units (Corps can be merged only by the General-in-Chief) and to command them specifically in battle. Battle orders will be discussed later. As for merging units an example would be that if you put a unit with 43% strength with one at 51% strength, you will get a single 94% strength unit. All attachments with the two original unit will be combined with the new one.
Also, Generals must choose which Division will be their base headquarters when in battle, this is the division the other commanders will forward dispatches to and meet you for discussions. Failure to choose one will result in confusion and chaos in battle.
Attrition
Under the army stats you may notice the attrition statistic. This represents out of combat losses that your army is currently suffering. Attrition will always be with you, representing desertions, disease, and accidents. This percentage can rise depending on if you lose a battle, campaign in winter, are viewed as inept by your soldiers, and on your national dissent rating.
Dismissal
The General-in-Chief can remove you from the NES at any moment he desires. I will back up all dismissals based on incompetence or even just disagreements IC. If you feel that the dismissal was unjust, you can appeal to me, though I will hear both sides of the story before confirming or denying your request. If one commander dismisses you however, it is ok for the other side to hire you as a new general.
Orders and Monthly Updates
For each monthly update, I’ll expect general orders and movements from each commander. If you don’t want to move your army, then I need to know that too. This is when you’ll merge and reorganize the forces under your control.
As a tip, please keep in mind what month it is and the resulting weather. Soldiers don’t like fighting under almost all circumstances, but fighting in the winter can have a bad effect upon your attrition rate. Also, some rivers freeze over in the winter, so naval support will be impossible to maintain.
Battles
Battles will be the most excitement you’ll receive in this NES. When two armies meet in battle, I will post on the thread describing the events leading up to the fight. Maps will be sent via Private Message to both commanders showing the battlefield and the location of their armies. Based on these maps, the commanders will send orders for the battle. Depending on the orders, battles can last for several days and without AIM, several RL weeks can occur between monthly updates. “Mini-updates” will be given on the course of the battle and at points commanders can be given opportunities to make new tactical decisions.
Rules for General-in-Chiefs
Manpower
There is no such thing as “a bottomless well of manpower.” While the North had extensively more available men of soldiering age and status than the South, they did not have an infinite basis of support. Factor this into your plannings, and try to leave a battle without losing alot of men.
Defensive Fortifications
Fort: Place forts by selecting their locations on the map or specifying what area or city they are supposed to defend. Forts automatically are all assumed to have garrisons with artillery support within. They can seal choke points or provide extra protection to a vital harbor.
Foreign and Domestic Policies
As in other NESes, there will be forces at work outside of America, the General-in-Chiefs may receive letters from foreign dignitaries concerning trade issues, sale of weapons, etc... They may even offer to join the war on your behalf.
Orders and Updates
Every monthly update will require your orders. You do not need to react to battle updates unless the situation is immediately dire and requires replacement of the general in the theater. Your orders should be focused entirely on national issues and production. Specific orders for armies should only be needed if you have felt it necessary to take on a command for yourself, which you are allowed to do.
Finally, in your commander stats, there will be a list of regiments in a brigade in a division that forms a corps. This will leave you with more options and more flexibility to move around the battlefield.
Victory
Victory is achieved in this NES-game differently for both factions. The following are how each side can defeat the other:
1. Dissent Victory: If dissent for either side reaches over 75%, that side’s people force the government to peace at any cost. Dissent rises more quickly for the Union than the Confederacy, for the people of the South view the war as a struggle for survival. A nation’s dissent stat changes with the outcomes of battles and the capture of major cities.
2. Total Victory (Union only): If the Union completely occupies the south or captures all of the South’s major cities, they win automatically as the South loses capacity to fight a war.
3. Electoral Victory (Confederacy only): If by November 1864, at least 7 Southern cities are not captured by the Union, it is assumed McClellan wins on a peace ticket. Therefore, the North will only have until inauguration day in March 1865 to achieve a total victory.
4. Concession: At any time if they view the situation as hopeless, the head commander can concede victory. That’s rather straightforward I think.
Regiments
Regiments are the basic unit of an army. Without regiments you have no soldiers. Each individual regiment is historically named and in their proper locations with the start of this NES.
Regiment Stats:
New York 15th Regiment (Union)
-Infantry
Attachment: Artillery
550 men
Springfield (35 rounds per man)
Seasoned Troops
High Morale
Marching from New York.
Regiment Strength
Rather than percentages, this will utilize actual numbers. An average regiment holds about 1,000 men, so with the regiment example above, the 15th New York is close to 50% strength. Lower strength regiments usually have better quality men that will stick it out to the end rather than those who are at full capacity, as these tends to be new recruits and never seen combat.
Regiment Types
There are three types of regiments; Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery. Each serve different historical purposes, which I will briefly detail for those who need more knowledge on the Civil War military aspect.
Infantry: Infantry regiments are the backbone of an army. During the Civil War, they acted as front line assault forces and provided the vast majority of the manpower available to the commanders of both sides. These soldiers are always on foot, require the least amount of funds and training, and will likely be the mainstay of your armies.
Cavalry: Cavalry acted as screening and scouting forces during the war. They also acted as raiding forces, and Confederate cavalry occasionally struck as far north as New England. Though expensive, cavalry can severely damage the enemy’s ability to fight a war, or provide vital on-the-spot information to a commander on the battlefield.
Artillery: Artillery Battalion. For the purposes of this NES, an artillery battalion is a massed group of cannon for siege and strategic purposes. An Artillery Battalion is vital for besieging an enemy city or for a massed bombardment on the front. However, the high cost of artillery makes production en masse prohibitive, meaning that only the largest armies can afford to deploy these massed groups.
Attachment Types
The three regiments listed above qualify as only a small portion of the types of regiments and units available to commanders during the civil war. Attachments represent regiments of one type attached to regiment of another. Essentially, they act as support or protection for a regiment. A regiment can have as many attachments as the supreme commander is willing to allow (as long as they are different types), but remember, if you lose the regiment, you lose the attachments, which could make a “super-regiment” a very expensive mistake. Here are the types of Attachments and a brief description of each.
Infantry (Artillery only): This represents an infantry regiment assigned to protect an artillery battalion.
Cavalry (Infantry only): This represents a cavalry regiment attached to infantry in order to provide intelligence and scouting.
Artillery (Infantry or Cavalry only): This represents a smaller group of artillery which provides localized light artillery support for infantry or cavalry regiments.
Engineers (Infantry or Artillery only): Engineers during the Civil War constructed bridges, fortifications, military railroads, and other vital works for the military apparatus. If you want to cross a river without a bridge or establish defensive works, engineers are a must.
Sharpshooters: Sharpshooters are specialists with long-range rifles who focus on killing the enemy’s commanding officers. Feared and hated by the infantry, Sharpshooters can single-handedly break a regiment’s will to fight.
It should be noted that there are other types of regiments which will be revealed as the NES progresses. These regiments will not be able to be constructed, but will be provided as part of special circumstances.
Experience
Experience shows the bonus granted by continued exposure to combat by a particular regiment. The more the regiment fights, the higher this rises. This is to offset losses in strength. The more the regiment fights, the better the soldiers get at staying alive. There is no upper limit to experience.
Weapons
This represents the quality of your weapons, guns in the Civil War varied from gun to gun, the North had mostly well made Springfields while the South had reversed engineered Springfields stolen from the Union. There are also many others, southern farmers brought their own guns from home and so on. This will be represented in the Regiment stat.
Updates and Orders
Updates will be done in a much different fashion than regular NESes. Each “turn” will be a month, and that month will have gerneralized orders from the General-in-Chiefs and specific orders for subordinate commanders. What I expect from monthly orders will be detailed below separately. Each monthly update will include basic descriptions at what occurred throughout the month, both within the war itself and information internationally which relates to the war. Brief descriptions of military movements and battles will also be included.
The unique part about this NES is that the monthly main NESes will vary in their frequency of updating. At times within a month, armies will occasionally meet in battle, sometimes more than once. When this occurs, I will post stating that two armies have met in battle on a certain day at a specific place. As detailed below, the subordinate commanders involved in the battle will have a chance to send orders tactically relating to the battle. Fighting will continue until an obvious victor has emerged. Only when all battles are completed will the monthly update be posted.
Rules for Subordinate Commanders
Armies
A Subordinate commander can be granted any position or positions the General-in-Chief believes them capable of handling. This means that a subordinate commander is allowed to command more than one army at a time, if the General-in-Chief is willing to allow it.
Within an army, the commanding general has full ability to carry out any policies relating to the army. I’d recommend looking into this, and trying to carry out historical regards. Armies don’t merely fight battles, and problems can tear at an army from within. Importantly, choices by commanders relating to their armies can result in benefits or failures to the national cause as a whole. This policies also relate to treatment of occupied territories and individuals within your area of control.
Regiments, Brigades, Divisions and Corps
As a subordinate commander, you have complete control over the units in your command. You are free to merge under-strength units (Corps can be merged only by the General-in-Chief) and to command them specifically in battle. Battle orders will be discussed later. As for merging units an example would be that if you put a unit with 43% strength with one at 51% strength, you will get a single 94% strength unit. All attachments with the two original unit will be combined with the new one.
Also, Generals must choose which Division will be their base headquarters when in battle, this is the division the other commanders will forward dispatches to and meet you for discussions. Failure to choose one will result in confusion and chaos in battle.
Attrition
Under the army stats you may notice the attrition statistic. This represents out of combat losses that your army is currently suffering. Attrition will always be with you, representing desertions, disease, and accidents. This percentage can rise depending on if you lose a battle, campaign in winter, are viewed as inept by your soldiers, and on your national dissent rating.
Dismissal
The General-in-Chief can remove you from the NES at any moment he desires. I will back up all dismissals based on incompetence or even just disagreements IC. If you feel that the dismissal was unjust, you can appeal to me, though I will hear both sides of the story before confirming or denying your request. If one commander dismisses you however, it is ok for the other side to hire you as a new general.
Orders and Monthly Updates
For each monthly update, I’ll expect general orders and movements from each commander. If you don’t want to move your army, then I need to know that too. This is when you’ll merge and reorganize the forces under your control.
As a tip, please keep in mind what month it is and the resulting weather. Soldiers don’t like fighting under almost all circumstances, but fighting in the winter can have a bad effect upon your attrition rate. Also, some rivers freeze over in the winter, so naval support will be impossible to maintain.
Battles
Battles will be the most excitement you’ll receive in this NES. When two armies meet in battle, I will post on the thread describing the events leading up to the fight. Maps will be sent via Private Message to both commanders showing the battlefield and the location of their armies. Based on these maps, the commanders will send orders for the battle. Depending on the orders, battles can last for several days and without AIM, several RL weeks can occur between monthly updates. “Mini-updates” will be given on the course of the battle and at points commanders can be given opportunities to make new tactical decisions.
Rules for General-in-Chiefs
Manpower
There is no such thing as “a bottomless well of manpower.” While the North had extensively more available men of soldiering age and status than the South, they did not have an infinite basis of support. Factor this into your plannings, and try to leave a battle without losing alot of men.
Defensive Fortifications
Fort: Place forts by selecting their locations on the map or specifying what area or city they are supposed to defend. Forts automatically are all assumed to have garrisons with artillery support within. They can seal choke points or provide extra protection to a vital harbor.
Foreign and Domestic Policies
As in other NESes, there will be forces at work outside of America, the General-in-Chiefs may receive letters from foreign dignitaries concerning trade issues, sale of weapons, etc... They may even offer to join the war on your behalf.
Orders and Updates
Every monthly update will require your orders. You do not need to react to battle updates unless the situation is immediately dire and requires replacement of the general in the theater. Your orders should be focused entirely on national issues and production. Specific orders for armies should only be needed if you have felt it necessary to take on a command for yourself, which you are allowed to do.
Finally, in your commander stats, there will be a list of regiments in a brigade in a division that forms a corps. This will leave you with more options and more flexibility to move around the battlefield.
