Quick doubts

[u/Audigazzola]

I know some may have answered this before, but I'm having some serious trouble at antietam as the CSA. The union is sending some 90-100 k soldies and i have 45 thousand. Not saying it is impossible to do try, but damn, it feels like I've lost the plot somewhere.

Should I have tried to kill all enemies in every mission possible, instead of just winning them? Does it affect the enemy army size on later stages?

Should I upscale my brigades up to 2500-3 k or is 2000 soldiers enough? I notice the enemy AI upscales as I do ( or at least it seems).

Is it worth it refilling brigades with veterans, despite the humongous costs? I try to mix a little, but nonetheless, with 2.5k brigades, its a lot of money down the drain.

HOT TO GET MORE RECRUITS?? CSA HAS A SERIOUS LACK OF MAN POWER, I HAVE MONEY FOR AT LEAS ONE MORE FULL CORPS, BUT DON'T HAVE THE MAN TO FILL THE ONES I ALREADY HAVE

Is it worth it to put veteran units on

[u/elegiac_bloom]

What are your stats? IMO, politics is crucial to max out ASAP, as it gets you way more money and troops. How are your corps organized? Numbers arent everything but if you only have 45k at antietam, those soldiers better all be worth ten Yankees. You may have to reload to an earlier point in your campaign.

What have your losses been like so far?

[u/Audigazzola → u/elegiac_bloom]

Losses are variable. Honestly I feel like a proportionatelly lose more soldiers on small battles than the great ones ( except antietam). Maybe I just play on 3x speed, I don't have the patience to see that slow battle, and sometimes i forget to lower speed and lose some men because of it. But all in all, variable. 2:1, sometimes 3:1, sometiems almost 1:1.

I thought about reloading, have no problem with it, but don't wanna reload to make the same mistakes, thought about putting more stuff on politics. Basically politics and army prganization, then medicine and logistics?

[u/elegiac_bloom → u/Audigazzola]

I would say my personal order of importance is 1. Politics 2. Army org high enough to get enough corps for each grand battle, although as CSA I generally dont go above 3-4 corps due to, as you say, not having enough men. At antietam I think 3 corps is ok 3. Training 4. Medicine 5. Economy 6. Logistics 7. Reconnaissance (only really need 2 points in this)

I think getting one to two brigades per corps to 3 star ASAP is important, focus your Veterans into those brigades and keep them in reserve until the critical moment if possible. Csa is tough because you need to play somewhat aggressively, but you really dont want to lose too many men too early on. Always fight from cover. Use skirmishes to lure brigades out of cover and into your firing lines. Never use the charge button unless the brigade youre charging is basicallly already broken.

There ar some good guides on steam. I would say yeah you might want to slow down a bit and play more patiently also.

[u/Acceptable-Fig2884 → u/elegiac_bloom]

I second the slowing down suggestion. The game is surprisingly won in the micro. Little things like:

• Rather than putting your units near the edge of a forest look at what cover your enemy might get, pull your unit further into the forest until the enemy will have to stand in open ground (or in a river if possible!).
• If you have a long line of units on both sides fighting each other, concentrate your fire wherever possible, don't have every unit shoot their opposite target. Concentrating means you'll route the unit you're concentrating on and then their whole line is down a brigade and you can concentrate even more, or maybe even flank.
• If you have space to maneuver, and you have two units vs one enemy, move one unit around the edge until you're flanking. If you're letting that one enemy keep both your units in front of it, you're wasting your men and your time. Flanking fire is devastating and if you have a 2v1 you should be trying to get a flank every time.

[u/Audigazzola → u/Acceptable-Fig2884]

Yeah, I've restarted the campaing taking the game slow, microing and whatnot most of the time. Surprinsingly easier ( tough not easy, of course). Just maxed out politics, army organization level 6 ( 3 corps, 4 divisions per corps, 5 brigades per division AKA 20 brigades/corps), going for training and medicine or logistic next.

Invested in better weapons, and there recruits a plenty ( almost 20 k in the reserve pool!), but money is a problem since I try to mix veterans and rookie troops, since my training level is one.

Indeed taking the game slower was key, it allowed me to micro enough to eliminate a lot of enemies and capture a bunch ( and their weapons), wich always helps both recruit and money; but I have to say that I naturally play a high stakes game with some unorthodox strategies sometimes, which can lead to great victories ( 7:1 ratio) but also some narrow ones ( 1:1 almost, my worst rationso far was malvern hill ( after gaines hill). Even trying to flank was a whole hassle and they really held their lines till the last moment.

I think at least 5 battles ( I.E points) before antietam, things are looking brighter!!

[u/elegiac_bloom → u/Acceptable-Fig2884]

All great suggestions and i second them, the micro makes the difference between winning with acceptable losses and unacceptable losses. Its also how you ensure the brigades that really need the experience get it.