Really enjoyed the cat and mouse play

I am not sure if you used the random location value to check your broken machine gun. I see that you say that you fired at a blind hex. A unit that is only surpassed does not rout only broken units.

At kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4a1Xmtom7eofpI shouldn't the Sassanid player only order 3 units (the unit the leader is with and units in 2 other hexes)? He ordered 4 units. Perhaps I am misunderstanding the card.

This seems a little tough for the Axis.

Cracking video. Early on the eastern allied MG should have unjammed on a sniper roll. Also a German LMG was the closest when the Malfunction was played.

An interesting game. I see you removed my comment about double exit points.😩 Looking forward to next month.

Watching at 4.30 am

Hi Patrick, I still follow the GCACW videos. I am wondering if you have or will ever play with the Limited Intelligence Optional Rule?

Heard a rumor that one of you live near Jacksonville Floriday.. would love to play live if interested

i, again, in this rematch CSA left spaces to UN to advance fast in turn 4 to Ewards, in my match i take Raymond, Clinton and in turn 1 the small town Crystal Springs (in the next i will try to go directly to town that give more VP)

very interesting, i gonna play with spanish friends, next day for second time this same scenario, its hard x UN , but i wanna try more to win,

Patrick you really got a “flipping” start. One rule question on Roger’s designs though: At 9:20 McClernand transfers to Blair. But may he do so? The scenario special rules say he can activate them for leader activation and for assaults. But they are silent on whether stacking outside of his own corps is allowed. Thus I am sceptical. Regards Holger

Gonna have to play you again Patrick. Last time I did you whipped me good. That was of course that was back in the day when the dice rolled in your favor unlike now.

Ugh, those T1 rolls had to be really frustrating Patrick. Pretty hard to pivot to a new strategy in a 3 turn scenario with poor movement and disorg rolls at the same time. If it's any consolation, next scenario at Champion Hill, the Rebs start out in much better starting position! Roger, you were efficient with getting the troops to get to Raymond and out, maximizing leader movement bonus, nicely done.

Patrick, at least you didn't waste any good luck on this scenario! It was like shooting the moon in Hearts -- you got all of the bad luck.

Love these videos.. The Cotton Gin, Carter House where all landmarks at the Battle of Franklin. Cleburne fell trying to get his men to breakthrough the federal line. Amazingly the Rebs did break through (a feat way more impressive compared to Gettysburg) but Opdyke's counter attack was able to repulse their advance.

Curious on why you count manpower losses like you do... UMPL is 2 VP, and CMPL is 3 VP... why don't use just use one marker to count total VPs? Thanks...

Has Roger made his scenario spreadsheets available anywhere? If not, I recommend that he do so. It would be a huge help.

Here is the "noisy folk" out there, demanding that you… ...well, you know what. 🙄 What else do I have to say; the other comments already had it: - Great Flank march for the Union opening. - (Repeated) crossings of destroyed ferries at major rivers. Interesting VP location design here with the two interlinked conditions for scoring. Regards Holger

Bridgeport Plantation is the first place you can cross the Big Black River as a minor river.

It's always fun to watch little "Stonewall" Patrick having fun with flank marches. You always play at your best when you are on the move. I've got to give props to the game designers for Thunder on the Mississippi, these are nicely balanced scenarios with some good options for different playstyles.

Vaughn moved across a destroyed ferry(cocker's)? turn 2

Wow! When XVII Corps marched into Edwards, I thought the USA was going to win by a mile. Patrick, your attacks seemed to reflect "the triumph of hope over experience!" I would have moved Logan to 2431 rather than assaulting with Crocker, because I'd rather be defending than attacking. You could also have refused flanks with Crocker. I would not have force marched XV Corps on that third activation either. Patrick, you seem to have been under the impression that the "To Raymond" units needed to end an activation in Raymond in order to have the marker removed. This is not true. Blair and Ewing could have entered Raymond and then come back west with the movement remaining in their activations.

Tough scenario for the Union. Only thing I could see to change the play would have the Union bring the second McPherson unit to link next to the unit in Edwards rather than defending the Austin Bridge. Single isolated units can become plum targets for flank and retreat losses. Patrick, I realize the situation looked grim at start of T3 but I would have probably played out the first few initiatives to see if Sherman had the chance to roll back the CSA units at Champion Hill.

Another enjoyable game.

At about 1:05, I think you forgot to check the morale for the Soviet Rifle Squad after the event (Medic).

I could be wrong, but the Soviets seem to have a distinct advantage in this scenario.

Do I have to comment on the dropped day and giving in? Probably you already expect me to fill my usual role. And of course: How could you! I agree, the final nail into the coffin was the follow up opportunistic move to Jackson after Clinton was done. But why was it so good odds at +6, thereof +4 coming from a presumed 5:1 ratio? Why was 14th MS not entrenched? I know it was not released up to this moment and was under an according marker. But the # footnote on it in the scenario setup reads “may not activate (but may entrench)”! Thus, it should have accumulated a Fort Build at least from the first two past days. Just noting/asking for the entrenchment from the “tutorial” perspective. With the rolls as happed, Roger would have taken Vicksburg nonetheless on a +3. But - with a view to the beautiful map: That region where this occurred is between “insane” and “dump” anyway. Regards Holger

One thing I'm seeing from these Vicksburg campaign scenarios is just how good Grant & Sherman's generalship was to take the risks they did and pull them off.

Looking forward to the next one. Patrick rolled double sixes on his LMC.

Given both of your difficulty in getting the ferry repaired to enable the VP at Crossroads, does it make sense for one of Stevenson's units to try it from the other side as well at end of T2? AJ Smith would have a shot at a looping route to Crossroads unless you brought 3 units that direction. In your recap you brought up the dug in Sherman troops. I think the Rebs have to at least force a movement from Sherman to prevent them from entrenching. An attack may not be necessary but at least try to generate one counter move. Your final wrap up discussion was good, especially on the subject of attacking when you're ahead in a scenario. We've all had those outcomes where the pre-emptive attack ends up making things worse but it's damn if you do, damn if you don't situation and one that makes this series always interesting!

I thought Patrick was just overly aggressive with Walker's Division. The initial move was good, but he pushed it further than it could reasonably have been pushed. It's easy to get carried away. Without the fall of Jackson, and without the MP losses suffered in the attack on Clinton, it's still a CSA marginal victory.

Interesting to see how the fighting line-up lengthens as soon as one side’s supply line is threatened. Then it is no longer an assembling just in front of the big VP spots but rather two long snakes lying beside each other (at least for the first 2.5 turns). Only one of the nine Union divisions (Logan) doing the actual offensive work. The victory conditions of this scenario seem to achieve this supply path priority nicely. According to Loring, the approach is not boring. This might also be because this scenario is not so one-sided numerically as thought a priori. Even though Roger upfront laments about the Yankee hordes. In fact, they only have a slight edge. I count 89 versus 80 manpower here in the setup, and most of them on-map and active over most time of the scenario. Might it be that the Rebel Masey-B 6 MP unit down to the southeast at Crystal Springs was overlooked and never brought to action? At least I never saw the map scroll towards that corner. Very nice comment and observation at 1:06:30 when the “Iowe Graveyard” was mentioned! But the slow riders from Iowa than later should have gone to Amsterdam on their third activation on turn 3 to help set up a flank for Logans attack on Green in Edwards. (The storming worked anyway by rolling nice, but a different setup employing the Iowans would have made it less luck dependent.) And while giving attention to names and terms: Blair was witched out to forget his movement bonus several times. Any, the wagons did make it to the target. At 1:18:00 Roger is wanting Walker to take the train. But oh-no-no, that is forbidden, but plausibly so. He would not ride the rails, “Walker” would rather… At 1:46:00 there is a retreat issue with Buford. While overriding is okay, on his third leg he would have had to give priority to the ZOC less hex SE (and should have thus fled rather to the west first). The move to evacuate Edwards in the end game was great! That was so wise, securing the win this way. Regards Holger P.S.: Just saw, that overlapping, the next episode was uploaded. I was too late to comment in time.

Great game. I always learn some new tricks when I watch these.

Hey Patrick, looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river! kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKWYmnagg9SbnKc

Gents, thanks for the sharing and the service you provide to your fellow gamers.

More bridge building questions. At the 37 minute mark Patrick attempted to built a bridge during the Action Cycle. I read the Standard Rules as saying that bridges can be built only during Step 1 of the Recovery Phase, not during the Action Cycle. In the context of this scenario, this would mean the Union is not eligible to build bridges until the Recovery Phase at the end of Turn 3. Also, why were two fatigues taken after the failed bridge building attempt? Thanks!

A bit late to this party but I, too, played many a game of Tactics II and Smithsonian Gettysburg on Order of the Arrow weekends.

Patrick got some dice, the world is ending tomorrow, time to max out the cards.

You two didn't need to play the game. You could have just taken turns banging your heads against a brick wall. At 0:54:00, 3 KY couldn't have put up a flanks refused on the same initiative during which they entered the enemy zone of control.

Fun to watch as always, thanks. I agree with you guys the scenario is an interesting one with the pull of the Yanks north and the Rebs to the south. As you were discussing during the recap, perhaps the better play by the Rebs is to give up Raymond and defend north. Can Walker from Jackson come in time to make sure both Clinton and Bolton can be held?

Listening to the end-game-recap, I couldn't help thinking of Patrick and Roger, as actual Civil War generals, writing their memoirs and describing the campaign, bemoaning how their subordinates didn't come through when needed, given all those Movement die-rolls of "1."

What a great session! Glad you guys hung in there and got it all in one session. Thank you!

The fact that Patrick ever wins anything with his dice rolling is a bloody miracle.

good stuff... need a ladder for Great War Commander as well... either though I love CC the best...

The king is dead. Long live the king!

They cannot avoid getting at each other’s throats when near. Aggressive fighting at the rivers as others have commented already. The “Big Black Massacre”. Tilghman should not have ended turn 1 in “green”, i.e. at fatigue 1, but moved for free to a more secure spot a little farther north. But for the general position offered for fistfights there I feel somewhat guilty and responsible for I had talked you into the idea to move via the southern route via that ferry. (Warning: Ugly word-plays forthcoming.) Give them cout(y)less “Hinds”. But it worked out fine afterwards for the Rebels for some time. (with Hinds-ight) Then again Cumming was too cunning. He got a hit. But why did Sherman not kill him off for good afterwards? Though Green made a nice target as well. And Cumming got cunning anyway again at 1:01:00 and Sherman got his second chance to punish him. The flank to the big VP locations look quite open for some inviting time. Then the rush to Edwards decided it. At 1:12:50 you apologize to me? Anyway, I have to say it: “Premature ruptus alarm!” …even though I agree with your analysis, that it was over then. The Yankee Blitzkrieg did it. A CAV regiment, even if busy going back and forth, is not enough to stop two Union division. Just one consideration: Too many Rebel reserves kept at Jackson? Could some of them have been bolder in time at Bolton? Regards Holger

President Lincoln must have sent a keg of the whiskey Grant drank not only to all of the Union generals, but also to all of the Confederate generals! Note that the XVII Corps starting positions in Scenario 4 are off by one hex in Vassal version 3.05. It's corrected in version 3.08. In Loring's first march, Featherstone couldn't join Buford in hex 3107 because of the swamp. Also, at the end of Turn 2, Walker shouldn't be able to entrench in Jackson. Use "recover in rain" at the end of Turns 1 and 2. Other than that it looked correct to me. However, I note that it's dangerous to fight with a swampy river at your back, as Patrick's Rebels discovered. Barton and Cumming's excellent adventure was foolhardy.

Fun session. Lots of maneuvering. Union Attack dice were 4.2 average, Confederate Attack dice were 3.75, Union defense were 2.5, and Confederate defense were 2.4. Yes, three out of seven attacks by Union were sixes.

New module version is 3.08.