GCACW Tactics: Tricks of the Trade
6. Be Aggressive
Plan as if I’ll get not just the current initiative, but the next initiative as well, especially if I’m the CSA (who are more likely to get an initiative). Consecutive initiatives (“inits”) are precious, and provide great opportunity. (Expecting to win the next two inits, however, may be a bit greedy.) I may not be able to figure out a chess game 3 moves in advance, but I can figure out a powerful move in GCACW with a 3-unit corps if I get two inits in a row. But the trick is making sure after the first move that I’m not out of position in case I don’t get the next init. In a game like Sheridan Rides South (not part of the PBEM tournament, but one of my favorite scenarios, in GTC), what I consider a USA “wolf pack” game in which Sheridan can potentially activate a whole slew of units with one action, Sheridan will eventually get two inits in a row with the CSA nearby, and the pack can do its thing (that is, numbers 1,2,4).
7. Value Fatigues
Conserve fatigues and initiatives like precious commodities. I don’t think it is overstating it to say that fatigues are the lifeblood of the game. I can’t let my opponent have a solitaire game at the end of a turn, or especially, at the end of the game. We’re all too good and can figure out a powerful strategy if the opponent cannot move. It’s like having unlimited consecutive inits (see number 6 above). In other words, always keep some initiatives/fatigues in reserve. If I’m in a defensive position and my opponent has more available forces and remaining fatigues than I do, the “pass” is often my favorite move, as it allows me to make my opponent commit to an area. (Of course, don’t pass if there is a danger of your opponent passing and putting you out of position for the next turn, or worse, if the game is about to end and you are behind in VPs!)
Some of my worst defensive positions have come from getting a long string of consecutive inits, not knowing from which exact direction the enemy was coming in order to deploy my units most effectively, and then finding myself almost out of units to move in the turn and unable to respond to my opponent’s moves. There were several times in the tournament that I didn’t want to win the initiative die roll because I couldn’t really pass, and I couldn’t commit my forces before my opponent did. In those cases, if I was “unlucky” and won the initiative, I looked for a harmless, automatic move with one of my peripheral units, and then hoped I would lose the next initiative and make my opponent commit his forces. The initiative conservation issue worked to my advantage as the USA in the Bloody Spotsylvania scenario, when in the first turn all of the CSA units at the main front became fully fatigued, and with my USA side having many more units, they still had enough in reserve to pull off an attack causing large retreat losses. (Yes, it all comes back to combat and retreat losses, doesn’t it?)
If I’m ahead on VPs on the last turn and almost out of fatigues, and I’m not sure where the other side is going for VPs, I must make the other player commit before I do. In South Mountain, I was ahead near the end by a couple of VPs, without much opportunity to increase my VPs and almost out of initiatives, but I could tell that my opponent had multiple opportunities to get VPs, either going one way for objective hexes, or in another direction to inflict combat losses. I had to stay patient, and keep passing until I was sure which way to defend; there was a risk that my opponent would get a string of inits and overwhelm my units before I could respond, but that is a necessary risk sometimes.