We played ACROSS THE POTOMAC today -this game is a lot of fun. You spend your time trying to outwit your opponent, it is double blind and very fast-moving. Here is how it went (the game starts in the summer 1863). My friend from Louisiana and I naturally played the South, while my buddy Bertrand took the Yankees. On June 3 the Army of North Virginia was in Fredericksburg. North of it was a Union force, and a union cavalry force, both behind the Rappahannock. Stuart's cavalry was near on the left, south of the Rappahannock too (you Americans can't you devise simpler river names ?:)). Lee missed an opportunity to strike immediately and the Union army withdrew north. Bitter, Stuart crossed north, sure about the great inferiority of the Union cavalry, but fell upon an equal force, and was repulsed with losses. Bad start for the Confederacy. Undaunted, the Union cavalry crossed south, infiltrating past CSA lines. Lee, unbalanced, followed but couldn't catch them. Union cavalry was about to set the south afire, and they felt immune. (the rules allows pure cavalry forces always to retreat before combat). Then Lee's great maneuver came to his mind. He summoned Heth's division, south. They came in the dark. So did Stuart come from the west, unseen. And the main army completed the ring. All at once, as lightning falls, the Union cavalry found the six hexes around themselves occupied by CSA troops come from nowhere (note: with 2 CP's we found this surprise maneuver most difficult to carry out. With 1 CP it is nearly impossible for Hooker). The ring was very thin and the Union smartly tried to break south. Outnumbered 1:4, Jone's cavalrymen stopped the breakout. Then the clouds burst and it started to rain heavily (12 on the dice). Lee's infantry attacked across the swollen Rappahannock, and on the first day, killed 75% of the Union cavalry. A Union force then descended from the north. But on the second day, in pouring rain, the rest of the union cavalry was annihilated. The union relief army withdrew north and disappeared into the vast northern lands. There remained three Union infantry forces in the Shenandoah Valley. They threatened to set the area afire. So the confederacy pondered about its war plan. The CSA was leading in VPs after this brilliant encirclement. The North therefore had to attack to avoid VP defeat. Lee would wait for them in his lands, where Hooker, now lacking cavalry (so Lee thought) was blind. Furthermore, Lee knew the rules and staying south would postpone forever Union reinforcements and Meade's arrival. The Union would be bled to death in Virginia, so Davis and Lee spoke. But beforehand, Lee decided to neutralize the forts around Norfolk and close the York river to the Union, a prerequisite to a successful defense of the South. Possession of the forts at the York river's mouth allowed the north to move troops up the James river and threaten with a win in Richmond anytime. Here we made a BIG rules mistake. Throughout most of the game we believed that a whole Union stack could be sea-landed. In fact the rules only allow for one UNIT. This mistake shaped our strategies. In the Shenandoah the CSA decided to scare the Union forces away with a demonstration. And it worked. Weak CSA cavalry moved north. And even before they made contact, the Union pillagers fled north. Scared by Lee's skill (and by the name of the game, ACROSS THE POTOMAC), they flocked north. Excellent. Meanwhile, it was still pouring over Virginia. 10 days of incessant rain, that slowed movements and turned all but the main roads into morass. The whole CSA army elements re-united, it took days. Around the 15th they reached Richmond. Lee was convinced the whole Union army was now sailing to surge on Richmond and Petersburg. So in the swamps the CSA army advanced east along the York river. At last the rain stopped, easing their way. Just as they encamped near the York river fortifications the Union garrison probed. Their whole army had landed there, surely. We had both massed at the York River's mouth. Richmond panicked and Davis demanded a strong defence of the CSA capital. Lee saw to it that his army had not been spotted. The Union probe had only revealed a few CSA infantrymen. Surely the Yankees would advance in the swamps. Lee set his army in a large ambush west of the forts. But the Yankees never came. Lee also saw that the swamps CRT made an attack in the swamps foolish. Lee realized that he would have to catch the yankees in the open, later. He was stalemated. Post-war history shows that there were only a few Union garrisons at the York river. The whole Union army was cowering around Washington. For seven days Lee was fighting ghosts. On the border everywhere cavalry raids were probing the lands. The front being still, The Army of Northern Virginia, too long idle, raced south to switch the attack to Norfolk. But it was not to go far. Around June 27th, north of the Rappahannock, a Union force was spotted sailing up the Rappahannock at full speed. Here it was, Hooker's huge army which had been thwarted at the York river! Here was the great opportunity Lee waited. The Army of Northern Virginia counter marched at full speed, north. Fortunately, a CSA cavalry force was in ambush north of Fredericksburg. It would disrupt disembarkation. But they got outwitted. The Union force unloaded on the south bank. Fredericksburg was set on fire and its farms plundered. Lee's army arrived and encamped south of the river. The following morning it attacked. But the union "army" was found to amount to only a division, which was of course annihilated. Lee gained a few VP, but was puzzled. The Northern player then understood that the only way for him to catch up in VP's was to ravage the south with pillaging raids. He set out immediately to enforce his plan. On June 27th A force sortied out of Norfolk. CSA cavalry hurried south. They approached them at Suffolk after 3 days of burning and raping but could not harm them. The cavalry protected Suffolk, helpless to do more. North, a Union force suddenly probed across the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, weakly defended by a CSA brigade. They were stopped but the outnumbered southerners had to withdraw. Hooker had understood the game at last. Everywhere the CSA army would have to be split into parcels to defend every locality. This was a losing strategy for the South. As it was already 7:15 p.m., we both decided to go into earnest, play only 10 further turns (to July 12, turn 10), take risks and have fun. Davis decided to invade the North. The Army of Northern Virginia would race north from the Fredericksburg after resting its men. It would cross after a force of cavalry present near Harper's ferry. This force would create a diversion west and hopefully draw Union forces towards it. Three days later the Army of West Virginia would cross south of Washington, detaching Stuart to form two forces and confuse the Union command. On July 4, west of Harper's Ferry, the brigade of Southern cavalry suddenly crossed the Potomac and raced on Chambersburg. Hooker's heart started to beat fast. At Harper's Ferry the North retaliated and crossed south, sweeping the CSA brigade aside. It tried to pillage the town but was prevented by CSA harassers. So it raced south. A second Union force followed it, on the road to burn Winchester and Woodstock. At the same time the cavalrymen ransacked Chambersburg, earning VP's. Meanwhile Lee's Army avoided Union cavalry (anyway gone) south of Alexandria. As planned he detached Stuart to Manassas. It was...empty! By a westward hook the Virginians crossed the Potomac west of Rockville. If they marched fast enough they would fall upon the Union capital before it was full of troops. But maybe it already was and the gamble had not a chance. The Union showed no signs of panic. My opponent showed surprising calm. Stuart reached Fairfax. In his lens he saw Alexandria. It was bristling with batteries. With his weak cavalry he would be unable to attack, but the Union might mistake him for the main CSA army. For Lee too was screened by cavalry (in game terms: both forces appeared exactly identical to the Union player). Lee reached his prise. the fortifications of Washington. On July 10th he launched a probe assault. The capital was defended only by its garrison ! 3 points of heavy guns. The probe was immediately turned into a full-scale assault. The heavy guns caused some losses, but were nearly annihilated. Nearly. In the first day Lee did not take Washington. There was one point of heavy guns left. The Union army was still 30 miles Southeast, but it would not save Washington. It could only delay the fall, by landing a division each day by the river. But such a piecemeal commitment, in the front of over 80,000 Southerners, would probably seal the end of the Army of the Potomac. We stopped it here, out of time. The South was winning by Victory Points. Well this took a little under 5 hours (40 turns). This taught us much about the Civil War eastern strategic situation I believe. Well I would be understating if I said we enjoyed it. Arnaud Bouis.