Brigade Combat Tutorial

[Nick]

Did you request infantry support from Meredith to your right center and front center? That worked for me. But the battery would be lost; nevertheless the Confederates would take 400+ casualties on storming the battery and would not present much of a threat.

[Floyd]

I've requested infantry support from Meredith, but he didn't help me :dry:
Putting my men in good defensive positions i could repel the attack through the cornfield.
When i saw that the battery was attacked, i pulled my men back and positioned them
close to Meredith and gave them several minutes of rest. If Meredith won't come to fight,
let the fight come to Meredith. I've put 3 units in the center, one in reserve to rotate for rest
and one unit to outflank the attackers. My score was close to 700.

I think it is not bad by the AI to attack from the cornfield. The commanding general has the (AI-)order
to attack and that is what he did in a sound tactical manner.

Oops. Too late. The Confederates are already here. My regiments break out of column formation and form lines. I decide that there aren't too many Confederates here so I'm going to try and make a stand.

That is an excellent position: pin the attacker with 2 or three units and outflank with another.

From some screenshots i can see that the units are too exhausted to fight. Use every chance to give them
rest to recover and restore morale by keeping the commanding genaral close to his troops.

I've interpreted my orders that i have to hold the left flank. Instead of hanging "in thin air"
and being surrounded I've worked out a flexible defense and positioned my troops in a way that
Meredith covers my right flank.

[tigger]

LaissezFaire, the point of the tutorial is to make you adjust the game to become a better player in the real game. I have faced the very same situation that you have and it took me until the sixth time to adjust properly to finally win the scenario. As your troops are moving up the road to the artillary stop them in line at the fence, where the confederates are making a huge suprise attack. You then win on one flank and lose on the other, while you redeploy your troops closer to the top of the hill towards the cannon. By the time this is done you have fought almost the entire battle alone, and can set up on the far left flank of the cannon and pull out a slight win. This is just the normal setting for that particular demo, again to make you react in a way that is not usual to make you a stronger player.

[Iron Brigade]

You aren't alone, I have to re-learn how to coordinate brigade with other brigade(s) to achieve my goal.

Just using one brigade in order to pinning CSA brigade, and let other brigade flanking them while other fresh brigade guarding their rear in case if other CSA brigade attempt to outflanking attacking brigade(s)

Brigade Infantry Combat tutorial (normal)

For example, using 76th New York facing/pinning 13th Alabama and 5th Alabama Battalion (in line formation) while 84th New York marching around in order to flank on double quick (to create a L shape formation) It will force 5th Alabama Battalion wheel left in order to face 84th New York. 76th New York can advance toward 13th Alabama line, and attempt to drive then back. 95th New York,a fresh brigade, arrive on the battlefield, and move in between 76th New York and 84th New York. 84th New York can double move right, and wheel right, and let 95th New York take over 84th New York's original line. 13th Alabama decided to retreat, and left 5th Alabama Battalion alone on the hill without support from any other CSA brigade(s)

147th New York arrived on the battlefield, and ordered to march toward wheatfield/guarding 84th New York's right. 76th New York, 84th New York, and 95th New York seized the hill, hold the position, and created a long line formation in order to deal any remains of Archer's Division or Davis's fresh division. later, 56th Pennsylvania arrived on the battlefield, and order to march toward 147th New York's positon, and hold the line near by 147th New York's right. Davis's Division march toward 147th New York, and 56th Pennsylvania line, and able to break/split half of Davis's Division left other three Davis's three brigade fighting against 76th New York, 84th New York, and 95th New York, and while other two Davis's brigade (2nd Mississippi, and other one I remember which brigade) isolated, and forced to fight against 147th New York, and 56th Pennsylvania without any support from other Davis's three brigade. I had to sent a courier to request any further infantry support from Brig. General Meredith, and noticed that Meredith is moving his division toward our line in order to pound remains of Davis's division while 76th, 84th, 95th, 147th New York, and 56th Pennsylvania holding the position.

Brig, General Culter Received a message from courier, and read "well done, sir"

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[willevanson64]

I too have been challenged by Meredith's indecisiveness and odd reactions, so I'd like to add my 2-cents...

At the start of the Brigade tutorial, Meredith's forces were setup nicely to the right of the artillery, and my units were tucked in on the left as ordered. BUT as soon as the Rebs made an appearance, Meredith’s forces turned and marched away! :blink:

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To counter this, I quickly searched for the “Relieve the General of His Command” button, but no luck

So, I issued an order via courier for him to move his forces up 300 yards, and added that they move double quick. Here you can see his troops worming and weaving their way back up to the front. While I waited on the edge of my seat for his force to move up, I hastily moved two of my units right to cover the approaches to the cannons.

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This seemed to do the trick as Meredith's troops advanced, and eventually engaged with the enemy on the right flank, taking the pressure off my stretched forces. This battle actually ended with an inconclusive outcome, which I was quite happy with since I lose a lot.

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Then in another game later in the evening, same tutorial, Meredith once again marched away from where he was needed most. I issued orders, but this time he and his motley crew did not respond. As a result, my troops took the brunt of a very heavy Reb attack and were routed in short order. The battle ended with a major defeat.

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Every time I play this scenario, something slightly different happens; this is why I love this game. I think this quote by Gen. George S. Patton sums up my sentiment: "Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood."

The AI in this game appears to be more human than I initially thought.

[Marching Thru Georgia]

Granted this is a harsh lesson to learn in a tutorial, but AI commanders tend to act in accordance to their characteristics. Meredith is a relatively inexperienced commander of mediocre ability and leadership with a defensive style. It is no surprise that he would move his force to a better defensive location when confronted with what he feels is a superior foe. Leaving you in the lurch is an outgrowth of his ability. As you get more familiar with the game, you will see this human-like behavior cropping up frequently. It's one of the game's best features IMHO. The best advice I can give, is to know the abilities of your subordinates, and those of the commanders fighting next to you and adjust your tactics accordingly. Good luck.

[willevanson64]

Yes, the AI is unlike any other I've experienced in wargaming. I can't get enough of this game! Thanks for the insights on Meredith. In light of this, I'm going to try something different in my next battle. I'll try to consolidate my boys to the left of his force and maneuver according to his movements. Let him lead the dance, so to speak. Has anyone tried that? I'd also order the arty to pack up and move back as well.

haha! Another suitable Patton quote:
"Battle is an orgy of disorder."

[redcoat]

what i love about this game,and this tutorial in particular is that it pans out different every time i play it.anything from a straight out massacre of my troops to a last stand worthy of 300 certain spartan fellows!cheers

[Robert E Lee]

I too struggled with this at first. Just simply send a courier (by pressing "C") to your Superior Officer asking for Infantry support.

[Richard]

It is very difficult to make a 'good' game AI that does not learn from experience - or any other kind, for that matter. I have run most of the tutorials now and I think that the developers have done a very good job, though there are some oddities IMO.

Conceivably the behaviour that you encountered could be considered as a bug and presumably the 'replay/history' file could have been saved and submitted but I doubt that you can still do that.