Among our own club there are those who participate in battles and leave the day satisfied, and then there are those who walk away mumbling about needing a "better" set of rules. Of course, I've seen this with every rules set known to the wargaming community. Since JR2 has been widely accepted by ACW gamers it can be assumed that many people do take joy in playing it. My own experience is that those who grumble tend not to know the rules or the historical tactics used in the Civil War. While in no way claiming to be a tactical genius, I do win more often than not and hope to offer some better ways of handling your troops. JR2 is a rules set heavily geared to the concept of morale. Therefore, it follows that one should attempt to give troops the best morale benefits during a game. Some basic tips are as simple as not letting regiments become isolated, building works, and strategically placing generals where they will do the most good. Beyond that, the concept of keeping an opponent off-balance is likely going to be the key to victory. Players can be generally classified as belonging to one of three modes, defensive, aggressive, or unpredictable. It is the latter group that is likely to win most of their games. The defensive commander is usually a tentative person, afraid that the opponent is somehow going to out-think him. He either timidly moves forward with his troops massed together or sits in one spot, leaving all initiative to the enemy. The aggressive general is determined to win at all costs to his troops. He believes that his opponent is stupid and that his own troops are invincible to shot, shell, canister, or minnie balls. Works and other fortifications are thought to be there for decoration .... never mind that the regiments are slaughtered piecemeal! The unpredictable commander is a person who has likely read about Napoleon, Lee, Jackson, and Forrest. He tends to have a plan in mind, but is willing to change the strategy based on what is offered by the enemy. Perhaps he will feint an attack in one area, solidify his flanks, wait for a counterattack, and then take advantage of any mistakes made by his opponent. Most of all, he is a person who takes pride in knowing the tendencies of the people facing him! Lee's greatest strength, in my opinion, lay in the fact that he KNEW what McClellan and McDowell were likely to do. Even then, he allowed himself options just in case he was wrong. JOHNNY REB was developed for gamers who were willing to actually read the rules from beginning to end, and to employ historically realistic tactics on the game table. Some "no-no's" include the following: marching in column in front of guns, charging defended works without softening up the enemy, thinking that cavalry will successfully beat an infantry regiment at full strength and in good order, or allowing regiments to stand in non-strategic places when out-firepowered. There are so many options available to players when placing order chits with units each turn. The use of these orders will often determine who wins the battle. "First Fire" (FR) is a wonderful order to give when hoping to weaken an enemy unit, but should NEVER be given when there is a good possibility that your regiment will be charged that turn. When your line is weaker than your enemy's, but you need to hold a certain position and are not in danger of being charged, why not use the "Lying Prone" order? While your fire will be greatly reduced and may not even be able to be used, that is a preferable option to being cut to pieces in a fire-fight that you can't possibly win! What about the "Disengage" (D) order? Some people I've played against don't seem to ever remember what that chit is for. When your regiment is being shot tip and it is looking like your morale will fail, pull the sucker out of line before the unit is totally useless! JR2's new artillery tables make guns much more effective than before... perhaps too effective. However, since the rules are the rules, make the best of the situation. Counter-battery fire is a wonderful tactic. Once one side loses the majority of its guns, it tends to become somewhat helpless and loses the ability to control the battle. I know it's nice to blow big holes in enemy units, but the key to many a battle was artillery superiority. Aim for the opponent's guns (preferably while limbered) as quickly as possible. By knocking them out you can force the enemy to either withdraw or attack. The one thing they CAN'T do is sit there taking casualties from long range while not being able to inflict any. This is the perfect situation to just sit tight, be patient, and force mistakes! Civil War generals were taught that an attack needed at least a two to one numerical superiority to have a chance of succeeding. That lesson applies to the game table also, unless you're charging skirmishers or regiments in march column. A single line attacking another single line is one sure way of suffering a loss. JR2 provides for several preferable options, each hopefully being used AFTER you have softened up the enemy considerably. My preferred method of attack is to use several regiments to exchange fire with the enemy line, trying to reduce each of his regiments by at least one stand. Of course, I am also losing figures in the process, so I try not to use my reduced units in a charge. Instead, I bring up fresh reserves and use whatever attack method seems best for the situation. I might attack in line, attack column, brigade column, or by use of waves (a highly effective tactic when used properly). If well planned, I will also have some reserves behind the attacking force to deal with any counterattack pushed by my opponent! Having already stated that an attack requires numerical superiority, it stands to reason that, all things being equal, a defensive posture is the preferred strategy. I am a great believer in building works. If an opponent's artillery can be silenced by your own guns, even hasty works will be hard for an enemy to tackle. If nothing else, try to build works on your flanks to protect your line from being rolled up like the Federals did to the Confederates at Nashville. Certainly, Petersburg showed what even an outnumbered and tired army could do with some entrenchments! When facing a player that you know is of the aggressive type, fortifications are of the utmost importance. Let him throw his troops at you so that you can reduce his units! Try to have a few regiments in a second line as a reserve so that, even if he breaches the works, you can throw back or capture his "victorious" units. Be ready to countercharge at the appropriate time. After the enemy has exhausted his assault and been bloodied, charge out of the works! This is the ideal time to make your own attack. The opponent is disordered, unable to do much in the way of defensive fire, and is ripe for picking. This is when a battle becomes fun! Where you place your generals is of the utmost importance. Brigade commanders belong with your frontline units where they can add their plusses to f ire and morale. Sure, you may lose one or two of them, but that's the way the Civil War worked. Unless you have incredibly bad luck with your dice, there is minimal chance that you'll lose them before they've done their duty. At least then they can be buried with honors and a proper eulogy! In the meantime, the plus I or 2 that they add to your regiment's fire or morale can make a big difference in the outcome of a battle. Remember to place a general where lie can have an effect on two regiments rather than just one. The key to being unpredictable is to be smart. Perhaps you will sit snugly in a defensive position, allowing your enemy to become complacent. If he thinks you are just going to stand there, he may march up in columns prior to deployment, allowing you to surprise him by catching him with a well timed attack. There's nothing like sending a couple of regiments out in a charge and catching your incredulous friendly gamer in column. With any luck at all, your units will act like a bowling ball, tearing through his forces before he has time to react. One word of advice though.... don't laugh too hard or he may never come back for another fight! Back to The Zouave Vol II No. 4 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com