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Player's Notes

Union Player

Though you have more and better units, the Union Movement Restrictions put a severe damper on your plans. Patience and restraint are essential. One look at your position reveals that you are divided into roughly three areas - North of Citico Creek, the Chattanooga area, and the Lookout Mountain area. It is generally conceded that the Union Player has to push out his flanks. By such actions, your flanks will then join with the Chattanooga central area. The breathing space gained will enable you to shift your units from area to area. If your flanks become decimated, the Confederate Player can bottle up the Union central position and make a Union victory very tough. It behooves you to grab Lookout Mountain and to clear it of Confederate units as quickly as possible. Once the Union Player has accomplished this he will find that he can roll the Confederate left flank fairly easily.

On the tactical side, your units are stronger than the Confederate units and you should have no trouble making three to one attacks. However, diversionary attacks are a bit stickier. You lack mobile artillery for diversionary attacks, and hence must use infantry units. More often than not, you may take a beating on your diversionary attacks when an exchange occurs, because you will be losing stronger units than the Confederate Player.

Watch out for the Night Turn. Remember that you can't move then. If ill-prepared, you may find several Union units badly overextended or encircled.

Confederate Player

Undoubtedly you will recognize that the Confederate Player has a tough defensive situation on his hands. Nonetheless, your defense must be handled as aggressively as possible. You have two weapons - mobility and artillery. You are not faced with any movement restrictions. You can and will have to shift large numbers of units to meet Union threats. You should constantly try to pin and to distract as many Union Units as possible from the main axis of attack.

Your artillery is a tremendous asset. It enables you to execute many diversionary attacks with impunity. You should protect your artillery. Never throw them into a Union Zone of Control. You also must watch out for exchanges. In this case, you will likely lose more units than the Union Player will. You must hold on to your units; you cannot afford many exchanges.

As far as geography is concerned, you must hold on to Lookout Mountain until the Night Turn. Send reinforcements to this area. Generally on the Night Turn you should withdraw from Lookout Mountain. By then the Union Player will be very close to taking it and usually your center is becoming untenable. You can't hold onto Lookout Mountain forever, so don't try. Just hold onto it as long as possible and then withdraw.

One hidden benefit in trying to hold onto Lookout Mountain is that, more than likely, you will be forced to thin your center position. Believe it or not, such a liability can turn into a nice Union trap. The Union Player may decide to shift his attention and go your center. This plan not only delays his capturing Lookout Mountain (to your benefit), but also means that he will have to extend his center. You may be able to trap and eliminate some of his units. In play testing, it has been properly executed and the result is that the Union position then crumbles.

On the Northern flank, the bridges on Citico Creek are important. If you can control them, you cut the Union position in two. You can attack each part separately.

Although you can gain Points for occupying Fort Wood, Fort Negely and/or Chattanooga, ignore these objectives until the last couple of turns of the game. Only then can you really give any serious thought to occupying these positions.

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