Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Preparing for the Campaign

In the background, I have plotted the December 31st 1861 positions of each unit on the large campaign map, and also put in pins that indicate the status of each objective (both town occupation and railroad repair/damage). I am still working on the spreadsheets that will be used to keep track of unit losses, changes in unit quality, daily morale and marching speeds, the weather, movement of couriers, scouts and staff, etc.  

I also need to work on some TC2M modifications so that any tactical simulations have an appropriate winter feel to them. I am making preparations to be able to take a proxy map  (e.g. the TC2M map for Jackson might be used to represent Bath) and convert it to a winter map with men wearing great coats. I am putting together the tools so that I can do a conversion relatively quickly and reflect the current weather conditions (e.g. snow on the ground if it snowed according to the weather model).

As this is going on, the players are already starting to receive information on their commands. So far they have received:

1. Their orders of battle and where each unit is deployed as of December 31st.

2. Ordnance reports indicating the armament of each unit, how much ammunition has been issued by caliber, and how much ammunition remains in ordnance stores.

3. Returns showing the number of men present in each unit on December 31st.

4. Staff communication concerning the assignment of a scout to headquarters.

5. Communication with other relevant figures outside of their commands.

By next week, they should receive a report from the Chief of Commissary indicating the commissary supplies and wagons available.

The target date for the official start of B & O WINTER (when units and officers start moving) is the first weekend in October.

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