Simulation Rules: Officer Attributes - Part II

At the conclusion of each day of the simulation, unit quality is upgraded based on the cumulative scores. Officer may also have their commander attributes upgraded if they were involved in an engagement. A six-sided die will be rolled 5 times for each officer, representing Initiative, Leadership, Loyalty, Ability and Quality. Any time the roll of the die is higher than the officer's corresponding Commander Attribute, it will be increased by a value of one. 

Here is an example from Captains Winfield and Shearer:

Initiative: The roll was a two. Shearer already had a 5. No change.

Leadership: The roll was a six. Shearer already had a 6. No change.

Loyalty: Shearer had a four, which was not upgraded because the roll was only a two.

Ability: Shearer had a one for ability. Any roll except a one would mean an upgrade. The roll was a four, so Shearer's ability rating was upgraded by a value of one to a rating of two.

Quality: No change.

Crawford W. Shearer	Initiative	Leadership	Loyalty	Ability	Quality
Commander Attributes on Jan 17, 1862	5	6	4	1	2
Random Rolls of Die	2	6	2	4	2
Commander Attributes on Jan 18, 1862	5	6	4	2	2

Captain Winfield has the luck of a roll in leadership and was able to be upgraded from a rating of five to six. He was not so lucky with ability, where he needed any roll except a one to received and upgrade and didn't get it.

John Q. Winfield	Initiative	Leadership	Loyalty	Ability	Quality
Commander Attributes on Jan 17, 1862	5	5	6	1	2
Random Rolls of Die	1	6	6	1	2
Commander Attributes on Jan 18, 1862	5	6	6	1	2

Players will not be informed of changes in unit quality or officer quality throughout the simulation, but any changes will be effective at the start of each day of the campaign. Some units and officers will be performing better at the end of the campaign than they were at the beginning.

Simulation Rules: Officer Attributes - Part I

Each officer who has a field command in a skirmish or battle is assigned Commander Attributes which affect performance in the TC2M game during engagements, particularly when under AI (Artificial Intelligence).
The attributes are:

• Initiative: Higher initiative ratings increase the speed that a commander rallies broken units.  
• Leadership: Higher leadership ratings increase the distance from which a commander can influence / support a unit.
• Loyalty: Higher loyalty values reduce the number of deserters when a unit is routed. This means that more men will be returned to the order of battle the next day of the campaign.
• Ability: Higher ability increase the morale bonus applied to subordinate units.
• Quality: Higher quality increases the speed at which commanders under artificial intelligence move to support or rally units.
• Style: Attributes include random behavior by the commander and include Cautious (0), Defensive (1), Balanced (2), Bold (3), Daring (4).

Commanders are randomly assigned values from 1 - 6 based for each Commander Attribute based on a roll of a die either in the opening order of battle or when they first appear in the simulation.  As an example, here are the values that were assigned to Captains Shearer and Winfield in the recent example:

 

	Initiative	Leadership	Loyalty	Ability	Style	Quality
Captain Crawford W. Shearer	5	6	4	1	4	2
Captain John Quincy Winfield	5	5	6	1	0	2

By the luck of the rolls, the two commanders were not too different. The main difference is in style. Shearer and units under his command would be much more likely to be aggressive than Winfield. 

Low Commander Attributes in leadership and ability could substantially affect unit performance compared to units with higher values. But... in THE WINTER WAR, all command attributes except style could potentially be upgraded based on experience, which is coming in the next post.

Simulation Rules: Unit Quality

Each unit in the simulation is assigned a unit quality and corresponding number from 0 (green) to 6 (Elite). This is used in the TC2M game. A unit's quality is also applied to its skill attributes for formation (how well it wheels and changes formation), loading (how quickly and effectively it loads), and melee (how well it fights in hand to hand).  A unit that is green has a "0" quality rating, "0" formation rating, "0" loading rating, and "0" melee rating.  It will be outperformed by units of the same strength with a higher quality rating.

The full range of quality ratings for units are:

Green (0)
Trained (1)
Fair (2)
Regular (3)
Good (4)
Veteran (5)
Elite (6)

The highest quality rating for any unit at the start of the campaign is Good (4), but it is possible for units to increase their quality.  I am using a unit quality system that I used in THE WAR IN ARKANSAS simulations from a few years back. As units fight, the are given a score in the TC2M game. During the campaign, I record a unit's score each day of the campaign and keep a running cumulative score by unit. (Negative scores during a day are considered null and given a zero.)

Units will have their quality upgraded at 6:00 p.m. of each day of the simulation if they reach a cumulative score corresponding to a higher quality rating.

Units that enter the simulation as Green (0) are upgraded to Trained (1) after their first engagement, regardless of their scores.

These are the ratings and scores I use:

Cumulative Grade	Engaged	10	15	25	50	100
Quality	1 (Trained)	2 (Fair)	3 (Regular)	4 (Good)	5 (Veteran)	6 (Elite)

In the earlier example of a skirmish between Captain Winfield's detachment of Ashby's Cavalry and Captain Shearer's Detachment of the 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, the upgrades at the end of the day (January 17th) would look like this:

Ashby's Cavalry started the simulation with a rating of Regular (3).  This means that they will start with a score of 15 points as "Regular."  They earned a score of 1.3 points  in the action on Taylor's Ford Road.  At the end of the day, their cumulative score is 16.3 points. They still need 8.4 points to reach a rating of "Good."

The 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade (Battalion) started with a rating of Green (0).  This means it started the simulation zero  points. It earned a score of  -1.3, which is counted a null (0), so it remains with  0 cumulative points. Because it was engaged, however, it will be automatically upgraded to Trained (1). This will apply to the entire battalion, including Companies "A" and "B," which were not on the field. The 3rd Maryland still needs a cumulative score of 10 to reach the next level: Fair.

And that's how it works. It is easy to move from Green (0) to Trained (1), but to advance in quality after that will take success on the battlefield throughout the simulation.

Unpredictable AI

It is impossible to determine what the outcome of a skirmish will be when AI is calling the shots.  In the example of Captain Winfield vs. Captain Shearer, I ran the same skirmish several times, from a point where I saved the game after setting the Federal position and starting them on their attack. In the example I used on the blog, they were soundly thrown back by Confederate Cavalry with 15 casualties to 2 casualties on the CSA side.

But.... other times the Federals won and forced the Confederates back with up to 9 Confederate casualties. On several versions of the same skirmish, Captain Shearer fled the scene at the first shots, leaving the fight to Captains Rizer  (Co. "C" and ""D") and Grinder (Co. "E"). In other versions, Shearer stayed and Company "E" of the 3rd Maryland advanced and flanked the enemy cavalry. In another version, the Federal companies stayed together, but advanced more quickly and fired more effectively. Some versions had the same result of a Federal loss.

Simulation Rules: Skirimish Report

When a skirmish is over, players will receive a brief report on the outcome. A skirmish report will look like this, based on example of the action between Captain Shearer's detachment of the 3rd Maryland Home Brigade and Captain Winfield's detachment of Ashby's Cavalry:

The Confederate Player would receive a Skirmish Report like this:

SKIRMISH REPORT:

Date: January 17, 1862
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Commander: Captain John Q. Winfield
Units: Companies "B" and "G," Ashby's Cavalry
Locality: Green Springs Depot
Location: Taylor's Ford Road, between Green Spring Run and W. French Lane
Casualties: 2
Enemy Casualties: 10 - 20
Prisoners: 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade
Current Position: Green Spring Depot
Current Strength: 134 men

The  Federal Player would receive this:

Date: January 17, 1862
Time: 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Commander: Captain Crawford W. Shearer
Units: Companies "C" "D," and "E,"  3rd Potomac Home Brigade
Locality: Green Springs Depot
Location: Taylor's Ford Road, between Green Spring Run and W. French Lane
Casualties: 15
Enemy Casualties: 0 - 10
Prisoners: None
Current Position: Old Town, MD.
Current Strength: 261 men

Simulation Rules: Skirmishes - Part II

When two opposing units enter a skirmish, they will engage until one side has lost 5% casualties. The first side to reach 5% casualties will retreat and then withdraw to another locality.

In the example we have been following of the 3rd Maryland Home Brigade and Companies B & G of Ashby's Cavalry, the Federals have launched an attack on the Confederate cavalry. The Federal troops were set on "attack" and advanced. The Confederates were set on "defend" and were left in their position.

The Federal force had 246 men.  5% casualties would be about 12 men. The Confederates have 136 men, making 5% casualties about 7 men.  As the engagement takes place, I monitor the losses to try to break it off as soon as possible after one side has reached its casualty limit.

Although Captain Shearer's force outnumbered the enemy, it was of much lower quality. Shearer's "green" men armed with Mississippi rifles were no match for Captain Winfield's "regular" cavalry armed with Maynard carbines.  If the Confederates has been forced to withdraw, they would have retreated back to Taylor's Ford, but that was not to be. The Federal loss meant that the unit retreated back to Old Town, Maryland, on the opposite side of the North Branch of the Potomac.

Old Town and Green Spring Depot are unique in the simulation campaign theatre, because it is the only Locality Map with two separate localities. Winfield's men have moved into Green Spring Depot and are considered to occupy the Green Spring Depot Locality as long as there are no Federals south of the Potomac. This creates a strategic problem for the Federal player. If no Federals are able to reach Green Spring Depot and defeat Winfield, he will be able to destroy the railroad after 6:00 p.m., eliminating it as a transportation and supply hub for the Federals.

The next post will give an example of a Skirmish Report based on the action on Taylor's Ford Road.

Simulation Rules: Skirmish - Part One

In the previous post, we saw that orders issued after receiving Contact Reports will bring the commands under Captains Winfield and Shearer into an engagement.

In THE WINTER WAR simulation, there are two types of engagements: Skirmishes and Battles.  When either side has less than 1,500 men on the field (at the same Locality), the engagement is considered a Skirmish. When both sides have more than 1,500 men on the field, the engagement is considered a battle.

Skirmishes are run in the TC2M game under AI (artificial intelligence), and players are not able to issue specific tactical orders.

Because Captain Shearer was given the order to attack, his command will be set to "Attack" in the TC2M game and advanced to within range of Captain Winfield's Confederate Cavalry and then left to AI. The Confederates elected to maintain their position, so Captain Winfield's command will be set on "Defend" and will not be advanced (unless it advances under direction of AI).

In the next post (Simulation Rules: Skirmish - Part Two), I will discuss when a skirmish ends and show what happened in the example of Captain Shearer (3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade) attacking Captain Winfield (Companies B & G, Ashby's Cavalry) on the Taylor's Ford Road (Green Spring Depot Locality).  I have not run it to the point of engagement yet, so I have no idea how it will turn out under the direction of AI.

Strategy and Tactics: Decision to Engage - Part II

In Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part VI we saw Captain Rizer's detachment re-enforced at Green Spring Depot and Captain Crawford W. Shearer assume command of the Federal forces there. Captain John Quincy Winfield's Confederate detachment remained unchanged. The Federal player would now be aware that he outnumbers the enemy (at least any enemy that he can see).

Let's assume that the Federal Player wants to drive away the enemy threat to his railroad depot and responds to his new contact report by issuing the order to attack. If the Confederate Player issued an order to Withdraw, he would only have one route of withdrawal open - back to Taylor's Ford.  A Withdraw order would have Captain Winfield's detachment retire from the Green Spring Depot locality and move to the Taylor's Ford locality. But let's assume that the Confederate Player decides to maintain his position and observe. From what we learned in Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part III, this would lead to an engagement.

Because both Captain Shearer's Federal force and Captain Winfield's Confederate detachment are both under 1,500, the engagement would be classified as a "Skirmish." My next post will look at the rules for a skirmish and show how it is run using the TC2M game.

Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part VI (newly arrived units continued)

In Contact Reports Part V we learned that in the example we have been following of Captains Rizer and Winfield, a new Contact Report would be issued at 12:00 p.m. due to the arrival of Company "E" of the 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade. Captain Rizer and Captain Winfield have maintained their positions since the initial Contact Report that was issued at 9:00 a.m.   There are a few things to notice:

1. Federal Contact Report: Captain Crawford W. Shearer, commanding the 3rd Maryland Potomac Home Brigade, has arrived with Company "E" and taken over command from Captain Rizer. The Contact Report will now represent Captain Shearer's command, which is composed of Companies "C" & "D" under Captain Rizer, and Company "E" under Captain Eli D. Grinder.  The Confederate force has not changed, although several of the men have donned captured Federal great coats since 9:00 a.m.

CONTACT REPORT:

Commander: Captain Crawford W. Shearer, Cos. "C," "D," & "E" 3rd Potomac Home Brigade
Date: January 17, 1862
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Locality: Green Spring Depot
Location: Taylor's Ford Road at Green Spring Run
Enemy Location: Taylor's Ford Road, west of Stickley at W. French Lane

2. Confederate Report: The Confederate Player's Contact Report will show some changes. A larger Federal force is visible with additional officers and a unit color (unidentifiable).

CONTACT REPORT
Commander: Captain John Quincy Winfield, Cos "B" and "G," Ashby's Cavalry
Date: January 17, 1862
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Locality: Green Spring Depot
Location: Taylor's Ford Road, west of Stickley at W. French Lane
Enemy Location: Taylor's Ford Road at Green Spring Run

Simulation Rules: Contact Report - Part V (newly arriving units)

In this series on Contact Reports, we saw sample Contact Reports representing a contact between a Confederate cavalry detachment commanded by Captain John Q. Winfield and a Federal infantry detach under Captain Henry Rizer (Contact Report - Part I and Contact Report - Part II). When players receive a contact report, they respond with orders to attack, withdraw, or maintain their position. We saw the possible orders that can be issued and their corresponding results in Contact Report - Part III and Contact Report - Part IV.

In the post titled Strategy and Tactics: Decision to Engage - Part I we went back to the contact between Captain Winfield's and Captain Rizer's detachments to examine how a player might assess a contact report and make a decision to attack, withdraw, or maintain his position. In our example, the Confederate player had Captain Winfield maintain his position. The Federal player had Captain Rizer maintain his position, but called up another company as re-enforcements. The original contact was at 9:00 a.m. and the players will hold their positions and observe each other until the end of the day, or another unit arrives. Captain Rizer is waiting from Company E, Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade. Captain Winfield is unaware that Captain Rizer has called for re-enforcements, and is simply observing.

If contact is made, Contact Reports come out each day of the simulation at:

• 9:00 a.m.
• 12:00 p.m.
• 3:00 p.m.
• 6:00 p.m.

If no new contacts are made, no report is issued and the simulation continues moving forward.

In the case of Captains Winfield and Rizer, contact was made at 9:00 a.m.  Based on the orders given Company E, Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade moved from Old Town to Captain Rizer's position between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., while Captain Winfield's men held their position out of range.  Captain Crawford Shearer, commander of the Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade battalion, has accompanied Company E, and will take command as the senior Federal Officer present.

                                                                                                                                                                











At 12:00 p.m., new contact reports will be issued as a result of Company E's arrival.

Strategy and Tactics - Decision to Engage, Part I

Players need to make a decision for each Contact Report received: Attack, Withdraw, or Maintain Position.  This moves the player from the realm of grand campaign strategy to the boots of the officer sighting an enemy unit on the field. The information provided is very limited, consisting of a location on the map and a screenshot (or screenshots) of enemy forces visible to the officer. How does the player make a decision to Attack, Withdraw, or Maintain Position?

1. Previous Intelligence: The player may know what unit is in the area due to previous contact. Knowledge of the unit and the simulation order of battle will give the player information on the unit's armament and quality. A visible flag may also give information based on the order of battle. For example, there is only one Georgia regiment in the Confederate order of battle and only one Illinois regiment in the Federal order of battle. Sighting one of those flags will identify the unit.
2. Strategic Importance: Holding a location, or screening another unit's movement may be of sufficient importance for the player to maintain position rather than withdraw, even against uncertain odds.
3. Screenshot Interpretation: In the TC2M game, one sprite (representation of a soldier) is equal to about 10 men. Counting the number of men visible and multiplying it by 10 will give the player an estimated enemy strength for visible units.
4. Availability of Other Units: A player may have other units at nearby localities (or even at the same locality), which could be used to re-enforce the position if necessary and influence a decision to maintain position.

Now let's look at the example Contact Reports from Simulation Rules: Contact Report, Part I and Simulation Rules: Contact Report, Part II. In these examples, we saw two contact reports (one Confederate and one Federal) for a contact between Captain J. Q. Winfield and his detachment of two companies of Ashby's Cavalry and Captain Henry Rizer and his detachment of two companies of the Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade. Assuming no previous contact, how might the players interpret their contact reports and decide to attack, withdraw, or maintain their position.

1. Previous Intelligence:  Capt. Rizer sees enemy cavalry. Even without any previous contact, he knows that this must be part of Ashby's Cavalry. By looking at the simulation order of battle, the player knows that Ashby's Cavalry is of higher quality than the green Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade. The Third Maryland is unlikely to want to attack unless the odds are very favorable.

Capt. Winfield is only able to identify a Federal infantry unit. There are no flags. He has no idea who they could be. The Confederate player knows that there are many green Federal infantry units on the field, but there are also units such as the Seventh Indiana that are already veterans of McClellan's West Virginia campaign the previous year. Without knowing the quality of troops to his front, the Confederate player may be reluctant to attack unless the odds are favorable.


2. Strategic Importance: The Federals are guarding the railroad at Green Spring Depot. If they withdraw, Capt. Winfield's unit may be in a position to destroy the depot. This would eliminate rail access to Green Spring for the rest of the simulation. The Federal player is unlikely to want to withdraw. 

Captain Winfield would like to destroy the railroad if possible. He is also unlikely to withdraw unless faced by unfavorable odds.

3. Screenshot Interpretation: When the Federal player looks at the screenshot, he can see roughly 14 - 15 horsemen. This would give a strength of approximately 140 - 150 men, known to be of higher quality than his own detachment of 156 men. The Confederate player can see 16 - 17 infantrymen, giving a strength of approximately 160 men of unknown quality and armament. The sides are relatively evenly matched by strength. Neither has a significant defensive advantage.

4. Availability of Other Units: In this example, there is another company of the Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade (Company E) located at Old Town and not visible to the Confederates. And two other companies (A&B) of the same regiment at Patterson Creek Depot.  There are no other Confederate units in the vicinity.


Based on what they know, possible orders from the players could be:

Confederate: Maintain Position
These keeps the detachment close to the railroad to observe any enemy movement.

Federal: Maintain Position and Re-enforce with Company E, Third Potomac Home Brigade
This keeps the unit in a position to guard the railroad, while strengthening its position.

Given the combination of these two orders, the units would continue to observe each other from a distance, until Company E of the Third Maryland Potomac Home Brigade arrives. When it does, fresh contact reports would be sent out, because Captain Winfield's detachment is sighting a new unit on the field.

Simulation Rules: Contact Reports, Part IV

After receiving a Contact Report, players issue stances to the units that made contact:

1) Attack,
2) Withdraw, or
3) Maintain Position.

When giving orders in response to a Contact Report, limited additional instructions may be given with "Withdraw" stance.

WITHDRAW: The order to withdraw will result in the unit that made contact withdrawing to another locality.  The player may give the order as "Withdraw to: _________" and provide the locality to which the unit will withdraw. (The route of withdrawal may not be occupied by an enemy force.)

.

Simulation Rules: Contact Report, Part III

Both players will receive their separate contact reports at the same time. They must then determine the stance taken by each unit that has made contact.  Players have three options:

Attack: The unit will attempt to advance and engage the enemy.
Withdraw: The unit will avoid engagement and withdraw to another locality.
Maintain Position: The unit will maintain its position, observe the enemy and defend if attacked

The combination of orders from each player will determine what happens next in the simulation:

If the forces making contact are less than 1,500 men, engagements will be fought under AI (Artificial Intelligence). Attacking units will be set to an "attack" stance in the TC2M game and advanced to just within range of the opposing unit. The two sides will be allowed to engage as a "skirmish" within the command simulation.

If both players elect to maintain their positions, they will simply observe each other. No new contact report will be issued unless and additional unit arrives to re-enforce one of the positions.

Simulation Rules: Contact Report, Part II

As the Confederate Player receives a contact report, the Federal Player will also be receiving one for the same contact.  The is the same Federal Contact Report, corresponding to the Contact Report that the Confederate player would have received for Capt. Winfield's command on Taylor's Ford Road.

1. Background: Captain Henry Rizer of the 3rd Maryland Potomace Home Brigade as been placed in command of a detachment composed of companies C & D. He has been given orders to guard Green Spring Depot. While at Green Spring Depot, he has seen enemy cavalry advancing and taken a position along Green Spring Run, across Taylor's Ford Road.

2. Contact: The Federal Player would receive a report like this:

CONTACT REPORT

Date: January 17, 1862
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Commander: Captain Henry Rizer
Locality: Green Spring Depot
Location: Taylor's Ford Road, at Green Spring Run
Enemy Location: Taylor's Ford Road, west of Stickley at junction with W. French Lane.

Decision: The Federal Player must make a decision on behalf of Captain Rizer. Does he attack, withdraw, or maintain his position?

Simulation Rules: Contact Report, Part I

Players will give orders to their subordinate units to move across the campaign map. When a unit encounters an enemy force, the player will receive a contact report. The contact report will show screen shots of all enemy forces visible to the unit making contact. The contact report will provide the date and time (in-game), the locality, name and specific location of the commander who has sighted the enemy, and the location of the enemy.

After receiving a contact report, the player will issues orders that provide a stance of their unit. There are only three possible orders:

1. Attack
2. Withdraw
3. Maintain Position

Players may not give additional orders or provide any tactical directions. The result of the players' orders will determine what happens next.  Here is an example of a contact report.

1. Background: Captain John Quincy Winfield has been given command of a detachment composed of Companies B and G of Ashby's Cavalry, totaling 146 men. He has been ordered to cross the South Branch as Taylor's Ford and advance to Green Spring Depot and destroy the railroad there.  His advance on Green Spring Depot will be along the Taylor's Ford Road, around River Mountain and passing the Ketterman, Harper, and Stickley homesteads.

2. Contact Report: Captain Winfield makes contact with the enemy. The Confederate Player would receive a report like this:

CONTACT REPORT

Date:January 17, 1862
Time:9:00 a.m.
Commander: Captain John Quincy Winfield
Locality: Green Spring Depot
Location; Taylor's Ford Road, just west of Stickley at the junction with the W. French lane
Enemy Location(s): Taylor's Ford Road, on the west bank of Green Spring Run

3. Decision: Based on that information alone, the Confederate Player must make a decision from the perspective of Captain Winfield. Does he attack, withdraw, or maintain his position?

Blues Gap

I managed to finish the locality maps for Forks of Cacapon, Short Gap, Patterson Creek Depot and Blues Gap as I had hoped this week. I already posted Patterson Creek. Here are the others:

topos for the southeast sector

I am not sure if I will ever get around to doing the TC2M modded maps for the southeast sector. They are low priority, given my doubts that there will be a major action in that area. If there is a skirmish, I may just use a proxy map that is close to the terrain features.

If I do end up making the TC2M maps, I will use these USGS topographic maps:

Cacapon Bridge: It is now called Capon Bridge, but was labeled as Cacapon Bridge on the wartime Hotchkiss map. This is one of the bases of supply for the Confederate forces, with supply lines running back to Winchester.

Edwards Run: The actual run is just to the west of this map, but Cold Stream was once called Edwards Run, named after one of the original land owners in the area.

Parke's Hollow: I had originally misread the Hotchkiss map and labeled this as Parker's Hollow. I have shifted it slightly to pick up more cross roads. It will not be to exact scale, allowing it to cover a larger area.

Blues Gap: This gap at Hanging Rock was the site of a skirmish on January 7th 1862, involving forces that are represented in THE WINTER WAR order of battle.

Hammocks: Had debated whether to leave this out of the campaign map, but I decided to leave it in.

Southeast Sector Revisions

The southeast sector of the campaign map has been challenging.  There were a few errors (Parker's Hollow should have been Parke's Hollow and Blues Gap is actually much further south at Hanging Rock), and the combination of crossroads, mountains and valleys make it hard to combine simplicity, a limited number of maps, and scale. In the end, I am going to add Edwards Run, in an area north of Parke's Hollow. The modern name for the populated place in that area is Cold Stream.  I am placing Blues Gap further south at Hanging Rock (the site of a skirmish during the historical Bath-Romney Campaign) and will reconfigure Parke's Hollow slightly to pick up crossroads on both the east and west sides of Grape Ridge.

I doubt there will be much action in this sector during the simulation, unless the Federals are able to get around the Confederates and make a run on the supply line at Cacapon Bridge (now called Capon Bridge.)

More Campaign Map Changes Coming....

With Short Gap and Patterson Creek locality maps done, I have shifted my attention to the eastern side of the map. I started working on the Forks of Cacapon locality map last night, but then began to look at the south east section of the campaign map. I wasn't happy with the area around what is currently labeled Parker's Hollow.

When I zoomed-in on the Hotchkiss map of the area, it is not actually Parker's Hollow, but Parke's Hollow. This corresponds to the area currently called Parks Valley on the USGS topographic map for Cacapon (Capon) Bridge.  I will change the name to Parke's Hollow, but may split the area into two maps: Parke's Hollow and Hanging Rock to its southwest.  Hanging Rock is not to be confused with Hanging Rocks, an area along the south branch. Hanging Rock is a gap in North River Mountain where the Northwest Turnpike passes,  just about where the Pleasant Dale and Parker's Hollow graphics meet in the map section above.

I haven't decided whether or not to keep Hammocks as a long route around Pleasant Dale, or to eliminate it from the campaign map.

Patterson Creek Depot Mini Map

The Patterson Creek Depot locality map is done. The modded map will be low priority, because it is unlikely to be the scene of a major engagement during the simulation. If Confederates start moving that way in force, I might put it together as quickly as possible, but laying rail sections is a lot of work!

Working on Patterson Creek

Short Gap was an easy locality map to make and has been posted already. Patterson Creek is in progress and should be posted tonight. It still needs to be labeled and currently looks like this:

The river is the North Branch of the Potomac. It will appear slightly smaller in the modded map, because of scaling. This map is not to accurate scale because I wanted to include both Frankfort Ford (on the right side of the map) and Patterson Creek Depot (on the left side) on the same TC2M Modded Map. The two north-south roads running approximately parallel to each other both leave from the Frankfort Map, but are separated by Patterson Creek Ridge, just east of Patterson Creek (the largest creek running north-south and into the North Branch. The steepness of the ridge can be seen by the switch back on the road that runs east-west below the river.

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is also present, running along the south bank of the river. A service path will run next to the rails, allowing infantry movement by foot from Patterson Creek Depot to Green Spring Depot (the next map to the east on the campaign map).

If Confederates are able to gain uncontested control of this map during the simulation, it would cut the railroad east of Cumberland, eliminating a Federal rapid movement advantage from Cumberland to Green Spring Depot. (A wise Federal player will not allow Patterson Creek to fall into Confederate hands.)

Next maps on the list....

During the last week, I posted the locality maps for Salem Church, Dutch Lick School, Spring Gap, Fort Van Meter, Pleasant Dale, and Hainesville.

Over the next week, I hope to add: Short Gap, Blues Gap, Patterson Creek Depot and Forks of the Cacapon.

With any luck, I will have the locality maps completed by the end of June and then can go back to the slower process of making the remaining TC2M modded maps. I expect to prioritize Dutch Lick School, Salem Church and Spring Gap, do to their position along the eastern edge of the "ring of fire."

Fort Van Meter

The draft Fort Van Meter locality map is done. Fort Van Meter is not a Civil War period fort. I am trying to decide how to represent it when I complete the map. There are a few stone buildings that may serve as proxies for it.

Ring of Fire?

Although Romney is the prize of this simulation, there may be a sort of "ring of fire" to the north and northwest of Romney. Control of Romney will be worth three points per day and the town can support a garrison of several brigade, more than half of either army. But Slanesville, Three Churches, Springfield and Green Spring Depot / Old Town together are worth a total of five points per day. They are located between the Federal Base of Supply at Cumberland and the Confederate Base of Supply at Bloomery Gap. This area is likely to be hotly contested.

Spring Gap

After finishing up some map work for another simulation that is about to start, I have also done the Spring Gap draft locality map. The area is not ideal for fighting. It is mostly woods with Spring Gap Mountain going right the middle. It is not far from the Confederate Base of Supply at Bloomery Gap. If Federals decide to take or threaten Bloomery Gap, they would have to pass through Spring Gap or Slanesville.

Draft - Salem Church

To get a full set of locality maps (or "jump" maps as we often call them) before the simulation starts, I am making the basic tga files (one of the files used in modded TC2M maps) from topographic maps. I am then creating what will be the minimap for the TC2M modded map and the locality map (an image file) that can be used by players to study the campaign theatre, develop strategies, and issue orders. Any locality map labeled as (draft) in on player resources page does not yet have a corresponding TC2M modded map that can be played in the game. But.... it is made from the same topographic map that will be used to make the topography for the modded map. There should be few to no changes, even after the modded map is created later.

Here is an example of a locality map for Salem Church (just west of Slanesville) and the section of a USGS topographic map on which it was based: