Hi all,
I just finished a campaign of AOM as the Confederates. It was lots of fun!
I like graphs and stats, so I thought some of you might as well:
Victory in 1862. Lots of hard fought battles.
Dwindling Tariff income. This includes 3 Trade Deal Projects activated. I was underwhelmed.
Sales Tax income was more consistent. Both the Union and Confederates suffered a sudden decline in sales tax in early 1862. I have no idea why.
I held Washington for a long time, but once driven off my buildings cost dropped substantially. Perhaps their Hospital is very expensive?
Something dramatic happened to increase Union army expenses in mid 1862. I wish I knew what! Their army was no bigger than in previous months, the equipment didn't seem to have changed in battles, and the front didn't start moving again until my July offensive.
I built Side-Wheel Frigates in attempts to control the Mississippi (successful) and to contest the blockade (mixed results). My tonnage tracked about 25% of the Feds, so I guess the graphs look about right.
I went for tariffs first, then conscription act which went live just in time to extend the volunteer contracts April 1862. This gave me about 40k manpower. I then activated Militia Act II in June/July for another 200k manpower! This was a bit of a surprise but I was happy to use it.
I was very careful trying to have troops live off the land and keep supply depots set red unless absolutely needed. I'm not sure why my costs were significantly higher than the Union. I tried a bunch of things, but couldn't seem to fix the issue.
The Union activated the printing presses twice, while I didn't. Having said that, given the anaemic tariff and sales revenue which was still in decline - I probably would activate the printing presses next time around.
With costs far outstripping income for both sides, I really did have a sense of the war being a 'misery race to bankruptcy' - it kept the pressure on and it was exciting to see how close the deficits were until the Union's strange cost explosion mid-1862.
Ultimately once the reinforcements from Militia Act II were activated I was able to use my dominance of the Mississippi to move armies up & down the river striking depots and using local advantage. Once the Union armies were on the run, a last push into Columbus and Pittsburg broke remaining Union national morale.
Although I was able to pin it in place, I was pleased to see a Union invasion near New Orleans and a renewed blockade attempt in about April 1862. He's got the spirit!
This was my second Grand Tactician campaign, the first was on Vanilla again as Confederates. I found the war situation and the AI much more challenging in the AOM mod, and would heartily recommend trying it for anyone who would like a challenge or different experience. Finances felt more tenuous, supplies and readiness felt more essential, and I think the AI benefitted from the changes to army structure & initial raised units.
Good stuff!