Test Budgets

[TexanCowboy]

How does one describe Tejas?

Simply, French and cowboys. Should be fun to play. :D

[Desertfox]

So cowboys that always surrender? :-p

[Valles]

In 1880, "Don't Fuck With The French" was still one of the basic rules of European Survival, though...

[Desertfox]

Maybe in 1860, not in 1880 (French intervention in Mexico & Franco-Prussian War)...

[TexanCowboy]

I forgot to mention the considerable Italian, German, and Spanish contributions, it seems. Oh, and the indians.

[Darman]

I have a question for people, sort of curious if you think that fortresses are worth the expense of maintaining them. 

[Walter]

Don't know. Might depend on what you have in mind for your army. If you have "Mobility" in mind, they might be useles. If you have "Roadblock" in mind, they could be worth it.

[TexanCowboy]

For a nation like New England, I can see them being pretty useful at key junctions, such as Detroit region, maybe a few key ports, etc. New English has got more people per square mile than, say, Tejas, so it has much more use as a deterrant, without wasting as much valuable manpower that would probably be stuck defending some of those points in any war.

For Tejas, on the other hand, I plan to build no more than 2 or 3 small ones. What's the point when the only really compacted, dense border that could justify a fortress is divided by the Mississippi? Mexico, maybe one at the mouth of the Rio Grande, but there you're left asking the question of why you're trying to build forts to protect provinces with forts that cost more to build than the annual GDP of the province.

[Carthaginian]

Darman- I'm planning (if life will stop fucking with me) for four forts or so on your  border... and no more anywhere else in the foreseeable future. None of the forts will be anything spectacular- just something to say 'we're watching this crossroads' and little else.

After all, forts are just a big sign saying 'SPEED BUMP' when the enemy comes rolling along.

[Darman]

After all, forts are just a big sign saying 'SPEED BUMP' when the enemy comes rolling along.

True enough, and some of my forts are supposed to be holdovers of coastal fortresses that were simply upgraded a bit for the realities of modern (1860s) warfare but not much more than that.  I'm imagining massive stone walls reinforced with earthworks and mounting 10-and 15-inch Rodman guns.  Of course my experiences with coastal fortifications is a bit skewed since the only one I'm truly familiar with was outfitted with those guns in the 1860s....

[snip]

After all, forts are just a big sign saying 'SPEED BUMP' when the enemy comes rolling along.

Well that may be the case on land, but look what they can do to ships when paired with minefields *cough* Dardanelles*cough*. That is what I plan on using my forts for, as the Juan de Fuca strait is really the only open way into Puget Sound where my main naval base and shipyards will be. Good luck to the fleet sent to run that gauntlet of about 24 forts, each of witch would have some number of heavy guns.

[TexanCowboy]

I'll just send the "Cabeza de Vaca" past you and you'll all be screwed!

"Cabeza de Vaca" - 10,000 ton ship loaded with 100,000 heads of a dead cow fired by catapult

[snip]

and what is to say that forts will be the only defences...

[TexanCowboy]

What can survive against the flaming head of a cow?

[ctwaterman]

Forts are not speed bumps unless they are left totally unsupported.   They are built to anchor the defenses of a province.  Perhaps to buy time for reserve and other forces to totaly mobilize.

They have massive amounts of defensive firepower but remember if you want Naval Defensive batteries they cost extra the Fort that contains Naval Batteries is there to defend those batteries from attack by naval landing parties.   

From the USS perspective Fortifications will be found at Key Logistical sights to guard avenues of approach or possible Invasion routes.  They will also be found guarding the Naval Gun Batteries at the approaches to major Naval Bases and Harbors.

An Example... New Orleans is not going to be a Major USS Military Port, but it is a vital communication point and a huge Civil Trading prot on the easiest invasion route into the hinterlands of the USS.   Historicaly after the British Invasion 2 major Forts were built to protect this vital city.   Well Since I technically have to share the River and its far bank with Tejas this will be a problem meaning I will have to put more then historical effort into protecting New Orleans.  The Tejas city of Algiers... across the Mississippi well it might very well be protected from Invasion by my Forts and be involved in other more secret plans.

So expect 2 Fortress complexes to protect the approaches to the Mississippi river both will be protecting guns and Naval Mortars and one of the many twists and turns in the river.

Non Naval Gun equiped Forts will be found as Armories in strategic cities along the USS and New England Border.  They act to bolster the defending units in the very very very... ok'y its only one word but it needed to be said 3 times Unlikely event of a conflict between the CSS and New England.  To be honest those forts will in all likely be older and litterally be militia unit HQ's and Armories.