Best way for South to Win

Quick Ideas

Just a few things - I'm supposed to be working on taxes:
  • Hope like heck that Kentucky comes in on your side - maybe some Union general jumps the gun
  • Establish a stronger central government so that you have more direct control of the troops
  • Have a stronger militia prior to the War so that you can crush McDowell rather than just drive him off in disarray
  • Insist on fighting a defensive war - and be really humble every time you bite the spearhead off some Yankee invasion ("All we want is to go our own way...")
  • Stockpile some critical raw materials prior to the war
(by the way, don't ask me how to do all of this... :D)
 
A few ideas:

*Give Thomas C. Hindman and John S. Mosby more freedom to operate as guerrillias allowing more disruption to the Union supply and communication lines as well as troop movements.

*Give Robert E. Lee or Joe Johnston position as commander in chief of the Confederate Armies at the beginning of the war and thus avoid Davis' poor micro-managements of the Army and poor appointments of generals.

*Do not allow Stephan to make his "cornerstone of the confederacy" speach. It is a terrible move in terms of diplomatic relations and public relations.

*Allow more raids by cavalry units under Mosby or Forrest into northern states so that the North becomes more of a battlefield than it was in OTL and thus increase anti-war sentiments.

*Do not invade Kentucky.

*Keep hold of New Orleans.

*And above all else STOP BRAGG FROM GETTING COMMAND!
 
Outmanuever Lincoln, make him the bad guy. Claim that the US blockade is starving women and children, attempt to garner European sympathy. Offer huge concessions to the UK or France to induce an alliance--perhaps even joining the UK Dominon as part of the deal.

Offer an armistance after McDowell is defeated. Claim the immorality of Brothers killing Brothers over the attack, and offer simple terms: We leave, we pay for Federal Property, All PoWs returned, and offer to cede territory--West Virginia, Half of Tenesee, and Unlimited Boating Rights on the Mississippi river. These are sweet terms for the USA, but if they accept them they essentially grant you independence.

If Lincoln wants to press the fight, demonise him--his call to troops, his war!

The goal is to break Union resolve to fight before the fighting even begins, or barring that, to gain a powerful European ally.
 

The Sandman

Banned
Follow up on 1st Bull Run. At that point, Washington was basically defenseless; take it and you've more or less got a clear shot to the Mason-Dixon Line.

Don't burn the cotton.

Keep New Orleans.

Put more effort into the Trans-Mississippi; there are some definite possibilities in Missouri and New Mexico.

Make damn well sure that Kentucky comes in on my side; if necessary, fake the Union invasion with Southern sympathizers along the north bank of the Ohio.

Assuming I have a year or three to prepare, order a few ships along the lines of Warrior to be built in European shipyards. Make sure to have sympathetic crews ready and waiting when the war starts. Then use them as a concentrated squadron to break the Union blockade line.

Pay attention to Cleburne when he gives his proposal to free the slaves in exchange for their military service.
 

Kaptin Kurk

Banned
1) Hah. Best chance? Send political officers throughout the south to express and illustrated the idea that the South has a truly seperate, national identity from the North. Creater a nation myth that Southrons as all walk of life can believe in, not only in the good time (as they did) but in the bad times as well.

2) Have these same and / or different political officers constantly reminding the Southern populus that iidividiual battles are off limited importance. We''l win a few set piece battle, and loose a few. But Will will determine whether or not we're idependent and whether or the North can absolutely end out capacity to make war, and they can'y

3) Study Spanish tactics in the Napeolonic wars and any ther examples of Guerilla warfare that can be. (Perhaps the South American Liberation)

4) Establish three military forces. Basically, the Basic Confederate Army (Lee in Command, but tell him has no authority to invade the North, except for purposes of obtaining the advantage of manuevering of position he sees fit. And while a battle in the North is acceptable, his main purpose is not to engage in descive battle unless forced and instead maintain the Confederate Army as a viable force as long as possible. (The Land Version of Fleet-In-Being-Doctrine. The South must preserve an Army-In-Being No Matter What. Ask for commits for the duration from as many recruits as possible, and deliver speeches with a somber Prussian attitude and least to these. Perhaps even the a fatalistic Russian attitude. Try form mixed brigades as much as possible, so various Confederate soldiers from different areas of the Confederacy get to mingle as much as posisble.
The Second Military Force will basically be local militia, trained to best level possible and used to defend the coastline against amphibious penetrations and augment the national army. However, attached and operating with these militia units would be Confederate-Kong, units who understood their primary mission was to conduct gurilla operations against Yankees entering Confederate territory. Leaders would be carfully selected from among young men with comittment and 'hardness' to do what must be done againt Unionist sympathizers, defeats, and other malcontents.

5) Re-tool the economy to support the war. Argue vociferousy for the selling of cotton in the first year, and devise furlough plans, if possible, that can rotate men from their antation, farms, and homesteads for planting and foodstuff and back to the front for fight.

6) Shout down the 1 Southron and Whip 10 Yankees crowd, and constantly emphize this is going to be long tough war, but wortwhile.

7) Secretly promise England and France that I have an emancipation plan, even if it's a lie.

8) Organize black labor units. Don't give them any offical ranks, ect. But can give members within it, under white supervision, fake or silly sounding ranks that basically correspond to true military ranks but are ridiculous enough to make it seem like the black 'non-comes are being ridiculed by their white commanders to the other Confederates.. ("Shovel-Boy John, stand ready!) instead of a more military sunding ten-hut or whatever. Don't issue them any weapons, but instill some sort of military discipline and hint they'll become an 'oversee class of slaves' after the war. And if, by 1864 we're still being crushed, it shouldn't take but a couple of weeks, rather an a couple of months, to give up on slavery, establish segregation / Jim Crow and throw negroes into the line.


RetCon: Just realized the setting and time of the question, so never mind. That was my begining on the war I'm in charge scenarion.
 
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Isn't there a report on this somewhere on how the South could've one (written by some guy off this forum)?

Anyhow I've said it in the earlier thread and I'll say it again: defence, defence, defence. None of Davis' silly 'offensive defensive' crap. Co-ordinate the armies' maneuvres. Some of the Confederacy's greatest victorious were defence-then-entrap tactics, more of that.

No offences over the Ohio or Potomac, that'll only unify the USA further as it did, make it clear that this is a war of self-preservation not one of opportunism. No doubt Europe will recognise this too.

Davis was also incredibly gullible to think that stopping all cotton trade with Europe would starve them then saying on the other hand that the US blockade was too leaky to be legal. :confused: Keep the boats coming and hope more Trent affairs bring Europe to your camp.

A greater guerilla force in the border states to tie down US forces that would otherwise would be sent to the front, esp. Tennessee

Somehow make it clear to the world that the CSA intends to gradual emancipate of the slaves and make it clear in contrast that this would be a far more 'natural' process than Lincoln's radical sweep. If things get real bad arm the slaves no later than mid-1864 as in Dixie Victorious.

Send Bragg into early retirement.

Pray for a Confederate Cannae or two.
 
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