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I have been to the mountain and endured the chastisement of my artificial opponent. I have seen my troops blown like chaff in the wind and failed to meet my victory conditions. Indeed. I have seen the light and the error of my ways and thus am able to leave future generations better able to cope with the rigors of the battlefield and the wily craftiness of their enemies. And so, unto you, I give these Ten Strategic Commandments so that you may be victorious in Sid Meier's Antietam!

This powerful regiment is quickly depleted in this exposed position
Commandment 1: Thou shalt study thy interface until thou art one with thine controls. The interface is easy to learn but difficult to master. Like Candide who "learned to drill in the Bulgarian manner," the best way to learn to maneuver your troops properly is to drill them in one of the tutorials. You should practice detaching regiments and reattaching them to see how they move. Become especially familiar with how to get bonuses for regiments that are in a continuous line, leadership bonuses, and terrain bonuses. You can do this by moving a unit while watching its morale blocks. Effective use of the bonuses can make a green unit fight like an elite unit and an elite unit a veritable "stone wall." The computer opponent will attempt to maximize all bonuses so if you can't figure out why the AI is so tough, it is probably because you need some practice. In addition to the maneuver commands, you should also be familiar with view commands that will help you zero in on important battlefield events. Of particular interest is the F4 key that will quickly focus on the last announced event—use it often.

This Virginia regiment can be rallied once it retreats to a position out of the line of fire
Commandment 2: Thou shalt not offer thy flank unto thine enemy. Flanking is the act of maneuvering your regiment's front line in such a way that you can fire down the line of the enemy. This is very similar to "crossing the T" in naval combat. If you want to watch your morale bar turn red in a hurry, let yourself become flanked. You must keep a close eye on your flanks because your opponent will try to flank you as you hold a position. There are two ways to avoid being flanked: you can choose to refuse the flank or to lengthen the flank. Refusing involves changing your troops' facing so that they remain attached to the main line but face the enemy flanking troops. If the enemy tries to flank this formation, you can further rotate your flank and you will end up with the classic "fishhook" shape at the end of your line. Lengthening the flank can be accomplished by putting your troops in a skirmish formation or by bringing up more troops. Note that skirmishing troops can rout quickly when hard-pressed so use this method with caution.

Some reserves come with a hefty victory point price tag
Commandment 3: Thou shalt pause that your days may be long upon the field of battle. One of the great advantages given us by Sid Meier and his team is the ability to scan the battlefield and give orders while paused. This option is very often left out of real-time strategy games and it gives the computer, which easily multitasks, a great advantage. Your finger should always be poised above the "p" key and it should be used at the slightest hint of trouble. Early in the game, pause to look at the field of battle. Spend some time spotting key terrain features and corridors for advancement. When the battle is joined, use pause to check the morale of your units, monitor fire effectiveness, and to watch for enemy troop movements on your flanks.

This hill makes an excellent perch for this artillery unit to cover a key river crossing
Commandment 4: Thou shalt retreat to make your troops less "holy." If there is one thing that will decisively affect your battle, it is the total routing of one or more of your regiments. At some time during every scenario, regardless of your efforts, some of your regiments will get the urge to flee. If you can get them to safety before they do this, they may be recovered and sent back into the fray. If you wait too long, they can become useless for the rest of the battle. Every regiment is important and a regiment that you cannot control is, effectively, eliminated. Remember that as you move a regiment out of line, you will lose the line morale block bonus and that may cause your unit to rout or retreat.

The 14th NC's strength is more than doubled by terrain, leadership, and positional bonuses
Commandment 5: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's Parrott. Big guns are the quickest way to demoralize your enemy. Big guns on a flank are even better. Guns move at a fairly high speed so they can be moved to exposed areas if carefully monitored. When doing this, keep a close eye on them so that you can move them to safety quickly if needed. Once positioned in a good location, use your guns to augment your own attacks and to weaken attacks from your opponent. Artillery is the only unit that can be specifically targeted by using the "T" key. If your enemy moves guns into an exposed area and leaves them undefended by infantry, a quick assault by your troops may capture them. Do not attempt this if you cannot spare the troops. A gaping hole in a weak line is much more of a negative effect than a captured artillery unit is a positive effect.

The Union has created a dangerous salient that is targeted by several rebel units
Commandment 6: Thou shalt have no other general before thee. One thing you may not realize when you first start playing Antietam! is the effectiveness of generals. Brigade commanders and superior officers are each worth an extra morale block but only if they are within a certain radius of their troops. In addition, you cannot give hold or charge commands if your troops are not under a leader's control. Moving these leaders around and using their special commands at key moments can make the difference between winning and losing a scenario.

The 6th Georgia regiment makes a great guardian for the flank of this important position
Commandment 7: Thou shalt not commit all thy troops. In order to fullfill some of the above commandments, you have to maintain a reserve. Keeping a regiment or two at each of your flanks plus some near the center will make them more handy when needed. As the battle rages, observe where things seem to be going bad the quickest and start your reserves in this direction. At some point you'll want to replace a failing regiment in the line with a fresh regiment. If you have to wait for a long march or if you have to dash the new regiment into place, it may be a case of too little, too late.

Reserves positioned near the confederate right flank are now causing serious trouble for the Union cause
Commandment 8: Thou shalt use the clock to thy advantage. Each scenario has a time limit. Since units in Antietam! are rarely destroyed, your enemy will keep pressure on the victory point objectives until the very end. Proper timing of attacks is essential. When trying to gain ground, units will become very depleted and morale will ebb. If you can time the gaining of objectives to roughly coincide with the end of a scenario, you can avoid the counter-attack on your depleted regiments. The computer AI will also make last ditch efforts near the end of scenario so be prepared to defend acquired objectives to the very end.

The map view is a must for strategic planning
Commandment 9: Thou shalt use the terrain to your advantage. As mentioned above, pausing to review the terrain is a great key to victory. This is reflected in the fact that often victory points are located on the best fighting terrain. Scenarios can begin with you holding key terrain, with it in dispute, or with your enemy holding it. If you hold the key terrain, you must set up a stiff defense with your best units on the flanks strengthened by leadership, terrain, and formation bonuses. You should also keep a strong reserve to plug holes. If neither you nor the enemy holds the key terrain, dash a small number of units to grab the disputed area and to slow your opponent's advance. Then you can go over to the strategy for holding onto key terrain. Terrain bonuses are almost always worth the effort involved in getting there first. If your enemy holds key terrain your advantage becomes the ability to maneuver. This means flanking your enemy and concentrating on any salients (bulges) in the enemy line. Mobile reserves should be kept to exploit any holes that appear in enemy lines and to keep pressure on the flanks.

Commandment 10: Thou shalt remember the big picture. Never become so bogged down with individual units that you forget your overall strategy. Try to go to the map view or zoom out to the maximum. This will give you a bird's eye view of how the overall battle strategy is progressing. You can see your enemy massing for attacks and prepare accordingly. You'll need to concentrate your forces early to meet opposing attacks with adequate firepower. Look for seams in the enemy's line and terrain features that may give you an advantage.

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Page Updated Mon Feb 28, 2000 8:25pm EST