Game of the Week, Aug 11 - 17
- Chickasaw bayou
- Port Gibson
- Grindstone Ford
- Ingraham Heights
- Raymond
- Jackson
- Champion Hill
- Big Black Bridge
- Milliken's Bend
- Vicksburg
Campaign Vicksburg has one campaign, and a second copy of it with weather effects added in.
The philosophy behind the design of the Vicksburg campaign tree was to make it as simple as possible (in order to be able to complete the entire campaign in a reasonable amount of time) yet still provide multiple approaches and replay value. The scenarios associated with a single campaign situation can use several different maps so significantly different paths can be taken.
The simplest path for the Union player to take is to go straight at Vicksburg by attempting to capture the bluffs north of the city (similar to Sherman’s Chickasaw Bayou campaign – also included as standalone scenarios in Campaign Vicksburg). This approach is very difficult but can win the campaign in a single battle.
Alternatively, a landing at Bruinsburg and a push inland to Port Gibson opens up three different possibilities. The first involves a strike northward from Port Gibson, crossing the Big Black River at Hankinson’s Ferry and heading straight for Vicksburg. The other two choices involve a northeast ranging push up the watershed of the Big Black along the Rocky Springs-Cayuga-Auburn axis. From here, the Union player can either strike directly at Edwards Station and Big Black Bridge (moving on to Vicksburg from there) or move east and attack Jackson—the Mississippi state capital—first before turning back towards Vicksburg (the historical choice that
resulted in the Battle of Champion Hill).
The Union player must keep winning in order to continue the campaign, and the final battle for Vicksburg will involve a Confederate breakout from the city.
Now we present a few videos on the campaign:
Here's a quick 20 minute overview, from the American Battlefield Trust:
And a third option, this is the first video in a 13 video series remembering the 160th anniversary of Vicksburg:
Here's some suggested reading material.
Now for some screen shots from the game. As with the entire Civil War Battles series, this title has three 2D views and two 3D views to choose from. Then you have options to select from 2 different 2D icon sets, and finally you can have either colorized or black & white unit and leader images. There are also some free alternative 3D maps that can be loaded from the Support page if you wish.
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