Rich,
Well for a bridge to burn doesn't take long, but preparing it to do so does.
ONE unit could destroy 1 point. Put more than one unit in each entry/exit hex and the damage goes up. 16 units could put 48 points of damage on a bridge in one hour. This would reduce the stoutest bridge of 99 points to 51, and with a second hour the bridge would be useless at 3. So a properly designed wooden bridge could be rendered useless in one hour, if the proper attention was given it.
Hopefully the scenario designer would not make wooden bridges of 99 points, but around 50-60.
This would be another reason to have cavalry broken down, permantly in the OOB file. A regiment of 10 coys, could put 2 on picquet duty, and 8 on destroying a bridge. With any luck they would put 24 points of damage on a bridge per hour. Again, with properly designed bridges, they could render most bridges useless, or nearly useless in one to two hours.
Also having Engineer units in the OOB file as companies would be the best way to stretch that resource out to its fullest.
At this rate of building/repairing a bridge a player could place 8 - 50 man Engineer coys in a hex, and build 8 strength points per turn, or 24 per hour. In a little over two hours (7 turns), an all purpose pontoon bridge (over a river 1 hex wide) could be up and running.
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Remember, the suggestion is a starting point. I would recommend getting it in place, and then see if damaging should be handed out 1 point/per unit/per turn or if the number should be higher, but we have to start somewhere.
Another method would be to tie the bridge strength points destroyed per turn in with unit's strength, so that every 100 men destroys 1 strength point, and any fraction of 100 men has that fraction's percentage chance of taking out 1 strength point.
If a wooden bridge was stout at 50 strength points it would take 5,000 men one turn to bring it down. With stacking limits being what they are 2,000 men at most could work on this project, that could result in 20 points of bridge strength per turn beind destroyed, depending how many units the 2,000 men are in, and the resulting percentages needed. And I guess if they all have engineering tools then it could be 40 points. This would mean in 1 hour, under the best conditions 120 points of bridge could be destroyed.
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With whatever method is developed, players could get crafty and weaken bridges to the point of being nearly useless, then place arty to cover them planning to blow them up in their opponent's face, or shortly after some of the enemy crossed, cutting them off.
Or they could leave bridges at 9 stregth points planning on quickly reparing and using it, at nearly a moment's notice.
MajGen Al 'Ambushed' Amos
3rd "Amos' Ambushers" Bde, Cavalry Division, XX Corps, AoC
The Union Forever! Huzzah!
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