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Watch trailer on Steam ↗SGS Battle For: Fort Donelson
Strategy Game Studio, Vincent Bernard · Published by Avalon Digital · Official site ↗
8 user reviews — 75% positive (8 reviews)
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
Fight the first decisive battle of the U.S. Civil War. Lead the Union force as General Grant to seize the key forts on the Cumberland, or play the Confederate defenders to maintain the gate to the South closed.
£20.99
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Price history
Strategy · 2024 · More £15 - £30 games
Lead Union forces or defend Confederacy in SGS Battle For: Fort Donelson, a strategic challenge set during the U.S. Civil War's opening battles.
About this game
SGS Battle for Fort Donelson is a tactical game, the first in an SGS series dedicated to the great battles of the American Civil War (1861-1865). With a new gameplay specially created and designed to simulate the characteristics of the armies and battles of the period, it recreates, at infantry regiment scale, with a turn-based system representing one hour and zones of around 300 meters, the few days of fighting around Fort Donelson, on the banks of the Cumberland River in northwest Tennessee, in February 1862.
It was one of the first and most important battles of the war, and the first major success for General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant, with decisive consequences for the rest of the conflict. By seizing Fort Henry in the middle of winter and forcing the 15,000-strong garrison of Donelson to surrender, Grant inflicted a disaster on the Confederacy, opening the gates to the invasion of the "Deep South" to the Union armies, while forcing the "Grays" to evacuate Kentucky and the precious capital of Tennessee, Nashville, 60 miles away.
Yet this battle was far from won in advance. Grant and his 20,000 men had their work cut out for them, and even came close to disaster, winning by the skin of their teeth thanks to the panic of their opponents. As a Union player, you'll have to do at least as well: seize the fortifications and crush the "rebel" army against you, or at least, with the help of Commodore Foote's armored river gunboats, shake their morale enough to surrender. There are many ways to win... or lose.
As a Confederate player, with the heterogeneous troops of Generals Pillow, Floyd, Buckner and Jonhson, you'll have to hold out for several crucial days, and, why not, counter-attack to teach the "Yankees" a lesson and keep your retreat routes open. The morale of your troops, simulated by a gauge that varies with events, is a central element of the game. But you'll have assets on hand, starting with solid fortifications, powerful coastal batteries protecting the river, and troops large enough to keep the North at bay... provided they're well used.
One of the particularities of this game compared to others in the SGS range is, given the scale of the game, the small number of replacements available: sure, a few "stragglers" will occasionally fill out the ranks of your most tried-and-tested regiments, but don't expect to be able to sacrifice your forces in repetitive, poorly-organized "push-pull" assaults.
You'll only have one army, and your role is to prevent it from falling to pieces. Will you succeed in repeating Grant's feat or, on the contrary, turn the tide of the Civil War in favor of the rebellion? It's up to you to prove it.
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10+
- Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Dual Core
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 512 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600 or equivalent
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
- Additional Notes: Max 21:9 ratio on full screens. Use windowed mode on Xtra large monitors.
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10 or higher
- Processor: 2.5 GHz Intel Dual Core or higher
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1024 MB DirectX 11 compatible
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 11+ Compatible
- Additional Notes: Max 21:9 ratio on full screens. Use windowed mode on Xtra large monitors.
Supported Languages
Latest news
Patch NotesOfficial
August Update
Resolution of the endless night effects bugRead full article on Community Announcements (AvalonDigital)Patch NotesOfficial
4th of July Update
Hello everyone, and thank you for your interest in SGS Fort Donelson.Since the initial launch, regular engine updates have improved many aspects of the game, both aesthetically and in terms of usability. This specific update fixes a few bugs reported by players and, most importantly, introduces several new features. Movement restrictions during night turns sometimes lasted longer than intended; this issue should now be resolved.Adjustments have been made to certain event chains that could produce unexpected results (such as losing via victory points even after the Confederate command had surrendered).Various minor tweaks to the map and the game database.Some music tracks had gone missing—specifically those linked to victories—but they are now back in action.New feature: a dedicated night map is now included for night turns. It is purely cosmetic but enhances immersion.A brand-new historical scenario featuring new units: DOVER, February 1863. One year after the Siege of Donelson, a major Confederate cavalry raid led by Generals Wheeler and Forrest attempts to catch the small garrison at Dover off guard, seize the town, and disrupt Federal shipping on the Cumberland River. You have the advantage of numbers and surprise, but beware—Yankee reinforcements will soon be on the way!We hope you enjoy the game even more following these fixes and additionsHappy 4th of July!Read full article on Community Announcements (AvalonDigital)Patch NotesOfficial
First Game Update
Battle for Fort Donelson. Update 1. Dear players, This update concerns a number of internal mechanisms and gameplay elements (thanks to players and Moon Shadow in particular for their feedback). The engine and the game itself have been updated to resolve a number of residual bugs. Essentially: The calendar should now work correctly and no longer switch from one day to the next too quickly. The supply/command lines (communication lines) sometimes worked incorrectly, not extending up to three zones between each relay. This has now been fixed. The mortality rate among the leaders seemed abnormally high. In fact, one modifier worked in the opposite way to what was expected. The new settings should make the ‘chances’ of leaders being hit in combat more realistic and reasonable. Beware, however, that this is the Civil War and senior officers remain vulnerable, with every engagement representing a risk (in reality, several were killed or wounded during the battle). US Landing companies transport by river should now work properlyRead full article on Community Announcements (AvalonDigital)AnnouncementsOfficial
Release of SGS Battle for Fort Donelson
SGS Battle for Fort Donelson The assault of Confederate Fort Donelson by Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant in February 1862 marks a key moment and real turning point in the US Civil War. The fifth game of the SGS Battle Series is available, allowing you to fight the struggle to gain control of the fortifications that are the key of control of the Cumberland river. Their capture would allow the Union to forage deeper into Confederate territory. After the epic battles for Stalingrad, Madrid, Hué and Shanghai, we are now in 19th century North America. Take command of the Union Forces gathered by U.S.Grant attacking the enemy fortifications overlooking the Cumberland river, or play the Confederate forces that have to defend that key position protecting their rear areas from future enemy landings. SGS Battle Series is an evolution and adaptation of the renown SGS engine to operational or grand tactical combats and this 5th release also enjoys a brand new UI design. Please also check our Dev blog here https://strategygamestudio.com/dev-blog/ for more news about this title and our other games.Read full article on Community Announcements (AvalonDigital)
