Manual:Combat in the field

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Contents 1 Introduction 2 Engaging combat 3 Marching to the sound of the guns 4 Withdrawal 5 Frontage 6 Combat range 7 Fire combat 8 Morale 9 Melee combat 10 Battle aftermath

Introduction

Combat happens when two enemy forces meet and at least one of them is in offensive posture. It ranges from minor skirmishes involving few units for a limited time to full-scale battles lasting more than one day.

Engaging combat

Combat is resolved in a series of one hour rounds between engaged troops at sub-unit level. Not all of a force will necessarily participate from the beginning; different bodies of troops will join the fray at different times, especially in large battles. Each hour, a test is made to see which units reach the battlefield.

Marching to the sound of the guns

Depending on the situation, a corps or army headquarters engaged in combat may decide to call for reinforcements. If it does, corps from the same army located in adjacent regions may answer the call and join the fight if they pass a check. This check takes into account distance, the level of military control in both regions and the strategic rating of the reinforcing corps leader. Army HQs also have a greater chance to reinforce a battle and getting reinforcements themselves. You can then use the army HQ as a sort of reserve, to pack some punch in case of need. Reinforcing corps will return to their original region after the battle.

Withdrawal

Before each round, each side checks to see if it will attempt to withdraw. An exception is units attacking in an amphibious assault since these fight to the last man because they cannot retreat. The decision to withdraw is based on relative strength, leader aggressiveness (i.e. offensive rating) and the presence of fortifications. A force that decides to withdraw will automatically change its posture to passive for the rest of the turn.

Forces attempting to withdraw must now make a check: the chance to successfully withdraw increase each round and is influenced by force size, “evade fight” special order, commanding leader’s strategic rating and the presence of cavalry (on both sides). Units which successfully set an ambush and units commanded by leaders with the “skirmisher” special ability also have a much higher chance to break contact with the enemy should they decide to.

If the attempt fails, the force fights one more round with a slight penalty and renews its attempt on the next round. If the attempt succeeds, the force withdraws.

If there is a non-besieged structure in the region and the force has the “seek shelter” special order, it will withdraw into the structure; otherwise it will withdraw to an adjacent region under friendly military control. Depending on the level of enemy military control in the region chosen for withdrawal, the force may be forced into another battle by the pursuing enemy.

A surrounded force (i.e. all adjacent regions are 95% or more enemy controlled) will keep on fighting instead of withdrawing.

Frontage

Depending on a region’s terrain, the maximum number of sub-units that can deploy and fight in a battle will vary. Sub-units unable to deploy will be held in reserve and relieve weakened troops in the front line during the battle.

Note: Fighting in terrain with limited frontage is well suited to delaying tactics. A veteran defending force in such terrain may even force the enemy to break and cancel his assault despite a numerical advantage.

The frontage space occupied by a sub-unit depends on its maneuverability in this type of terrain.

Example: On the one hand, regular units are quite slow in mountain terrain and take up much frontage space in such terrain as a consequence. Partisans, on the other hand, are much faster in mountains and take up less frontage space. This means you could engage the enemy with many more partisans than regular units in this particular case.

Combat range

The initial range of a battle depends on local weather and terrain. Range will then decrease every round as troops close the distance. Range will determine which sub-units are able to fire in each round.

Note: Take on an artillery position with slow-moving infantry in open terrain at your own risk!

Fire combat

High initiative provides big benefits in combat as it is the biggest factor in determining who fires first each round. Sub-units will fire a number of times depending on their rate of fire (with a minimum of one).

Out of command chain status and lack of CP’s penalizes sub-units in terms of initiative, rate of fire, and chance to hit.

Successful firing depends on a sub-unit’s offensive fire value (if the force is in offensive posture) or defensive fire value (if the force is in defensive posture) and is influenced by the following:

• Unit’s discipline rating
• Unit’s experience level
• Leader offensive fire/defensive fire rating, as appropriate
• Cover of target unit provided by terrain or fortifications
• Weather
• Leader special abilities
• Command penalties (Out of command chain status and/or lack of CP’s)
• Lack of ammunition and/or general supply
• Friendly supply wagon present (+10%)
• River crossing/amphibious landing
• Forced march
• Failed withdrawal/passive posture
• Trench level above five (for artillery only)

Infantry and cavalry that score a hit inflict one strength point loss. Artillery causes two losses and “heavy” units (siege artillery, ships, ...) can even cause three losses, as indicated in the element details screen.

A sub-unit that suffers losses equal to its strength value is eliminated. However, it will usually rout and flee the battlefield before this happens. Severe losses will also affect a sub-unit’s chance to break under fire (see below).

Morale

On the one hand, every hour each sub-unit must check its discipline unless it is intact (i.e. did not take any losses so far during the battle). If the test fails, the unit becomes shaken and has its rate of fire decreased for the current round.

On the other hand, a sub-unit that is hit during fire combat must make a check based on its current cohesion level with the following modifiers:

• Militia fighting in their own state
• Trench level (capped at Level 4)
• Loss level of sub-unit
• Fighting in a symbolic objective (one of the capitals, for example)

If it loses this check, it is routed off the field and no longer participates in the battle. In addition, when the number of routed units becomes too large, the whole force is routed. In this case, it withdraws and suffers increased losses during pursuit.

Melee combat

If the range ever reaches 0, melee combat ensues. Support sub-units (such as artillery) do not participate in melee. This close-quarters combat is similar to fire combat, but a sub-unit’s assault value is used instead of its offensive/defensive fire value and discipline plays a key role. Losses can be quite devastating at such a short range.

Play note: Highly trained units and some special units are more effective in close quarters.

Battle aftermath

A battle can end up in a draw if neither side withdrew. If there was a winner (i.e. the non-retreating force, irrespective of losses), he will pursue the retreating force and inflict casualties in the process. These losses are much greater if the loser routed instead of executing an orderly withdrawal.

A battle will influence VP’s, NM, and leader seniority as follows:

• The winner gains VP’s for losses inflicted on the enemy. The loser does not gain any.
• The winner gains NM depending on the losses inflicted. The loser’s NM decreases correspondingly.
• Leaders with a good loss ratio (i.e. who inflicted more losses than they received, even if they lost and retreated) gain seniority while their opponent loses some

Troops also gain experience by participating in battles (even if they lost). Leaders are treated differently: they must make a check based on their rank to see if they were wounded or killed in action. A 1 star leader is the most vulnerable while 3 star leaders and above are immune. In addition, winning leaders gain experience, progressively increasing their attributes and even sometimes getting new special abilities. Leaders on the losing side suffer from a slight reduction in attributes.

Note: All generals stand a chance of being killed if their parent unit is destroyed.