Replacements

[squarian]

It

I also think that EP should be a purely political/financial/administrative domain. More clear for players.

I just discovered the "depot bns" utility reading this thread...
Not reading the manual...
My opinion is that it's hard to get it and i prefer the AACW way : just to buy replacements and let it spread automatically like the supply system (i believed it was not so simple but when i see in ROP i see it was...:neener .

Moving all replacements to the purchase system (rather than just elite/reg inf) would be more streamlined, certainly. It would also eliminate the disparity in cost between EP and purchased inf replacements.

But either way, one thing I and my opponent are noticing in our first PBEM game is how very difficult it is to keep units at fighting strength - the stream of replacements simply can't keep up with combat, attrition and winter losses.

I gather this is generally by design - 7YW armies did deteriorate over the war and they were not the sort of militia-based armies as in the ACW which could be rebuilt with masses of untrained troops. But the flow of replacements either by EP or scripted event is so small that it might be worth reconsidering. Even after the opening campaign in '56, we're both in agreement that there will hardly be a '57 campaign because both our armies are trashed and will spend the year trying to recover instead.

A similar problem has struck me with the minor German contingents (PFA, WUR, BAV, SAX - maybe the north Germans too?) - since they don't seem to gain replacements by scripted event and don't get EP options, I always have a few bdes which I end up parking in garrison because they're too fragile to risk in combat.

For instance, the WUR dragoon rgt which starts in Nuremburg begins at cadre strength and never fills out because WUR starts with two hvy cav replacements but never gets any (lt) cav replacements - and the WUR forces don't begin with a cuirassier rgt to use the hvy cav chits. Likewise, PFA apparently doesn't receive replacements at all? Or do PFA units use HRE replacements? I've never seen any PFA replacement chits in the ledger, anyway.

Is this all WAD?

[caranorn]

I didn't see very many casualties in 1756 in my first PBEM, certainly nothing that I couldn't recover that winter (quite a few battalions added companies missing at the start of the campaign). In 57 I took more casualties and I expect had we continued to play I'd have had trouble to bring all my armies back to full strength...

My second PBEM is only at the close of the 56 campaign season, again with few casualties...

What might cause the difference between our two games is our agressivity (the 1st PBEM my opponent and I were rather cautious which is why our first major engagements weren't before 57). This is a long war, you know you won't get many replacements and will have even more trouble rebuilding destroyed battalions. So you have to be more cautious...

But another issue might be winter quarters. Because harsh weather can close mountain passes I always withdraw to safe positions by late October early November. Therefore I haven't taken any serious casualties due to weather...

Now my two PBEM's aren't very representative, particularly as they haven't gone beyond the winter 57/58. But at least I haven't seen such destructive effcts...

P.S.: One note, at least some German (Imperial) contingents under Austrian command just seem to have existed on paper, which I assume is the reason why there are too few replacements to bring them all up to strength...

[Bertram]

I am Squarians opponent, playing as Prussia.

I was pretty carefull of my men in the first campaign, venturing just across the mountains, but getting nowhere near Prague. I retreated at the first sign of bad weather.
Still, during the turn my men marched back they got caught in a turn of snow. The strongest stack (about 2000 power, and down to 1200 at the start of this turn - after a battle I won) was reduced to 200 power. Almost all my units were down to 17 men - or missing altogether.
Since then they have been trying to recover, on a depot, in passive stand. Last 4 months they have been hit by poor sanitation 6 times. I now have build 5 replacement units, and used all replacement options, have gotten the years replacements, and are already out of replacements again. The force is still at power 1000, with lots of units still missing of at 17 men.

The force is about 15.000 men (counted them manually), I think that after the last battle they have got at least 20.000 men replacments, but still are understrenght.

I got to admit I moved a few units during the winter, which also cost me men (I thought a 7 day march in the middle of my coutry - from Berlin to one of the nearby cities - with a single stack, with a supply car, along a road, would not be to bad, but half of my men died in that week).

All in all I lost about 4000 men in battle (and my opponent 20.000), but lost about 30.000 - 40.000 due to winter and bad sanitation. And this with no campaigning in the winter, and most of my men in depots.

I seriously am considering to retreat everywhere when the Austian alliance shows up, and just try to delay them till winter - that will kill them way faster then my muskets can.