Do leaders have strength?

[dydadadx]

Hello there, new to this game and i've been enjoying it so far. Adding leaders to stacks seems to increase its strength but how is this extra strength calculated? For example, let's say i have a stack of 500 strength, if i add a two star general it increases to 600. How come the strength becomes 600? I thought it may be related to leader's offensive-defensive stats but couldn't figure it out.

[Durk]

Leaders do not have an actual strength, but they add strength to combat units by joining with them. Individually, but more so as commanders of divisions, corps and armies. So when you added a leader and saw the increase in strength, it was because the command penalty was reduced.

[dydadadx]

Thanks for the answer. I'm trying to estimate how big the AI's army is, so i can't see the army's command usage. I think I've found a way to calculate it though. I usually divide the strength by 20 in order to have a guess of how many infantry/cavalry/etc enemy have, then multiply it by 1000 to estimate the number of troops. But when there's more than one stacks in a region it shows as "(x units), pwr: y", so i assume it's commanded by a 4-2-2 general. Then I multiply 8(hence 4+2+2 = 8) with 5, which is 40, and find %40 of y (let's call this z). y minus z shows the pwr of the stack without leader's ratings. Then i divide that number by 20 and multiply it by 1000, to estimate how many troops in that stack, it doesn't give the exact number of troops in that stack but it's close. I was just messing with numbers while I was trying to find the formula. Sorry for my english btw, it's not my native language.

[Jagger2013]

Better to get some cavalry adjacent to the enemy stack you are curious about. The cavalry scouting capability will give you a reasonable power estimate of the enemy formations in the region.

Power rating is more important then pure numbers as numbers can be deceptive as to the actual capabilities of a force. A large number of conscripts or leaderless regulars won't stand up to a small number of well lead, well organized and well trained troops.

[dydadadx]

You're right but Soviets have lots of manpower so i think it's possible for them to bleed the whites' armies dry with their sheer number of troops. I used cavalry but i can only see a detailed list of army group's hq's units. I think it's because there more than one stack in that region.

[dydadadx]

Also this calculation doesn't work all the time so it's better to considering pwr.

[Jagger2013]

There are a lot of Soviet conscripts but their loss levels are also very high in combat. I am not sure what exactly is the manpower ratios between the Soviets and Whites but I would be careful on my Red losses regardless. For me, combat is done when necessary and when I need to achieve something. I haven't thought in terms of bleeding the whites but perhaps a valid approach. Give it a shot and see what happens.

[dydadadx]

There are a lot of Soviet conscripts but their loss levels are also very high in combat. I am not sure what exactly is the manpower ratios between the Soviets and Whites but I would be careful on my Red losses regardless. For me, combat is done when necessary and when I need to achieve something. I haven't thought in terms of bleeding the whites but perhaps a valid approach. Give it a shot and see what happens.

I'm playing the grand campaign with siberian whites and even though i encircled and destroyed some of their units they always seem to have new ones produced. Like you said though, a big number of troops with no leader won't stand up to a well lead and well organized force.