AGEOD Forums

Hello,

I understand that just by reading forum posts, that in the early war years, the Army/Corp/Division functionality does not function as per what is mentioned in the manual and elsewhere. Is this limited early war restriction mentioned anywhere in the manual? (very confusing I must say).

Early war, I believe that Armies can be formed but not Corps or Divisions , let alone be attached to the army.

Is it correct to understand that a leader that forms an Army in the early game really functions like a regular leader (basically a one unit army) but with much higher CP rating? There is nothing else the Army assignment allows or benefits him or other units?

I also read in the manual: "Notes: An Army HQ with combat Units in reserve will react quickly to support Corps formations but should not be viewed as a combat Stack. It is important to note that a lone Army Stack will never initiate combat by itself."

What is this telling us (especially in relation to the early war restrictions)? That an Army unit can't get involved in a battle (start a fight) without attached Corps initiating the battle? That attack/assault postures don't work with single Army stacks/units (like you see in early war?)?

What dos the "Army HQ with combat Units in reserve" actually refer to anyway? Any separate Corp units attached to it or the units within the Army HQ unit itself?

So how are Army HQ units (which feature the Leader HQ element itself + any other elements attached) meant to be used?

To quickly answer your first question, it works as designed.
Divisions can be formed from oct 1861, corps from march 1862.

About 95% of what is in the manual is absolutely correct. Unfortunately, what you mention is not part of that 95%. The pages from 31 to 35 are confusing. You can form 3 Army stacks at the beginning of the war and another 3 Armies in 1862 and again in 1863 (I've never played beyond that). Divisions can be formed with Generals that are active after early October 1861. Corps can be formed with active 2 or 3 star Generals after early April 1862.

An Army stack led by a 3-star gets a base of 12 CP's. More CP's are possible if you add other Generals, a balloon, and a signal or HQ unit. Some Generals with special abilities get more CP's.

"Notes: An Army HQ with combat Units in reserve will react quickly to support Corps formations but should not be viewed as a combat Stack. It is important to note that a lone Army Stack will never initiate combat by itself."

This is just not true. I initiate attacks with an Army stack all the time. I have read posts where the Army stack Marches to the Sound of the Guns (MTSG), but is not included in combat. I don't have experience of this.

I believe that the developers who wrote this part must have thought that a line of Corps stacks would be supported by an Army stack behind them. The Army stack would contain extra combat formations and would MTSG to support any Corps being attacked. So technically, it would form the reserve.

I use the Army stack like any other stack. I give it 4-5 Divisions of infantry and a Division of artillery. I initiate combat with it or let it MTSG for one of its Corps.

By paragraph
1- hello to you too
2- correct. Corps and Divisions are not active at the start of the game, to simulate the backwards thinking of army formation at the time. Lots of stuff isn't in the manual
3- correct.
4- correct. Having a three star general in charge of a stack gives you 6 command points, promoting him to command of an army increases that to 12 (I think, maybe its 4 to 10, but you get the idea).
5- this is true. Its tempting to have that giant 8,000 power stack under Grant or Lee, but it has side effects. One that often affects me: When I have Beauregard in Alexandria in '61, getting attacked every turn, I can't send reinforcements, because the reinforcing brigade will fight the attacking force, and usually get destroyed.
6- Its telling you that if you have two stacks in a region that are attacked, the non-army stack will start the fight. If that stack is not part of a corps, there won't be a march to the sound of the gun. Occasionally this happens when two monster stacks attempt to fight, but the only thing that happens is the militia garrison gets wiped out, and the defending army corps retreats without fighting. Again, this is warning you against putting all your eggs into the army headquarters stack
7- the units within the army stack. Not the corps
8- look to history. Divisions were not assigned to guard army headquarters. They were assigned to corps, that functioned as arms of the army. These rules attempt to force that historical element upon the players. Although it occasionally leads to weird results (see two examples above), it is working as designed.