March to the sound of the guns

[1stvermont]

I do not understand how this works really. Is this on auto or must you push a button on the separate corps?. What is the bases for this in history? Why could some corps join but not other units of the same nation?

Just how does it work, thanks.

[Ace]

It's auto behaviour, no on switch. You can click on evade combat button if you don't want stack to join combat. Basis in history - Gettysburg battle is an example when mayor battle was triggered with smaller Corps starting the battle, and the rest of the Army following into it. Why would Corps join before smaller units - think of it as better Command chain, easier to call for help than with independent units.
Overall, if you see Union marching towards your position, it's an auto response to call for neighboring Corps to reinforce your position. The longer the march needed to join the battle, the less likely is that they wil participate in it. And the troops in the region often/always take the brunt of the fight while MTSG Corps see fewer fighting.

[grimjaw]

There is historical basis for the idea of MTSG, but in the game you have to suspend disbelief quite a bit. It only extends as far as adjacent regions, but still makes it such that a force that MTSG virtually instantaneously traveled distance that would normally cover several days of game time, and then returns to its starting position before the end of the turn.

[Captain_Orso]

Have a read through the 'Marching to the sound of the guns' section of the Combat Explained page of the AGE-Wiki linked here. That should clear up any questions of how it works.

Why it works the way it does has more to do with 'game design' than anything else. From my understanding, it is greatly the answer to the question of how the game should represent command decisions below the scale of the game. Since there is no interaction with orders issued before turn execution has started during the execution, one would be left with order for a period of two weeks which, as soon as the enemy goes into motion, become obsolete.

Think of the adjacent regions occupied by corps of the same army as representing the sphere of influence the army would actually have during the two week period of turn execution. It's not the most elegant solution, but it more or less expresses armies following each other and exerting resistance to maneuvers against each other.

[1stvermont]

Thanks guys.