Apologies in advance if this has been discussed before.
Leaving out the problem (to me) that National Morale means that your troops do not fight as well, which of course means National Morale declines, I have two minor complaints about a battle that just occurred in my PBEM game, in the fall of 1862.
As the Federals, I had over 120,000 men, well-supplied with artillery, and with high cohesion, in a fortified Alexandria, under McCllellan. The troops were all in corps, etc., and the army was as strong as I could make it (allowing for the discrepancy in NM, which was high).
My complaints are:
1) Lee, with an army of only 80,000, drove me out, and
2) Although McCllellan and the 10,000 or so troops attached to him retreated to D.C., the entire rest of my army retreated south into Virginia, and wound up somewhat east of Fredericksburg.
Leaving out the extremely unlikely result (remember what happened at Malvern Hill, when the real McLellan's army was theoretically demoralized) I am wondering why the game could not have been scripted so that, if one's army is defeated, it retreats toward the nearest friendly-controlled, supplied city, instead of deep into enemy territory. This is not the first time I have seen this happen.
Thanks very much.
B.C. Milligan