Another Noob Question

[Calvin809]

I have a question regarding units that are in the army tab but not in a division or other stack. Lets say I have a army tab with the commanding general which also has an infantry, cavalry and artillery unit in it (ie. McDowell when he shows up at the beginning of the war). Is there an advantage in combat to having those few units just in the army tab and not placed in a division or other stack? Placing them in a division seems to lower the amount of command points an army is using. Does it make more sense to have support units in that space instead? Also is it better to have support units under the army tab or in a stack (division) that is part of the army (do support units affect all stacks in the army they are part of if not in a specific stack inside the army)?

[ArmChairGeneral]

Support units like HQs, medical corps pontoons or balloons affect the entire stack they are in and cost 0 CPs. Combining them into a division potentially wastes space that could have been used for combat or artillery elements and gives no extra benefit. (Not even sure that they CAN be combined with a division, never tried.) Not sure if this is what you are asking.

If you are referring to where to place artillery, that is a subject of some debate and lengthy threads, although the general consensus seems to be that you will mostly be OK either way (loose or combined into division) if you are talking about an Army or Corps stack. For an independent stack (not an Army or Corps) definitely combine artillery with the division to save CPs.

I don't know about others, but if I had a leader available and enough troops to justify it (4+ combined command points) then I would almost always want stray combat units (Inf. or Cav.) in the Army or Corps stack combined into a division. That way they will receive extra bonus in combat from their div leader, and reduce CP usage.

Of course, at the start of the war you will not have the option to combine them into a division and are forced to leave everything loose.

[Calvin809]

That was basically what I was asking about. I haven't gotten to divisions or Corps yet since I'm on my 4th or 5th turn right now but I was thinking ahead based on playing the tutorials and Shiloh scenarios