Corps and Divisions?

[D_K]

is it better to have loose units in a corps and save your division formations for single groups of units?

especially with such limited division amounts! only 24 divs in the whole south?!?!?! i need more for the amount of divs i intnend to use next game

[Prussian Prince]

If I remember right you get a command penalty after so many units unless their in divisions.

[D_K]

yes...but if you just put more leaders in the corps does it not allow more units.

the reason i ask is would it not be a good idea to load a corps up with enough leaders and single units so that you can use division formations elswhere?

for instance i am playing a union game right now and already have my max divisions, most in corps i also have lots of single units and leaders spread around. so i was figuring on using divisions as a smaller "corps" type formation just to get rid of the -35% out of chain of command penalty, plus us some of my extra leaders sitting around doing nothing.
i know there is other benefits to having a corps, but dont you still get those if your units "inside" the corps are not formed into divisions?

[Le Ricain]

There is only problem with using only loose brigades in your corps and saving your divisions for mini-corps. Corps commanders can have something like 15 - 18 CP without penalties. The CP costs for brigades run between 1 and 5 CP's. Your corps are going to be smaller than your divisions.

A division can hold 18 elements (regiments) and costs 4 CP's. Three divisions in a corps will give you 54 elements (regiments). Placing loose 1 CP brigades in your corps will give you 18 elements.

[McNaughton]

If you need 50+ Divisions as the USA, or 24+ Divisions as the CSA, you are probably over-building your forces.

The best thing is to concentrate your forces. Form battle formations, and garrison formations.

CSA: Best to group your best divisions under your best corps commanders. Use your strong Major Generals to their greatest potential. These corps will be active almost all of the time, and your divisions in them will be extremely powerful (multipled by your very good army generals, and corps generals, and brigadier generals). These strong corps can multiply forces substantially. Any other forces could be created by Brigade-Corps (Corps full of brigades and surplus brigadiers). Use them as garrison or blocking forces, to suppliment your main force. Best to have your best grouped with the best.

USA: Best to have many corps of fewer divisions. Since you have 50 Divisions, you can have about 20-25 corps of 2-3 divisions. Union Major Generals will not activate as reliably as their CSA counterparts. If you have 6 Corps of 12 Divisions, chances are that 3 of these corps will be activated (while 3 corps of 12 divisions you can rely on only about 1 corps activated). Here, also, Brigades can be grouped as garrison forces (with supplimented brigadiers).

However, if you end up building more troops than you can divisions, chances are you aren't being aggressive enough, and being too much like McClellan. Send in attacks before you have built everything you can, play the game like the war, set objectives for specific timeframes (i.e., try and capture a city/territory on or before a historic date). This way you will probably be spending more on replacements than new builds.