Battles with Army and corps

[Inside686]

I'm uncertain about something: I noticed that when a battle involved an army and its respective corps, the corps only seemed to take part into the battle. Is it a normal behavior or I just had bad luck? In the first case, it is recommended to avoid putting units in the army stack isn't it?

[Coregonas]

Hi... There is some random involved.

Once a battle starts, seems the engine pairs a couple units.

Then, each hour, some more units are added to the party.

Once a few hours elapses, as leader in command can start retreat, if battle is too short, some units are never involved.

[lycortas]

Yes, i am having problems with this. I have had an army and a corps in Manassas in summer '61 get attacked by the Union army and have the corps wiped out (literally) to the last man while the army never fought.

This could be okay if it happened once in a while but it happens constantly which is very ahistorical.

Mike

[Inside686]

Yes, it's exactly what happened to me and not only once too. I wonder what's the point of making corps if only a part of them are involved.
Could somebody tell us more about this?

[Bertram]

As said, what happens if you have several stacks in a region, is that one stack is (initially) engaged by the enemy. This makes sense, as those stacks could be 20-30 miles (or more in the bigger regions out west) apart. Other stacks are added during the (possible multiple day) fight. The chance of them being added depends (among others, I think) on the strategic rating of the commanding officer and of course the lenght of the battle (activation is checked each hour I think). If the battle is short, or if you are unlucky, one stack might be defeated without the other coming to is aid.
So far it makes sense.

What is (in my opinion) a bit strange is that often when a (smaller) stack is defeated, the other stack(s) in the region also retreat. Sometimes this can be justified by assuming the bigger army lost morale, or was outmanoevred and had to fall back. But at other times only the (at a wrong time arriving) reinforcements are engaged and the main body of troops didnt do anything, and were specially dug in to defend the region. Then it seems odd that they should leave the trenches and give up an important region.

[Inside686]

Ok, so we should consider that even if in the same region, two stacks are not necessarily together so once the first stack retreated, the second, often being numerically inferior choose not to attack, it makes sense.
In conclusion, we have no possibility to know which stack will be involved first and why it seems to be always the corps (if grouped with an army).

[Coregonas]

If the generals in command got a high Strat level with bonus and are activated, you get a lot more chances to marching to the sound.

If unactivated 2-1-1 s you can get more problems!

[Inside686]

But marching to the sound of the guns concerns only the case in which the corp and the army are located in two different (and adjacent) regions, doesn't it?

[Rafiki]

Yes