Blocked by enemy positions

[Hobbes]

Hi folks, can anyone explain what the reason for the 'blocked by enemy positions' text is?
The two units in Pelagonia have been prevented from moving for the past two turns and I have no idea why.
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Cheers,
Chris

[Ace]

Are there hidden enemy units in the area?

[Hobbes]

Not when I looked. If there were before they can't have been much of a force but they managed to stop more than two legions for two turns. There is obviously some sort of coded event to produce this text but I have no idea what triggers it. Even if there was an enemy force in the area why does this happen? Normally if you encounter an enemy you don't get this text. The third time I tried to move I succeeded. I've had this happen to me before in another scenario in the same area. Maybe the game has a random chance of stalling an advance in hilly or mountainous terrain - would just like to know.

Cheers,
Chris

[Ace]

It happened to me when I was trying to move from a region with an enemy held besieged town. Since I see no town in this region, I am bedazzled. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

[PJJ]

I've sometimes experienced the same thing. There shouldn't be anything that prevents a powerful force from moving into empty terrain.

[Pocus]

it can happen if an undetected force is there, terrain by itself won't halt your movement. To work around this problem, of sneaky troops halting movement, there is a chance to gain MC% control if you have good odds, even without battle.

[JacquesDeLalaing]

Shouldn't this problem be avoidable by having enough MC in the region that you want to move to? So you could try to send some light force (better evasion values --> should not have their movement blocked) ahead to generate more MC in your destination region? That's what light troops are for! But then again if you had light troops in your stacks, I guess you would be able to see the hidden units that are blocking your force.

Do adjacent regions blink in red if you hover your mouse over your stacks ZOC/evasion information?

PS: Might it be related to your units' nationalities? Similar to my issue here? I can't remember if I had the "blocked by enemy positions"-message though.
PS: Some more info on Zone of control: http://www.ageod-forum.com/showthread.php?26558-If-I-want-to-capture-cities-en-route&p=251158&viewfull=1#post251158

[PJJ]

I don't quite understand the logic behind this mechanism. How is a small force able to stop a larger one making any progress without battle? It would make sense if there were a blocked mountain pass or something like that, but even such an obstacle could be attacked and most likely taken by the stronger force. Why is the big stack unable to get that military control simply by marching into the territory, especially if the said force also contains light troops?

[bob.]

Also kind of related, I recently noticed that it seems every (defensive) battle stops (offensive) army movement? So for example, if I am sure that a big army will attack me I can just send a single cavalry unit to attack it and it will then stay in its province. Or is there a way to tell the big army to continue walking regardless?

[JacquesDeLalaing]

I don't quite understand the logic behind this mechanism. How is a small force able to stop a larger one making any progress without battle? It would make sense if there were a blocked mountain pass or something like that, but even such an obstacle could be attacked and most likely taken by the stronger force. Why is the big stack unable to get that military control simply by marching into the territory, especially if the said force also contains light troops?

My guess is that this is supposed to represent that generals usually didn't want to have enemy presence in their backs, which would threaten their supply and communication lines. But then again it doesn't make sense to counter that rule by planting troops in the region adjacent to the stronghold. The whole supply- and communication-aspect is handled via the supply system anyway, so that the Zone-of-Control is unnecessary in this regard? Perhaps the supply system isn't hard and unforgiving enough for the player? If supply lines were a really essential feature, then you really wouldn't want an enemy stronghold in your back, regardless of Zone of control. You'd feel the need to conquer that stronghold, not be forced to stop for a turn. But as long as units carry enough supply for 3 months (!) (internal stroage of 2 --> the first effects of lack of supply set in in turn 3), they're perhaps a bit too independent, and players don't feel the need to capture strongholds on their way. An army should not be able to act cut off from supply for three months! But then again I don't know how the AI would react.