Part X : Conondrum at Troppau
Late December 1756 sees an interesting situation…
First, to get that over with, let’s just see this screenshoot, which shows that the military operations should stop now, as Winter is there. Fredericks troops are wintering in Dresden, as expected (no teleportation available back then).
In front of Troppau, the situation is much more complex :
My troops did a second breach. I can now assault the structure and take it once and for all. But Picolomini is just there, a few days away, and will most probably try to attack me. To explain my problem, I need to do a double “Beginner’s corner”.
Beginner’s corner : Postures and Rule of Engagement
As you have seen, I give orders to my troops for the next 15 days. But what happens if my troops meets the enemy ? Do they engage ? Do they flee ? Well, much depends on who is your commander… and what posture (a.k.a. “stance”) and Rule of Engagement (ROE) you gave them.
There are 4 postures :
- Assault Posture (RED icon): your unit will attack any enemy army it encounters, and assault any structure it finished its moves on, if it can (i.e. it is not a fortress)
- Attack Posture (ORANGE icon) : your unit will attack any enemy army it encounters, but not the structures
- Defensive Posture (BLUE icon) : your unit will not attack any enemy on its own, but will block its movements if some conditions are met. It will also fortify, thus increasing its bonus each turn (up to a maximum)
- Passive posture (GREEN icon) : your unit will move out of the way (in another province) if it meets an enemy army, whatever that other army’s posture is. If it is attacked, it will try to retreat ASAP.
Note that there is a special order called “Evade Combat” which allows small units (a few cav, irregulars, raiders), to avoid combat and enemies without actually “moving out of the way”.
Once the battle as started, you might want to decide whether your army attacks aggressively or not. Those are the rules of Engagement. There are 4 of them, with different names depending on your posture :
- All out attack / Hold at all cost : The army will NEVER retreats, whatever the odds are. It can still rout, though. It is to be used VERY carefully, because whole armies can be destroyed because you gave that order at the wrong moment. On attack, “All out attack” will also translate into more losses for everyone, especially you.
- Sustained attack / Defend : The “standart attack”. Your general will take the initiative in retreating if he feels the situation gets… difficult.
- Conservative attack / Defend and Retreat : The army will fight a little, than retreat, except if the general believes he is clearly winning the battle. Losses will be limited for both sides. Good to use when you are not quite sure of what you will meet.
- Feint attack / Retreat if engaged : Your army will retreat very quickly (Feint attack) or immediately. I almost never use feint attack, but it can be good to exhaust / slow down and enemy. Retreat if engaged is handy, though.
You can see what Posture I selected by looking at the color (and form) of the icon on the upper right corner of the picture of the general on the map : Wedell is in Assault Posture, while von Schwerin is in defend posture. Why those postures ? Well, you need know to read :
Beginner’s corner :Activation
I have talked a lot of activation already. What is it ? Well, a general can either be activated, or not. In the settings I put :
- An activated general behaves normally
- An non-activated general is sulking, distraught or just play lazy : he gots a (very significative) malus in speed and attack capacity, and more importantly, cannot be set in an offensive or assault posture.
Activation depends on three main factors : the strategy level of the general, the strategy level of the Commander-of-Chief of the army, if applicable, and whether the general was already active the previous turn.
To see whether the general is active or not, look at the envelop ABOVE his portrait : if it is white, he is active. If it is yellow, he is not.
And, back to my situation, that’s the case of Von Schwerin – he is NOT active thus cannot assault the structure.
My conundrum is that I NEED to assault the structure since it is winter, but if I put Wedell into “assault”, he will not only assault the structure, but also attack offensively Picolomini’s army as soon as possible, without the protection of his fortification and more importantly, without waiting for Von Schwerin, because I cannot change a posture during a turn. On the other hand, I can give Wedell the order to “enter” the structure once it is taken – in which case his “posture” will become without interest, but if I do this von Schwerin will be alone to stop Picolomini, and Picolomini might actually defeat von Schwerin and trap everyone in Troppau (Wedell + von Schwerin retreating) with no relief armies in sight…. Difficult choice indeed…