March to the sound of guns

[Patgarret77]

So this makes my armies help each other automatically when someine gets in a fight, right?
I keep reading that it is a very important ability...but I really can't understand why.
The very last thing I want as, for example, Prussia fighting big russian stacks and manouvering smaller stacks around them, is some automatic movement decision!!!

Can someone delucidate me about how this ability is useful?

 

[ve3609]

so that way you can keep your stacks below attrition rates but yet merge them when necessary. Its something Napoleon did all the t ime

 

[zrallo]

So this makes my armies help each other automatically when someine gets in a fight, right?
I keep reading that it is a very important ability...but I really can't understand why.
The very last thing I want as, for example, Prussia fighting big russian stacks and manouvering smaller stacks around them, is some automatic movement decision!!!

Can someone delucidate me about how this ability is useful?

It isn't automatic. You have the option on the operational orders toolbar to enable MtSoG or disable it. So, if you know certain stacks won't be helpful against a mega-doomstack, you can disable the order.

 

[deadmeat1471]

It's basicly one of the base principles of war; march divided, fight united.

 

[parliamentlite]

My question about this decision: is it more effective than manually moving your armies together? Is that something you can't do without having this skill chosen? If you can do it manually, do your forces not join the battle as quickly (or at all)?

I'm playing my first game as England and I have my expeditionary force broken up into Corps, but I'm wondering if this is the most useful choice for me since I can simply watch over my troops and combine them manually. I still haven't launched an invasion but if I can use those idea points on something I can't replicate myself I will.

 

[1alexey]

When assaulting forts, make sure there is no enemy stack arround or they will teleport into the fortress and you`ll get slaughtered.

Other than that, the ability is quite useless, siply because cassualties in a single round can be outstanding, if enemy`s 40k stack runst into your 3 x 14k stacks spread arround, it can kill most of the soldiers piece meal anyway.

 

[Zarine]

It's very powerful, the army get a bonus to move to the province with the battle.
it's very effective when for attrition reason you have to split your army but need it to be one when there is a battle. If used properly, the additional lost in the battle will be lower than the lost by attrition that you would have got.

 

[Sufferance]

Really Zarine? The assisting army gets bonuses? That makes it WAY better.
You have to use it smart. I've used it against France quite a bit in my prussian game. Because Napoleon turns it on for all of his armies, I would use it to lure low moral troops into an already losing battle to eliminate scattered remnants of the army. It's also useful as a quick response tool. I find that the French troops march much quicker than mine did, and it let me adapt.

Also, let it be said for Land Movement 5 that Pontooning is awesome. It effectively lets you cross rivers instantly. You still get the malus, but the mobility is beautiful.

 

[IcratoX]

My question about this decision: is it more effective than manually moving your armies together? Is that something you can't do without having this skill chosen? If you can do it manually, do your forces not join the battle as quickly (or at all)?

I'm playing my first game as England and I have my expeditionary force broken up into Corps, but I'm wondering if this is the most useful choice for me since I can simply watch over my troops and combine them manually. I still haven't launched an invasion but if I can use those idea points on something I can't replicate myself I will.

It definitely is more effective as you can have your armies in a neighboring(if im right) province and they'll quickly march into the battle, with a delay(however I do not really know how long) when an army gets attacked or attacks. The good thing about this is, that rather than having a 1 large stack and suffering attrition, you can have 2 or more smaller stacks and do not have any or at least less attrition.

 

[Patgarret77]

I will try and look for it in some video "let's play"... 'cause I really don't get it...when I'm marching in enemy territory I'm always watching closely, speed 2, ready to change march orders and tactics. I really need to see it in action.

 

[StephenT]

Other than that, the ability is quite useless, siply because cassualties in a single round can be outstanding, if enemy`s 40k stack runst into your 3 x 14k stacks spread arround, it can kill most of the soldiers piece meal anyway.

The whole point of Napoleon's corps system was that an individual Corps d'Armée was strong enough to fight independently for a short time - and the other corps could quickly come to reinforce it. You have no business putting a 14K stack anywhere near a concentrated enemy 40K stack, and not even March to the Sound of Guns can save you if you try it. But that's not what the tactic is for.

Say the enemy army is 40K and you have 60K, but the supply limit on the provinces around is 40K. Attack him head-on and you'll suffer attrition before the battle even starts. So you divide your army in half, two 30K stacks. If he attacks one of them, it's 4:3 odds (as opposed to 3:1 under your own example) so you won't be defeated quickly. A few game-hours later, your other 30K stack teleports into the battle using MttSoG, and now you outnumber him.

 

[darkyouck]

Yeah theorically, you could move your armies manually but most of the time, march to the... divide the time it take from 5 to 2 to renforce a battle.
I don't know about singleplayer but in multi, it's priceless and the first idea I always grab. If you move your armies manually, most of the time you'll have already lost half your troops before they get renforced, it save a lot of men and make a big difference into that battle. It also allow you to focus a bit more on others theaters because it is automatic.

And you can easily do some small tricks in multi like putting a weak army on the frontier with a big one behind in the FOG. Often trick people into getting that fight despite mountain / crossing / whatever malus.

 

[StephenT]

And you can easily do some small tricks in multi like putting a weak army on the frontier with a big one behind in the FOG. Often trick people into getting that fight despite mountain / crossing / whatever malus.

Which is where the other trick comes in: a single light cavalry brigade under a high-movement leader, set to Evade, slips past your stack to check that there isn't a big army lurking just behind it.

 

[darkyouck]

Which is where the other trick comes in: a single light cavalry brigade under a high-movement leader, set to Evade, slips past your stack to check that there isn't a big army lurking just behind it.

I have yet to see anyone do that in multi at least on metaserver games ^^
thank for the idea btw