Taking Casualties from Zero-Morale Enemy?

[HeadyChopper]

First campaign, playing Scotland. Recently started encountering this infuriating bug:
When engaging a weaker enemy, such that I can break their morale to zero in a few days, they do not retreat (10 day minimum, I worked that out), nor do they take casualties (0-morale regiments do not fight, worked that out), but rather MY army begins taking heavy casualties. Significantly more than if they had held their morale and fought to the bitter end.

It took centuries to claw my way from the bottom of the pack as Scotland - and around the point that I moved from underdog to dominant, I started noticing "easy" battles suddenly sapping casualties and morale. This doesn't happen occasionally - it happens EVERY TIME I break an enemy's morale in the first few days (assuming I am under the 2:1 stackwipe limit - otherwise no worries). Wars are now HARDER than they were a century ago. I am now stronger and more advanced than most of my rivals, but now I cannot rely on battles being won promptly and cleanly - rather, every small skirmish destroys my troop numbers and morale.

Is this a known issue? I saw it mentioned once in a thread but couldn't find any more than a mention. Why do I take MORE casualties when the enemy has reached zero morale, while they take none? If their regiments are not engaged in combat, why am I taking casualties at all?

 

[TheArchMede]

What version are you playing? There's a bug in an early version where the wrong side takes the damage. Even in 5.2 combat has an occasional bug left in it.
However you'll always end up short of morale after a battle unless you heavily outnumber or outtech the enemy. You can use this feature to your advantage by attacking in waves, e.g. timing half your army to arrive a few days late for a battle.

 

[HeadyChopper]

I have the latest version of IN from GOG, 3.2 I believe (that's what it says on the title screen anyway).

Is there a solution or a patch for this bug? That sounds like what I'm seeing. When my Scots Charge Infantry goes up against lowtech Eastern Spearmen or some such, usually I suffer barely a handful of casualties/day. But once they hit zero morale, suddenly I'm taking hundreds at a hit. It started with lowtech Asian armies, but as I have boosted my military power lately, now I see it with the slavic/russian theatre as well. Any battle where I can break their morale within the first few days.

Yeah, morale loss is to be expected. But not like this. Fighting in waves helps ( in general, but also with this problem - I think because it usually means I go over the 2:1 limit and wipe them) but obv isn't always possible.

If there's a solution or a patch for this I'd be very appreciative. I feel like I'm missing something obvious because this issue is so pervasive for me, and I could barely find a whisper of it in the forums.

 

[TheArchMede]

I don't think there's a fix in IN. 3.2 is the final version of that.
Its not in 5.2 so you could upgrade to DW (EU3 Collection Upgrade is how GOG sells DW).
The IN tactical workround would be to use smaller armies so those low tech opponents have unengaged forces to feed in after their initial front collapses. That way the final collapse is delayed until the mechanics allow them to run away and you don't get those suicide rounds.

 

[HeadyChopper]

I checked GOG and the DW upgrade was on sale so I just went ahead and bought it. Was probably going to at some point, just brought it forward a little.
I've still got this Scottish campaign to finish though.
That's an excellent tip with smaller armies - I hadn't considered under-engaging to encourage them to fight longer. I was rearranging my forces such that I would (hopefully) always have a 2:1 advantage. Which is risky of course because if you don't get the wipe, your overpowered army eats itself.
I can work with that. It'll take some pressure off my supply lines too.

Thanks for the informative replies, I really appreciate it!
All the best.

 

[Kovax]

The problem still exists in DW, but doesn't seem as severe. I've lost a few dozen men out of an army of several thousand after the enemy's morale collapsed, but never enough to seriously degrade my army. It's annoying, though.

The tip about using two smaller armies has other advantages. If your first army to arrive is smaller than the opposing one, the enemy will place one extra unit on each of your flanks, with the rest behind the lines in reserve. When your second group shows up, it outflanks those flankers. The units in reserve also limit the tendency of the opposing army to break almost instantly, since there are fresh units that can still fight.

The game has its share of bugs, but we the players have found work-arounds for a lot of them. Enjoy your glorious victories and the additional game mechanics of DW.

 

[HeadyChopper]

Thanks for the reply! Yes I've been playing around a little more with the tactical mechanics after reading the replies here, and discovering just as you say, fnding workarounds to odd bugs often results in better tactical options overall. Very satisfying to rout that high-tech Swedish army with my highland barbarians by means of a few well-timed manoeuvres and careful unit organisation.

The flanking mechanic is interesting - it wasn't well-documented in the manual (the parts I read anyway), but adjusting the cav-inf ratio can make a big difference even without the combined-arms bonus which apparently appears in DW. (I haven't gotten there yet) I completely changed my standard army ratios since first posting here to great success. (Previously I was using 50-50 cav-inf or even higher cav - now I keep just 2-4 cav for a much larger inf section and lots of art to back them up)

I'm looking forward to the DW ugrades once I lead my Scottish campaign into the industrial revolution. (Or whatever particular event marks 1821)
Happy New Year!