We will be reinforced by a fresher army, but I do agree. Currently, we won because of luck with the rapid deployment and being on the defensive, but that can't continue indefinitely. Campaigns necessarily include offensives, and ensuring sufficient mobile firepower for manoeuvre is one of the better ways to compensate for lower numbers.
Anything can happen in a battle. Even a few minutes could make all the difference between victory or defeat.
Durand can be aggressive, maybe even hot-headed. Well, she IS a hobgoblin.
Napoleon learned the hard way in early 1796 of what would happen if you were to large frontal assaults on heavily-guarded enemy positions at an enemy-occupied settlement.
It takes courage and discipline to stand firm in the face of hundreds or thousands of horses charging directly toward you. But stand firm you must; infantrymen cannot outrun a horse.
Inexperienced. Not good. They need to move faster, especially considering the speed of the enemy horsemen.
At this point you cannot flee. You must stand and fight, present a wall of pointed steel to the enemy cavalry, or you will be slaughtered.
In my opinion this is on him. He failed to maintain discipline and order in his unit.
If Durand has him replaced, I wouldn't blame her.
It's fine, those weeks happen. Real life responsibilities take precedence, you should take as much time as you need for those. I'm just glad you haven't lost your spark for the quest.
Even worse, she is a fantasy-french commander. A terrible condition that has been known to drive commanders to risky assaults.
The thread does seem a bit more hesitant about frontal assaults than their historical example, preferring a more methodical manoeuvre and positioning before the attack. This does involve trade-offs, a more aggressive commander has a better chance of catching an enemy before they are truly entrenched, in situation where a cautious commander misses their window of opportunity. On the other hand, they are also more likely to botch an assault if they are unlikely by smashing their head against the wall. Returning to the situation at hand, the village was likely not that well-guarded, considering the enemy just arrived and failed to dislodge the militia defending it.
Given the circumstances this is somewhat inevitable. The revolution required a lot of uprisings to be put down, which means throwing fresh recruits into the battle before they are fully trained. The republic doesn't have the luxury of time. Which makes those units less effective than they should be, especially at the officer level. On the other hand, if the uprisings are of limited strength, you can give them an initial boost of experience other nations would not normally enjoy due to harder battles killing more experienced soldiers. Forming a truly effective, experienced army out of recruits will be a big goal for Durand going forward.
Which is rationally completely correct, but very difficult to do when the charge is triggering the flight instinct of your brain. Cavalry relies on this psychological fear effect, staying in formation while a large figure rapidly approaches you, with your defence consisting of a piece of wood with a knife at the end is very counterintuitive. The rational part of your brain just doesn't work well when you actually fear for your life, that is why militaries try to drill certain things into muscle memory.
While that is a failure, keep in mind this unit is fresh from training and thrown into an incredibly difficult situation, trying to maintain order against a professional cavalry charge. If we fire everybody who fails accomplishing something difficult, we would rapidly run out of a army to command.
I would generally agree, though putting mere trained infantry on the battlefield doesn't seem to be that out of the norm. If you look at the army of the west and the army of the centre, both have the vast majority of their infantry just at trained. If Norn does it, it's probably standard practice for nations that maintain larger armies. Turn 2 also had bad luck, the cavalry rolled in the 90th percentile.
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| Str. | Coh. |
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| Spt. |
| Equipment | Traits | CO | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 251st Hob. | 3/5, Trained | 941/1000 | 7/12 | +0 | 6/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Hobgoblin | Veka Bonheur Incompetent | |||||||
| 10th Hum Art. | 9/5, Regular | 50/50 | 22/21 | +10 | 6/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Field Artillery | Human | David Granger Offensive Genius | |||||||
| 200th Hob. | 7/10, Regular | 979/1000 | 10/13 | +10 | 6/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Hobgoblin | Alho Kléber Offensive Genius | |||||||
| 72nd Hum. | 6/5, Regular | 1000/1000 | 18/21 | +10 | 6/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Human | Gereon Oberlin Teacher | |||||||
| 148th Hum. | 9/5, Regular | 716/1000 | 0/21 | -10* | 8/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Human | Liberté Chastain Inspiring | |||||||
| 42nd Elv. | 8/10, Trained | 1000/1000 | 12/12 | +0 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Elven CO Wounded | Unsteady | |||||||
| 45th Elv. | 9/10, Trained | 940/1000 | 6/12 | +0 | 0/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Elven | Jean de Sangeaux Maverick | |||||||
| 16th Half. | 2/10, Regular | 900/1000 | 5/13 | +10 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Halfling | Maïwen Firmin Butcher | |||||||
| 19th Half. Pfd. | 5/10, Regular | 830/1000 | 4/13 | +0* | 4/10 | 3/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Canard Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Sophie Tasse Rapid | |||||||
| 28th Half. Pfd. | 5/10, Regular | 908/1000 | 0/13 | +10 | 6/10 | 5/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Canard Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Georges Villiers Unsteady | |||||||
| 55th Elv. Hsr. | 9/10, Trained | 296/500 | 6/12 | -20* | 3/5 | 3 | 5 | 9 | Sabres | Elven | Berenice de Toucy Defensive Genius | ||||||||
| 108th Elv. Hsr. | 6/40, Professional | 422/500 | 10/14 | +20 | 2/5 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Sabres | Elven | Augustin de Goyon Loud | ||||||||
| 13th Hob. Lan. | 7/10, Regular | 297/500 | 2/13 | -10* | 0/5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Lances | Hobgoblin | Karo Bonnaire Optimist | ||||||||
| 84th Elv. Art. | 12/10, Trained | 50/50 | 12/12 | +0 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven | Jules de Maistre Watchful | |||||||
| 31st Elv. Art. | 13/10, Trained | 50/50 | 13/12 | +0 | 6/12 | 7/7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven | Marie de Lamartine Logistician | |||||||
| 5th Hob. H. Art. | 18/40, Experienced | 50/50 | 18/15 | +30 | 6/8 | 3/3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Horse Artillery | Hobgoblin | Arka Faucher Careless | |||||||
| HQ | 131 | 74 | 1 |
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| Str. | Coh. |
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| Spt. |
| Equipment | Traits | CO | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lie 1st Hum Hsr | Trained | 500/500 | ?/15 | +0 | ? | 3? | 3? | 9 | Sabres | Human Cavalry | ? | ||||||||
| Lie 2nd Hum Hsr | Trained | 500/500 | ?/15 | +0 | ? | 3? | 3? | 9 | Sabres | Human Cavalry | ? | ||||||||
| Gal 14th Half Jäg | Regular | 986/1000 | ?/12 | +10 | ? | ? | 5 | 3 | 3 | Falke Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Demoralizing | |||||||
| Gal 20th Half Jäg | Regular | 1000/1000 | ?/12 | +10 | ? | ? | 5 | 3 | 3 | Falke Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Offensive Genius | |||||||
| Dau 86th Elv | Trained | 825/1000 | ?/11 | -10* | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Elven | Offensive Genius | |||||||
| Dau 90th Elv | Trained | 859/1000 | ?/11 | -10 | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Elven | Careless | |||||||
| Dau 93rd Elv | Trained | 876/1000 | ?/11 | -10* | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Elven | Rapid | |||||||
| Bil 15th Dwa | Trained | 789/1000 | 0/18 | -20* | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Dwarven | Unsteady | |||||||
| Bil 20th Dwa | Trained | 779/1000 | ?/18 | -20* | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Dwarven | Maverick | |||||||
| Daur 14th Hum | Trained | 1000/1000 | ?/15 | +0 | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Human Slowed | Defensive Genius | |||||||
| Eng 177th Hum | Trained | 915/1000 | ?/15 | +0 | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Human | Teacher | |||||||
| Eng 100th Dwa | Trained | 821/1000 | ?/18 | -10* | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Dwarven | CO Killed | |||||||
| Eng 102nd Dwa | Trained | 818/1000 | ?/18 | -10* | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Dwarven | Watchful | |||||||
| Mrk Nym Rng | Professional | 819/1000 | 0/13 | +10* | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 3 | Erlkönig Musket Bayonets | Nymph | Feared | |||||||
| 61st Elv Art | Regular | 50/50 | ?/12 | +10 | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven Artillery | Careless | |||||||
| 75th Elv Art | Regular | 50/50 | ?/12 | +10 | ? | ? | 3 | 5 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven Artillery | Offensive Genius | |||||||
| Dwa Vol Art | Trained | 50/50 | ?/18 | +0 | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 1 | Field Artillery | Dwarven Artillery | Maverick |
Hob Lancers avoid being routed for a second time, which is good.
We are dealing some damage against them, which helps with the experience gain.
The 45th are demonstrating why a charge is bad idea. This can be salvaged, we can move them into cover in the woods north-east.
And the enemy is finally starting the retreat. Looks like we don't have to worry about the Jägers causing issues, since the enemy is moving them away, alongside the remaining units. The actual retreat should come any turn now, but we get the opportunity to grind a lot more artillery experience.
The halfings: I don't know if we should take offense to that.
Would he even listen to that? He seems quite intent on attacking.
Well, our choices are trying to give the order that keeps the dumbasses from being killed, or doing nothing. I'm firmly in the trying to do something camp. Maybe being halfway routed reduced their appetite for glorious charges.
I am half tempted to just have them charge since they are already there. And also because it mught get that dumbass CO killed.
Well, we are no longer in range to attempt a charge. Even the 45th lacks the speed to do so, provided the 90th or 177th move east or Wachenheim starts moving convoys off the map. It's even worse for the remaining ones, our operational reserves are quite depleted and we would spend to turns to move into gunfire range. With this in mind, I'm not a fan of attempting to stumble into a charge when our infantry line isn't set up for it.
I am half tempted to just have them charge since they are already there. And also because it mught get that dumbass CO killed.
The real question is, do we let him retreat or do we try to cut him off along the road? If we want to get aggressive, the 45th is well positioned to at least absorb cannon fire.
