I mean, is that fully your takeaway? Because the other side having a bunch of second-rate Trained units that basically crumpled at the first glance is what allowed us to get a Momentum advantage in the latest battle at all.
Actually, yes. For one, we didn't actually have a momentum advantage until T5 and were barely able to exploit momentum with our units, if not for a very risky attack and an unexpected move. In the particular discussion we are having we are talking a difference of +1 across the units, which I don't think amounts to enduring an additional attack. But yes, the trained units being made of tissue paper was also part why we won at Daurstein, but not decisive on it's own.
To pick a concrete example of why I don't think pure morale mods translate into a battlefield advantage: Our human regiments at Rotholz took a lot of fire and endured admirably. Were we able to leverage an advantage against dwarves with only half their cohesion (+8/10) vs. (+4)? No, we lacked the reserves for a counteroffensive. Rotholz had some particular issues of us positioning ourselves at dispersed strongholds, but the basic lack of reserves had shown itself acutely.
We needed 3-1 cavalry superiority after an incredibly aggressive enemy charge to get a chance to smash through enemy lines. Our weakness of lacking numbers limited successful operations against a far weaker opponent.
@Photomajig I have a question.Did fashon in Arcadia follow the trajectory of real life European trends,especially concerning legwear like:
Loincloth+Hem of the tunic →Drawers and hose→Breeches and stockings→Full trousers
Or did Arcadian clothing evolve differently ?Were they,for example,just going commando with tunics and then they abruptly changed into trousers ?
The Fifth Army settles in to their new home for the time being. You have the length of the river scouted and deploy detachments of cavalry to points that could feasibly be used for a crossing via fording or pontoon bridge. The only true crossing for a large army is at Dancy, south of Billermund, which von Trotha found unuseable from the rains. As the waters recede, it may become an option once more for the enemy; but that is a concern for another day. The Raoille south of Engelsburg is well-watched by your men, at the least.
On the 30th, you find your camp invaded by from north, south and west all at the same time. It is not the enemy this time, however, for all then new arrivals are Arnése. The most substantial of these guests comes from General de Montelivet - styling herself just General Montelivet now, no noble styling, you note - who not only has a letter for you, but indeed sends an entire barge loaded with Gaumése cheeses and Rijker beer down the Raoille, "for the brave Fifth Army, courtesy of Gelle and Musselmond". You make a note to return the gesture when you have a chance.
Her letter is fairly brief. It reports victories over the "Silver Army" - a force of some 30,000 men drawn from Norn's junior Silver Realm allies - and a subsequent rapid advance through the Grand Duchy's territory. Grand Duke Amaury of Musselmond-Gelle has apparently run with his tail between his legs into Norn with the dregs of the Silver Army.
But Montelivet has not, after all, seized the actual cities of Gelle and Musselmond. At the least, not fully. As she tells it, both are defended by extensive, if undermanned, fortifications, which Montelivet has now set herself to the task of besieging. Her troops control the countryside and the outlying boroughs of the twin cities, but their citadels still hold out. That is not an ideal position to be in if Nornish reinforcements arrive in her side of the theater.
The southern news are brought by a newspaperman eager to sell information. He brings with him a disparate collection of rumors, pamphlets and papers from the southern regions. You are most interested in the military situation, and the man's offerings confirm most of what you've already heard a little of: a Nornish army did indeed invade in Haute-Garand, coming down from the mountain passes faster than Arné's defenders could react, but now has seemingly withdrawn after a series of inconclusive skirmishes with General La Maingre's Fourth Army. But there is a bizarre and disquieting footnote to this abortive campaign, if the reports are to be believed.
General La Maingre has been killed, but only after the fighting. By his own men. The cause for this despicable mutiny is unclear, but the most truthful-seeming account identifies the inciting incident as La Maingre's decision to retreat from one of these skirmishes, rather than risk fighting a battle in a disadvantageous position. This, in turn, seems to have led his zealous but entirely ignorant soldiers to conclude that the General was a traitor to the Revolution and in league with foreign enemies. They then took the inconceivable step of storming his tent, dragging him out by his ears, and murdering him in cold blood - alongside half a dozen other officers and enlisted men who tried to defend him.
It sounds like a godsawful mess, and no doubt it's left the Fourth Army in a sorry state. As for La Maingre himself, he's apparently returned to life in that elven way, but is now unaccounted for - after fleeing his own command. You are well aware of how turbulent and volatile the soul of a common soldier is, but this is beyond the pale. Are you to fear bayonets in the back every time you make a decision that the rank-and-file do not understand? It unnerves you in a way enemy guns and bayonets do not.
The news from the west are less martial. Even with all the excitement of the war, the Convention has apparently finished the final draft for the new Constitution of the Nation, which promises to lay out procedures for the coming elections in extensive detail. The current Constitution has not actually been finished, per se, being more an aspirational manifesto of revolutionary ideals penned in the heady days of the Estates-General than a practical guide to government.
Now, you are to have actual mechanisms for holding elections and choosing representatives. The final Constitution is to be presented to the people and voted on by the Convention next month. What's actually in it is somewhat of a mystery. The contents have remained the province of rumor so far. One expects that the Consulars, as the largest bloc in the Convention, shall make their mark upon it most strongly. What will that mean for the King, whose position as a constitutional monarch was asserted by the original, half-baked Constitution of the Year One? It would be the height of folly to retain anything monarchist in the text, but the Constitutionalists will undoubtedly fight tooth and nail to defend their beloved institution.
***
With Norn passive for now, you're free to make your preparations on the south bank. Guillory's VI. should be here in four, five days, with their latest report via courier placing them at Daurstein.
You have 5 Army Actions available.
***
La Durance: Fifth March
5 Army Actions available
Preparations
[]Build fortifications. The bridge is already a strong defensive position, but it can be better. You'll make sure that any attempt to force the crossing will have a horrifying cost in blood. Each use of this Action increases the defenses and fortifications available in any battle at the bridge. [] Establish military hospital. Simply staying put in one place increases the risk of disease spreading in the ranks, and the battles to come will produce their own share of wounded. Setting up buildings, sanitation and supplies to take care of the sick and injured would increase their chances of survival. Requires 3 total Army Actions. Increases Casualty recovery by +10% in this region while the hospital exists.
Cohesion
[] Drill and practice. The troops require additional drill and training in formation warfare. Lose Munitions equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +1 Drill. [] Intense drill. There's no time for rest or leisure on this march. The troops need a taste of discipline and grueling drill. Lose Munitions equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +2 Drill. Lose 2d100 troops as Casualties. Each use after the first doubles the dice for Casualties. [] Extra rations. There's nothing better for getting the mood up than full bellies and good wine. Lose Supplies equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +1 Morale. [] Let loose. A good, old-fashioned few days of destruction and debauchery soothes the worst sting of defeat. Whatever happens may reflect poorly on your reputation, of course. Lose Supplies equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +2 Morale. Lose 5d10 Influence. Each use after the first doubles the dice for Influence loss.
Logistics
[] Additional foraging. An army needs to live off the land. You'll send off additional scrounging parties to forage for food and necessities. Gain 5d10 Supplies. [] Extort supplies. You could get more supplies by sending troops to "requisition" stocks from the locals. It's not pretty, but it's for the cause. Gain 10d10 Supplies. Lose Influence if in friendly territory or reduce number of available recruits if in hostile territory. [] Manufacture munitions. Basic powder, wadding and repairs can usually be managed with local materials. We could set the men to work filling up our stocks of ammunition. Gain 5d10 Munitions. [] Repair spiked artillery. The damage to the captured guns should be simple enough to repair. Repairs all spiked artillery in inventory.
Recruitment
[] (-50 Influence) Recruit locals. It's a fact of war that an army bleeds warm bodies constantly, in and out of battle. We could try recruiting from the local population to fill our ranks. Gain Reserve Manpower. Recruitment in hostile territory has an Influence cost, but you are currently enjoying a discount due to proximity to Arné and slightly improved local opinion. Available in Mitteln & La Durance: elves (+100), humans (+150), hobgoblins (+100), halflings (+250), dwarves (+150), devils (-100), nymphs (-50).
Available Recruitment Dice: 10
You can divide your available Recruitment Dice between the potential recruitable Kin however you like. Each Recruitment Die corresponds to one d100. The total for that Kin is further modified by their availability in the area (noted above).
For example, you can assign 6 RD to humans, 2 RD to hobgoblins and 2 RD to dwarves. This results in recruitment rolls of 6d100+150 for human recruits, 2d100+100 for hobgoblin recruits and 2d100+150 for dwarven recruits.
This action may be taken several times. However, additional recruitment drives suffer from slackened standards, reducing your Army Drill by 1 each time.
[] Found new regiment. You have enough idle men and equipment to establish a new regiment for the army. Gain new Unit, which will begin at Green XP Rank and promote to Trained Rank after one March. You must have the necessary amount of appropriate Reserve Manpower and the equipment for the Unit. Army Drill reduced by 1.
Organization
[] Replace aide-de-camp. Your present aide-de-camp has outstayed their welcome. Perhaps another would do better at the job.
-[] Herbert Marceau. Marceau, one of your elven adjutants, might suit the job. He's a bit of a dandy, but he has a way with people that would serve him well as an aide-de-camp. Marcel should excel in the delicate work of soothing ruffled feathers and settling interpersonal conflicts between your subordinates, or between them and you when necessary. Herbert Marceau as aide-de-camp provides Advantage on CO Events and Mentor CO during a March and reduces Influence costs for Removing and Transferring COs.
-[] Kura Faron. Faron is a capable hobgoblin ex-sergeant in your staff. She is generally highly competent, but her chief interest is in the long-neglected business of keeping soldiers alive and in fighting fit. With her watching over the relevant shoulders and improving conditions in the hospital tents, your men should have a better chance of surviving wounds and resisting disease. Kura Faron as aide-de-camp improves Casualty Recovery by +10% and reduces the risk of disease outbreaks during a March.
-[] Simone de Fayenne. Simone is another elf, whose mind for numbers and extensive learning make her a useful voice to have at your ear on campaign. Perhaps more importantly, she comes from the influential De Fayenne family of liberal high nobility, known particularly for their patronage of the arts and learning. Simone de Fayenne as aide-de-camp increases Influence gain from all sources.
-[] Jacques Lapointe. The human Lapointe has seen much of the Arcadian continent during his service as a roving mercenary. He's fluent in four languages (and can improvise the rest), and familiar with a wide variety of Kin and cultures. This makes him ideal as a liason and as an organizer of recruitment efforts in any given region. Jacques Lapointe as aide-de-camp grants +4 additional Recruitment Dice for Recruit locals and reduces Influence costs for recruiting in foreign territory.
Personal
[] Attend to correspondence. A soldier only needs think about the battle ahead, but a general must also consider the battles being fought at home. A flurry of letters sent to the right people should keep your name known and your friends positively disposed. Gain 10d10 Influence.
[] Mentor CO. One of your officers could use a bit of guidance before the next battle. Write-in a CO. A CO with an Unknown Trait will have their Trait revealed. A CO with a known Trait will have that Trait rerolled with Advantage (can only be done once per CO).
[] Delegate to Guillory and the VI. Army. Guillory's troops should be joining you shortly. While it is not your business to instruct him on how to run his army, you could certainly request him to take on certain duties in support of the whole combined force. Write-in anything you wish Guillory's VI to do in order of priority. Valid Army Actions are those under the Preparations and Logistics tags. Guillory is guaranteed to commit at least one Army Action's worth of time and resources to these tasks, and may commit more if available and he deems it sensible. Otherwise, Guillory will choose the VI. Army's Actions independently.
***
Influence Actions
[] [-100 Influence] Remove CO. There's good officers and there's bad. The bad need to be gotten rid of, but to do so one must cut through the web of political patronage and connections around the officer corps. Write-in CO. Gets rid of a CO entirely. Influence cost may be increased for certain COs. Army Drill reduced by 1. [] [-25 Influence] Transfer CO. Sometimes a rotten officer can still cause less harm in command of a different unit. You can arrange for a transfer, as long as you take care not to step on anyone's toes doing so. Write-in COs. Switches placement of two COs. Influence cost may be increased if transfer target has lesser XP Rank. Switching a CO to different Unit type requires a further retraining effort. Army Drill reduced by 1.
[] Requisition equipment. The Army provides only what it sees fit. Pulling a few strings, greasing a few palms and making a few new friends should get you shipments of better arms and armor for your Units. An Unit requires one March turn of time to train with new equipment. -[] [-10 Influence per Unit] Cabot Muskets. The workhorse of Arnése armies for decades now, the Cabot Musket makes up in reliability what it lacks in range, accuracy or stopping power. Wounding +2, Range 100m/200m/400m. -[] [-10 Influence per Unit] Sabres. Cavalry sabres and equipment for the close-up work of killing on horseback. Wounding +0. -[] [-50 Influence per Unit] Canard Rifles. Rifled Canard muskets are far more onerous to fabricate and maintain, but they offer greater range and accuracy than smoothbore muskets. Wounding +2, Range 200m/300m/500m. -[] [-100 Influence per Unit] Lances. Heavy lances are some of the most fearsome cavalry weapons to exist. A shipment of well-made lances would allow you to create a new regiment of lancers for the army. Wounding +1, Concealment -1, Movement -2, additional Charge Advantage. -[] [-100 Influence per Unit] Cavalry Cuirasses. A steel cuirass provides some useful protection for cavalry, especially in melee. The weight and size of it does limit a cuirassier's mobility somewhat, however. Wound Threshold +1, Movement -3. -[] [-150 Influence per Unit] Field Artillery. Cannons and howitzers for an unit of field artillery. Wounding +5, Range 200m/700m/1400m. -[] [-250 Influence per Unit] Horse Artillery. Light cannons and trained horses for an unit of horse artillery. Wounding +4, Movement +3, Range 200m/600m/1200m -[] [-200 Influence per Unit] Siege Artillery. Heavy artillery capable of bringing down buildings with its devastating barrages. Wounding +5, 100m/800m/1600m, consumes additional Munitions when Firing, reduces certain Hexes to special Ruins Terrain on sufficient Hits. -[] [-25 Influence per Unit] Draft Horses. Strong and patient horses bred for work and ideal for moving heavy artillery pieces. Needed to found Artillery Units. -[] [-50 Influence per Unit] Warhorses. Even-tempered, trained warhorses for use in cavalry warfare. Needed to found Cavalry Units. -[] [-500 Influence per Unit] Silvium Cuirasses. Silvium is far lighter than steel, and can thus be laid far thicker as well. This creates durable but lightweight cuirasses that do not slow down rider and horse. Cavalry only. Wound Threshold +1, no Movement reduction. -[] [-500 Influence per Unit] Silvium Plate. Silvium is far lighter than steel and more flexible as well. Steel plate is a thing of the past, but silvium allows us to give our infantry armor that offers some protection without sacrificing mobility or visibility. Infantry or Artillery. Wound Threshold +1.
[] Requisition experienced recruits. It is far easier to integrate veterans into your service than to train new units from scratch. You might be able to get experienced recruits and replacements sent your way if you talk to the right people. Experienced recruits can be used to found new Regiments of higher XP rank. Experienced replacements can be used to avoid XP loss if they are of equal or higher rank than the Unit they are joining. Write-in how many recruits you wish to hire from the available pool. Available: Elves, humans, dwarves, halflings, hobgoblins.
[-] Request temporary command of unit. Some of the finest regiments in the Nation are sitting idle when there's fighting to be had. A word in the right ear could see one such unit placed under your command for this campaign. May choose from specific high-quality units available. Cost varies. Currently unavailable.
[] [-50 Influence] Request additional supply. The logistics of running an army is both tiresome and vitally important. The Army could be more generous with providing you supplies and munitions if you had the favor of someone important. Gain 50 Supplies and 50 Munitions each time you take this Action.
[] [-10 Influence] Acquire intel on enemy forces. Gold, well-placed friends and clever agents can usually yield useful intelligence on the enemy movements and disposition. Gain 1 level of Intelligence over a specific enemy Army. Each level of Intelligence reveals more information about the target Army. [] [-25 Influence] Strengthen counter-intelligence. Gold, trickery and constant vigilance can thwart the attempts of enemy spies and scouts to gain intel on your forces. Prevent or remove 1 level of Intelligence over your Army by enemy forces.
***
Fifth Army
Morale
Drill
Munitions
Supplies
Influence
Current
9 (liberty or death)
6 (decent)
129
86
132
Projected
63
Supplies are expended every March equal to the amount of Units under your command (double for Hobgoblin Units). Each 1000 of Reserve Manpower counts as an additional Unit.
Spare Equipment:
-3 Cabot Muskets (Wounding +2, Range 100m/200m/400m)
-8 Erlkönig Muskets (Wounding +2, Range 100m/200m/400m)
-1 Sabres (Wounding +0)
-3 Field Artillery (Wounding +5, Range 200m/700m/1400m), 2 spiked Field Artillery waiting
-1 Warhorses
-1 Draft Horses
Our Units
Unit
XP
Str.
AP
Morale Mod.
Stress
Combat
Mun.
Spl.
Con.
Spt.
Mov.
Equipment
Traits
CO
251st Hob
0/20
Professional
1000/1000
3
-
0
+20
10/10
5/5
0
7
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Hobgoblin
Veka Bonheur
Watchful
200th Hob
6/20
Professional
1000/1000
3
-
0
+20
10/10
5/5
0
5
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Hobgoblin
Alho Kléber
Offensive Genius
72nd Hum
1/20
Experienced
1000/1000
3
-
0
+30
10/10
5/5
0
5
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Human
Gereon Oberlin
Teacher
148th Hum
0/5
Regular
1000/1000
3
-
0
+10
10/10
5/5
0
5
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Human
Liberté Chastain
Inspiring
42nd Elv
3/20
Regular
1000/1000
3
-
0
+10
10/10
5/5
0
7
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Elven
M. de Montmorency
Unsteady
45th Elv
6/20
Regular
1000/1000
3
-
0
+10
9/10
5/5
0
7
2
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Elven
Jean de Sangeaux
Maverick
16th Half Pfd
4/10
Regular
1000/1000
3
-
0
+10
10/10
5/5
2
5
2
Falke Rifle
Bayonets
Halfling
Maiwen Firmin
Butcher
19th Half Pfd
9/10
Regular
1000/1000
3
-
0
+10
10/10
5/5
2
5
4
Canard Rifle
Bayonets
Halfling
Sophie Tasse
Rapid
28th Half Pfd
0/20
Professional
1000/1000
3
-
0
+20
10/10
5/5
2
5
2
Canard Rifle
Bayonets
Halfling
Georges Villiers
Unsteady
55th Elv Hsr
10/20
Regular
500/500
3
-
0
+10
-
5/5
0
7
7
Sabres
Elven
Berenice de Toucy
Defensive Genius
108th Elv Hsr
14/40
Professional
500/500
2
-
0
+20
-
5/5
0
7
7
Sabres
Elven
Guillaume de Mayerne
???
13th Hob Lan
4/10
Regular
500/500
3
-
0
+10
-
5/5
-1
5
5
Lances
Hobgoblin
Karo Bonnaire
Optimist
10th Hum Art
4/20
Experienced
50/50
3
-
0
+30
10/10
5/5
0
5
1
Field Artillery
Human
David Granger
Offensive Genius
84th Elv Art
13/20
Regular
50/50
3
-
0
+10
10/10
5/5
0
9
1
Field Artillery
Elven
Jules de Maistre
Watchful
31st Elv Art
14/20
Regular
50/50
3
-
0
+10
12/12
7/7
0
7
1
Field Artillery
Elven
Marie de Lamartine
Logistician
5th Hob H Art
31/40
Experienced
50/50
3
-
0
+30
8/8
3/3
0
5
4
Horse Artillery
Hobgoblin
Arka Faucher
Careless
HQ
-
-
-
-
-
-
129
86
1
*Affected by Casualties Bayonets, Sabres: Wounding +0 Lances: Wounding +1, Concealment -1, Movement -2, additional Charge Advantage Cabot Musket: Wounding +2, Range 100m/200m/400m Field Artillery: Wounding +5, Range 200m/700m/1400m Canard Rifle: Wounding +2, Range 200m/300m/500m Falke Rifle: Wounding +3, Range 100m/300m/500m Horse Artillery: Wounding +4, Movement +3, Range 200m/600m/1200m, may Set Up for free
By that do you mean repairing the spiked guns? If so, yeah, and I think one thing we could do there is basically promise to split it evenly with him. If his army repairs them he gets one free cannon out of it, and we get the other. Could be an interesting way to do things, actually.
Huh, ok. Those are a lot of actions, but we also had fortifications separated into it's own actions.
@Photomajig Am I interpreting the hospital modified region correctly as applying to the entire La Durance area we would be operating in? Secondly, would we establishing the hospital at our current location or is this part of our military camp? The current position is not necessarily ideal for treating our wounded.
[] Plan: Drill 'Em, Treat 'Em, Prepare 'Em [Lacking Influence Spending RN] -[] Establish military hospital. Simply staying put in one place increases the risk of disease spreading in the ranks, and the battles to come will produce their own share of wounded. Setting up buildings, sanitation and supplies to take care of the sick and injured would increase their chances of survival. Requires 3 total Army Actions. Increases Casualty recovery by +10% in this region while the hospital exists. -[] Intense drill. There's no time for rest or leisure on this march. The troops need a taste of discipline and grueling drill. Lose Munitions equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +2 Drill. Lose 2d100 troops as Casualties. Each use after the first doubles the dice for Casualties. -[] Delegate to Guillory and the VI. Army. Guillory's troops should be joining you shortly. While it is not your business to instruct him on how to run his army, you could certainly request him to take on certain duties in support of the whole combined force. Write-in anything you wish Guillory's VI to do in order of priority. Valid Army Actions are those under the Preparations and Logistics tags. Guillory is guaranteed to commit at least one Army Action's worth of time and resources to these tasks, and may commit more if available and he deems it sensible. Otherwise, Guillory will choose the VI. Army's Actions independently.
-[] Write to Guillory outlining our establishment of a military hospital that shall, of course, be shared by both parties to the benefit of all in the region. Ask for him to labor on building the fortifications to protect the crossing as a first priority, and as a secondary priority, if he has time left after putting in his efforts for fortifications, offer that if his troops can unspike the two cannons that have been seized as the spoils of war, he can keep one of them in thanks.
This is five actions, I feel like the Military Hospital is too tempting to pass up.
Must we do it? Can we just do a normal dril. If we do the hard mode of dril, we will lose men. I don't think the cost is wort it, and we are on enemy homeground. I would rather do the Recruit of new soldaters on our homeground.
Must we do it? Can we just do a normal dril. If we do the hard mode of dril, we will lose men. I don't think the cost is wort it, and we are on enemy homeground. I would rather do the Recruit of new soldaters on our homeground.
[] Plan: The common sense. -[] Establish military hospital. Simply staying put in one place increases the risk of disease spreading in the ranks, and the battles to come will produce their own share of wounded. Setting up buildings, sanitation and supplies to take care of the sick and injured would increase their chances of survival. Requires 3 total Army Actions. Increases Casualty recovery by +10% in this region while the hospital exists. -[] Drill and practice. The troops require additional drill and training in formation warfare. Lose Munitions equal to number of Units (-16). Gain +1 Drill. -[] Delegate to Guillory and the VI. Army. Guillory's troops should be joining you shortly. While it is not your business to instruct him on how to run his army, you could certainly request him to take on certain duties in support of the whole combined force. Write-in anything you wish Guillory's VI to do in order of priority. Valid Army Actions are those under the Preparations and Logistics tags. Guillory is guaranteed to commit at least one Army Action's worth of time and resources to these tasks, and may commit more if available and he deems it sensible. Otherwise, Guillory will choose the VI. Army's Actions independently.
-[] Write to Guillory outlining our establishment of a military hospital that shall, of course, be shared by both parties to the benefit of all in the region. Ask for him to labor on building the fortifications to protect the crossing as a first priority, and as a secondary priority, if he has time left after putting in his efforts for fortifications, offer that if his troops can unspike the two cannons that have been seized as the spoils of war, he can keep one of them in thanks.
Kind of skeptical of delegating to Guillory, honestly. We don't really need him building fortifications or doing other camp duties as much as we need him to whip his army into shape. If that diverts dice that he'd use for drilling or raising new regiments or things of that sort, might be better for us to just build it ourselves.
Kind of skeptical of delegating to Guillory, honestly. We don't really need him building fortifications or doing other camp duties as much as we need him to whip his army into shape. If that diverts dice that he'd use for drilling or raising new regiments or things of that sort, might be better for us to just build it ourselves.
With what actions? I guess instead of asking him to do stuff we could do Fort 1, I suppose, that's not a terrible setup? Because I do think the Field Hospital will be important and useful, and also lets us be seen caring for the men (and compensating for the further Intense Drill and improving our outcome if we win another battle.)
On the 30th, you find your camp invaded by from north, south and west all at the same time. It is not the enemy this time, however, for all then new arrivals are Arnése. The most substantial of these guests comes from General de Montelivet - styling herself just General Montelivet now, no noble styling, you note - who not only has a letter for you, but indeed sends an entire barge loaded with Gaumése cheeses and Rijker beer down the Raoille, "for the brave Fifth Army, courtesy of Gelle and Musselmond". You make a note to return the gesture when you have a chance.
Hmm, this feels like an interesting view into Montelivet if she's voluntarily given up the noble style. Seems whoever her sponsor was, they're probably not Constitutionalist. I don't suppose a barge like that was worth some extra Supplies?
@Photomajig Do we have to do the Hospital all in one March, or can we split the actions towards it between Marches (for example, doing one action this March and two more next March?)
Can we give give the spiked artillery freely outside of AP to Guillory? We still have 3 others field arty and he can independently unspike the canon as he decide.
Intel on von Trotha seems like an important thing to keep on top of, as well as writing home; one of the major things to consider about the elections is that we may want to arrange for our soldiers to be able to vote in them.
We also probably want new orders, given we've reached the end of our current ones.
...would it be worth shipping some artillery up-river to Montlivet so that she can hopefully reduce the fortresses more quickly?
Okay, I don't think the military hospital should be our priority. Yes, it's nice but taking it does also severely hinder the more needed army expansion and army drill. I would also ask how the 6th is supposed to contribute to this action when they are still travelling towards us. The action is time-consuming enough to warrant both armies contributing to it, and any newly raised regiment needs one march action to get out of the green status and become actually useful in combat.
So, in terms of what we actually want from Guillory: Ensuring that his army is properly drilled and can withstand some impacts is going to take priority: This is useful for defensive operations (raised morale mod), and far more necessary if we are actually attacked by Norn. This is unfortunately not something we can order him to do but I still would write a letter recommending he get his units towards passable drill, so our armies can actually march and support each other. Also, we don't need to unspike any artillery? We have 3 in waiting which we are unlikely to use.
So, the fortification action: As a tactician behind our approach in Daurstein, I am entirely comfortable planning a battle around not doing those. Our next battle will be centered around a feigned retreat to draw enemy troops on our side, followed by a strike on the bridge position. This really doesn't benefit that much from earthworks, or any sort of traps. If we want to bind the enemy on our side, it's probably safe to assume we would be withdrawing out of effective artillery range on the river side. With the Ravoille 400m wide, we could fall back out of the enemy artillery range and then bind the enemy in melee. In fact, a lack of fortifications would probably help with our ruse as those give us a reason to withdraw in the first place.
Intel on von Trotha seems like an important thing to keep on top of, as well as writing home; one of the major things to consider about the elections is that we may want to arrange for our soldiers to be able to vote in them.
Not really? He lost his best unit of artillery and got generally mauled. We know his quirks and he's particularly unlikely to try to assault our position, since he retreated behind the river. Trotha is contained.
Those are field artillery, in other words flat firing cannons designed for the open battlefield. They are not useful in a siege. I can see why you would want to help her, but she probably has a decent number of those herself, while the transfer would also face substantial logistical challenges.
I feel like at this point the enemy should respect our competence enough that not making any effort to fortify the only bridge between our side of the river and theirs would be too suspicious for them to fall for it.
Looking at previous battles, a Military Hospital would save something like 100-200 casualties in a battle. Nice, but not what I'd consider a must-have, particularly when the upcoming battle is going to be the toughest we've fought yet, against the proper Nornish regular army rather than Provincials. I'd rather spend those 3 actions frontloading preparations of our own army to fight and win that battle.
I feel like at this point the enemy should respect our competence enough that not making any effort to fortify the only bridge between our side of the river and theirs would be too suspicious for them to fall for it.
Eh, there is no real reason for the enemy professionals to respect us, considering we only beat provincial dullards. Additionally, they don't know our supply situation: Based on what they know, we could have been pretty busy pillaging the countryside for supplies, alongside just generally being delayed by lackluster marching. I don't think "Young upstart with a strong win streak wants a decisive battle on their river side" is all that implausible.
Looking at previous battles, a Military Hospital would save something like 100-200 casualties in a battle. Nice, but not what I'd consider a must-have, particularly when the upcoming battle is going to be the toughest we've fought yet, against the proper Nornish regular army rather than Provincials. I'd rather spend those 3 actions frontloading preparations of our own army to fight and win that battle.
I feel like there are a lot of knock-on effects too, such as the fact that it says "in the region", and the fact that it compensates for Intense Drill, and more.
I feel like there are a lot of knock-on effects too, such as the fact that it says "in the region", and the fact that it compensates for Intense Drill, and more.
