POWs during battles (Full Version)

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dsl190 -> POWs during battles (3/9/2007 4:37:25 PM)

Hello, can anyone please give me some advice about a couple of aspects of detailed battles?

The first thing involves POWs. Sometimes during the course of the battle a unit will surrender to me (usually when surrounded) and will then change to my colours. I then have the option to move it. Do I need to move these out of reach of the enemy and do I need to guard them throughout the remainder of the battle in order to to prevent them escaping and rejoining the fray? I have been doing this (which is a bit of a pain as it can tie up otherwise active units) but after a while the POWs seem to disappear. When this happens have they escaped or have they merely been transported automatically away from the battle and into secure captivity?

A second point which strikes me about detailed battles is that once the retreat has been sounded, the enemy seems to disappear from the field at the speed of light. I find effective pursuit almost impossible as their fleeing units, even infantry, seem able to outrun my troops, even my cavalry. I recognise that men fleeing for their lives would in reality move pretty quickly, but these seem to become Olympic sprinters! Even those who are surrounded seem able to slip through my lines and leg it at high speed once they hear that bugle call. After hours of fighting, it would be nice to be able to drive home a victory by inflicting significant damage during the pursuit phase of the battle but I don't see how this can be done. Am I doing something wrong?

Any advice would be welcome. Although I am new to CoG, I must say that it is a fascinating game, particularly once you get over the initially steep learning curve sufficiently to play a reasonable game and start wining battles. But I do wish that some things were explained a in a little more detail in the manual.



Ironclad -> RE: POWs during battles (3/9/2007 10:25:40 PM)

You don't need to guard or move a unit that surrenders in detailed battle (unlike back on the strategic map) and there is a chance (50%?) of it disappearing from play each turn.

Retreating units do race off the field. It helps when chasing them to have cavalry (even disordered) and its essential to get your infantry into pursuit columns asap. Caissons, surrendered units and terrain can also assist in blocking exits. I haven't played COG recently but I seem to recall that artillery surrenders more easily if caught. Larger battles are not only more fun to fight but provide more opportunities for dealing out damage or captures after victory through the many more units (targets and pursuers) on the field.

Have you checked out the latest draft manual (no screenshots but far more detailed) which I think is in patch 1.2.25.



1LTRambo -> RE: POWs during battles (3/11/2007 10:04:01 PM)

dsl109
Ironclad is correct that you don't have to guard your captured enemy units after they surrender, but you can not use them in the current battle. I have found that recently captured artillery units are available for your use during the next detailed combat. Which is a great way to strengthen you armies. So you may want to focus on trying to capture enemy artillery.



jkBluesman -> RE: POWs during battles (3/12/2007 2:28:16 PM)

If you capture artillery or supply waggons you may use them in that same battle though they are usually disordered and need to get in line or columns first. And their numbers and moral are so low that they are sometimes not of much use.
The time for the pursuit is limited. I guess it is only three turns during which you may inflict damage. Enemy cavalry will try to protect the fleeing units and attack your pursuing forces.



1LTRambo -> RE: POWs during battles (4/2/2007 5:34:25 AM)

I have noticed that it is very difficult to surround a unit and have it surrender. For example: I'm France at war with England. I have surrounded an English Heavy Calvary unit with 2 Calvary, 1 Artillery, and 3 Infantry in Line formation. I'm blasting away at this unit causing significant damage. The unit starts out with 8 morale and 7500 strength. I reduce the unit down to 3765 strength, 0 morale and the unit is disorganized. The computer AI announces an English retreat. Instead of surrendering, the unit dissapears. This is soooo anoying and not to mention impossible. The unit is completely surrounded with no possiblility of escape. Where did it go? After the battle phase is over, the unit does not show up on the surrender list and actually appears as part of the next combat with that same unit in the next combat phase. I have done this several times and find that I have never been able to capture enemy calvary. Is this a glitch or am I doing something wrong?

Also, why are British militia in fortifications able to engage my units from more than 4 hexes away? My infantry were being attacked at 4 hexes and my artillery were attacked at 6 hexes away and receiving significant damage (in the hundreds). Furthermore, my artillery would cause about 22 British militia casualties while my artillery would receive 230 casualities when they are 5 hexes and should be long range. What is the deal with this? I am not able to have my militia attack enemy units while fighting in a home provence unless I chose to rally them at the beginning of the battle. And then, they are a regular unit on the battle field and not in the fortifications. Is this also a glitch? Can someone answer this question? Because it makes fighting the British nearly impossible as their militia just destroy my units, which does not make any sense.
PS these take place in the detailed battles and I do have the latest patch from Feb 07.



Didz -> RE: POWs during battles (5/6/2007 2:12:31 AM)

I just completed a 2-day battle against the Austrian's and captured a number of Austrian Regiments.  As far as I can see they don't need guarding but you do need to move them out of the battle zone so that the enemy can't liberate them again.

As for pursuit I did quite well at riding down the enemy infantry with my French cavalry.  The issue seems to be one of initiaitive as I found that by movng my cavalry up behind them I usually got a chance to charge them at the start of the next turn before they moved.  I was inflicting anything up to 4,500 casualties per charge on them in some case.



Ironclad -> RE: POWs during battles (5/6/2007 1:43:52 PM)

In detailed battle surrendered troops can't be liberated - that is only possible on the strategic map. During the battle there is a 50% chance they will be removed each turn so you do need to be careful if you are relying on them to block a retreat route for their surviving compatriots.



Didz -> RE: POWs during battles (5/6/2007 1:59:49 PM)

Really?

Could have sworn I'd liberated some of my captured troops during a battle, but I may have been mistaken.

BTW: I just completed another post-battle pursuit. This time of Prussians. The best approach seems to be to move ones cavalry right up behind the running enemy unit and then next game turn you get to initiate your charge before they manage to move.

Not sure if this works in every case but in this instance it resulted in thousands of Prussian casualties and an occassional unit surrender.



Gray_Lensman -> RE: POWs during battles (5/6/2007 11:59:50 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Didz

Really?

Could have sworn I'd liberated some of my captured troops during a battle, but I may have been mistaken.

BTW: I just completed another post-battle pursuit. This time of Prussians. The best approach seems to be to move ones cavalry right up behind the running enemy unit and then next game turn you get to initiate your charge before they manage to move.

Not sure if this works in every case but in this instance it resulted in thousands of Prussian casualties and an occassional unit surrender.


Should work almost always, because at the start of each turn initiative is reassigned and your cavalry units should have the earlier move since retreating units have almost zilch initiative.



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