Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

In my recent "bar fight" game with David, a situation presented itself that I thought might be worth our considering here.

David was attacking me, and was pushing back my left, so that it was actually off at an angle from the rest of my line. As you would expect, the "hinge" was a vunerable place, got hammered by David and the troops routed.

So far, nothing terribly out of the ordinary. However, because of the occasional oddness of the rout logic in the game, and the exact disposition of troops at the moment, my troops routed FORWARD, into David's rear. What was more, they routed into a forest, so they were hidden from David's sight. Well, given time the units regained order, and even came back to full good, non disrupted order. Suddenly, I have 6 companies sitting in his rear. They quickly shot apart a few of his own recovering routers, and then i the last phase, they jumped David's army commander and one of his supply wagons.

Now, if you are just looking at "game" tactics, I suppose this is ok. I don't quite feel right about it through from a "historical" point of view. Part of it is the oddity of the rout logic, but if I'm trying to play "straight", what should I have done in this circumstance? 6 Companies sitting in a forest in the enemies rear?

Thankfully, this didn't affect the game result any, so the question is more theoretical than anything.

Ensign Gary McClellan
12th Virgina Light Dragoons
CO, Northern Department

dear ensign Mcclellan,
you did nothing wrong in jumping my supply wagon or my leader.i knew you had routed units behind me.i was so intent on trying to get to your objective that i totally forgot about them.i was re-miss in my duties.i should have sent a company or two over to keep an eye on them.

reg David Stotsenburgh Northumberland Regiment of Foot (5th)

Gents, units routing forward are one of the greatest, and most annoying, mysteries of the game engine (especially when they refuse to come back, crying "we don't move <b>nearer</b> to the enemy"). I think, however, that the rare cases where you can benefit from that are more than offset by the many instances where you simply lose them, so your opponent shouldn't complain (and obviously he doesn't).

<font color=gold>Lt.Col. D.S. Walter O.S.M.
Commanding 4th Regiment of Foot, "The King's Own"
Aide-de-camp, Royal North American Corps</font id=gold>

Oh, I knew David wasn't complaining. More my own musing on the situation rising up. And, I'll admit, this is the first time I can recall getting a viable strike force out of a forward rout. Still though, strikes me as odd, though, as a rule, I hate house rules (which is what would be needed for this), as I'm too absentminded to remember them <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Ensign Gary McClellan
12th Virgina Light Dragoons
CO, Northern Department

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=2 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>i knew you had routed units behind me.i was so intent on trying to get to your objective that i totally forgot about them. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size=2 id=quote>

That is the answer. Troops should have been sent after them or been sent to protect the army commander and supplies.

Sometimes the rout path isn't so clear cut and I don't think that using them after the undisrupt is "game tactics".

<b><font color=gold>Ernie Sands
Col, 3rd East Kent,CCC
President, Colonial Camp Club
Col,1 Konig,VIII,AdR
LtGen,CO XXIII Corps AoO
Sch,183Inf,VIII,PzC
Pvt B Co, 3/3-MBC </b></font id=gold>

My take has been this - units rout to their rear hexes only. They cannot rout forward. Routed units should be FIXED and not be able to be maneuvered by the player. Also you should not be able to change their facing.
Finally, they should not rout a set number of HEXES but use MPs as in when they move. It is hard to understand how a formed unit of Grenadiers can rout faster than light infantry in open order can do a normal move!

Maj. Bill Peters, Morgan's Rifles, American Army
Commander of French Dept.

This hasn't happened to me in the Rev War, yet, but it sure has the Civil War and 1812. Nothing irritates me more, except someone throwing away a good beer! I just chalk it up to a bunch of cowardly swine who all of a sudden decided to turn coats! They always are surrounded and surrender quickly so far as my experience has been. The Army is better off without such crawling bottom feeding pond scum!
Ensign Hopper
21st Infantry

Actually gentleman, the units were in effect bypassed, missed, and reformed. There are many examples of this historically. As gamers, we often employ too shallow an offense, without depth. We get away with it because the scenarios are too short (in game/historical terms). Woe to the commander who fails to mop up these units!<img src=icon_smile_dissapprove.gif border=0 align=middle>

Captain JMcDonald Royal Highland Emigrants
Provincials
British Army