battlefield Comissions' ?

[Steven Hardy]

How about abilty to take any unit, and turn an indivudal of that unit into a general or some type of leader.

aka battlefield comission ?

it is done in real life and was being done during civil war also.

so not having enough generals or leaders or hq for army devlopment should never be a problem.

after all we are supose to be replay civil war our way as we see fit to see if the what ifs change out come of the war.

[tc237]

aka battlefield comission ?
it is done in real life and was being done during civil war also.

Was not done very often.
Most promotions were approved by Congress or the Presidents.
Even brevet promotions IIRC.

[Steven Hardy]

Was not done very often.
Most promotions were approved by Congress or the Presidents.
Even brevet promotions IIRC.

just becuase it wasnt done often dosnt mean it wasnt done.

plus, there been cases where when i was playing game whole units amry hqs and so forth have been wipped out leading army, as whole as worthless.

in real life this would never happen, there always be someone who could take command and as a last resort, could promot someone on field to take control of situation.

it may not happen often but it was something that was put in place so it could happen if needed.

I am just saying that battlefield commission is fesiable, something that did happen now and then not often but what if your whole army HQ gets wipped out, what would happen in real life.

well someone would be put in charge to take care of the situation as soon as possiable right there on spot, the next in line of command would be bumped up. anyways I am just think its option that should be included.

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if i remember right, the war didnt offical start till the south attacked fort summter, so I think war in the game shouldnt offically start till the south attacks, a union controlled territory.

[Primasprit]

if i remember right, the war didnt offical start till the south attacked fort summter, so I think war in the game shouldnt offically start till the south attacks, a union controlled territory.

Simply don't attack the south until they attack you and this issue is solved.

[Steven Hardy]

dosnt work so well if your the south.

[Primasprit]

True indeed... however the war would have started anyway as Lincoln wasn't that fond of the idea of secession.

[denisonh]

I think the point is that it was historically not a major factor of "battlefield promotion" in the assignment or appointment of leaders at Division or above level. Therefore, there may be other issues that would be better focused on by the development team to address ("bugs", improved combat resolution, and implementation/testing of HQ changes) that would benefit the game

As it is, the brigade level leaders that are not represented in the game. "Leaderless" stacks are really not "leaderless", they are simply led by a sub element leader not depicted in the game who by virtue of lack of authority or ability is much less effective than the leaders represented in the game. If there was an impetus to change this to really implement a promotion to "general" for Brigade commanders (eligible for division command) , then brigade commanders would represented. If each brigade has a generic leader, then it becomes possible for a couple of things:

1. Promotion for new generals
2. Leader assignment for every stack, i.e. no more "leaderless" stacks
3. Increased General casualties

The problem is then the next step is representing "non-generic" brigade leaders, particualry those that became division or above commanders (or those who were excellent brigade commanders but died before potentially being promoted). This requires a great deal more research and development work. At what point do you stop? As for the scope of the game, I think it may not add as much benefit relative to the work required.

[caranorn]

For an example how things went in real life take a look at the battle of Pea Ridge. McCulloch's division, McCulloch and McIntosh (senior brigade commander) die within half an hour or so, Hébert is captured around the same time. Result, total command failure, Greer the next in command only learns about the situation an hour or so later, Pike outside the actual command structure seizes command, both roughly at the same time. Result, half of McCulloch's division is led off the field of battle by Pike, the other half remains inactive until nightfall when Greer moves it through heavy terrain to join the rest of the army.

In short, catastrophic command failure and dissolution of large forces could happen, even when all involved (except possibly Pike) are capable officers.

Battlefield promotions definitely seem to be rare during the Civil War. Yes, someone would assume command relatively rapidly, but usually after some delay and then with serious handicap (another example is when Jackson was "mortally" wounded, Stuart eventually took command but without knowing the battle plans etc., yet another one Sidney Johnston's death and Beauregard canceling that evening's planned attacks). The final promotion would come much later, if at all, via federal/confederate political decision. A brigade commander doesn't become the effective division commander overnight, even less the higher the level of command that needs replacing.

[caranorn]

To Denisohn's post. Don't forget, at some point we'd have to get all the Regiment commanders as we now need them to be promotable to brigade command, after that the Lt. Colonels etc. The current system indeed seems to work fine enough. I'd love to see more 1* Generals in the game, but only ones who effectively commanded a division as more then a replacement leader. Then again, I don't see this as a priority.