First, all hail to Pocus for his fine work on the latest beta patch.
I just want to confirm that the newest beta patch is partly designed to stop battles of annihilation, and ask some questions about such battles. I am referring to battles in which entire divisions or corps are wiped out. Playing around with previous versions of the patch, I have experienced a lot of such battles (on both the winning and losing side).
In one case, an entire division under Jackson was eliminated, due to the retreat rules, I suppose.
But I also wonder if it was because Jackson was using RR movement and encountered a larger Union force. Is it dangerous to rail a force into or through a region containing a large enemy force, even if the region is 100% friendly controlled at the start of the turn?
I also wonder if battles of annihilation are related to Postures not working properly. Jackson's force was set to "Defense, Retreat if Attacked" and the Union army was also in defensive posture, which makes the annihilation of Jackson's force even more odd. I suppose the Union force switched to offensive posture because the region was 100% CSA controlled, but the battle report didn't show this.
Anyway, let me finish this message with a plea: AGEOD, please do not take CW2 in the direction of battles of total destruction. In my opinion, that would ruin an otherwise fantastic game. Battles of annihilation (as opposed to mass surrenders of besieged forces ) would be a dealbreaker for me.
Others may disagree, but here is a good quote from the Rules of Play of "The Civil War" by Victory Games, the classic Civil War boardgame:
"Without exception, no Civil War battle resulted in the destruction of either side's army. Some people claim that the battle of Nashville was a crushing victory, but in fact it was not. Hood's Army of Tennessee was not destroyed in a single battle, but was destroyed in two battles -- Franklin and Nashville -- and a disastrous retreat over barren lands in the dead of winter.
"The general result of a Civil War battle was that oje side or the other would win a tactical victory and the other would retreat away in good order. Pursuit was impossible because the winner was as exhausted by victory as the loser was by defeat. The armies would regroup and face each other again. On some occasions, one army would recover faster and would be able to turn the tide of initiative and launch a counteroffensive."