Victory?

[blackbird]

I am having trouble in the way that I am 'winning' when I place my units in an ambush. Even with a greater force, better leadership, and the element of surprise, I still manage to lose more men than the enemy. Many more such 'victories' and I will be returning to Richmond alone.

[Jim-NC]

Well, that is because you are attacking, and he is defending with level 2 trenches. I don't know that your ambush worked very well.

[arsan]

I think you haven't understood how ambush works. That is not an abush i fear
That force can't ambush as a whole. Only the light horse element there (partisans i guess) can set ambushes. Its limited to irregulars type of troops.

The rest of the guys are doing a normal battle, in offensive for what i see again trenches...
To ambush, a 100% irregular force should start the turn already in the region, be ordered to set an ambush and let the enemy come to them (if they fancy to pass through that region ), not the other way aroudn. And it's not even guaranteed the trap will work
My advice would be: forget about ambushes in AACW. They rarely work and are not that effective.
In WIA, with all that wilderness and Indians units around and lots of smaller scale battles they are more useful, but you can't expect miracles either.

Cheers!

[blackbird]

I think you haven't understood how ambush works.

That is what I am thinking too!

That is not an abush i fear
That force can't ambush as a whole. Only the light horse element there (partisans i guess) can set ambushes. Its limited to irregulars type of troops.

Hindman is in command of 4 sharpshooters and 1 mounted partisan element, all of whom allow that ambush button to work. It was they who set the ambush. The others marched to the sound of the guns to die I guess.

The rest of the guys are doing a normal battle, in offensive for what i see again trenches...

I didn't select offensive posture. I selected the blue defensive setting for every unit. Does selecting the ambush button change the posture to offensive automatically?

To ambush, a 100% irregular force should start the turn already in the region, be ordered to set an ambush and let the enemy come to them (if they fancy to pass through that region ), not the other way aroudn.

I met each condition(except that the enemy was in the region already, not passing through it)

And it's not even guaranteed the trap will work
My advice would be: forget about ambushes in AACW. They rarely work and are not that effective.

That is the truth! My strategy was to set traps in the West Virginian mountains. But, I can't keep my men well supplied and in any event, they keep getting killed in battle. No more ambushes for me!

In WIA, with all that wilderness and Indians units around and lots of smaller scale battles they are more useful, but you can't expect miracles either.

Cheers!

[arsan]

Oh, i didn't knew or remembered sharpshooters could set ambushes.
But looking at the battle report it seems only 9% of your force attained ambush... it sounds like it was just the partisans ambushing and the rest simply attacking.
Indeed, an ambushing party can be set in defensive and go automatically to offensive if the ambush is successful.
It seems your 9% ambushing force was successful and it had the bad effect of making all the rest of the normal troops go offensive to help on the battle.
I don't think i have never tested mixing ambushing and not ambushing stacks like this...

Tip: your sharpshooters are very valuable units!. Keep them out of risky ambushes and put one of them in every division as they will give its special initiative advantage to the whole division

Cheers!

[blackbird]

Oh, i didn't knew or remembered sharpshooters could set ambushes.

Yes, as can the Lt.infantryMM brigades, Lt infantry lone units, bushwackers, partisans, Indians, etc.(I am sure that you know that, but any other new player reading this might not)

But looking at the battle report it seems only 9% of your force attained ambush... it sounds like it was just the partisans ambushing and the rest simply attacking.
Indeed, an ambushing party can be set in defensive and go automatically to offensive if the ambush is successful.

Oooooohhhh, thanks, that explains it.

It seems your 9% ambushing force was successful and it had the bad effect of making all the rest of the normal troops go offensive to help on the battle.
I don't think i have never tested mixing ambushing and not ambushing stacks like this...

Yeah, I wish that I could tell those militia to stay comfortable and warm back in town and have a beer

Tip: your sharpshooters are very valuable units!. Keep them out of risky ambushes and put one of them in every division as they will give its special initiative advantage to the whole division
Cheers!

Thanks! I have bought all of them that I can and have them in every frontline force. My theory was that I could station some in the mountains, and by ambush, inflict great causalities on any invaders. So much for that theory. I need to stop thinking