Re: [eia] couple rules questions

[Michael Gorman <mpgorman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> First
> question:  Condition H attached to the Withdraw strategy states,
> "If defender is all cavalry and/or cossacks/freikorps, strategic
> rating is '+1'."  So what happens if an infantry corps and a
> cavalry corps are leader-less and, hence, dicing separately.  The
> first alternative is that the infantry corps gets no modifier to its roll
> and the cavalry corps gets a +1.  The other alternative is that
> neither corps gets the +1 because the defending force is not "all
> cavalry".  [In our battle, JJ rolled well enough so that it
> didn't matter either way.]  I can see arguments going both ways on
> this one.  What do you guys think?
>

        

My feeling
is that the separate rolls are supposed to reflect a break down in
command due to the lack of a leader and I don't think that is supposed to
be to the benefit of the withdrawing force.  So, I would be inclined
to believe that no corps would get the +1 modifier in a mixed force of
corps rolling separately.

> Second
> question:  What is the proper procedure for retreating British
> forces?  For most of us the rules are pretty straightforward and
> easy to apply.  They say we have to be retreated/withdrawn towards
> our nearest depot or towards our national capital, whichever is
> closest.  However, for Great Britain these rules can make for some
> very odd behavior.  (Use your imagination here.)  So here is a
> supplement to the rules for retreating which I suggest we adopt to make
> things a little more realistic for GB.
>  
> - In the event that Country A is using Combined
> Movement with Country B, Country A and Country B should be treated as if
> they were the same country as far as ownership of depots and national
> capitals is concerned.  (So Country A could be retreated to Country
> B's depot/capital rather than being retreated in some awkward
> direction.)

        

This rule
is implied in:
7.5.2.10.3.1: All retreats must be into an adjacent land area that
is closest (any closest area, if several qualify equally) to the nearest
depot of any nationality in force, or if none is on the map, towards that
force's nearest controlled national capital city.

Since multinational forces retreat to an appropriate spot for any of the
nationalities, a group of combined movement forces could all be
considered multinational even if some of the nations are not present in
the stack.

>  
> - If the nearest eligible depot is one that is
> off the coast (used for invasion supply), forces that are retreated
> should be kept on the coast (if possible) so that supply lines are not
> broken.  [This seems to carry out the spirit of the retreat rules
> which are to fall back toward your supply lines.]
>  
I would say this should certainly apply if they are
using invasion supply as they then have a depot on that sea space and
should be retreated to grow no further from that depot.


Mike