Battle Objectives

[wargamer4321]

I don't understand why in all the battles that I've fought in my current game, I start with zero battle objectives. In every battle so far I am the defender they are attacking me but the AI starts with all battle objective in their control forcing me to become the attacker or lose by default. In my current battle they even started in breastworks. How does that make sense?

[Berger]

I was just in a defensive battle with several objectives and the attacker only two.

[LCcmdr]

There's a blue icon on the bottom left of the battle icon. That bottom left area contains one of three symbols: defend, attack, or seek to meet for engagement.

As I understand this game mechanic, you must strive to engage the enemy unless the defend symbol is given. Now, the other dynamic is the capture points that can influence battles until the fighting, maneuvering, and dying begins. No amount of capture points can overturn a clear win--whether minor or major victory.

[Dirk Hardpeck]

I think that the starting objectives and deployment area depends on the relative readiness of the two forces, but could be wrong. It seems like if my forces have good readiness, I tend to start battles with more objectives and a larger start deployment area, but I don't track it really closely and don't know the readiness of the opposing forces.

[mogami_99]

I fight every battle in the defend stance. I try to convert any objectives but the only difference it seems to make to the AI is when it is ordered to attack. Since I still actually attack I just do it slowly. Even when the AI is trying to attack it is me doing the real attacking. Hold their front and find the flanks and rear. Just 1 division of infantry can roll up a flank.
All that being said I have not really provoked any battles yet so I usually have the objectives and just set up on good ground and wait for the AI to come to me and then spring my flankers on it. (love cav for this job each corps has its own arty division and nothing spreads confusion more then enemy artillery suddenly opening fire in your rear

[Thorozar]

Mine have all occurred depending on who is moving. If i am stationary and the enemy is marching, I have the defend objective. If I was moving and they were not, I have the capture objective, and if both are moving I get the meet for engagement one. They are dynamic too, so if during the battle the situation changes they will switch.

[Oubley]

I tend to turn off the continuous VP in the settings, if that still an option, I don't believe toggling works if already started.

In theory "attacking"/"defending" is only going to have marginal influence. Still have to go meet the enemy one way or the other.

If they are "defending" they are giving you a lot of initiative. If their numbers are that great I would just try and kill as many as can and then live to fight another day.

on the strategy map I tend to always be in "attack", I couldn't honestly say in tactical battles if I was the designated "attacker" or "defender" I kind of let the terrain and my initial position dictate my aggressiveness. I'd have to go back to the early days to remember a situation was the "defender".

[LCcmdr]

Well, I just butched a battle at Chancelorsville, Va, by not being able to advance through the woods to array against the Rebs. What an unmitigated debacle. 48K Rebs stacked behind a thickly wooded area with only one road in. The CSA arty batteries were thick. I couldn't keep up the attack (beyond effective skirmishers) due to the terrible fatigue of moving troops through the tough terrain. Unfortunately, the Rebs wouldn't come out to fight, ohterwise. I certainly couldn't pry them out.

[rogersdrums]

Ive seen it many times over on You Tube videos of this game and Ive done this also- the human player in tactical battle set up is indicated to attack for lack of objectives...thus the human player uses cavalry or skirmishers(excellent in taking objectives) to take the majority of objective locations and therefore evolves the tactical battle from human attacking to ai in attack mode....as the human player waits for the ai opponent to access its loss of objectives and react,the human player already is in defensive posture possibly building defensive fortifications.....the ai has very little chance......as far as Im concerned this is a problem in the tactical battle infrastructure set up.....maybe a remedy for this is whoever is designated as attacking/defending/meeting engaging in the grand strategy map should transfer over into the tactical battle map and stay that way throughout the whole tactical battle with a large advantage in victory points accumulating for the objective holder.........the manipulation of the objectives on the tactical map is a sure advantage to the human participant because the ai will not exploit the objectives set up like the human player can........there needs to be a single,definitive tactical battle objective when the battle starts placed on a location on the tactical battle map.... and in each battle,place that objective on a different location on the battle map for variety.....it is way too easy to "game" the ai on the tactical battle map as the game plays now.

[wargamer4321]

I'm still having the same issue with battle deployment. I just started a new battle with the Union at full readiness, in a defensive stance and holding the position for several months. The Union has 59K troops. The CSA is coming in by rail with 3 armies and also seems to be at full readiness with 52K troops. The union should start with the majority of the map under their control but instead they are starting in a corner. The CSA on the other hand it starting with almost the complete map under their control and with 2 of their 3 armies setup in a defensive position. This keeps happening since the patch a couple of weeks ago and needs to be fixed. I like to play a defensive game and don't attack unless I'm force to. I don't like for my units to get beat up if I can keep it from happening.