Why they should
not:
- We are only talking half a dozen stands, the basic building bock of the game. If you need to designate a particular stand for command functions, why not just use a specially-marked combat stand?
- And related to that, why add 20 or more stands to each side? They will slow things down.
Why they
should:
- If we let the German division operate as brigades, a division is starting to look like a small corps with cavalry, guns, and 2 infantry maneuver elememts
- It gives us a way to represent the command/control center of the division - this may be important if we let elements start to wonder about.
- It gives us a place status and order markers without cluttering the main line of the action.
A related question: Are French and German divisions different enough in capability that there are two different answers?
To my mind one has to be careful about relying on similarity of terminology when comparing dis-similar organizations. (eg An 1815 Prussian Brigade which most countries would call a division vs a British Brigade which was the size of other people's Regiments.)
ReplyDeleteIt might be better in game terms to have "units" which are group of stands that act together and "formations" or "commands" that are a group of units with an HQ capable of making decisions.
Command for the unit would then be a combat stand including an officer, bugler/flag etc as appropriate which could be used for measuring or status markers or what have you. An HQ could then have a distinctive base and have a command control rather than a combat function.
Another part of the puzzle is that the German Corps "tend" (awful word, but helpful here) to have 2 divisions, the French 3 - so operating the German Corps as 4 Brigades does not add as much complexity as another command layer. Must think about how guns are allocated in this scheme, however.
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