Re: MEPBM movement question

From: freeman@hp-87.cae.wisc.edu (Samuel Freeman)

Date: Tue, 25 Oct 1994 15:49:37 +0000

In article <38j009$gr6@wagner.convex.com>, Patrick F. McGehearty <patrick@convex.COM> writes:
> In article <38i1nn$4sb@taco.cc.ncsu.edu>,
> Darren L Frechette <darren@unity.ncsu.edu> wrote:
> >Hi!  I need help with a movement question.
> >
> >I have an army which is not presently in a mountain hex, but it is NEXT TO
> >a mountain hex.  I want to move it into the mountain hex but I am low on
> >food. Is this move possible?
> >
> My experience has been that without food, you can't get into the mountains
> except by a road.  Which is why I like mountain camps.  It's more hassle
> for the enemy to take them.  I haven't tried the retiring troops option.
>
> - Patrick McGehearty
>   patrick@convex.com

In general, it won't work.  Retiring troops comes after troops eat, so you
won't save on food consumption.

Sometime in the turn, shortly after transfers and buys/sells, troops eat.  If
they have enough food to feed all the troops, the morale goes up.  1000 HI
with 1000 food units will eat all the food and increase in morale.

Later in the turn, just before movement, the program checks to see if the army
has at least 1 food.  If not, they move at the reduced rate.  Thus 1000 HI
would need 1001 food in order to eat and move fully.

This holds true on pop centers as well.  A city will feed up to 5000 infantry.
1000 HI starting on a city will be fed by the city, but they will still need 1
food in the baggage train in order to move off the city at full movement.

If you ever hire a new army, it's a good idea to include at least 1 food in
case you need to move that army sooner than expected.

Also read the Purchase from Caravans order carefully.  Any character (not just
commanders) travelling with an army can purchase food at a pop center and the
food will go into the baggage train of the army.  Thus an agent or mage
attached to the army can buy food for the army.

There are several tactics you can use to get food to troops on the move.
Figure out where your army will be after two turns movement and send an
emissary there.  Your emissary arrives in the hex one turn before the army.
He/she places a camp on the turn the army arrives.  A character at your
capital can do a Nation Transfer of food to the new camp on the same turn the
camp is created.  Thus, the camp is created, the army marches in, and the food
shipment arrives all in the same turn.  The army can then pickup food and
continue moving.  The more expensive variant of this maneuver is to skip the
Nation Transfer and just buy the food at the camp (as mentioned above).

If you have two armies in the same hex, there's another trick you can use.
Army A transfers all but 100 troops to Army B.  Army B transfer all food to
Army A.  This all happens before troops eat.  Army A's 100 troops eat 100 food
and the morale rises.  Army B's troops eat nothing.  Later in the turn, Army B
transfers command to Army A.  This happens before movement.  The combined army
move fully since it has >1 food in baggage.  With this maneuver, you could
move thousands of troops with only 101 food, but you could only do it for one
turn.  There is a way, involving sub-commanders and army splits, to continue
doing this turn after turn, but it is complicated and wastes a lot of orders.

Well, this is probably much more than you asked for, but I hope it helps you
in the future.

-- Sam
freeman@cae.wisc.edu

References

MEPBM movement question
darren@unity.ncsu.edu (Darren L Frechette)
Tue, 25 Oct 1994 04:31:51 +0000
Re: MEPBM movement question
Patrick F. McGehearty <patrick@convex.COM>
Tue, 25 Oct 1994 13:08:25 +0000