<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by greenFyre</i>
<br />OK, I'll weigh in on this one.
First, I think there are important distinctions between historical examples of i) offensive operations deliberately seeking combat undertaken after nightfall, ii) accidental encounters at night, and iii) combat that continued after night fell.
I would further divide combat that continued after nightfall into two catagories - instances where the combat sputtered out or ended once one party backed off, and those where when one side withdrew the other followed on.
It is fairly easy to cite historical instances of night combat, particularly essentially static battles that extended into the night, but in gaming they are used to justify deliberate night assaults; how many historical examples are there of those? and how realistic are they?
Of course night attacks are difficult ... unless you are also allowing melee by units in column.
In single phase HPS games this means that your colun rolls right up to the defender who checks for ADF once only and may not even fire at all. You then melee his butt and send the rest of the panzers through.
In this case the defender is heavily penalized if he is trying a fighting withdrawal because if he stays in line he disrupts while the assaulting columns have full movement, at least until they melee. If the defender switchs to column he essentially has no defense at all except his inherent melee strength, and if he doesn't he is soon completely out manuevered.
In this case one can fairly easily completely overrun a position at night that would have been a gradual pushing back in daylight
And of course there is the speed issue. I am asked to believe that mounted Cav moving across broken ground in pitch dark will do it as easily as in broad daylight. Even on trails with a full moon this would not be accurate, much less cross country with little to no light.
I would note that another objection I have to deliberate seeking night combat is that the game engine does not begin to adequately simulate it.
We know how often ACW units got totally lost while marching down roads in broad daylight, yet in our games they set out cross country in pitch black and inerringly get exactly where they want to be. At a minimum, for off road night movement units should have a morale check and if they fail they then do a random move for their full MP.
And of course there is the issue of friendly fire at night. When moving cross country at night units that contact friendly units should trigger an ADF check for both units, and if either unit fires they both fire on one another.
I will be much more in favour of allowing deliberate night operations when the engine includes some mechanics like these such that the prospect of undertaking night actions approximates what the historical COs faced. Until then I think it fair to use house rules to place limits on what is otherwise significantly ahistorical play.
Maj Gen Mike Kaulbars
3rd "Freiheit" Division
VIII/AoS
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General Kaulbars,
I like your idea about auto-defensive fire at night, even for friendlies. However, regarding your point about the speed issue: It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking our units are moving just as quickly at night as they are during the day, but remember night turns last three times as long as day turns (even more in Shiloh), so the units are only moving one-third as far.
I think one of the best improvements in maneuver would be, as Rich Walker has suggested, a game engine change to penalize units for continually marching around the map without any breaks at all.
Your humble servant,
Gen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory
David W. Mallory
ACW - General, Chief of the Armies, Confederate States of America & Cabinet Member
CCC - Sergeant, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Deaprtment, Colonial American Army