Slitherine

Can I merge them? Can I replenish them somehow?

I am saying this because it is entering the 3rd year of my ECW campaign, playing as the Royalists, and I noticed my units are getting very small. I have Cornish Separate Pike Keil with only 300 men facing fresh round head pike and shot with 500! This means once melee is joined the extra men wrap around and give maluses to my unit.

Same applies to my veteran Cavaliers with only 110 men! The thought of all the roundhead cavalry wrapping around is giving me the creeps, because that means the next battle I will have maybe only 50 men!

Now both these units are Elite, with possibly sky high morale, but in my drive to London I am in a hard fight (half my army did not arrive) and I noticed these low numbers?

Is there a way of merging units? I know I never get any more Cornish Infantry after the 2nd year (note to self, always max buy the cornish the next time), but for other units, such as the vet cavaliers, can I take two understrength cavaliers and merge them, with their final experience being weighted by numbers? I know units/regiments are not fungible (officers don't merge well for example), but my low strength units make me worry I will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I control most of the country, so I was hoping to sit back and out produce and zerg the parliamentarians.

BTW, why were the cornish only available in the 2nd spring? I suppose this was historical, but I would like to know why that was the case. I thought the Cornish supported the king throughout the war.

kongxinga wrote:Can I merge them? Can I replenish them somehow?

I am saying this because it is entering the 3rd year of my ECW campaign, playing as the Royalists, and I noticed my units are getting very small. I have Cornish Separate Pike Keil with only 300 men facing fresh round head pike and shot with 500! This means once melee is joined the extra men wrap around and give maluses to my unit.

Same applies to my veteran Cavaliers with only 110 men! The thought of all the roundhead cavalry wrapping around is giving me the creeps, because that means the next battle I will have maybe only 50 men!

Now both these units are Elite, with possibly sky high morale, but in my drive to London I am in a hard fight (half my army did not arrive) and I noticed these low numbers?

Is there a way of merging units?

Units of the exact same type will merge automatically when they have suffered sufficient losses, but units of "different" types (e.g. Cavaliers and Veteran Cavaliers) won't merge. However, all units will automatically be brought up to strength during the winter break. If your units are too battered, try to avoid battle till then. You can also Refit them during the year if you have kept back enough money in the treasury, but that probably isn't the best strategy, especially as they won't be able to move on the turn they are refitted.

BTW, why were the Cornish only available in the 2nd spring? I suppose this was historical, but I would like to know why that was the case. I thought the Cornish supported the king throughout the war.

They did, but they did not leave Cornwall until 1643, and their elan was never the same after the heavy losses they suffered at the storming of Bristol, so they only need to be distinguished from other Royalist infantry for recruiting purposes in 1643. If you manage to keep the Cornish units alive in 1643, of course, those units will continue to have a higher base elan and will be brought up to strength automatically each winter, although some of them may eventually leave the field army to garrison captured provinces.

Thank you for answering my questions. I obviously glazed over when I was reading the relevant sections of the manual, being more used to the AGEOD system where units are replenished while in supply if you have the replacement chits. And I never noticed the refit button until now, and probably thought that was for changing unit types. Gotta keep my Cornish alive for the free reinforcements, and grab another understrength Vet cavalier and hope for a merge to maintain exp.

Thanks for the Cornish explanation. Knowing little about the war, I thought the Cornish were a superhuman people, kinda like the Scots as depicted by Mel Gibson (note to self do not use mel gibson movies for history). I had thought the reason they were not available after 1643 was due to the fact they either switched sides, or died out, but turns out they were just really supportive of the king, and people really, really supportive of anything were always in short supply, so you get the cream of the crop only once. That Cornish Keil is insane, being determined foot in zips across the battle field and rips anything apart and is not even afraid of being flanked. I pair them with dragoons and point them where the hardest fighting is.

kongxinga wrote:Gotta keep my Cornish alive for the free reinforcements

They aren't free. The cost is automatically deducted from your treasury at the start of the year.

That Cornish Keil is insane, being determined foot in zips across the battle field and rips anything apart and is not even afraid of being flanked. I pair them with dragoons and point them where the hardest fighting is.

Which may be why they are understrength

Of course, that is what the Royalists dd with them, and why they eventually got battle fatigue.