Detached Units Trade Offs

During the war, companies and regiments were frequently detached for special duties such as guarding supplies, locations, strategic points, etc.  During any given battle, some regiments were under strength due to portions of the regiment that were detached. Entire regiments were also often missing from brigades on detached duties. This seems inefficient from the perspective of getting as many fighting men onto a given battlefield as possible, but detachments served strategic purposes.

In WIA3, detaching a regiment to move with a wagon when it goes back to resupply greatly reduces the likelihood of the ordnance train getting captured if it runs into the enemy on the road. Detaching a regiment to guard a strategic crossroads also can serve an important purpose in WIA3. If it encounters the enemy in any force, it will very likely be driven from the field. But.... it can accomplish two things:

1. Slowing the Enemy's March: In the sim, a division must stop and engage, even if it has been given forced march orders. This can slow the division down by a half hour or more just to clear a unit from the road, even if the unit is not putting up much of a fight.

2. Gathering Information: The detached unit will submit a report and at the very least, high command will know of the presence of an enemy force moving in a given direction. In many cases, the force can be identified.

The Federals had detached cavalry across Rockport Pike on July 1st and July 2nd. This meant that Smead's Division had to stop repeatedly to engage cavalry. This slowed Smead down on the move and gave AOA headquarters a firm idea of where Smead was and where he might be going. If you detach a regiment and send it to a town 5 to 10 miles down a main road, you might have an early warning system for an approaching enemy and buy some time instead of being surprised....

The forced march rule allows armies to concentrate quickly. By detaching units to strategic locations, you may be able limit the enemy's ability to concentrate quickly using the forced march rule, but... at a cost of fewer men on the battlefield when you get into a major fight.