Empty Container Units

[ithuriel2]

Surely empty container units in enemy territory should be removed - as in Forge of Freedom ?

First the Spanish, and now the Prussians, have had empty container units (either army or corps) in my territory. The Spanish were moving theirs around - how ?

[ericbabe]

COG worked this way, but we changed it when people were complaining that they were losing their empty containers.

[Mr. Z]

Possibly there should be a rule that relocates empty containers to the nearest provincial possession, or else a homeland territory.

[Queeg]

ORIGINAL: Mr. Z

Possibly there should be a rule that relocates empty containers to the nearest provincial possession, or else a homeland territory.

Agreed.

[barbarossa2]

I think empty containers could be teleported back the national capital. Or wherever. I have no problem with that.

For naval containers, perhaps back to the best port facilities???

[Anthropoid]

ORIGINAL: barbarossa2

I think empty containers could be teleported back the national capital. Or wherever. I have no problem with that.

For naval containers, perhaps back to the best port facilities???

Agree. Having them get killed in FoF sucked. I much prefer if they are a "nuisance" lingering on the map than to have them die.

[barbarossa2]

However, I suppose if the corps/navy/army container is smashed, or surrounded with no way out, then it would be lost.

[Mus]

How about automatic removal to friendly territory of containers that become empty and change it so that empty Army and Corps containers cant leave friendly territory?

[evwalt]

As for the empty containers leaving friendly territory, I am fairly sure they can't enter enemy territory already. At least that was the result in a SPG I am currently playing (forced me to march a division back from the front to get it too [:@])

I am not sure about neutral territory.

[Anthropoid]

My sense is that what containers represent is an abstraction of military organization. Thus, I tend to think the _only_ way a "container" should be destroyed is if all (or a very large percentage) of the troops in a container are captured/killed in battle/attrition. If the troops inside a corps or an army (with units in it) suffer say 50% or greater casualties, then maybe there should be some chance that the corps or army "evaporates" (to use a ToAW III term), the container is destroyed and the remnant divisions are left in a (disorganized) stack on the map. Without units _in_ them, I did not consider containers to constitute the support/administration and officers, but simply an absraction of that support/administration and officers for the sake of game play primarily. Maybe I'm wrong here?
 
To me, if I have troops out in Grodno, and I "build" a Corps in Moscow, then order the Corps to move to Grodno, it does not mean that I have troops with no officers in Grodno, and officers and support staff but no troops in Moscow and on the way to "organize" the guys in Grodno.
 
What it means to me is that, the various productive and organizational operations necessary to organize the troops in Grodno are underway, and until the container gets there and the troops are inside it, those reorganizations are incipient; however, without any troops in it, a containers is, well "nothing." Just an icon to represent the "cost" paid to reorganize troops (and officers and support) more effectively. Maybe this is not an accurate notion? If it is not an accurate notion, then containers should have some sort of numbers attached to them (numbers of officers and support) and not simply the initiative value.
 
I actually think that the game would be better if it worked a bit differently when a container is built. If I build a corps in Moscow, then once it is done, I should get a popup asking me where I want to formup that Corps, and which divisions I want to initially assign to it. All the divisions must be in the province where the container is going to formup, but basically the popup would lead to the military unit window where you can reallocate troops from unit to unit.
 
Unless the container really does represent officers and support, you should not have to move it immediately after it is built, but instead have it "formup" whereever (in home territory) you want it to initially. Once it has units in it, then treat it just like it is presently. If you empty it out (not through losses but pop all units out of it) then you can move it around like at present, but once all uinits are popped out of it it cannot be hurt, and cannot leave home territory.
 
If you want it to be 'hurtable,' then it should have a number of troops automatically and numbers of officers, etc.