Am I attacking or defending????

[msin]

I have been playing COG for a week now and enjoy it immensely. I do have one question that I have not been able to find the answer to in the manual or in reviewing the threads on this forum.

In detailed combat (or quick combat for that matter), how do I tell which side is identified as the attacker and which side is the defender? I can't find anything on the screen to indicate which side is the attacker during combat but at the end of the battle, the Military Advisor pops-up and lists the attacker and defender losses.

[Reg Pither]

I was playing yesterday and started to wonder the very same thing. At first I thought it was as simple as the army that moves into a province is the attacker, and a stationary army in that province is the defender. But then it seems reversed if you're in an enemy province - i.e. my French forces in Austrian territory always seemed to be designated as the attacker, even if they'd been sitting there and Austrian forces had moved in to attack. But then that didn't seem to be consistent either, and what happens if you both move into a territory at the same time? It would be nice to know exactly what the rules are on this. [&:]

[msin]

Reg,

Thanks for the reply. Glad to know I'm not the only one confused by this. Like you, I at first thought it depended upon which unit moved into a province but as you mentioned this doesn't appear to be consistent.

Given that there are no geographical objectives in detailed combat, Attacker/Defender concepts may be a moot point. However, I did see something in another thread that indicated that the "Attacker" would loose a small amount of Morale each turn until combat ended or the attacking force broke and fled. If this is true, It is important that the attacking force be identified at the start of combat

[Ralegh]

did see something in another thread that indicated that the "Attacker" would loose a small amount of Morale each turn until combat ended or the attacking force broke and fled

I'd like it to work the way you describe,but at the moment I think both sides lose morale equally as time goes by!

[bluemonday]

ORIGINAL: msin

In detailed combat (or quick combat for that matter), how do I tell which side is identified as the attacker and which side is the defender?

I don't know about Detailed Combat, since I don't use it that often, but in Quick Combat, the defender is on the right and the attacker on the left, as identified by the attacker/defender labels on the sides of the screen:

[msin]

DOH!!![8|] I tend not to use Quick Combat unless it is required due to small force sizes and had never noticed the side bars before... Wonder if I'm missing something equally obvious in detailed combat[&:]

[ericbabe]

It is confusing in detailed combat... I'll try to change the messages: perhaps to the name of the largest nation on each side.

The "defender" in a combat is the nation with the unit that first moved into the province. Usually this ends up being the guy who owns the garrison in the city, though in neutral territory it can be more fluid.


Eric

[pixelpusher]

Perhaps the message should be similar to the advisor popup at the end of a Detailed Battle (HW), where it reports casualties. It seems like the player should get to the same 'battle outcome' popup, regardless of it being a HW or QC battle.
Also, both would be clarified by just adding the nationalities to Attacker and Defender. ie: "A bloody battle. The French attackers suffered 13,000 casualties and the Austrian defenders suffered 12,400 casualties and were driven from the field." (proposed additions are underlined.)