27.7 Camp Garrison

[Pavane]

Can the general's stand be used as the camp garrison?

If yes:
I expect that you would measure the command distance from any edge of the camp. I also assume that the general would be considered lost if the camp is sacked. Would the combat factor of the camp have an additional +1 because of the general?

[David Kuijt]

Can the general's stand be used as the camp garrison?

Probably not. Can you (or anyone) point to an occasion where the actual field commander spent the whole battle in camp? I can think of occasions where the figurehead leader spent the whole battle in camp, but offhand I can't think of any where the field commander did.

I'm not sure we need to write rules preventing it, because it would likely be a disaster for the army. Or if we did want to prevent it, we could just say that the general's stand is not on the map. Which would be true.

[Pavane]

The only example that comes to mind is the Honjin. Japanese generals commanded battles from this static position. The camp could double as a Honjin.

I'm not suggesting that this as a game winner. I was trying to think of how to handle an army list where the allowable general's stand was very vulnerable. For example, the Eastern Forest Americans where the general is either a Skirmisher or a Bow Levy. The camp came to mind and I noticed that there was no explicit rule against it.

[David Kuijt]

The only example that comes to mind is the Honjin. Japanese generals commanded battles from this static position. The camp could double as a Honjin.

The Honjin might actually fit best with the "Standard Wagon" Battle Card, used to represent static forward-position camp-like entities such as the Carroccio in Italy, a similar device in a Hungarian battle, more in Feudal Germany, and the Battle of the Standard between the Feudal English and Scots Commons.

[Pavane]

Good enough. I would just like to clarify what happens if a general's stand is a camp garrison. If they are counted as being off-board then no one would do it. Otherwise, I can see it as a valid tactic if you wanted to protect the general and fight only on your side of the battlefield. I'll let others debate whether the "cowardly lion" is an historic posture.

I've read that Greek generals fought in the front hoplite ranks at first, but when the casualties became too great the general commanded the battle from an overlooking distance. That doesn't mean a camp, of course, but it implies a static position which the camp could represent.