UNDERSTANDING THE STACK PANEL[]
There can be a variety of Stacks in a region and/or the structures therein. The purpose of having separate Stacks is that they can be issued different orders. The size of a stack is also limited by leadership (see chapter).
Figure 6: Stack Panel Details
When you click on a playing piece or structure on the map, the window in the Stack Panel shows Units in the region (1).
Hint: Use the arrow buttons on each side (2) to scroll between a Stack's Units if they are too numerous to fit within the Unit Panel. The mouse wheel will also scroll the panel.
Additional Stacks in the region are each indicated by a tab (3) along the top of the Stack Panel. To switch Stacks, click on the corresponding tab and it will become the active Stack. The active Stack. The actice Stack is also represented on the map by a Stack counter, which can be selected to receive its orders.
The Unit currently selected within the Stack has its name, composition, current position, and destination indicated in the top left corner (4), just after the parchment icon (which allows selecting the special orders for the Unit in question).
Essential information about a Stack (level of General Supply, Ammunition, etc.) can be displayed in a tooltip by hovering your mouse over the different icons in the Inspection Panel to the right of the Stack Panel (5).
WHAT IS A UNIT?[]
Units represent formations of various sizes and act as "containers" for elements, with from one to 18 elements in each Unit. The types of Units in the game represent everything from full Divisions, brigades, and regiments to independent artillery batteries, leaders, and support staff. They all share the ability to be moved and be given orders individually if needed. This makes them the smallest elements in the game that you can manipulate, although they seldom operate alone and are usually grouped into Stacks, as explained above. The Unit Panel shows all of the different components of a Stack (see illustration above), which fall under the term "Unit".
Exceptions: Divisions are a special class of Unit, as they can contain one or more brigades or smaller Units that are treated all as a single Division Unit until they are split off from the Division (see chapter).
Leaders are also treated as Units in most respects and can be manipulated the same way. However, they are rated differently, The main characteristics of combat Units and leaders are displayed right on their counter in the Unit Panel.
WHAT IS AN ELEMENT?[]
Units are made up of 1 to 18 elements (also referred to as sub-units), which are displayed in the Inspection Panel when a Unit is selected in the Stack Panel. Elements are an integral part of thei parent unit and cannot be manipulated separately.
Procedure: To display the list of a Unit's elements in the Inspection Panel, click on a Unit to select it (this is indicated by a gray square around the counter).
Figure 7: Here, the Stonewall Brigade Unit is made up of five infantry elements, as shown by the NATO symbols displayed on the right (you can click on this symbol to open a detailed window describing the element).
Each single element is in turn differentiated by its attributes, as explained in the proper chapter.
Please note that some Units are so small that they cannot be subdivided. They are represented in the game as having a single element, which is the Unit itself. Other units, such as brigades, may have multiple elements that cannot be separated from one another.
Figure 8: This small artillery Unit is made of a single element alone. A Unit is a container of 1-18 elements.
Leaders are handled the same way: one leader = one element, which is the leader himself. When assigned Divisional command, the leader element becomes a containter unit (see below).
MANIPULATING STACKS[]
In order to split one or more Units from a Stack, select the Units to be separated from the main Stack in the Unit Panel, then drag and drop them into their current region on the map. They are now considered a new Stack and will be shown in a separate tab.
Multi-selection procedure: To select/deselect several Units, Ctrl-Click on each Unit in turn.
In order to issue a movement order to a Stack, either select it and drag & drop its counter from the region it is in to its destination or drag its corresponding tab from the Stack Panel directly to its destination on the map. You can also move Units between Stacks by dragging and dropping them onto the destination Stack's tab. FInally, you can merge Stacks in the same location by dragging and dropping one Stack tab onto another.
FIXED UNITS[]
In some scenarios and campaigns, you will come across fixed Units identified by a padlock and a r
ed diagonal stripe on their counter. This indicates the unit cannot move- the tooltip will explain why. Usually, they can move if a specific event indicated on their tooltip occurs, such as when a number of turns pass or enemies enter their region. In some cases, Units are permanently fixed and will not move under any circumstances.
COMMAND CHAIN[]
In CW II, your Stacks are loosely organized into the following hierarchy:
Any Units (Division, Brigades, Support Units, etc)
Elements
Units are deemed "in the Command Chain" if they belong to a Corps which is, in turn, attached to an Army. Any Units not belonging to such a corps are considered independent Stacks for Command Chain purposes, and they have a penatly of -50% to Command Points generated by the leaders in that Stack. Naval Stacks are handled differently: other than Ship Units and Fleets, Naval Stacks do not have a hierarchy.
On the map you can have three kind of land Stacks:
-The Army Stack, which is the Stack commanding subordinate Corps.
-The Corps Stack, which is a Stack subordinate to an Army Stack.
-Independent Stack, which is a Stack Out of the Command Chain.
These three Stacks each act as "containers" for Units. As mentioned above, Units represent formations of various sizes and act as "containers" for elements, with one to 18 elements in each Unit.
Army[]
An Army represents a leader and his staff, along with any reserve troops and leaders directly attached to the Army Stack. The Strategic Rating of an Army commander determines both his Command Radius (press and hold the Shift key while an Army stack is selected to this radius on the map) and his overall Combat Power.
The Army Outliner on the left edge of the screen is a series of counter images (leader portrait in a flag, above right), with each flag representing an Army. Clicking on a flag will refocus your view on that Army.
Corps attached to an Army and within its Command Radius during the Planning Phase can receive some important benefits (see below).
Figure 9: A Stack is identified as an Army by a star icon on its Stack Panel tab and on its Inspection Panel.
Procedure: To form an Army, form a Stack with a 3 or 4 Star leader plus any leaders and Units you want to attach directly to the Army commander (these additional leaders and units can also be added later), then select the "Form Army" Special Order. This will change the status of the Stack from Independent to an Army. This is the command HQ of the Army, but not the entire army: an Army's fighting formation are its attached Corps.
If you assign an Army Command to a leader and he is not the highest ranked leader or the leader with the most seniority (see chapter) then you will lose some National Morale, which you will be warned about in the Form Army Special Order tooltip. You can also dismiss an Army commander but doing so will also cost you National Morale, with the cost dependent on the political favor of its commander. Despite the National Morale cost you may sometimes want to do this in order to put a different, better leader in charge/
Note: An Army HQ with combat Units in reserve (ie with Units in its Stack) will react quickly to support its attached Corps but should not be viewed as a combat Stack. It is important to note that a lone Army Stack (ie one without comabt units in the Army Stack itself) will never initiate 'combat on its own.