Kharkov 43 Manstein strikes back Alt

[James Ward]

Fatigue is a poor word choice, which is misinterpreted often to describe the physical stamina of the troops.

Fatigue, as described in the design notes, is not a physical state of energy, but more a measure of a unit's cohesion to still function as a unit rather than a large group of individuals.

Constant combat in the line was known to wear down a unit by more than just the casualties inflicted. Even if sufficient replacements were on hand to keep the unit near full strength, this changing of the guard effect would mean the unit would not fight as well as the original unit where the men knew each other much better and trusted the officers.

Dog Soldier

That may be true but in game terms you only gain fatigue by being fired upon unless you are using night fatigue so the game system really reflects cohesion lost due to fire. It doesn't deal with any sort of situational momentum which certainly exists and can raise your spirits regardless of the immediate past. So fooling with the starting morale to account for this even if historically troops were pretty beat up doesn't seem that out of whack.