Cover arcs - why does stealthy commander give bonus?

[Juardis]

From the FM, pg. 93:

How well your units stick to the assigned zones depends on their experience, whether they are in command, and their commander's stealth skill.

Now why would the stealth skill give a bonus in this situation? It seems that the "command" skill would be much more appropriate, or even the "combat" skill, but certainly not the "stealth" skill. Just a curiosity question thing.

[Becket]

Possibly because, I believe, the use of covered arcs was intended to replace the old ambush command.

[Michael Emrys]

Probably a carryover from CMBO where the stealth bonus effects how well an ambush comes off. Covered arcs replace the ambush markers.

Conceptually speaking, if you think about it, the stealth bonus has mostly to do with fire discipline.

Michael

[ October 01, 2002, 05:14 PM: Message edited by: Michael emrys ]

[Juardis]

Originally posted by Michael emrys:

Probably a carryover from CMBO where the stealth bonus effects how well an ambush comes off. Covered arcs replace the ambush markers.

Conceptually speaking, if you think about it, the stealth bonus has mostly to do with fire discipline.

Michael

I thought stealth was all about remaining undetected, combat was about how well you shoot, and command was how well your guys followed orders. Yes, cover arcs replaces ambush, but it adds to the ambush command so that it becomes more like a ... well, like a cover arc Seriously, I view cover arcs more for assigning an area of responsibility, as in "hey, your job is to make sure nothing gets through that gap in the trees". In which case the command bonus makes much more sense to me than the stealth command.

[Andrew H.]

I think that staying within assigned covered arcs is conceptually most similar to stealth because stealth requires the hiding troops to ignore enemy troops that they *could* shoot at in order to stay hidden; in fact, one of the reasons for using the "hide" command was to enforce fire discipline - it was the only way to have your troops not open fire until the enemy got to a closer range. (Ambush was slightly different, although it had a similar effect). Covered arc likewise requires troops to have the discipline not to fire at units outside their CA, and it would seem like the same type of leadership skills would apply.

I suppose the Stealth bonus could be called something like Stealth/Fire discipline.

[Pak40]

Stealth has everything to do about "not firing" so that your units are not detected. The leader's stealth bonus represents the leader's ability to control his troops, i.e. keep them from firing, using surrounding elements as cammo, etc... Therefore, when setting an ambush(covered arc), the leader's ability to spring the ambush in the desired place is affected by his stealth bonus. In other words, no stealth bonus = sloppier control of his units and a greater chance that some rookie will pop off a shot prematurely.