Scourge of War Boards

Do these orders minimize casualties? I know fallback does in a way but does advance have the same effect?
What effect do these orders have on firepower?

I don't think we know if they affect casualties directly. Obviously if you fall back you might take less casualties because of your distance to the enemy changing.

I don't think they affect firepower at all, but again, I don't think we know this.

They would affect casualties only through the change in range between engaged units. At longer range their are fewer casualties so that there is less of a morale hit due to both total casualties and the rate of casualties being reduced. For advance, the inverse would apply.

-Jim

Make sure your units are TC'd before you start having them fall back while firing. Un-TC'd regiments will retreat (sometimes multiple times) when they fall back out of range. A TC'd regiment will stop when it gets to its destination and will not retreat as soon as it gets out of range.

That probably should get fixed, but I doubt it will.

Should the casualties taken by the units that are spreading when advancing or falling back out be slightly minimized? Also, should the units in the game be more prone to advance and fallback? Because most of the regiments in the Civil War fell apart into open order swarms of men in order not to take unnecessary casualties.

most of the regiments in the Civil War fell apart into open order swarms of men in order not to take unnecessary casualties.

That is not a true statement, the opposite is the case. Most units stayed in close order and poured in the fire as fast as they could load and shoot, standing shoulder to shoulder.