Round table

I replayed the battle against the Axemen. Using the deployment from the save, I somehow managed to flank them with Griffons, holding back a portion of the Axemen for a long time. The battle went well; I lost 25 Centaurs, 2 Logs, 8 (out of 10) Gnomes, and some meat. I probably could have lost fewer Centaurs, but in the end, they had to hold the passage with their 2-hex bodies. The Logs kept the particularly aggressive ones in check. I repeat, hiding the Gnomes halfway along the route would have been very helpful, and I could have also leveled up their ranged attack in the process. I tried again with extra Gnomes (I didn't get the last 11 experience points on all the guards along the way, so I had to take a couple of extra turns fighting Boars). With 18 Gnomes and advanced ranged attack, I attacked the Axemen, deploying my troops as usual. I managed to spread them out nicely; in the end, there were 2 stacks of 6 in opposite corners, and I had 33 Centaurs, 16 Gnomes, and 6 Logs (8 HP). Neither stack could reach my troops on their turn, but one of them gained morale and started taking out Elves (and the Logs were right next to them). Damn morale... Otherwise, I would have only lost a few Gnomes (the meat was a given). I managed to finish the battle with 33 (out of 43) Centaurs and 6 Logs intact. That's exactly how many Elves would have survived, and the Gnomes are expendable anyway. The main objectives would have been achieved: keeping the Elves and Logs alive, and preserving as many Centaurs as possible. After this setback, I didn't feel like replaying it. In general, it's definitely possible. "Better to lose one day and then fly there in 5 minutes" = it's better to lose one day and get the Gnomes and advanced ranged attack, and then easily defeat the Axemen, rather than having a great chance of losing