At the beginning of each turn, the army commander gets a number of Command Points (CPs) based on his skill, the weather, the type of army, and a die roll. The CPs are used for a number of things in the game, such as creating detachments, assisting rally attempts for broken units, altering the initiative rolls, and so on. But their most important function is to give the army commander some control over his corps commanders.

Each corps commander has a Control Number which expresses his "cost" in CPs. An excellent general has a low control number, meaning that he requires little maintenance or attention. A difficult commander requires more CPs to control him. The further away a general is, the more the CP cost goes up.

Generals who do not receive CPs are "acting on their own," sometimes as you wish, sometimes not. Some generals are Aggressive, some Cautious, and this will also play a role in determining how their corps behaves in this pulse. Generals whose forces are engaged with the enemy are less predictable and harder to control.

Finally, the army commander never knows how long the turn will last, so he has to make difficult decisions about how and when to spend his CPs. If there is a long turn, he will certainly run out of CPs, rendering his control of his subordinates more difficult. If he hoards his CPs and the turn ends early, he will have squandered his opportunities for action.