A suggestion

[Naskra]

The free cavalry attack can lead to absurd situations, especially in the East. I think it is a temptation for all to gaminess.
And the damned things are so hard to kill.

Proposal:
a) that only cavalry at full readiness be allowed this move.
and
b) that a readiness penalty be imposed for making the move.

What do others think?

[Naskra]

No one has an opinion on this?  Am  I the only one playing silly pawn games in the deep Ukraine?

[ILCK]

It is a slow go since you are moving one hex every two impulses.

I've never really been able to abuse it since you can't take anything of value - cav can't occupy cities- and any type of opposition in the way negates it. The most use I get is to amphib a UK cav into Egypt and march, slowly, up to Ankara and using my offensives to take the cities I cross along the way since the OE doesn't throw much into the Levant.

[boogada]

You can use Cavalry for a lot of weird things. I've seen quite a few games like ours with sometimes even an absurd front in the East. The readiness penalty is a good idea. 

[vinnie71]

Let's face it, the cavalry is the only branch that has decent moves in the game. It's already hard even to surround your enemy and let's face it, as ILCK said, cavalry are at most of niunsance value. Considering the high cost of each offensive, just occupying vacant land becomes a real pain. BTW the numbers of cavalry is limited on all sides so its not possible to move your entire army forward through the use of cavalry.

[boogada]

But its unreasonable that cavalry can operate a few hexes between enemy lines like it can in the game. Cavalry needs a lot of supply (horse food and water) and yet in the game it can travel a few hexes on its own without the backing of a HQ (that simulates the organisation of an offensive). 

[vinnie71]

Well traditionally cavalry units were used as raiders and on the Eastern Front especially, during WWI, there was still scope for cavalry raids. I still agree that cavalry should be able ro move on its own, and let's face it, its not even indipendent because it is tied down to the infantry.

[ILCK]

ORIGINAL: boogada

But its unreasonable that cavalry can operate a few hexes between enemy lines like it can in the game. Cavalry needs a lot of supply (horse food and water) and yet in the game it can travel a few hexes on its own without the backing of a HQ (that simulates the organisation of an offensive). 

To me it is a reasonable compromise since INF can't manage to walk forward in the game without the help of an HQ. If your foe leaves tracts of unoccupied land in front of your army then you should have some way to advance through that empty terrain without using up all your offensives.

Think of it this way, if cav can't advance then as the Russians I might not even bother to put troops in the Ukraine area. The CP's will have burned at least 6 offensives trying to reach Kiev and then I can make my stand on the Dnieper. That's a high price to make the CP's pay to take empty farm land. It is even worse for a UK force trying to march up from Egypt.

[OrvalB]

And Egypt is kinda the point; in 1918 it was precisely a cavalry swing around the rear (on both flanks for that matter, indeed on all three if you count Lawrence and the Arabs) that gave Allenby his crushing victory in Palestine. Though his cavalry were indeed able to occupy cities.

[Mosby]

I don't have a problem with it. I can say that I've never really used my cav as anything more than a screen for the first few turns anyways. After the first year or so...I usually forget about them.

[Lascar]

The way cavalry functions now seems to be the best option. It is the only way you have some limited mobility without expending the expensive HQ points. Even as it stands now the Russians are hard pressed to sustain an advance deep into enemy territory since they have great difficulty building HQ points. Their cavalry compensates for that to some extent.

The mobility of cavalry is dependent on infantry corps and they are limited by the type of terrain they can advance into and can not hold any ground by themselves. Also, cavalry has very little staying power and they can quickly evaporate so one can't be too reckless with them.

[Naskra]

I'm not saying the Cavalry should be stopped, just slowed down.

[Lascar]

ORIGINAL: Naskra

I'm not saying the Cavalry should be stopped, just slowed down.

Cavalry can only move one hex per impulse (and limited at that). To slow it down from one hex to zero would effectively stop it.