Go ahead AI cavalry, charge my artillery from the front .....

[Khornish]

And I watch as my artillery loses over 2500 men each and every time this is done to me.

I can understand if they charged me from the flank or rear, but no, they charge me directly from the front.

My artillery is in line, and is ready to go, but before I get a chance to fire it, the uber elite AI cavalry charges me, in column, from several hexes away and my arty bites the big one.

1 charge and my arty routs the following turn 9 times out of 10.

I'm wondering why it's fair or balanced (do borrow a phrase) for this to occur, not rarely, but fairly often.

Oh, I'm sure that if I tried this with my own cavalry, I might be able to pull it off, maybe.

But this has happened to me for the past several day's that I've played, and now it happened multiple battles in a row. This really does cause me a great deal of frustration when it shouldn't really be a regular occurance at all.

There's no final defensive fire or opportunity fire in detailed battles, but something should be done about this. Maybe allow the artillery to "get a volley off" with a reversal of the combat system for this type of charge, ie charged from the direct front by cavalry while already unlimbere. By this I mean that instead of casualties being assessed against the artillery first, hit the cavalry with everything first, then let the surviving cavalry deal damage.

Again, this would not be an issue for me, at least to this great extent, if the charge hit my artillery while it was limbered or in the flank/rear. Were this the Crimean War, the Light Brigade would have survived it's charge intact and ready for more.

<sigh>

[garoco]

If you was charged for a heavy cavalry this is high possible
on the other hand you check the upgrade of cavalry enemy.

[ravinhood]

Did you ever see the movie "The Light Horsemen"?

[Russian Guard]

When this happens before you've had a chance to set up, yeah that sucks.

Otherwise, as I have learned from another on this board (don't remember who, but thanks again), be sure to set up your Artillery such that enemy cavalry cannot get adjacent to it without ALSO being adjacent to a good-order inf unit. Enemy cavalry CANNOT charge Artillery if they (the cav) are adjacent to good ordered enemy infantry at the same time.

It's a function of using the hex grid properly, to assure that your Artillery is protected in this way. yes, it sometimes limits the field of fire for your Artillery, but that's not ahistorical.

Note also that cavalry cannot charge across an unfrozen stream, so Artillery befind a stream is also charge-proof unless the Cavalry crosses the stream and attacks from the other side.

[Hard Sarge]

if it is a first turn charge, yea, that stinks when it happens, but from your post, it sounds more like a middle of the battle deal, so basicly, sorry charie, you don't protect your most importent units, they should be hammered

as for the light, how much do you know about that story ?
that is pretty much a myth, yes it did happen, and it was a brave and honorable charge by the men, but the losses were pretty light, seeing what they did go though

and most of them returned and were able to reform, it was nowhere the slaughter that most people think of when they think of the charge

(an Oddity of war, if it wasn't for the Light, the Heavy is what were would remember from that day)

[garoco]

Cavalry crosses the stream and attacks from the other side.

Remember had seen an upgrade that permitt pass throught of stream

[mogami]

Hi, I've learned the hard way to keep Arty next to formed infantry and behind so enemy cav cannot attack my arty. The AI also loves to go through gaps in the line to attack supply wagons. Both my arty and supply always seem to surrender if attacked.

Never let arty be the flank unit in your line.
Never leave arty or supply where enemy can move through line.

Also I've noticed that if one of my units fails to change formation and goes disrupted it will suffer an enemy cav charge so don't change formation in range of enemy cavalry

[Russian Guard]

Heheh, yes, like maggots to a corpse - enemy cavalry are addicted to disordered units within range...[X(]