Unit Type

[DoomedMantis]

Is there anywhere I can go to find out about the various advantages or disadvantages of each unit type, ie how best to use my light infantry vs infantry, or advantages of Lancers etc

Something that will give me an indication of how best to use my forces

thanks

[jimwinsor]

Rulebook pgs 27-31.

[Treefrog]

jimwinsor has it right.

classic art of war this period (described various places in the rules and history books):

force infantry into square with cavalry charge, then run up your guns and infantry on line and shoot them to death.

use skirmishers to distract, annoy, harass enemy formations; let them hide in woods and buildings.

infantry does better shooting downhill, worse shooting uphill

artillery fire going downhill is plunging fire, meaning the balls plow into the ground instead of bouncing so they don't cause as many casualties

run your guns up next to disorganized enemy units and canister them at point blank range

try to attack with combined arms
try to attack from flank and rear

in theory, cavalry that "suddenly" appears should startle infantry not in square, but I don't think the detailed tactical battles address this

when the enemy becomes disorganized or routs, the pursuit is kinda abstract: basically you chase them across the board with any unit you have (garrisons work well for this) and try to surround them and cause additional casualties - they will often then surrender or move a few hexes and surrender; on the other hand, sometimes they just cry "scottie, beam me up" and disappear from the board

use the ground to your advantage: attack people standing on farmland, they are at a disadvantage; defenders in woods and towns have an advantage; cavalry that attacks defenders in woods are almost always disorganized making them easy prey for your musket fire

protect your cannon from overrun by making sure the enemy can't charge them from a square that is not also adjacent to one of your formed units; conversely, if you circle your light cav behind them and locate their artillery and charge them with roughly half your movement points left, you may just overrun them and they surrender and fight for you

[DoomedMantis]

thanks guys, just what I was looking for

[Hard Sarge]

n theory, cavalry that "suddenly" appears should startle infantry not in square, but I don't think the detailed tactical battles address this

that is in the game, a formed unit has to take a morale check, also needs one before forming Square, so a unit can be stuck from the flank or the rear, and "break" before the charge reaches home, doing very great damage to said unit

when the enemy becomes disorganized or routs, the pursuit is kinda abstract: basically you chase them across the board with any unit you have (garrisons work well for this) and try to surround them and cause additional casualties - they will often then surrender or move a few hexes and surrender; on the other hand, sometimes they just cry "scottie, beam me up" and disappear from the board

ahhh, the beam me up you are talking about is the enemy has 3 turns to run away once they decide to retreat, after the 3rd turn, the enemy units will disappear, but the supply wagons for some reason get a extra turn to try and run, after that turn, the battle is over