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Unit Type
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 12:51 am
by 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
RE: Unit Type
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:22 am
by jimwinsor
Rulebook pgs 27-31.
RE: Unit Type
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 5:54 am
by 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
RE: Unit Type
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:20 am
by DoomedMantis
thanks guys, just what I was looking for
RE: Unit Type
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 2:00 pm
by 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