Napoleonic tactics are rich and varied, and they can be confusing for someone new to them. The Austerlitz: Napoleon’s Greatest Victory (ANGV) game reflects the complex interplay of the various forces well. Armed with some basic knowledge you should be winning battles in no time. If you are “new” to Napoleonic tactics – or even this game system –it is highly recommended that you first play all the game’s six “tutorial” scenarios (reading their text thoroughly) before trying the scenarios included with the game. Many things you need to know (such as how to select, move and attack with units, the basic uses of the different unit types, etc.) are included in the game’s tutorial scenarios.
Also, be sure to read each scenario’s historical information before you play it (found by pressing the “Info” button on the “Play the Game” screen). The Allied and French strategy tips, found at the end of the “Info” for each non-tutorial scenario), can be especially useful. Too, the tips for the full battle scenario (“The Battle of Austerlitz”) contain several points of good advice. The help text for the various buttons is also useful; when “in” the game, simply right click on a button or interface area to get this information.
This document contains two parts. The first part (I.) is a description of one of the scenarios included with the game, “The Russian Guard Counterattack”. This is a good scenario that is representative of many of the scenarios in the game, and allows me to discuss various tactical ideas. The second part (II.) is a list of various “Rules of Thumb” that I’ve found useful when playing the game.
This battle featured in this scenario contains many elements that you will encounter in other the game’s scenarios. While I will be concentrating on this scenario, the general tactics are applicable to most other scenarios you will play. “The Russian Guard Counterattack” is an attack by the Russian and Austrian “guard” (high-quality troops) against a smaller French force. During the scenario the French will receive reinforcements, but they cost victory points to activate.
To begin:
1. Select “The Russian Guard Counterattack” scenario on the Scenario Selection screen.
2. Click on “Choose a Side” until the French tri-color flag is displayed.
3. “Play Options” should be set to “Historical” (the difficulty level and options for rally, activation and ammo can be as you desire).
4. Press “Play Game” to begin the scenario.
At the beginning of the scenario, the French forces are arrayed near the lone victory point (VP) site, Stare Vinohrady. The Allied forces are located across the map to the east, and must march to battle. This gives the French time to prepare. Since the vineyard terrain near the VP site gives considerable defensive benefits to any troops deployed therein, this is where I put all my beginning French forces.
For the purposes of this discussion, the viewpoint will be assumed to be facing east for the French, west for the Allies. Left and right will be the respective directions for the viewpoint of the troops involved. First, rotate the map so that you are facing east (note: unless you changed the viewpoint after starting the battle, the scenario actually opens facing east by default).
Select the French commander (“Brig Gen Schiner”) who has the two light battalions – you can identify them by their uniforms. Drag a movement line to the east side of the vineyard containing the blue “(5VP)” symbol, select Maneuver Column, and then Line formation. The reason you use maneuver column as the first command is that the troops will march to the final location in separate columns, which is much quicker (and causes less “cohesion” loss). Line has the best defensive value, so that formation is selected for their final deployment. Finally, before the troops arrive, rotate (“wheel”) the final formation so that the troops are facing directly east.
Next, select the other two commanders (Ferry and Candras) and move their troops to the vineyard the same way, but select Double Line for their final deployment. Place Ferry’s brigade right behind Shiner’s light troops, and position Candras’ brigade behind and to the left of Shiner’s brigade (left of the VP site). Make sure both Double Line formations are facing east. You should also grab the division commander (Gen Dominique Vandamme) and move him into the same vineyard so that he continues to lend support to his troops.
Ignore the frozen French troops in the town of Pratzen. You can’t activate them or use them for anything anyway.
You have plenty of time to get ready for the attack, so there is no rush. Take your time and get everyone into position.
After the troops of the three infantry brigades have reached their destinations, make sure that each unit is “inside” the vineyard (as indicated by the terrain icon shown on far left in the below illustration). Select each battalion in turn and make sure they have the “no cavalry” symbol at the bottom of the screen (as shown to the right of the unit name in the below illustration). If any unit doesn’t have the “no cavalry” symbol, it is not in vineyard terrain and will thus be much more vulnerable to enemy activity. Move it into vineyard terrain by selecting it and dragging a movement line, then hitting the letter ‘O’ hotkey so that the unit doesn’t change its facing as it moves.
At this time you should make sure the most forward troops are close to the edge of the vineyard. If enemy troops have room to get into the vineyard, they will also get the same defensive benefits that your troops do, and will likely drive your units from the protective vineyard. Also, adjust the battalions behind Shiner’s lead brigade so that they are close enough to the front so that they can add their firepower as well.
You do not want every battalion to be on the edge of the vineyard, but most of them should be there, with a few immediately behind. These troops in the rear will be used to patch holes in the line in case you have to order a battalion to fall back because it has taken too much stress. Also, troops slightly behind the first will add morale support to those in front, and can easily be moved sideways to counter enemy threats.
Be sure to move the artillery battery to the vineyard as well. The guns must be placed behind the infantry so that enemy infantry can’t target them. Artillery will break quickly if directly attacked by infantry, so they must always be protected. Your infantry brigades’ initial dispositions should appear similar to below…
By this time, the first French cavalry should have arrived, or will arrive shortly. For now, place them behind the vineyard, on both the right and left sides. The enemy cavalry cannot attack your infantry in the vineyard (remember, they are in “no cavalry” terrain), so your infantry battalions need not form Square, and can safely ignore the cavalry. However, when the enemy cavalry arrives, they will sometimes move around “behind” the vineyard, and your cavalry should be ready for them.
When the additional French artillery battery arrives, you should place your cavalry between it and any nearby enemy cavalry, and move the unit quickly into the vineyard where it will be safe from cavalry attack. A moving (“limbered”) battery is very vulnerable. Therefore, when moving an artillery unit, always give it the Double Quick command. The slight stress it takes from double-timing dissipates quickly; the safety of the guns is much more important. The two new artillery batteries can be deployed in the left rear of the vineyard, but if there is infantry attacking nearby, make sure the guns are behind friendly infantry so that they don’t take fire.
By now the enemy cavalry should have arrived. Since you have little cavalry yourself, you should avoid direct combat with enemy cavalry whenever possible.
But there is one good cavalry trick you can use! First, make sure that your larger cavalry regiments are deployed in line formation, facing in the general direction of the enemy. Then, send a light cavalry regiment toward the enemy cavalry, but leave his leader back with the other cavalry. Quite likely, one of the enemy cavalry regiments will “take interest” in your light horsemen and will begin to charge it.
You do not want to take on heavy cavalry with light cavalry; although they are slower, the heavy cavalry has a considerable advantage. But your intent is not to fight them, but to lure them away, back to your other forces. Move your light cavalry regiment in maneuver column formation, get close to an enemy cavalry unit, and wait for it to begin chasing your unit. As soon as it does, quickly drag a movement arrow away from the enemy, hit the ‘G’ hotkey so that it doesn’t stop. If all goes well, your unit will then run away with the enemy chasing it. Once you have an enemy cavalry regiment in tow, lead it back to your waiting cavalry. Toggle Double-Quick movement as necessary so that your unit keeps ahead of the enemy cavalry, but don’t get too far in front. Finally, move your light regiment directly between two of your other regiments, and move them a bit farther, just for safety. When the enemy cavalry gets close to (within 50 yards or so) your waiting units, order a charge with both of your waiting cavalry regiments.
Here is what is happening: the enemy cavalry has probably tried to charge your cavalry. Once they get within 75 yards during a charge, they will not respond to orders to cancel the charge, and this is just what you want. This is why you’re trying to keep the enemy cavalry close, but just out of reach. All the time the enemy cavalry is moving, it is losing cohesion, and cohesion is the most important consideration in melee combat. When you lure the foe back to your waiting cavalry, your own cavalry will have much better cohesion, and will generally win the melee when they charge. Not only is this a great tactic in ANGV, it is also a historically trap that was frequently used on Napoleonic battlefields.
Your cavalry will be very useful later in the battle, so don’t try this trick more than once or twice. You don’t want to wear out all of your cavalry.
By this time the infantry battle should be developing nicely. Make sure that none of your front line units is taking too much stress. If it is, give it the Fall Back order (or Retreat it if necessary). As appropriate, give rearward battalions an Advance order so they move forward into contact. If the enemy infantry is concentrating on one side of the vineyard or the other, move some of your troops from quieter parts of the battlefield to your weak spots. When moving your units in the vineyard, always move in Maneuver Column using Double-Quick. Then form into line, preferably just behind other units already engaged, or out of range of enemy fire, and advance them into combat. You can also order Double-Quick when Advancing.
This is a good time to make sure your artillery is safe from attack. If there are enemy battalions trying to close on your guns, move a friendly battalion between the enemy and the artillery.
Eventually reinforcements will appear on your left. This includes two brigades of infantry (which you will be required spend victory points to activate) and two batteries of artillery (which you can use without cost). You may not need to activate the infantry reinforcements. However, they may be needed to defend the new artillery batteries from enemy cavalry.
As soon as the reinforcements appear, rush a regiment of cavalry to the area so that enemy cavalry can’t overrun the guns. This is usually enough to protect the artillery, but you may have to charge the enemy cavalry. If so, get another cavalry unit to the area quickly to augment the first.
There is another use for your cavalry at this point in the battle, which is why you need to conserve it at the beginning. The enemy cavalry should be scattered or ineffective by this time, or at least somewhere else on the battlefield. The true power of cavalry is not in the charge, but in the threat of a charge. This forces enemy infantry units to form protective Squares, and Squares are very vulnerable to infantry and artillery fire. Move a single French cavalry regiment to the side of the vineyard, but out of range of the enemy infantry. Target the closest infantry regiment, and declare a charge from about 200 yards away. When the enemy infantry forms square, hit the space bar to stop the charge. If the enemy deploys back into line, charge again, but be sure to keep at least 75 yards away (as a useful measure, each map grid square is about 80 yards). At some point the enemy infantry will remain in square, and can then be quickly shot up by your infantry. Then target the next infantry unit. Sometimes, just moving cavalry close to infantry will force them into square. You might even be able to force several enemy battalions into square at once. If your cavalry starts taking fire from the infantry square, you can give it the Fall Back command to get it out of range. Watch for enemy cavalry while you are using this tactic, you don’t want to be surprised in turn. If necessary, you can move your cavalry into the vineyard to protect it from enemy cavalry briefly, but it will have no power there, takes an immediate “hit” to hits cohesion, and cannot charge out of the vineyard.
If your infantry is able to keep the enemy infantry out of the vineyard, you should have no problem holding it throughout the battle. But if the enemy infantry gets into the vineyard, you may be in trouble. If that happens, check the Scenario Status (press the Esc key, then select Scenario Status). If you think you can afford to let the enemy have the 500 VP that the vineyard represents – especially if it appears you will lose it anyway – Retreat.
The best way to accomplish a retreat is to leave one or two battalions in place to screen your retreat and slow down the enemy advance, then move your other commanders away from the fighting and use the Retreat to Commander order for their units (with the leader selected, double-click on the Retreat button to retreat all units of his command). Don’t forget your guns; retreat them to get them away from the fighting, then order them to Double-Quick to a safer location. When your retreating infantry gets out of danger, order them into a defensive formation: Line or Double Line. Use your cavalry, if you have any left, to screen your retreating troops. Put them between the enemy forces and the point where your infantry is retreating. Finally, put your original infantry screening force into Skirmish formation. They will probably retreat immediately, and will likely be lost, but they have protected the remainder of your force.
If you feel that you are losing the VP site, consider activating some of your reinforcements. But first check the Scenario Status and do some arithmetic. Decide whether or not trading valuable VP to release the available reinforcements will enable you to or hold (or retake, as the case may be) the VP site and, if so, if the required forfeiture of VP is really worth it.
The scenario ends soon after the face of the game clock (found in the lower right portion of the interface) becomes completely red. Once completed, the victory screen will inform you about the success of your French defense. Note that you can also end any scenario early by pressing Esc and selecting Finish Battle. At the victory screen you can view Details of the battle (seeing which units performed best) and each side’s ending OOB (Order of Battle), which details losses for each involved unit. The victory screen also allows you to continue the battle or return to the Main Menu screen. For the purposes of this article, return to the Main Menu and let’s have a shot at playing the attacking Allies.
Now that you’ve
absorbed some all that advice on how to organize and play the French
defensively in “The Russian Guards Counterattack”, let’s discuss how to, as the
Allies, attack and capture the Stare Vinohrady.
This time:
1. Ensure that “The Russian Guard Counterattack” is selected on the Scenario Selection screen.
2. Click on “Choose a Side” until the Allied flags are displayed.
3. “Play Options” should be set to “Historical”.
4. Press “Play Game” to begin the scenario.
When the scenario opens as the Allies the viewpoint will be facing west. The Allied troops start far away from the victory point site, so you will have to do some maneuvering to get them into battle. Setting march orders for your troops is commonly done with the game paused, although this is not strictly necessary.
First, locate and select Depreradovich II, and move his cavalry brigade to the left of the vineyard, but not beyond it. Move the smaller cavalry brigade (Jankovich’s) to a point behind the other. Order the moves in Maneuver Column, and then command the troops to assume Attack Column at their destination.
Then select the infantry commander (Depreradovich I), order his troops to attach to brigade (one begins unattached at the beginning), and order them to move forward. They should move in maneuver column, and form into double line at the destination. Move them so that the commander is just out of range of infantry fire from the vineyard, and the commander should be near the left end of the vineyard. This will deploy his troops with half of them along the side of the vineyard, half to the left of it, facing west.
Move the two artillery batteries that are closest to the front between the vineyards to their front, to the road on the hill overlooking the vineyard. Firing from higher elevation will make their guns more effective (also true for infantry). Order them to move using Double-Quick. When your cavalry gets close, make sure they protect the guns from any enemy in the area, stopping the guns if necessary to prevent them from being attacked and captured.
There is an infantry brigade to the far rear of your formation that is easily overlooked (Lobanov’s brigade). These are guard troops, and they are quite powerful. Don’t forget about them, as they’ll be very useful once things get hot. Order this brigade to move up the road, in Double-Quick Road Column. You will need to move Lobanov’s brigade in separate moves: first to the Krzenowitz Krizovatka crossroads (just beyond Krzenowitz village), then up the road toward the Spodni Vinohardy, and then toward the objective. Moving these infantry in Double-Quick will give them some stress, but it won’t be enough to drastically affect their combat abilities. Moving them along the road quickens their pace substantially. Always take advantage of roads whenever possible, especially for artillery movement.
It is not useful to move the main force in Double-Quick, as you have to wait for the Lobanov’s brigade anyway. You have an artillery battery far to the left. Move these guns to the top of the hill to their front, or possibly farther forward if you wish. This battery won’t cause many casualties, but it may prevent some enemy units from recovering stress or cohesion, and might even cause some stress on its own account.
Other artillery in the rear should be moved toward the fighting. Move them in Double-Quick, and consider using nearby roads for at least part of the movement. Finally, don’t forget to move your overall commander, Grand Duke Constantine, as well as your cavalry and infantry divisional commanders (Lt Gen’s Kologrivov and Maliutin, respectively).
When moving the main force, ignore the terrain. Your forces move more slowly when moving through vineyards, but for the main force that doesn’t matter. When you move the forward artillery batteries, try to keep them out of the vineyards. The artillery moving up from the rear should avoid rough terrain as well. Roads through rough terrain will allow you to move more quickly, so take advantage of these roads whenever you can. Once your main force gets in position, it might appear something like below…
When units move, they lose cohesion. Units moving in Maneuver Column lose much less cohesion. Cohesion is very important in melee combat, so it is especially important for cavalry.
Speaking of cavalry, your cavalry should be in position by now. If necessary, allow them to rest to regain cohesion. Keep watch on them, and if you find enemy infantry nearby, especially if they are marching in maneuver column in open terrain, move in close and declare a charge. You should also launch charges immediately on enemy artillery if you are blessed with finding any in the open.
Normally, with cavalry, you will need to move them to a “staging area” where they can recover cohesion lost by moving, and let them rest a bit until their cohesion bars are green. Order them into Line or Double Line formation; a cavalry regiment in line has greater power during a charge. When the cavalry are ready, order them to advance, then order Double-Quick movement when they start getting close to the targets. When you start taking fire from the enemy infantry, or when you see them start to form Square, it is a good time to declare a charge. By moving in close before declaring the charge, you have a better chance of catching the enemy infantry out of Square formation. If the infantry is able to form Square it is almost impossible to defeat with cavalry alone, so don’t even try unless their flags are drooping considerably.
You will have only a small window of opportunity in this case, however. The French infantry are probably attempting to get into the vineyard surrounding the valuable VP site, and once ensconced there your cavalry cannot charge them. So if you have the chance to charge artillery or infantry at this time, especially if the infantry is marching, charge them if at all possible. Even if you don’t defeat the infantry, you could force them into Square, which will keep them in place until your infantry comes up and can engage them.
Some additional cavalry information: Often it is better to hit an enemy unit twice in succession, because the initial hit causes more damage than the resulting fight. Put a two-regiment cavalry brigade into Double Line (one regiment lines up in front of the other). Order a brigade advance. When the front regiment starts taking fire, order a brigade charge. Leave the brigade commander about 200 yards in the rear, and after the initial hit by both of your regiments, order a Retreat to Commander on the commander himself, to get both regiments out of the fight. Let the regiments rest a bit to recover any lost cohesion, then repeat. This is the only way I’ve been able to successfully defeat an infantry square with cavalry alone, but it doesn’t always work. Attack infantry squares with unsupported cavalry at your own risk.
OK, back to the battle. By this time your infantry brigades should be getting into position. The front units of the main brigade may even be in a firefight with the enemy forces in the vineyard. Lobanov’s Guard infantry should be close enough to join battle shortly. What you do next depends on what the enemy is doing.
If the enemy still has infantry in the open, attack them with your guard infantry, supported by your cavalry, and any nearby infantry from the main brigade.
A proper combined arms attack against infantry in the open goes as follows. First, move your cavalry so that the enemy infantry can’t get to cover. This usually means putting one or more regiments between the enemy infantry and a nearby town or vineyard. While you’re doing this, form your infantry into double line just out of range of the enemy infantry muskets, and then order an advance. Keep advancing your infantry units until they are all engaged, possibly keeping some in reserve. Your strongest battalion(s) should be kept back during an attack, in Attack Column. I’ll talk about them shortly. Once you have the enemy infantry fully engaged in this way, they will be unable to easily disengage.
Now move some cavalry to the left and right ends of your line, both to protect your infantry from being flanked, and to force the unengaged enemy infantry into square. When you move cavalry close to enemy infantry, they form Square and can be quickly decimated. At this point, start rolling up the enemy line by moving your infantry around the flanks (edges) of that line. Note that you can also move cavalry directly behind your infantry, and sometimes force Squares to form in the center of the enemy line.
If you have artillery batteries nearby, move them close to your lines, but not so far forward that enemy infantry fires on them. If you get an infantry unit to form Square, target it manually. Otherwise, try to target units where you can fire on them from the side. Both fire and melee has much more effect if it’s not directly from the front.
Remember those infantry Attack Columns you behind your front line? Once the enemy flags have started to droop significantly, move your Attack Columns forward and order a charge. This should quickly break the enemy infantry and open holes in his line. Often charges like this are necessary, as it can take considerable time to reduce enemy lines by firepower alone.
With your infantry pinning the enemy infantry in place, your cavalry forcing them into Square, and your artillery blasting the Squares, you have done everything you can to assure victory.
What do you do if the enemy does all this to you? Well, first of all, try to keep his cavalry occupied with your cavalry. Especially don’t let enemy cavalry get close enough so that your infantry has to form Square. Use your artillery to target his cavalry, which usually has more effect than targeting infantry. If your cavalry or infantry can get close to an unprotected battery charge it! Infantry can capture enemy cannon, so – given the choice and the opportunity – charge a battery with infantry rather than cavalry. If you capture a battery, you can use it as your own. If the enemy charges, you can order a counter-charge with your own unit being charged, which is better than simply waiting for his charge to hit your troops (this is especially true for cavalry, by the way).
At some point in the battle, the only remaining enemy infantry troops will be in the vineyard. Whether they are all there when you first arrive in the area, or whether you have had to fight and defeat some of his troops in the open, this is the situation in which you should now find yourself.
Keep in mind that the enemy infantry in the vineyard will be hard to dislodge, as – besides protecting them from cavalry – the vineyard terrain also gives them a nice defensive bonus. What you need to do is attack your foe from more than one direction. If all of the French infantry are safely in the vineyard before your units arrive, you will probably have time to adjust your main brigade so that its commander is centered on the front of vineyard instead of along the left side, and all your troops are lined up along the front of the vineyard. Order an advance until all these troops are engaged.
At the same time, order Lobanov’s Guards to attack the vineyard on the left side. Use your cavalry to keep his cavalry away from your attacking troops. The Guards should be able to roll up his flank. If you are able, advance some of your troops into the vineyard on your right, and attack his forces from the rear. It is also possible to use your Guards to do the Attack Column assaults mentioned earlier. In this case, put them behind your main force.
The more pressure you can put all along the enemy line here, the less the enemy will be able to move units around to shore up weak areas in the line. Eventually you should be able to drive your foe from the vineyard.
Once you capture the objective you become the defender, and the French become the attacker! When enemy reinforcements arrive, you will likely receive a counterattack from the right end of the vineyard, so deploy your best remaining infantry there. Put the battalions in Line near the right (north) edge of the vineyard. Make sure they all have the benefit of the defensive terrain.
If the French activate any of their reinforcements and begin moving forward you must be ready to receive them. If your infantry is not in place, or if you do not have enough infantry left, you’ll need to delay the enemy infantry with your cavalry. In this case move your cavalry between the right end of the vineyard and the enemy infantry, but make sure you stay on the hill. If fired upon by enemy artillery or infantry, your cavalry won’t take as much damage if they are on higher ground. If you keep your cavalry on the higher ground, you can pretty much ignore his artillery. If the enemy guns moves too close, charge them.
The presence of your cavalry might be enough to stop the infantry advance, but if not, be prepared to attack. Often you can force the French infantry into Square (simply by the presence of your cavalry); if so, they’re effectively out of the battle since they can’t move in Square. If they advance on your cavalry, they must leave Square to do so, and will be vulnerable to cavalry charges. There is a delicate balancing act between actually attacking the infantry here, and simply trying to force him into Square, so be careful.
If you do decide to charge to contact, be sure to start the charge from close in, the closer the better, and use Line formation for the regiments that do charge. Also, try to charge downhill, which gives your unit an advantage. Also, keep in mind that if your foe is skillful in advancing and forming Square, and you never get a chance to charge a unit that’s not in square, your cavalry will eventually be taken under fire from the Squares.
Squares do not have much firepower, but if your cavalry is already depleted, the fire will have some effect. Always remember in this case that you can issue the fall back command to the cavalry, which will move backwards slowly until they are out of range of the infantry fire.
One of the best features of Austerlitz: Napoleon’s Greatest Victory is that you can turn some or all of your friendly forces over to the program’s Artificial Intelligence (AI), and either let the AI handle the forces as it sees fit, or give some basic orders to attack or defend a location you specify.
How can you best put the AI to work for you? Well, one of the best ways I’ve found is to turn all my cavalry over to the AI and manually control just my infantry. In this case, I don’t need to issue any orders to the AI controlled cavalry, they will support the infantry correctly. Give it a try, and just let the cavalry do its own thing. It works quite well.
You may also turn everything over to the AI, and then take back control of a single infantry brigade, possibly an artillery battery or two, and maybe a small brigade of cavalry. You can do this in a smaller battle, or when fighting the massive full battle. In this way you have the ability to influence the situation in a single area of the battlefield, while knowing that the AI is taking care of everything else.
There are four
orders you can give an AI-controlled unit, or you can leave the mission up to
the AI. To you give the AI an order, you
first click on the Orders button, then select one of the orders, then click on
a location on the battlefield. You can
click anywhere on the battlefield, although the order will show the closest
named location on the map.
The four AI Orders are:
Units given an attack order will move to the location you specify, and attack the enemy forces there strongly.
Units with a probe order will move to the location you specify, and attack enemy forces there as well, but less strongly.
Units given hold orders will move to the specified location, and defend it against any unit that comes within firing range. Units will be using the hold and volley commands.
Units given delay orders will move to the specified location and deploy around it, attempting to keep enemy units out of the area. Units will use the fallback and volley commands.
NOTE: Both “Attack” and “Probe”
are attack orders, and differ in the intensity of the attack, that is, the
number of troops that will be committed to the attack. Attack is the stronger order, Probe is the
weaker.
· Always try to attack a smaller force with a larger one. It may be necessary to isolate a portion of enemy troops from the main body in order to get an advantage in numbers.
· If you sense that you are going to lose a battle in a particular location, either send in reinforcements or retreat. It’s better to lose a VP site than it is to lose that site and all the troops defending it.
· Use the Retreat to Commander command to get an entire brigade out of combat quickly. But don’t try the trick of “forward retreating”, as troops are very vulnerable when retreating.
· If you are not under enemy fire (discounting long range artillery) use Maneuver Column to move around the battlefield. Maneuver Column moves faster than other formations (exception: Road Column along a road) and moving units in column lose less cohesion than moving in Line or even Assault Column.
· If you must move in Maneuver Column near enemy troops, make sure your maneuvering troops are “screened” by friendly troops. Even a single battalion in Line can take the enemy fire and allow you to move other troops to new positions.
· Attacking an enemy unit from the side or rear is more effective than attacking it directly from the front. This is true for both ranged fire and melee.
· Cavalry charges more effectively in Line formation, while infantry charges more effectively in Attack Column.
· Don’t activate reinforcements too soon, as they might become cheaper (or even become available at no cost!) the longer you wait.
· Take advantage of defensive terrain whenever possible. This includes both rough terrain like vineyards or woods, and higher ground.
· Concentrate your strength. Use brigade double line formations, and protect your flanks with cavalry.
· Line formations are better for defense than attack column. If you are defending a vineyard, for example, you probably won’t be charging out of it to attack.
· If you need to take an objective held by infantry quickly, you will have to charge them with your own infantry in attack column. Firepower alone takes much longer to break enemy infantry.
· Form your battalions outside the range of enemy fire, then use the advance command to move into combat.
· Use the advance command occasionally during a firefight to make sure all your troops are engaged.
· If some of your troops are taking more stress than the rest, use the Fall Back command or retreat them, and advance other troops to take their place in the line.
· Keep reserves, even if these troops are directly behind the front lines and are also firing on the enemy through the gaps in the front lines.
· Light troops in skirmish formation in front of other troops in line works well in defensive situations. The skirmishers will be targeted by the enemy fire, but will take fewer casualties, while the other troops in line can fire through the skirmishers while being protected by them.
· Unlike cavalry, infantry can charge a unit that is in rough terrain.
· Cavalry is a paradox in that it is very powerful, but also very brittle. Cavalry is more useful as a threat than as a combat force, so preserve your cavalry as much as possible.
· If you intend to let a cavalry regiment close to melee, it should first move as close as possible to its target before it charges. If it charges too early, an infantry target will be able to form Square. Too, a charging unit incurs stress more rapidly when charging, so the shorter the charge the better.
· Never charge an infantry Square with cavalry unless the it’s flag is drooping significantly. An Square in good condition can defeat cavalry easily.
· Cavalry can be used to slow down and break up an enemy infantry assault. Cavalry causes infantry to form Squares, which cannot move.
· Always allow a cavalry unit to rest and recover cohesion after moving it and before declaring a charge.
· A cavalry unit can be given a Fall Back order if it gets close enough to an enemy Square to take fire.
· Although cavalry cannot charge into non-cavalry terrain, it is still possible to attack infantry in defensive terrain with cavalry. Approach from two different directions, and move the cavalry over the infantry. This is a good time to use cavalry Attack Column.
· Don’t charge heavy cavalry with light cavalry, unless the heavy unit is significantly depleted. Heavy cavalry has a big advantage over light.
· Don’t let your cavalry stand in place to receive a charge. Either countercharge, or run away (using Maneuver Column, Double-Quick movement, and the Don’t Stop command). Lure charging cavalry toward other fresh cavalry or even toward your infantry lines.
· The first impact in a charge is more effective then the subsequent combat. Consider ordering a retreat after the first impact to preserve your cavalry.
· Always move artillery in Double-Quick. Avoid rough terrain during movement, but take advantage of it whenever when engaged in combat.
· Protect your artillery. If enemy troops are close by, keep some cavalry or infantry near the artillery.
· Artillery is more powerful when it’s close to its target. But make sure it’s behind the front line of troops so that it doesn’t take enemy fire.
· It is better to capture enemy artillery with your infantry than to force it to rout. Order your infantry to charge artillery rather than allowing them to stop and fire.
· Cavalry can’t capture artillery, but can destroy it.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Discuss Napoleonic tactics on the Breakaway Games forums at http://pub76.ezboard.com/bbreakawaygames
I hope you’ve found this information helpful.
Larry “Hook” Hookins