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This page was was blagged from the HPS Scenario Design Centre (http://www.hist-sdc.com/) after seeing some "problems" and misleading ideas that I thought just could not go without comment and an attempt to let others see the errors inherent in "playing a game" as opposed to "Wargaming". Mark's original text is in black or red, comments and suggestions are in blue (like this). If there is no comment, then I agree with the original and commend Mark's ideas with thanks. Further comments and ideas are welcome.
Disclaimer: The information presented on this page is presented purely as a
result of my own playtesting and experiences. Please don't take it as gospel and
if anyone out there has better ideas/suggestions send them in!
Index:
1) RESERVES
In any of the scenarios I cannot emphasise enough the requirement to keep a decent sized reserve available. In attack or defence fresh unfatigued units can save or win the day. A reserve element should consist of ALL arms not just a weak Quality 2 rated infantry battalion! Keep them out of harm's way until the critical moment as they will be of little use if the enemy are allowed to punish them with artillery fire or outflanking cavalry charges whilst they wait for their moment of glory. Also, rotate fatigued units out of the line whenever and wherever possible as the adverse modifiers they attract can turn even the Imperial Guard into a substandard melee unit. Note that when skirmishers are re-called to their parent battalion they will immediately adopt the fatigue level of the latter, therefore it is not so important to rest skirmish units - rather re-call them every now and again. A unit rested for 3-4 game hours can often play a decisive role later in the day rather than suffer the ignominy of constant routs.
VERSION 1.1 UPDATE: When skirmishers are re-called to their parent battalion they do not adopt the fatigue level of the latter. Rather, they increase the fatigue level of the parent unit by one. This was a much-needed improvement..
2) OBSERVATION
The old saying of "Know thy enemy" is still as valid today as it ever was.
You should also know his dispositions including strengths and weaknesses at any
given point in the line. This can be accomplished quite easily with minimal loss
by the adept use of small skirmish formations or detached cavalry squadrons. Go
on...take a look over that next hill, you may lose 25 skirmishers but you may
also find that your next attack will surely fail when they get charged by the
3000 heavy cavalry that are hidden behind the reverse slopes. Observation
becomes critical at dusk and at night as you can't see beyond 4 hexes. Keep
those lookouts posted! I've heard a lot about PBEM players using replacement
leaders (i.e. Colonel Anonymous) as reconnaissance units, good idea
[not a good idea at all, though an umpired game can involve a scouting staff
officer going and bringing back information after an appropriate time lag]
but hardly in the
spirit of the game. Try to avoid the temptation to do this (and other little
tricks) otherwise you'll end up with no PBEM opponents.
The use of cavalry piquets was never really reflected in
the original game, which is one reason why NHWC files reduce the elements of
cavalry units to patrols or outposts, which is the main role of light cavalry.
However, their use in a game where the player is required to act as the overall
army commander and act on intelligence received, the sending out of piquets
hither and yon can detract from the realism. A case in point is Eylau, where
there is a great opportunity for the Russians to send all those right-flank
Cossacks over the stream and deep behind the French, instantly radioing back to
everyone else in the army what they alone can see. The fact that the player can
have any units react to what any other one can see requires either a great deal
of self discipline, an umpired game or a restricted use of scouts. Over the next
hill, as Mark says, is fine, but even then a delay for the information to become
known and acted upon is sometimes required.
3) SKIRMISHERS
Whether in attack or defence always keep a strong skirmish
line in front of your main force. They can not only reduce casualties in your
densely packed line battalions but can also hinder enemy cavalry movement (when
in enough numbers) and force your enemy to use valuable artillery rounds to
clear them away.
No, skirmishers are not for blocking the path of cavalry
(nor even of formed infantry) and even the game alone dooms them to being
overrun if truly in skirmisher density. The "enough numbers" refers to the
unrealistic maximum of 225 per hex, when 50 per hex is the realistic amount.
Artillery should not be required to expend valuable ammunition against them, nor
any formed unit to suffer losses, disorder and fatigue in physically removing
them from any but good covering terrain.
Remember to keep skirmishers on the flanks as well as in front as an enemy flank
attack/volley is even more devastating than a frontal one. Make good use of all
your light infantry battalions, I often find that detaching all but 100 can give
you a very strong skirmish line without stripping standard line battalions of
their light companies.
Why not use light companies? This is what they were for!
The fact that every army in Europe used this method, eventually, proves its
usefulness and the fact that it was done. The problems with reducing a
light battalion to too small a cadre for rotating skirmishers are covered
elsewhere, so 100 will usually be too
small.
Finally, pull the skirmish formations back to their parent units every now and
again to reduce their fatigue levels but bear in mind that every time you do
this you will increase the fatigue level of the parent battalion by one.
4) COMMAND & CONTROL
Observe Divisional & Brigade Command radius at all times. Endeavour to
keep your formations together and you will find that units quickly rally and
reform. Keep all the leader units busy - have them racing up and down the field,
rallying routed battalions one turn and then leading an assault the next.. The
modifiers they bestow are well worth the time spent taken in good leader
placement. Army and Corps Commanders are especially useful at rallying broken
units due to their excellent leadership ratings.
Is this how higher commanders really behaved? Alright,
sometimes it would fall to a corps commander to rally units in a desperate
situation, but it seems that their usual role was in commanding the
formations under them, while it was brigade commanders who had units
as their next level of command. Any battle of Waterloo that has Napoleon racing
around the field in pursuit of routing units is far from realistic. Even
Wellington, though known as an active commander, would rally where he happened
to be or saw the most need, not gallop off to find the next shaky battalion (and
he had a few, after all).
However, beware of using
replacement commanders in critical situations as they are often nowhere near as
good as the original leaders. Finally, don't stack 2 leaders in the same hex,
this is just a waste of good leadership.
This could mean not using or withdrawing a formation that
has lost its original commander, though the units are quite intact. This could
be tricky and unnecessary. Mark's real meaning, I think, is not to use depleted
formations that include replacement leaders for essential tasks. A sound
formation with a bad leader could be a case for having the division or corps
commander accompany it for an important mission or otherwise be on hand if
needed though, again, he would still have the rest of the formation to command
too. I don't know of any example from history where a formation was pulled out
or not used because its commander had been incapacitated. Perhaps making the
replacements a bit less incompetent would be better. Whatever the system we use,
the reality was that the formation would be expected to get on with a job
already assigned to it.
5) TERRAIN
The field of battle is covered with defiles, hills, hedges, orchards, buildings and sunken roads - make use of them! It can be tempting to form a pretty line going straight across the map with your troops in nice neat formations, but you will soon find that units in the open will suffer tremendous casualties as opposed to ones behind cover. When in defence use every obstructed hex/hexside to your advantage. It hinders cavalry charges and massively reduces casualties from enemy volleys and melees. Remember: place line battalions in villages and skirmishers in buildings for maximum protection. Follow Wellington's example of using the reverse slopes to protect your densely packed formations with only handfuls of skirmishers on the ridge tops for observation. On the attack, keep checking line of sight using the "visible hexes" command, you will often find safe areas where the enemy batteries can't touch you while you manoeuvre your units into position. One last thing, avoid obstructed hexes like the plague when advancing as there is nothing worse than having to spend 2-3 more turns reforming disordered units when they are needed instantly.
Infantry form the core of both armies and as such you can be tempted to throw away battalions in risky ventures as after all you've got 30 more where that one came from. Don't do it! Stop and really analyse if the move/attack you are making is necessary. Example: why send a brigade to attack the enemy in an area that isn't tactically important? A simple manoeuvre like refusing the main attacks flank may well do the job without you having to suffer casualties.
Be careful that you garrison strongpoints and critical areas of the line with good quality troops that don't often break. Prime examples of poor formations are any of the Dutch-Belgian Brigades in the Anglo-Allied Army. They may look impressive with 4-5 battalions but if one of them routs and the others are close by the whole brigade will soon disappear. Use them as a second line of defence so that when they do make contact at least the enemy are already fatigued and perhaps even disordered.
Move infantry in column whenever possible, the line formation is just too fragile for extensive manoeuvring. Finally, only use the square formation when you find your units under direct threat from enemy cavalry. It requires careful timing to anticipate the best time to form square and the problem can be accentuated by units becoming disordered due to enemy threat zones. Again, keep those lookouts posted and you should avoid having to face this problem in the first place.
Cavalry come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just made for breaking squares [oh, yeah?!] and counter charging enemy cavalry, others are of little use except for harassing, threatening and further routing already broken infantry units. Know the difference.
The greatest asset cavalry have is their ability to threaten the charge, this in itself can cause the enemy untold problems with manoeuvring, defences, assault lines etc. Before you do commit a cavalry regiment or brigade [at least a brigade: no suicide charges by single units, please] to a full-blown charge ensure that they won't sacrifice themselves at the end of it. Consider every eventuality and once you have decided to go ahead and charge stop and think it all through once again! This way you won't give the enemy the opportunity to decimate your splendid mounted regiments for the glory of perhaps taking out 1 artillery battery. Remember that the best charges are made from the enemy's flanks where you can sweep along an entire line of his troops routing unit after unit - cavalry can attack up to 4 times in a single melee phase. Now that's a charge! [Watch out for the fatigue build-up this causes, though] Make use of detached squadrons for observation and wider coverage. Above all try to keep your enemy guessing as to your true intentions - use the threat...
Cavalry are also very handy for protecting your infantry's flanks when on the
move. This will hopefully negate the chance of an enemy cavalry charge
decimating your units from the flank. Keep the cavalry out of obstructed
terrain such as orchards, forests and building hexes - they are of little use
here and will quickly succumb to enemy skirmishers as they mill about trying to
move away and reform. Finally, avoid placing your cavalry regiments in a position
where they can be quickly surrounded by enemy skirmishers. This can happen ever
so easily after a charge. It is really a game design fault more than anything
else.
This is like saying that there being no physical obstacles
to moving a rook diagonally on a chess board is a design fault in the game of
chess. What prevents the illegal move is the player's adherence to the rules. In
BG, as in figure games or any other, there is an obligation to do only the
correct thing. No one who takes the matter seriously can make any case for
skirmishers being anywhere near cavalry: how would they keep up, let alone
surround them? Even disordered cavalry were a big threat to individuals or small
groups in the open. It seems that the problem with interpreting these situations
is that few people now have experience of horses and how big and mobile they
are. If you can't find out first hand, just think about 25-100 men on foot
trying to surround 500 motor cyclists on a large expanse of open ground (cavalry
can treat small obstacles as open ground where motor bikes can't).
Would 25 lightly armed men even consider placing themselves behind 500
Heavies - I don't think so! Do it to them before they do it to you - perhaps
detach a few squadrons of supporting cavalry to ride right through any
troublesome skirmishers before the main attack goes in. This can be accomplished
in the charge phase itself using the "overrun" tactic.
VERSION 1.1 UPDATE: Cavalry now receive a +2 modifier for taking units in the flank (as do infantry). This makes cavalry vs. cavalry engagements much more prolific as you can now take an enemy regiment from the flank and have a damn good chance of driving them back!
Properly handled artillery can prove absolutely devastating, poorly handled they provide easy pickings for enemy skirmishers and cavalry. Keep the cannon well back unless properly supported. They can be a source of much-needed victory points to your opponent and rest assured they will be annihilated unless positioned accurately and safely. Don't squander valuable rounds on enemy skirmishers, keep your stocks high for when you really need them. The French Commander can afford to expend round after round on counter-battery fire [but shouldn't], the allies can't. Remember this. Also, take note of the fact that when artillery batteries are overrun if there is a friendly infantry unit in the adjacent hex the crew will temporarily abandon the guns to take refuge. This is a great feature which I'm sure Talonsoft are proud of, someone had their thinking hat on with this one. Finally, artillery strengths are doubled within 2 hexes of enemy units, if you can safely get your cannon this close then do it, its worth the effort.
One last thing that has only been touched on in the above: Combined Arms.
No one unit type can accomplish much without the support of the others. In
both defence and attack keep a well-balanced force in all local areas and you
shouldn't go far wrong. Swarms of skirmishers, then columns/lines of infantry
with cavalry on the flanks and cannon tucked in behind - endeavour to use this
formation every time. It works.
Artillery cannot fire over or through friendly units, of
course, so they need to deploy in the first line of units, at least. The way to
protect them is, funnily enough, the realistic one, by having a unit of infantry
close behind, so close as to be in the same hex. As long as the artillery is top
unit it can fire, though the infantry, of course, cannot.
Rules that I keep pinned on the wall next to the monitor:
1) Having more than 250 skirmishers in any one hex negates their -1 modifier
when they suffer a ranged attack They also will not get the -75% modifier in
casualties.
The NHWC restriction is 50 per open hex, when possible, or
otherwise as small a sub-unit as the game will make.
2) Cavalry threat values are tripled within 2 hexes, doubled within 4
3) Disordered units attacks are reduced by 50%
In itself a good reason for restricting what they can
assault. Mustering 2 units to attack as one is no excuse.
4) Lancers strength is reduced by 25% when defending in a melee
5) Lancers & Heavies attacks are increased by 25%
6) Skirmishers gain a -2 modifier when defending in a building hex against ranged fire
7) The threat value exerted in any given hex can be accessed by right-clicking on the terrain info box
8) If a unit routs, all units in the same hex and those in adjacent hexes will be forced to make a morale check Update, version 1.1 now reduces the chances of "multi-hex" routing. Therefore don't count on routing whole brigades anymore!
9) VP comparison: [NHWC scenarios don't use victory points]
25 Infantry = 1VP
1 Cannon = 4VP`s
3.125 Cavalry = 1VP
Remember to keep your enemy guessing as to your true intentions and placements, make use of terrain, rotate front line units and keep those reserves. If you've made it this far then I thank you and hope this site has been of some use. Please contact me if you have any observations/suggestions at mst007@bigfoot.com. This is my first attempt at Web Publishing, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Original by Mark Trowbridge
Comments (and typing corrections 
) by
John Rice
