0
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!
General Advice:
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 depending on how you look at
it. A reserve element should consist of ALL arms not just a weak Quality
2 rated infantry battalion! Keep them out of harms 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 untis 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.
A unit rested for 1-2 game hours can often play a decisive role later in
the day rather than suffer the ignominy of constant routs.
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 400 yards (4
hexes). Keep those lookouts posted!
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. Remember to keep skirmishers on the flanks as well
as in front as an enemy flank attack/volley is even more devastating
than frontal ones. 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. Finally, pull the skirmish formations back to their parent
units every now and again to reduce their fatigue levels.
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. 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.
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. 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
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 decent
brigade to attack the enemy in an area where there are no VP`s to be
had! 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
manoeuvering. Finally, only use the square formation when you find your
units under 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
Cavalry come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just made for breaking
squares and counter charging enemy cavalry, others are of little use
except for harrasing, 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 manouevering, defences, assault lines etc. Before
you do commit a cavalry regiment or brigade 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. Now thats a charge!
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. Finally, keep
the cavalry out of obstructed terrain such as orchards, forests and
building hexes - they are of little use here and will quickly succomb to
enemy skirmishers as they mill about trying to move away and reform.
Artillery
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 with infantry and
cavalry. They can be a source of much-needed victory points to your
opponent and rest assured they will be annihilated unless positione
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, 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 get your cannon this close then do it, its worth the effort.
Summary
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.
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 mst@ndirect.co.uk. This is my first attempt
at Web Publishing, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mark Trowbridge
mst@ndirect..co.uk
From:
Mark`s Unofficial Battleground Waterloo Home Page
http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~mst/
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!
General Advice:
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 depending on how you look at
it. A reserve element should consist of ALL arms not just a weak Quality
2 rated infantry battalion! Keep them out of harms 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 untis 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.
A unit rested for 1-2 game hours can often play a decisive role later in
the day rather than suffer the ignominy of constant routs.
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 400 yards (4
hexes). Keep those lookouts posted!
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. Remember to keep skirmishers on the flanks as well
as in front as an enemy flank attack/volley is even more devastating
than frontal ones. 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. Finally, pull the skirmish formations back to their parent
units every now and again to reduce their fatigue levels.
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. 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.
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. 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
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 decent
brigade to attack the enemy in an area where there are no VP`s to be
had! 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
manoeuvering. Finally, only use the square formation when you find your
units under 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
Cavalry come in all shapes and sizes. Some are just made for breaking
squares and counter charging enemy cavalry, others are of little use
except for harrasing, 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 manouevering, defences, assault lines etc. Before
you do commit a cavalry regiment or brigade 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. Now thats a charge!
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. Finally, keep
the cavalry out of obstructed terrain such as orchards, forests and
building hexes - they are of little use here and will quickly succomb to
enemy skirmishers as they mill about trying to move away and reform.
Artillery
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 with infantry and
cavalry. They can be a source of much-needed victory points to your
opponent and rest assured they will be annihilated unless positione
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, 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 get your cannon this close then do it, its worth the effort.
Summary
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.
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 mst@ndirect.co.uk. This is my first attempt
at Web Publishing, any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Mark Trowbridge
mst@ndirect..co.uk
From:
Mark`s Unofficial Battleground Waterloo Home Page
http://www.ndirect.co.uk/~mst/