Dear Mister “Large brother” (Nickname of the Cuirassiers in the French army then).
Regarding the undeniable interest of your questions, JMM and I have decided to place your “conversation” to the FAQ section. To do so you will be kind to send me a copy of your next questions, so the French FAQ section profits by your interventions, ASAP…
Hello Walther!
Here are the questions that I sent to your email. I am posting a duplicate here for backup.
Infantry
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1. Would it be possible to detach the light company from a battalion as voltigeurs? If yes, could I actually see the sprites moving out from the parent battalion in skirmish formation?
2.Could I put a whole battalion of light infantry in skirmish fomation? (Tirraileurs en grandes bande)
3. Would a battalion in skirmish formation be more vulnerable to a cavalry charge ?(as it should be!)
4. Would light infantry have more advantages while fighting in forests, broken terrain and built-up areas?
5. Would all type of regiments be allowed to deploy in skirmish formation? If yes, I would find it highly ahistorical. To fight in skirmish formation required special training and I would be surprised to see a Prussian Landwehr battalion deploy into skirmish order!
6. Would a bayonnet charge be more effective in column formation?
7. Would elite troops (like Grenadier battalions) have added bonus while attacking with the cold steel?
8. How are the musketry skills for the various nations (and various types of regiments) rated? For example would a battalion of British Redcoats shoot faster than a battalion of French line infantry?
9.What are the factors that would determine the outcome of a musketry duell between two battalions of equal strength?
10*Is the basic infantry unit a battalion or a regiment?
11*How many sprites does the game have for a basic infantry unit? Is the ratio like 1:10?
12*Would a battalion of infantry formed in square be able to slowly move?
13*Would the marching speeds of line and light infantry be different?
14*Would the marching speeds of infantry from different nations be different?
15*Is it possible that a battalion in LINE formation be ever able to repulse cavalry by pure firepower?
16*English texts on Napoleonic warfare mention two types of infantry fire :
a) Fire by ranks. In this method all the three ranks fired simultaneously. Or the rear two ranks fired while the first rank reserved its fire.
b) Platoon fire : The battalion issued a rolling fire by companies starting from the flank companies and moving towards center. Sometimes rolling platoon fire could be delivered starting from one of the flank companies and moving to left or right as the case may be.
Your website mentions a term "drumfire" for the infantry in the FAQ. What does it mean?
17* What are the differences between light infantry and line infantry in the game? Please give examples of where each could be advatageously employed.
Cavalry
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1. Would it be possible to execute a grand cavalry charge? I mean to combine four regiments into a division and make the whole division charge together. Or better still make a whole cavalry corps charge together! (Eylau anyone?)
2.Would I get an added morale bonus for a grand cavalry charge?
3. Only the French were masters of executing divison level and above grand cavalry charges. Would other nations be able to do this as well? If yes, this would be ahistorical. The British, for example, never had any cavalry organization higher than a brigade.
4. How about lancers? Would they have an advantage against infantry?
5. How would lancers do against regular sabre armed light cavalry?
6. Suppose two regiments of heavy cavalry meet on plain ground. Both have 500 sabres. Both are fresh. Both have equal battle experience. One is armoured, the other is not. Who wins?
7. Could I attach horse artillery companies to charging brigades or divisions of cavalry? If yes, how would the cooperation be between cavalry and artillery in attacking an infantry square?
8. Could I order a cavalry regiment to fake charge an infantry battalion (so that I could compel the intantry unit to go into square?)
9.Could I order the cavalry into open order while attacking an artillery battery?
10*Would it be possible for a regiment of cavalry to break an inf square under special circumstances?
11*Would heavy cavalry have a charge bonus against infantry?
12*Would light cavalry be able to completely surround a beaten inf battalion and compel it to surrender?
13*What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of :
Heavy Cav (Cuirassiers, Carabiniers, Horse Grenadiers, Heavy Dragoons)
Line Cav ( Dragoons and Lancers)
Light Cav (Hussars, chevaux-legers, chasseurs a cheval, light dragoons)
Please give examples of situations where these cavalry types have their unique advantages and disadvantages.
14* Is it possible that in the game a cavalry regiment would refuse to charge ( due to fatigue. moral loss etc?)
Artillery
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1. Would howitzers be able to fire shells at buildings to set them on fire? What would be effect of roundshots on a garrisoned building? Effect of roundshot on the troops inside the building?
2. Would the reload speed and the gunnery accuracy vary from company to company (depending upon experience) and between nations? French gunnery was almost always superior on the field.
3. Would charging infantry be able to capture a battery?
4. Would horse artillery be fast enough to gallop with the charging cavalry?
5. Would horse artillery be able to gallop away from enemy cavalry when being attacked? I mean will it have the speed?
Combined arms tactics
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1. Say I want to break an enemy infantry battalion. I have a regiment of light cavalry and a company of horse guns. I want to fake a charge against the inf battalion and force the unit into square. I then want the artillery company to blast away at the juicy target. How do I do this in the game? Could I attach an artillery company to the cavalry regiment with specific orders to support the cavalry charge?
2. Suppose I have a battalion of infantry and a regiment of cavalry. How do I defeat the enemy infantry battalion now?
3. What are the advantages of the checker board formation? (en echequier, again excuse my French). When should it be used?
4. What are the advantages of the echelon formation? When should it be used?
5. What are the advantages of the mixed order ( le ordre mixte?) formation? When should it be used?
6. What is the best troop type to assault a fortified building : grenadiers or light infantry?
7. What is the best formation to assault a fortified building?
8. What is the best method to assault a fortified building? Artillery bombardment first, grenadiers going in column formation screened by numerous light infantry?
9. What is the best troop type to assault an enemy in a forest?
10. What is the best formation to assault an enemy in a forest?
11. What is the best method to assault an enemy in a forest?
12. Is it possible to attach an artillery company to a cavalry brigade and move the two around as a unit?
TACTICAL PROBLEMS
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In the following I am assuming an user who is new to the LGAA/Les Grognards system. I am assuming some passing familiarity with Napoleonic warfare basics though.
I am going to pose a number of tactical problems starting from the mundane and going towards more complex scenarios.
I would be very useful if you could give some detailed answers such as "Click on the brigade to select it; right click on the enemy to attack with cold steel" etc.
It is assumed that the player is French and the computer AI plays the Austrians. I am also assuming that the control is taken away from AI and the player is manually controlling the regiments/divisions/corps.
Some of the questions might seem very obvious to you. But I wanted to collect all of them in one place so that I could write a tutorial of some sort later!
Problem 1:
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*A French line regiment encounters an Austrian grenadier battalion posted slightly to the left of the French march line. I want to send out two light companies, deploy the rest of the rgmt in line, deliver a few volleys, form column by divisions ( attack column in English literature) and charge in with the cold steel. What are the commands/ sequences for this?
Problem 2:
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*Same as above. But I have an artillery company in support for the inf regiment. How do I move the arty coy to flank the enemy infantry and order it to move to canister range? What are the commands?
Problem 3:
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*Same as above. But now I have a regiment of lancers to support me. How do I order the lancers to put them between the infantry square and the line of communication for the enemy?
Problem 4:
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*I have an infantry divison. I want the first brigade to attack in line of battle. I want the second brigade to follow at 200 paces distance in attack column formation ( column of divisions). What are the commands?
Problem 5:
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*I have an infantry divison and a brigade of light cav in support. I have a foot artillery company and a horse gun company. I want the infantry division and the foot arty coy to be under AI control. But I want the cavalry brigade and the horse arty coy to be under the player control.
I want the inf division to move ahead by brigades, first brigade in mixed order, the second brigade in attack column formation. The foot arty should move ahead of the first brigade. I want to take personal control of the cavalry brigade and the hore arty coy to flank the enemy.
How do I do this?
Best Regards
Cuirassier
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