Land Battle Guide For Napoleon Total War Section Two
By: Samantha White
Submitted: 2010-05-06 17:32:28 | Word Count: 540
Now we got how to fight with line infantries, let us continue with quick summary of what it was. We need large space in order to scatter our infantry so that they can fire all their muskets and make effective attack. So we are going to be careful about not fighting in areas with lots of cliffs, or river crossings and such. Line infantries might aswell be infantry still but way different than how they are commanded, than light infantries. So let us see how you should fight with an army that consists of twenty units of light infantry, which are also called, skirmishers.
Many people lack the ability of seeing how light infantries are useful. Some use them in skirmishing ways, some use them in flanking. However, light infantries are not only good in those, but it can be said, anything as long as it is firing they do, not fighting close, knee to knee. So, just like line infantries, you still do need large space to manoeuvre light infantries. And keeping in mind that we used to need large space for line infantries in order to scatter them well enough to let them use all their muskets, as light infantries are, in any means, extreme musketeers, we need even more space. Light infantries have a couple of options in their panel. You could use square formation for line infantries, however you need to know what light infantries do exactly, so that you may be able to use them with full efficiency. There is this, light infantry behaviour button, which makes your skirmishers get in loose formation and crouch a bit. This is the main tactic of fighting with light infantries. Because this ability, grants cover from missile attacks in any way. You do not need to stay behind things to cover, but your infantry can crouch! They also scatter around to decrease the incoming fire efficiency. This means what? This means that we need even MORE space. This means we will not even be able to use light infantry in defence of cities. Because tight corridors, close range shooting, these are factors who contributes to making avoiding a melee fight harder.
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There is another ability, which is also useful of course, and can be used both in city defences, or land battles. The skirmishers can deploy stakes so that they can block incoming cavalry charge. This, tactic of deploying stakes, prevents the 90 of the cavalry from breaking through and reaching the skirmishers. So it is a good way to make the enemy cavalry crush into these stakes, to kill them. However, you need some time to deploy these stakes, set them on the ground. Some time and free space to do it. Also that yo can only do it once in every battle which means you have to be careful where you use it. Accordingly, we have learned that we should not be picking cliff regions or river crossings or letting our skirmishers stay in cities to defend in case any enemy force besieges the city. They are skirmishers after all. They need to fire, and retreat, keep the distance. They have longer range, so practically, they can kill all the enemy without getting hurt. Use them well.
