HPS Series Cavalry and other mysteries - Printable Version +- Forums (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards) +-- Forum: The Firing Line (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Black Powder & Cold Steel (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=163) +---- Forum: The Napoleonic Wars (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=165) +---- Thread: HPS Series Cavalry and other mysteries (/showthread.php?tid=51936)

HPS Series Cavalry and other mysteries - Steel God - 06-27-2009 Would some kind soul explain Cavalry 101 to me for the HPS Nappy series? I have watched repeatedly while my opponents use their cavalry to great effect, attacking my units of all kinds and achieving lopsided kill ratios, while I have never managed to win a cavalry attack of my own against anything other than undefended artillery units. And by win I don't mean just pushing a defending unit out of a hex. I've managed that, but usually while sustaining at least equal if not higher losses. I charge when possible. I add leaders into the stacks. I work to achieve flank attacks and rear attack. I try for numerical advantage. And still, time and again I take 100 or so casualties while inflicting a handful and getting no where. And I've been playing the French so we're talking about B, A and A+ quality units. What am I doing wrong? My great frustration with this series so far is the complete lack of any numbers on the counters. Here's a battalion of troops, here's the number of men in the battalion, here's what they are armed with, and here's their quality. A great history lesson to be sure, but what does it mean in game terms? How many combat factors does that unit produce? When I play PzC I see a unit has an attack value of 8 and has 100 men, I know it's got roughly 800 attack value before modifiers. makes sense, I can count and make a plan of attack. In Nappy (and I suspect ACW is the same way although I haven't played with it yet) I see none of that. It's just stick a battalion in and see what you get. Anyone care to share some knowledge on this subject as well? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time. Paul RE: HPS Series Cavalry and other mysteries - rahamy - 07-14-2009 Paul, Some basic comments for you: When charging, only do so with good order Heavy troopers or lance equipped units. Leave your standard saber carrying light units for reconnaissance and the like. Try to avoid charging against squares (which negate your charge bonus) and also large battalions in Line formation - which pose a considerable obstacle - not to mention the ability to let loose with a volley or two thereby depleting & possibly disrupting your force prior to contact. As you noted, hitting a unit in the flank or rear should help, especially when they are in column formation. Try to bring at least 2:1 odds to the table if at all possible in your charge. Charge along a broad front where possible, sewing disorder & possibly rout along a front of troops...much better than hitting a single point & then getting surrounded by their neighbors and decimated in the subsequent turn. Beyond that, a game file would be needed to comment more I think... RE: HPS Series Cavalry and other mysteries - jonnymacbrown - 01-21-2010 Cavalry get a 3x charge bonus against infantry (except units in square, then it's 1 to 1). So if you have 300 cavalry charging against infantry it will be, in effect 900. Any skirms in the way will be overrun. It's a lot like PzC games in that you want to wait for the enemy to be disordered. A good way to do that is to attack the enemy infantry with infantry and arty and then follow up with a cavalry assault. Assault the enemy infantry with a melee assault which will disorder the enemy, then hit them with cavalry. I have to disagree with the fellow who said use light cavalry only for scouting. Considering the French Army usually has 10-20 thousand light cavalry that will be a lot of boys sitting around doing nothing. Most games should be played allowing only one infantry melee attack per turn as we don't want to begin applying panzer tactics to these games. But the same enemy infantry unit can be hit multiple times by first infantry, then light cavalry then the heavies. Many lifetimes ago I was the (in)famous Prinz von Egan and you can still view some of my articles on Napoleonic computer wargaming, for example: ARMY COMMAND & STRUCTURE for BEGINNERS http://nap.phxsim.com/articles/c_and_c/index1.html The articles cover the French Prussian and English armies in the 100 days campaign. They were written for Talonsoft games but the HPS titles use very similar mechanics so the articles are still relevant. They aren't really for beginners but rather for fellows like yourself who are panzer commanders thrust into the early 19th century and somewhat at a loss, for lack of a better metaphor. I got some hate mail and this closing paragraph from the above might tell you why: "Finally, you'll probably be faced with a mechanized infantry attack, i.e. the type of assault where the French player cranks up all units, gets 'em on the roads to close everywhere as soon as possible and attacks everywhere all at once hoping for a quick decision figuring that he's gonna lose anyway if the attack fails and the Prussians arrive. It's not Napoleonics but rather generic wargaming (the field could be anywhere; the units on the east front; it's the panzerblitz mentality spawned by games with short duration spans and quick resolutions) and it's your choice as to whether or not you want to play against it. As wargaming goes it's an effective attack but it's not the kind of military movements which were customary in the 19th Century. If you're interested in Napoleonics, look for opponents who wish to re-create the mood & movements of a Napoleonic battle rather then just win baby." Your old pal Prinz von Egan