Civil War Battles - Optional Rules Guide 1.3(4.04.1)

[Havoc]

"...you'll find that not only did you stand up to their rush -that once it comes time for you to take a shot at them in your own offensive fire phase in the next turn -things don't generally turn out so well for the guy that tried to go you initially." - Supports my belief that your fire is not as effective till you can fire offensively.

Infantry in defensive positions should be able to wreak havoc (no pun intended) on advancing enemy infantry, not 'plink' them randomly, then sustain heavy casualties when the massed enemy regiments stop and fire. Watch your replays and then again when you fire and maneuver. You'll see that firing offensively have a much greater impact than defensive fire, as the defensive fire is individual, random in it's response, and weaker. Attackers can mass the fire of multiple units when they do finally fire, which helps negate the penalties for moving. Granted, this is not an absolute and there are instances, based upon quality and state of organization, where the total defensive fires are effective. But generally, I find them to be weak in comparison to the results gained by offensive fire.

I inflict the most casualties during the fighting when my units fire offensively. This means, as stated in the previous post by trauth116, that if you are defending, your line must survive the initial rush of your opponent, pass morale checks, then fire offensively in your following turn. If you are in a position where you must give ground constantly to delay the enemy, or avoid being enveloped/overrun, then you end up giving poor responses in your return fire each turn. Returning fire without moving requires the defender to stay in position to get the full effect. Pulling back increases the range and reduces the effect. Simple logic:

Attacker: Advance to point blank and fire = Take random, weakened, individual unit fire, then fire and inflict heavy casualties on the target unit.
Defender: Retreat back multiple hexes and fire = Take fire retreating, then respond with a weakened volley.

Good example would be in Gettysburg; try defending initially as Buford did historically and you will find your cavalry regiments mauled and overrun by Heth's infantry...

The melee optional rule helped a lot in ending blitz attacks on defensive lines. That, and final fire by the defensive unit, restores some of the balance. Historical Civil War battle tactics were defense oriented. Assaulting prepared positions head-on without a heavy advantage in numbers was usually (and horrifically) fatal. If you play without the alternate melee and final defensive fire optional rules and are still suffering more losses than the defender, then IMO you are executing your attack poorly, or chose a poor target for your focus of effort.

I am more than willing to put it to the test against anyone who is willing to play the first day of Gettysburg as the Yankees without the alt melee and final def fire optional rules.