Multiple Cavalry Melees - some observations

[Eckerslyke]

The rule has no effect on the number of melees a cavalry unit may initiate. Charging cavalry may, in the right circumstances, follow through and melee a second unit up to three hexes beyond the original melee, whether the special rule is on or off. The special rule, as I understand it, only permits a cavalry unit to receive more than one melee against it per turn. And I have not yet seen any good reason put forward as to why a unit should receive more than one melee against it in one turn.

Secondly, the clarification you put forward is not accurate. The multiple cavalry melee rule does not permit you to 'melee/push any unit, infantry and cavalry'. It has no effect on infantry.

I'm sorry, but you are wrong about this.

Yes, cavalry can melee multiple times whether the rule is on or not. What the rule does is allow cavalry to melee the same unit, whether infantry or cavalry, more than once in the same turn. So say a column of infantry is caught in the open. With the rule on, cavalry can charge it and, providing it wins the initial melee and is still facing the unit afterwards, attack the same unit again. If the rule was off, the cavalry could only attack that infantry column once, win or lose, in the same turn. You could replace the infantry column with a squadron of cavalry. It does the same thing. With the rule off, the cavalry can only melee it once after its charge. If the rule is on, it could melee the squadron multiple times providing it wins and continues to face the unit.

Thanks for the correction. My initial entry in this thread only concerned itself with the rule's effect on cavalry, as attackers or defenders. It arose from two episodes in a recent battle where extremely unrealistic interactions were permitted by the effect of this rule. I had not witnessed anything like that involving infantry, and in fact I was not aware of that aspect of the rule's effect. So thanks for that additional information.

Just to correct something in your own correction, for the sake of precision, it is my understanding that a cavalry unit cannot actually initiate multiple melees, only a second melee if charging.

In light of another earlier comment about the 'double whammy', I accept that there is case for permitting a charging cavalry unit to have a second melee against the same target unit, or even for a different cavalry unit, possibly non-charging, to follow up.

However, having tried it out myself in light of your information, I am still able to melee repeatedly, with no apparent upper limit, against the same unit of infantry, just like I witnessed happening against cavalry (both mine and my opponents) in that battle.

The problem with playing with the rule off is that it diminishes the power of a charge. The cavalry unit might charge and win the initial melee, but then be left blocked by the defeated until and unable to continue its charge.

I agree that this would be undesirable. However, my experience so far in battling in this environment is that if a rule is amenable to being mis-applied, then that is going to happen sooner or later, however noble the reason for its original introduction. By mis-application in this case, I mean repeated meleeing, seven or eight times against the same unit which would not have happened in a real battle, and which goes beyond the amount of time which the target unit would have in that turn to defend itself and retreat.

Ideally, just as the number of melees a charging cavalry unit may initiate is limited to two, the rule as implemented in the engine should have an upper limit of times a unit may be melee'd against - after all, they only have ten minutes! It should not be unlimited. In the absence of that, then if the rule is to be set ON, a house rule of some kind could be framed which achieves a voluntary limit. To overcome the weakness of charge effects in the standard battle, without requiring units under attack to display superhuman powers of defense and movement.

Perhaps a gentlemen's agreement to have the rule set ON, but not to melee (with one or more friendly units) against the same enemy unit more than twice in the same turn? That would be commensurate with the cavalry's upper limit of two for initiating melee. There might still be extreme situations where a charge would be blocked unfairly as you described above, but they would be less likely to occur.