REVISED ENGAGE ORDER
All,
ENGAGE
This order may only be issued to Infantry or Artillery brigades or mixed brigades.
Cavalry Brigades (i.e. consisting soley of cavalry or cavalry and horse artillery) may not be issued an Engage order.
DB
Am working my way through your suggested rules amendments...........
Your proposal sort of makes sense since cavalry units / brigades would either be held as either a reserve or would be in support of another formation.
Am working my way through your suggested rules amendments...........
Your proposal sort of makes sense since cavalry units / brigades would either be held as either a reserve or would be in support of another formation.
This is true of a large battle, but the scale of GdB is smaller. What of those circumstances where you may wish to pin enemy infantry to give your own forces time to manoeuvre? This is an ideal task for light cavalry, fulfilling their screening role. Support or attack orders are not adequate for this.
Ants
Hi DCR
Would you please look at my earlier question on 'engage' orders that I posted a few weeks ago.
No one replied.
Ceara
I tend to agree with Ants on this; engage would be a useful order for light (or possibly occasionally heavy) cavalry in order to enable them to "pin" enemy units, much as the French right flank cavalry did at Ligny, but on a much smaller scale.
I echo the above coments re pinning sown the enemy.
At last year's Waterloo game, I had the dubious pleasure of commanding the French extreme right - basically Durutte's infantry divison and Jaquinot's cavalry. When the hordes of Prussians arrived, the only thing that stopped them from steamolling over the remnants of my infantry was the Cavalry divison which was put on engage orders and, by moving backwards, slowly and keeping at least one unit within Charge distance, I effectively pinned down the Prussians, giving my battered infantry time to withdraw and form a new battle line. This worked until the Prussian cavalry arrived, which then faced off my cavalry, leaving the Prussian infantry free to forge ahead.
Struck me as very realistic and more realistic than having to choose between assualt or retreat orders.
O
Perhaps for light cavalry there should be a "Pin" order. This allows them to move towards the enemy, possibly charge (1 unit only as per support or engage orders), but with an option to fall back if under heavy artillery fire of if superior cavalry approach (this would be in terms of being outnumbered in units or if enemy are heavy cavalry).
Ants
All,
Noted.
Your counter-arguments are persuasive - I'm inclined to leave as is.
DB