Each unit has a little blue bar
that shows its current fatigue
levels. When the blue is entirely
gone the unit will not run even if
you order them too. Walking
infantry helps them recover after a
short time. Its definitely not a
good idea to tell your infantry to
run to an objective and then tell
them to charge the enemy. The
charge will be a walk if you did
that. So make sure you give your
men plenty of rest before asking
them to run twice over any
distance.
Buildings, forests and other
objects allow you to move troops
into them. This gives them a cover
bonus against attacks from outside
and some advantages against attacks
from inside too. Be warned though,
not all buildings allow you to
shoot back at the same rate the
enemy can shoot in. Sometimes you
will find the lack of windows or
doors simply makes it impossible
for your men to shoot back at all.
Forests are a little different, if
you move troops into a forest then
each man in the unit will take up
positions behind a tree. So you get
some advantages here.
If you move some troops around the
side of the enemy out of sight the
AI does not appear to know they are
there. So it is possible to launch
a surprise Cavalry attack on one of
the enemy flanks. Like wise you can
do this in the open so they can be
seen deliberately to make an enemy
move troops to protect that flank
whilst you engage them head on.
This works rather well against the
AI.
Hills also offer some advantages it
appears. For starters they slow any
unit climbing them down and take
the sting out of a charge quickly.
They also appear to extend the
range of your cannon and muskets.
Just becareful when firing cannon
at units climbing the hill because
even if your cannon are higher than
your own infantry and the target is
also on the hill then your own
infantry will get hit by the cannon
balls.
Cannon are good are firing over the
heads of your infantry if the
target is not on the hill yet.
Speaking of cannon, the AI will
pull back or charge once it
realizes its within your cannon
range. So its best to make a few
test shots to get the range then
stop. The next time you fire will
be when the enemy gets within range
of your cannon and you can let rip
with all barrels before they can
react. The moment the cannons have
hit its best to stop them firing
them move your musket men up in
front of them to protect them from
any charge that may occurs.
If an AI army has lots of cannon
and you allow them to get setup and
start shooting then your dead. No
two ways about it. However if they
do have a lot of cannon then that
cannon will usually be the unit at
the back of their army. So its
possible to sneak around the back
of their force with Cavalry and
take them out in charge the Light
Brigade would be proud of. Though
this usually turns out to be
suicide, it can win you the battle. |
