Best Time To Charge?

[Al_Ka_Pwn]

When is the best time to charge with infantry into bayonet combat, and when is the best time to just shoot it out with the enemy?

Should it be like just shoot until you have more people and then charge? or shoot until you have less people and then charge and have someone else start shooting into the enemy or what?

Is there an advantage to meleeing over shooting it out?

[coman]

Certain unit types excel at bayonet combat. Mainly grenadiers, which is what they are made for. It's important that you have traded a volley or two at the enemy. If you get the first volley off and then charge, you'll see devastating effect as receiving fire causes shock. If two or more units fire on a third, keep the first unit towards the enemy to pin them with a second volley and receive their scattered fire, then move the second unit up to an oblique flank position and charge them in.

This can be done in general line fighting, just make sure you don't move your flanking company to where their backs are exposed to enemy fire. Will break their morale with one or two volleys.

coman

[Reddington]

So it's beneficial to have your charging unit taking fire from the enemy?

[Homeros]

Never charge before the enemy is already at the breaking point. Musket fire at close range is extremely deadly. Historically, charges pretty much never ended in melee fighting. If the enemy's morale was sufficiently shattered a charge was enough to rout the enemy. If they didn't rout it meant certain death to those charging.

[The Sundance Kid]

Charge just after an enemy volley. It means that you should engage before they reload - if they reload and you're close, but not in combat, their volley will decimate you.

[Brocktree]

(sorry, posted to early, ill repost when done. Stupid keyboard ><)

[Brocktree]

Well, if i were going to charge, id have it like so (dots represent units. Im pretending unit size consists of 20 ea.)

.......... .......... .......... .......... ..........
.......... .......... .......... .......... ..........


So two ranks deep. Have these be either lights or line. They will skirmish (if you will) with the line. Behind them, have the units you will charge in blocks. either 5 wide four deep, or four wide five deep.

..... ....
..... ....
..... ....
..... ....
___ ....

Id prefer four, and have several units lined up next to each other. They will take less overall casualties (provided they all fire at once, the front line will absorb most of the damage sorta like meat shields) and then if you charge them through the middle or the flank (make sure its right after the enemy has fired), you can rerout your firing line to where your charging men are not and continue firing while they either march to engage your troops already engaged (and possibly take flank fire which doesnt make them very happy) and then, if you want, just throw them in behind.


Fighting an equal force, normal AI (though that doesnt say much) it worked very nicely for me. If you get different results, tell me.


Also, this tactic doesnt account for cavalry. =P



Note: I was playing as austria, on small, so the charging lines best choices were 4 wide to 7 wide (in my opinion)

2 deep still rocks.

[J. Fishman]

The best time to charge is when they are charging you. Wait until they start to charge, then as they get close, charge back. Otherwise, in most cases, you should simply continue to fire.

[ckangas]

Otherwise, some units (such as militia) have very poor morale/melee stats. Closing the gap with line infantry can often be a big benefit in these situations. Personally, I prefer to take fire at will off, charge, stop right before your line reaches them, fire a volley, then charge again.

[Hebrew_Hero]

I rarely charge, I find it much more effective to use modern squad tactics. One regiment pins the enemy down in combat preferring the tip of the enemy formation so it would look like \ -- the dash being lower and further away and the lines representing the enemy first rank. It gives you full fireing advantage, and keeps the enemy under fire while they hastilly reform to meet you line for line, while they do that a regiment behind the first, fireing regiment should take a position on the first ones shoulder, so to face the enemy line for line as if they had never moved so theyd look like == but further apart. This tactic normally decimates an enemy regiment, Even more so if both ranks can fire. If you cant engage them in this fashion, then the traditional method works, but costs more lives on your side. Which is meeting the enemy face to face and having another regiment face the enemys direct flank. If you are charged, its best to move the flanking regiment behind the melee, to either charge the rear if your, a nice general. or fire into the melee mess, if your a mean general like me. Firing at the enemy from behind whilst they are in melee costs them many lives and you probally will hit your own guys too. I structure my armys with the worst unit forward cause more often then not your engaging the enemy in traditional manner, and the militia's or conscripts job is to get shot, rather then to do the killing.

[gonzo90806]

only time i charge is when im out of ammo or when i want to toss some grenades into the enemy formations. Those grenades can kill a ton of troops

[guerra]

No, don't charge your infantry. Keep your lines neat, keep firing at them. Charge with cavalry at the flanks.

If they charge you, THEN you should charge back, because the longer the distance of the charge, the more disorganized the line gets. The shorter the charge, the stronger the line, and the better the melee will go. Also. You want them to charge you so you can fold your flank infantry into them, routing them.

You charging infantry at them isn't what I would recommend for assymetrical battles. If however, they have some skirmishers and you have line infantry, CHARGE them. But not if it's line vs line. Let them charge first

[Al_Ka_Pwn]

Charge just after an enemy volley. It means that you should engage before they reload - if they reload and you're close, but not in combat, their volley will decimate you.

Is there any minimum amount of shots you want to trade before you charge? Or should it be like bang, bang CHAARRRGE! or trade for awhile and then charge.

[J. Fishman]

There is no strict minimum number of shots to trade, although it would make sense that unless you are charging into an existing melee, you want to at least fire the shot that you currently have loaded in your guns. Otherwise, see this list of appropriate times to charge:
1. You have no ammo.
2. You are being charged.
3. Your enemy's relative melee abilities are far inferior to their relative ranged abilities(cannons, etc.).
4. You wish to prevent them from firing on another unit by charging a crippled or expendable unit into them, so that other units can continue to fire on them anyway.
5. You have nothing else you can safely shoot at because all targets are engaged in melee with units that will be hit if you fire into the melee (and you don't want this to happen).

[SoftCrustPizza]

I agree to stick with modern tactics. Line infantry is devestating with Fire by Rank, and keeping your lines straight and keeping Fire at Will on will tear the enemy apart.

That being said, there are situations where I welcome a charge. If you are up against militia and you already wiped their line infantry or it is still way back, charging can break militia easily. Also, if I have grenediers I will put them on the enemy rear flank and charge. They can tear apart morale, especially with your line infantry still throwing volleys at them. Lastly, if my line infantry runs out of ammo I will send them into charge and them replace a fresh unit of line infantry in their place. I always keep up a steady line of fire though, even if it means FF casualties.

But mostly, I keep charging reserved for my cav on the enemy flank.

SCP