Pictoral accounts of entertaining (and educational?) match moments!

[Keiichi]

Well, since I'm no good at making entertaining youtubes, there's no replay thread, and since watching other people's replays isn't the most convenient process, I thought I'd just document some amusing highlights. You get to see the best part of the match (and perhaps learn a trick or two), without having to sit through a 15 minute replay!

1.) For tonight, we have some action between myself as France and my honorable opponent as Austria. I have a habit of always attacking my enemy's left flank, and there I found my opponent's Windbuchse Jagers waiting. Using my own skirmishers to draw fire (who lost almost 30 men in short order, damn those airguns!), I charge a unit of Chasseur a Cheval straight in:

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2.) The charge has good results, 15 Jagers are killed, mostly due to the Chasseur's mounted musketry. On the horizon however, my opponent brings in 2 regiments of Hungarian Hussars for a counter charge. "Hooray," exclaim the Jagers, "the cavalry has arrived!"

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3.) "Uh, Captain, I'm glad that our friendly cavalry has arrived to help, but aren't they coming straight at us and awfully fast, too?"

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4.) The 'friendly' charge absolutely decimates the Jagers, sending scores of them flying into the air. 1230 gold down the drain!

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5.) The French Chasseurs have suffered casualties from the charge as well, and take this opportunity to return to friendly lines with the Hungarian Hussars in hot pursuit:

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6.) French Carabinier's are waiting to cover the Chasseur's withdrawal and counter charge the Hussars:

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7.) One regiment of Hussars is completely annihilated in combat with the heavily armored Carabiniers:

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8.) The second regiment of Hussars has retreated back towards Austrian lines. Shall we go rile them up? Once more unto the breach, brave Chasseurs, charge!

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9.) Run away!

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10.) Counter-charge! (In the background you can see the surviving Chasseurs forming up, I have one more mission for them...)

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11.) Now it is the Hussar's turn to run. Starting their charge with 40 horsemen, only 2 Hussars escape with their lives!

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12.) While the last regiment of Hussars is being cut to pieces, the remaining Chasseurs have been sent to give their regards to the Austrian artillery batteries. With the howitzers frantically reloading, all the Austrian cavalry on the left dead or dying, and with their line fully engaged, there is little to stop the Chasseurs from wreaking havoc.

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13.) Well, there is one thing that can stop them; low morale. Despite winning decisively, the Chasseurs have suffered heavy casualties (only 10 were left to make the charge on the Austrian guns) and are deep behind enemy lines. When the artillery men manage to bring down one French horseman, the Chasseurs break and run. They have, however, managed to rout two batteries and forced the third to abandon their guns. My opponent is too distracted to notice and fails to have them re-man their guns. In the meantime, the 18th Regiment of Fusiliers has already begun to march down the Austrian left flank and has begun rolling up the Austrian line. Ah, I love the sight of abandoned enemy artillery!

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14.) With no cavalry and no artillery to impede them, the Carabiniers are now free to play with the Austrian line infantry. Look how well they get along!

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What are the key lessons from this match moment? First, don't charge friendly cavalry through your own men, it's not healthy for them. It's okay to simply run cavalry through your lines, but once they enter their charging state (which occurs a few seconds before they make contact with the enemy), anything in their way will be stampeded.

Second, if things looks bad for your cavalry, run away! Don't sit and try to fight it out in vain. Retreat to friendly lines, have support waiting, and punish your opponent's cavalry if he fails to withdraw in time. Yes, you will likely take some serious losses when you turn your back to the enemy, but you will have a good chance of saving the regiment. Even a heavily depleted cavalry unit is still a serious threat that cannot be ignored. This is why it's so important to try to avoid sending cavalry on long range, solitary missions. Without support, they cannot withdraw safely and are more likely to rout sooner on account of being isolated from the main army.

I'm sure most everyone here is familiar with these lessons, but I can pretend to be helpful, right?

[TheAussieDigger]

that was surprisingly entertaining

[Spectre11B]

Wow, nice work Keiichi. That's a great idea. This would help a lot if everyone did this (not necessarily to this extent), but it would really let people see exactly what you're talking about.

I have a bad habit of grouping my Mounted Cazadores and Hussars, and clicking on the enemy to attack it. What happens is, my Hussars continue with the charge, and the M.C.'s stop to take aim, and shoot my hussars right in the back. Makes me groan every time I do it.

[Leoben]

I have the exact same thing happening to me, Spectre, only with two regiments of chasseurs à cheval. Makes me wonder how some players can think that there is no friendly fire.

Entertaining report, how did you take screenshots like this? From the game or with something else? And did you use something special to get the camera so close to the action?

[Keiichi]

Wow, nice work Keiichi. That's a great idea. This would help a lot if everyone did this (not necessarily to this extent), but it would really let people see exactly what you're talking about.

Thanks (and to Aussie as well)! Yeah, if anyone else wants to contribute little stories then please feel free. Always nice to see small snippets of tactics in action against human opponents (especially since the game is so visually appealing). I'll try to add one daily myself.

I have a bad habit of grouping my Mounted Cazadores and Hussars, and clicking on the enemy to attack it. What happens is, my Hussars continue with the charge, and the M.C.'s stop to take aim, and shoot my hussars right in the back. Makes me groan every time I do it.

Excellent advice, I have made the exact same mistake several times. I once lost 15 Carabiniers due to running a regiment of Chasseurs with them, I almost cried! People should also be aware that even if you turn off 'Fire at Will,' once you give a charge/melee order missile cavalry will resume firing at will.

Entertaining report, how did you take screenshots like this? From the game or with something else? And did you use something special to get the camera so close to the action?

Glad you liked it! I used FRAPs to take the screenshots, and I used the 'N' key to zoom in on the action. The 'N' key will also display everything at full detail, no matter how far it is from the camera. Impossible to play that way, but it makes for some pretty screenshots .

[daniu]

Great shots, almost forgot yours were the best in ETW already

Especially love the flying Jägers one:

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While the guy in front shows off his insane breakdance skill to the cavalryman, the guys in the back make a desperate leap over the onrushing horses.

[vanadis]

Nice tip and great effort on the story and pics mate

[Soveriegn]

RUN AWAY!!

[Keiichi]

Here is a scene from a battle on 'Prussian Hills' with myself as France and my opponent once again being Austria (I fight Austria more than any other nation, for some reason ). Here is the situation: I've occupied the western most portion of the ridge. My opponent has sent the majority of his units in an easterly direction towards the center of the ridge, but is now swinging to the west to confront me, meaning my left flank is in danger of being overwhelmed.

1.) As I rush a regiment of Old Guard to hold my left, my opponent is marching 2 regiments of fresh Hungarian Fusiliers to meet them. This is a good idea; as elite as they are the Guard could potentially be overwhelmed by the combined fire of two well trained regiments. If the Guard can't hold the flank, my entire line could collapse:

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2.) Well, this is odd. The Hungarians are well within musket range, yet still they march on...

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3.) With a gallant cry, the Austrian officer raises his sword and orders a bayonet charge!

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4.) Rather than being intimidated, the Guard breaks out in cheer as they rush downhill to meet the Hungarian charge:

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5.) The counter-charge of the Guard devastates the leading regiment of Hungarians:

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6.) A regiment of French Fusiliers joins the melee from the right:

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7.) Unable to best the Guard in close combat, and now being attacked on their flank, the Hungarians break and run. 240 Hungarians went into the attack, and more than 200 were cut down. In comparison, the Guard lost 6 men while the supporting French Fusiliers lost 3.

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8.) While the Hungarians are being repelled from my left flank, on my right flank the 18th Regiment of Line (supported by the 6th Light Regiment) is holding out against 2 depleted regiments of Hungarians and a Jager. The battle is favoring the French, but the 18th has been engaged nearly the entire battle and its ammunition supply is dangerously low. More support is on the way, but will it get there in time? Determined to hold the Austrians in place, the French officer orders the men of the 18th to advance!

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9.) The 90 remaining men of the 18th charge approximately 150 Austrians head on! Will the French be slaughtered as the Hungarians were on the left flank? In the distance you can see French Fusiliers rushing to provide support:

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10.) The melee is fierce, and men on both sides fall quickly. French Fusiliers come into supporting range and begin to pour fire directly into the massive brawl. Note how my Fusiliers are firing directly behind the melee. Normally, I do not recommend this as friendly fire will cut down many of your own men, leading them to rout even faster. If you want to fire into a melee where friendly troops are engaged, you should try to position your men so that they are perpendicular to the melee. This lessens the chance of friendly fire by a large margin. I did not expect the 18th to last much longer, however, so I did not think that I would have time to achieve an optimal firing position:

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11.) My expectations are happily proved wrong! Under fire, faced with stiff resistance from the 18th and the sudden death of the Austrian general, the Austrians turn and run in terror! Only 25 men of the 18th survive, but they have managed to successfully rout a larger force. Note the four Austrian howitzers in the distance :

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So the lesson here is that bayonet charges work, but only when properly supported (just like every other form of attack). Times when you should never charge are when moving uphill and especially when facing the Old Guard. A counter-charge downhill will destroy any uphill charge. Do not have infantry charge the Old Guard in any situation unless you are commanding Russian troops; only Russian troops stand a fair chance against the Guard in a melee.

My opponent here had a chance for victory, but squandered it in an ill-advised, unsupported bayonet charge. Considering how much he had invested in artillery, essentially throwing away two regiments of Hungarian Fusiliers was a real killing blow to his army. Conversely, I charged the 18th Regiment into an unfavorable situation, but with the goal of occupying the enemy long enough for supporting units to get into position. Equally important was the fact that the 18th was evenly matched in terms of melee stats with the Austrian troops, this meant that they could at least put up a reasonable fight. The arrival of French support and the death of the Austrian general tipped the balance and allowed the 18th to stand triumphant!

[Keiichi]

Due to various distractions, I haven't been playing as much as I would like to, but when I get the chance I've been trying to find reasons to bring cannon over howitzers. Sure there's the range advantage of cannon, but the ease of use and destructive power of howitzers far outweighs that, in my opinion. So what tactics can we execute with cannon that will make them useful? Here is one possibility.

The map is yet again Prussian Hills, with my opponent as Russia this time. As usual, I move to occupy the western ridge which is on my right flank. Seeing this, my opponent makes an ill-advised cavalry charge against my advancing troops with two units of Uhlans:

1.) Moving uphill part of the way and through a thick forest, the charge of the Uhlans is dreadfully slow, allowing me to intercept (and quickly rout) one regiment with my Carabiners:

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2.) The second regiment of Uhlans successfully breaks through to the 6th Light Infantry Regiment. Though I did have a unit of lancers on standby, I did not want to send them into a counter-charge for fear of killing my own men.

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3.) The supporting French line infantry are able to quickly repel the Russians, with only moderate losses to the 6th Regiment:

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4.) At this point, I have absolutely no enemy cavalry threatening my right flank. I use this opportunity to race my horse artillery forward, escorted by the 6th Regiment and cavalry. Note, however, that my opponent did bring two 20lb Unicorns (of course ) and I was careful to first ensure that he was not targeting my cannon by threatening him with movements on his center and right flank. Howitzers can make short of work of horse artillery (limbered or not), so it's important to distract enemy fire while you get into position:

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5.) My goal is to place myself in direct alignment with the Russian left flank, so that he is pretty much forced to begin moving his troops, which up until this point happily idling by the Unicorns. If he didn't move, I could fire round shot down the length of his entire line. As you can see he has begun to advance units to meet my cannon. The units on his left flank consist of two Lifeguards with two chevrons each, and two Musketeers supported by a Unicorn with three chevrons:

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6.) While the Russian Musketeers are quickly stopped by my center regiments, the Lifeguards continute to move on my right flank. One unit of Lifeguards is baited by my skirmishers into engaging with my line, and is repelled in short order. In the background, you can see the second regiment of Lifeguards continue to advance towards my cannon:

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7.) In the meantime, the second regiment of Lifeguards has come under fire from first the 6th Regiment, and then from punishing canister fire. Note the Carabiners keeping a watchful eye from a distance, I have lancers further stationed to the right of the cannon (3 images in this spoiler):

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8.) The instant the last cannon fires, I send my lancers into the fray:

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9.) With little choice, the Lifeguards form square, at which point I immediately order a withdrawal. While they are in square, another round of canister sails through the Russian ranks:

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10.) As the lancers retreat, the Russians break square formation and try to charge the cannon. The lancers however, have bought enough time for the 6th Regiment to reload their muskets, and for the artillerymen to reload their cannon. The guns open fire the moment the Russians come out of square and the effect is devastating (2 images):

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11.) A second charge by the lancers permanently routs the Lifeguards from the field (2 images):

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By this point, the Russian left flank is pretty much shattered, and I am able to roll up his line with ease.

A bit of a boring account this time, but it shows one possible application of horse-drawn cannon. The key to the success of this tactic is to fix in place as much of the enemy army as possible. Then, bring the cannon into a highly threatening position that forces the enemy army to maneuver, which leaves them vulnerable. If you cannot punish the enemy for moving, this tactic will fail as the enemy will be able to move enough men into position to overwhelm your cannon.

Coordination is important, as is ensuring that enemy cavalry cannot interfere. A generous cavalry escort is usually enough to repel any attackers short of a large, coordinated infantry/cavalry attack, though such a serious effort would likely leave a gaping whole in the enemy line for you to exploit. A serious threat comes in the form of enemy rifles, which means that at least one unit of infantry must share in the escort duties.

[Timox]

This is definitely a very poor use of the unicorns. No matter the threat the firing order is: artillery in counter-fire proximity, heavy cavalry, elite infantry, etc. You need to fire two unicorns with targeting once to dispatch horse arty and second time to punish carabineers for getting into range.

[TheAussieDigger]

its always much better i find to go after elite inf instead of elite cav

explosive shot is nowhere near as effective against cav as inf

great job again keiichi
u should do some more of these

[daniu]

its always much better i find to go after elite inf instead of elite cav

explosive shot is nowhere near as effective against cav as inf

I tend to disagree...
You don't get as many kills against cav, but you still kill more value per shot (due to the smaller units of cav).
Anyway, IMHO, both cav and inf make better howitzer targets than opponent's artillery (at least when unlimbered).
So, my targeting order would be: cav, elite inf, inf, artillery.
Not sure about unicorns, but I assume it's the same.

[Keiichi]

Definitely agree with you Timox, my opponent could have put his Unicorns to much better use. I did outnumber his army by almost 500 men however, so perhaps he was trying to even the odds as best he could. Like I said in the account, I was careful to keep my cavalry and cannon out of Unicorn range until I felt I could take a chance (with relative safety) to rush them to his flanks.

@AussieDigger
I appreciate the kind words . I hate to say it but I make these for my own benefit as much as anything, simply because I like taking interesting screenshots, so I'm glad other people get a kick out of it too. In this case, it was just an excuse to take pictures of people getting shot by canister . I do, however, try to make an effort of showing something that can at least be mildly helpful (for a beginner, anyways).

I'm a bit conflicted between shooting howitzers at elite inf or elite cav. I like shooting at elite infantry simply because they're usually flanked on both sides by other regiments, so even if you miss the elites, you have a good chance of hitting one of those flanking units. I also like how they're generally stationary or slow moving targets, so there's little risk of me becoming distracted and then returning to find that I'm launching shells into my own men which have been engaged by the enemy cavalry. That being said, if enemy cavalry has been massed together or are close to the enemy line (so that 'misses' can still hit etc.) I'll definitely aim for them. It's all very situational I suppose.

[Timox]

Great topic by the way. Would like to see more pictures of people shot by canister. Or a lancer charge into Austrian machine-gunners.

[Keiichi]

Great topic by the way. Would like to see more pictures of people shot by canister. Or a lancer charge into Austrian machine-gunners.

Been trying to get some good canister shots (I had a great replay where my cannon got 200 kills, but it got totally borked with the recent patch ), but lately my cannon just haven't seen much action! Still working on that lancer charge against the machine gunners . For today however, I wanted to document a very unusual type of player which I call 'the runner.' Let's take a look.

Once again I am France while my opponent is the Ottomans. He has his men placed in a very effective formation, with a line of Palestinian Auxiliaries (high morale militia) followed by regiments of Cemaat Janissary (melee troops) and finally a line of Nizam Infantry. When used aggressively, this formation can be very dangerous.

1.) Seeing an opportunity, I charge the rear of a regiment of Nizam Infantry on his far right flank:

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2.) He forms square to repel my Hussars:

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3.) I've prepared for this however, and have moved a regiment of Young Guard supported by Voltigeurs into firing position. As he comes out of square, one regiment of Nizam Infantry is shot to pieces:

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4.) The Nizam regiment routs; this is pretty basic stuff so far. But here's where things get kinda... interesting. My opponent turns his entire army around and retreats:

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5.) I send my cavalry back into action and catch a regiment of Palestinian Auxiliaries in the rear (note the position of his general on the top left, and its position in the following screenshot):

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6.) "General, another unit has been routed! What should we do??" "RUN AWAY!!!"

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7.) And so it went; I rout one regiment, he retreats his entire army. My skirmishers open fire on a regiment, he retreats his entire army. Eventually I outnumber him so badly I am able to essentially envelop his entire army. It's a total slaughter:

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It seems ridiculous, but these types of players are not uncommon. I cannot fathom what their plan is, but I will say that whenever a friendly unit routs, it should rout with a purpose. By this I mean that the routing unit should have achieved some objective to your overall plan of attack. Did that unit of cavalry rout, but disrupt the enemy line such that you are able to get in the first volley? Did that line regiment rout under heavy fire, but hold the line long enough for you to successfully destroy the enemy's elsewhere? This is routing with a purpose.

Ideally, you want to be able to be able to anticipate when a unit is in danger of breaking, and then take steps to prevent that. Here is an example:

1.) While holding my far right flank, this regiment of Prussian Foot Guards has seen extremely heavy action. Defeating first French cavalry, then an assault by the Old Guard. Finally, they have just successfully repelled a bayonet charge by French Fusiliers:

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2.) At this point, there are only 40 Prussians left standing in the regiment. My opponent moves a fresh regiment of Guard Seamen to break my right flank:

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3.) While my line is shaky, I do have one regiment of understrength lancers and one fresh regiment of Cuirassiers that is being redirected from my left flank. Yet I cannot simply throw them against the elite French Guards, as there's a good chance my cavalry would be routed and the French would then be able to freely move on my flank. But, I have a plan. First, I send my remaining lancers headlong into the French Guards:

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4.) The brave lancers are annihilated. First by musketry, which kills all but four of the lancers, and then by French bayonets.

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5.) The lancers did manage to kill a few Frenchmen, but more importantly they have given time for the Prussian Guards to move into a close range firing position and for my Cuirassiers to redeploy on my right. The Prussians are able to fire a very effective volley into the French ranks:

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6.) With the French distracted by my Guardsmen, this is the perfect time to send my Cuirassiers into action. Some people will tell you to never charge bayonet armed infantry head-on. I think even one of the loading screen 'tips' tells you that...

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7.) Well, they're wrong. You may take a few casualties when the charge connects, but they will be negligible. These Cuirassiers lost only three horsemen. What you do need to be wary of is friendly fire. Any units firing on the target of the charge should be told to hold fire, or your cavalry will suffer heavily to friendly fire. Just remember to set them back to fire at will once your cavalry withdraws!

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With the morale bars in NTW, it's easy to identify when a unit is close to routing, so you should never be surprised when a unit begins to rout. If a unit is in danger of routing, have a plan of action prepared to react to that. Identify why your men are wavering and plan accordingly. If a unit routs, and you simply disengage from the fight, then what have you accomplished? You have lost a regiment for no reason. If a unit has been purposely put into a situation where it may rout, there needs to be a very good reason why you placed them there!

[Timox]

At this point, there are only 40 Prussians left standing in the regiment. My opponent moves a fresh regiment of Guard Seamen to break my right flank.

The Seamen joke is gonna stick for a while.
Keep the accounts coming.

[daniu]

The Seamen is gonna stick for a while.

FTFY.

[Keiichi]

The Seamen joke is gonna stick for a while.
Keep the accounts coming.

That's why I tried to refer to them as just 'Guards'!