Fire and Advance

[Ebusitanus]

You can study this tech for your infantry and even activate it when researched. But I have no idea what good is there supposed to come from it. When activated my inf lines start to move on their own, throwing off good firing angles and loosing the firing sequence. How is this advancement supposed to be used?

[Mechstra]

It's not to be used all the time, and really it is very situational. It's best for reducing the distance your men need to charge with the bayonet - give three volleys and then charge. But then, you can do that without Fire and Advance perfectly well, as Fire and Advance necessitates the infantry spreading out slightly to let the ranks pass through each other. Eh. Not that great.

[Gora sahib]

As it stands Fire&Advance has limited use in campaign mode and nearly zero use in multiplayer. The most effective use Ive found for F&A is if you can position a unit to enfilade (flank fire) on an enemy line, you can then fire and advance down their line. I think this way you can help break units because you are not only advancing along their flank, but you are also firing.

The down side to F&A, as its currently in game, is the awkward skirmish formation that your unit adopts - it takes too long to get in and out of this formation and makes you vulnerable to melee. If your unit would retain its 'tight' formation and would just enter into F&A (which is more historically accurate) it would be a far more valuable tactic.

[WeardLan]

I had fun with it last night, smashing the Spanish.

I was attacked by a 2/3 mixed stack which was being reinforced by a full stack of cav/inf
I had the hill advantage, so set my mortar/howitzers to rain death with the inf/cav supporting them and forgot that reinforcements come in the 'wrong side'

I disabled F@W, enabled FaA , arranged 3 unit of line 3 ranks deep to face the incoming Spanish reinforcements, put 1 unit of grenadiers two ranks deep behind them and a regiment of horse on each flank, told them to run into formation. my remains troops continued the hold the line at the battery position.

By the time, they'd got settled the first unit of Spanish infantry was approaching firing range and there were another 5 units of Spanish troops marching on to the field behind them. (in that rather silly column formation)

Enabled F@W, 3 volleys later, I smashed a flank with the cav unit and the few who were left scarpered faster than Ronnie Biggs on his way to Brazil and the next lot were in range. Rinse and repeat, by the time I got to the bottom of the hill I'd lost a few cav, slaughtered 3 spanish infantry and one cav unit, the remaining re-inforcements decided cowardice was better than death and ran for ther hills . And with the cav now at the bottom of the hill, a quick sweep round and charge at the remaining Spanish troops and it was all over.

Great fun.