Your Tactics?

After playing with ETW, and now NTW (Single player) I've realized something.. my tactics don't seem to change. I create line infantry heavy armies (of 8 or 4, depending on the weight of the situation) and focus more on creating lines of battle/positioning to keep the enemy at my front and relying on my infantry to be better than their's. I feel like this is a little primitive (especially since I stretch out my line as far as possible to prevent flanking and most of the action ends up in one spot) and am wondering how you guys build your armies and deploy them

I have not found a great way to make use of Hussars (other than killing off routing enemies to make sure they don't reappear), Heavy Cavalry, Lancers, Carbineers, Light Infantry/Skirmishers (what is the difference between them?) other than flanking the enemy with them while my big infantry line keeps the enemy focused, Grenadiers (other than just using them like Line Infantry..).

This isn't a sleight against NTW, cause I love it.. I'm just wanting to learn more advanced tactics.

I usually group my artillery (depends on the terrain and enemy's expected line of advance) in the centre or on one flank, with line infantry deployed on either side. Light infantry forward and covering the flanks, with heavy cavalry in support. Grenadiers in support of my batteries, and elite infantry and light cavalry in general reserve. That means my army is generally deployed in three lines, with a chance to quickly redeploy if the enemy tries to be clever. I've played ETW and NTW battles only on VH, since even the improved AI needs all the help it can get, and this formation works like a charm. Also nice if I get a few precipitous hills to work into my defences.
In attack, I go for the flanks, always, using my artillery for the hard work. It's not easy if the enemy has a great deal of artillery, but generally I find an opening. Then, when the enemy batteries are suppressed, I send forward the light infantry to thin his lines, and harass his flanks with heavy cavalry. I haven't lost a battle yet in NTW (except for some silly auto-resolves I shouldn't have tried so I think these tactics are fairly effective.

I hope that people add more to this Thread! I would love to learn all about Battle Tactics and formations that were used to make the game more fun.

Originally Posted by maxinstrument

I hope that people add more to this Thread! I would love to learn all about Battle Tactics and formations that were used to make the game more fun.

Yeah me too. I'm just winging it here these days.

If you make a really big thin line, it's very easy for the enemy to focus on one spot and break it.

I usually try and get into melee ASAP, and flank around and rout them with my light cavalry (I have about 5 units in my usual roster)

I kill as many of the enemy as possible and try to lose as little as possible...oh wait.

Who here melee charges the AI very early in the battle?

Originally Posted by spanish_emperor

Who here melee charges the AI very early in the battle?

I tried that once. Didn't turn out very well xD

Well I've been playing Napoleon's battles and the way he deploys his troops are ingenious. You notice he disperses his men every where. Well now I do that usually in large forces, along with howitzers and line infantry and skirmishers, along with 2 units of the most elite cavalry possible. Now the enemy has two choices break up his army and attack the dispersed forces; or attack one force. If he does the first he'll suffer casualties along the way and get killed by line infantry, the second he might win then you can take the other force and surround the enemy and he'll route.
It's pretty efficient. Putting your army in a concentrated line will be susceptible to artillery and out maneuver. Then using Napoleonic tactics to utterly crush the flanks of the enemy.

I usually break my army into sub divisions, and then make a frombidble line. I have 1 unit line, 1 unit artillery, 2 units line, 2 units artillery, 2 units line 1 unit artillery, 1 unit line.

Ill then place 2 units of calvary on each flank, and then send out 2 units of skirmishers to harass enemy line infantry/batteries. My general gets place behind the line along with some reserve forces.

I tend to place howitzers in the far back together with a decent overlook from my general. I mostly have 5 line infantry troops, 5 light infantry troops and if space allows it some fast cavalry. When the action clumps up in one spot I use the line infantry to try and close in around the enemy.. forming a kind of box around them. Meanwhile I pound the hell out of their other troops trying to outflank my maneouvering infantry troops. Usually works. Howitzers blow away enemy morale just like they blow away the enemies themselves. The cavalry I use to harass enemy runners or artillery. This usually works, as I said, at least on N/N games. H/H games is probably best to use other, more refined tactics, which I have yet to develop

Does anyone know why the Square formation button is always greyed out in every game I seem to play? It would be helpful to be able to use it...

I was attacked by a large British force and all that was in my garrison was 3 regiments of light infantry and about 8 regiments of miltia.

I made a line with 6 of the militia and then on each end about a muskets range ahead i had 1 regiment with light infantry behind...
Their cavalry charged those regiments and my light infantry tore them to peices...
without cavalry i could then use those 2 regiments of militia and the 2 of the light infantry regiments to charge the 4 cannons that were giving my line a hard time while it was trying to fend off about 7 regiments of fencibles and the general.

After i'd got rid of the artillery i turned what was left of those forces back to face my line but didn't move them because i saw that the enemys right flank was routing (because i had left a light infantry regiment there) so i turned my flank on that side 90 degrees to my line and had them march down the line hitting every regiment left with a few volleys and routing them... routing them straight into the forces i'd left behind their lines.


Most of my tactics loosely follow this, however if i have my own artillery i'll deploy them on my right flank with light infantry support or in my center.
If i'm defending a town, i garrison light troops in the buildings then build my line infront of the village so if the enemy try to outflank, they end up in a bunch of windy streets being shot at.

If i have enough cavalry, to counter theirs i'll send one way behind their lines so that they chase them and then use another to smash their artillery and then chase their cavalry so we end up surrounding them.

Well, I would consider attacking or defending whether the battlefield terrain allows it. If I'm attacking I would form my infantry into three or five columns with artillery supporting in between them so they could mashup enemy formations so my men can bayonet charge given the chance. If I am defending I would put my elites on the flanks and allow them to fire as many volleys upon the enemy. Artillery will be focused on the flanks as well and once I have fired maybe 2 - 3 volleys I would bayonet charge and flank the enemy with my cavalry.

Red; Defending, Blue; Attacking

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I help the AI to create a better fighting force

I always send an equal-or-smaller force to fight theirs, and I populate it thusly:

2 artillery (sometimes 1 horse artillery and 1 artillery)
3 Line (or 6 if it's a large battle)
1 Light (2 if large)
2 heavy cav
1 cav/light cav

Hmmm some very interesting tactics so far has anyone found double lines to be a good idea or is the friendly fire too much?

Originally Posted by McCarronXLD

Hmmm some very interesting tactics so far has anyone found double lines to be a good idea or is the friendly fire too much?

double lines are cool, but requires a little micromanaging

Best use I've found for double lines is acting as reserve/reinforcement. Kinda like romans used to do in a legion (rotation of tired soldiers). You can deploy 1 line inf (or grenadiers) unit behind another but with fire at will off. When line inf guys upfront start exchanging fire and taking casualties (like from 160 to 100) you can quickly pull them back and order your reserves upfront and click fire at will. With grenadiers (acting as heavy napoleonic infantry) it's even more fun you can order a volley+nades+charge - works like a charm at breaking enemy units.

Originally Posted by Grand Duke Vytautas

double lines are cool, but requires a little micromanaging

Best use I've found for double lines is acting as reserve/reinforcement. Kinda like romans used to do in a legion (rotation of tired soldiers). You can deploy 1 line inf (or grenadiers) unit behind another but with fire at will off. When line inf guys upfront start exchanging fire and taking casualties (like from 160 to 100) you can quickly pull them back and order your reserves upfront and click fire at will. With grenadiers (acting as heavy napoleonic infantry) it's even more fun you can order a volley+nades+charge - works like a charm at breaking enemy units.

Exactly. Keeping a reserve also deals with the AIs love of flanking. There shouldn't be any problem with friendly fire, as 1) the reserves should be deployed just beyond musket range, only moving forward when the first line looks like breaking, and 2) you can always turn off the fire-at-will.

Is anyone else having problems with Square. I cannot seem to square except in Historical battles...

Is it a tech that you have to research before using? I dont know I am only playing mp