Re: Military tactics for Empire Total War?
It depends - which faction are you using, who are you fighting, which stage of the campaign are you in and are you using mods?
Here are a few general suggestions to get the discussion going - I'm sorry if I'm telling you things you already know.
As you said, terrain is important. Units can often hide in woods and woods provide a bit of cover from ranged fire.
Flanking can be very effective. If the enemy infantry are in a long line, exchanging fire with your line infantry, and if you can get light infantry are firing along that line from an edge, the enemy are likely to take a lot of casualties. (Some factions can recruit light infantry in the early campaign, at least in North America and others can't - however, most should be able to at least recruit Native Musketmen Auxiliaries in the Americas). Stretching your infantry more thinly (for example, two deep instead of three, or three deep instead of four) reduces casualties and makes it easier to flank the enemy. Stretching your lines more thinly can feel like an exploit, and perhaps it is. However, as I understand it, historical generals sometimes did this - General Wolfe formed his infantry into "two-deep thin red lines" at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham at Quebec in 1759, for example (source).
Cavalry are usually effective when used in rear or flanking charges or against infantry who are moving. Cavalry can usually destroy enemy artillery, which can force the enemy to advance towards you (if you have artillery and they don't), allowing you to trap them as they advance. Your artillery can work well as the point of a 'V' shape (with line infantry along the two sides of the V), drawing the enemy towards your cannon where they'll come into the cross-fire of your infantry and be blasted by canister shot, a devastating combination.
If the enemy have artillery and your cavalry can't reach them (for example because the enemy guns are protected by infantry or superior enemy cavalry), you could move all or most of your army to attack one flank of the enemy. Look carefully at the ground - is there a shallow ridge, hill or forest which could protect your marching troops from enemy artillery fire?
For sea battles, I like to bring a mixture of heavier and lighter ships (such as a mix of frigates and sloops in the early game, or ships of the line and frigates in the late game). I generally have two ways of dealing with a sea battle. One way is to engage the enemy at close range with roundshot in a general melee, concentrating two or three of my ships on one of theirs (until it surrenders, flees, sinks or explodes) and then target another. The other way is to sail my ships back and forth along a line, firing chain shot to cause a 'logjam' of enemy ships which can't move and then using round shot or grapeshot until they surrender. I don't usually try to board enemy vessels - it's more effective to keep firing until they surrender. However, boarding can be a useful way to put a major enemy ship out of action for a short time, at a crucial point. For example, if the enemy has one Second Rate ship ofthe line and a pair of frigates, while I have two Fourth Rates and a pair of frigates, then I could use one Fourth Rate to board the Second Rate (it probably won't win, but it will prevent the Second Rate from doing anything else for a while) while my other Fourth Rate and frigates defeat the enemy frigates. Then my remaining ships can all attack the Second Rate (probably by sailing ahead of it to stay out of its left and right firing arcs, turning occasionally to fire chain-shot and then, when the enemy battleship can't move, closing into rake it until it surrenders.)
Last edited by Alwyn; May 28, 2019 at 09:56 AM.