Dismounted Cavalry

[The Soldier]

23 minutes ago, veji1 said:

eh that is very wrong... because then why on earth do they bother putting in the real weapon names and stuff, why not add aliens and laser beams ?

Note that I said history should not be the "sole basis for balance" - history can still be used to determine stuff.  Just don't overdo it and make the game unplayable or unenjoyable.

[Hitorishizuka]

39 minutes ago, veji1 said:

eh that is very wrong... because then why on earth do they bother putting in the real weapon names and stuff, why not add aliens and laser beams ????

The point of this game is to have fun playing as a general in the civil war. As all games the first goal is to have fun, but if you can have fun using your cavalry units as they were used at the time rather than having them reenact napoleonic charges, it's better.

But, again, that is not the question that was asked. That's a separate topic for Realism where people can lobby to their heart's content that X is too powerful compared to IRL or whatever else.

To make it really obvious, let me change it so that there is some unit of dedicated pikemen in-game. The OP would have asked how is the best way to use them and whether they should take them. People on-topic would be responding to their merits and uses (presumably anti-shock cavalry, whatever). People that are off-topic would say useless things like "there were no pikemen in the Civil War". Technically true but not contributory.

[The Soldier]

6 minutes ago, Hitorishizuka said:

To make it really obvious, let me change it so that there is some unit of dedicated pikemen in-game. The OP would have asked how is the best way to use them and whether they should take them. People on-topic would be responding to their merits and uses (presumably anti-shock cavalry, whatever). People that are off-topic would say useless things like "there were no pikemen in the Civil War". Technically true but not contributory.

As a side fun fact, there were!  The south raise a few regiments of pikemen, but they never saw combat before getting their pikes replaced with rifles.

Anyways, back on topic - unless you're going for long-ranged skirmishers with Whitworths / Sharps Rifles / JF Bowns or Whitworth (TS), there is literally no point to make camp skirmishers.  Carbine Cavalry have the same exact weapons (with some better weapons, like the Enfield) as well as being able to mount their horses to move about without losing Stamina AND being able to field 50% more men than regular Skirmishers (500 vs 750).  Mounted Skirmishers ftw.

[CaptainKanundrum]

The Union cavalry raid mission (which I thought was a blast), made me really want to make better use of skirmisher cavalry. I've been having difficulty though since guns like the Spencer have much shorter range than regular infantry brigades. How are you supposed to use the short range weapons properly?

Edited March 3, 2017 by CaptainKanundrum

[The Soldier]

17 minutes ago, CaptainKanundrum said:

The Union cavalry raid mission (which I thought was a blast), made me really want to make better use of skirmisher cavalry. I've been having difficulty though since guns like the Spencer have much shorter range than regular infantry brigades. How are you supposed to use the short range weapons properly?

Longer-ranged weapons like 1861 Enfields are the best choices for long-ranged Carbine Cavalry, although if you're the Union you'll have to make due with Burnsides if you want to directly confront enemy brigades.  Carbine Cavalry are build for flanking, not up-front engagements unless they are equal to or outnumber the enemy.

If you do want to engage up front or know your units will take fire, remember to dismount.  You'll become a much harder target.

[Hitorishizuka]

7 hours ago, CaptainKanundrum said:

The Union cavalry raid mission (which I thought was a blast), made me really want to make better use of skirmisher cavalry. I've been having difficulty though since guns like the Spencer have much shorter range than regular infantry brigades. How are you supposed to use the short range weapons properly?

Flank or shoot from the rear. It's part of why I believe your own lines need to be at least somewhat static (read: defensive) so that you know where the enemy is generally facing and you have troops in front of them to draw fire. Given those conditions short ranged fast firing cavalry and then get a lot of work done on the enemy flanks or circling around to their artillery in the back.

Also, as with shock cavalry, it is advantageous to have a couple units of detached skirmishers hanging around nearby to create openings and purposely catch bullets while the more expensive cavalry units take opportunities.