UGCW: Cavalry Guide

[LAntorcha]

CAVALRY GUIDE:

As far as I can, try to group cavalry units in a single Corp, then give the Cavalry Perk to the Commanding Officer (+Charge Damage Bonus). For small engagements with small brigade allowance, at least 1-2 Melee Cav. units are mandatory.

One of the uses of this type of unit is rearguard/flank vigilance, supply train and artillery lifesavers (keep them close and hidden if possible).

The Weapon Equipment depends on your tastes, Armory quantities, and your $  expenditure limits, but here I list my own preferences, sometimes a compromise between cost/efficiency ratios.

• Optional: If you want to use Cav. for Artillery-hunting (or Routed units finisher), equip them as Shock Troops with Shawed-Off Musketoons for a cheap one-time sudden blast delivery (25 Damage). Then fall back to reload.

Same caveat applies to the Officers in command. Try to get a good balance between XP level and Barracks allocation. Colonel goes fine for most units, but try to maximize that J.E.B Stuart with a full melee build, watch and droll...

All Cavalry unit doubles as a Recon unit more or less, the reason being the Spotting distance and fast movement capability, so I always choose the Horseback Riding Perk for the Speed Bonus. Depending on the Perks, I go for 3 kind of "builds" of horse units.

Types:
"Hussar"    - Melee Cav. Bde.
Perks:

• *    Horseback Riding
• **    Cavalry Training
• ***    Shock Cavalry

        Quantity:    750 men/Max
        Starts with:    Palmetto M1842 (Revolver & Saber)
        Best:        Le Mat (Revolver & Saber)
        Spotting: 800    Stealth: 50

Hussar-style melee shock troops. Fast units which deliver devastating hand-to-hand charges. Maximize man quantity for best results. Best used in pairs against sinlge and/or isolated targets. Flanking maneouvre and go straight to the enemy rearguard/supply line to create havoc. Click on target, wait 'till your unit approaches on trot and delivers a gun salvo, then (C) order CHARGE. If things go awry order FALLBACK and save the day!

"Dragoon"    - Mounted Infantry "Half" Bde.
Perks:

• *    Horseback Riding
• **    Shooting Training
• ***    Mounted Infantry

        Quantity:    375-750 men (watch Efficiency Penalty)
        Starts with:    Cook & Brother
        Best:        Spencer Carbine
        Spotting: 800    Stealth: 50

Dragoon-style mounted Inf. Ideal for quick Victory Point captures. Run fast, dismount and hold the position until a "harder" unit arrives. Also, while mounted, all cavalry behaves like a skirmishing unit in a hit and run style of automatic movement. This requires a bit of micromanagement and cautious approach, but once properly learned, this style of combat is quite rewarding.

"Scout"        - Spotting Cav. Bde.

Perks:

• *    Horseback Riding
• **    Reconnaissance Course
• ***    Mounted Infantry

        Quantity:    100-375 men

        Starts with:    Palmetto M1842 (Revolver & Saber)

        Best:        Sharps Model 1855/Sharps Model 1859

        Spotting: 960    Stealth: 75

This type of unit focuses on information gathering, and reconnaissance roles. Mostly NON-COMBATANT ad hoc specialized hidden unit. Stealth and Cover are his best friends. You can go cheap and disposable minimun numbers or go for full veteran and well equiped unit. High tendency off "One Use Only"... Use them to monitor enemy movement, river fording points search, and as combatant resource saver. Better sending a 100 man fast unit than a slow Inf. Bde. to check clear that suspicious wood, hill or town.

• 3-star Skirmishers (Scout and Recon Perks) get 1032 Spotting and 600 Stealth for comparation purposes, but without the movement capabilitites of the mounted troops.

I wrote this mostly for completion. Hope anyone finds this useful... any feedback (or criticism) is welcome. Feel free to post your own Cavalry Corps deployments.