The
speed and strength of horse units are excellent
for quickly driving a wedge between the wings of
your enemy's army. "Divide and conquer"
is the old saying- if you can speedily insert a
division of cavalry into the middle of the
opposing battalion and create a rift between the
flanks while causing confusion and demoralizing
the foe. Once their forces are split, sweep up
the halves with light cavalry or nearby infantry
units.
Cavalry
Application #1
Horse
troops are indispensible and incredibly versatile
in the field. We will now look at one possible
use for cavalry: to sweep the battleground clear
of pesky ranged units. Cavalry do not suffer from
slow speeds and are less likely to rout under
pressure, so they are logically the soldiers of
choice to remove the enemy's archers or gunpowder
units. Use light horse generously to rout and
sweep up unguarded bowmen. Heavy horse are
effective as well, but they lack the same
swiftness of lighter cavalry; even so, they can
withstand musket fire and are able to make the
most veteran spear troops break their guard over
the annoying ranged units.
Pikemen:
Cheap, Versatile, Effective
Polearm
troops have been reknowned throughout history as,
perhaps, the most implemented troop type. The
reasoning is simple: they are inexpensive and
easy to train, can counter the presence of heavy
horse on the field, and can be molded to help any
combat situation. They truly are the bread and
butter of any army.
One good exercise is to have pikes in phalanx
formation in front of your ranged units, to
screen from cavalry assaults on your archers and
to support the spears against infantry attacks.
Pikes work best in large units, but beware of
enemy projectiles from which pikemen have no
defense. This perhaps is their greatest downfall;
nevertheless, do not underestimate the employment
of pikes as the backbone of any fighting unit.
Do
Not Overuse Your Strategies
If
you find a particular method or tactic that seems
to be quite successful in dispatching an enemy,
refrain from using it more than twice. Should you
adhere to this trick and employ it with each
battle, it will lose all value of shock and the
enemy will be expecting you to use it, even
before the battle takes place. This proved to be
the fatal flaw of the Roman military: unyielding
traditionalism with formations and tactics
allowed the Carthaginian general Hannibal to
capitalize on the conservative methods he
expected the Romans to follow, and thus was
victorious. At Cannae, the maneuverable formation
of Hannibal's troops totally boxed in the balky
Roman battle lines and left the field, decimating
the Roman army (50,000 - 70,000 casualties out of
90,000 soldiers). Do not fall into this trap,
change ideas often and invoke tactics as the
situation dictates. Always do what your enemy
does not expect. Rock, paper, scissors.
Know
This: Rank Does Not Constitute Leadership
Just
because a person takes up a position of authority
does not make them leaders. It is the
characteristics of leadership: charisma, wisdom,
sensitivty, kindness, courage, discipline,
self-control, passion and intelliegence that make
a leader. To say that an appointed general is a
man who posseses "leadership" based on
his rank alone does not mark him as a true
leader. A warlord who can gather men with a
single word and who can direct his horde to die
for his name is the kind of man who will win
battles and be victorious.
Speed
and Agility vs. Strength
Often,
a more maneuverable army can defeat a foe twice
its size. It is a matter of what troops are in
this force, and how they are implemented. An
ideal compostion would be a combined arms force
of Light Cavalry supported by Light Samurai and
Yari Ashigaru. Light cav is designed for
skirmishing and stinging flank assaults. Harry
slower enemy units by riding around their sides
and pouring volleys of arrow fire into their
flanks. When the main body arrives, after being
softened up by the cavalry, interlace your
archers with the pikemen; the dense phalanx of
yari will discourage heavy cavalry and the bowmen
will be able to cut down advancing ranks with
storms of shafts. But - never be totally
static... change position and shift as water, so
that your smaller force can slip from the grasp
of even the mightiest of opponents.
