ETW starts in 1700 and continues to 1799, although many posts on forums are discussing weapons, units and tactics from the Napoleonic wars and even later. Now I know that in TW games we start with basic units and 'tech up' over time, but even so I'm puzzled by some of the choices in the game.

I should say my main interest is the British army and it's battles, so I'm foggy on tactics and units used elsewhere and I might be very wide of the mark.

Pikemen

Surely the introduction of the bayonet had made the pike redundant by the by the end of the 17th C? AFAIK they were last used (by the ill equipped rebels) at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685.

Although the days of the pike were numbered, due to the invention of the bayonet, in 1685 the infantry still comprised a balance of musketeers, providing a devastating firepower, and the pikemen whose most important task was the defence of the infantry against cavalry attack.
And they appeared again at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690
William’s professional army had the advantage of greater numbers and better equipment. While the Jacobites carried matchlock muskets and pikes, many of William’s soldiers had the superior flintlock muskets and bayonets.
In both cases it was 'ill equipped' forces resorting to out of date equipment, the regular armies using bayonets instead.

I can't find any accounts of pikes being used by regular armies after 1700.

Dragoons as mounted infantry

From The Battle of Blenheim 1704

Horse and dragoons carried swords and short flintlock muskets.
Dragoons had largely completed their transition from mounted infantry to cavalry and were formed into troops rather than companies as had been the practice in the past. However they still used drums rather than trumpets for field signals.
At Naseby in 1645 the New Model Army Dragoons rode forward and lined Sulby Hedges, dismounted and poured fire into the Royalist cavalry flank. Later they remounted and joined the attack on the infantry in the centre.

But as quoted above, by 1704 this practice had declined and thoughout the 18th Century dragoons were used in the same way as regular cavalry. Despite all cavalry carrying short muskets/carbines I can't find accounts of them being used on the battlefield.

Grenade throwing

Grenades were known and used (in seiges) during the English Civil War but -
Grenade usage declined significantly in the early 18th century, a fact that can be attributed to the improved effectiveness of massive infantry line tactics and flintlock technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grenadier

Again I can't find any references to their use as a battlefield weapon in the ETW time frame. I supect we'll see a lot of 'hand grenade battalions' in the game though.

Infantry Square

I know squares evolved from the schiltron and the English Civil War 'hedgehog' (musket men sheltering beneath the pikes firing out at the cavalry. As a reenactor I've been in several, and btw you can just about reload while kneeling, with a short enough barrel)

And the square was certainly known about in the ETW time frame. There's a picture here from a 1745 British manual.

So it's not an anachronism to have it in the game but I'm puzzled as to it's use on the 18th century battlefield. Later Napoleonic battle accounts are full of infantry forming square in the face of cavalry, but again I can't find any 18th century descriptions.

On the contrary there are many references to infantry in line defeating cavalry by firepower and steadiness. At the Battle of Minden in 1759 six British and two Hanoverian batallions advanced in line against the cream of the French cavalry, driving off three successive mass charges.

It seems the thinking was that steady infantry in line could cope with cavalry - unless hit in the flank, hence the square option. But it doesn't seem to have been in (much?) use during the bulk of the 18th century, reappearing in the Napoleonic period. That seemed to be the thinking during my tabletop miniatures wargaming days too.


I should add that I do like the idea of having so many options in the game, they all add tactical variety and interest (and the pike / dragoon / grenadier inclusions hopefully point to an English Civil War 17th century mod in the future). I just worry about what sort of 18th century battlefield I'll see, with my brave lads being blown to smithereens by hand grenades, rockets, land mines and incendiary phosphorus shells.

And I do hope this doesn't sound too much like a rant, it's just my nerdy grognard nit picking ... or should that be grognerd ...