Light Infantry vs Line Infantry

[a-e]

it doesnt help that the use of light infantry to work infront of the battle line is never implemented the computer so the function of light infrantry to destry other light infantry never comes fully to fruition.

[Didz]

it doesnt help that the use of light infantry to work infront of the battle line is never implemented the computer so the function of light infrantry to destry other light infantry never comes fully to fruition.

Yes, historically there were only two counters to enemy light infantry. 1) Cavalry and 2) your own light infantry. Cavalry were only viable if the enemy did not have artillery or their own cavalry to drive you off, so most armies employed their own light troops to fend off the enemies. By the end of the Napoleonic war for example every third man in a Prussian Regiment was trained for potential employment in the skirmish line, and Britain had whole regiments and divisions trained for this role.

[quadalpha]

Didz, I told you in the other thread that open order is the "light infantry tactics" button!

[Didz]

Didz, I told you in the other thread that open order is the "light infantry tactics" button!

But skirmishing is available to Indian and Ottoman units from the start of the campaign.

[quadalpha]

But skirmishing is available to Indian and Ottoman units from the start of the campaign.

Yes, but aren't there two issues here, skirmishing and open order? I was saying open order exists. Skirmishing ... I don't really touch, since the AI usually charge my skirmishers and they end up not doing much shooting, though there was one time a unit of cossack cav managed to distract one wing of the enemy pretty much autonomously for a good half of a battle.

[Didz]

Yes, but aren't there two issues here, skirmishing and open order?

I suspect your right in game mechanic's and design terms, but in historical terms the two go hand in hand. Skirmishing and operating in loose formation e.g. Open Order are synonimous and have been one and the same thing since ancient armies employed skirmishers to screen the deployment of the phalanx. In fact, it would have made more sense to permantently deploy skirmish units in open order than have them stuck in close order until a tech update.

Ironically the Ottoman's have a melee uinit which is in permanently in open order and a skirmshing unit which isn't so you actually have two useless units types. A skirmishing unit that can't skirmish and a mellee unit that can't melee.

[Nelson]

There is skirmishing and there is open order. One is an activity and the other a formation.

Obviously skirmishing was done in loose order and therefore relied upon experienced men who could function thusly without routing or deserting. It is this experience that endowed the flank companies with their superior combat power. Light infantry and grenadiers were often kept at full strength by culling the best men from the line companies. The higher proportion of experienced men made these companies better in every respect to their line counterparts. They generally had fewer cowards and more fighters.

Open order (without regard to skirmishing) could be adopted by any formation that was required to maintain a position while under fire. It spreads the men out so as to loose fewer to artillery and what not. The men may not have been expected to do much in open order but it did help if they couldn’t move out of harms way and instead had to stand and "have a taste of it".