How to properly used poorly equipped skirmishers?

[Gromski]

With their just 10 meters better range, and less men per unit... I think I have no real reason for training them... but with tight money, the light infantry are often the only one I can train in desperate situations. So how to effectively used them?

[Megas Methuselah]

Nvm, I don't want to reveal my tactical secrets.

[loony]

place them just behind your line, so they use their better accuracy to kill off the enemy while you militia and line infantry do the dying.
works nicely.

[Rahwana]

Use them as movable meatshields to cover your more precious units, set them in loose formation, and let your enemy waste their ammo on yours (turn limited ammo on, or this tactics are useless)

[Gromski]

Use them as movable meatshields to cover your more precious units, set them in loose formation, and let your enemy waste their ammo on yours (turn limited ammo on, or this tactics are useless)

How to turn on the limited ammo then?

[Monsieur Alphonse]

How to turn on the limited ammo then?

It is the default setting. Better question is how to set it off.

[Gromski]

Oh sorry, I mean what control the limited/unlimited ammo toggle

[Monsieur Alphonse]

Oh sorry, I mean what control the limited/unlimited ammo toggle

I don't know of any toggle to put units on unlimited ammo. Line infantry have 15 shots and that is it.

[nameless]

Most light infantry have stakes. You can hide them far out front in your lines or on your flanks and when the time is right set up the stakes.

I sometimes put them on the flanks and when the enemy is engaged my light infantry is free to pick them off.

[Braden]

Yeah, much what I do. Put them out on the flank on set-up, let them hide and use them to put extra pressure on enemy companies marching past.

Sometimes they’re quite handy springing a nasty surprise doing this on cavalry charging past too.

They get used…perhaps not that much and I certainly don’t use that many of them. If I have four-five companies for an entire campaign, that would be normal I guess.

[nanoboy]

First, don't set them behind your line-- they'll just inflict friendly casualties. Here are my tips:

If you are able to set up defensive works, you should feel blessed that you have light infantry. Their exploding traps are vicious. Set them ahead of your line but out of the way of your artillery fire (either downhill or off to the side, terrain permitting.) Set them in terrain that they can hide in, too.

Generally, I recommend setting light infantry up ahead of my main line somewhere on the flanks in trees or scrubs. Keep them in their light infantry formation. They will very often win shootouts with line infantry, so that is good, but you may need to set up stakes to counter cavalry (their main weakness.) If they are being rushed by infantry, pull them back. I don't recommend using the skirmish mode, because they often go in weird directions. In fact, you can bait line infantry into movement with light infantry and then hit the line infantry with cavalry.

They're also fun to put into buildings when you are defending against opponents with artillery. Usually units in buildings draw artillery fire, forcing you to abandon those buildings, but light infantry are hidden in those buildings until the enemy draws near. They generally seem pretty strong in those buildings until line infantry assault them.

Finally, toward the middle and end of a battle, light infantry make excellent units to fan out on the flanks and shoot up units engaged with your line infantry. They are adept at killing more units per shot than line infantry and at killing the leadership within units, so they will cause a lot of routes.

[al Roumi]

To add to nanoboy's excellent tips, I'd say that when placing your light infantry on the flanks of your line, it can be good to back them up with a unit of fast-ish melee capable cavalry (light dragoons, dragoons, militia cav or Medium cavalry -not cuirassiers or hussars).

I like to use light troops to provoke an engagement, take out isolated enemy artillery crews (especially if they have the "tread carefully" ability), and as a last resort: sacrificial stalling of enemy flank attacks.

[Slaists]

my hard learned lesson: light infantry (especially in the early game) even with just 10 meter advantage can be devastating in multiplayer campaigns if controlled by your human opponent.