SYW skirmish cavalry

[ochoin]

I’ve been doing some reading (always dangerous!) & the topic of skirmish cavalry has come up.

I’ve been very careful with our rules not to make light infantry (skirmishers) too powerful.
Apart from the various modifiers that generally reduce their effectiveness, I’ve also limited the size & number of units – generally only 1-3 per army.
The Austrian Grenz are a little bigger & better but not remarkably so.

From my reading, it seems as though the French & Austrians often used units of light infantry & cavalry, combined. As I do not have any figures suitable for the Austrians, I’m talking mostly about the French.
Several of their light regiments had integral squadrons of light cavalry. I would suggest it may be OK to add 2 x 2 figure bases of hussar-type cavalry to the Arqubusiers De Grassin or the Chasseurs de Fischer (both 8 figure - 4x2 fig.- units).

Looking through our rules, I don’t think anything needs to be added. Firstly, 2 bases is hardly an overwhelmingly strong force. Indeed, if they charged any intact infantry battalion or proper cavalry unit, they’d almost certainly get annihilated.
Secondly, counting as ‘Second rate cavalry’, the existing modifiers are strongly against them (-1 in melee, for example).

So, why have them at all?

They’re historical. They’re colourful.
They’d add their small arms to any shooting their infantry colleagues might indulge in.
They would evade & thus be hard to catch if charged.
They could be useful to seize suitable terrain features while their slower Foot colleagues came up.
They might be used to make sure an enemy retreating unit did not rally.

Battle winners? Hardly, but they’d add to the French player’s tactical options &, as I've found on several occasions, the French aren’t so formidable this would create an in-balance.

Your thoughts?

donald

[Vintage Wargaming]

They may add tone to an otherwise vulgar brawl

[grizzlymc]

It's the 18th century, they will probably add vulgarity to what is otherwise a tonal brawl.

Pursuing a beaten enemy is definitely on. Imagine a 7YW version of your recent Scottish battle. The skirmishers might draw off the waggon guards leaving the cavalry to capture the whisky.

[ochoin]

Cognac, surely?

donald

[levied troop]

They might be used to make sure an enemy retreating unit did not rally.

For big battles this might be the most useful function without slowing the action down, units which have them can automatically assign a skirmish cavalry base against a rallying enemy unit to hinder its rally.

For what I now think of Lardy-sized engagements there’s a lot of scope in having an entire force of skirmish cavalry/infantry harassing a formed regular force. Hmmm..... actually I quite fancy that.

[Etranger]

They might be used to make sure an enemy retreating unit did not rally.

For big battles this might be the most useful function without slowing the action down, units which have them can automatically assign a skirmish cavalry base against a rallying enemy unit to hinder its rally.

For what I know think of Lardy-sized engagements there’s a lot of scope in having an entire force of skirmish cavalry/infantry harassing a formed regular force. Hmmm..... actually I quite fancy that.

It's a great way to annoy the regulars...

[FreddBloggs]

Do we have info of how they operated in major engagements.

[grizzlymc]

Rarely and timidly. They were formed for petit guerre. I guess they were useful on the battlefield, which is why half a century later a quarter of the troops in an army were better trained versions. LT is right, you could have all kinds of SP fun with such units. You can see why light cavalry became so important.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Do we have info of how they operated in major engagements.

I think they generally remained out on the flanks, or holding bits of rough terrain that formed bodies or regulars would be loathe to enter. Fred also apparently used his hussars as "meat shields" for the heavier cavalry, to trigger ambushes (as in hidden/obscured artillery and the like*) and/or take the first volley, then the survivors would ride off to the flanks and let the heavies charge home.

[* Worth bearing in mind that this is essentially also what the hussars were doing since, at ground level, they would obscure the forces behind them. ]

[grizzlymc]

Interesting that I have only once read of such a formal use of the first rank to unload the enemies guns in the Wellingtonic period.

When the Argentine general formed his Horse Grenadiers, he taught them to break squares by charging in column of squadrons. The first squadron was not meant to charge home. They would take fire, disperse around the flanks of the following squadrons and form up as a reserve. The second squadron was to charge home on the corner of the square, and the third and fourth to barrel through the melee to hit the opposite sides. Then the first would pursue the enemy.

To the best of my knowledge, although they fought for a decade they never actually performed this exercise.