Artillery:In Front or Beside??

[Blathergut]

Do you prefer to deploy artillery in front of infantry units, softening up targets, prolonging closer, then charging through the artillery with the infantry?

Or do you keep artillery beside the infantry, maximizing firepower over a greater number of targets?

Or this is a truly silly question?? (How can you tell I'm bored? Besides...I think FoGFantasy is getting more posts than here!)

[Saxonian]

My usual habit these days is beside, as part of the main battle line.
Putting any unit in front of the main battle line is simply inviting the enemy to concentrate fire on it, as was demonstrated to me in a game where two skirmishing light infantry were unloading 10 dice hitting on 5's onto my heavy artillery unit from 5.9MU away (meaning they were out of charge reach of the supporting infantry immediately behind them) and only receiving 6 dice between them in return, hitting on 6's. It wasn't pretty!
Arty can be in advance of cavalry and be better protected, but you still have to pass that pesky CMT to charge through them - so again, better off to one side.

[hazelbark]

I put them next to, not in front of.

Occasionally I will bring up a unit up to charge through/ protect the games.

But firepower is key and concentrating is even more important.

[KendallB]

Next to in order to maximise firepower. Generally try to have two artillery units working together side by side with veteran cavalry behind them ready to pop through to exploit a disordered/wavering opponent or chase off skirmishing light infantry.

[KitG]

In front of, when in defence: Then you 'pop' through them in the movement phase and there you are, usually uphill and within two inches of a disordered band of greasy foreign johnnies...Baaaah!

[KeefM]

On attack: batteries paired up to fire at inside- or outside-corner of the point of attack. Or wide on one flank.

On defence: in the line and paired in order to discourage an attack at that place in favour of somewhere else more suitable to me.

[KendallB]

Then you 'pop' through them in the movement phase and there you are

This is how Kit gets to move his British infantry 7MU!

[geoff]

Then you 'pop' through them in the movement phase and there you are

This is how Kit gets to move his British infantry 7MU!

Luckily the errata for page 40 stops this;

Page 40: MOVING THROUGH FREINDLY UNITS - (RH Column) After 6th bullet point above Add another bullet point:
`
 "No unit can increase its move distance by more than 50% when moving through another unit, other than as part of an outcome move.”

[KendallB]

Thanks Geoff!

I knew there was something in the rules which prevented it but couldn't find it. Typical Kit shonkeyness!

[BrettPT]

Bloody Goldsbury.
Dodgy bugger.

[KitG]

What a bunch of errata munching rules lawyers you lot have become. Next you'll be telling me I can't turn to face my cavalry in any direction after a successful recovery. Bah!

[Glyph]

What about a slow advance...moving behind prolonging artillery...keeping that cavalry or infantry unit behind protected from ranged fire?

[Blathergut]

You just can't depend on the artillery actually prolonging! It tends to be a VERY slow advance!!

[bahdahbum]

We have already played 5 big battles in a 1813 campaign . Artillery was used ( by the french ) as a batterig ram and it worked even if in the end the result was a draw . It is slow but once the attacker is near enough, whole divisions can be shattered in 2-3 turns which is historical if you concentrate enough guns .