Hi Jack, glad you are enjoying the mod and thanks for the kind words.
Otherwise, excellent job. I'm going to have to write a new rifles.csv mod for reducing musket ranges down to 100 yards in SP, (120 yards for a standard musket is still a bit to long IMHO), but that's minor.
You'll want to be careful in doing that. The problem is that the infantry auto-charges at 40yd. Since units do not typically engage at maximum distance, but something less, you'll likely see more melees at the shorter distance.
How do you keep the 2nd unit in each Brigade from forming Skirmishers?
You don't. There is only one fighting formation for each class. So if we are to have skirmishers automatically deployed on the battlefield by the AI, then the skirmisher classes will always deploy that way. Hopefully, SOWWL will employ their automatic deployment in a more cleaver manner.
Question I have now is - what does the _1ST mean in the unit designation line in the OOB?
In theory, all French units were able to fight as skirmishers if need be. However, this would give the French player a large advantage, since he could place all his battalions in skirmish and waste the enemy lines in short order. As a compromise, I allow the first battalion of most French and a few appropriate allies brigades to be manually deployed that way. The AI won't use them in that formation.
When they are in skirmish order, they seem susceptible to (a) Cavalry, as they will not stand against them but retreat and (2) as the enemy infantry approach too closely, they will either fall back or retreat, thus leaving a hole in the line which requires some quick thinking to get someone else in there.
By design, the skirmishers will fall back when the enemy comes within 75yd. That was the typical method of driving them away if the enemy didn't have his own skirmishers to shield the line. Also, they are very weak if caught in a melee and will be butchered. You can put them in a klumpen if they are charged by cavalry, but it is not as strong as a formal square.
I can make this march and I will make Georgia howl.