I haven't ever tried your artillery mod, but question? Does this mod only increase the canister range for the allies? Or the French as well?I agree with Rob that it is normally possible to hold off the standard AI player but I do script some additional tactics and you played with my artillery mod which increases canister range so the AI guns can be more effective even though it still does not push its guns as far forward as a good human player would.
If only for the allies, well yea, that would take some careful work in order to force the Prussian guns to deploy far enough away to be rendered harmless, but still close enough so that they have targets to shoot at so they don't try to move forward again. It could be done though by simply advancing your interception force further forward of your main lines in order to attack the Prussians on the march and force their artillery to turn around while still to far away from your main lines for canister. The trick is to make sure that when they turn around and unlimber they still are close enough to have targets to shoot at along your main line, just not in canister range, which would be tricky because of all the woods around where the Prussians are coming from.
If the French have these increased canister ranges to, well then that makes things all the more easier for the player, as he can still force the Prussian guns to turn around at the beginning, but now he has all these Fortress's armed with super cannon that can shred the Prussians to pieces all over the field out to whatever it is, 700 yards? 800 yards? I forget the exact distances you gave. I can just imagine the massacre. Actually, it sounds like a lot of fun. I might have to try it.
PS: Also Im curious about these additional tactics you've scripted. What do they do? Have you found a way to give the AI the tools it needs to break down a fortress? Being able to bring its artillery forward even after its unlimbered and already shooting would seem to be a necessary first step.
The standard AI doesn't move its guns once they've unlimbered and started shooting so long as they continue to have targets from their current position. I use this to my advantage by forcing the guns to turn around at the beginning while still limbered so they aren't a real threat, but not running them off so far that they don't have any viable targets from where they've withdrawn to, otherwise the guns would again come forward. By doing this I insure the AI artillery is a non-factor and the only thing the AI has to try and attack a fortress is Infantry and cavalry, which of course wont get the job done.
The first step in breaking down a Fortress would be to give the AI the ability to order its guns forward even after Ive already forced them to turn around and unlimber further back. Then the game would get very interesting indeed.