Scourge of War Boards

1) Paddy Griffith calculates average ACW firefight ranges at no more than 40 yards, this in accordance with the heavily forested and hilly terrain of eastern North America.

) No infantry, charged from flank or rear will withstand any cavalry charge, no matter how weakly delivered. The Square, feelings of support, etc, included, offers no flanks for the enemy to exploit, thus enhancing the feelings of secuirty for the PBIs therein.

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Cavalry successful charges were very rare in any case also in Napoleonic warfare, I remember only three of major cases, Marengo, Borodino, Eylau and Waterloo and in the last three cases the losses were terrific. They are charges dictated by desperate situation or misunderstanding of situation or enemy taken by surprise. Napoleon avoids as far as possible to use his heavy cavalry in battle, for the same reason he avoids to use the guards: he consider it his reserve, a very expensive reserve to preserve just to the last. Usually the charges are more aimed to a specific target, with single regiments charging infantry or cavalry. We can tell the danger of being charged was more important that the charge himself, usually because morally strong infantry in good order can repel cavalry also in line or column formation, but sure the danger force them to stop or slow. The cavalry successes usually were on enemies taken by surprise. And also the ground rarely permitted a cinematic charge. So at the end also during the napoleonic wars the main role of cavalry was recon, support, pursuit, with very specific instances of charges against infantry.

We can consider the case of Piedmontese army after First Indipendence war (still fought with smoothbore muskets), part of the heavy cavalry regiments were transformed in light cavalry because the war displayed the recon and small actions were more important than charges.