lots of questions #2

[yadmas]

Concerning namur road, quatra bras
Why is it that so many of the troops on my side, but not under my control, do not participate in the battle. for instance a couple groups of cavalry just sit there next to my cannons and never participate. Also, is the whole battle just centered around these two victory locations? or am i expected to branch out and take the battle to the enemy wherever i can. for instance, you can push the enemy all the way back to the town off to the left. but in doing so, you leave the victory locations empty, although you controlled them before and no enemy is around? one other thing... when the battle starts the cannon are in pretty good positions i guess, little do i know... but should i bring them up much closer to the enemy for use at point blank? or are they better sitting at an elevated position in the back? lots of time i check on them and they aren't even firing. or just one or two is.

[DarkRob]

Concerning namur road, quatra bras
Why is it that so many of the troops on my side, but not under my control, do not participate in the battle. for instance a couple groups of cavalry just sit there next to my cannons and never participate. Also, is the whole battle just centered around these two victory locations? or am i expected to branch out and take the battle to the enemy wherever i can. for instance, you can push the enemy all the way back to the town off to the left. but in doing so, you leave the victory locations empty, although you controlled them before and no enemy is around? one other thing... when the battle starts the cannon are in pretty good positions i guess, little do i know... but should i bring them up much closer to the enemy for use at point blank? or are they better sitting at an elevated position in the back? lots of time i check on them and they aren't even firing. or just one or two is.

Do not concern yourself with troops not under your command. Don't expect them to help you, and for sure never attempt to help them out. They are none of your concern. Your only concern is your objectives. The rest of the battle may as well be on the moon as far as it concerns you. The scenario is scripted and those troops will do what they are scripted to do. As far as you're concerned, yes the entire scenario is centered on those two objectives. Once you take them, hold them at all costs. Advance no further. Stay put and suck up the points. That is the key to victory.
As far as the artillery goes, meh, the artillery is pretty useless in the stock game and may as well be firing stuffed bunny rabbits. But once I take the objectives and set up my defensive line, yea, I usually bring them forward at that point.

[yadmas]

yah its frustrating to see a troop of horse on your side sit there while your being slaughtered, but i gotcha. when you say stock game, do you mean there is maybe a mod of something else that enhances the power of the artillery? because if so, that would be a good mod. how effective are they at point blank range? thanks by the way...

[DarkRob]

yah its frustrating to see a troop of horse on your side sit there while your being slaughtered, but i gotcha. when you say stock game, do you mean there is maybe a mod of something else that enhances the power of the artillery? because if so, that would be a good mod. how effective are they at point blank range? thanks by the way...

Yes. Specifically Im referring to the KS mod.
KS mod

Artillery fire in the KS mod is devastating. It comes at a price though. Artillery is much more vulnerable. Its flanks must be protected at all times. But if you try to march up in front of an artillery battery in the KS mod, the destruction and carnage is unreal. Theres also lots of other improvements. Check it out.

(At point blank range in the KS mod artillery will be firing canister. Its ridiculous and will blow an entire regiment to pieces in only a few shots if they don't get out of there fast. Approaching KS artillery frontally in almost all situations is a very bad idea, unless, you know, you're like trying to punish your troops John Bell Hood style lol)

[yadmas]

okay so i have one for you. you tell me if im doing this wrong or not. ive fought namur road like 10 times as french and never did better than inconclusive (twice), tell me if my strategy is bad. i send two battalions right for the main objective point, and i take 4 battalions to the left and flank in towards objective point. the other 3 battalions that are far off by the pond i take down the road towards the lesser objective point. i proceed to basically kick the shit out of the allies so bad that it sucks my troops away from the objective points. i know i have to keep troops within the 100 yards, so i leave one battalion at each objective point, and then spread out crushing the enemy outwards from the objectives. i seem to be doing really well. last time, although i did have a couple groups route right at the end, i THOUGHT i was crushing. even captured some cannons and brought my cannons all the way to point blank range. i think i had like 750 points. defeat. wtf?

[DarkRob]

okay so i have one for you. you tell me if im doing this wrong or not. ive fought namur road like 10 times as french and never did better than inconclusive (twice), tell me if my strategy is bad. i send two battalions right for the main objective point, and i take 4 battalions to the left and flank in towards objective point. the other 3 battalions that are far off by the pond i take down the road towards the lesser objective point. i proceed to basically kick the shit out of the allies so bad that it sucks my troops away from the objective points. i know i have to keep troops within the 100 yards, so i leave one battalion at each objective point, and then spread out crushing the enemy outwards from the objectives. i seem to be doing really well. last time, although i did have a couple groups route right at the end, i THOUGHT i was crushing. even captured some cannons and brought my cannons all the way to point blank range. i think i had like 750 points. defeat. wtf?

There is no way for me to tell from a verbal description what you are doing wrong. Chances are you don't even know what it is you're doing wrong, so there would be no way you could describe it. However 750 points is extremely low so my guess is you either are taking way to long to capture the objectives and thereby not having enough time left in the scenario to extract enough points from them. Or you are capturing them, but not holding onto them for the remainder of the scenario. For this scenario both objectives should be under your control within the first 15-20 minutes of the scenario.
The only way I could know for sure what you're doing wrong is for you to record yourself playing the scenario and then upload it to youtube and link the video here.

[RebBugler]

i know i have to keep troops within the 100 yards, so i leave one battalion at each objective point, and then spread out crushing the enemy outwards from the objectives.

The Namur Road objective requires 500 men, a battalion might not be enough. Are you sure the objectives were activated? You need an officer and the required number of men to activate and continue to activate (receive points) objectives.

[yadmas]

well, im positive that i had over 500 men, because i figured out how to check that and it said something like 550 men. but i did NOT know that the leader had to be there as well. and since my leaders are always galloping around and away to where they are needed, that may very well be what happened. i think those particulars aren't quite made clear in the manual. but now it got it! you guys have been great. thanks again. im 90% sure that i had no leaders in the required 100 yards.

[DarkRob]

well, im positive that i had over 500 men, because i figured out how to check that and it said something like 550 men. but i did NOT know that the leader had to be there as well. and since my leaders are always galloping around and away to where they are needed, that may very well be what happened. i think those particulars aren't quite made clear in the manual. but now it got it! you guys have been great. thanks again. im 90% sure that i had no leaders in the required 100 yards.

Protip: Use Bachelu(That's you in this scenario)as the leader to hold the lower objective at the crossroads. As the battle moves closer to the objective nearer to Quatre Bras the first objective ends up being more or less behind your lines, so its a relatively safe spot to stick Bachelu and it gives him something to do. And also after you take the 2nd objective you have both Husson and Campi available to cover that objective. This way one leader is always available to hold the objective, and the other to run around and grant bonuses as needed.
And remember, go for those objectives fast. The sooner you capture them, the longer you will be able to extract points from them.

You basically want to end up with something like this at the end. This is a screenshot from a time when I played this scenario at the end. As you can see I have total control of the objective(The French flag on the objective marker shows I have control)and my lines extend out to either side. Ive racked up nearly 4000 points, well more than you need for a major victory. My casualties are high because I recklessly went for the objectives with all possible speed and hazard. But it doesn't matter because you make way more points back for obtaining the objectives early. This view is down the Namur road looking towards Quatre Bras. The smaller objective is behind me but also French occupied.

[yadmas]

major victory! finally. thanks for the help 2800 points