Napoleonic:Total War 2, en mod til Rome total war

[Gunfreak]

jeg har ikke noe med denne moden annet en at jeg henger på foumet dems. så jeg tenkte jeg skulle spre budskapet

 

 

 

This is the first of a series of previews we hope to release before the completion of the Napoleonic Total War 2: Borodino pack. This preview focuses on the largest - and perhaps most important - element of the armies of the Napoleonic Era: the Infantry.

 

For those not familiar with Napoleonic Total War 2, here is a brief update:

 

 

 

* The latest project from the award winning Lordz modding collective that brought you Napoleonic Total War and American Total War for the MTW engine, Napoleonic Total War 2 brings the wars and armies of the Napoleonic era to the Rome Total War engine. The Barbarian Invasion expansion is not required in order to play this modification, but it'll run on RTW 1.5 and BI 1.6.

 

 

* The mod will be released in several "packs", each with it's own theme. The first will be the "Borodino pack", focusing on the Russian campaign of 1812, with it's climax at the Battle at Borodino. The second pack will feature the battle of Waterloo, adding the British, Prussians and Dutch-Belgian armies to the game.

 

 

* We hope to release the Borodino pack before the end of August, and the Waterloo pack a few months later.

 

 

* For more information, visit www.thelordz.co.uk (site is being updated, go to the forum for a FAQ and screenshots topic)

 

 

 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

 

Napoleonic Infantry tactics were by their very nature dynamic. It was the time where infantry, armed with musket and bayonet, played a versatile and demanding role.

 

The main weapon of the infantry was the musket, a rough but deadly firearm. With the introduction of the bayonet, the musket became a versatile killing combination that dominated European battlefields for centuries.

 

The basic tactical unit of the day was the regiment or battalion. The introduction of the column formation gave the troops the edge they needed. The basic line formation, which was usually three men deep, was still best used if you needed maximum firepower. However, with the introduction of the column battalions would no longer move only in a long, straight, and often unwieldy line. With the much smaller front of the column, infantry could now move more quickly over rough terrain and use roads, and could more easily counter threats to its front, rear or side or form into square when threatened by cavalry.

 

Light Infantry was also a major part of Napoleonic warfare. The use of light, skirmishing infantry heavily influenced the way battles were fought. Light infantry would scatter in open order in front of the formed bodies of infantry. Unlike the regular Line infantry, who had to stand shoulder to shoulder and would only fire on command and en masse, the Light infantry used the available cover of the terrain to harass the enemy, picking off enemy officers and artillery and pinning down the enemy infantry. Line infantry, whose massive volleys would be far less effective against such a spread out and hunkered down target, had few effective tools to deal with enemy Lights, often simply sending out their own skirmishers to keep the enemy out of musket reach.

 

Of course things could go wrong: friendly fire, the "fog of war" caused by smoke and dust, bad weather, fatigue, malnutrition, and of course poor leadership. And even if a soldier were to survive the horror of combat, diseases killed as many men as musketballs. Choking smoke, screaming shells passing overhead, and cavalry charges all demanded steady nerves and good discipline. It was truly "Hell on earth" for the basic infantry soldier, whose greatest ally was often capable officers and NCOs, who could guide the men through the raging maelstrom of Napoleonic battles.

 

Over time, mixed formations of infantry in line and in column, surrounded by clouds of skirmishers were developed and fine tuned, always with the close support of cavalry and artillery arms. Napoleonic warfare was very complex, and the lessons learned on the fields of Borodino, Waterloo, and all across the world are still studied and educated intensely at every major Military Academy around the world.

 

 

INFANTRY TACTICS IN NAPOLEONIC TOTAL WAR 2

 

In NTW2, the basic Light and Line infantry are the most cost-effective units. As long as they are properly formed up and not in loose formation, they can be counted on to repel most cavalry. However, should enemy cavalry catch your Light infantry skirmishing in the open without any support, your lights will be butchered. And when you really need to take or hold a position, you can depend on your Grenadiers or even the feared Guard infantry to get the job done. Using Napoleonic infantry is a violent chess game, with each type of soldier having to be used in the way they are most effective and in the way they best compliment their comrades.

 

All infantry units are equiped with muskets, and except for the light units they all have the same effective range. Line infantry firing from long range does little damage, but close range volleys are deadly and may instantly rout enemy units. This creates a difficult choice for players: how close do you bring your men before firing? Or do you not fire at all, but instead charge straight in with bayonets fixed? Generally, Light infantry does the long range skirmishing, using their quicker foot speed and slightly more effective range to harass the enemy, then safely withdrawing before they can be engaged. Line and heavy infantry is used to defend or for concentrated attacks on weak spots in the enemy defence. Prolonged shooting duels are very rare, and generally result in victory for the defender because he has a better chance of using the terrain to his benefit.

 

Unit morale is generally low (compared to most other mods), and units cannot be upgraded by extra armour/weapon or valor. Therefore you need to keep your men happy and protected. The best way to do this is by keeping officers nearby and by keeping your troops close together; men who feel that they are without leadership on the field and see no friends nearby will quickly decide that discretion is the better part of valour. But this is often more difficult and dangerous then it sounds. Deploying in a long line is often impossible, because it forces units to leave the protection of hills and villages, making them easy targets for enemy artillery. Deploying in a deep, compact formation is just as dangerous, because the units then become sitting ducks for enemy artilley and are easily surrounded. And if your troops are packed too close together they will block each other's line of fire, something a clever opponent will use against you.

 

 

FRENCH INFANTRY

 

The French army was the largest army in the World and was at war with several enemies at once. In this very difficult situation accepting only volunteer soldiers (as it was in the small Swiss and British armies) was simply not enough. To meet the required numbers, the French used conscription. Conscription hustled to arms a lot of quivering creatures who would never have gone to war of their own free will. So the process of weeding out the weak was under way in the first stages of every campaign. The French infantryman was found everywhere. Little worried him; neither the pyramids of Egypt nor the vast plains of snowy Russia. No matter where he found himself, he considered himself to be a representative of the French way of life.

 

During these "Glory Years" French military soundly defeated every major European power on land, and the French infantry was its backbone. Napoleon's light infantry enjoyed a great reputation in Europe.

 

However, in 1812 disaster struck the French army. As Napoleon Bonaparte marching into Russia in an attempt to destroy his neighbors to the East, the majority of his army was swallowed up by the snowy winter of Mother Russia. The casualties were horrible and it required a heart of stone to look on those gallant veterans of so many battles, mangled, frozen and torn, and heaped by the thousands over the fields and roads. Of some 700,000 troops, only 10% returned from this campaign.

 

In 1815 ,after the 100-Days Campaign and Waterloo and the final defeat of Napoleon, the French King Louis XVIIIth decided that no reminder of the Republic or the Empire would be allowed to survive in the army. The organisation of the army and the uniforms from the Empire were banned.

 

THE FRENCH INFANTRY UNITS

 

National Guard

 

These units are usually best used as cannon fodder - although a clever opponent might not even waste his ammunition on them. Low morale and close combat skills, combined with poor reload speed and below average accuracy result in a unit that is only good to save some money to purchase more elite units.

 

The French National Guards (or militia) are conscripted from all able-bodied male citizens capable of carrying weapons from the age of 17-50. These men are the last resort and entrusted with the final defense of France. They garrison outside the capital walls of Paris and throughout other cities in France. They are armed with the smoothbore muzzle-loading musket and dress in the same fashion as the line infantrymen, but retained the bicorne. They are hastily trained and lack the discipline of the line infantrymen but are considered brave and hardy troops and are lead by retired veteran officers of the elite Old Guard.

 

Fusiliers

 

The Fusiliers of the Line are the basic workhorse of the French army. Their shooting ability is good enough to deal a lot of damage to much more expensive units, and they are cheap enough to absorb enemy artillery fire if necessary. But their morale is low compared to the elites of the field, and their hand-to-hand fighting skills aren't impressive. Therefor they need proper protecting and leadership or they can be routed by a quick and decisive strike.

 

The French Fusiliers (French Line) are armed with a muzzle-loading smoothbore musket and able fire off three volleys in a minute. These troops are the backbone of Napoleon's army and were generally young men conscripted from the ages of 20 and 25. The line infantry had large numbers of men who served for long periods. The uniform was a dark blue coat, white breeches with black knee-length gaiters, and felt shakos. These men are trained and could perform impressively. Their marching speed and maneuvering is superior to any other nations' armies and are known for their steadiness in maneuvering under fire, for speed of movements was crucial for Napoleon. He often said that, "he won because of his soldiers boots." Even though the French line infantry marched fast they were not as disciplined during march as were some of the German-speaking armies.

 

Historically in 1804-1811 France had among the best line infantryman which had ever existed in Europe. The line infantry epitomized Napoleon's army. Many regiments were of high quality and only few could be called poor. Tragically, by 1812 the majority of these veterans were swallowed up in the Russian winter.

 

 

 

 

Chasseurs

 

If you want to compare Napoleonic Total War 2 armies to Rome Total War armies, then the Chasseurs would be the French "archers", while Fusiliers are the basic infantry. Chasseurs are skirmisher units that should be used to provoke the enemy to attack and protect the rest of the army from enemy skirmishers. Like all skirmishers, these units have a high range and accuracy, as the men are trusted to take their time aiming and shoot at will, and Light infantry can operate in loose formation (unlike most other infantry). This makes them effective at harrasing enemy infantry from a safe distance. The loose formation also makes them take less casualties from artillery bombardement, making them useful to snipe enemy gun crews. However, be wary of enemy cavalry...

 

French Chasseurs (meaning "hunters") are light infantrymen and are comprised of hunters or woodsmen. They are generally of slightly smaller stature, making them easier to hide in villages and gardens then the more clumsy line soldiers. They are also smaller targets for the enemy's shooters. Their uniforms were darker and less visible to the enemy as well. These men are more intensively trained in marksmanship and in executing all maneuvers in slightly higher speed, especially skirmishing. Armed with a lighter musket, their primary target were enemy's officers and gunners while screening the Line infantry from the harassing fire of enemy skirmishers.

 

 

 

 

Voltigeurs

 

Voltigeurs represent the elite force of Light infantry that was available to the French army. They have a (slightly) higher range and accuracy then Chasseurs, and their elite status also gives them a bit better morale. This makes them small "commando" units who can even harrass enemy skirmishers without getting in harms way. The downside is their small unit size and high cost, which makes them less cost-effective then Chasseurs at standard skirmisher jobs such as sniping enemy artillery crews.

 

The Voltigeurs were a new branch of infantry and were introduced by Napoleon in 1803. The Decree issued in March 1803 ordered raising a 10th Company in the regiments of Light infantry. These were Voltigeurs and were formed by taking the 6 smallest men from every Chasseur company in the battalion. The Voltigeurs were the best suited troopers for skirmishing, ladder climbing, urban combat, and for scouting. The Voltigeurs were trained in firing rapidly and accurately and were expected to be able to march at the trot.

 

 

 

 

Grenadiers

 

In Rome Total War terms, Fusiliers are the light/medium infantry. The French Grenadiers are the heavy infantry. While not a true elite unit on the level of the Young or Old Guard, they have slighty better morale then Fusiliers, and are effective in close combat. The result is a cheaper - and more expendable - shock unit than the true elite units, that can be used to assault enemy defenses or fight off enemy cavalry attacks.

 

These men are usually selected for their stature (they are often the biggest men) and war experience(a minimum of 4 years of military service)and are very strong. The French grenadiers are the shock troops; brave, good marchers and are often used as a spearhead of attacking forces. They present a formidable sight to see and, being big men, they made good use of the bayonet!

 

 

 

 

Young Guard

 

The French Young Guard are a versatile unit of talented soldiers. They are better then the Fusilier regiments in every aspect, but excel at shooting. They are also the only non-skirmisher unit capable of operating in loose formation, but lack the high range of dedicated skirmisher units. And while they can decimate enemy units with close to mid-range volley fire, their hand-to-hand fighting abilities do not equal those of Grenadier or other Guard units.

 

The Young Guard were formed in 1808 by Napoleon. The men were drawn from the Empire's regular line regiments, from the strongest, tallest, and most intelligent recruits to the best of the year's conscripts. They are armed with a muzzle-loading smoothbore musket and able fire off 3 to 4 volleys in a minute. They are usually used as a tactical reserve and lead by battle hardened veteran officers of the Old Guard. One of the most popular divisional commanders, Henri Francois Delaborde, led his division of Young Guard with these words: "My children, when you smell powder for the first time, it is stylish to stick up your nose!" The martial air of the Young Guard astonished everyone, which inspired the line regiments to fight on when the battle got tough. Once they engaged in combat they were well disciplined fighters, who perform brave heroic deeds for their beloved emperor. They are one of Napoleon's best soldiers in the French army, for he remarked that, "they won battle's using their legs."

 

 

 

 

Old Guard

 

Without a doubt the Old Guard is the strongest infantry unit in the game, probably even THE strongest unit, stop. Their sheer presence disheartens enemy units, and combined with their high morale and excellent close combat fighting skills, it makes them they ultimate unit to crack open a wavering enemy defence. However, they are not the best shooters in the game, and they die just as easily from musket fire as any other unit. Therefore they are only worth their high price if used at the right time and place in battle.

 

The French Old Guard were an elite military force that grew out of the Garde des Consuls and Garde Consulaire after Napoleons crowning in 1804. These men were selected carefully, and the requirements were not easy to meet for the candidates. Like all other guard units these men had to be strong, tall (at least 5'10"), be able to read and write, and had to be harded veterans of at least 10 years service; some had 20 campaigns or more! Tactically they were kept in reserve but were often thrown into a battle as the killing blow. The Old Guard's ranks were made up of battle hardened veteran soldiers who did not fear death. They were fanatically resolute, always marching stoically into the teeth of enemy fire. These men were considered the elite of the elite, the creme de la creme of Napoleon's infantry; they were the most ferocious fighters on earth. They therefore enjoyed the highest prestige in Napoleons army and were very devoted to their Emperor.

 

 

 

 

RUSSIAN INFANTRY

 

There was nothing but empty plains and vast woods in Russia. They extended farther than the eye could see. The roads were either very broad or very narrow. In winter the snow storms made the roads impassable and the extreme cold made travelling dangerous. The cities in Russia were vast in extent and appeared empty. The streets and squares were broad and the houses stood far apart as comparing to western Europe. Russia was torn between Asia and Europe and only sparsely settled. The vast land together with the long winters produced the melancholy and mystery not felt in any other country.

 

By the 19th century it was estimated that about 50 per cent of Russian peasants were serfs. These serfs would form the great pool out of which Russian Infantry was recruited.

 

By 1810-1812 Russian generals such as Barclay de Tolly had analyzed the French army, its organisation, structure and methods of combat and introduced many military reforms.

 

The Russian infantryman was known for his tenacity in combat. French general Marbot wrote: "The Russians had to be beaten down man by man, our soldiers fired upon them at 25 paces, they continued their march without replying, every regiment filed past, without saying a word or slackening its pace for a moment. The streets were filled with dying and wounded, but not a groan was heard, for they were forbidden. You might have said that they were firing at shadows. At last our soldiers charged the Russian soldiers with the bayonet, and only when they pierced them could they be convinced that they were dealing with men."

 

The Russians were the premier believers in what could be called The Cult of the Bayonet. The Russian bayonet attack was fierce and well-known throughout Europe.

 

Generally the Russian infantryman was not the best shooter in Europe. The men were trained in firing quick volleys by entire platoons and battalions. Only few commanders trained their troopers in aiming their muskets and emphasized the accuracy of fire.

 

In June 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with a force twice as large as the Russian army facing him. He hoped to inflict a major defeat on the Russians and force Alexander to sue for peace.

 

The Reformed Russian army performed well in 1812 and ended up beating back, with the help of the frigid Russian winter, a French army that had taken control of most of Europe.

 

The Tzar was determined to defeat Napoleon and 'liberate Europe.' He said "I shall not make peace as long as Napoleon is on the throne." And so he did. In 1813 the Allies defeated Napoleon's troops in Germany and again in 1814 in France.

 

Tzar Alexander triumphantly entered Paris and the Russians camped in front of Napoleon's palace. Napoleon made remark: "The Russians learned how to win."

 

THE RUSSIAN INFANTRY UNITS

 

Opolchenie

 

Opolchenie is simply a difficult name for what many commanders boil down to "angry russian peasant." They are poorly trained and equiped, making them very poor shooters with low accuracy, ammunition and slow reload speed. However, they are not completly useless in hand-to-hand combat and can deal quite a lot of damage to average enemy units - provided they can get close enough, something that isn't made any easier by their very low morale.

 

Historically Kutuzov tried to make a difference with the emphasis on the ability 'to chop and shoot' rather than maneuver. New recruits were issued with the pike, a seemingly archaic weapon on the battlefield of muskets, but even these men stood well alongside the veterans under cannon fire and charged with as much passion. Their uniform was in Prussian style, and they were as much feared by the allies as from the enemy for they were responsible of some atrocities in 1812. Curiously some women also served in the ranks, one major being a Suliot heroine named Moskho.

 

 

 

 

Musketeers

 

They perform the same tasks as the French Fusiliers, but have a slightly less accurate shot. But true Russians as they are they are a bit more effective in close combat fighting then their French equivalents.

 

Historically Russia had one of the biggest populations in the world; 30 million as compared to Prussia's 5 million, Austria's 25 million, and France's 29 million (Imperial France with annexed territories had 36.5 million). But despite the big numbers Russia was unable to match Napoleon with the strength of the regular army, for often a quite large number of young men would hide in the woods at the first rumor of a levy. Many new recruits were marked with a tattoo-like cross and kept in chains to make running away more difficult.

 

 

 

 

Jaegers

 

The Russian Jaegers are a small unit of skirmishers. With high range and accuracy, these units can deal a lot of damage while operating in loose formation. They are not as capable as some of the elite light infantry of other nations, but are still able to keep enemy skirmishers at bay and protect their own lines.

 

Historically Jagers carried the infantry musket, except NCO`s and 12 sharpshooters per company, who had rifled muskets; a sword bayonet was also carried. After June 1808 sword bayonets and rifled muskets were withdrawn, with the infantry musket becoming the standard weapon. In the coming November it was ordered that the bayonet should always be carried fixed, just like the line, though at a later date scabbards seemed to have been used.

 

 

 

 

Grenadiers

 

Just like the French Grenadiers, the Russian Grenadier is a relatively cheap shock attack unit. They have a bit better morale then the French version, and can be counted on to drive home a charge under even heavy fire. Russian Grenadiers were long considered excellent soldiers.

 

Historically for days at a time they would march regularly every night and yet fight all day with the very minimum of rest and food. A western reporter E. Warnery wrote, "they are always in good humor, even when in the greatest misery." The Russian Grenadiers were instantly recognizable by their Shakos, which had a yellow brass badge in form of a grenade with three flames. Their uniform was based on the Line-Grenadiers. They were armed with muskets except for the 12 sharpshooters in every regiment.

 

 

 

 

Pavlov Grenadiers

 

One of the most instantly recognizable units available to the Russian commander, Pavlov Grenadiers have excellent morale and close combat fighting skills, making them excel above all others as shock troops capable of driving home a final attack or counter-attack.

 

Historically the Pavlovsk Grenadiers wore the old-fashioned mitre caps. In 1807 for their gallant fight at Friedland, Czar Alexander ordered that, alone of the infantry, this regiment should henceforth retain its mitres "in the state in which they left the battlefield as visible mark of its bravery and Our grace." Their officers however did not wear the mitre caps. In 1812 at Polotzk, French cuirassiers and four infantry battalions cut off the Pavlovsk Grenadiers and a detachment of Grodno Hussars. The grenadiers however fought so valiantly that they escaped and even captured and brought in 100 prisoners!

 

 

 

 

Russian Foot Guard

 

The Guard regiments in Napoleonic times were always among the most capable on the field, and the Russians boasted some of the very best. High morale and excellent marksmanship make these units very good defenders. In addition, their close combat skills match those of the Grenadiers making them easily capable of winning the inevitable bayonet fights.

 

Historically after the battle of Kulm the Austrian Emperor was so impressed with the tenacity and bravery of the Russian Guards that he ordered a monument to be built to salute them. Even Napoleon was highly impressed about the Russian Guard and said, "I was surprised at the precision and assurance of this infantry, so well disciplined and of such extraordinary firmness would be the first in the world if, to these qualities, it united a little of the electric enthusiasm of the French."

 

 

 

SCREENSHOTS

And for your viewing pleasure, a few screenshots of the units in action. Just pure NTW2 glory and gloom!

 

 

Russian Jaegers engaged in a skirmish with the French Chasseurs

 

Artillery prepares to load canister to unleash hell upon the approaching Fusiliers

 

Chasseurs clearing a forest of opposition

 

The charge is ordered while cannonballs hit the entire line

 

The Fusiliers charge with bayonets fixed while the Russians deliver one final devasting volley at close range

 

A French Officer leads by example as the columns overrun the Russian redoubts filled with artillery

 

The Russians remain steady as their officers shout their orders

 

ENJOY!

 

The Lordz

[Gunfreak]

 

Welcome to our second preview. It took a little longer then we hoped because the new horse models were still in production, but now they're finally done, so we present to you: the Napoleonic Cavalry Preview.

 

The Borodino Pack release is still scheduled for late August.

 

You can view the first NTW2 preview about Napoleonic Infantry here:

 

 

First NTW2 Preview

 

CAVALRY IN NTW2

 

Cavalry in NTW2 is powerful, but only if used in a proper fashion. A small miscalculation can reduce your proud and magnificent cavalry corps to a heap of horse meat.

 

There is quite a large variety of units available, which can be split into light and heavy cavalry. The light cavalry uses fast moving horses, and are ideally used in quick charges to override exposed skirmishers or weakened units, or to make flanking attacks with support of the infantry or heavy cavalry. The heavy cavalry is slower, and are mainly a shock unit, that can pin the enemy down and hold out until the infantry can get close enough, or for faster cavalry to ride around the enemy's flanks and strike them in the back.

 

Generally a fresh infantry unit can deal with any cavalry unit if it charges head-on. Especially when capable of firing a close range volley they enemy cavalry can be routed in a few instances. But a massive charge of cavalry, supported by musket and artillery fire can overrun have a serious impact on enemy morale. Good use of Officer units (more into those in the next preview) can be vital for both the cavalry and the defenders dealing with them.

 

Infantry units are packed together much tighter then cavalry units, the result being that there are almost 2 infantrymen fighting 1 horsemen in a duel between the two. Against light infantry deployed in loose formation, the cavalry does not have this weakness, thus making cavalry effective against skirmishing infantry.

 

 

FRENCH CAVALRY

 

"I considered our (British) cavalry so inferior to the French from the want of order, that although I considered one squadron a match for two French, I didn't like to see four British opposed to four French: and as the numbers increased and order, of course, became more necessary I was the more unwilling to risk our men without having a superiority in numbers." -The Duke of Wellington

 

It took some time before the French cavalry reached its full potential, as it had suffered the loss of many officers during the Revolutionary period. In the cavalry served more nobles than in any other branch of the army, the majority of the aristocratic officers left France during the French Revolution and the overall quality of French cavalry had fallen badly. Napoleon rebuild the cavalry from scratch, his cavalrymen were intensively trained especially in massed tactics, supplied with splendid uniforms and horses and armed to teeth. They were enthusiastic and ready to fight. The officers and NCO`s were battle hardened veterans. After the defeat of Austria and Prussia the excellent German horse depots were captured, so by 1807 French cavalry was reaching its prime. Until 1812 the French cavalrymen were victorious over everyone they encountered on any level above a regiment. At Borodino they even captured a redoubt, a feat never repeated by any other cavalry. It is estimated that 175.000 excellent horses of cavalry and artillery were lost in 1812 in Russia, shortages of trained cavalrymen, officers, NCO`s and war horses were so bad the French cavalry never recovered afterwards.

 

 

Mounted Chasseurs

 

The Chasseurs à Cheval are the most basic - and weakest - of all current cavalry units. They lack the high morale and élan of the hussars, and don't nearly pack enough punch to fight solid bodies of infantry. They are however fairly cheap, and can make an excellent addition to your army if they are used to support superior units, making flank attacks or harassing skirmishers.

 

The French Chasseurs à Chéval (which means 'on horseback') are usually brigaded with the French hussars. Many of the recruits were foreigners, mostly Belgians or Germans, and are light/line cavalry armed with carbines, bayonets and slightly curved sabres. French Chasseurs are trained for rapid action, capable of raiding, skirmishing, and reconnaissance duties like the hussars. They were capable of charging enemy lines in support and could be used in dismounting actions like dragoons. Many of them are known to be reckless bravado's. They were generally not held in high esteem by many of their French counterparts, especially the hussars. Historically early in Napoleon's campaigns they were armed with two types of sabres: à la husarde and à la chasseur. Both weapons were replaced by light cavalry sabre Pattern XI. The bayonets were disliked by the French Chasseurs, they were used as tools, for digging up potatoes for an example, and then thrown away. The French Chasseurs were the only cavalry branch that accepted many foreigners to serve in their ranks, six regiments of French Chasseurs were formed of foreigners.

 

 

 

 

Hussars

 

Hussars are very capable light cavalrymen riding fast horses. They have a good morale and are best at performing flanking manoeuvres or striking against vulnerable enemy units. They lack the charge power of lancers and heavier cavalry, so they aren't that good at attacking solid bodies of infantry and cavalry, but can still hold their own for a while.

 

The French (and any other hussar in Europe) was modelled on the famous Hungarian hussars. By 1811 there were 11 Hussar regiments in the French cavalry arm. During a parade the sight of the hussars would the women’s hearts made wildly pounding. In combat they rode yelling most unearthly, cursing and brandishing their weapons. They had their own code - that of reckless courage that bordered on a death wish. The hussars were the eyes, ears and … egos of the army. The mutually supporting camaraderie of the hussars was important factor of their "esprit de corps". Tactically they were used as scouts and screen for other troops and due to their combativeness were also used in pitched battles. It was not a rare sight to see a hussar in a forefront of a hack-and-slash melee, gripping his reins with his teeth, a pistol in one hand and sabre in the other. They considered himself as better horseman and swordsman than everybody else. Bragging, smoking a pipe, drinking, and duelling - these were their funs. There was a saying: "The hussars were loved by every wife and hated by every husband". The hussar was armed with pistols and curved sabre. Some had carbines. The hussars were the most flamboyantly dressed part of every army. Their brilliant uniforms exemplified the panache with which they lived and fought.

 

 

 

 

Lancers

 

Lancers are light/medium cavalry armed with a lance (surprise). This gives them a powerful charge with a good chance of killing their first opponent on impact. After the charge they switch to swords for close combat, but the time to do so makes them slightly vulnerable after the initial charge. Therefor they are best used against weakened or wavering enemies that can be routed by the sheer power of their charge.

 

Napoleon, wanting to oppose the Cossacks who were nimble, tough warriors before the Russian campaign created the Chevaux-Légers Lanciers or French Lancers from the 29e Regiment des Dragons. They were Frenchmen trained by Vistula and Polish Guard lancers. They are armed with the lance, Poland's national weapon, but retained the Dragoon styled uniform and helmet. Even though this unit contained mostly raw recruits and newly commissioned officers mounted on barely trained horses, they were led by exceptional senior officers. One such officer, a Colonel Perquit said that, "he didn't recognise any danger." The French Lancers were considered rather tough, disciplined fighters, and just like their Polish comrades they gave no quarter to the enemy. Historically Napoleon converted one chasseur regiment along with 6 dragoon regiments to lancers by 1811. Although the light cavalry could stand in line and fight as battle cavalry, its best purposes were reconnaissance, screening, raiding, pursuit, and field security. The light cavalry manoeuvre units were intended to be broken into small tactical units for use as pickets and vedettes, and for deployment in reconnaissance roles.

 

 

 

 

Dragoons

 

Dragoons are a sort of hybrid between light and heavy cavalry. They are capable of performing the tasks of both classes, but not as good as the true versions. They make up a good and affordable all-purpose cavalry arm.

 

In 1804 Napoleon had 30 dragoon regiments and were the largest cavalry class, something between light and heavy cavalry. They were trained in infantry and cavalry duties, as historically they were infantry men put on horses, and for this reason their horsemanship "was wobbly" and their swordsmanship was not of the highest order. In the first phase of Napoleonic Wars they served on the primary theatre of war, in Central Europe, charging in numerous battles. After 1807 majority of the dragoons served on secondary theatres of wars, Spain and Italy. Many of the regiments in Spain lacked uniforms, horses and equipment. But the dragoons were efficient troops. They fought a grim and deadly war of ambush and retaliation against the hostile Spaniards. They guarded communication lines and escorted convoys. They also participated in battles with the British and Spanish armies. Napoleon had problems to find the right horses for his dragoons. In 1805 approximately 6.000 of them were without mounts and were organised into 4 foot dragoon regiments. Their duty was to guard the artillery reserves and the baggage trains. The dragoons were armed with straight sabres and muskets. Their muskets were longer and had longer range of fire than light cavalry's carbines. While a light cavalryman's equipment included a carbine sling as a means of keeping his weapon readily available for use, the greater length of musket issued to dragoons made a sling impractical. Thus the stock of the musket was seated in a boot attached to the saddle, and its barrel restrained by a strap attached to the pommel. When the dragoons expected to go into action they drew sabres and muskets slung on their backs. In 1814 they gave away their long muskets for the infantry.

 

 

 

 

Cuirassiers

 

Cuirassiers are - together with Carabiniers - the only units in the Napoleonic era that still wear body armour. Their heavy cuirasses, combined with their large and strong mounts make them excellent shock cavalry, capable of punching a hole through the enemy line. However, their cuirasses do not protect them from cannon or musket fire, and they are quite a lot slower then light cavalry units.

 

While other types of cavalry had their important roles to play, it was the cuirassiers, the descendants of the medieval knights, who could turn a battle with their sheer weight and brute force. They looked dangerous every time they ventured forward and the generals never employed them frivolously. When it came to hardware the cuirassiers were riding arsenals: body Armour, helmets, carbines, pistols and long straight sabres. The Russians called them zheleznye ludi (the iron men). There were 12 regiments of cuirassiers. They were considered as elite troops. The cuirassiers wore body Armour. It was uncomfortable to wear in summer and expensive. The cuirassiers were armed with straight long sabres and pistols. When in 1812 they received carbines they made considerable effort to avoid carrying them. The cuirassiers rode possibly on blacks, browns and dark bays. All horses and men were big and strong. They were the tanks of their time, at the trot and in dense formations they were the heavy front rank battle cavalry that could force a gap in the enemy line. In 1815 at Waterloo they were waisted at Wellington his squares, they needed infantry and artillery support, they got them to late.

 

 

 

 

Carabiniers

 

Just like Cuirassiers, the Carabiniers wear breastplates and ride strong horses. They have a slightly higher elite status, resulting in better morale and slightly better combat performance then the Cuirassiers.

 

There were only two regiments of horse carabiniers, the 1er and 2e. In 1792 the French Ministry of War ordered that the carabiniers must always be chosen from seasoned and reliable soldiers. They were armed with straight sabres and pistols. In the ranks of carabiniers alongside the Frenchmen served also quite a few Belgians. In 1809 with the temporary absence of the Guard cavalry, the 1er Carabiniers formed Napoleon's escort. In 1809 Napoleon noticed that the carabiniers suffered badly in the hands of Austrian uhlans and ordered to give them Armour. Their helmet was of yellow copper, with iron chinstrap scales and a headband with the letter 'N' in front. The crest had a scarlet comb instead of the cuirassiers black horsehair. The cuirasses were almost identical in design to those worn by the cuirassiers, although they were covered with a sheet of brass (for officers red copper). The visual effect was astounding! In 1812 at Borodino the carabiniers repeatedly clashed with the Russian cuirassiers, hussars and dragoons. They fought with gusto until the end of battle when they were defeated by Russian cuirassiers of the guard. The campaign in Russia broke their backbone and they never were the same. Until the disastrous campaign in Russia in 1812 the carabiniers rode on big black horses. In 1805 the carabiniers received dragoon muskets. In 1810 their long straight sabres were replaced with slightly curved sabres (a la Montmorency). In 1812 the dragoon muskets were replaced with shorter cavalry carbines.

 

 

 

 

Mounted Guard Chasseurs

 

These light cavalry units have an average attack, but good defence and morale. It allows them to hold out longer against overwhelming odds then most other light cavalry.

 

In 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte formed the Company of Guides to be his escort, later renamed to Chasseurs of Imperial Guard after Napoleons crowning in 1804. A squadron of Mamelukes in full oriental style, a remnant of Napoleon`s Egyptian campaign, was also attached to the Guard Chasseurs These men are well mounted and are resourceful, dashing, and very courageous. Napoleon described his Chasseurs de la Garde as "200 daredevils, well-mounted and brave." The Guard Chasseurs are armed with slightly curved sabres, pistols, and carbines. They wear expensive hussar-style outfits, being more flamboyant then the Horse Grenadiers, but were less precise in formation and movement, and lacked the discipline. They are the most known troop in the entire French army who nicknamed them "The Pet Children" (or rather the Spoiled Brats). Napoleon wore the uniform of colonel of this regiment. Historically in 1815 during the battle of Waterloo, the Guard Chasseurs met with the British and German cavalry (KGL). Repeatedly some of the chasseur squadrons rode up to within 300-400 paces of the British and German cavalry with their officers wearing tall, broad bearskin hats. On several occasions described by one English officer, "some of them rode up to us, challenging the officers of our [british] regiment to single combat. As they were much stronger, the regiment could not accept the honour ..."

 

 

 

 

Polish Guard Lancers

 

Like all lance armed units, they have a powerful charge, but they are vulnerable afterwards until they switched to sabres for close combat. The Polish Guard Lancers have a strong attack, and a very high morale.

 

Renowned for their horsemanship, the Polish Guards lancers are one of only a few regiments that attained the perfection of changing formation at a gallop without losing its order. Napoleon was so impressed by the Polish nobles bearing and loyalty that he ordered the formation of a regiment of Polish light horse and attached them to his Imperial Guard. Just as their comrades in arms they are required to be landowners or the sons of landowners between the ages of 18 and 40 and were to furnish their own horse, uniform, equipment, and harness to a set pattern. They are issued with the lance, their national weapon, and are renowned for their skill with it in addition to their great bravery, disciplined charges, and great valour and loyalty to Napoleon's cause. They are also known to give no quarter and are feared by all (especially the British who considered them demons), even the Russian Cossacks have respect for them! Historically they are considered a legendary regiment! In 1808 Spain, the regiment charged Somosierra pass and captured four batteries that had been entrenched and supported by Spanish infantry in the hills. Napoleon was so impressed he proclaimed them "My Bravest cavalry!" He also ordered his Old Guard to present arms to the Poles as they rode by. One Polish lancer, Jordan, unsaddled 2 battle hardened veterans; dragoons of the Napoleon's Guard while Napoleon and Marshal Murat observed the duel. This regiment is one of two guard cavalry outfits never defeated by enemy's cavalry.

 

 

 

 

Mounted Guard Grenadiers

 

Or Guard Grenadiers à Cheval are basically the Old Guard on horseback. Very high morale, with excellent fighting skills make them one of the most powerful cavalry units in the game. On top of that - just like the Old Guard - their sheer presence intimidates enemies (they were nicknamed "The Gods" for the amazing sight they made). But all this comes at a high price, and thus they should only be thrown in battle when it is certain that their presence will cause great deal of damage to the enemy, and preferably secure the outcome of the battle.

 

In 1796 the Garde du Directoire was organised and one squadron of Horse Grenadiers was raised. Soon Napoleon enlarged the troop to two and then to four squadrons. The privates wore dark blue coats and collars, white lapels and tall boots. In 1797 they received tall fur caps. In 1804 the Consular Guard became Imperial Guard. For new candidates there were strict requirements: 176 cm tall, 10 years of service, minimum 4 campaigns and citation for bravery. The Horse Grenadiers became known for their austerity and haughty demeanour. The army nicknamed them "The Giants", "The Gods" or simply "The High Heels" (from their tall boots). In 1805 at Austerlitz they defeated Tsar's Guard cavalry. In 1807 at Eylau they stood under hellish fire from 60 Russian cannons, when their commander General Lepic noted some of his troopers ducking incoming shells. "Heads up, by God!" he cried "Those are bullets - not turds." Few moments later they charged against the Russians. The Horse Grenadiers were very devoted to the Emperor. In March 1814 a major of grenadiers was wounded at Craonne. He had his foot carried away by a cannon-ball and the surgeon had to amputate his leg. During the extremely painful operation "which he bore with great courage, the man called out "Vive l'Empereur!" and lost consciousness. The Guard Horse Grenadiers and the Polish Guard Lancers were the only two cavalry regiments of Napoleon's Guard never defeated by enemy's cavalry in combat. They rode big black horses and were armed with straight sabres, pistols and carbines.

 

 

 

 

RUSSIAN CAVALRY

 

Russia possessed a vast force of cavalry, forming a greater percentage than that of most European armies. This stemmed partly from years of battle experience against the Ottomans (who used large bodies of excellent cavalry) and partly from the fact that much Russian terrain was suitable for the manoeuvre of large bodies of cavalry. The Russian horses were overall of good quality and they had some excellent officers and NCO`s. However Russian cavalry lacked training in massed cavalry formations compared to their French counterparts. The Guard, Cuirassiers and Hussars were among the best regiments in Russian cavalry. Russian Cossacks were a league on their own, probably the best irregular cavalry on the planet, masters in guerrilla tactics. Given the quality of mounts and personnel, if Russian commanders had been able to combine the cavalry in large formations, it might have become one of the most formidable forces in Europe.

 

 

Cossacks

 

At first glance the Cossacks appear as a very poor combat unit. And in fact they are, but they are also very cheap. This makes them an interesting unit for "suicide missions", such as getting them past enemy lines to attack unprotected artillery or even a general. Armed with lances, they pack a decent punch when charging, but are lousy in prolonged hand to hand combat against solid enemy units.

 

Don Cossacks come from the Don Voisko Province near the lower and middle Don River, Russia. Don Cossacks are one of the biggest groups and heavily militarised and, like all other Cossacks, they are armed with the lance and curved sabres. Being tribal, they are commanded by their tribal chiefs, or Atamans, having little effect on organised disciplined or drill thus not much use against formed units. However they are superb horsemen and highly valued as scouts, raiders, and skirmishers at which they are at their element. Historically the Don Cossacks were formed in the second half of the 16th century largely by runaway peasants. By the end of the century they were granted certain privileges in exchange for frontier military service as Don Cossack Voisko.

 

 

 

Hussars

 

Hussars are very capable light cavalrymen riding fast horses. They have a good morale and are best at performing flanking manoeuvres or striking against vulnerable enemy units. They lack the charge power of lancers and heavier cavalry, so they aren't that good at attacking solid bodies of infantry and cavalry, but can still hold their own for a while.

 

The Russian Hussars are light cavalry and armed with curved sabres and pistols. They are ideal for reconnaissance, screening, and raiding; in battle they are used to harass enemy skirmishers, overrunning cannon positions, and pursuing fleeing troops. Russian Hussars, as all other hussars, are renown for being brave, dashing, unruly, reckless, hard-drinking adventurers, always charging home with blind fury. The Russian generals sometimes employed them with heavier cavalry for support, making this a deadly combination. Historically Russian Hussars were used to loot and pillage and were also known (and feared) for their poor treatment of local civilians.

 

 

Uhlans

 

Ulhans are light/medium cavalry armed with a lance. This gives them a powerful charge with a good chance of killing their first opponent on impact. After the charge they switch to swords for close combat, but the time to do so makes them slightly vulnerable after the initial charge. Therefor they are best used against weakened or wavering enemies that can be routing by the sheer power of their charge.

 

Russian Uhlans being light cavalry were mainly intended for service in the outposts, reconnaissance, support of heavy cavalry in action, and pursuit of the enemy. Armed with the lance, their main weapon, which they use with great skill. They are respected for being brave and well disciplined in the charge for they had inherited traditions of Polish Light Cavalry, but are of lesser quality compared to their Polish cousins. Historically the Poles were acknowledged to be the finest lancers in Europe and Russia, Prussia and Austria recruited their uhlan units from among the Polish and Lithuanian subjects. It was followed by an imitative creation of lancer regiments all across Western Europe (France, Germany and even the British got around to it after Napoleonic wars).

 

 

Dragoons

 

Dragoons are a sort of hybrid between light and heavy cavalry. They are capable of performing the tasks of both classes, but not as good as the true versions. They make up a good and affordable all-purpose cavalry arm.

 

Russian Dragoons are armed with carbines or short musket called the dragon and with pallasches(long straight-sabres), like the heavier cavalry. However, they lack the armour of the heavies, thus they are classified as a medium cavalry. Dragoons are renown for their courage and dash in the charge but lack the shock impact of their heavier brothers, but do great against lesser cavalry. They are also ideal for scouting, raiding, and engaging enemy skirmishers. Historically A Russian Dragoon was traditionally a soldier trained to fight on foot, but transport himself on horseback. The Russian Dragoons were also cheaper to recruit and maintain than the notoriously expensive heavier regiments of horse (The Cuirassiers). Accordingly, this made the Czar employ more Dragoons then any other horse unit in the Russian armies.

 

 

Guard Cossacks

 

Guard Cossacks are a much more reliable and steadfast version of the casual Cossack units. They have a high morale and good defence, combined with a powerful charge.

 

In 1796 the Don Voisko (host) were incorporated into the Russian Imperial Guards and became the Cossack Guards (or Leib Garde Cossack). Armed with pistols, swords, and an 8-foot long lance with a steel spearhead surmounting a steel ball to secure easy withdrawal of the point. These men are better disciplined and trained unlike the regular Cossack lancers, and are lead by officers who were their Ataman (leaders) and owed them complete loyalty. These men are brave and feared for their lack of mercy. They are also very resourceful as they lived off the land and foraged as they moved. They are tactically used for harassing enemy lines of communications and columns of march, perform fast-unexpected raids, ambushes, and reconnaissance. They were in their element when doing these tasks, but were of little practical value in pitched battles, as their impulsive and disorganised charges had almost no effect when confronted by steady infantry formations. Historically Napoleon once declared, "Cossacks are the best light troops among all that exist. If I had them in my army, I would go through all the world with them." Just like the French light cavalry, the Cossacks were the eyes and ears of the Russian Army who used hit and run tactics against enemy stragglers and supply columns.

 

 

 

Cuirassiers

 

Cuirassiers are - together with Carabiniers - the only units in the Napoleonic era that still wear body armour. Their heavy cuirasses, combined with their large and strong mounts make them excellent shock cavalry, capable of punching a hole through the enemy line. However, their cuirasses do not protect them from cannon or musket fire, and they are quite a lot slower then light cavalry units.

 

The Russian cuirassiers are, as in almost all armies, the decisive arm used to break through an enemy utilising the sheer weight of man, horse, and armour; making them the heaviest shock troops. Russian Cuirassiers overall are brave and disciplined men dedicated to their officers and Czar! Each man and horse are big and strong, recruited from other cavalry regiments. The Russian Cuirassiers wore front and back black-enamel cuirasses (plates) and were armed with the straight-blade heavy-cavalry sabre to run down enemies with a thrust instead of the slash. Historically the Czar had two elite cuirassier regiments: the Emperor Cuirassiers and the St. George Cuirassiers who both captured French Eagles and drapeau from the second battalion of 24th French line infantry. Each man also carried a carbine and or a pair of pistols to guard the flanks when advancing to enemy lines.

 

 

 

Chevaliers Guard

 

These cavalry units are part of the Russian Guard, and are armoured with breastplates. They have a high morale, excellent defence, and make an excellent albeit expensive shock cavalry unit. Few cavalry units can match them on the battlefield.

 

Russian Chevaliers Guards have the prestige from their position of being the Czars personal bodyguards. Like the heavy cavalry, the guard cavalry are equipped with the cuirasses and straight sabre. The Chevalier Guards are well disciplined and brave men, many of the Guards are veterans and recruited from the biggest and strongest men from other cavalry regiments, making them a formidable force to reckon with. They are the bravest of the brave in the Czars armies and are renowned fighters. Historically this unit was formed in 1796 during the reign of Czar Paul as Kavalergradski Korpus and in March 1800 became Kavalergradski Polk. Czar Alexander liked this regiment and often wore their uniform, for example, during his entry to Paris. The Czar's brother, Constantine (commander of the Imperial Guard) hated the Guard Cavalry since its officers were involved in the plot and killing of his father Czar Paul.

 

 

 

SCREENSHOTS

 

Cossacks launch a surprise attack

 

A big heavy cavalry melee

 

Massive cavalry charge

http://forum.thelordz.co.uk/files/battle_176.jpg

 

Advancing against enemy square...

 

And charging it...

 

Close combat

 

Russian Cuirassiers cutting down French skirmishers

 

 

Enjoy!

 

The Lordz

[Gunfreak]

 

Welcome to our third preview for Napoleonic Total War 2! We're covered Infantry and Cavalry in the two previous preview, so now it is time to discuss the third branch of a Napoleonic-era army: The Artillery. In addition, we've included information about our General or "Command" units.

 

You still can view the older previews here:

 

1. Infantry Preview

2. Cavalry Preview

 

ARTILLERY

 

"It is with artillery war is made"

-Napoleon

 

 

The artillery was one of the most distinguished and celebrated arms in the Napoleonic war theatre. It truly was an intimidating, well-oiled killing organisation. Napoleon was an artillery man before he was an Emperor. He understood the power and effectiveness of cannon and their ability to pulverise defences, reduce fortresses, destroy attacks, pound the enemy lines and crush morale. By massing guns together in great batteries, artillery was capable of causing great havoc by literally carving a path through enemy lines. Guns also greatly influenced troops morale, as shells burst overhead and roundshot smashed its way through the men beside you. It can be said that artillery won many a battle for Napoleon.

 

 

French Artillery

 

The French artillery has always considered among the best. Almost all improvements made in gunnery, during the last three or four centuries, originated with the French. New guns were designed for more rapid movements, on and off the roads. The new Gribeauval system, created by famed French artillery theorist Jean-Baptiste de Gribeauval, stressed mobility, hitting power and accuracy, as well as a standardisation of artillery across the army.

 

Napoleon expected excellence and competence from his gunners, and he got it. The French artillery became superior to every national artillery arm in Europe. French horse and guard artillery in particular enjoyed a great reputation.

 

During the Russian campaign the artillery suffered horrible losses in horses and equipment. After 1812 the quality of French artillery, like many other arms of the French military, began to gradually decrease.

 

 

Russian Artillery

 

The Russians were fond of their artillery, convinced that theirs was one of the best in Europe. Indeed, their artillery was efficient, and up-to-date in its equipment, horses and training... and there was a lot of it. They hated losing their artillery so much that personnel leaving their pieces in battle would be executed afterwards!

 

The main difference between the French and Russian Allies artillery was not in the quality of gunners or guns but in the fact that Napoleon used artillery offensively, while for the Allies the main purpose of artillery was to defend cavalry and infantry. Napoleon's artillery prepared the way for the final blow that would decide the battle. The Russians saturated their battle line with numerous guns, making it difficult to break through. They also kept a strong artillery reserve in case of an emergency.

 

By 1814 the Russian foot artillery was considered to be one of the best in the field.

 

ARTILLERY TYPES

 

Field artillery was divided in two categories: foot artillery and horse artillery. Foot artillery was really expected to walk. In the horse artillery, all crew were mounted and they used lighter guns that were pulled by more horses. Its main function was speed and rapid deployment.

 

The main guns used on the field of battle are cannons and howitzers. The cannons were longer-barrelled, low-trajectory weapons designed for a direct-fire role. The howitzers were typically shorter-barrelled. They were capable of both high- and low-angle fire, and were most often employed in a close indirect-fire role, firing over obstacles like trees, woods, buildings, villages and hills.

 

The field artillery during the Napoleonic Wars was distinguished by the weight of the projectile. It included 12-, 8-, 6-, 4-, and 3-pound guns. Each gun, heavy or light, had its advantages and disadvantages.

 

For example when firing canister, the 12-pounder cannon had almost double the effect compared with a 6-pounder cannon. The 6-pounder can, however, be fired quicker than the 12-pounder with a ratio of approximately 3 to 2. The 12-pounder has less projectiles in its ammunition waggons, and these are heavier than the ones for 6-pounder cannon. To meet the requirements for more projectiles the battery of 12-pounders needs bigger amount of ammunition waggons. The more waggons needed, the more horses and drivers were needed. The more men and horses, the more space they take on road and battlefield, becoming a bigger target for enemy's artillery. The heavier cannon requires more men to limber and unlimber it. The 12-pounder can fire its cannonball further than the lighter 6-pounder cannon and the projectile is heavier, thus causing more damage, especially to walls, buildings, trees.

 

Due to some modding limitations we could not make all artillery as we wanted. Sadly proper horse artillery and different speeds are not something we could implement yet. But we still found a good mix:

 

 

12 Pounder

 

The 12-pounder is your main heavy long range piece of field artillery. It is capable of firing both roundshot and canister. As your ammunition is not unlimited use it wisely. Its main purpose is to hammer your enemy at the right time and at the right place. Due to its longer range it will be one of the first units that will begin hostilities, so deploy them carefully.

Historically 12-pounders were the most important and heaviest field guns, both feared and cheered. Napoleon nicknamed them "His beloved children."

 

 

6 Pounder

 

The 6-pounder is your lighter field piece. It has a shorter range but a greater rate of fire to compensate. It is capable of firing both roundshot and canister. As your ammunition is not unlimited use it wisely. Use it to decimate oncoming troop formations, or to defend bridges or other strong points. If you can position and move them quickly they can be as deadly as their heavier brothers.

 

Historically the 6-pounder was a very versatile gun; it was a rapid firing, lighter and easier to move cannon. 6 pound guns were used throughout the Napoleonic Wars by every nation.

 

 

Howitzer

Howitzers have a short barrel and are the only field pieces capable of firing explosive shells in an high arc. It is capable of firing both common shell as well as canister. As your ammunition is not unlimited use it wisely. Use it to fire on large and grouped formations, firing over obstacles, or setting structures on fire; indeed, some commanders will use it to just bombard anything they feel needs a bit of destruction!

 

 

Historically howitzers were normally attached to cannon batteries and came in a wide variety of calibres. One of the most typical was the Russian unicorn, which was a mix between a cannon and howitzer.

 

 

AMMUNITION TYPES

 

The effects of Napoleonic artillery fire on humans could be terrifying. While modern weapons may or may not tear and rend, artillery roundshot was virtually guaranteed to cause dramatic and gory casualties.

The cannonballs themselves were subsonic, lobbed slowly through the air, loudly whistling as they approached. Even at the end of its effective range, rolling shot would bowl men over and cause widespread injury. If flying shot hit a horse, it was not just a matter of the horse falling over; the ball might strike the saddlebags, scattering the contents in every direction as the horse went spinning, splattering pieces of the animal closely behind the chunks of leather and cloth. At close range, artillery fire would punch holes straight through entire sections of units. During the battle of Waterloo, British artillery fired "double shot" charges (one charge of cannister backed up by a round of shot) at point blank range into advancing French heavy cavalry. In one case, the entire front rank of cavalry was taken down, stopping the assault only because none of the following troops could make their way over the heaving pile of men and horses to their front!

 

Artillery used a wide variety of ammunition during the Napoleonic Wars (even chemical fire bombs and lightning balls were used) but the primary ammunition types are explained below.

 

 

Roundshot

 

-Roundshot was the standard ammunition. Basically it was a cast iron spherical cannonball. It has a very high velocity resulting in a virtually flat trajectory. When fired a side effect was the "ricochet firing": the cannonball began bouncing over the terrain creating huge damage to anything that lay in its path.

 

 

It is especially effective against deep formations, because the cannonball can cut through 5 or more ranks of men, punching through them in a most destructive manner. However, the flat trajectory makes the projectile quite useless on a bumpy battlefield, especially against units stationed behind a hill or slope. If no cover is present, the best way to protect your men against roundshot is to deploy them in 2 ranks, thus minimising the casualties taken from each hit.

 

Canister

 

-Canister, or case shot, was a tin cylinder stacked full of smaller balls almost the size of musket balls and covered with an iron lid. The diameter of the balls inside the "can" or "case" could vary in diameter. There was canister designed for shorter range (light case or canister) or longer range (heavy case or canister.) When fired, the effect is that of a giant shotgun blast. Canister is essentially short-range anti-personnel ammunition.

 

 

It has a wide area of effect and can cut through several ranks, but it's range is very short compared to roundshot. However, it is extremely deadly from close range against targets incapable of forming loose formation (= all infantry except for lights). Canister makes attacking an enemy position protected by artillery very dangerous. The best way is to try and take out the crew members with light infantry (operating in loose formation), or getting close as soon as possible, to pin down the gun crews. Leaving your men exposed to canister fire for too long will have a profound and, for your men, rather negative effect on the outcome of the battle.

 

Grapeshot

 

-Grapeshot was smaller balls or other objects such as nails or pieces of metal packed in ropes or other material. This package of balls tied together with rope looked a lot like a bunch of grapes, that is where the name comes from. When fired it had the same effect as canister, although it had a much smaller range as the objects would spread out immediately after leaving the barrel.

 

 

Grapeshot was the predecessor of canister and originated from the Navy, and has basically the same function as canister. It will not be available in the game, as canister does the job better.

 

Common Shell

 

-The basic shell was a fused round iron shell filled with gunpowder. The fuses could be adjusted and self ignited inside the barrel when the shell was fired. When fired the shell would explode after a certain amount of time, depending on the setting of the fuse, spreading metal shrapnel over a vast area.

 

 

Shells are fired by howitzers. The howitzer launches the projectile in a high arc, unobstructed by hills or buildings. The shell then explodes over the heads of the enemy, showering them with shards of metal. The downside is its low accuracy, meaning it is only effective on a large mass of enemy units. Because of its high arc, the weapon is very effective against dug-in defenders. The only way to protect yourself against this threat is to spread out your forces, even if that means leaving an otherwise great defencive position, or simply prevent the howitzers from getting within range, which can be done with cannons if the terrain offers no protection for the howitzer crews.

 

Shrapnel

 

-Shrapnel or spherical case was an invention of the British artillery officer Henry Shrapnel. It was also fused but had a much thinner shell and was filled with balls mixed with gunpowder. It was the only long-range anti-personnel ammunition and a great improvement. When fired it would explode like a shell just above or in front of troops and spray them with musket balls.

 

 

Shrapnel was exclusively used by the British and it was truly one of their best kept secrets. It was a very versatile ammunition, able to be fired by cannon or howitzer. Logically, we hope to introduce it as a special feature for British artillery in the next Waterloo expansion.

 

 

 

GENERALS & OFFICERS

 

Their names are legend; Ney, Bonaparte, Kutuzov, Wellington, Soult. Commanding officers were the dominant personalities in Napoleonic war. A thoughtful strategy, tactical skill, a good knowledge of terrain, careful deployment, sharp movement and capable blending of all arms of the army; a combination of these skills and abilities will eventually lead you to either victory and glory or utter defeat.

 

French General

 

French Generals and officers differed in one significant aspect to other nations; they were chosen for their skill and did not merely take rank by right of birth. Napoleon stated: "Every soldier carries a Marshal's baton in his backpack." French Generals came from all ranks of society; the only requirement was that they were up to the job. The common soldier could identify more with him as he often was just one of their own. In general French Generals were of excellent quality. And due to the twenty years of ongoing wars against almost every European nation, most of them were hardened veterans. French officers were fighting officers, often close to the front ranks. The downside to this was that many were wounded or killed in battle. The horrendous loss of capable officers in Russia was a severe blow to the French military in later years.

 

 

Russian General

 

 

Russian Generals and officers were almost all of noble birth. Most came from the higher echelons of society or had direct ties to the Russian court. Typical of the Russians was the high percentage of foreigners among their commanding officers. They imported many good and capable from all across Europe. The Russian officers had absolute power over their troops and ruled with an iron fist, their authority was never questioned. They simply had to be obeyed. Quality varied from very capable fighting commanders and good administrators to officers really not worthy of any commission at all.

 

 

Function in Napoleonic Total War 2

 

Morale always plays a big role in battle. Officer units will boost the morale of nearby units, and have a "Command" special ability to strengthen morale even more. This ability only works when the officers are not moving and not engaged with the enemy. Here also lies your dilemma; place your officers too close to the front and they risk being killed, but on the other hand they will greatly enhance the fighting spirit of nearby troops. Use them with care and you will have a great advantage.

 

VIDEOS

 

All movies require Quicktime to watch: Apple Quicktime

 

Artillery Trailer

http://forum.thelordz.co.uk/downloads/NTW2_ARTI

 

Cavalry Trailer

http://forum.thelordz.co.uk/downloads/NTW2...00x450_56Mb.mov

[Havon]

ser veldig kult ut

[Hr. Jenssen]

Fin-fin post, men du tror ikke at du kunne putte den litt mindre kritiske informasjonen (alt annet enn oppsummeringen, info om når den kommer, linker til nedlasting, etc.) i spoiler-tag?

Endret 8. august 2006 av Hr. Jenssen

[Gunfreak]

skulle først se om noen gadd å svare på denne. de første postene var for å vekke appetiten.

 

http://lordz.thelordz.co.uk/ de lager utrolig proffe moder, anbefaler dere å se på filmene.

 

moden skal komme i slutten av denne måneden.

[Gunfreak]

Moden er først og fremtst en MP mod, da Rome Ai'n ikke takklet gameplayet, i denne delen av moden spiller man enten som frakrike eller Russland, og tar for seg napoleons 1812 campanie i russland som ente med den totale ødeleggelse av La grande armee.

 

han gikk inn i russland med 650 000 tusen mann, han kom tilbake med 20 000. i moden kan man spille salg som Borodino(blodigste slaget i moderne historie til godt ut i WW1) denne første delen av moden kommer i løpet av denne måneden.

 

andre del av moden kommer nærmere jul og tar for seg England og de allierte mot Frankrike i 1815 og slaget ved waterloo

[Gunfreak]

dette tror jeg er den siste preview før spillet kommer, MP beta testen startet også i dag

 

 

Welcome to our fourth preview for Napoleonic Total War 2, a mod for Rome Total War. We've covered the wide array of French and Russian combat units in the previews, as well as giving some historical background on Napoleonic warfare for all of you who didn't stay awake in school Now it is time to discuss the mod in terms of gameplay and tactics. We hope the Grognards enjoy, and also that the few doubters out there will come to realise that Napoleonic warfare is as much "lining up and shooting at someone" as Roman warfare is "lining up and stabbing at each other."

 

 

We're already devoted 3 previews to our unit types, and how given you a brief description about their uses, strengths and weaknesses. This time we will go into some more detail about their actual performance and abilities on the battlefield.

 

 

Infantry

 

Muskets

 

Muskets are quite inaccurate weapons. At maximum range, regular infantry will only cause a few casualties each volley. But as the target gets closer, the volleys become more destructive.

 

Unlike what many people may think, extended long range shooting duels between infantry are rare, because on even ground no one really gets an advantage in doing this. Even though elite units may shoot a bit more accurately then lesser units, they are also more important and you generally don't want to waste them in long shooting duels; after all, no matter how "elite" a soldier is, bullets kill them just as easily. Usually the defender will have better ground so a shooting contest would only result in certain defeat for the attacker. Victories are achieved by routing the enemy units as soon as possible. To achieve this one needs to use the more devastating close range volleys, charge the enemy, or a combination of both.

 

French Chasseurs fires a volley, covered in smoke.

 

A lot of infantry attacks are executed by grenadiers or other shock units charging the enemy line, while Line infantry follow on their flanks, stopping just a few meters in front of the enemy to deliver close range volleys. The attacker will take a lot of casualties in doing so, but if all goes well the combination of the shock unit's charge and the close range volleys will rout the targeted enemy unit in just a few seconds.

 

 

This will create a gap in the enemy line, and cause a morale penalty for the nearby enemy units. The grenadiers can now move in their rear, while the Line units shoot them at close range. The resulting morale penalties will often cause a chain rout, rolling up the entire enemy line.

 

 

Of course in reality it's often much more complicated then this. Concentrated artillery fire can weaken a spot in the enemy defence, while close range canister and concentrated musket fire from the defender can rout the attackers before they even reach their target. It all comes down to who is best at creating and exploiting weaknesses or mistakes from the enemy.

 

The only units who are supposed to be used for long range shooting are the light infantry.

 

Note: Rifles were much more accurate then muskets, but slower to reload. Neither the French nor the Russians used them to a large extent. They will be introduced to the mod in the Waterloo Pack.

 

 

Light Infantry

 

Light Infantry are the "archers" of the Napoleonic era. They operate independently and in loose formations, making difficult targets for enemy infantry and artillery. They are trained to take accurate shots, have a high range and move quickly.

 

Light Infantry units are generally smaller then Line and Heavy infantry, but their higher range and quick speed makes them very hard to kill by the latter. If you have no skirmishers of your own, the best way to deal with them is cavalry. Skirmishing Light Infantry are vulnerable to cavalry charges while they are in loose formation.

 

They are also good at taking out enemy artillery crews, if the enemy has placed these in the front ranks. Their loose formation will result in fewer casualties from roundshot and even canister fire.

 

Their smaller size makes them weaker then the other infantry units if the latter manage to catch them.

 

 

Reload Speeds

 

Next to range and accuracy, an infantry unit's efficiency also depends on how fast it can reload. Militias will reload slow, while elites can do it quickly. The result is that some units can outshoot others even when they are outnumbered. It also affects how many volleys your men can fire before a charging enemy reaches your lines.

 

Cavalry

 

A strong cavalry arm is a requirement for every balanced army. They are generally used for 3 purposes: sweeping up enemy skirmishers, countering enemy cavalry, and exploiting enemy weaknesses. Even though cavalry generally cannot overrun a steady infantry unit, they can quickly run over a weakened unit. Infantry and Artillery can weaken the enemy line enough for a resolute cavalry charge to crush it quickly. If you are on the receiving side, make sure you replace or reinforce weakened units before the enemy exploits it, or keep your own cavalry nearby to counter or disencourage an enemy attack.

 

Light Cavalry VS Heavy Cavalry

 

Light cavalry is quite a lot faster then their heavier colleagues, but have a lower shock values. They are especially useful for harassing enemy skirmishers, flanking manoeuvres and any situation were speed is more important then raw power. Heavy cavalry can deliver a harder punch, and can stay in the fight much longer, so they can be used as fast moving infantry. They are best used to lead a frontal charge, proceeding the slower infantry while the lighter cavalry makes flanking manoeuvres.

 

 

The Lance VS The Sword

 

Lancers are equipped with both a lance and a sword. When using alt+right-click to attack, they will charge with their lance, and then switch to swords for close combat. The lance charge can be especially deadly, but switching to swords can take a while, and until then the unit will not be capable of dealing much damage. They also have a slightly worse defence skill then native sword-armed units.

Lancers are especially useful against weakened or wavering units, where their charge alone is enough to break the enemy.

 

French Lancer and Polish Guard Lancers charging with lances.

 

Polish Guard Lancers after the charge, using their swords.

 

Artillery

 

Line of Fire

 

12 and 6 Pound artillery pieces fire their projectiles on a virtually flat trajectory. This makes checking their line of sight/fire quite important. It can be useful to lower the camera to ensure that the terrain that looks flat isn't actually a slight hill. The result of this trajectory is that the proper positioning of these artillery pieces is vital to their performance.

 

Tip: When using round shot, always aim where the enemy formation is the deepest. If you can get an artillery piece on the enemy's flank, don't just aim for the closest unit. Instead, aim for an enemy line that is perpendicular to your artillery. Hitting a Line in the flank has the same effect as hitting a column: the cannonball will cut through several ranks, which can do massive damage when fired down a line.

 

Howitzers are an exception to the "flat trajectory" thinking; they fire in a very high arc. They have a shorter range and are more inaccurate than the direct fire pieces, but can be deadly against a concentrated enemy who thinks they are safe behind a ridge or inside a village.

 

 

Art VS Art

 

A popular trick in Napoleonic Total War 1 was to destroy the enemy artillery with your own as soon as the battle started. In addition, most games require a "xx art per team" rule to avoid the frame rate drop caused by cannonball explosions. The result was a lot of great NTW1 games started with an artillery duel, with both sides trying to destroy each others' guns.

 

We wanted to avoid this in NTW2. Artillery "duels" did happen in reality, but there were so many guns on a battlefield that it would be impossible to destroy all enemy artillery in a few volleys. This obviously wasn't possible in NTW1, but is more so in NTW2.

 

Artillery in NTW2 is more numerous (no artificial limit needed), and they have large crews (60 man per 2 guns). The result is that it takes quite long to disable an entire artillery battery.

 

 

Capturing & Abandoning Pieces

 

If you kill or rout the enemy artillery crews, their guns are left behind. These can be captured by your own artillery crew of the same artillery type. If you can capture them early in battle it can be very useful as additional ammunition for your depleted crews.

 

Tip: You can detach your artillery crews (press "W" to withdraw the crew, then move the unit). This causes them to leave their guns, but also lets them move a lot faster. This can be very useful to save their lives against a sudden cavalry attack or heavy artillery fire. If you are careful you can retake the guns when things are safe again.

 

 

The Napoleonic Total War 2 mod offers a number of predefined group formations, all based on historical formations:

From left to right: Line, Column, Loose Column, Double Line, Loose Double Line, Battalion Square, Left Echelon, Right Echelon

 

Some are more usefully then others, depending on the circumstances. We'll go into more detail on these and other formations in this section.

 

 

 

Line

 

The line formation is the standard and most used formation. The default depth of all infantry units is 3 ranks. In reality only the front rank(s) could fire, which was an important feature in Napoleonic tactics, but sadly this feature is not available in the RTW engine. Apparently it will be available in MTW2 so that'll be one of the improvements of NTW3 over NTW2.

 

The main reason to form lines, and not columns is because the latter is highly vulnerable to artillery fire. Roundshot can easily cut through 5 or more ranks, so in order to minimise casualties you have to deploy in 2 or 3 ranks deep. 2 ranks is ideal when you are facing long range bombardment, but it makes units unwieldy and fragile against cavalry charges.

 

A thin line minimises casualties from artillery fire.

 

Another (minor) advantage of a thin line over a deep column is that accuracy decreases over distance (bullets may not reach the target,) and so the men at the rear of a column may be completely out of effective range of the front's target!

 

 

 

Column

 

A "column" points to a deep formation, but not necessarily one that has more depth then frontage - such deep formations were only used to march, not to attack.

 

A deep formation (usually 4-6 ranks) is mostly used to attack. It is vulnerable to artillery, so one should only form it right before charging the enemy.

 

A cannonball cuts through 7 ranks

 

A cannonball cuts through 7 ranks

 

When multiple units attack in a dense column, they can concentrate a lot of firepower on a single enemy unit. Such a deadly volley can be enough to rout that unit instantly, thus breaking the enemy line. But keep in mind that such a formation can be countered by surrounding it: In such a situation only the flank units are still able to fire, the centre unit(s) will have to manoeuvre in order to get a clear line of sight. If the purpose is to pin down the enemy (preventing them from shooting) then it is better to deploy in a longer formation, charging individual enemy units.

 

Another minor but possibly life-saving advantage of a deep formation is that when such a unit routs after fighting the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, more soldiers have a chance to escape, while a line can be overrun quickly.

 

As mentioned before, deep columns can also be useful when marching. Travelling on roads speeds up movement, but roads are narrow and thus require units to move in column to benefit. Line formations often have difficulty manoeuvring around villages, and often find it impossible to move through them. Thus you'll need to switch to a deeper formation in order to move and fight in villages and building complexes and especially to take pesky bridges!

 

 

 

Squares

 

Square formations can be used against multiple cavalry units. A clever cavalry commander will always attempt to attack from multiple directions, hitting units in the front and backside at the same time. The square formations exist to minimise that effect.

 

Squares are usually formed only in rare and desperate situations, when terrain features or reserves can not provide the protection needed against enemy cavalry.

 

The are very vulnerable to artillery fire because of the deep ranks and/or exposed flanks.

 

 

Single Company

 

When a single unit faces multiple cavalry units it can choose to form up in a square formation. This is a weak square because it's flanks and backside are not protected, but it minimises the length of the fragile backside. The result is that the initial cavalry charge will not cause as much casualties compared to when the unit would have been in a Line formation. For elite infantry units this can be enough to repel some of the weaker cavalry units.

 

Double Company

 

Two infantry units have a good chance of repelling multiple cavalry units as long as they hold steady: one unit covers the front, the other deploys right behind it, facing the other way. The Flanks are not protected, but these squares are quite reliable.

 

 

Battalion Square

 

The biggest square is a selectable formation that ideally exists out of 4 infantry units and an Officer. The infantry will form up in a square, and the Officers deploys in the middle to boost their morale. These large squares are rarely formed because take up a large part of the army, and are very weak against musket and artillery fire. They're only effective against enemy armies existing almost entirely of cavalry without any effective artillery support.

 

Tip: To counter this formation with artillery: use canister shot against the front rank, or aim roundshot against the flank units. The latter will allow cannonballs to cut through the flank units, killing 5 or more men with each hit.

 

 

 

All our maps are custom (hand)made, none of them are generated from the campaign map. This is necessary because the have a profound effect on the game play. The featureless maps from RTW - that either contain one or two huge hills (more like mountains actually) or hardly any elevation at all - simple don't work with the scale of Napoleonic battle(field)s.

 

Many of the maps are designed to be well-balanced in multi-player, giving an equal chance to both attacker and defender. Terrain features are small (no huge mountains) so they only ever offer protection to a small number of units, thus forcing defenders to spread their forces or let the unprotected units take a lot of casualties from artillery fire. The attacker then must look for the weakest spot, and try to concentrate his first attack there.

 

 

 

Terrain Types

 

 

Hills & Valleys

 

Obviously, hills offer a slightly improved range, and a small combat bonus, but units on top of them are exposed to artillery fire. It is often best to deploy in the valley behind, and move the unit up on the hill on the right moment - when the enemy is about to attack. But move too late and you might find yourself fighting uphill, or facing close range artillery and musket fire.

A small ridge is enough to protect your men against artillery fire.

 

Hills also make ideal positions for artillery, increasing their range. Just make sure you can protect them against enemy skirmishers or cavalry charges.

 

Tip: If your artillery on the hilltop are being targeted by enemy artillery, detach the crews and let them take cover just behind the hill. When the enemy has found another target you can re-attach them to their cannons.

 

 

Creeks & Swamps

 

Some maps have crossable creeks, swamps or mud pools. This terrain type seriously slow down movement. Avoid crossing such terrain when under fire.

Tip: Deploy units behind creeks when defending. The mud will bog down enemy charges, and you can place your units inside the creek for (some) protection against artillery fire

 

Forest

 

Dense forests are also difficult to move through, and cause a combat penalty for cavalry units. On top of that it's very hard to keep an overview when fighting in a forest - annoying but realistic.

 

Although trees do not block cannonballs (another flaw in the RTW engine) but they can still be useful to obstruct view and to hide units inside (they can't aim at what they can't see.)

 

Forests on our maps are usually deliberately kept small, and are often away from the defenders deployment zone. Otherwise the defender could just hide his entire army inside, safe from artillery fire, giving him an unfair advantage.

 

 

Roads

 

As mentioned before in the Formations section, roads greatly speed up unit movement. This allows players to quickly move a part of their army to outflank the enemy, or to reinforce a weakened position. Often commanders will consider roads first and foremost when planning and attack or defence!

Pavlov Grenadiers moving over a road.

 

The speed bonus only counts for the soldiers actually walking on the road, so you'll have to move in marching column or you'll units will get messed up with stragglers trying to keep up. Forming column takes time, and they are fragile to artillery fire so roads aren't always advisable in the heat of action.

 

Tip: the Russian Cossacks are fast, cheap little buggers. They are very good at sneaking past the enemy lines and hitting fragile units such as officers and artillery. Roads can be a great help to get them there quickly.

 

 

 

Buildings

 

All our buildings are destructible. Destroying buildings can expose the unit covering behind. Destroy walls to open a new way into a village.

 

 

Villages

 

Most maps are have lots of small villages and compounds. The houses can provide cover against artillery fire or protect your flank. When attacking, you often have to move from village to village to keep your army protected until you are close enough to launch an attack.

A French battalion has deployed in a village.

 

 

Enter-able Buildings

 

Some of the biggest buildings can be garrisoned by units. The current Borodino pack doesn't have a lot of these buildings yet, but there will be more in future release(s), including hopefully a few Belgian chateaux!

 

Units inside buildings are relatively safe from musket and artillery fire - at least until the entire building collapses, killing everyone inside. The unit inside will probably not cause the same number of enemy casualties as they would in a standard line, because only a limited amount of men can actually fire through windows and the occassional loophole. However, as long as the building stands, there units can be very difficult to destroy, which can endanger the flank of a prospective attack.

French Infantry garrison a big wooden barn.

 

Enjoy!

 

The Lordz

 

for de som gidder å ta seg til til å lese dette ser man at det er ikke mye igjen fra Rome, nesten er er enten forandret på eller byttet ut. bygninger man kan gå inni, masse nye formasioner osv.

[Gunfreak]

det kom vist en preview til.

 

 

This is our last preview for NTW2. But no need to cry, that means the mod will be released in just a few days! If all goes as planned we release NTW2 on Friday the 31th of August CET(Central European Time). Until then, you can find more information here about the single-player part of the mod: the scripted historical battle of Borodino.

 

At the bottom of the preview we also give some further information about the multiplayer aspect of the mod.

 

SINGLEPLAYER

 

The Concept

 

At some point the decision was made not to create a campaign-map for this mod. The reason is that the RTW AI is in no way capable of handling Napoleonic armies, so it simply wouldn't be challenging or enjoying to play. Instead, we focus on heavily scripted historical battles. These scripts replace most of the AI, and allow us to let the battle evolve the way we want it to.

 

It would be impossible to script a flexible AI that can control an entire army, and challenge the player's army. So what we did instead, is give the player a limited amount of units, spread across the battlefield. These units are reinforced by AI controlled allies. As a result, the player cannot concentrate his forces against the AI, and even if he does, he won't have enough men to defeat the enemy on his own. In order to win the battle, you need to support and cooperate with your allies.

 

An adviser (with actual speech) will inform you of the current situation, telling you when and were to attack.

 

Phase I: Taking Borodino

 

The first task is rather easy: You have to take the village of Borodino. You have 2 units available nearby, and your AI teammate sends nothing more then a 6 pounder cannon to help you. The village is lightly defended and should be captured rather easily. But even if you fail and lose both units, the battle will go on to the next phase. However the consequences will be that the enemy has some additional units available for reinforcements, because they are no longer needed to defend the bridge near Borodino village.

 

Napoléon guides you through the battle.

 

Phase II: Taking Bagration's Fletches

 

The next step is quite a lot more challenging: The Russians have dug in behind a redoubt, and have a 12 pounder cannon. Your allies will attack this position, and it is your job to assist them. Act too slow and the Russians may rout your allies with canister and musket fire. When that happens you'll be expected to take the redoubt on your own.

 

Assault against the fletches involving player and allied units.

 

Both the Russians and French will send counter-attacks several times, so you'll have to stay cautious.

 

Phase III: Assault on Semenovskoi

 

When the Fletches are finally under French control, the French and Russians will redeploy most of their units, preparing for the next attack. Meanwhile the Russian artillery battery will open fire.

 

Russian defences at the burned village of Semenovskoi

 

Depending on losses taken in the previous phases, the assault on the village of Semenovskoi may turn out slightly different.

 

This is by far the most difficult phase of the battle, with both French and Russians throwing almost everything they got into the fray. You'll have to keep your head cool during massive cavalry charges, attacks and counter-attacks and the continuous bombardment of cannonballs and canister shot.

 

Phase IV: Assault on the Great Redoubt

 

Before the assault on Semenovskoi has properly started, the French will mount on attack on the Great Redoubt. This is a heavily defended Russian entrenchment, loaded with 12 pounder guns. Again, your performance in the previous phases will determine how many units you and your allies can use in this attack, and how many reserves the Russians can spare in defence.

 

Charging the Great Redoubt

 

The Outcome

 

Depending on circumstances, both sides may decide to commit their Guard into the final attack, and if you manage to break the last stand of the Russian Guard, victory is yours. However, if the French Guard takes too much casualties the battle will be considered as a defeat, no matter how much damage you did to the Russian army.

 

 

MULTIPLAYER

 

For those who are interested in playing the mod in Multi-player, here follows some information to get you prepared. We also advice you to read the Gameplay & Tactics review before entering the fields of MP battle, so you have a better idea of what to do and expect. We certainly hope a lot of you will give this a try, if only out of respect for the immense amount of work we put in this mod. And hey, you might even like it The NTW community is generally polite and mature, so you don't have to fear much rude behaviour.

 

 

Setting up Firewall/Router

 

If you have never played RTW on-line before, and you have a router or firewall, you must make sure it is properly set up. It is very annoying when a game goes out of sync because of someone's router or firewall. If this does occur and/or you need some technical assistance feel free to make a post on the Lordz forum.

 

You can find information about what ports to open/forward in this topic.

 

 

CD key

 

You can find your CD key on the back of your RTW manual. If you haven't played MP before, go to the Multiplayer menu, then click "Change

CD key" and enter your key. This is case sensitive and you must press enter after inserting your key.

 

 

Hosting MP Games

 

The game is designed to be played on Large unit size, 10k florins, and no additional rules. Of course you do not HAVE to stick to this, but we strongly advice it. If you want to play 3v3 or 4v4 you should limit the amount of florins to 5k or 3k to prevent lag, rather then decrease the unit size. The latter will cause units like artillery to become imbalanced.

 

Some maps can not be played with more then 4 or 6 players. In the map selection screen there is a small information box that mentions the maximum amount of players for the selected map. Even though these maps are exceptions, you should pay attention to it.

 

Team I is replaced by "Attacker", team II is "Defender". If you are attacker, you do not have the right to camp (sit still) on the map, while the defender does. However, if the defender has chosen a bad position, and the attacker can deal serious damage with long range artillery fire, it is his right to do so, and he does not have to send additional units to attack until his artillery has ran out of ammo.

You can still play with more then 2 teams, but this may cause weird deployment zones on the maps (or even crash the game) and will certainly lead to imbalanced.

 

The new game setup menu, showing a map preview and splitting attacker and defender.

 

Command Games

 

In NTW1, "Command Games" have become quite popular. It means each player of a team takes control of one part of the army (cavalry, infantry, guard & artillery) and elects a general. This general decides about the overall strategy and plan, the rest is supposed to listen to him. A bit like the Time Commanders series, but with actual control over the units. Even if your general or allies are useless, this generally leads to epic battles

 

Notes

 

When the battle starts you must disable all infantry units' skirmish mode manually. If you don't do this you will certainly get in trouble when you try to charge or fire a close range volley, or when an enemy unit gets close to your units.

 

If you let the NTW2 installer enable Quick Chat, you can use Y to chat to all players and T to talk to your teammates. These hot-keys can be changed in the hot-keys menu. If you did not enable Quickchat you must use Y to open the chat menu, and then use the numeric keys to define who you want to talk to.

 

You cannot chat while others are still loading the game, or when there are connection problems. This is annoying and confusing, but we'll have to live with that. Pop ups or hitting the windows key can throw you back to windows and this will cause a "connection problem" for the other players. When you re-enter the game the map will be reloaded and this can take a while. So when facing a connection problem players should wait at least 1 or 2 minutes before kicking the player or terminating the game.

 

You cannot change your video setting when in a MP game, so we suggest using very low setting during your first games. If you still get a good frame rate in 3v3 games you can increase the detail. Or just test out what your PC can handle by running a 3v3 custom battle (against AI).

 

 

THE FUTURE

 

We were planning to make a Waterloo pack next, similar to the current Borodino pack. But considering there are only 2 or 3 months left before the MTW2 release that might not be worth it. We still have to make a final decision, but one option is to finish the British, Dutch and maybe Prussian factions one by one, and release these as multiplayer add-ons in the coming weeks/months.

 

At the same time great progress is being made in designing a MP campaign around the French 1812 invasion of Russia. We hope to show you the first results soon.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

The Lordz

[Joachim Murat]

Vittig at andre nordmenn har sittet og ventet på denne óg! Final release er visst satt til fredag 31.08, så alle oss med napoleonske fetisjer kan glede seg!

[Gunfreak]

veldig historisk navn du har der Joachim Murat, eller skal vi si,

 

Marshal Murat eller kanskje King Naples

[Luchy]

Dette ser utrolig bra, så jeg må nok skaffe det

[Joachim Murat]

veldig historisk navn du har der Joachim Murat, eller skal vi si,

 

Marshal Murat eller kanskje King Naples

6765541[/snapback]

 

Hehe... MEBE...

 

Og da var modden på vei ned!