Infantry charging cavalry

[Paul59]

Sorry to bring up this old chestnut again!

The new update has "Allowed any non-light foot without missile weapons to charge cavalry". I'm not sure I totally agree with that change, but it is what several people wanted so I will live with it.

However in recent games I have had Janissaries (Arquebus swordsmen) charging my light horse, and in the Tannenberg scenario my Town Levy Infantry (50% crossbows) can charge the Lithuanian Cavalry. In both cases the cavalry units are not fragmented.

Is this right? Both of these infantry units have missile weapons and yet can charge cavalry, and light cavalry at that!

[rbodleyscott]

All infantry can charge light horse. This is intentional, and has been the case since the original game was first released, although it appears to have been omitted from the manual. The sentence in section 9.4.3 should have read "Foot units other than those with large pike blocks (keils) cannot charge non-light cavalry...". (Although other foot without missile weapons now can).

Light Horse in Pike & Shot represent those "light" horse who acted as skirmishers, which is why they can evade. (Other horse such as Harquebusiers, who would have been regarded at the time as "light" horse, mainly because they were more lightly equipped than Cuirassiers, were not skirmishers in this sense and fought in formed bodies, so are rated as Horse). As skirmishers, Light Horse cannot halt the advance of formed infantry. A "charge" by infantry against them (unless they are already engaged) is more representative of an advance to sweep them aside, rather than a charge with the intention of actually engaging them in close combat. The light horse will usually evade out of the way - although they may not evade medium foot, who may lose the impact combat.

Light infantry are also allowed to charge them, but would be foolish to do so frontally.

Sorry for the confusion caused by the omission of this exception from the manual.