Morale Napoleon unbeatable units?

[ronisan]

Hello,

if e.g. a formed unit of Prussian Landwehr ( Moralgrade 5, 3 Battalions) fights a melee against a formed unit of Dutch Lancers (5.4, french army: Moralgrade 9, 10 Squadrons).

The Lancers are unbeatable (starting with 9 (MG) + 10 (No. of squadrons times +1) + 1d6 = Minimum of 20 (!) to maximum of 25 (!)

The Landwehr (starting with 5 (MG) + 3 (No. of battalions times +1) + 1d6 = Maximum will be 14 (!) ... ?

Without any more +1 special modifiers (... maybe Small Arms Fire in line ... or being fresh ... Artillery support) the Landwehr always "routs" ... there is no chance of winning for the prussians.

Am I right ... or did I misunderstand the melee calculation?

Regards,

Ronald

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Jun 1, 2022 16:20:33 GMT ronisan said:

Hello,
Here goes.

if e.g. a formed unit of Prussian Landwehr ( Moralgrade 5, 3 Battalions) fights a melee against a formed unit of Dutch Lancers (5.4, french army: Moralgrade 9, 10 Squadrons).

The Lancers are unbeatable (starting with 9 (MG) + 10 (No. of squadrons times +1) + 1d6 = Minimum of 20 (!) to maximum of 25 (!)

The Landwehr (starting with 5 (MG) + 3 (No. of battalions times +1) +1 Small arms fire + 1d6 = Maximum will be 15 (!) ... ?

Without any more +1 special modifiers (... maybe Small Arms Fire in line ... or being fresh ... Artillery support) the Landwehr always "routs" ... there is no chance of winning for the prussians.

Am I right ... or did I misunderstand the melee calculation?
Oh no, you are correct. First off, the Landwehr should have been in square if they were smart. That means the Lancers don't count each squadron. If they can't make square, yep, they are wiped out. It was very common for not in square infantry to fire once and run when charged by cavalry - which is why the square formation came into being. Not in square, they could be literally surrounded by the cavalry.
Hope this helps.

 link

Regards,

Ronald

[ronisan]

Hello Ed,

ok - so far so good.
But where in the rules does it say that  "... the Lancers don't count each squadron."

When and in which situation does a unit not (!) count each battalion/squadron for a +1 (each) to the melee?

Regards
Ronald.

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

If they are unformed. See the Melee Table shows some examples. Page 6 says if cavalry must pursue 4"or more they are unformed. Also, more examples are listed like infantry getting hit while forming square.

[ronisan]

Hello Ed,

thanks for helping - now I'm fine with the rules. 

I was confused, because a friend of mine played it in a different way.
He just counted the formed battalions/squadrons "which are actually in contact with the enemy front edge" as a +1 each!
But I couldn't find that in the rules either. 


Regards,
Ronald

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

No worries. Glad I could help.