Cavalry

Cavalry is the second major unit type in Fire & Maneuver, alongside Infantry and Artillery. They have the highest maneuverability of any unit type, but with the downside of limited range and a focus in melee combat. These men of the horse will sow paranoia among your foes and quickly finish off weakened enemies, but beware, inopportune charges will yield devastating results.

## Subtypes

There exist 2 subtypes of Cavalry: Light cavalry and Heavy Cavalry.

### Light Cavalry

Light Cavalry consists of Hussars, Lancers, and their derivatives. They have the highest speed of all units at 3, but with slightly lower cohesion at 3 and sometimes lower Hit Points as well.

Derivatives of Hussars, like Chasseurs-a-Cheval, often have lower Cohesion and Hit Points, but have mobility-centered traits such as Efficiency or Skirmishing to evade and outflank the enemy.

Lancers and their derivatives, like Uhlans and Cossacks, all have the Shock trait, as lances are by-and-large superior weapons to sabers in a cavalry charge. In general, Lancers and their derivatives are more expensive than Hussars and thereof, and often have limits to how many can be employed in a battle.

Light cavalry have access to 3 formations: March Column, Cavalry Line, and Open Order Formation.

### Heavy Cavalry

Heavy Cavalry include Dragoons, Cuirassiers, and its derivatives, They have lower speed than Light Cavalry, at 2, but have higher cohesion and Hit Points. They are also more expensive than their light counterparts.

All Dragoon units have Efficiency, and come with carbines equipped in Unit Selection by default. They have the same amount of Cohesion and Hit Points as Line Infantry, at 4 and 6 respectively.

Cuirassiers and their derivatives, like Carabiners and Life Guards, have higher Cohesion and Hit Points, usually at 5 and 6 respectively. They are the most expensive units out of all Cavalry. There usually exists a limit to how many units of Cuirassiers or their derivatives you can employ for a battle, reflecting their rarity in history.

Heavy Cavalry have access to 4 formations: March Column, Cavalry Line, Echelon, and Open Order Formation.

## Formations

### March Column

Like the March Column of Infantry, a Cavalry March Colum can move diagonally. If the path the unit takes is entirely on road tiles, their speed is increased by 1. If a unit is in this formation no firing orders can be issued to it. Units in March column suffer from range and charge vulnerability.

In this formation, each company lines up after each other front-to-back in a compact line.

### Cavalry Line

The cavalry Line formation acts similarly to the Attack Column of Infantry. It increases charge damage by 1 , units can only attack tiles directly in front of it, and diagonal movement is not allowed. These formations also give their units range vulnerability. However, unlike Attack Column, the speed of the unit is unaffected, nor can they cross bridges.

In this formation, each company is positioned side-to-side in a straight line, all facing forward.

Light Cavalry are by default deployed in Cavalry Line.

### Echelon

Echelon is a formation exclusive to Heavy Cavalry. It permits diagonal movement and gives no vulnerabilities. However, units can only charge and cannot fire. A unit in Echelon can charge any tile adjacent to it.

Echelon resembles a slanted line when viewed from above, with the companies being positioned increasingly near the front from right to left.

Heavy cavalry are by default deployed in Echelon.

### Open Order Formation

This formation is identical to its Infantry counterpart.

## General Usage

### Flanking

Cavalry can easily reposition to the sides and backs of an enemy in order to deal extra damage. Elevated terrain may be used to supplement the limited range of their carbines.

### Backline Harassment

Using their superior maneuverability, Cavalry can be used to bypass the frontline and attack the enemy's rear. This is commonly used against unprotected artillery units, especially those that lack the Anti-personnel trait.

The enemy may then commit units to protect and pursuit the harassing Cavalry, which weakens his forces at the front.

### Distraction

Oftentimes, the mere threat of a Cavalry attack can cause the enemy to react in a way that puts himself at a disadvantage. For example, changing his units from Marching Column prematurely, in reaction to the charge vulnerability of said formation, would weaken his force at the front.

Furthermore, combined arms tactics can be used to cause great frustration to the enemy. For example, placing a cavalry unit close to an enemy infantry unit may cause the enemy to change it into Square Formation, which protects the unit against a cavalry charge with the formation's charge invulnerability. However, friendly Artillery or Infantry could then exploit the range vulnerability of Square Formation to deal extra damage to said enemy infantry unit.

## List of Units

Speed and Range may be affected by the Formation the unit is in and the terrain it is on. Price may be affected by what weapons the unit is equipped with via the Armory. The values in the table are the default values.