Cav vs Skrimishers

In a game the other night had this situation occur. Medium Cav unit on my right flank charges a unit of skirmishers positioned between difficult ground and the right hand edge of the board. Due to poor dice rolls on my part the skirmishers were not hit, leaving my Cav tied down in a continuing melee. Due to continued poor die rules this situation went on thru the entire game, effectively keeping my Medium Cav out of the action and blocking all movement along that side of the board.

That just seem wrong to me. Should the rules work that way?

While the skirmishers should definitely halt the Cav's advance for a turn, I would think after the initial contact, regardless of weather any damage is done to the skirmishers, the Cav unit would simply ride thru the skirmishers on their next turn.

Ed B.

Confusion is endemic in warfare - the cavalry were clearly panicked and disjointed by the skirmishers.

Who knows what was actually happening, maybe there was undefined terrain that canalised the advance and enabled the skirmishers to block them.

Frustrating for the cavalry but that's warfare for you.

No that's not warfare, that's game mechanics & in my opinion faulty game mechanics.

As a re-enactor I've been in the field with massed cav coming at me. As infantry, if you are in not a tight close order formation they are going to ride right through you.

Against Heavy or med Cav skrimishers should function as little more than a speed bump.

You are assuming an open field with no obstructions - it takes very little to canalise cavalry. Rabbit holes will do it, drainage ditches, well placed olive trees - much of which is smaller than the abstract 'terrain' we place on wargames tables. Maybe the opening volley killed the commander and confusion ensured, who knows.

I'm afraid it is you that is discussing mechanics, you're seeing a simple interaction and demanding a 'sensible' conclusion based on how much better X are than Y.

That isn't the real world, the real world is full of the unknown and unexpected and strange things happening. The cavalry got hung up fighting some skirmishers off on the flank - the details are not in the mechanics or on the table. The why that happened is in the 'black box' of the dice rolls. Create a narrative that fits the events and accept it as part of the chaos of the battlefield.

I too have faced massed cavalry charges with nowt but a shield and pointy stick. You're right that in the open you at least need to clump into knots but there's two serious things that make that a less than perfect lesson
1) no one is actually shooting at the cavalry, no arrows, stones, javelins, nothing.
2) we're all very concerned none of the horses (or riders or ourselves) get hurt, so even the ground has been inspected to ensure there are no loose gravel pits, rabbit warrens or hidden ditches or other obstructions - all the things in fact skirmishers would be looking for.

It's good experience for many of the difficulties and practicalities of maneuver but it doesn't provide worthwhile evidence of combat interactions very well.

Hi all - I like playing Basic Impetus games and would encourage you to try again with the rule set. hey are more "chaotic" games though as there is a more varied set of outcomes that can result - this is the "marmite" test you either lie that element or hate it.

In BI the skirmishers can be pretty useful - of course we can expect the Medium cavalry to win that combat but this time round they didnt - were they mercenaries maybe they had not been paid and were half hearted? Maybe the commander was killed by a javelin or slingshot and that spoked the unit?

I feel your pain though .... of course I like it when it is my skirmishers who are successful.

Cheers Jez