Confusion about skirmishing

[Tom C]

The army lists remark on units that are skirmisher capable. These are some light cavalry, dragoons, and some irregular infantry. In the terrain rules it states that you must be in skirmish to move through forests. It goes so far as to state that if you can’t form skirmish you can’t move through forest. But then in page 28 it has this odd statement “This takes troops without the skirmisher special rule one entire move (those troops forced into temporary skirmish order during the battle)…suggesting there is some unknown reason non-skirmish troops can temporarily skirmish. How do veterans of these rules interpret this?

[Charge The Guns]

Hi Tom,

My interpretation. Page 39 suggests to me that, if you give a formed (ie not skirmish) unit an order in which it needs to pass through a wood, then before it enters in to the wood it needs to spend a move forming into skirmish order. When it leaves the wood it needs to spend a move. forming up. Note that it can’t do two formation changes in a turn, so it can’t form skirmish, move through the wood, and then reform on the other side, all in one turn.

In addition. If a unit was forced for some reason to retire through a wood then it would need to spend a move changing in to skirmish first, and as this is a forced additional action it would also become disordered.

In effect, moving through woods is not something formed troops should be trying to do.

Hope this helps.

[Tom C]

That’s how I took it as well. One of our gamers expressed concern that it takes away from true skirmishers (dragoons) But I feel the requirement to use a move to change formation is significant. One could always house rule some negative modifiers for non-skirmish troops as well. I guess the question is more the historical authenticity of formed units (musket units) being able to be flexible.

[Charge The Guns]

I agree. I think the fact the dragoons, as skirmishers, don’t need to spend the extra nice changing formation before entering the wood, and the fact they are mounted so can get there faster, gives them enough of an edge.

I can think of several examples of shot being commanded off to either hold or take bad terrain in ECW and TYW.

You could give the dragoons flintlocks if you wanted them to have more of an edge? I would hesitate before turning them in to the 95th 🙂

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