What is Flanking ?
Flanking is taking troops to attack a side while your main units fight the front. It can be a cavalry charge , it can be a musket blow , or it can be a " siege hammersledge " type of hit on your enemy ( Diverting another division for a double blow attack )
Now one of the most dangerous mistakes of flanking is it can go HORRIBLY wrong.
For example , team a vs team b. Team b is suffering casaulties due to those muskeeters firing at his fusiliers whos busy taking off cavalry units at his artillery. Team b general sends in cav division b1 to take out the muskeeters. Cav division moves in , team a withdraws his muskeeters , uses artillery as a cover , and uses his fusiliers from another line infront or at the back to destroy the flankage. Now take note : both armies are equally created , so there will be no exception to any type of army any person created. Both army are equal.
Flanking should only be done when you have the surprise factor , when your enemy is distraught. You must somehow feel his sweating his whole head behind his com , IE he gets nervous . You must make sure your firepower is having a big impact. Why ? It is to draw fire , the more fire you draw , the more distracted he is. Flanking is to have the element of SURPRISE , to have the SHOCK . You want the SHOCK to attack your enemy. Shock troopers are best as cavalry. When you feel the time is right , when you think you got his army enveloped , when you are straining your lines too much , at that point of time , flank him. Send cav down his muskeeters at his back. Muskeeters have a longer range than fusiliers btw , so they stay furthur behind. Always remember - Envelope the enemy , so he cannot withdraw his troops. If he trys to , he will suffer alot of casaulties. A good player will try to minimise casaulties , and there withdraw his troops. But by that time , you want to make sure he has been flanked already. This battle might last only 2 - 3 minutes , but it can be the deciding factor of the game. Every battle counts.
Next , double sided flanking.
Now , every body thinks double sided flanking is good , as this immediately envelopes the enemy , and focuses fire on his whole battalion as a group , you got him in the middle .
This is good , if you are fighting a real dumbo.
Now Im not saying you all are dumb Situation A) Team A vs Team B. Team A does a double sided flank on team B , coming from both sides with superior cavalry charges. Team B simply withdraws , and Team A , thinking he has won by sheer shock , runs in. Team B , meanwhile has reinforced his line with alittle more troops , maybe 1 or 2 , and has his artillery with him. Dont forget team A has his artillery already there , BUT , flanking element is no longer there. Team A rushes in , and gets torn to bits. Why am I saying this ? Any army will know. You DO NOT RUSH into an ENTIRE battalion. That is suicide , even when you think you won , you do NOT rush in your infantry and cav thinking they will be meat shields and by the time u reach there u will have the upper hand. That is entirely not true. I learned the hard way , the smart player pulled back his troops , I went in , and a whole volley of musket blows greeted my cav , deciminating them quickly in a moment or 2 , leaving the enemy's Cav to flank my defenceless artillery ( troops busy at front ) . How do you do a double flank ? Its relatively easy from the way I will say it , but you need precise timing. Flanking is all about timing. First of all , set up two divisions , separate from your main army , and make sure they are properly hidden away from the battle. This time , send ONE division to flank ONE side of the player's army. In this situation , the player will either do 2 things. 1) Focus fire on flank If he focuses fire on your flank , you are in luck. When your flank is reduced to about 3/4 of its formal strength , send in your other flank. He will be caught on both sides. That way , you surprise him with two flanks. If the smart dude withdraws , you will withdraw your cav as well , pull in all your troops , reinforce the line , and use artillery as a cover for troops to get in place again. Remember - Flanking is to add to the shock you want the enemy to feel. It is to demoralize the enemy. Flanking can be used to go for his general first if he has one , that will add a + to your army. I hope you find this article useful , Im still quite new on things , but I learnt everything the hard way ( Suffered too much losing battles untill I start learning , then I start winning :P ) Watch out for enemy spies , they totally kill the army Benzoid
2) Withdraw