Infantry and Cavalry Formations Explained

Four hundred years ago, mainland Europe resounded to the sounds of bloody battles, as nations were created and fell, fortunes made and lost, and new military tactics were developed. Cossacks: The Art of War recreates these battles on an epic scale.

Featuring more than 35 enhancements to the original, The Art Of War is designed to add a new lease of life to the critically acclaimed game, which went straight to number one when it was first released in March 2001 and was a permanent fixture in the PC top ten for nearly six months (source ChartTrack 2001).

The original Cossacks: European Wars gave us 3 infantry formations, in the Art of War Cavalry Formations have now been added to give more variations in tactics and strategy.

Formations in Cossacks are not there to look pretty like other RTS games; in fact formations are key to winning battles involving huge numbers. There are 3 types of Cavalry formations, the Line, Column and Wedge each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

The Line Formations are probably your most common of all, great for charges as well defences. Used by players who want to play it safe as well as have the option to attack, the Line formation is quite possibly the most versatile Cavalry formation.

The Column Formation is an excellent choice for the tactical armchair generals, linked with support of Musketeers or Dragoons from the rear, the Cavalry acts as a shield while the guns pick of the soldiers as they collide. From a defensive point of view the Column formation can be used to lead vital members to safety, with a higher defensive bonus than the Line formation, this formation will have different variations in its use.

People who like to lead a full-scale assault use The Wedge Formation; it increases your attack bonus greatly but lowers defence so a well planned attack needs to be swift… if planned with a coup de grace the wedge formation will cut through infantry like a hot knife through butter.

Probably one of the most ingenious features with formations now is the ability to link various ones together and actually have them march as one large single entity. With the sheer amount of variations and troop size, Cossacks: The Art of War has once again proved itself to be an RTS masterpiece, one that will have people playing for years to come, this is one expansion pack the Napoleons of the World cannot afford to miss.