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Although I worked through the topics that are about the division composition I still have questions about the usefulness of some elements.

Zouaves
Any benefit except filling infantry divisions as they come a single elements?


Cavalry(in infantry formations)
If these are good for screening to prevent additional damage from cavalry pursuit, is the right place in:
- an infantry division
- loose in a corps
- as extra division within a corps
- in the army stack


Light Infantry
Is it an alternative to cavalry in the attempt to prohibit damage from cavalry pursuit?


Marine / Sailor
Are these usefully at all inside an infantry division if that division is part of a crops that has a potoon unit?


6lb artillery
Correct me but if support units are chosen randomly such 6lb might be used instead of better Napoleons or rifled artillery?
So there place is more in garrisons or small side theaters like the swamp/marsh terrain in Florida, etc.?

I have never considered Zouaves as anything more than infantry. IRL, they were just soldiers in uselessly fancy uniforms.

I use the single element cavalry for scouting and counter-recon. I combine them in all cav units as needed. As such, the mixed brigades are my only way of putting cav in an infantry Division for pursuit/screening. That gives a stack of infantry Divisions 8-10 cavalry total and I don't add the all-cav units to the stack.

The mixed Divisions I make with the light infantry I keep entrenched in garrison to form a shield along the Ohio/Mississippi Rivers as the Union.

IIRC, the Marine/Sailor elements do lessen the combat penalty when crossing a river, whereas the pontoons increase movement. So a stack of elite Divisions might each have one of these and the stack a pontoon. An engineer also works with the pontoon to increase entrenching speed.

I use the 6-lbers in mixed Divisions that are designed to entrench in towns/stockades alone or in small stacks to hold the line. The artillery chosen in a battle are random, so these guns do find their way into the mix in place of better artillery if the limit exceeds the number of batteries present.

I build single 6lb to build forts with them.

Zouaves historically are not simply soldiers in fancy pajamas. They were regiments chosen for excelling in their training, or for having other characteristics which resulted in their standing out as being tougher, scrappier, and more disciplined than average. IIRC there was a NY-City Zouave regiment made-up entirely of fire-fighters, for example.

Their gaudy uniforms were a matter of pride, and they certainly stood out on the battlefield for them. But they also nearly always receive the best and newest weapons and equipment. They were often held back as strategic reserves in a brigade or division, to be pushed into battle to break-the-line or in a last ditch effort to hold a position.

As the war progressed, less and less value was placed on their special uniforms, which were often replaced piece by piece over time (reducing costs being the main reason) until they were unrecognizable from any other units, or retained only a vestige of their former superlative uniforms, such as a colorful cloth hat or brightly colored shirt.

Other regiments also caught up with their prowess through their own experience and deeds, until the Zouaves faded into the rank and file of an highly trained and experience army.

BigDuke66 wrote:Although I worked through the topics that are about the division composition I still have questions about the usefulness of some elements.

Zouaves
Any benefit except filling infantry divisions as they come a single elements?


Cavalry(in infantry formations)
If these are good for screening to prevent additional damage from cavalry pursuit, is the right place in:
- an infantry division
- loose in a corps
- as extra division within a corps
- in the army stack


Light Infantry
Is it an alternative to cavalry in the attempt to prohibit damage from cavalry pursuit?


Marine / Sailor
Are these usefully at all inside an infantry division if that division is part of a crops that has a potoon unit?


6lb artillery
Correct me but if support units are chosen randomly such 6lb might be used instead of better Napoleons or rifled artillery?
So there place is more in garrisons or small side theaters like the swamp/marsh terrain in Florida, etc.?

From what I remember Zouaves are Light Infantry with flavor. In the stats they have slightly higher recon and patrol values than regular line, but not as good as CAV. So a slight improvement, although I just like the flexibility of them coming in 1 element builds.

For Cav, if a stack wants screening protection from pursuit, it just needs to have cav elements in it. (For some reason my memory is telling me a 16CP stack should have 4 cav elements for proper screening...) Within the stack, i recommend putting the cav in a division of some sort, because there is always a chance that an enemy division will target the lone cav element...which is bad news for them. (As for a cav only stack, don't do it to help your screening, do it if you want high mobility combat power.)

Sailors/Marines lower the combat penalty associated with river crossings. Pontoon units jut make you cross rivers faster. So if I had to pick one, I would go with the Marines (but the 2 things complement each other).

6 ponders...better than nothing, and ok on defense. (Yes, they have an equal chance of filling a support slot as a better gun)

Thanks guys.
Now can someone detail what the penalty is for crossing a river?
And is it the same for amphibious landings?

The effects of a river crossing to different unit types in combat are available in the CW2 database:

viewtopic.php?f=340&t=35005

Check the terrain file.