Not Sure I Understand.

[AlexDetrojan]

I've got a question I need resolved. I am aware that Pike and Shot cannot charge Horse...I'm assuming because they would just gallop away. But I had an enemy horse pinned in battle with one of my Horse. I was able to maneuver one of my Pike and Shot units behind the pinned enemy Horse, yet I was still not able to charge it. This seems completely counter-intuitive, by rights I should have been able to crash into it. There were no other enemy units around to zoc my pikers so by my thinking it should have been fair game. Can someone explain why this is not allowed?
Cheers
Alex

[rbodleyscott]

It is certainly counter-intuitive, but it is based on historical behaviour.

Firstly, although the game shows the cavalry combat as static, this is purely for convenience, in reality such combats were quite fluid, so the idea that the horse are pinned and waiting to be attacked does not reflect the historical reality.

Secondly, Pike and Shot did not do that sort of thing - it was too dangerous to break anti-cavalry formation while there were any unbroken cavalry about. (The game does not make units manually change formation, they are instead assumed to adopt the appropriate formation for the situation if they are capable of doing so.)

[AlexDetrojan]

Thanks Richard, makes sense. That being the case then Pike and Shot units are ham-strung by cavalry it seems. yes they've got arquebusiers/muskets to fight back, but if one is willing to sacrifice a unit or two of cavalry, you can really hold up the pikers advance no? And with Horse like Late Imperial Horse who can produce some withering fire of their own things get messy...I've got to rethink my strategy in lieu of this.
Cheers
Alex

[SnuggleBunnies]

Sure you can hold up the pikes, but your cavalry will die and then the pikes will be freed up again. So it's a valid strategy, but so costly that it's only useful in select situations.

[w_michael]

If you supplement the Pike & Shot with Light Artillery then you can enhance the shooting against the enemy mounted. You might have to angle the Pike & Shot's ZOC to cover the Artillery from a charge, but it can be done.