Napoleon: Total War expanded the TW game series into the 19th century. The game includes many interesting Napoleonic campaigns and units equipped with guns and artillery. Napoleon: Total War battles are frantic affairs that provide plenty of tactical scope for players. These are a few tips that will give you a better chance of winning land battles in Napoleon TW.
Keep Your General Divisions in Battles
Generals are the leaders of armies that are crucial to victory. They are crucial as they have a big impact on morale. Thus, your army's morale will drop substantially if you lose a general during a battle. Then your divisions will rout somewhat more quickly than would have otherwise been the case with the general on the battlefield.
Keep your general staff division back behind your army's front line so that he doesn't come under fire. However, make sure you keep lots of divisions within the general's aura circle to boost their morale. Don't charge into divisions with the general unless the battle is almost certainly won.
Take Out the Enemy General
The army that loses its general first usually loses the battle in Total War. Eliminating the enemy general will demoralize his army. As such, try to take out the opposing army's general as soon as you can.
You might quickly eliminate the enemy general by targeting his division with an accurate artillery division. Then there's a chance artillery fire will take him out earlier in the battle. Alternatively, you can rout the general staff with a cavalry charge when the battle has opened up.
Seize the High Ground
Exploiting the map's landscape to your advantage can also decisively shift the balance of a battle in your army's favor. Many maps include higher ground in the form of hills and cliffs. Seizing the high ground by placing divisions on high hills will give your infantry and artillery an elevation advantage that will enhance their firing range. Enemy units will also tire quickly when they run up steep hills to engage your divisions. Furthermore, cavalry and infantry charges have much more momentum when running down hillsides. So high ground is usually a strong defensive position to place your divisions.
Flank the Enemy With Cavalry
Many players win Total War battles by flanking armies. A flank attack is one from the side or even the rear of divisions where they are more vulnerable. It's much better to utilize cavalry to flank armies as they move more quickly than infantry. As such, the army with the most cavalry has the better chance of outflanking the enemy and winning the battle. So include at least a few cavalry divisions in most of your armies.
To pull off an effective flanking maneuver, place a group of cavalry divisions on the left or right side of your army's line at the start of the battle. One tactic is to place a few cavalry divisions on the far left or right of the map at the beginning of the battle so you can pull a surprise charge later on. The ideal time to flank the enemy army is when most of its divisions are engaged in melee combat. Then you can get your cavalry in a better position to charge at the flank of an army when there's less enemy fire.
Run Down Artillery With Cavalry
Artillery fire panics divisions and can wipe out quite a bit of your army. So it's worth running down unprotected artillery divisions with cavalry when you get a chance to do so. One cavalry division will probably be sufficient to wipe out a couple of artillery units. The best time to strike at artillery is usually when the battle has opened up with most of the enemy's divisions engaging your own units.
Switch to Square Formations to hold off cavalry
To defend your own line from flanking, place divisions that can switch to square formations on the left and right side of your army at the beginning of the battle. Then, if your flanks get exposed to enemy cavalry, you can square up divisions to defend against cavalry charges. That will switch the divisions to square formations that fire from all sides. In addition, make sure you place cavalry units on both sides of your army to further protect its flanks.
Take Cover
Battlefield landscapes in Napoleon: Total War usually include terrain that give some form of cover for your army. Forests provide cover for divisions on most maps, and some battlefields also include walls. Positioning your armies in forests and behind walls will give them extra cover, which will reduce losses when they come under more direct infantry fire or artillery blasts. Forests also camouflage divisions, which can come in handy for pulling off surprise ambushes.
Those tips will probably ensure you win most of your evenly matched battles in Napoleon: Total War campaigns. So now you might whip the French and Coalition armies in the game's campaigns!
