"Another VwQ question regarding the pike stand formation" Topic

In Victory without Quarter, one of the formations available to a pike & shotte unit is called a pike stand, for use primarily as a defense against cavalry. While the penalties associated with being fired upon if in a pike stand formation are listed, I can't see what the benefit against horse should be.

Anyone have any idea of what the specific benefits within the VwQ rules should be or, if not, what the real-world benefits against cavalry were?

Thanks for your help.

Craig

Basically if your pikes are all facing in one direction, then your flanks and rear are totally unprotected and if cavalry hit you there you are toast.

In a pike stand situation you are essentially in "square" with pikes facing in all directions, protecting you (and the shot/artillery inside you) from cavalry attacks.

That is historical . . . for game-specific advantages, I don't have the rules at hand.

-- Jeff

In melee, horse that charge a unit in pike stand hit only on a 6+, regardless of other modifiers (page 7, Melee Combat table intro)…

Just to throw something extra into the debate. Although the manuals showed the drill for the formation of a pikestand it seems more common in the civil war for infantry threatened by horse to close ranks and deliver a close range volley (Cheriton and First Newbury) Horses were not keen to run into a formed body of men, whether with pikes or not. The aim of the horse was to break the enemy horse on the wings and then they could start to roll up the infantry from the flank while they were fighting to their front(Naseby and Marston Moor) I have seen too many ECW games with foot regiments all in pikestands like Napoleonic squares with the cavalry standing around. I would prefer to see rules reflect a units ability to organise themselves before the cavalry attack. This is reflected well in the VwQ stand and fire rule.

In the last VnQ battle I played I charged with cavalry on a flank and unfortunately the infantry had time to form the pike stand. As Quindia states horse on hit on a 6+ in melee. To make a long story short . . . no more cavarly after that fight!