"V&F artillery and skirmisher working together" Topic

"A unit can only use skirmishers to lend fire support if the attacking unit is also using
skirmishers."
As I understand the rule I cannot support my cannister firing guns with skirmishers. I want to house rule that that would be legal, but do I think to much like fighting in the 1870s? Is there a reason for not allowing that tactic?

I don't think the skirmishers would appreciate the cannister fire from their own guns.

That is a valid point."Friendly Fire" is a misnomer.

So I guess I did not make my point clear:
I do believe that the French and Prussian way of fighting in the late napoleonic Wars was a mixture of artillery fire, skirmish fire and shock action of cavalry and infantry.
I do not believe that the long lines of infantry firing at each other was anything else than a waste of ammunition. And I also thing that the assault in columns vs lines like it is seen in almost every AAR is a stupid misconception if the assault is not prepared with a boring artillery bombardement or a massive amount of skirmish fire in a short amount of time.
So what I asked for is basically my understanding why the images of a deployed french division or a prussian brigade has a first line of light infantry and artillery.

with the Valour&Fortitude update to Version 3.0 you rally a unit with 6+. I guess it becomes to risky to place artillery so exposed, but I still will try out my home rule. Even though the designer specifically explaines why he rules differently

I'm entirely with you, our mutual problem is that most rules writers are still addicted to the 'musket counting' of Charles Oman and see the Napoleonic wars as being about the peninsular and Waterloo, where they believe superior British musketry from 2 deep lines beat French columns and thus won the war. A unit opposed by skirmishers that was not itself using skirmishers would be at a major disadvantage and it would be no use it's commander telling his opponent, 'Oh you can't deploy skirmishers unless I do, 'its not cricket'. Obviously the skirmishers don't go forward of the gun trunnions and both need a column close enough behind to run to if cavalry appear. I suggest you proceed with a house rule on that basis.

Sounds like a house rule is a good idea.
I'm weary of any rules that "abstract out" skirmishing at any level of command.
You don't even require a supporting infantry unit to safely deploy skirmishers. Usually, only a % of a light infantry battalion was actively "skirmishing". Up to half the battalion was situated behind the skirmish chain so they could continuously rotate, replenish ammunition and have a rally point if threatened.
The typical rules convention is to spread out a battalion to show it is skirmishing and pretend that is how it operated.