Fire & Maneuver: All Aspects and Strats Guide

Here’s a quick rundown of all the playable nations in Fire & Maneuver

Germany

Germany has strong artillery that can be killed if the enemy gets too close, make sure to treat your artillery like they are your nuts, protect them at all costs (Unless you have reasons).

Germany also has efficiency on some of it’s infantry meaning they can change formations 2 times or switch formation then move (and vice versa) Which can be incredibly powerful if used right.

Unfortunately Germany suffers not being able to shoot far.

Strengths:
-Powerful artillery
-Efficiency perks

Weaknesses:
-Close range shooting for infantry (Except the Bavarians)

In a nutshell
Artillery focused, Maneuver focused

France

France has good infantry and along with the chassepot rifle can shoot 2 times in a 2 space range (Powerful). The French also have some powerful units, like the oldgaurd, foreign legionnaire and the mitrailleuse.

They have a versatile play-style

But with these the French have some poor artillery with 3 range (with only one exception, the 12lb field artillery).

Strengths:
-Great rifles
-decent infantry

Weaknesses:
– poor artillery

In a nutshell
Infantry focused

Britain

Britain has strong infantry that have strong shooting capabilities, meaning that they can do more shooting damage.

But you rely on shooting and your limited manpower, so I recommend shooting at a distance.

But with great power comes great payment, since Britain has very good units, they are expensive, so I recommend you play on the defensive and make great predictions and little mistakes.

Strengths:
-High shooting damage
-Great Units

Weaknesses:
-High unit cost
-Small army

In a nutshell
Quality focused

Russia

Russia has the advantage of lots of manpower and can summon hordes of troops.

Since the Russians have so many units, I recommend you have some in reserve because you don’t have enough orders to command all of them efficiently, but their big army does allow them to stay in battle for longer

However the Russians suffer from not being able to recover cohesion quickly

Strengths:
-Large army
-Inexpensive

Weaknesses:
-Low cohesion gain

In a nutshell
Quantity focused

Ottomans

Turkey has the advantage of lots of manpower with insanely inexpensive units, so they can easily spawn a horde.

I recommend you have some in reserve because you don’t have enough orders to command all of them efficiently, and since you have a large army, you can stay in battle longer.

I also recommend to shoot at a distance, because you rely on your cohesion.

But the Turks suffer from their easily broken cohesion, meaning that once they lose their cohesion, they’ll retreat.

Strengths:
-Large army
-inexpensive

Weaknesses:
-Easily broken

In a nutshell
Quantity focused

United States of America

The United States have affordable units and some militia, so it’s definitely good to use Quantity.

But some units of the United States have less cohesion, so far range is your best bet.

The United States has some good units like the U.S. Sharpshooters and the Iron Brigade.

Strengths:
-Decent Infantry of variety
-Inexpensive

Weaknesses:
-Low Cohesion

In a nutshell
Quantity Focused, Infantry Focused

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States have units with efficiency meaning that they can outmaneuver an opponent.

And they have relatively inexpensive units, so they can use Quantity.

and just like the United States, The Confederate States have some low cohesion units

Strengths:
-Inexpensive

Weaknesses:
-Low Cohesion

In a nutshell
Quantity Focused, Mobile Focused

Austria
Coming soon

There are three types of Phases: Deployment Phase, Planning Phase, and Battle Phase

Deployment Phase

This is the phase you see when you first start the game

In this phase you must place your units, there cannot be any units not placed

If you hosted the game, then you place your units on the green tiles

If you are the client, then you spawn on the red tiles

Order Phase

This is the phase where you command your troops with orders (more on orders in the next section)

There is a limit on how many orders you have, so I recommend you have some units not being commanded, kinda like a reserve

Battle Phase

This is the phase where the orders actually go, so if you commanded your troop to move, then it will move

The game has both sides move at the same time, with one order from both going

And arrows will show troop movement

Upon entering the game, you need to know how to command your troops

There are two types of orders: Fire orders, and Maneuver orders

Maneuver orders go first before Fire orders

Charge Order
To charge, you need some movement and one attack order

Ex. You can’t move then charge, but if your formation allows you to (let’s say attack column) you can move but have at least one space to move left to charge (so move one then charge in this case) because charging requires you to move too

Click on a unit you want to charge the enemy, then right click the enemy (if you can in the range)

Great for pinning down opponents and killing low health units

Volley Fire

Fire at your enemy, with the cost of one attack order

Ex. You can use one attack order to shoot once, and two to shoot twice

Click on a unit you want to shoot at the enemy, then right click on the enemy

Great for damaging enemies

Fire at will Order

Shoot at your enemy when they come into range (only one damage per shot)

Ex. Fire at will is used mostly to inflict damage when an enemy moves forward

Click on a unit you want to fire at will

Great for defending

Formations

This order is used to change unit formations (will be discussed after this current section)

Ex. It’s mostly used to increase damage or endure less damage

Click on a unit you want to switch formation, then select the formation you want

Great for adapting to the battlefield

Reserve switch

This order is used to swap to a unit behind on the same tile

Ex. If you need to recover your unit infront, then swap to the back line to keep the fight going

Click on 2 units on the same tile, then press the button

Great for cycling units

In Fire and Maneuver, it’s important you know how many spaces a unit can move, the formations, and the frontage. And it’s important to always know the guaranteed range, and damage

Only Infantry can use formations

The initial base charge damage is 1

The base shot damage is 2

Close Order
We have the good ‘ol close order formation, which is basically your standard line. It’s a good formation, as it can endure charges and fires like normal.

Pros:

• Max shot damage

• Can endure frontal charges

Cons:

• Flank Vulnerable

• Max enemy shot damage

Attack Column
Attack column is mostly used for charging or for more mobility and the unit may attack in this stance.

Pros:

• +1 Movement

• +1 initial charge damage

Cons:

• -1 Max shot damage

• +1 Enemy shot damage received

• limited frontage

  Open Order
  Open Order is mostly used to reduce shot damage received.

  Pros:

  • -1 Enemy shot damage

  Cons:

  • -1 Max shot damage
  • Charge vulnerable

  March Column March Column is used to get the most mobility, and it can get more by going on roads. But the unit may not attack in this stance.

  Pros:

  • +1 Movement
  • Can cross corners
  • +1 Movement on roads

  Cons:

  • Charge vulnerable
  • Enemy shot vulnerable
  • Cannot attack

  Square Formation Square Formation is usually used if an enemy unit is charging you.

  Pros:

  • Less initial charge damage
  • 360° frontage

  Cons:

  • -1 Max shot damage
  • +1 Enemy shot damage
  Frontage

  Frontage is key to shooting

  Close Order

  Attack Column

  Open Order

  Square Formation

In F&M, perks can be positive or negative. Perks can add on to a unit’s stats or give it new buffs/debuffs

Efficiency perk
+1 Maneuver Order

Ex. Can change formation then move (or vice versa)

Great for fast movement and out maneuvring an opponent

Disciplined Range perk
+1 max shot damage

Ex. Can do 3 base damage instead of 2

Great for shooting

Shock Charge perk
+2 initial charge damage

Ex. Will do 4 base charge damage when it charges first, but no more extra damage during the charge. No affect on the defensive thoogh

Great for charging units

Melee Drill perk
-1 Initial melee damage endured

Ex. Will receive less damage when being charged at or charging

Great for charge vulnerable units, and for charging units

Rugged perk
Ignore all terrain penalties

Ex. Will not be slowed down going through a forest, marshland, creek, etc

Great for going through terrain that would slow down other units

Skirmisher perk
Does not get affected by attrition

Ex. Wont take damage when moving without cohesion

Great for units that have low health, like light infantry

Disorganised perk
-1 cohesion regeneration

Ex. Will regain cohesion slower

Bad for units

Easily Broken perk
Will retreat one tile when all cohesion is eliminated

Ex. Will retreat to a tile behind immediately, if no possible area to retreat to, the unit will die

Bad for units (especially units with low cohesion)

Grapeshot perk
+2 adjacent damage

Ex. Will deal +2 damage when firing at an enemy unit bordering them (Including Corners)

Great for shooting adjacent targets

Indirect Fire perk
Can shoot over units

Ex. Can ignore units that would block the range

Great for long ranged artillery

Cumbersome perk

Can only do one order, except firing

Ex. Can shoot (Twice with the breech-loader perk) but can’t move in the same turn

Bad for units

In Fire and Maneuver, the armoury is used to give your units additional perks

Breech-loading
This will give your units +1 Fire order

Ex. Can shoot twice, shoot then charge, etc.

Great for close range shoot outs

Rifling
This perk will allow you to fire farther

Ex. Will give 2x range, so opposed to 3 x 1 infront, it will give 3 x 2 infront

Great for shooting at a distance

Example of range:

The four gun types
(The names are for clarification on the picture)

1. The ‘smoothbore’ (Model 1842)

2. The ‘breech-loader’ (Tabatiere rifle)

3. The ‘rifle’ (Minie rifle)

4. The ‘superior breech-loader’ (Chassepot rifle)

Prices are same for all nations

Beware that some guns for nations are only for specific units
Ex. German Bavarian line infantry are the only ones with access to the ‘superior breech-loader’

The ‘smoothbore’ should be used to save money or meat-shields

The ‘breech-loader’ should be used for units that get close to charge or harass

The ‘rifle’ should be used for professional shooting units, and as a cheaper alternative to the ‘superior breech-loader’

The ‘superior breech-loader’ should be given to units with high shooting capabilities

The blue bar is the cohesion of a unit

The green bar is the health of the unit

Cohesion kinda acts like a “shield” that will soak up damage until it’s gone. When a unit’s cohesion is gone, it will take attrition, and the health can be affected with any other damage to come.

Attrition will remove one health whenever it moves, and attrition can only be removed when a unit recovers its cohesion

Cohesion can only recover when not bordering an enemy unit (including corners).

Health will dictate how many troops are alive on the battlefield and will not affect a unit’s performance.

In Fire and Maneuver, there are different types of units

Here are the units and their types:

The unit pictures are just for show, none of the additions are for all unit types and sub-types

Infantry is good for filling the ranks, and a good source of fire power and man power

Militia Infantry
Militia Infantry is typically used for quantity, but personally I use it to protect my artillery from cavalry

Militia Infantry typically has the ‘Easily Broken’ perk

Overall it’s a unit if you have extra money to spend or just as a living wall

Line Infantry
Line Infantry is a very versatile class of units, as it can hold many perks for defending or attacking

Line Infantry is typically used as the main force of an army and can be utilised in a variety of ways

Overall Line Infantry is a good filler and is the main backbone of good armies

Light Infantry

Light Infantry is a skirmisher class, utilising hit and run tactics to deal damage to the enemy and not take much damage in return

All Light Infantry has +1 movement, meaning that it can move +1 space in any formation (so if Light Infantry goes into close order, it can still move 2 spaces opposed to one)

Light Infantry can also hold some perks, mostly ‘Skirmisher’, ‘Rugged’ and/or ‘Disciplined Range’

Overall Light infantry is good for harassing the enemy and hit and run tactics

Heavy Infantry

Heavy Infantry is a class of units that mainly deal strong damage, and is usually protected by infantry, etc.

Heavy Infantry is a class of units that mainly have strong perks, such is ‘Disciplined Range’, ‘Shock Charge’, ‘Disciplined Melee’ and other perks, and they also have more cohesion

Overall Heavy Infantry is good for dealing damage to opponents and being a strong source of damage in an army

Cavalry is a special class, as it relies on it’s melee and maneuvrability. But it takes +1 enemy short damage and also gets +1 mobility from roads

Light Cavalry

Light Cavalry is a good class for harassing the enemy, especially good at sniping vulnerable units such as artillery

Light Cavalry can have ‘Shock Charge’ and ‘Skirmisher’ and a quality of light cavalry and cavalry in general is that cavalry can cross corners and has great mobility

Overall, Light cavalry is a good class for harassing the enemy and going behind enemy lines

Heavy Cavalry

Heavy Cavalry is a good class for hitting the enemy hard, especially at the flanks

Heavy Cavalry usually has ‘Shock Charge’ and/or ‘Disciplined Melee’, but heavy cavalry doesn’t have as much mobility as Light Cavalry

Overall Heavy Cavalry is good for leading a charge or decimating units not good against charges

Dragoons (Heavy Cavalry Sub-Class)

Dragoons are a hybrid between infantry and cavalry (They currently do not have shooting capabilities) So they are the worst cavalry in the game

Dragoons have no perks, but are cheap for their bad mobility and lack of perks

Overall if you have extra money to spend and want cavalry over infantry, then be my guest

Artillery hopefully makes up for it’s slow movement with it’s striking range. Overall good for softening the enemy up, but vulnerable to charges and shots

Light Artillery

Light Artillery is cheap but doesn’t have a lot of range compared to other artillery

Light Artillery usually has ‘Grape shot’, and a bad quality of all artillery is that they have the ‘Cumbersome’ perk

Overall Light Artillery is good at close ranges and not that expensive

Heavy Artillery

Heavy Artillery is a bit pricey, but it has some good range

Heavy Artillery usually has ‘Grape shot’ or ‘Indirect Fire’ and can fire at a longer distance than Light Artillery

Overall Heavy Artillery is great for hitting the enemy at a distance

Horse Artillery

Horse Artillery has an advantage of being more mobile than regular artillery

Heavy Artillery usually has ‘Grape Shot’ but range can vary from nation to nation

Overall Horse Artillery is good for mobility

Modern Artillery

Modern Artillery is expensive, but makes up for it by have astonishing range

Modern Artillery has the ‘Breech-loader’ perk, meaning that it can fire two times

Overall Modern Artillery is good at long ranges and softening an opponent

Rapidfire Artillery

Rapidfire Artillery is a bit pricey, and has the shortest range of all artillery types

Rapidfire Artillery has the ‘Breech-loader’ perk, meaning that it can fire two times and has ‘Grape Shot’

Overall Rapidfire Artillery is good at close ranges

In Fire and Maneuver, terrain can affect how much damage you can endure, your mobility, and range

Symbols:

Can give the mobility bonus Ex. March Column

Will not allow Maneuver Orders for one turn, but may use Attack Orders (except charge)

Will reduce enemy shot damage by -1

Cannot be stood on

Can give the mobility bonus and will reduce enemy shot damage by -1

Will not allow Maneuver Orders for one turn, but may use Attack Orders and will reduce enemy shot damage by -1

A unit in March Column will move in, wait for next phase then continue moving instead of moving in, waiting an entire turn, then continue moving when crossing terrain that gives a movement penalty

Road Tile

Roads will give +1 mobility to the March Column formation, Cavalry, and Artillery

Bridge

+1 mobility to the March Column formation, Cavalry, and Artillery, and allows access over water

Can currently be crossed by units in all formations

Farm Tile

A tile with a farm on it will provide + soft cover and will not slow your units down

Forest Tile

A tile with a forest will provide + soft cover but will delay your unit’s down by one turn, unless if the unit is in Attack or March Column

Rock Tile

A tile with rocks will provide + soft cover but will delay your unit’s down by one turn

City Tile

A tile with buildings on it will provide + soft cover and can give +1 mobility to the March Column formation, Cavalry, and Artillery

Creek

Creeks will not provide any cover of sorts and will delay your units by one turn, unless the unit is in march column, but it will move in, wait for next phase then continue moving

Shallow River Tile

A tile with a shallow river can be crossed, but it will delay your units by one turn unless the unit is in march column. But it will move in, wait for next phase, then continue moving

Hill Tile

A tile with a hill with grant you one more layer of range (Like the rifling perk)

Ex. If a unit doesn’t have rifling, it will gain x 2. But if a unit has rifling, it will get x 3 range

Cliff Tile

A tile with x 2 the elevation of the hill cannot be stood on and will block the range of an unit

River Tile

A tile with a river on it is impassible, but it will not block the range of a unit

Here are some tips:

Exploit your opponent’s weakness

Your opponent has a nation, and knowing the nation’s weakness can give you a chance to exploit it

Ex. if your opponent is Germany, then you should try to take out their artillery, as it is a strong focus.
Also use guns at a long range, because Germany doesn’t have the ability (mostly) to shoot far with small arms.

Predict Movements

You should try to predict movements of your opponents units and prepare for it

Ex. If you predict your opponent is going to hit you from the side, then face your units to the side and place a volley order (and hopefully you predicted right)

Block Ranged Attacks

Shield a unit by blocking the range of the opponent

Ex. If you have a unit that you know is gonna get hit if the opponent shoots at it, then try to block the range with a unit close by (completely useless if the opponent is using ‘Indirect Fire’)