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So suppose that in the Renaissance Era, a commander of Faction A had lost a battle.

Faction A's troops were on the run for 30 minutes and were being harassed by enemy cavalry of Faction B after losing a battle. Faction A is down to 30,000 men, and more are being cut down by the victors. It' mostly a clearing, with scattered vegetation and rocks.

The commander manages to rally his troops. About 7/8 of them stop, while the rest... keep running away. Faction A's commander hastily organizes his men into a line, six ranks deep.

He also reminds his men about how 3 years ago on 3 separate occasions, Faction B killed every single defender who surrendered despite promising quarter would be given (when the attacker announces no quarter will be given, it means they aren't taking prisoners, in this example he's reminding his men the other side accepted prisoners and then killed them).

The enemy cavalry, intrigued by this development and not being numerous enough to interfere with the formation of the main body, finish off whatever stragglers they were cutting down and fall back to the main body of Faction B's troops. Faction B brought main body in a column with its 3 surviving 12 pounder cannons trailing behind.

Faction A's commander realizes he messed up. Too many of his officers were killed in battle, and brigades were mixed with each other. No one was giving coherent orders, and the only message that got through was to stand and fight. Dragoons (mounted infantry) and even Lancers (who... have lances and shouldn't dismount) had dismounted, possibly in interpretation to the stand and fight order. The lines were not orderly.

As Faction B's first infantry start firing on their outnumbered enemies, about 1/4 of the ones who didn't flee were in a tight line three ranks deep, with their right anchored to a river. Everyone else is... in a disorganized mob to the left with plenty of holes and no coherent formation. Faction A's men start firing back in their disorganized state, making noise and making it harder for their surviving officers to hear or give orders.

Well, Faction B is the favorite, but that's not the question.

In a large pitched battle, the best strategy is to meet the enemy with a line, with your cavalry on the flanks. If one must leave, it's better to do it in an orderly fashion rather than a rout.

Well in this case, the commander turned a rout into another stand... with a complete disorganization. Assuming his only goal was attempting to preserve as much of his army as he could, is fighting with a thin line, a huge disorganization, and no mounted men any better than the route he just rallied them from?
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