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Cavalry can be used to perform several tasks on the battlefield. Although you can manage without them, their support is often priceless.
Charging
Is good to have cavalry with good Charge Bonus.
Indian cavalry have charge bonus on a quite high level
Most of the cavalry units have only 60 people in one regiment. As a matter of fact, I propose to charge only small regiments of infantry (60-100 people). In the case of larger groups your cavalry can be literally mired down by the bodies of dead soldiers and because it has very low defense statistics it will be quickly killed with bayonets.
Slightly different situation is when the enemy is busy with shooting with muskets. Then you can try to attack them from the back when they are reloading their weapons. Before the enemy will realize what really happened, the majority of your cavalry will have time to retreat and prepare for the next charge.
Try to avoid charging from the front. Before your horses will reach the enemy, the opponent will kill many of them with muskets. The rest of cavalry will stick on bayonets.
The destruction of the enemy formation
It is closely connected to charging. Note that your opponent is usually setting his regiments so they can form a line. If you read the previous chapter about the infantry, you should know that you should do the same, keeping cavalry the wings. With the cavalry you can attack enemy units (that are deployed on the flanks) from the flank or from the back. As a matter of fact, you will shorten his line allowing your troops to surround his soldiers.
On the diagram above, exclamation marks and circles means that the cavalry is fighting with infantry. Depending on the size of the regiments the results of these clashes may be different. If there will be 80 people of enemy infantry and you will attack them with 60 horses, you probably force them to flee. But if the enemy will have 120-200 troops on the wings you are be able only to damage his regiments. Then you can pull them back and allow the infantry to finish the job (from now on they will be over-represented). You can use cavalry to charge from behind.
Harassing attacks
If you can use firearm cavalry, such as Deli Horsemen or Light Dragoons, you can quickly ride up to the enemy, fire, and then quickly pull back your horses. I recommend this solution if you cannot afford a cavalry with a good charge bonus. Cavalry fire is often less effective than charging, but the other hand you can avoid tolls associated with the melee combat.
Moreover, in the case of dragoons you should remember that these soldiers can always get of their horses and fight. These types of units can be a great supplement to your main army, putting enemy troops in crossfire.
Line Infantry shoots with muskets, while Dragoons are attacking enemies from behind, shooting from the forest
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