Answer to why British cavalry will do what British cavalry will do.

Class Warcraft posted:

So in this ruleset do the cavalry sometimes move and charge without orders?

In Field of Glory Napoleonic 2nd edition, no one moves without orders (being a corps level game where units are brigades), but IMPETUOUS cavalry (aka, the non-veteran British cavalry) will ALWAYS pursue a routed enemy. Normal (or KGL cavalry or veteran British ) may make a complex move test* roll not to pursue. If you pursue an enemy, you roll a dice to see how far you go and may well hit whoever is behind the original routed unit.

That may be want you want. For example, I routed a 2nd French brigade at the Battle of Talavera when the French infantry used defensive fire and missed every shot and the cavalry routed them too. It helps that superior cavalry (which most British cavalry is) also ignore the first hit when assaulting someone.

..or it might not. I wouldn't want to charge a spent or wavering cavalry unit into a large infantry unit or one with artillery (unless it's in the flank, like my first game when a British Heavy Dragoon unit IMPETUOUSLY charged straight into the flank of two French artillery units and routed them too). But British cavalry will do what British cavalry will do.

--------------
* 1 command point if in command, 2 if not. 5+ roll to pass, 4+ if lead by a commander. Superior reroll 1's, Poor reroll 6's. Veteran's roll 3 dice, Drilled roll 2, Conscripts and irregular roll 1.