Unless you're on a server where everyone cav spams, infantry is the most common selection to command. You can either pick line infantry, foot guards, light infantry, or rifles. Foot guards have a slight melee buff as opposed to line infantry. Rifles are armed with bayonetless rifles that have good accuracy but shorter range. First thing right off the bat is once you spawn with them, tell them to fire on your command, because they are automatically set to fire at will. This often times makes them shoot at targets nearly a mile away, and will also slow them down if you want them to go anywhere.

Now that you have your men at the ready, next comes positioning.

Make sure your men are at least in 2 rows. Since one row is kneeling, it will give them slightly more accuracy than standing, which is why it is slightly better than forming 1 row. Also worth noting is the spacing. Admins often times will enforce this rule: Only Light Infantry and Rifles can have wide spacing. So if you have line infantry, don't keep telling them to spread out. Now, when having your men hold a position, make sure you are close to another group of friendly bots who can reinforce yours if trouble arrives. If you are attacking, always go for the left or right flanks, and DO NOT be afraid to ask for support in team chat. Another thing to keep in mind is whenever you can, position your bots on the high ground. Just like in Total War, shooting from the high ground will better improve accuracy.

Here is also a common misconception about bots with muskets: THEY CAN RUN OUT OF AMMUNITION.

Now as a side-section: Artillery bots.

When you spawn as artillery, you are given your cannon (or howitzer, or rocket), ammunition, and a small handfull of men equipped to take over should you (as the officer) fall in battle. Basically, don't tell them to shoot unless danger is close, and keep them close. If you want reinforcements, feel free to request for an arty guard. Get cav if you can.

Another side section: Melee infantry. (Partisans, Sailors,etc.)

I mean, other than charging enemy lines which may or may not be costly or may or may not actually work, I would advise against going as these classes if you wish to play competitively.

Uh-oh. Cavalry is charging your line! What can you do?

Whilst a cavalry charge can be very devastating for your line, there are some strategies to reducing your casualties. This will not work as well with rifles, so if you choose that class, it's better to keep your distance, or call for reinforcements.

Because bots cannot form a proper square, tell them to first form 5 rows, then stand closer (f2, f7). When the cavalry is about to hit you, tell your bots to use melee weapons (f4,f1). The reason for that is since you are about to have horses in your face with angry frogs slashing down, you will want your bots ready to strike back. If they are still in shooting mode, it will take some time for them to switch, and by then it may be too late. Granted, this strategy may still not work, but its really the best you can do (unless you are on a hill and they are charging straight for you, then you can just pick em off).

The melee prinicple also works when charging.

If you want your men to charge with bayonets, or counter-charge, once again, tell them to switch to melee mode. If they are still shooting at will, and you want them to charge, most of them will stay put. And if an enemy force is charging you, most likely your troops will be cut down while reloading.

These bots are much easier to deal with, which is partly why so many what to pick it, next to artillery. To command cavalry efficiently, follow these basic tips and guidlines.

First is formation. At spawn, if there are a lot of players, that means there are going to be a lot of bots spawning. This means yours may get stuck in a traffic jam. When this happens, tell your bots to hold a position slightly somewhere away from spawn and wait untill they all arrive, so your strike is more impactfull.

Next comes positioning. When you have cavalry, head off to the right or left and support infantry if they choose to assault. If not, stay close to one side, and rush in to help them if they are heavily assaulted, and be ready to counter charge any cavalry attacks. Attack lancers at your own risk (unless you yourself are lancers). All in all, keep this big one in mind: NEVER ATTACK BY YOURSELF, COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED BY INFANTRY. Another tip to keep in mind is watch your timing when telling your bots to charge, because you may have one target in mind, but if you give the order to charge too early, they can wander off and hit another, which may not always have good consequences. Telling them to follow you is good throughout. Give the order to charge when you are right upon them.

Speaking of lancers, picking your cavalry is definetely more important than picking infantry. First off, in most factions there are 3 types of cavalry: Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry, and Lancers. The differance between light and heavy are the horses; Light cavalry have faster but weaker horses, which is why light cavalry are usually used for scouting and pursuing a retreating unit. This is why is is usually preferred to pick heavy cavalry, or lancers. Lancers have long lances which gives them a range advantage. Lancers are much less effective standing still, so if you can, use YOUR charge bonus and take them out at your own risk.

Another Cavalry type I feel I should address (based on feedback); Dragoons.

Dragoons are also known as "ranged cavalry"; cavalry that can shoot on horseback. One thing to do with them is take them on your flanks and harrass the enemy, just like skirmishers. Dismount if you like, but be ready to mount up again if you plan to attack or retreat. Results for the reliability of this class vary amongst players, so use at your own risk.

Overall, I hope that this guide proves usefull to you. Thank you for taking the time to read this, kind sir, and I hope to see you on the battlefield!