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Alright, my races from this question (Rail Transportation with Races Described Below - Specifically, Seating) are going to war. However, combat works differently here. They lack gunpowder weapons smaller than a 4-foot-long hand cannon (Used by the Na'vi). There are rifles small enough for a human, but these are very expensive, basically too expensive for anyone but nobility, and even they can't afford more than a single gun per family line. By the way, this is for a Dungeons and Dragons game.

I'm basically asking for what combat and warfare would look like using 19th century tactics and gunpowder, but without the muskets or rifles every 10 feet. The main groups of combat are:

Hand Cannoneers: This group is basically just a bunch of Na'vi running around with hand cannons (Imagine a bunch of 10 foot tall people charging at you with hand cannons when all you have is a sharp piece of metal on a stick)

Mages: 5th Level Dungeons and Dragons Wizards (Mainly Evokers) who cast Fireball a few times (I'm planning on using the Spell Points Variant in the Dungeon Master's Guide), before retreating and signaling to some reserve mages to go in.

Knights: A group of soldiers, essentially West European knights, who went obsolete with guns, but with only the richy rich and Na'vi having guns, they survived, and they get equipped with a rifle.

Archers: Soldiers running around with bows. Mainly the larger races use them.

Crossbowmen: People with crossbows. Mostly smaller races (Like the Mitarn, Maer, Humans, Miqo'te, and Avandra).

Calvary: Soldiers on horses. Many of the soldiers in the Taur Races (Leonar, Ashara, Centaurs, and Zavran), along with most Mitarn (Raptor) soldier are here, also.

Battle Elephants: Not actually horses, this is a Direhorse (From the same Avatar as the Na'vi) with a Na'vi rider, and a howdah containing smaller races (Like the Crossbowmen).

Proto-Air Force: Another Na'vi niche troop, a Na'vi with their personal Ikran (Link: https://james-camerons-avatar.fandom.com/wiki/Mountain_Banshee, goes to Fandom Wiki page for the Ikran) with a few smaller soldiers strapped on (Or a second Na'vi) armed with bows, crossbows, or Hand Cannons.

Airmen: A bunch of Pterians, Drava, or Ashara (All Winged Races) flying in the air with bows.

Soldiers: The bulk of the army, regular men and women, all armed with a few spears, a shield, a small sword, and a dagger.

Okay, I've given you the troops. Question: How would a good 19th century general use these troops to gain an advantage, 1800s style?

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    $\begingroup$ isn't 19th century the century of 1800? $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 15:00
  • $\begingroup$ Yes. I am saying that magic exists (Due to powerful radiation creating mutations that allow the people/creatures with them to recreate energy and matter into the desired matter/energy) and there are very few guns smaller than hand cannons $\endgroup$
    – The Darke Lorde
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 15:18
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    $\begingroup$ 19th century fortifications and tactics were very much conditioned by the use of gunpowder weapons. Cannon dominated the battelfield, and each soldier carried a musket (or a rifle, in the second half of the 19th century). The question describes a situation more like late 16th to early 17th century warfare. It's Maurice of Nassau, von Tilly and Wallenstein, not Napoleon and Wellington; pike and shot formations, not Napoleonian maneuver. $\endgroup$
    – AlexP
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 15:56
  • $\begingroup$ As with the city of 18 races, this question is similarly unfocussed. Stack Exchange isn't a place for shooting the breeze and knocking ideas around. It's a place where you ask a single, focused question and you get on point answers from which you can choose the one(s) that best suit your scenario. As with the other question: pick one of these that's giving you creative trouble and focus on that. Also consider focusing on a particular military scenario: 19th century generals had to deal with everything from vast continent spanning armies of invasion right on down to the shortest... $\endgroup$
    – elemtilas
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 22:07
  • $\begingroup$ ... war in history, which lasted all of 38 minutes. $\endgroup$
    – elemtilas
    Commented Dec 2, 2020 at 22:08

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