Question about Polish Inf.

[Belisarius II]

I recently have started a long campaign as Poland, and have been doing quite well in it. While I was browsing over the Polish unit roster, I noticed that as far as infantry meant to "hold the line", the Polish have Dismounted Polish Nobles and Spearmen. If you compare the two units, the Nobles come out to be slightly better stats-wise, but the Spearmen have more soldiers in a unit. It seems to be a quantity vs. quality issue.

So my question is: is it worth it to take the time and resources to construct the improved barracks to train Spearmen, or continue to train Dismounted Polish Nobles instead?

[where's yur troosers]

I am not sure, but I recall reading somewhere that dismounted Polish nobles do not get the bonus against cavalry. IF that is the case then I would always go for the spearmen. The Poles do get archers who can lay stakes which is always useful for holding a line unless of course you have to move from your starting position. As the Lithuanian archers are not long ranged I find that they do poorly in duels.

[Myth]

Spears or pikes to hold cavalry charges and gates - they are the center of your infantry line. Heavy infantry (dism. knights) to flank, spew from the back lines or hold walls. They are deployed on both "ends" of your infantry line. Keep the spears/pikes in guard mode and circle the heavy infantry around so they strike at the side of the enemy mass of troops. Charge your cavalry from the rear.

This happens easily in Vanilla M2:TW since the battle AI is so horribly inept. Try installing the Stainless Steel mod to get more challenging battles (and more historically accurate rosters for the various factions)