Best ambush by the comp

[Oaty]

Just wondering the best ambush the comp has pulled on you.

I remember attacking some rebels in 1 of the Scandanavian teritories. My army started on top of the hill and on the other side of the valley they were defending a hill. Well I start marching my army towards theres and completely ignored the woods to my right. Well I get there and start peppering them because I have them outnumbered in missle troops. I then begin the advance of my shock troops up the hill. Right before they engage I noticed the Hobilars have crossed swords. I was shocked as they had no cavalry and I would have seen a flanking maneuver as the valley was treeless. So when I turned arround theres Vikings just tearing up the hobilars. Well to deal with this threat I had taken my other 2 units of hobilars (bad mistake but the only uniots I had there to deal with them) to hit them on the flanks. Well I did win the battle but the ambush on the rear of my army was so costly I had to withdraw the next turn as loyalty would not allow me to maintain this territory. The hobilars were only there to chase down fleeing enemies and to keep them fleeing. Well just another case of the hunter becoming the hunted.


Whats funny is when you hide a loser unit in the trees, as I can assume from the comps tactics is they do look at your lineup and then look for them on the field and sometimes they wo'nt attack until they have spotted all your units. the only reason I threw that unit of urban militia in the woods is because they would be to much of a threat to my army with it. Quite often they do'nt become involed in the battle and just end up withdrawing or the comp sees them and takes there fastest unit into the trees wich ends up as suicide for the already tired cavalry fighting against armour piercing units. I have noticed though they do'nt seem to look for them if they are not concealed but out of line of sight. Maybe the comp gets a count of how many concealed troops you have to give it a better chance

[squippy]

As I understand it, the comp will look for units if a certain proportion of them are unaccounted for, and that this may vary with the quality of the AI general. That is, the comp is quite capable of making the same mistake you did.

I have been similarly ambushed - its a an educational experience. In fact, I learned to use Vikings as ambush troops from the AI (they have enough morale to stick it out while isolated from the main body).

I was humiliated to be ambushed in my own castle the other day, although it was purely my mistake. It was a citadel with an artillery tower projection in Khazar, which I was defending against and endless horde of mongols. I routed an assualt on the gate and was driving them back only to discover that a unit of MHC was parked on the other side of the artillery tower, and they promptly crushed my pursuing pronaioi allagion.

[Schrodinger's Cat]

This is worst ambush rather than best ambush.
I was attacking a rebel province a couple of years into the campaign. I had my King, with a unit each of archers and urban militia, up against a unit each of archers and spearmen.
I started the battle and saw the spearmen (general) retreating to the top of the hill. No sign of the archers, but I assumed they weren't far from the spearmen. I advanced my infantry, and sent my Royal Knights up a hill on a flanking manouevre.
When I reached the top of the hill, I was surprised to see their missing archers in the open countryside below me, completely isolated from the spears. I charged down and killed or captured the entire unit with no losses.
The great thing was that now I could soften up the spearmen with my own archers without worrying about return fire.
After I captured the general and won the battle, I executed him for being so utterly useless.

Schrodie's Cat.

[ThijsP]

The best ambush of the comp was when I attacked Sweden. I had outnumbered them 3:2. I just marched with my feadal sergeants and viking to their vikings and royal knights. The fight was in a forrest. It was going quite well untill suddenly some of my units started routing. I didnt noticed their royal knight walked around the forrest attacking me in the rear. It was humiliating http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-wall.gif

[garion]

In shogun I once got rather suprised rather then they ambushed me. It was raining, with lots of lightning and thunder and I was cirling the map with my army in search of the enemy. I accidently entered a forrest with my right flank, when it was suddenly attacked by the enemy. Unfortunately for them my army was about 4 times his, so he got crushed anyway

[katank]

best ambush was in my third game ever when I played as the Byz and attacking the Turks, I saw their sultan isloated.

I charged towards him with my king and thought of a duel mano a mano.

I was going to win that since my ktank unit was larger and I had higher valour.

suddenly, a unit of pesants pop out of the woods next to the sultan and managed to surround my katanks

next thing I know, my emperor was captured by the ghulam BGs and a unit of lousy peasants

[Ulair]

Quote[/b] (katank @ May 19 2004,03:54)]next thing I know, my emperor was captured by the ghulam BGs and a unit of lousy peasants

Say it ain't so, katank I thought you were infallible

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Ulair

[Ironside]

I remmber a funny failed ambush from the comp in STW once. I was the mongols and assulted some YS and SA and one unit of YA with an army of pure cav archers. This is usually a hard battle but not this one. Instead of deploying all his units on one place or all in the forest, he made a huge mistake.

He took all of his YS and deployed them for an ambush. So I slaughtered all his archers and then he decided to move all his YS out of the forest to help the archers. SO my HA had a easy time hitting them.

Losses was something like 600 to 20. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[katank]

@Ulair,

thanks for the confidence but it was my third campaign and I thought katanks were invincible.

impression gotten from second campaign where my Eggy had a really hard time with the Byz.

at the time, I didn't know that rear attacking peasants could be so dangerous.

actually, I think it may have been the morale penalty that really did me in that time.

[Trickster]

Once in shogun, there was a complete fog level. I was the defender, against a rebelling force plus enemies from the Shimazu clan. It took them about half the time limit to find me on my hill, which the rebels managed. They had a sizeable force, which i almost halved with my archers. Thinking they would have low morale I charged their YA with my one unit of warrior monks and all my YS, leaving my cavalry and archers on top of the hill.

Suddenly the Shimazu turned up, their archers coming out of a forest on my left, so I sent my cavalry to intercept them. I only realised how much of a bad idea this was when from out of the forest charged a unit of YS. This badly slaughtered my cav. but then the Shimazu decided to go for the melee instead of my archers. I was happy to si on top of the hill after my samurai ad been kileld simply shooting arrow after arrow into that melee...

I lost that province http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-no.gif but got it back a year later, with a full army of YA(such big numbers they backed down). http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-yes.gif