Organ Gun

[Tribesman]

How do you use them ?
I have never got to the stage where I have built them myself , only bribed from ex-mongols or hired mercs , so no morale upgrade , they always seem to rout after the first shot , are they just too short ranged or can they be usefull if built with morale upgrades . And where are they best deployed(defensive) in front or on the flanks ?

[IrishMike]

I usually position my organ gun on top of a hill and to the side of my line when ever I can. This allows its range to be extended some and I use my troop line to hold the enemy so I can fire straight across their line of battle. Many kills, really fast. Just make sure that they are not directly engaged by the enemy troops, then their sunk.

[Ludens]

Organ guns: great damage but lousy range. I seldom use them because I favour a more mobile battle style. Their low range means you must put them were they enemy is sure to fight. That means in the centre. Put them on hills to increase their range, and make sure you have troops ready to attack anything that tries to reach your gunners. Switch skirmish mode off. (This is a bit tricky, because if you can't protect your gunners they will get slaughtered, but if you leave skirmish on they will run if anything tries to attack them.)
Organ guns are great at bridges, though you can expect to take some friendly fire.

[Bob the Insane]

The only way I have used them is to secure flanks during a defense... one at each end of you main line, slightly back to discourage flankers can be effective...

Also just inside you castle gates if you ever get attacked in a seige can be effective... ~D

[King Edward]

Bridge Battles!! Organ Guns kick ass on bridges, the fear factor plus high kills at close range has the bad guys wetting their pants in no time!

[Adrian II]

Bridge Battles!! Organ Guns kick ass on bridgesThey sure do, also when you're defending in a siege. Deploy them close to the gates at the proper angles. Terrific kills, huge morale effect. In regular battles they're practically useless, I'm afraid.

[Tribesman]

I havn't tried them on a bridge defence yet , might have to give it a go , if I don't finish my current campaign in the next few turns I may be able to build them instead of hiring them .

[Procrustes]

This is a little off-topic, but my newest thrill has been to bring three or four units of javelins to my bridge battles - either offensive or defensive. They are just deadly - I send a couple of sturdy melee units across the bridge first - spear, vikings, v1 halibards, etc., then start cycling jav units in behind them as they fight. The javs haven't got the range to stand on the river banks, but they can get on the bridge and arc their missiles over their compatriots heads right into that tangled mass of enemy units. Since the bridges are pretty narrow, they fire for a while before they run out of ammo - then just cycle them out and replace with another. I always grin if the enemy starts charging the bridge units with his calvary - I love seeing royal knights ripped up by javs. Javs are cheap, deadly, and perfect for avoiding the war of attrition that bridge battles can devolve into.

[solypsist]

i use them strictly in defensive bridge battles

[Goofball]

I put them smack dab in the middle of my front line in any defensive battle, usually two of them. They are usually good for wiping out/routing at least three full enemy units (sometimes even the enemy general) before I have to withdraw them because they are getting swarmed. One useful thing I have noticed: as long as you have withdrawn the gun crew from the battle, the AI doesn't try to destroy the actual guns.

[ichi]

On topic - Organ guns are IMO little more than a curiosity. They do work well in sieges and bridge battles but I rarely use them in my armies.

Off-topic -


This is a little off-topic, but my newest thrill has been to bring three or four units of javelins to my bridge battles - either offensive or defensive. They are just deadly - I send a couple of sturdy melee units across the bridge first - spear, vikings, v1 halibards, etc., then start cycling jav units in behind them as they fight. The javs haven't got the range to stand on the river banks, but they can get on the bridge and arc their missiles over their compatriots heads right into that tangled mass of enemy units. Since the bridges are pretty narrow, they fire for a while before they run out of ammo - then just cycle them out and replace with another. I always grin if the enemy starts charging the bridge units with his calvary - I love seeing royal knights ripped up by javs. Javs are cheap, deadly, and perfect for avoiding the war of attrition that bridge battles can devolve into.

I posted this a while back in a thread on javelins


http://www.totalwar.org/patrons/story/ichijavbridge1.jpg

Javelins are deadly in a bridge batle behind spears, against high armor troops they can make the difference.

:bow:

ichi

[Saracen_Warrior]

Once a gun crew for any type of seige engine leaves the gun is their any way to get them to man it again.

[ichi]

Once a gun crew for any type of seige engine leaves the gun is their any way to get them to man it again.

They should automatically go back I think, unless its busted. if they don't try ordering the gun to shoot.

ichi
:bow:

[bretwalda]

One useful thing I have noticed: as long as you have withdrawn the gun crew from the battle, the AI doesn't try to destroy the actual guns.
There is no need... I read somewhere that it does not matter whether the actual guns (ballistas) are destroyed in battle as long as the crew is alive they will function in the next battle as usual. In other words: destroying the gun only prohibits using them in that battle. Now I usually destroy the gun and kill all crew but 1 or 2 of them. This way the gun unit has to be withdrawn from the battle and until they are on the field no reinforcements can arrive. In the next battle all they can do is fire very slow with so few remaining crew. This is of course not the case if the enemy does not have reinforcements: in that case my aim is to kill or capture all troops on the field.

[Saracen_Warrior]

Yea as long as the crew survives you can use them in the next battle. They supposedly build the guns on site(at least with mangonels and stuff). Its the training that you're paying for, not for the manufacturing of the gun.

[Hold Steady]

I have the most pointy helmet in the land....


LOL ~D

[macsen rufus]

I find OGs useful, but only in the right situation - bridges can be awkward if enemy has arbalests, as these can usually reach any OG in range of the bridge. But in defensive field battles they are excellent when you have a lot of armour charging you. I put them at the foward two points of a half-hex spear wall, looking for any terrain advantage available for improved range. Either put them on skirmish/fire at will slightly in front of your spears, or have something nasty behind, and leave the gunners on hold. Ottoman inf (for Turks) are great behind them - arrows, followed by armour-piercing attack, on top of the gun's carnage and fear bonuses will scare off most things. I never take OGs on attack, and for assaults they stay in reinfo pool (useful to leave with your big guns if you're expecting enemy reinforcements to come out of the woods, though).