Enemy AI tries to break siege--and I take city!

[Hurin_Rules]

I didn't know this was possible, but I was besieging a German city with some of my cavalry, waiting for my infantry to arrive with siege gear. WEll, the Germans launch an attack on my cavarly. They issue out of the city and I draw them into the nearby plains. I manage to catch and defeat most of the enemy, and before I knew it my cavalry was following his routing units back into the city. I had assumed the gates would shut on me, but they did not. My cavalry poured into the city, charged into his remaining unit by the main city square and took the town. Fantastic! I didn't even have to build siege engines!

Just wanted to let you all know that this is possible.

[Husar]

You don´t even need to get into the city, you only need to win the battle, if an army tries to break a siege and loses, it will leave the city to the enemy, happened to me once aswell, you would expect your army to just retreat and wait in the city, but if it loses it withdraws from the city.

[vodkafire]

You don´t even need to get into the city, you only need to win the battle, if an army tries to break a siege and loses, it will leave the city to the enemy, happened to me once aswell, you would expect your army to just retreat and wait in the city, but if it loses it withdraws from the city.

But how do you win? If you rout them, they'll just rout into the center square and unrout. Without the time limit, you will actually have to go in and annihilate them, which will cause YOU to lose is you just exhausted all your troops fighting them off outside the gates.

[The_Emperor]

Yeah its great fun when you get a great moment like that.

I had a magnificent battle where I assulted a Macedonian city as the Brutii, and a reinforcement army came up from a diagonal position behind me. My siege towers go into place and it was a race to get inside the city before the enemy army got there.

Given the AI's love of cavalry the Garisson was full of light lancers, but fortunately the reinforcements comprised mainly of Phalanx Pikemen.

I got onto the walls, and captured the gate and my army rushed in. While my Hoplite Mercs were busy streetfighting the Macedonian Cavalry, I had Roman infantry run around and capture all of the walls, towers and gateways... The end result was the reinforcements were trapped outside!! (and to think they were not smart enough to use my siege towers)

It was very funny how in that battle suddenly the besiegers became the besieged... We captured the Plaza and our three minutes expired, then my archers decided to head over to the wall area and have some fun with the Pikemen standing outside. After making pincussions out of them my General sallied forth and charged them down.

The end result was a heroic victory. Man I love this game!

[Kekkonen]

You don´t even need to get into the city, you only need to win the battle, if an army tries to break a siege and loses, it will leave the city to the enemy, happened to me once aswell, you would expect your army to just retreat and wait in the city, but if it loses it withdraws from the city.

Not necessarily. I was sieging the last Gaul city in Celtiberia, and two turns before they were scheduled to surrender, they sallied out to break the siege. I didn't take the city, but I thoroughly kicked their ass -- but not thoroughly enough. The next turn there was still a garrison, a unit of barbarian spearmen that was 3 men strong.

[MadKow]

One thing that happens, and provides a bit of a cheesy way to conquer cities is to attack a unit that is adjacent to the city.
The garrison will act as reinforcements and once you win the battle and kill all the emnemies, the city is yours for the taking. No siege.
You do have to kill the captain or general of the garrison army, i think, or they will still be in the city with all the routed units.

[GonzoDave]

But how do you win? If you rout them, they'll just rout into the center square and unrout

If you can reduce them to 6 men or less they'll automatically disband after the battle

[vodkafire]

If you can reduce them to 6 men or less they'll automatically disband after the battle

so you just wait until that happens and manual quit? Also, they usually just camp inside the walls before they get to that number. once i thoroughly defeated a sallying army with an inferior force. they all routed inside and refused to come out. i only had 1/2 my men left, all exhausted, so i didnt want to go in. then i manually ended and i lost the battle even though i kill like 3/4 of their army, which made it end the seige. I've only won a sally and taken the town when reinforcement came to relieve the siege, which meant i fought the battle on a map w/o the town.