The Battle of Acre

[therussian91]

In the three years that I've had this game, I've never been able to beat this damn battle. The Franks are able to rip through my infantry and my cavalry. I don't know how many times I've tried it. I've beaten every other campaign except this one (and Richard's)

Any advice?

[Martok]

I can't remember: Is that a stand-alone battle, or is it part of the Saladin campaign? It's been a while since I last checked out the historical battles/campaigns. :embarassed:

[therussian91]

It's the Saladin campaign.

The Historical battles are pretty easy, I never had too much trouble with them. But this damn battle........argh...


Edit: OT, but what are referrals, and why do I have one?

[Martok]

Hmm. I hate to admit it, but it's been so long that I can't even remember how that battle goes. What's the disposition of forces between you and the Crusaders? What's the terrain like?


Edit: OT, but what are referrals, and why do I have one?
Way back when, I believe it was used when someone who'd joined the Org had referred you as a member that had influenced them to sign up with the site. I'm not sure if this feature is still really used or not, however.

[therussian91]

Hmm. I hate to admit it, but it's been so long that I can't even remember how that battle goes. What's the disposition of forces between you and the Crusaders? What's the terrain like?

Hehe well then. I guess I'll take a screen of the battle at the start...I have to actually unlock it first though. I haven't tried Saladin's campaign since the last time I reinstalled. :sweatdrop:

I hope help arrives soon!

[Odin]

In the three years that I've had this game, I've never been able to beat this damn battle. The Franks are able to rip through my infantry and my cavalry. I don't know how many times I've tried it. I've beaten every other campaign except this one (and Richard's)

Any advice?

If I recall you start literally face to face with the crusaders and they are charging. If I recall I strung them out by pulling back my cavalry and concentrating all footmen on the commander. He eventually broke and ran and the rest of the battle was a mop up.

Your in the desert so thats to your advantage, but other then that as I remember that battle it was a melee from the start and the crusaders hammer your position.

Try pulling your cavalry back and let them get tired. Its been so long since I played those man I always tripped up on the barbarossa missions the 2nd one if I recall....

[Martok]

While I still can't recall the specifics of the starting conditions of the battle, Odin is right: You're in the desert, and that gives your troops a significant advantage over the Crusaders.

Muslim units generally emphasize speed over strength, and they also don't tire in the desert sun as quickly as their Catholic counterparts. As much as you're able to, you should have your men run away from (and if possible, around) Richard's forces. This will force him to spread out and break apart his army formation in an attempt to engage you, which makes the enemy much more vulnerable to being picked off one-by-one. :yes:

[therussian91]

Hm, alright thanks I'll try it out!

[Agent Miles]

I don't know if you've had any luck with this, but here is what I did.

Victory at Acre

The first two battles in the campaign of Saladin are quite easy, but the battle of Acre is not. You start the battle in very close proximity to the French, so you must do something immediately. The sides look very equal, 960 men each, but I found a log file that revealed why they are not.
Saladin is a rank 4 leader and his bodyguard are honor 3 (honor is synonymous with valor). Saladin also has an archer and a crossbow unit that are valor 2. However, that’s it. None of the other Arab units have valor.
The French have many strong units with valor. King Guy is a rank 1 leader. His Royal Knights (RK), the two Knights Templar (KT) and the two Feudal Knights (FK) are all valor 2. The Feudal Sergeants and the Knights Hospitaller (KH) are valor 1.
Using the comparison tool that Yas created, it was obvious to me that only Saladin’s bodyguard stood a chance against the FK’s and could not go up against the other knights head to head at all. Thus, the plan was to pin the knights with Saracens and to flank with my cavalry. The problem was that the Saracens were all over the battlefield.
The solution I came upon was to retreat the Saracens to the camp area. Behind the Arab setup area are two groups of tents arranged in two lines. I had the Saracens fall back to the space between the two lines of tents, one unit to the right and the other two to the left. The Ghazi infantry fell back to the gap between the tents. The Saracen units were set to hold position/hold formation, which makes them very slow to eliminate. With the tents between them and the knights, they would be tough to defeat. The Ghazi were set in a wedge so that they could flank and quickly damage the knights.
The peasants were sacrificed to steer the knights away from my left flank. I sent all of the cavalry to this flank. Here I would crush the two FK’s and send my Mamluk HA’s into the French rear area. For this purpose, I switched them from skirmish to hold formation and had them attack with their swords.
The battlefield was a plain with the sea to the west and hills on the other three sides. My goals are to protect Saladin and to rout/destroy the entire French force. The time is unlimited and the logfile stated that the difficulty is medium.
I will discuss the battle in its four areas, west flank, center, east flank and rear. On the west flank, I drew the KT’s away from the main battle and tied them up with one Saracen unit. They routed two peasants and the crossbows before the Saracens tied them up. I sent the Ghazi infantry here to attack an exposed crossbow unit in the French rear.
The center of the French line was the RK’s and the KH. They routed another peasant and were attacked in the rear by my Khwarazmian cav, and light infantry (Muwahid and Murabitin). The RK’s then split off from the KH and pursued the Khwarazmians, who had routed.
Saladin struck the east most FK and the Ghulam Cav flanked them. Within seconds the FK’s were destroyed. Saladin then charged the remaining FK, who was supported by the French infantry. The Ghulam again flanked and these units were routed, although more slowly than the first FK.
The two Mamluk HA’s charged around the eastern flank and into the French rear. One unit chased the Turcopoles off the map. The other, with the help of the Ghazis, routed the French archer and crossbow units, as well as several peasants.
At this point, the KT are stuck to my Saracens like flypaper. The French rear area is in shambles and their eastern flank has been crushed. Guy’s RK’s are chasing my Khwarazmian cav and his KH are stuck isolated in the middle of my army. The two Saracen units charge out from the eastern tent area, the light infantry are rallied and Saladin attacks with his bodyguard and the Ghulam Cav. The HK’s are surrounded and routed. Now all of this force falls on Guy. The Saracens pin his RK’s and Saladin flanks. King Guy routs off the map. One unit of Mamluk and the Ghazis race back to aid in the destruction of the last French units.
The two KT have routed the Saracen and slowly move toward my army. I switched the Mamluk HA’s back to skirmish and used them as bait to draw out the KT and split them. I then pinned one KT with the Saracens and flanked with Saladin. They rout and I repeat this trick with the last Crusader unit. The result is a resounding victory!
I took some snapshots too: https://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/AgentMiles/Acre/

[therussian91]

Wow thanks. Unfortunately I've had to reinstall MTW, thus losing all my victorious battles. But I'll try it out

Thanks again

[Agent Miles]

My pleasure! Before I tried this, I destroyed/routed all the French except 14 Templar Knights and 24 Fanatics. All I had left was Saladin alone with no bodyguards! I slew 12 of the knights and routed the last two. Saladin then killed nine of the fanatics before dying. Like any humble warrior, I simply tore my clothes off and ran, screaming, into the woods. :laugh4:

[therussian91]

Haha. Oh man that would suck.

[Ignoramus]

He lost to 24 fanatics? That would annoy you no end.

[Sensei Warrior]

I used Fanatics to good effect in various crusades I had. They're in the strategic bombing category of units like Ghazi Infantry, Woodsmen, and the like. You point them at a target and watch them meet their maker.

Actually, its even easier with Fanatics and Ghazi Infantry because they're impetuous. If you don't point them at something then they'll pick their own targets, like a fire and forget missile.

I had a harrowing Crusade once where I ended up fighting a battle with no pinning troops ie Spears. I used fanatics to be the front line, since I had forgotten about their annoying impetuousness. To my surprise, the whole line charged forward as the enemy closed the gap. It was pretty touch and go for awhile. Luckily I was playing on norm, any higher and I probably would have gotten creamed.

This whole post has been completely off topic, Continue on with the battle of Acre, its one of the ones I couldn't beat.

That must have been frustrating, a mere 15 fanatics away from victory.

[Agent Miles]

I figured that Saladin was mortally wounded by the knights. He was totally exhausted by the time he fought the fanatics. Fortunately, after the thorazine wore off (:laugh4: ), I came up with the above plan. It worked incredibly well. Give it a try.

[Martok]

I used Fanatics to good effect in various crusades I had. They're in the strategic bombing category of units like Ghazi Infantry, Woodsmen, and the like. You point them at a target and watch them meet their maker.

Actually, its even easier with Fanatics and Ghazi Infantry because they're impetuous. If you don't point them at something then they'll pick their own targets, like a fire and forget missile.
Quite right. Fanatics can be annoying at times; but used properly, they can do a great deal of damage. While they're best for flanking maneuvers, they can charge head-on as well and still leave your enemy smarting.

@therussian91: Any progress yet? I'm eager to find out how you did! :yes:

[Agent Miles]

You mentioned that you also had not won Richard's campaign. I assume that you mean the battle of Jaffa, so here's a picture AAR for that one too.
https://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q36/AgentMiles/Jaffa/
Good luck!

[therussian91]

@therussian91: Any progress yet? I'm eager to find out how you did! :yes:
I haven't tried it yet. Schools been kind of keeping me away from MTW, and when I do play I usually am playing my Holy Roman campaign. I'll definetely try it today