Ambush tactics

Hi.

I posted this on the internal EB forum, prior to the EB 0.81 release. I didn`t posted it here before, because the 0,81 patch wasn`t released yet, and there might have been some problems with spoiling things and such.

Since 0.81 was released a looong time ago, there`s no problem in posting this on this forum. So, here we go then.

******************************************************

This is a quick ambush guide. This will show show some techniques in order to totally obliterate a medium sized enemy stack with equal forces.

https://img247.imageshack.us/img247/3969/ambush16rd.jpg

Terrain: Hilly with no trees.
Weather: Sunny, no rain, and no snow, so no combat bonuses for my barbarians.
Forces:

*Romanii: Enemy forces are comprised of a strong array of medium and heavy infantry (some 1 hastati, 4 principes, 2 samnite infantry) , balanced with support troops. Their experience is varied, some units with high experience, and some with little to no experience.
*Aeduii: My forces are comprised of 4 medium experienced heavy infantry (Bataroas), and 3 unexperienced mercenary swordsmen (Enoci Curoas), supported by 2 experienced slinger units.

The match is balanced, with a slight advantage in numbers from my part, but with a hardcore of experienced and high morale units from the roman part. Breaking principes and samintes is no trivial matter, and I will have to use strong shock tactics in order to break the morale of the romanii. If I don`t succeed, my core forces will be heavily depleted and unable to continue offensive operations in the area.

1st: Enemy disposition of forces:

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7281/ambush28xt.jpg

The enemy are formed on a marching column, with the hill on their right. Their vanguard unit is comprised of 2 light slinger units, one depleted and another full principes unit (the latter having the captain), and some depleted heavy and light samnites.

The rearguard is comprised of 1 principes and 1 hastati.

The body of the army is a thin column comprised of the rest of the principes, samnites and support troops. All of it, ripe for massacre. :D

2nd: Battle plan:

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8854/ambush36ek.jpg

My forces are arrayed in the way showed on the pic, with heavy infantry on both flanks of the column, the general right on the front of the head of the column, and the slingers on a eminence of the terrain, from which they can offend the whole column.

My heavy infantry is concentrated on the head of the column, the enemy vanguard, where the enemy captain is. Their mission is to destroy it ASAP.

My mercenaries (Enoci Curoas) are located at the rearguard of the enemy frontguard. Their mission: to hold any relieving forces coming from the enemy rearguard, until the enemy vanguard and the captain are destroyed.

The slingers have an important mission: Attack the engaged enemy from the back, in order to cause them severe cassualties, and break their morale. In addition, they have a secondary role: To wear down additional units coming to assist the head of the column.

If all goes well, the head of the column (together with the captain) will get destroyed before they know what`s going on, and with my regrouped forces, I will overrun the rest of the column, and start a happy head collecting. :D

3rd: So it begins!

The situation goes as planned, the enemy are in deep confusion, while my forces clash with extreme violence against their lines. They don`t form 2 paralell lines, the only thing that may save them.

https://img144.imageshack.us/img144/4425/ambush47fh.jpg

4th: Slingers

Meanwhile, my support troops pepper down the already engaged enemy units.

https://img261.imageshack.us/img261/182/ambush59yj.jpg

5th: Confusion!

Some enemy units start to flee from the battlefield, increasing the already massive confusion among romanii lines.

https://img144.imageshack.us/img144/7374/ambush60fk.jpg
https://img144.imageshack.us/img144/1948/ambush71is.jpg

Battle rages, the enemy vanguard is trapped, with no hope of relief, and the enemy rearguard is bogged down with my mercenaries, which are in turn suffering horrendous cassualties at the hands of samnites, principes and suport troops:

https://img261.imageshack.us/img261/4334/ambush80ur.jpg

6th: An enemy move:

But lo! An enemy principe unit tries to reinforce the vanguard of the column, hoping to desestabilize my battleplan.

One of my Bataroas unit sees this threat, and charges right towards them. In addition, I order the slingers to pepper down the intruders, and the cavalry to charge against them.

https://img261.imageshack.us/img261/8758/ambush93sc.jpg

The enemy principes, attacked simultaneously by slingers, cavalry and infantry, decide that`s too much and turn their backs and flee.

https://img77.imageshack.us/img77/4951/ambush104wg.jpg

7th: Climax!:

My Bataroas, now freed from this task, charge against the backs of the enemy rearguard, in hope to support my fading Enoci Curoas unexperienced mercenary units.

https://img244.imageshack.us/img244/...mbush111gv.jpg

Meanwhile, my slingers wreack havoc among enemy fleeing units.

https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/...mbush126ub.jpg

The Bataroas clash against the enemy backs, causing a massive morale drop.

https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/...mbush134nw.jpg

In that very minute, the enemy captain is killed:

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/...mbush145jk.jpg

And the enemy morale goes to hell. A mass rout occurs.

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/...mbush153fz.jpg
https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/...mbush160qx.jpg

Result: Heroic victory, with an entire enemy legion destroyed, and a severe disbalance of forces in the area. The door leading to Liguria has been shattered. The country is ripe for plunder.

https://img232.imageshack.us/img232/...mbush201re.jpg

Aftermath:

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/...mbush191mj.jpg

The cassualties in my army were important, but most of them were among my Enoci Curoas, unexperienced mercenary units that held the entire enemy army while I destroyed the enemy vanguard and killed their captain. Their mission was a bloddy one, and one that hardly would have been accomplished with lesser losses. But it was most important for the outcome of the ambush.

Their cassualties are easily replaceable, but then again, losing 400 men in enemy territory is no trivial matter.

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/17/ambush211hy.jpg

I would have payed 2 times that price for an entire enemy legion destroyed (the only true "romanii" army in the area), and for disbalancing enemy defences in the zone. All what`s left of the enemy are allied luogae warbands and some support troops.

Hope you`ve liked it. Any comments are most welcome.

Cheers!!!

https://img201.imageshack.us/img201/...mbush178af.jpg

Good to see you taking time to help those with defunct ambushing skills!

Look at that gold chevron unit, must've been important, how do you think you would have faired without that much experiance (the gold chevron one).

:2thumbsup:

Not bad, should come in handy. :beam:

hum.... thanks man.

I should give a try to do more ambushes, I haven't done that many of them. Seems like a an effective battle plan the one you deviced.

By the way... Do Gauls get bonuses in da bushes (trees) and snow in 8.1????????????????????? I don't see in my unit's description (I am playing as the Aedui too)

Well, I think the whole point of an ambush it to win with a smaller force, no?

No not really...

The point of an ambush is to attack the enemy when he is not expecting/prepared to fight. It gives your forces the "Element of Surprice" and you can defeat the enemy's forces more easely, and will less casualties.

Sometimes it can be done with fewer soldiers like Hannibal did, or not like Budica (sp) did.

Very nice example, but - these Gauls do not have other cavalry? Too many enemies escaped - I am playing RTR, did not install EB yet, sorry - still enjoying Macedonian Hetairoi :-) I think, it is always useful to keep one or two units of light cavalry to pursue fleeing units...

You don't always have along everything you'd prefer to. A good commander makes the best of what is available. :bow:

Oh, and the EB Hetairoi are hawt sexshy. :biker:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tomik

Very nice example, but - these Gauls do not have other cavalry? Too many enemies escaped - I am playing RTR, did not install EB yet, sorry - still enjoying Macedonian Hetairoi :-) I think, it is always useful to keep one or two units of light cavalry to pursue fleeing units...

---

At the start of the game, the Gauls can only recruit skirmisher cavalry units (Leuce Epos/Curepos and German Ridohárjoz). However, after the reform they can recruit heavy cavalry (Brihentin, that also makes up their bodyguards) and a Belgae skirmisher and heavy unit (Taramannos and Remi Mairepos).

What determines weather an ambush succeeds? I have never succeeded in an ambush in EB. I've had maybe 10 (max) ambushes all in all, four of which weren't accidents, but in all of them the enemy discovered it before the battle, and most of the enemy armies were commanded by a captain.

will this work good with the Sweboz? seeing as they don't have any good calvary units.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Thaatu

What determines weather an ambush succeeds? I have never succeeded in an ambush in EB. I've had maybe 10 (max) ambushes all in all, four of which weren't accidents, but in all of them the enemy discovered it before the battle, and most of the enemy armies were commanded by a captain.

---

Correction to the last one, now five attempts, all failures. Do I need something like a "Good Ambusher" trait or what?

That helps, but I think just having more command stars and such goes a long way. I recently rather by accident mugged a Seleucid column in those Mesopotamian woods with my Saba faction head/main warlord ("Hates clever-clever Greeks" for teh win :laugh4: ), by the virtue of the man having a few stars and having parked his army in bushes next to the smoking pile of rubble that used to be Seleukeia.

Nice battle. I have to work on my tactics since I installed darth's mod. I do like to keep my General in reserve and us him to mop up the individual routing units. This seems to help increase his xp. I could be wrong, If so please let me know. :egypt:

Ambushes are weird. I recently chased an Arverni army off one of my roads, but couldn't attack it again to destroy it. Next turn, since it was in woods, the army took up the crouching-with-raised-sword ambush pose, but I could still see it from a nearby settlement. I ordered my army to attack it, and was informed that I had been ambushed. By the army that I had decided to attack, and that I could see. Oh well, I slaughtered them anyway, but that really should not have happened.

I've also managed to ambush an army with one of mine that was laying siege to a settlement and had been attacked by another army (normal battle) from the same faction in the same turn. Next turn, my army was one square away from the settlement and in an ambush position. Weird stuff.

but whats really hard to play out is when u get ambushed and dont have time to prepare *shudder* my reinforcement army marching up from epirus to Selucia and a half stack of mainly horse archers from the hai comes up... and they knew how to use them right lol probly the hardest battle ive ever fought.. roughly me 1700ish men enemy about 700 men by the end me about 500ish enemy about 50 lol wish i had pics it was a fun fight :yes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pockettank

but whats really hard to play out is when u get ambushed and dont have time to prepare *shudder* my reinforcement army marching up from epirus to Selucia and a half stack of mainly horse archers from the hai comes up... and they knew how to use them right lol probly the hardest battle ive ever fought.. roughly me 1700ish men enemy about 700 men by the end me about 500ish enemy about 50 lol wish i had pics it was a fun fight :yes:

---

ouch.......grr, damnable horse archers.....:wall: