Stopping the mongols

Turn 104. The mongol hoarde arrives on the Northern shores of the black sea 12 stacks fully maxed out with kick ass generals. They seem to be tracking west towards Iasi? which is Hungarian. Just to the north east is another Hungarian city which is also the their capital. Im sitting pretty in the Bran castle with their master swordsmith guild, thanks.

Now Im playing venice with HVI available from Bran along with pikes and gunners from Budepest. I have some 8 star generals and some battle hardened units in the hood, but nothing to what they are putting out. Still it will be 3-4 stacks by the time of arrival

Do I take Iasi and try to bottle the horde at the nearby bridge, or wait and see where they end up. My money is them leaving Hungry alone and Bran is the target. Any suggestions as to the best composistion of troops to take them on, tactics, etc or should I cut and run to see where they settle and thus naturally disperse.

thanks

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Originally Posted by Captain Pugwash

Turn 104. The mongol hoarde arrives on the Northern shores of the black sea 12 stacks fully maxed out with kick ass generals. They seem to be tracking west towards Iasi? which is Hungarian. Just to the north east is another Hungarian city which is also the their capital. Im sitting pretty in the Bran castle with their master swordsmith guild, thanks.

Now Im playing venice with HVI available from Bran along with pikes and gunners from Budepest. I have some 8 star generals and some battle hardened units in the hood, but nothing to what they are putting out. Still it will be 3-4 stacks by the time of arrival

Do I take Iasi and try to bottle the horde at the nearby bridge, or wait and see where they end up. My money is them leaving Hungry alone and Bran is the target. Any suggestions as to the best composistion of troops to take them on, tactics, etc or should I cut and run to see where they settle and thus naturally disperse.

thanks

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How many troops are stationed at Iasi? It doesn't even matter if you are at War with the Hungarians, if they have troops stationed there, consider them allies. More soldiers between you and the Mongols = Good. Hungarians can be meat shields for you. Let them kill as many Mongrels as they can, and then you can finish them off.

I would try and block the bridge whether you take Iasi or not. A good defensive position to hold them off until reinforcements arrive.

Use the campaign map to your advantage. If you can station troops on a hilltop/valley between Bran and Iasi, do it. I don't recall where the best position is, but you can always just act as bait and sit against the mountains and hope they are stupid enough to engage you there. You can also sit your Bran garrison right beside Bran in the mountains, and lure the Mongols up there like pigs to slaughter.

You are Venice, therefore your best units will be spammed italian militia and pavise crossbowmen, plus a few units of heavy infantry/cavalry, but don't sacrifice infantry for cavalry here. On a mountain, cavalry are a waste of time.

For your bridge battle, if you decide to engage them there, you should use any heavy cavalry you can get, even crusader mercenaries. It may be wise to call a crusade just as the Mongols arrive, and make your way in their direction. Use pavise crossbowmen and position them on the sides, and get your cavalry and infantry ready to converge on the exit point of the bridge. Don't sit in their way, make room for them to arrive, and then charge from all sides.

If you have some tough, hi-morale troops, station a couple on the bridge itself to slow them down and force the Mongols to take more crossbow bolts.

Spear militia with maxed-out armor and weaponry will help, so pump them out en masse. If you have ballista, position them on the sides too and fire into the bridge while the Mongols are delayed. Aim for their general and hope it hits him. Flaming bolts are up to you. I wouldn't use flames if it decreases your aim.

The key to fighting the Mongols is using the campaign map effectively to put your troops in the best defensible position such as bridges, citadels, or mountains (or, if you are an aggressive berzerker, finding the best offensive position such as an open field, and using spammed heavy cavalry/spearmen and crusader mercenaries).

Depending on your faction, it may suit you to play offensively. I find factions like the Turks or Russia need to go offensive because they are best in open spaces, whereas Italian factions with poor offensive cavalry or no horse archers should play the defensive game and win the war of attrition.

Have any screenshots? Visual aids are always helpful. Message me if you don't know how to make and/or post screenshots.

Take the bridge. Park a standard at your end of it, right up against the mouth of the bridge. Bring a trebuchet and put a few cow corpses at the other end of the bridge as the enemy prepares to attack. Now it takes them a lot longer to move into your pocket at your end, and by the time he gets there the morale situation will be even at worst, even if his general is max dread. Collapse the spearmen pocket on him, and commence the slaughter. Don't chase through the cow corpse cloud, just hold there and whittle them down while your reinforcements arrive at their leisure. :laugh4:

You should be able to hold two stacks with one of your own under these circumstances, but you'll be out of bolts if there is a third.

If the Hungarians cost the Mongols so much as half a stack count yourself lucky. :sweatdrop: