Strategy Question: How To Face Romans as Hellenes

[artaxerxes]

I've been wondering what the best unit selection would be for a Hellenic faction if one were to meet the armies of Rome - that is, the most common ones used by Romans when they're still only an Italian power. I'm particularly interested in whether phalanx units are any good vs. legionaires or not (I know they weren't that good historically, but...) - and if not, then what one should actually use against heavy roman infantry.

I'm used to playing Seleucids and then fighting Ptolematoi with a lot of phalanxes keepin their army occupied while I sweep around them with cavalry and destroy them. But playing a Makedon campaign and planning to relieve the Epirotes in Italy, I'm unsure of what units will actually be of any use & which will just get slaughtered for no purpose...

thx in anticipation

[Korlon]

Phalangitai are perfectly fine as long as you have sufficient cavalry and other, lighter units to back them up.

[Midnj]

Phalanxes will do fine against the Romans. They generally failed vs the Romans for reasons other than being penetrated frontally. Protect your flanks and your cavalry is superior to what the Romans can field, so you can easily do the whole anvil/hammer thing.

[Vorian]

I always found my self crushing Roman armies...a phalanx just can't be penetrated unless we are talking about levy phalangites and elite Romans and it will hold long enough for yor cavalry to crush them. Easy.

[artaxerxes]

Ok. Yeah, I read about the battle of the Second Macedonian War, that one of the Third (Pydna) and etc., and they always seemed to meet Rome in stony territory with no protection at the flanks whatsoever (Pydna being especially bad in both, thus the complete defeat). But I just had some bad experience during some preliminary skirmish and thought I'd ask ;)

I'll go make my own First Macedonian War, and even though they're at peace with Carthage, I promise to blast them away anyway ;) Thanks!

[craziii]

javs are pretty useless firing from the front in EB. that means a phalanx will own most units when they charge the front. the exception to this rule are the elite infantry units. as long as few of the soldiers filter from the front to the sides after the initial charge, you will be astonish at how fast the phalanx are cut down.

[anubis88]

As i see it a Seleucid army in EB is far superior to the roman one, so you don't have to worry about that too much

[Cartaphilus]

It's simple:

To fight the falanx, fix it with some troops and try to attack their flanks or rear, with cavalry charges or with lighter infantry troops.
The falanx will finally collapse. But sometimes they keep fighting till the end.

But if you fight with falanxes, protect your flanks, and stand firm. Only if the enemies have a superior elite falanx you will be defeated.