The AI and flank atttacks

[Ironsword]

The best AI flank attack that I've been on the receiving end went a little like this:

- Outnumbered but higher in command I had two spear and polearm troops in the centre of the army. 2 units of Arbalesters on a hill with a trebuchet and demi-culverin. My single cavalry unit was a an 8* general with royal knights.

The AI was very cavalry heavy and had 3 units of FMAA in the centre. I kept back the halberdiers with the arbalesters and flanked the AI centre with my own cavalry, it was all going so well until... My Halberdiers were suddenly routing into the centre of the melee and the arbalesters and seige engines overrun by 2 units of mounted sergeants and one of feudal knights, these had broken from cover of woodland without my knowing and decimated my back line. Very sneaky.

[Empirate]

The battle AI in M:TW is much more satisfying than the A"I"s of Rome and M2. However, you can use some of its typical tactics to your advantage. For example, I used to have a rigid line of spearmen/similar out front, to protect my missile troops, who made up the second line and fired over the spearmen. Standard deployment, with cav on the wings. Often though, right after impact on the main line, some sneaky AI infantry or cavalry came flanking my main spear line. Great, I flank them again with my cav, no problem, they break and flee.

This has happened so often I think the AI flanks a little too readily. I've come to rely on the fact that the AI seeks to flank you with cav, but also with inf that has a good charge value. The AI even uses spearmen to flank more often than MAA, even though their charge total (combined attack+charge) is lower than that of those! I think it relies wholly on the charge value.

Once you've come to expect AI flanking, you can play some really silly tricks on it. Form a long, long line, and the AI has to break it's army really far apart in order to flank. Constrict your army before contact (while the flanker units are still ambling about in the outer left/right field), and the AI will try to respond. You can gradually have your units form a semicircle or constrict even more, the AI will still try to get around it so it can flank your outermost units. And all the while your missile blows them to bits!

I had such a battle just recently, me (Sicilians, VI 2.01 vanilla, GA, H) vs. Egyptians. I had an army consisting mostly of Order Foot, Archers, some ragtag Royal Guards and two units of Hospitallers. They had an almost all-camel army (FEAR THE CAMEL!!!), however, so my cav was more or less useless. Thus being greatly inferior in numbers and having to protect my cav, I formed the Order Foot in a long, thin row. Camels get slaughtered by Order Foot head on regardless how thinly deployed, so the tried to flank. I pulled my outermost Order Foot in, formed a bend, then a hook in my flank, and still the camels tried to take the long way 'round. All this time my archers shot them to bits. I also did a bit of luring with my cav (faster than camels), and led them on a merry chase in front of my archers. The AI, seeking flanking and a good matchup, forgot about its numeric superiority and caved to heavy archer fire!

[bondovic]

I had a nice one just earlier this evening. Vastly outnumbering the Eggs with my Italian/bribed Egg army. Going to forward pin with nubians and flank with camels while holding my MAA in reserve. I'm attacking, though, and my spears are at the back of the formation at the start. I do the ghost setup far out and ctrl-T. The AI notices that my spears are way back and charges right in. I was having my coffee at the time and, so, not paying due attention reacted slowly to this move. I lost. To a move that was exactly what they needed to win an outmatched battle like that.

[professorspatula]

One of the things that makes playing the battles in MTW so interesting is the AI's use of flanking attacks and repositioning its armies to make things difficult for the player. You try and use good ground for cover, it will attempt to nullify the advantage the terrain affords you by approaching your forces from another angle. You try and do the same when it's on the defense, and it will manoeuvre it's army again to attempt to retain all the advantage it can. Sure once you play many battles you learn sneaky tactics and good ways to thwart the AI, but it can still give you a hard time.

This is in stark contrast to the AI in RTW which will gladly give up it's strong defensive position should you decide to attack it from the flank. I've had AI armies camping on a strong hill that I've approached from the side which results in the AI redeploying it's forces so they're downhill, facing upwards. Which is a sign of madness. It's amazing how much better the AI is in earlier TW games.