How realistic are elephants going rampage all the time?

[Fluvius Camillus]

Umm how to correctly use elephants guide in a nutshell...

1. DANGER!

Dont have your elephants inside missile troops range, they can take some arrows or slings but dont let them have too much. For javelins, KEEP THEM AWAY, javelin volleys, just from simple akontistai are insta kills, if you ever have the nightmare to face Armoured elephants, javelin volleys can bring them down. If you own elephants however, the best way to evade is to shoot down or engage javelinmen with other troops before your elephants get close

2. Wheeling them around.

You can easily outflank the enemy with elephants even better when combined with cavalry. If the enemy has good charging cavalry, watch out! If the enemy does the radical move of a xyston/kontos charge, prepare to lose a few elephants when they are idle or weak. So if the enemy cav is idle you may want to charge them with your elephants and possibly finish them off completely with cavalry. JAVELIN SKIRMISH CAVALRY IS A NO GO! THEY WILL KILL YOUR ELEPHANTS. If the enemy however has flank, it usually consists of spear soldiers, luckily for you rarely makedonian phalanx. You can easily charge through a group of flank defenders, especially if they have no javelins. If even the mid line is not javelin and non sarissa, you can even try the more rash move of breaking the center (you better have strong elephants for this).

3. The battle deciding move!

Place your elephants behind the enemy line. Now hopefully the general is already dead, if not chase him or if he is fighting in front never mind. Now you have to unleash your all winning move! CHARGE! The elephants will charge in the back. Usually all but the elites rout, for elites, just withdraw and feel free to do this a couple of times while your cav and fast infantry hunt down the routers. Congrats you almost certainly won!

To counter criticism from the last steps.
a. Charging in the back is great. Your own troops wont die if they have not run amok. Elephants that are under control will simply stop to use their tusks to finish off the remaining troops and if they run through your troops will only be thrown in the air and will ALWAYS stand up again (if they are under control that is).
b. Yes elite phalanx might stand so GET OUT OF THEY TURN!

If they run amok you are clearly doing something wrong! I had literaly more than hundred of battles where I deployed elephants, I think I had around 2% of battles where they ran amok (serious battles that is, no test or careless custom battles and not the elephants vs flaming pigs soccer matches of RTW of course!)

I have a group of standard Indian elephants in my Baktrian campaign. The group consists of 18 men at recruitment, 6 elephant riders (mahouts for Carthies?), 12 archers. Now only the 6 riders (so 6 elephants, like at the start) are left, so no more archers. If elephants die they will have the archers die first, so even if you lose 3 men and elephants, the next battle you will only have 3 archers less. They went from their recruitment in India in 250 BCish, and now the 6 riders are in Korsim (Corsica) at 199BC. I used them quite a lot (however not too dangerous situations), but they crushed a real bunch of Yellow fever phalanxes from the back. Also they can of course help you open wooden gates, just watch out for towers and JAVELINS!

The whole guide can help you with chariots too in some length. Just keep in mind chariots are cheaper and thus weaker, dont make be too rash with linebreaking movements I just described with elephants. Also chariots are A LOT more vurnerable too archers and slings. They are however excellent router pursuers if you have nothing better to do for them, which elephants are not. But of course, the chariots are great main line breakers from the REAR.

Just keep one thing in mind, have them moving (chariots are A MUST to move), just let them saw and cut down everything, cavalry can go down fast this way if they keep cutting and riding!

Alright, that was not a nutshell, but I hope I helped people!

Have a good time!

~Fluvius