Bridge Attacks

[Da Masta]

Bridge attacks are hard for me, im not talking about defence. I usually line up my archers at the end of my side of the bridge, then i rush my fastest guys in (usually calvery) then my spearmen, monks, etc. but since i started expert that tactic hasnt worked for me. My men are usually cut down at the bridge then distroyed by the enemys calvery into withdrawl, any ideas to help me?

[Kocmoc]

i use this:

Setup ur archers near bridge(not all, spare 2) than sent only 1 unit with open formation
over and stop them of the bridge.

U offer this unit.
This unit get shooted and attacked, but only
from 1 other unit, coz its of the bridge and no space for others.

maybe u need 2 units,(best units are sams)
to offer till the arrows are emty now
attack, but remember at the beginning there are many sams, so it isnt good to sent ur cav.

gl

koc

[theforce]

Well there aren't many online bridge games but here is the tactic l use against the AI. Put an ashigaru unit nuear the bridge on make it move at the other side of the map. When they start firing at you normally with archers wait until they are out of arrows. Then make a rush on the map. Use some men and then send some more, and then some more. Finally the shall rout.

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Enter the Darkside...

[Vanya]

He he Bridge battles! Oh my!

Vanya's legendary Pitchfork works wonders when you have to attack a bridge. Perhaps one day I will be able to divulge its secrets...

But in the meantime, I can offer you this:

In SP, lure the enemy off the river map by attacking nearby provinces first. Try feigning an attack on a neigbor at the same time as an attack on the river province. Perhaps he will move to defend the other province, and leave you the river province as a gift. Observe his troop movements for a couple of turns so you can maximize your chances. If, for example, you see him move that army around with 14 ashigaru units, try to time your attack to coincide when that army will be defending.

Also, if you capture a neigboring province with a fairly large castle and his army is trapped inside (ie, you besieging him), leave a small army there to lure him into attempting to lift the siege... if you are lucky, the relief force will vacate the river province to go release their comrades. Time your attack so you take the river province, even if it means you MAY lose the other one. But heck, maybe you keep the enemy holed up in the castle too!

In MP... well thats another story. At least I can say my Pitchfork *worked* in a 2v2 attacking Awa where the enemy had a combined 9-10 H9 muskets on a sunny day...






[This message has been edited by Vanya (edited 06-13-2001).]

[Satake]

Bring ur daimyo and send him ahead if the enemy has moved away from the bridge. He'll try to get you with way too many troops so by that time charge across the bridge and fight like you would any normal battle.

[Vanya]

Satake has inspired me to send my Daimyo across the bridge at the enemy in a massive wedgie formation! It was quite motivational to see the leader of the land scurrying around the field with inflamed pig-stickers chasing him.

But I took it one step further than you! I sent BOTH my Daimyo and his heir across... so the poor enemy would be confused as to who to chase first! Ah, the confusion! My delight! I cried when my peasants crossed in safety to drive their wedgies into the enemy and send those Buddhist monks back to their mamas sobbing for their master's compassion!

[Guderian]

About bridge battles. I was showing one of my friends how to play and I did a daring thing. I attacked Mikawa from Totomi with 250 units or so early game. Imagawa had 120 men. The bad part was Oda sent in 300 Ashigaru into the battle on Imagawa's side.
The hardest bridge battle ever?
No! It was the silliest!
As I marched up to the birdge Imagawa charged across it! I thought I was attacking! I routed them easily w/ YC (since I was Takeda). Lord Imagawa himself attacked me once I crossed the bridge and killed him. Now Oda's men were sitting far away on a hill. He severly outnumbered me and when he charged DOWNHILL my YC kicked them back to Owari. Fun!
This doesn't follow standard bridge rules does it? I thought it'd just be fun to say how stupid Normal Difficulty can be.

[kaltes]

Try this:

Keep a couple ashigaru units handy for suicide duty. Here is how it goes:

#1 position all your muskets such that they can fire on the bridge, but not the opposing bank (so the enemy wont trade volleys with you).

#2 group all the muskets and unclick fire at will. In the central area load up 1 ashigaru with samurai behind, leave the other ashigaru off to the side behind the muskets so the soon-to-be-fleeing peasants dont disturb them.

#3 If enemy missile troops can fire on you before you begin a crossing, us the opportunity to spread out and make them waste ammo, even guns will run out eventually, but make sure your ashigaru are at the limit of the enemy range and are in loose formation, and preferably in a long column or shallow/wide formation.

#4 Once it is safe to cross, attack with your ashigaru, and if you see the enemy troops in 'attacking' mode, rout your men and let the enemy chase you onto the bridge. Let them get as far across as possible but the enemy will notice and try to recall his men, as soon as they turn their backs, select all guns and click 'fire at will.' The opening volley alone could rout the unit depending on the circumstances.

#5 The goal is to get your army across the bridge intact, so continuing with the cat-and-mouse will weaken his troops and lower their morale. If the enemy posts a unit on their bridge entrance in hold, then move your guns up enough and throw a volley or 3 into that unit.

#6 Eventually you will need to cross in force. When you do, rush to meet his units so they cant swamp the bridgehead. Then keep pushing units across until you have enough bodies to get around a flank. Keep your best quality units in the center and keep them on HF to give you time to bring the rest of your army into the fight. Cross your muskets last.

When you cross, if his missile troops have not been taken care of (run out of ammo, etc) you will have a hell of a time as he blasts the first few critical units that cross, so put a fresh ashigaru unit in front with samurai behind, so it absorbs a decent amount of fire (unless they manually target) while your sams get ready to enter melee.