Sun Tzu said...

[PaolinoPaperino]

An idea, because he said Right flank could be the shield.
Usually men fights with the right hand, while the left carryes the shield.
Troops located on the right flank then are more vulnerable to flanking charge, and missile fire.
If the unit is located as last one on that flank, it's always in danger of such actions, and probably the main opponent target.
To be able to defend itself, the army has only to rotate(bending the first line), placing the right flank a bit uphill and blocking the enemy movement occupying the higher ground.

[katank]

I don't know if they are that heavy on maneuvering though.

archery was definitely a big part of combat.

also, massed conscripts often created huge spear and halb formations that were difficult for cavalry to break.

they were very progressive with using smoke and fire to attack the enemy and also hide one's own deployment though.

reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the exploits of some master tacticians can also be very educational.

[Tamur]

Looks like I missed some great comments on the weekend. Nice analysis! I had only thought of this from a defencive point-of-view, and it just wasn't making sense.

I ended up making a MTW map as described --- no marsh, really bumpy ground leading to flatland with a hill on the right flank of the defender --- and deployed as described. The AI did its usual "let's flank him with the entire army" maneuver to my left. So my right flank infantry were left completely unthreatened, and I ended up moving them out into the broken area and around the AI's left flank.

This full-scale attack on my left flank didn't make sense when I played the battle, but taking into account this discussion of psychology/morale, it makes perfect sense. Foolish AI though, seems he completely forgot about my infantry with their backs against the hill.