Britannia

[Craterus]

Hmmm. The generals in vanilla have missile bodyguards anyway, right? So just use that capability and don't even think about charging them in.

[Ludens]

Hmmm. The generals in vanilla have missile bodyguards anyway, right? So just use that capability and don't even think about charging them in.

Unfortunately no: the generals get heavy chariots, not light ones. Chariot's main use is to disrupt enemy formations, not to destroy them. Chariots cause chaos in infantry lines, which your infantry can then exploit (though you should not try this head-on against spearmen or quality heavy infantry). They also seem to work quite well against enemy cavalry. Whatever you do, keep them moving and follow up quickly with another unit to exploit the holes they make in the enemy formation. A moving chariot is deadly, a bogged-down one is dead. If you keep this in mind, you may still get some good use out of your British generals, even though they stay more vulnerable than most.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I agree, but it is just so easy for them to become bogged down. They can crash through a loose formation pretty well, but even the standard peasant gaggle can stop them long enough to let the factioneer come up a cropper. A unit that's been cut up and fallen down to 1-2 lines of troops can get busted open and your follow on can smash them, but whole units will choke the movement off even when hit from the rear. No blades on the wheels, no missile capability, no spears/lances....

Vanilla Eggies can be used as chariot archers reasonably well, and have blades on the wheels to take out routers, but Brit generals can't even kill routers with any speed, the fellows keep bouncing back up. Pretty hard to acquire chevrons, and you end up with a unit that you need to have for morale purposes, but is WAY limited even when compared to other generals who are "too precious to risk in a fight." At least the average Roman bodyguard group can take a hit or two with some hope of disengaging.

[Pontifex Rex]

This has not been my experience with the Britons at all. I try to have as many as four Heavy Chariot and four Light Chariots per army (with 2 - 3 slingers, 8 odd infantry and a barb cav) and they create absolute havoc among the opposition, they just require more care.

To avoid bogging down I will usually withdraw them within three seconds of impacting the enmy line. I do not give them orders to attack another group, I pull them right back out of the engagement so they make a clean break. All the while the 4 light cahriots are firing en masse into the enemy and the slingers are adding to the pandemonium. After a second or third charge completely disrupts segments of the enemy's line the infantry can go in and finish off the opposition. Pursuit is not as effective as cavalry but 3 or 4 chariots still do a lot of damage to routing opponents,...and the barb cavalry really help out here.

The chariots may take a few casualties on occasion but rarely does one get crippled (but it does happen on occassion) and they are particularly good at routing cavalry and killing the enemy general. Last night I send 40 Brutii units packing in two engagements for the loss of a total 3 chariots from a unit (plus numerous infantry units, of course).

[Pontifex Rex]

Here is a screenie showing an example of the point of impact of heavy chariots on peasants. When the chariots passed through the other side, only some 5 rebels were dead but the unit was disrupted enough that 7 more died in the next pass some 5 seconds later. By the end of the battle the rebels were routed for the lost of 2 chariots.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...ddenImpact.png

Not exactly Sarmatians but for the British it is not so bad.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

I don't prefer the heavy chariot slam as a tactic, but it works well enough. Casualties are high on very hard settings, but they tear up the bad guys. Its the GENERAL's heavy chariot that malfs.

[Pontifex Rex]

Its the GENERAL's heavy chariot that malfs.

Good evening, Seamus.

I am not so sure. The series of attached screenies show my preferences for massed chariots. In the battle shown, three British armies with a total of 6 generals attack a Roman (Brutii) legion in Tribus Iazyges. I would have liked to have actual Heavy Chariots but the few units in the army are either rebuilding, en route to the front or further south in Greece. I had about 1600 Britons in 3 armies facing a mixed legion of some 550 odd pre and post Marion cohorts.

Plate 1 shows the army I chose to command, it possesses 3 Generals and 2 Light Chariots (missile) and the only sarmatians I can get my hands on (plus infantry, of course):

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Offensive1.png

Plate 2 shows the charge and destruction of a Roman Cavalry unit by the generals heavy chariots, without loss. My army has swung around the Roman right and is driving them onto the other two armies seen approaching in the background.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Offensive2.png

Plate 3 Shows the collapse of the Roman legion as one of my reinforcing armies charges forward with 2 Light Chariots, 1 General's heavy and its infantry. My own heavies have just been given the order to charge into the retreating Romans and my infantry and cavalry will follow immediately afterward.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Offensive3.png

Plate 4 shows the result of the battle after the pursuit. I am not surprised that 30 Romans made good their escape (temporarily at least) as the map edge was quite nearby. The AI lost 1 of my generals but at least the unit went down taking out an entire Roman heavy cav unit. Overall, I find the use of massed generals from multiple armies has the effect of scaring the wits out of the Romans and leaving them vulnerable to a charge.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Offensive4.png

Finally, Plate 5 shows the strategic situation in central Europe After the battle. The four Briton armies possess 7 of 9 leaders in the area with the other two scouting and hiring mercs as they move about. I am very much of the opinion that with proper care and organization the Generals heavy chariots can be very, very deadly against central and western based cultures (the need to fight the in the east is unnecessary.

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f...Offensive5.png

Cheers.

[WarMachine420]

This has not been my experience with the Britons at all. I try to have as many as four Heavy Chariot and four Light Chariots per army (with 2 - 3 slingers, 8 odd infantry and a barb cav) and they create absolute havoc among the opposition, they just require more care.

To avoid bogging down I will usually withdraw them within three seconds of impacting the enmy line. I do not give them orders to attack another group, I pull them right back out of the engagement so they make a clean break. All the while the 4 light cahriots are firing en masse into the enemy and the slingers are adding to the pandemonium. After a second or third charge completely disrupts segments of the enemy's line the infantry can go in and finish off the opposition. Pursuit is not as effective as cavalry but 3 or 4 chariots still do a lot of damage to routing opponents,...and the barb cavalry really help out here.

The chariots may take a few casualties on occasion but rarely does one get crippled (but it does happen on occassion) and they are particularly good at routing cavalry and killing the enemy general. Last night I send 40 Brutii units packing in two engagements for the loss of a total 3 chariots from a unit (plus numerous infantry units, of course).

lol...read my thread in the entrance hall. I'm not having any problems using my chariots either.

How anyone got the idea that the chariots are "useless" or "immobile" simply baffles me.

After 2 years of playing, I'm thinking now that it's possible for the Brit Heavy/Light chariots to become my favorite unit in the game. I've never had the kind of success with other units I have with these...never, in any total war game.

I'm currently building up a giant army of Heavy/Light chariots with a nice WoadWarrior/Swordsmen/Warband infantry base. I plan on eventually (timing is everything...complicated story as with all campaigns, like I said read my thread) blitzkrieging all of Europe with these giant chariot armies. Just a carbon copy of what good ol' Adolf did with the Panzers.

disclaimer: this strategy is not in any way shape or form an endorsement of the Nazi party.