==your best battle==

[Budwise]

Against the horde and I have unlimited archer ammo

I had 5 crossbows in my frontline
Billmen line behind them

I lost 275 men to their thousands.

WOOT

[Ciaran]

I don´t remember the exact circumstances, but the outcome. It was a very bloodless battle, about a dozen dead all in all, in a battle with about 200 men at both sides. It was just pure maneuvering, I moved closer, the enemy fell back, I followed, etc until all enemies ran off the map with hardly any fighting at all.

[Martok]

Probably my most memorable battle was a couple years ago when I was playing as the Spanish. It was early in the game--maybe 10 years in. My king had attacked Cordoba and was starving out the castle garrison when the Almohads sent in a large force to break the seige, led by the Caliph himself.

I had excellent ground on which to defend--the top of a long wooded hill up which the enemy had to climb--but I only had about 450 men, whereas the Almos had something like 1200-1300. The only other real advantage I had was that King Alphonso had 7-8 Command stars (because of the +2 bonus from his Expert Defender trait), and the Caliph only had 4-5.

The Almos wasted no time in attacking my position. My 1 unit of urban militia and 2 units of spearmen (all of whom were under-strength) managed to hold off repeated assaults by the Almos' infantry for what seemed like an eternity. Meanwhile, my 2 units of archers and 2 units of Jinnettes were doing a wonderful job of picking off the AUM and Berber Camels, although my Jinnettes were eventually forced to pull back to my left flank when the Caliph sent a strong detachment of enemy troops to engage them.

Despite the spectacular performance of my front line and my archers (who seemed to kill someone with every arrow they loosed), I doubt I would have won the battle--except that the Almohads made what turned out to be a critical mistake. The Caliph, growing increasingly frustrated by my stubborn defense, decided to take matters into his own hands. He led his bodyguards in an attempt to smash my spearmen that were holding my right flank (who by now were right on the edge of breaking).

That was when two things happened: 1.) My archers (who were almost out of ammo by this point) started gunning for the Caliph; and 2.) King Alphonso and his knights finally emerged from the woods where they'd been concealed and charged right into his rear. Caught completely flat-footed by my king, and unexpectedly coming under fire from my arrows, the Caliph's bodyguard simply collapsed and he was soon slain. My Jinnettes (who had finally managed to rest a bit), immediately attacked and fell upon the enemy's (now demoralized) right flank, which crumpled almost instantly.

A scant few seconds after that, the entire Almohad army was fleeing down the hill. My exhausted infantry and archers could only watch and cheer on my king as he and the Jinnettes chased down dozens of routers, all the way to the edge of the map. Once there, they stayed and ran off the few reinforcements that appeared (just some peasants and spearmen).

I don't remember the exact final tally anymore, but it was something like 600 enemy killed and 300 captured, while losing about 150 men. All in all, a most excellent and satisfying battle.

[DensterNY]

Very interesting battle Martok... I just fought one of my best fights and it seems I was in a very similar situation but at the other end as I was the one trying to attacking uphill through a wooded hill at a strong, entrenched army.

One thing that I discovered is that either the AI hates Hobilars with a particular passion or else marching light cavalry uphill through hoods present an irresistable target. I marched the same unit each time up the hill and one or two units would detach and they'd chase me down into my spearmen archers and men at arms. Of course, a human player wouldn't do this but its always fun finding new ways to get an AI to come down from a good defensive position.

[Martok]

Very interesting battle Martok... I just fought one of my best fights and it seems I was in a very similar situation but at the other end as I was the one trying to attacking uphill through a wooded hill at a strong, entrenched army.

One thing that I discovered is that either the AI hates Hobilars with a particular passion or else marching light cavalry uphill through hoods present an irresistable target. I marched the same unit each time up the hill and one or two units would detach and they'd chase me down into my spearmen archers and men at arms. Of course, a human player wouldn't do this but its always fun finding new ways to get an AI to come down from a good defensive position.

Yes, using light cavarly to harrass an enemy's position (particularly if your opponent is the defender) is usually an effective tactic. At the very least, it wears down the enemy and demoralizes them, as your light cav has the speed to quickly strike and then withdraw before they suffer serious losses. If you're lucky, you can tempt enemy units to abandon their position (thus creating a breach in their lines), as you've already discovered to your advantage. That was nicely done, by the way.

[PittBull260]

Probably my most memorable battle was a couple years ago when I was playing as the Spanish. It was early in the game--maybe 10 years in. My king had attacked Cordoba and was starving out the castle garrison when the Almohads sent in a large force to break the seige, led by the Caliph himself.

I had excellent ground on which to defend--the top of a long wooded hill up which the enemy had to climb--but I only had about 450 men, whereas the Almos had something like 1200-1300. The only other real advantage I had was that King Alphonso had 7-8 Command stars (because of the +2 bonus from his Expert Defender trait), and the Caliph only had 4-5.

The Almos wasted no time in attacking my position. My 1 unit of urban militia and 2 units of spearmen (all of whom were under-strength) managed to hold off repeated assaults by the Almos' infantry for what seemed like an eternity. Meanwhile, my 2 units of archers and 2 units of Jinnettes were doing a wonderful job of picking off the AUM and Berber Camels, although my Jinnettes were eventually forced to pull back to my left flank when the Caliph sent a strong detachment of enemy troops to engage them.

Despite the spectacular performance of my front line and my archers (who seemed to kill someone with every arrow they loosed), I doubt I would have won the battle--except that the Almohads made what turned out to be a critical mistake. The Caliph, growing increasingly frustrated by my stubborn defense, decided to take matters into his own hands. He led his bodyguards in an attempt to smash my spearmen that were holding my right flank (who by now were right on the edge of breaking).

That was when two things happened: 1.) My archers (who were almost out of ammo by this point) started gunning for the Caliph; and 2.) King Alphonso and his knights finally emerged from the woods where they'd been concealed and charged right into his rear. Caught completely flat-footed by my king, and unexpectedly coming under fire from my arrows, the Caliph's bodyguard simply collapsed and he was soon slain. My Jinnettes (who had finally managed to rest a bit), immediately attacked and fell upon the enemy's (now demoralized) right flank, which crumpled almost instantly.

A scant few seconds after that, the entire Almohad army was fleeing down the hill. My exhausted infantry and archers could only watch and cheer on my king as he and the Jinnettes chased down dozens of routers, all the way to the edge of the map. Once there, they stayed and ran off the few reinforcements that appeared (just some peasants and spearmen).

I don't remember the exact final tally anymore, but it was something like 600 enemy killed and 300 captured, while losing about 150 men. All in all, a most excellent and satisfying battle.

very nice battle, you're a good writer

[Martok]

very nice battle, you're a good writer

Uh, thanks. I don't know if I really deserve the credit, though. All I did was add a little color commentary--aside from that, the battle happened pretty much as I described it. My palms still sweat when I think back back to it, because it could very easily have gone the other way.

If the Caliph hadn't been so rash and had been patient for just a little longer, my front line probably would've broken in another minute or two. I had actually already ordered the King's knights into the battle (to bolster my right flank, which was wavering), when the Caliph made his appearance--and I suddenly realized Alphonso had a clear shot at his backside as a result. Now *that's* what you call fortuitous timing!

[EDIT] I should also note that this battle is the one that started my love affair with Jinnettes. Their javelins just decimated the AUM--who had to be destroyed (or at least greatly weakened) if my spearmen and UM were to have a chance at holding the line---and they were crucial in making sure the surviving enemy units routed after the Caliph was killed.