Want to share your fun battles?

Regardless of voicing/hearing complaints of numerous stupid AIs I had a fun battle last night. I guess we can also share some fun battle experiences?

I mod my Carthagian campaign so now every building only takes 1 turn to build. All 1-turn units now takes 0-turn to train (works like retrain), while 2-turn units take 1 turn. The AI seems to benefit from this quite much. Now I can see a good increase in AI's quality & quantity very early on. They are still bloody rich for whatever reason. I also get to fight with/against some high-end units before the campaign ends.

So it was about 264BC and Hansdrubal (Hanno's 1st son, the heir of Carthage) led a half-stack to Balkan. Now he had Macedon's Larissa in sight. It was only wooden walled, so his vanilla elephant is enough to breach in the first place. Garrison in Larissa was weak, only 2 units, but there were 2 stacks just oustide the town, a large stack like 12-13 units, and a 1-general stack.

There was a reinforcement delay for the larger stack - exactly what I hoped for. So I quickly rushed everybody in from the gate. The Macedon generals managed to kill 2 elephants before their fall under my mob rush.

3/4 of my Iberian infatry (man they suck) died at the town center fighting only one unit of pikeman. Just when there were 4 pikemen left standing, I thought "the day is ours", then reinforcement arrived. (took another 10 seconds for them to die) Now the blue-red bar shifts to AI's favor.

Ops, now I have to fight a city defense for 3 minutes. I rushed my elephant to take the gate entrance closest to the reinforcement, while sending two other round shield cavalry to take care of other entrances.

The one gate bumped open by my elephant can't be closed now, so I have to defend that. I rushed everybody there - just to find that AI's Macedon horse lancers runs so fast that I can't cover another entrance as well - so I have to defend both ends at the same time. All right.

When there was about 1:30 left, numerous Macedon lancers (on huge everything looks numerous, you know. I think they have a total of 7-8 units or so) charged in from both ends of Larrisa. I welcomed them with whatever I have had left. At the "elephant-bumped" gate, I have 2 units of round shield cavalry, Numidian merc. jav. cavalry, one unit of skirmisher, and 1 unit of 1/2 strength sucking Iberian infantry. On the "too late" end, I have 2 units of round shield cav. and Hansdrubal, the conquerer. Elephants are on their way.

I set up my units as bottlenecks, so when the AI units come in they are going to face at least two directions of charge (well, talking about charge bonus of 2 through out my army). I managed to rout 2 waves of black cavalry, killing their general. All right. I thought the battle is now won, just to find out that 2 routers actually fled through my horde and reached "my town center", so they the timer is gone when there was only 0:02 left! ARGH!!

I killed these 2 as*oles with my 24 & 29 sucking Iberian infantry resting at the town center. Ok, another 3 minutes, and I should be fine. After taking care of one or two more waves of charges, Macedon had only infantry left, about 5-6 units of phalanx and 2 units of archers. They all come to the elephant-breached gate.

Just I was happy that the infantry was slow and they couldn't make it in time, my two sucking little Iberian infantry units set their foot out of the town center - and I lost it again! I never know I have to leave a unit there constantly to retain the control. So now it is again 3:00 left - and a lot of Macedon infantry are at the gate!

Fortunately I already concentrated most my forces there. I waited till 2 groups of phalanx comes in and start my charge. Round shield cavalry charge phalanx - no other choice. Fortunately, they routed soon probably because they are surrounded and outnumbered. But not the following Macedon units stay put, so there comes a really, really crowded gate. The Macedon archers pond me crazily, and they aim for my general - every volley I lost 1 or 2 bodyguards.

I finallly pushed these pikemen outside the gate, but it turned out that my round shield cavalry is now surrounded in a bottleneck by Macedon units. The horses died so badly, as you can expect. The AI pikemen weren't really using their phalanx, they just stand there pushing and pushing.

The melee continued for a long time, and finally 3:00 was up and I opted to finish the battle. It turned out that the leftover Macedon soldiers were staying outside Larrisa without whatever they have left, so I assault them again only to lose 2 more elephant in bad charge.

It was really fun.

Man, I can really see you staring in disbelief when you lost the place for the second time - must have been strange feeling.

Anyway, one of my funniest battles was as Seleucids against Armenia.
My army consisted of some pikes, general, archers and eight (yes, 8) scythed charriots. I wasn`t paying attention when commanding reinforcements, so I ended with 8 charriots in the same army.
The Armenians had two armies, and advanced carefully. They held their cavallery (general and HA) back, screened behind 6 units of eastern infantery.
The reinforcments did a similar thing, advancing towards their main army, keeping the infantery between me and their cav.
I just though "what shall I do with all this charriots, I will just send them on a suicide attack to their cav".
I thought that may be a quarter will make it through the inf, which should still be enough to annihillate the cav. Maybe they even kill one or two soldiers on the way.
So I send 4 units at the main army and 4 at the reinforcements.

Well, what can I say? My "suicide commando" routed a total of 10 units just by driving through them, without losing a single charriot.
Of course, the cav got slaugtered in seconds.
I couldn`t believe my eyes. I mean I know that eastern inf sucks big time, but I had never seen such a poor performance.

I have one that I just loved to fight.

I am playing as Brutii. So far I have conquered Appolonia, Segestica, Athens, Thermon, Sparta and Corinth. I feel pretty good. I send a stack with one of my heirs up to Thessolinica to take it and split the Macedonian territory and take their one remaining profitable city. My stack, led by a 2* general is
4 units of mercenary hoplites
6 units of hastati
5 units of Roman archers
2 units of peltasts (merc)
1 unit of cavalry (merc)
General

I lay siege to the city and am watching its guard dwindle down and am just about ready to take the city when a full stack of Macedonians appear behind me and a small stack of a general (8*) appears on the other side of town. The next turn I get attacked. The battle starts with me setting my defenses on a small hill at the back of the map (at elast my territory). I have the hoplites in the center flanked by the hastati with the peltasts in front and the archers in the rear. My cav and general are also center rear. Something like this:

Pel Pel
Has Has Has Hop Hop Hop Hop Has Has Has
Arch Arch Arch Arch Arch
Cav Gen

The Macedonian army is almost all pikemen from the city (in my front) and almost all cavalry in the reinforcements (In My Freaking Rear!!!) The battle starts and my hoplites are pulled to the rear to face the cavalry charge with three of the archer units. They begin to cut down the Macedonian cavalry, who in typical AI fashion, stop within range of my archers and stand and wait for the rest of the army to catch up. At this point, they divide into three different groups, one coming up the middle and one each around the left and right. I send my two cav units to chase off the flankers, thinking that a generals cavalry should have no problems with light horses. On the initial charge, my general falls and his unit runs like a sissy. I run one of my hastati to the side my general was on and engage the wounded cavalry group and begin to beat them back. My other side just has my barbarian merc unit standing their about two steps away from a line of macedonian cavalry (3 units) that won't move. I send the rear guard archers to that side and begin to shoot them up, until they charge and kill all of my archers. The center held and they lost all of the cavalry that attacked there but they had to turn quickly to face the onrushing cavalry and barely got turned in time. I lost one unit of hoplites that couldn't get turned, but the others held the cavalry on the big pointy sticks. The Macedonian infantry is still marching steadily towards my front and the remnants of my archers are laying into them watching them fall before they reach my lines. They get ready to engage my line and I notice that one of my archers is in h2h combat and wavering so I scroll back, the third group of reinforcemnets has hit my lines, one very large 8* general. He hits the archers and cuts through them like they weren't even there. He hits the back of my hoplites, still engaged witht he cavalry, and they route. I decide to charge down at the remaining pike with everything that I have left. When My hastati throw their pila, the pikes break and run (they had already suffered 60% casualties at the hand of the archers and peltasts). Yippee, I think. With them running, I turn my hastati (3 bronze chevrons with silver swords, nice vetran troops) and attack the cavalry head on, not expecting to win. The run all the way through me at first but one they got trapped in the h2h melee, I began to wear down their cavs. By the end of the battle, their last cav runs away. I get Thessolinica with about 200 total soldiers remaining. I exterminated and destroyed the buoilduings that I could but it rebelled the next turn. Luckily by then I had moved another army up to take the city again. I never saw another Macedonian soldier outside of a city the rest of the game.

I was in the final stages of a long Parthian campaign marching toward Rome with a special army I had created for the final battle:

8 persian cav, 5 elephants, 2 onagers + good general.

On the way past Capua I get hit with a full stack of the Scipii's best - lots of legionary cohorts, etc led by the faction leader.

I'm on defense, and have a nice wide hill. I have a straight row of 8 P-cav in front, then a row of elephants and then the onagers.

The Scipii come marching across in a huge formation. Just as they start up the hill taking huge amounts of arrow fire, my onagers who up-to-now can't seem to come within 100 yards of any of the 1200 Scipii that are in range, manage a perfect one ball kill of the Scipii faction leader.

White flags go up everywhere instantly, and I loose the P-cav down the hill onto the routers.

I don't think there was more than 10 seconds of combat, and the final kill tally was 1100 to 4.

Playing the Seleucids with the Total Realism mod, and the Egyptians are just constantly besieging Antioch. With it's stone walls, that's not much of a problem, except you can't build, trade or recruit when you're under siege.

I despatched a small army (well, 1500+) of untried, low quality troops (mainly militia hoplites with some mercenary cavalry, one unit of greek cav and a low-quality general, to go and siege Sidon as a diversion.

Next turn, an Egyptian army hovering near Antioch comes south and attacks my army. We're about equal size, but they do have the reinforcements from the town coming up behind me. It's a good fight, my phalanx line holds and I manage to drive off their missile cavalry - most of the rest of their mainly cav army dies on my pointy sticks.

Ended up with them running away and me losing just a few hundred.

Then another army - the one beseiging Antioch - attacks, again with (slightly fewer) reinforcements. I take up position on a hill, and much the same thing happens, though by now my cavalry is down to the one unit of greek cav, 20 militia cav, 1 sarmatian mercenary and three scythed chariots - and my general, who got very involved in the fighting, against fields anf fields of 106 strong Numidian cavalry (which would be a problem if they didn't keep charging my phalanxes...). It was a really tough fight, with a big bust up in the middle and cavalrt swirling all over the place round the edges. Eventually I won, same story, some losses to my cavalry, but my militia hoplites took care of most of the enemy.

And then... same turn... Another army attacked! I'm down to about 1000 men, with lots of half strength units, and this new Egyptian army is nearly 2000. Luckily, cos I've got so few men, I can arrange them in a really tight line around a very steep hill, with some ruins behind me. The battle goes the same way, hold a sttrong line with lots of horsey maneuvers round the edges to force their cavalry to attack my pointy sticks. Again, I won, with a few losses, and the next turn walked straight into Sidon, having defeated four Egyptian armies in the same turn. Dead proud of the boys, I was.

Realism Mod. Carthage playing aggressively took Capua in 265bc .

Landed an army near Rome of 2 vanilla elephants , numerous Iberian inf, few scutarii, skirmishers and spearmen and some merc slingers plus 2 long shield cav. 1500 in all. good general .

Attacked by the Senate--about same size army but principes/hastati mainly supported by auxilla and velites.

A wooded snowy level place.

I think hmmm. might be a tough battle .... those senate guys have all high experience rating etc.

Line up my inf with slingers and skirmishers. Phants on the flanks, cav hidden and wait.


The senate just rams up my guts , I spring the trap and the phants and cav attack their flanks . ( damn can't hide those phants!)

I'd never lost a battle of similar sized armies while defending before, but here the senate just chewed up those Iberian guys, my general is blowing his horn like mad but to no avail, the phants quickly run amok and the cavalry are slaughtered, full scale retreat and defeat, whew, I just managed to save my general from the rout.

Message-- don't mess with those senate guys till you're ready. Iberian infantry suck and elephants won't always win the day.

As the Scipii, I was now cleaning up the provinces I needed to make me emporer. The Brutii had been sending stack after stack at me until I blocked a bridge passage with a large stack of elite units - urban cohort, pretorian cav, legionaries. The Brutii family was rash and decided to test my metal. At the same time he crossed the bridge he sprung a unit from my rear.
With the mountains as our back drop I arrange some hard hitting cohorts near the bridge and held the rest back. Arrows started raining death apon my men from the other side of the river

I ordered the testudo - the order went out for the turtle

HA I laughed as their futile arrows clattered off the shields of three units standing in perfect blocks

whats that whistling sound?

Flaming boulders start smashing around in between my units

I stand there resolute - Is this it? Is this all the brutii can muster.

A turtle of elite my urban cohort takes a direct hit from a flaming destruction - the turtle can be a blessing and a curse. I stare in disbelief as a perfectly formed square of blackened bodies lies on the ground.

Horns to my left - their reinforcements have arrived and are charging - I dispatch some auxilliaries and early legions to check their advance.

At the same time he rushes the bridge - I tell my legionaries to break formation and engage them man to man

I speak some words to my fine and beutiful cavalry cohorts - Great deeds are remember for a life time! - RIDE NOW and show me your quality.

I send them smashing into the units emerging from the forest on my left. Sir thats suicide - YES BUT ITS BEAUTIFUL.

The battle on the bridge was a thing men talk of with hushed voices - such was the horror - the screams of the injured being trampled - the constant rain of death from each sides arrows and now and again a horrid cruching eplosion sending men burning and flying into the river. The units had held but were beginning to waver - we just needed one thing to give the men heart and turn the tide - A glorious charge from their General a man with 7 stars, a man who was reknowned for his victories.

If you find yourself walking in green fields with the sun on your face - then you are in alyssium and you are already DEAD - HA HA HA

HOLD THE LINE - STAY WITH ME


ROMA VICTORRRRR

The Generals cohort smashed into the mellee on the bridge - it was glorious to behold - horses jumping into seas of men - the enemies generals head on a Scipii lance - the enemy fleeing for their lives - the stones of the bridge soaked with the blood of thine enemies.

soaked and slippery

Whoaaah boy - NEEIIGGHHHH

SPLASH

fleeing Scipii legionary - "the general has drowned in the river flee - run for your lives - the GODs are against us"

and the day was lost

PLaying as the Seluecids I had just dropped a stack and a half on Italia because I owned all of the eastern map and all of Africa and 1-2 revolts a season was annoying so I needed a better positioned capital and the Roman naval blackade was pissing me off. I sacked Croton and Tarentum and razed them and moved on. I came to Capua and the Seluecids attacked me near a bridge with 2 full stacks.

I figured no problem I have phalanxes I just defend bridge and slaughter them... Wrong! The damn Scipii brought 3 units of Onagers, 2 on one side of bridge one on the other and a couple of Archer Auxilia. I defended the bridge for 5 minutes or so losing many pikemen to flaming Onagers when their reinforcements arrived with another onager and cavalry, right behind me! So I had my reinforcements make a suicide charge and my Silver Shield Legionnaries assaulted them, as did the 2-3 generals that I brought along. I was reduced to a line of pikemen only 2 thick on one side of my bridge defense and 3 on another so I had to filter Silver shield Legionarries in as filler. Finally the wretched Scipii fled and were slaughtered by my cavalry but if the Onager had not run out of ammo I would have been left with a great many crispy Silver Shield Pikemen!

As retribution for that attack and the subjugation of my good allies the greeks I sacked and razed Capua and then did the same to Rome and my grand campaign was over... The Scipii and Brutii reduced to dust and the Julii within easy striking range of my great armies. The world is now stabilised and the Seluecid empire will go down in the history books as the greatest empire ever, and one of the few to come from humble beginnings. Like Israel surrounded by enemies but in the end victorious. Long live the sons of Alexander!!

When i first found out that the senate is a joke....

Finally, as the julii, i started the civil war by placing rome under siege. The next turn, the senate's other army attacked me from behind. The battlefield lacked any distinguishing features; it was just flat. I had a core of legionary cohorts - and that's about it. The senate had mostly hastarli and velitites, and only 1 legionary cohort. No suttle tactics needed, i just smashed into their line - and it broke. Almost all the enemies units fled the field, and i pursued. I only took significant casualties when the reinforcements arrived, rallying some of the senate's troops and surprising mine. But a heroic charge from my general saved the day - Rome was mine!

My most rediculous battle was against the senate.

Seleucids again, and I was sieging Rome with a reasonable army, but waiting for reinforcements (onagers for the assault, mainly) to come from one of the cities in northern Italy. I had 49 territories, so I knew I was getting near the end, and I wasn't that bothered about losing men...

So when the senate reinforcements arrived, I found myself on a bridge with a huge 2500+ army coming from the north, and the Rome garrison, 2000+ coming from the south. I had about 1500 and a combined army of phalanxes, legions, cavalry and archers. I considered withdrawing, but thought if I can hold off the Roman garrison for even a short while, I could do crippling damage to the senate's army coming over the bridge, and even if I lost all my men, my reinforcements should then be able to advance on Rome without too much bother (and, to be honest, I was looking forward to a big fight at the gates of the city)

So when I started the battle, I was very pleased to see both senate armies on the other side of the bridge - I have no idea how the Rome garrison slipped past me in the night... So I set up the usual bridge defence, phalanxes making a tight horseshoe at the end of the bridge, phalanxes behind to cope with flying horsies, and legions around the edges to fill in the gaps. Then archers on either wing to pound the bridge.

To cut a long story short, I just ate them up, both armies, one after the other, and of course they both routed... But, instead of disappearing off into the distance, both armies - the garrison and the reinforcements - tried to rout over to my side of the bridge (towards Rome, I assume). Have you ever seen 4000 men try to rout through a solid phalanx wall?

I just watched in horror as unit after unit flung themselves on my spears. The result? I think I lost 200 men, they lost 4000+. Number of survivors? 1. And I've no idea how he got away. Naturally, nexy turn I walked into Rome unopposed.

I could list a crushing and massive slaughter of the AI here but to be honest it is not those fights I really enjoy.

The following is the battle the best sticks in my mind.


My best battle was in my first campaign. I was Juli and was marching on patavium (sp)? I remember thinking "ahhh that full stack has moved, good now it will be easy."
WRONG

Massive full stack of gauls in a perfect ambush and my army was totally unable to prepare. This was my first battle being ambushed and it was AWESOME!

Since I play with Iron man rules I had to use General viewpoint and no pause..... Needless to say I was absolutly slaughtered almost to the last man by screaming warbands and noble cav. It was sweet. Watching from the generals viewpoint made the sight of hundreds of barbarians roaring their warcry's and pouring out of the woods into the flanks of my legions absolutly terrifying!

My campaign to the north was set back years and my faction leader slain. A disaster of legendary proportions!

And I was hooked on Rome Total War.

The harder or more evenly matched battles are the best, my previously listed favourite is my fave because I had to scramble to keep my phalanx horse shoe and even with it the onagers almost destroyed it. I survived the battle with a few hundred tyroops but if the Scipii had ever broken through my phalanxes or flanked them with the second army their hordes would have swapmed my depleted legionnaries...

1 bridge

20 phalanx pikemen units

20 exp 9 heavy onagers

huge units

i am currently playing as the parthians and thought i would wait to take on the romans last. Unfortunally i allied with one nation to many and soon was at war with the romans.

I had 300 horse archers, 50 horsemen without bow and arrows and 100 infantry and faced 600 bruteai.

i sent my ha and horsmen forward and blasted the romans and my inf stood around watching in awe as i completly destroyed the romans. 50 romans got away, i lost 100 men when i lost patients and stopped blasting them with arrows and attacked with swords

Parthian inf is lousy fighters

This is from my first game (as the Julii) vs the last vestiges of the Greeks. My 200 men vs around 1,600 Greeks (mostly Hoplites but about 3 units of peasants arranged at the flanks). My archers peppered the Hoplites as they approached and I sent my Legionary First Cohort straight into the center of the enemy line while my general and cavalry flanked in different directions. God bless those Legionary infantry. The enemy completely surrounded them but they managed to hold up while my cavalry chewed up the Hoplites from behind. This despite the fact that my general RAN AWAY about two minutes into the melee. By the time it was over my cavalry was so exhausted from their 868 (!!!) kills that they were chasing routers off the field at a slow walk.

well, i do recall one battle facing the egyptains as the parthians...i had a small, 800 strong army, but was faced against about 2,400 men, consisting of a significant portion spearmen, a hell of a lot of desert cavalry and chariot archers (*shivers down my spine*), and some bowmen. my army consisted of 6 units HA, 2 units PHA, some infantry, 4 bedouin mercs, 14 cataphracts and *thank god for this* a 10* general.

i had previous battle at the same place against a smaller force (800) which was killed easily, but took some casualties. i know where to place my units first up, so it was all good until i hit 'start battle'...

the enemy was right at my doorstep! quick! quick! the mouse clicked everywhere, arrows flying everywhere, charging desert cavalry into my infrantry...i had to use my bedouin mercs to clear them off, but the cavalry kept on coming and coming, one after the other...my mercs (which where crucial in routing them off) slowly dwindled down in numbers, and my infrantry was down to 50% already, and the spearmen where advancing quickly...i could of beaten the chariot archers range dueling with my HAs but had to pull a few over to take care of the advancing spearmen...i could not risk my own general, 2 precious to lose. my cataphracts where lost as well

by the time the first army of 1200 had gone, my HA and PHA ammo was down to around 10% (!!!) and where already very tired from running and shooting, and more cavlary and chariot archers where on their way ... my few mercs where my only hope in routing the cavalry, along with my general.

it was around 1/5 of the time to go before all my units where exhausted, all deplete of ammo, infantry routed, and spearmen closing in fast...my only hope was to run, run, run, around the edge of the map, leaving hills, occupying other hills, occasionally using decoys of heavily depleted crack units to stall for time...

it was all over...a sigh of relief...ahhh....it was finally over...in the end, i polly lost about 400 men, opposed to about 2000 egyptian lives...

luckily reinforcements arrived quickly from the east, and i took palmyra and massarced the populace...ahhh...gold! more more denarii!

egypt went downhill from thereon muahahahaha no more desert cavalry and chariots to ruin my day

I am currently fooling around with egypt.
I am not playing very "seriously", I am just sailing around the mediterran sea, conquering coastal cities and pissing off any superpower I can find.
So far I have just conquered southern greece and let the macedons bleed at my walls.
However, the second attack came immedeately after the first, so I couldn`t repair my walls.
So my tired men have to hold the breach - at all costs.
My cretan archers were placed to oversee the route to the breach, slingers and scirmishers on the walls beside the breach, ready to let death rain from above. I was accepting friendly fire casualities.
My spearmen filled the gap, three lines deep.
OK, deployment complete, here they come...
(not much to say about the battle itself really - they came, smashed through my first and second line and were barely stopped at the third. Once the impetous was stopped they routed quickely, however.)