When do they attack?

[antisocialmunky]

Javelins aren't so much effective that they kill people as much as them leaving a dense formation full of holes and not so effective.

[CMcMahon]

You need to hit phalanxes from behind and from the sides, especially their right side (since their shields are on their left). Just put hastati or principes to the front, and then come in from the side and back with some triarii, and you can take them out. Just make sure to try and take them one at a time, otherwise you're going to lose a lot of soldiers.

If you need to separate phalanx units, just use your general's cavalry to run circles around them.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Or kill them with Cav. Charge your general into their flank and the phalanx will fold up, litterally.

[Afro Thunder]

I think there is a thread around here somewhere that shows how to use a staggered formation to defeat a solid phalanx line. I'm not really sure where that thread is though.

[Kourutsu]

Syracuse...Syracuse...Oh there it is....
But that doesn't matter because the enemies don't engage you when you...SALLY FORTH!

I love saying that.

[pezhetairoi]

Lestat, read the 'swords vs phalanx' thread that I started up a week or two back in the colosseum archives. It will open your eyes.

To the Syracusan discussion, there is a variation to the take messana strategy: In my greek campaign I took messana and the next turn or so Lilybaeum came and besieged my army in Messana. So no chance to counterstrike on Lilybaeum. And if the Scipii won't come close enough to fight under Syracuses' walls, it's only a matter of your not sallying far enough. Move out further. They'll come. The Romans could never resist a good fight--But you may have to sacrifice a militia hoplite unit since that unit will probably never run back to the gates in time. But let them through the gates. Don't stand and fight. Make sure they are bottled up at the gates, and SLAUGHTER. Don't just leave the job to your towers, do something yourself too. And leave those archers on the walls to fire flaming arrows.

[bubbanator]

My stratagy was to take Messana first turn but wait a while before taking on the Carthaginians. You could crush them quite easily but there will be a Scipii counter attack.

Build up. Right after it comes, crush them, put a good sized army on a boat and send them over to the SOUTH side of Capua. If you are on the north, there is a chance that the Senate army will come and give you much more of a fight than you were hoping for. Take Capua and the Scipii will be gone.

You could try to keep the city and take out Rome after you built up your army but I prefer to let the city rebel and go back and unite Sicily. Once the island is yours, you can build up and take North Africa where the Scipii usualy go. This makes for an easy way to beat the egys by attacking them from Africa and from all of the north of them from Turkey. It is much easier fighting them on multiple fronts rather than having them send army after army to try and drive you out. But I am getting off of the subject.

On second thought, I think that I will stay off of the subject just a little while longer. When you are fighting phalanxes, they are usualy in the standard line. I find it best to concentrate your attack on the middle units. Have all of your ranged units hitting one unit in the very middle. Have your cav come around back and hit that unit in the rear. This should cause a chain rout. If it doesn't have your cav run back and charge the unit next to the unit you just crippled. Repeat if need be.