Quote Originally Posted by spacekraken
This could probably go in the "Most Embarrassing Smack Down" thread as well.

I just recently fought the Dacians over a bridge as the Brutii. I was pretty confident it'd be a cake walk. My forces equalled theirs and it was over a bridge. When the battle started, I set up an "area of death" that had worked so well for me before: four sets of Hastati forming a box at the end of the bridge so when their first warband entered it they got decimated by the cross fire and would immediately route while those stuck on bridge were eaten up by arrows. It didn't work out that way though.

They actually did not come rushinmg across the bridge. I thought, "Wow, that's interesting." Then huge flaming balls started crashing around my side of the river. "Oh, they have onagers," I thought. "That's different."

About the time I thought that, a huge flaming ball landed smack dab in the middle of my hastati on the right. The unit was nearly gone, like 4 men left! A whole side of my "square of death" was gone. I started to get worried. Then it started aiming for my general. I was impressed and frightened. I moved my general out of range but then they went after my archers and they got hammered by the onagers.

I sent a small force across a crossing in the river to come around to kill the onagers but it took so long my main force was getting pretty hurt. I thought the Dacians might split up to save their onagers but the AI didn't flinch. They let the onagers go and came across the bridge.

By the time the Dacians decided to do that, my force was a lot smaller. I kind of froze up and freaked. They routed what was left of my hastati, and started harrassing my archers. I sent in my equites but they couldn't even help and they routed. I rallied a few times but my guys were all over the field in shambles and exhausted from routing. Big healthy chunks of warband were there to great those who rallied. Eventually even my general routed.

Very nice use of the onagers on the AI's behalf. I was thoroughly spanked.
Why didn't you back away and move all your troops out of onager range, and putting only one unit in range but with loose formation and 1-2 ranks deep line? Then AI would just waste their ammo and when they started charging over you'd run your men back into a half-circle position around the bridge. If the AI would keep firing then, they'd risk hurting their own men and therefore they often stop firing in such situations - and if they keep firing you'll most likely win anyway.

Also, did you use small unit size? Onagers never kill more than a fourth or fifth of a unit with flaming ammo when playing with large units - large units is the most balanced unit size btw - and flaming ammo rarely ever hits it's targets.