Your best command decisions

[Taurus]

First off I am sorry if anything similar has been posted before.

Now as the ^ topic title ^ says I was just curious about everyones best command decisions.
These decisions can be decisions on either the campaign or battle map.

For example, a decision to make a tactical retreat to a more strategic position in battle which managed to win you the battle against all odds.
Or a new route of invading a faction's territory which resulted in you losing less troops than the obvious route. Something like that.

My personal best command decision was probably playing as Macedon. I had conquered all of Greece and most of Turkey by this time and already begun to invade mainland Italy.
My best decision came however when I was in a battle with Dacia who had stabbed me in the back. Because of my expeditions elsewhere in the world I had little troops to fend of the invasion from two full stacks of Dacian chosen swordsmen and cavalry (among other things.)
So in a battle that I decided to fight despite the enemy outnumbering me about 5:1. My army consisted of 3 units of militia hoplites, 1 unit of levy pikemen and 2 units of cavalry (one of them being my General.)
The battle begun and I could see the outcome already as the once again silly AI formed a single line of all of its troops. I charged the left flank and it routed then I retreated and defended a small wooded area.
My best decision in the battle I feel was when I formed a circle with my pikemen for a 'last stand'. The enemy soon surrounded me but didn't realise that my cavalry had got around the rear of their army and they troops were routed one after another.

Deciding to fight this battle in the first place was a good decision on its own because that invasion force of theirs was basically all of their forces, so their cities were left mostly unguarded.

So whats yours?

[Lancome]

THat sounds good, you gained victory w/ a smaller army but do you know how to use it!

[The Stranger]

hmmm, smart. sounds like a real tactician speaking

[Ashen]

personally my best command decision was organising my armies into "roman" style armies (pre-marius of course) - 4 hastati, 4 princepes, 4 triarii, 2 archers, 4 cavalry, general and peice of assorted artillary. It might not sound like a "command decision" as such but in battle, its incredibly flexible and a lot of fun. CA weren't lying about proper roman type armies being more useful ;)

[The Stranger]

my best military decision was creating an untill now unbeaten formation. it can take on armies 5 times as large without suffering alot of casualties (well you do when the army is really 5x as large, but not when 2-3 times or less).

[professorspatula]

My best tactical decision/moment was the evacuation / tactical retreat of Cyrene in my Numidian campaign. I'd lost Siwa to the backstabbing Egyptians, as well as 2 family members, but a couple of turns earlier, I'd had the father of one of the doomed family members leave to build up the defenses and army at nearby Cyrene. I had so few resources or money, and was fighting wars against the Scipii with my Carthaginian allies, as well as ousting the Spainish from their homeland. I wouldn't be able to hold Cyrene, but figured the extra income and any troops I could build there before the Egyptians arrived would be welcome, so I had to hold on for as long as possible.

I built up a barracks and a temple and tried to build some kind of garrison out of the very few resources I had, but in the end, all my resources were required in the fight against the Scipii to the West. With the Egyptians closing in, I had to evacuate the city and get the survivors out and ready to join in the fight against the Romans. The only way I could do this was to use the 1 ship I had. Its crew was half dead, and it was on the far side of the map by Spain. But I sent it on a long journey to Cyrene, avoiding Spanish and Roman fleets along the way. With each turn that passed, the ship got closer to Cyrene, but so did the Egyptians. Finally, the ship was within a turn of its destination - but the Egyptians were practically knocking on the door also. I had my army leave the settlement to the north, with just 1 peasant unit to slow down the Egyptian advance. But I had a plan: what if I could get the city to revolt before the Egyptians could take it? So I torn down everything I could and raised taxes to the max.

When I ended the turn, the town rebelled just as the Egyptians laid siege! I couldn't believe my luck. It was filled with Macedonian peasants! My peasants were kicked out, attacked by the Egyptians, but fled to the south. But with my ship at the coast, my main army and general boarded it and left to rejoin the fight against the Scipii. Another turn, and it would have been too late. It might not sound like much, but it changed the course of my campaign. I'd managed to withdraw from lands I couldn't hold on to, and halted the Egyptian advance for many years to come. With one less front to worry about, my ship then transported the small army towards Carthage where they joined my king and proceeded to kick the Scipii out of Africa - and just in the nick of time. Everything went with precision timing and luck. And in a very nice touch, I managed to get the peasants who had stood alone to prevent the Egyptians taking Cyrene, back safely with the rest of my army also. It was a long walk, so I rewarded them by disbanding them in the nearest friendly settlement where they were well provided for for the rest of their lives.

Best campaign I ever had, until my King Gisgo's cavalry army was undefeatable and I knew there was little point continuing from that point on.

[Claudius the God]

playing as Thrace, i was stuck in a war with the much richer, much more powerful Macedon.

unlike most other factions, Thrace doesn't have much in the way of decent cavalry

Macedon was repeatedly sending full armies under a single banner at me

i managed to get a full army, plus a bit more besides. with the lesser quality troops, i surrounded the single enemy army and hit it with my main one. all i had to do was make them rout, and the entire army was annihilated because they were surrounded.

[bubbanator]

I was playing online one day and saw a game that had Germanic Forests as the map. I joined and decided that I would be the Germans for the woods bonuses.

It was a free-for-all and with one enemy being Carthage and had ALL armored elles. Another was the Spartans had nearly all Spartan Hoplites with a few units of cav. The last person was Spartans and had all of their hoplites in a circle with the archers and a general in the center.

The guy with the elles charges the guy in the circle and loses most of his men. The other guy with the spartans advances on me. I retreat to the thickest woods and let him advance. My army was a group of chosen axemen, night-raiders and a few beserkers. They were arranged in my special mob formation where all of my men are just in a big lump.

When his first troops got close i used my warcry and charged my 'mob' at his spearmen. Right before I hit them, I split my mob and got around him and killed him. I did that for every unit. Eventualy some elles came out of nowhere and routed a few of my men, but I bogged them down and killed them.



On a side note, one thing that I did with the Brutii in campign was to take the gallic towns that bordered the Julii. Soon after, I took Carthage and Thapsus. I helped the Greeks take Messana by bribing the main Scipii army. The Julii and Scipii never expaneded. They never even tried...

[Azi Tohak]

I was playing as Armenia in RTR. I was going after Pontus but I knew the Parthians were going to be coming for me.

No kidding...I was right. The Parthians send every family member they have after me, along with a full stack of other HA. Well, all I really have is a medium sized (but high quality from the Pontus war) army. I get them to attack me, so I sit on top of a very steep hill. Being the genius it is, the computer tries to attack me head on, but a piece at a time. My own family members smash all the Parthian family members, I push through the middle of their line. Then I break my own heavies in half and send them behind the Parthian HAs. Charging my own HAs down the side of the hill results in my so completely anhiliating their army that I get that lovely little "Your enemies are cowards, the enemy army has totally fled." I was happy with myself. Even better was that I did this in the thickest fog I had ever seen in RTW.

I was happy. That set me on my way from taking little Armenia to the masters of the Med.

Azi

[CMcMahon]

Sending a single unit of merc horse archers to distract a full stack of German reinforcements that was coming in behind my half-stack of Romans that was breaking into a town. I lost the horse archers, but won the battle because the full stack didn't have enough time to get to the town square after chasing down my mercs.

[pezhetairoi]

The best command decisions I made were as Germania, when a) I charged down into Italy by turn 6, and b) I fought heavily-outnumbered battles with only 4-5 Germanic phalanxes and 2 cavalry against full-stacks, in full square. It was amazing.

In my Greek campaign, my best command decision was to take the offensive in all theatres immediately and rely on my tactical abilities to gain the victory no matter the odds. I ended this campaign with 40 provinces in 30 turns.

But really, the best command decisions I make are with diplomats. As Sun Zi says, 'the greatest general is the one who wins without fighting a battle'. I'm damnedly sure my battle count is way lower than anyone elses' in a battle, because most of my 'battles' are between diplomats and enemy armies.

I still remember this Spanish battle where my 10-unit Iberian-Roundshield army was facing a Gaulish full-stack and in one flashing instant I saw the tiniest gap in the hordes that were pouring down onto my beleaguered and dying-very-fast Iberians, and I charged through it and into the Gaulish rear. Against all odds that was the battle-winner in a fight that should have been my ass on a platter to the Gauls. But it could just as easily been a gamble that ended with my precious cavalry bogged down in the infantry, ending in a defeat that would have laid Spain wide open to attack (all my armies were either headed for Carthage, or in Italy)

[Horatius]

My best tactical decision is my defensive formation for fighting.

If I have slingers (Which I get as mercenaries sometimes) they are infront.
Peltasts follow, (If no mercenary slingers Peltasts go infront in front)
Followed by Archers
Followed by infantry.
With cavalry on the side.

Starts the battle with your army either at the highest point, and as far away from the attacker as possible.

Yesterday I was beseiging Citra, there was a full stack of numidians inside, and there was a full stacked numidian army outside led by the Faction Heir.

It attacked me (The faction heirs army) and I crushed both armies. the missile troops fired, as they charged with infantry and cavalry my missile troops retreated behind my infantry, and my cavalry ran around.

That basic tactic is the best.

[Megas Alexandros]

My ever best decision was to hearken the world's best strategist's words.

Nowadays I win battles with 20:1 casualties, resulting in franticly improving units and max-star generals in every 10 years. The world is at my feet. What can I say? I play the Macedon.

[Ianofsmeg16]

My best command decision was thus...
I was Greece, they were Brutii, this following battle would decide Greece, for they nor I had any other armies
Thank god for bridge battles, there were two fords and i guarded one with most of my hoplites inc. my spartans, archers (of which i had two units of gold weapon from a macedon town i captured) and cavalry and left the other one guarded by a single unit of armoured hoplites
As i guessed the romans attacked the main force and were bogged down and getting beaten, so they sent three units of triarii and two units of hastati to get across the other ford..
Fighting was intense hereand my armoured hoplites were on defeat is a distinct possibility so i hads an idea i got from a shogun battle i fought about a year ago, i let the armoured hoplitews retreat then rout
now i bought up my reserve of two armpoured hoplites and greek cavalry to face the oncoming romans who were being led by the a.hops this brought them parallel qith my gold chevroned archers who had been decimating the romans on the bridge.
At the last moment the a.hops sheered away bringing the romans into contact with my reserve and then i ordered the archers to fire.....

Needless to say the flanking romans were routed, and i was getting tired of the romans on the bridge so i walked, WALKED my spartans across the bridge in phalanx and routed every one with my generals cav. and greek cav. (who were silver chevroned because of the routing of the flankers)

I killed them all....eight years later that same army was in Rome

[pezhetairoi]

[QUOTE=Megas Alexandros]My ever best decision was to hearken the world's best strategist's words.
QUOTE]

Why, do you mean me, the Master Strategist? ;-)

[Kourutsu]

It's strange, I usually just go straight for the enemy General, the deaths of the soldiers I mow down getting to the General, and the death of the General, usually results in the retreat of the enemy.

[LestaT]

I'm playing as Roman in RTR 5.41 and at war with Greeks. I already own Rhegium and now besieging the last Greek city in Italian peninsular (forgot the name). I have a full stack Principees (plus a couple of veites) led by the Faction Leader and the Greeks have full of hoplites (including Athenian Hoplites) and based of my previous battles I always have problems dealing with hoplites.

My tactics was to starve them out and only attack on the last turn (7 turns all together) while concentrating the sudden Gaul invasion in the north (my former betraying ally) with all newly trained and green units.

Little that I realized that the Greeks have been sending reinforcement (suddenly they're quite strong in this second game I'm playing) from the east and there are 2 1/2 stack landed nearby. One full stack led by a 3 start general attack me with reeinforcement about 3000 troops agains my 1800 romans.

Upon checking with my spies the armies reveals full of hoplites (argghhhh) and my army is in the lower ground (second arrghh....)

Reluctantly on the advice of my captain I retreated towards Rhegium. My army then camp on the valley nicely situated a little up hill. As expected the main strongest Greek army followed and attack. The elevation is on my side. Situated nicely on the slope where those dreaded phalanx have to climb up.

I start the battle having all my infantry line up nicely with the velited in the second line. The the phone ring (!)

When I came back to the screen I seend most of the greeks have routed maybe because of the pillas raining on them and by the time they reach my main line. Anyway my army are severy depleted also and I decided to re-start the battle.

This time even when I'm defending the moment the battle start, I put all my pillum thrower unit in 'fire at will' and charge all down the hill.

This time the enemy were caught off guard. All these crazy romans charging down the hill while throwing pillas at them. When the armies met they're still been rained will more javelin from the Velites.

This time even their super Armenian Hoplites routed in no time time and the only their general still fighting. Attacked from 4 directions all were masacred and the heroic victory for my Faction Leader. My loss was only about 100.

Right after that their 2nd stack attacked and I applied the same tactics. Since this army is only led by a captain they routed much earlier and the loss on my side is less than 50 (compary to their 1500++).

So stupid with their command they send the last half stack army leaving their city undefended. This time there's no route but total annihiliation with no loses to mine.

Pheww... all in one turn.

About ah hour for all the three battles.

[Megas Alexandros]

My ever best decision was to hearken the world's best strategist's words.

Why, do you mean me, the Master Strategist? ;-)

No, obviously I meant a real person.

[LestaT]

And while I'm busying my self in the south the Gauls struck from the north and siege Bononia. Luckily there's a large Senate army which is tracking a small remnants of greeks from mainland italy are nearby. So I sally from town with my 2 units of town guard / roman levy (since i mod so that reinforcements arrive in time) i just stay in fort looking at the Senate army annihilaiting the large Gauls forces with 3 generals including their King and faction heir.

Good decision eh ? To let your ally do the slaughter...