Taking on the Horde - any tips?

[King Kurt]

Its about 1207 in my early english campaign and I have subdued most nations. The Byzants are on their last legs and the only other nation of any size are the Novos, but 1 decisive battle would weaken them. I have the odd revolt to sort out, but I thought it would be interesting to build up to take on the Horde when they arrive. My ideas on strategy is to build up in Kiev - but I will have to take it first! - and fight them there, hopefully over a bridge. I also thought that I might put a light, fast spoiler force out in front to wear them down a bit.I have never faced the Horde before, so I thought that this would be fun, rather than mopping up what is left and winning at 60% - so, any tips???

[m52nickerson]

Kiev is the best place to take them on. Use the best spear unit at the mouth of the bridge. The spears work better then polearms for me because you can put the spears on hold position and not worry about them. Polearms (like your billman) will start to fight across the bridge, but one or two units of them would be good incase your spears get into trouble. Then lots of Pavise arbalesters.

[ajaxfetish]

You have some ideal options for horde-crushing with your English troops. Billmen will chew up their formidable heavy cav and spit it back out and your longbowmen can assist with the heavies and also keep their horse archers from pincushioning you. As stated, the bridge from Khazar to Kiev is a great place to hold them, but on the open field you can't get any better than a good polearm/ap archer combination, and you've got an excellent one built-in. Have fun, and expect some big battles.

[Mount Suribachi]

Try this recent thread

[antisocialmunky]

32+ Longbows and a few Chivalric Sargents and Billmen to hold the bridges. That's a really easy way to kill the Horde.

[Zarax]

That's too easy, in ZXMOD I've had a lot of fun taking on the horde as the russians, who gets nothing better than Rus spears, Boyars and Pavise xbows on high...
Unless you got serious mercs you'd have to expect a very nasty battle ahead, your spears are quite good to keep the MHC at bay but you lack a real killer unless you are very good at horse archer tactics.

[Budwise]

Its about 1207 in my early english campaign and I have subdued most nations. The Byzants are on their last legs and the only other nation of any size are the Novos, but 1 decisive battle would weaken them. I have the odd revolt to sort out, but I thought it would be interesting to build up to take on the Horde when they arrive. My ideas on strategy is to build up in Kiev - but I will have to take it first! - and fight them there, hopefully over a bridge. I also thought that I might put a light, fast spoiler force out in front to wear them down a bit.I have never faced the Horde before, so I thought that this would be fun, rather than mopping up what is left and winning at 60% - so, any tips???

Chances are you have already fought the horde but let me add this.

I would say fight them head on and don't autocalc. If you have Limited Ammo checked off. A BIG PLUS, Just rout their front line and arrow the rest to death.

All you really have to realise is that if you slaughter the first 16 units, the match is really yours. Just make sure you have some Reinforcements and withdraw smaller units that have suffered great losses.

ALSO, THIS IS GOSPIL SO PAY ATTENTION. Big battles like this, NEVER EVER EVER use your general to fight. If you lose your general early, good bye. Sure, he may be an Uber Badass but even heros die when outnumbered 100 to 1. Its too important stat and moral wise to have him stay and not run off like a little sissy redheaded step child. Just make sure you don't do this often or else he might get a bad vice, maybe let him fight after the first wave - FOR A MINUTE. But never the first wave.

[DensterNY]

gulp.... uhm, point taken Zarax. I don't think I'll be handing them any advantages then and now that I see the kind of troops they have I realize I'm gonna get my butt kicked in Khazar... I'll probably whittle them down as I have an empire geared for war production but its not gonna be pretty.

[Zarax]

Take them out in Kiev, it's the most effective solution...
Horde fighting is fun but you have to be prepared, best challenge in vanilla VI is to face them as the russians: little time to gear up and almost no heavy troops...

[Shahed]

oops. It's 1207 and I'm playing Turks. My first game in more than a year for sure. I forgot all about the horde. LOL ! this is going to be fun.

[Zarax]

Ouch... Good luck!

[Del Arroyo]

ALSO, THIS IS GOSPIL SO PAY ATTENTION. Big battles like this, NEVER EVER EVER use your general to fight. If you lose your general early, good bye. Sure, he may be an Uber Badass but even heros die when outnumbered 100 to 1. Its too important stat and moral wise to have him stay and not run off like a little sissy redheaded step child. Just make sure you don't do this often or else he might get a bad vice, maybe let him fight after the first wave - FOR A MINUTE. But never the first wave.

I dunno I've had some big battles where I had to commit my general or lose. Sometimes the melee is that close. Experience has taught me to always hold off committing him, though.

DA

[antisocialmunky]

I dunno I've had some big battles where I had to commit my general or lose. Sometimes the melee is that close. Experience has taught me to always hold off committing him, though.

DA

It's also been my experience that if you never commit your general, he might get a coward trait in rare instances. It doesn't matter much with a 9 star except against another 9 star, but it's really annoying to see a coward trait on him.

He's usually good for hunting down routers to smashing into the rear or tthe engaged enemy general Maximus-like(Gladiator's Germania battle).

If you like to be risky, once your general is reduced to one man, you could try and see how much valour you can pile on the bastard.

[crpcarrot]

well youe couls use your general and if he gets reduced to a small number of men withdraw him from the field then your troops still retain the bonus' from his stars.

if he dies they lose this and would probably result in an instant rout. 8* would give them +4 marale which they would lose the instant he dies

[bretwalda]

well youe couls use your general and if he gets reduced to a small number of men withdraw him from the field then your troops still retain the bonus' from his stars.

if he dies they lose this and would probably result in an instant rout. 8* would give them +4 marale which they would lose the instant he dies

Are you sure about this? I don't think this is very good this way... You just withdraw your general not losing anything that his unit and putting him into the safe tresor.

That would explain why enemy general sometimes charges home the instant the battle starts... Especialy small, vulnerable general units like horse archers, UM, etc. Crap.

[DensterNY]

Uhm... aside from Khazar which are the other provinces that the Golden Horde will appear in?

In my game its 1218 and I have about 6000 men stacked in Khazar and perhaps 3000 in Kiev. I threw a Hail Mary against the Hungarians, decimating them, and using the advantage of the sea hit the Egyptians in their weaker regions and caused a civil war. Now everything is devoted to producing Arbalesters, Halbardiers, Chivalric Sergeants & Men at Arms and also Chivalric & Feudal Knights to force the Horde. I've also been collecting extra Peasants to load the province and I figure by 1230 I should have 10k of them to load the region as well.

Damn, I hope I get a ridiculous turnout from the Golden Horde... this should be fun.

[antisocialmunky]

well youe couls use your general and if he gets reduced to a small number of men withdraw him from the field then your troops still retain the bonus' from his stars.

if he dies they lose this and would probably result in an instant rout. 8* would give them +4 marale which they would lose the instant he dies

No, that's 16 morale points, 2 for every star.