How to defeat Byz in early

**antisocialmunky** · 11-20-2005, 00:24

One time, as the English, I launched a crusade to try and get the crusader goals before high. The Byzantines didn't like letting me through and declared war... and ran back to the keep... My army was big enough to make the AI run away.

So to make a long story short:

The Byzantines kept attacking the provence my army was in but my crusade would keep moving forward. It seems like a reoccuring theme in alot of my games that Constantinople is left undefended(probably due to it being a bottle neck.

So guess what?

I ended up accidentally capturing it. I decided to be merciful... to the Turks and stripped 10K worth of buildings out of Constantinople. And that was the end of them. The Turks eventually took over until the horde killed them all.

You could always kill Constantinople, that's pretty much an autowin against AI controlled Byzantines.

**m52nickerson** · 11-20-2005, 01:06

Yes, grabbing the big C is a great way to slow down the Bzy. The best part is they will keep trying to get it back (if you hold it) and defending is much easier.

**Mr White** · 11-20-2005, 13:35

Thanks, you have all been very helpfull.
I will fight the battle tonight and report on it tomorrow.
My plan is still pretty much what I was going to do but I might try the swords between my spears trick. I will target the kats with my longbowmen and I will save my cavalery for when the fighting is at its peek.

**Patron** · 11-20-2005, 18:29

I'd form a nice line of infantry, spear in front, sword behind and a 2 or 3 units of archers in skirmisher mode in front and the rest at the back.

Cavalry on flanks, general behind the line.

Send out your most expendable mounted seargants and micromanaged them so they kill off any units the AI abandons or any archers he sends forward. The byzantine cavalry will be on skirmisher mode and not want to engage your Mseargants and will run away in relation to their general and the position of your MS's general. So you may be able to scare them away fr omthe byzantine army and chase them into the edge of the map and charge into them like that.

Ignore the naptha throwers and ballistas, march your line forward, stop some distance fro mthem and then charge your heavy infantry into the enemy's infanty, through your spearmen. Take your spears and charge them around the flanks and trap the cavalry and charge into their rear with your feudal knights, who should be some distance away from the line and charging round the rear at the same time your infantry engages, ready to do a proper micromanaged charge with hold formation. Charge your units of feudal knights one at a time so you can counter any odd unit which decides to charge into your occupied knights.