How to beat longbows?

[Bregil the Bowman]

They aren't that insane, they're just really really good as CA is UK and therefore Anglophiles. Just defeat them like you would defeat any other parabolic missile unit.

I don't think CA being UK-based has anything to do with the longbow stats. Longbows were devastatingly effective at Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt and hundreds of lesser battles. Although they were drawn from the yeoman class (one up from serf), they regarded themselves as an elite fighting force, had good morale and could mix it in a hand to hand fight as well as shooting a bow that required years of training to master. It was the difficulty in learning to use the bow that meant no other country ever put large numbers of longbows on the field, and even in England and Wales the art died out long before it became obsolete on the battlefield.

The vulnerability of the English archers in the hundred years war was that the arrows they used were only made in England, and therefore on a long campaign they risked running out of ammo. You might exploit this by sending in some low-grade troops to eat up their arrows before attacking with better troops.

Softening archers up with pavise crossbowmen and then engaging with knights was the French plan at Crecy, but went wrong when the pavises were left behind. In later battles the French dismounted elements of their cavalry to engage the archers without exposing their vulnerable horses. But in most of the set piece battles where longbowmen were involved (including the Wars of the Roses) they were able to inflict heavy losses on high quality opposition, so be prepared!

[LoboSoulman]

I got a very nasty supprise when I engaed them in hand to hand.
I thought they would run but they stood and fought and beat off my attacker.
I think it was something like urban militia , crap but I thought I would use them to make the longbows flee.
Bad mistake.