Mounting and Dismounting............

[Cesare diBorja]

I would think it possible in the reconstruction of the RTW engine for mounted troops(early dragoon types-crossbowmen and archers) to be able to mount or dismount in battle. The horses, as in history, could be left with a linkman(usually one in ten persons) while the rest fight as infantry. The logic is the same as the torchbearer.

diBorgia

[Sir Toma of Spain]

I agree. I loved it in MTW1 how when i attack a castle with the spanish and suddenly my 200 spanish jinets turn into 200 feudal sergeants to storm through the walls and get shot down by the towers (well perhaps not the last one). It would also be historical as i'm sure some of our history proffesors in residence (no offence meant ) wil tell you

[Lochar]

I would like to see this too, but also it makes me think of losing a mount during a battle and still being able to fight, treating the horse and rider as 2 seperate entities.

[sapi]

I would like to see this too, but also it makes me think of losing a mount during a battle and still being able to fight, treating the horse and rider as 2 seperate entities.

Agreed, it sounds like a great idea.

[Bob the Insane]

I doubt this would occur as it would require a concept change for how mounts are handled in the game. As this is essentailly a tweaked version of the RTW engine I would very much doubt this havs changed. But reintroducing the MTW style chose the mounted or unmounted version of a unit before the battle would be good and should be perfectly possible...

[zakalwe]

It would be hella good for depicting Scottish forces, who would do this a fair amount. I think though that they would have to do it before or after the battle, but i'd love to see it during.

The most important uses of this that i can see in MTW2 are

1) that you can have a very high movement stack that once it gets into battle can dismount half its force and keep the rest mounted. this would make for an extremely effective raiding or border defence force

2) in sieges both defending or attacking you can dismount those frequently useless horse troops and put them on the walls. This would be particularly useful when you are attacked with only a governor and several town watch. A dismounted governor and his body guard on the walls would be very useful



eta - hell, thinking about it, it would be much much more useful having this option in the MTW2 engine than in the MTW one :)

[Voigtkampf]

I have made the same enquiries to CA back in the day when Rome was being developed; they didn’t make it possible then and they will not make it possible now, I’m afraid, but it could have been an interesting addition.

[Ludens]

When knights dismount, are the horses still the part of the same unit? If not, can you control them per se? Can horses die, be chased away, trapped? What if you have more knights then horses, or the other way around? Do all mounted knights become one unit? All dismounted knights one unit? How often can they mount/dismount? How would that come up for calculating the moral, discipline and other bonuses and penalties that would have to be continuously re-evaluated as long as warriors mount and dismount?

And while we are at it, why not introduce the realistic fact that, say, arrows kill horses of a cavalry unit, but the riders stay alive and continue to fight? It would be a reasonable to introduce that feature as well.

IMDHO, too much work over something that will only make gameplay more difficult.

I don't think dismounting during battle will be possible, though dismouting before will hopefully be an option.

Excellent arguments, Lord voigtkampf.

[Kraxis]

I would like to hear about this 'seperate man and horse' issue.

[Gealai]

Seconded --> It would be a incredible addition, giving you a far far greater tactical flexibility...

[Kraxis]

Seconded --> It would be a incredible addition, giving you a far far greater tactical flexibility...

Yeah... I guess I would turn into a dragoon commander, rushing my 'mounted infantry' around to quickly plug gaps and the like.

[Gealai]

So true, so true; One could finally do what we could just read about...

Then the armies of the regnum Francorurn did meet the Vikings in battle, moreover, able commanders such as King Arnulf showed great flexibility in tactics. In 891, Arnulf pursued a band of Vikings who took refuge in a hastily fortified camp on the river Dyle. The camp was protected by swampy ground, and the terrain was thoroughly unsuited for the deployment of men on horseback.59 The author of the Annals of Fulda describes the conditions:

The king delayed because he did not want to risk his strong army. On the other side of the river that surrounded the enemy camp was a swamp that did not give his horsemen a chance to attack. Thus he wandered here and there with his eyes, his thoughts and in seeking counsel. This counsel was necessary because the Franks were not accustomed to advance slowly into battle step by step (pedetemptim).60

A quite familiar problem for MTW players whe having to attack castles...

Arnulf feared that the morale of his men was not up to slogging through the muck and mire slowly, step by step, under a hail of enemy missiles. Thus he told his staff that he would dismount, carry the banner, and lead his men on foot through the swamp. Arnulf's men did dismount, but his advisors impressed upon him the need for a mounted reserve so that "no warrior might fear an ambush by the enemy from behind"; thus, the king did not lead the attack, which was, nevertheless, successful.61

And there are still guys talking about all dumb-all impulsive-"just charge"-knights with always no-clue commanders

See: http://www.deremilitari.org/resource.../bachrach3.htm


Gealai

[Voigtkampf]

I don't think dismounting during battle will be possible, though dismouting before will hopefully be an option.

Excellent arguments, Lord voigtkampf.

Thank you, Lord Ludens.

So, no link to the article where they mention "horses and men surviving each other"? I didn't see that anywhere, and would like to verify it.