Missing bridges

[Matty]

Just a quickie - I've noticed that sometimes I get a bridge battle and sometime in the same province no bridge appears. Any reason for this?

[Vlad The Impala]

Yes, it depends on the province you launch the attack from.

If you attack the enemy from a province that is separated from the enemy province by a river, you get a bridge battle, but if you launch the attack from another bordering province without the border river, there is a regular battle.

[macsen rufus]

And if you converge several armies from different provinces then it's the border your general crosses which determines whether you get the bridge or not.

You probably know this, but if you right click on the province you're attacking from and hover the mouse over neighbouring provinces it will reveal the terrain type in the province info parchment.

[Ludens]

Yes, it depends on the province you launch the attack from.

If you attack the enemy from a province that is separated from the enemy province by a river, you get a bridge battle, but if you launch the attack from another bordering province without the border river, there is a regular battle.

Beware, though: there are a couple of borders that only give a bridge battle from one direction.

[Ciaran]

Take a look on the map, if there´s a river in the province en route to the castle, then you´ll likely have a bridge battle (not because there´s a river painted on the map, but because the province connections are coded that way). Using the province status screen you can confirm that. By the way, it makes sense that you´ll sometimes get a one-sided bridge battle, if the river is a way in the province´s hinterland, an army attacking from that province will have crossed it already, a defender however will try to make his stand behind the river. There is some reason in the campaign design, after all.

[tigger_on_vrb]

Theres also that province in Spain (the one El Cid is in at the start) that has a bridge battle for uprisings and emergences (battles where the attcker isnt from another province). Again you can see this if you right click on the province.
This is very handy to know as you can insight uprisings there and fight battles with long odds to train up the fantastic general you just bribed!