writing battle tactics/strategy guide

[Kavhan Isbul]

I always play on expert and I find slugfests in the middle of the bridge deffinitely not in my favor, even if I pepper the AI's units with tons of arrows. Also, I have discovered that my missile troops do much, much better when shooting at a unit which is grouping on the other bank just before crossing the bridge and then while wlaking over the bridge, than a unit in a middle of a fight. I have no diea as to why that is, but it seems to effect archer efficiency. Therefore, when attacking a bridge I simply use a unit of light cavalry (the quicker, the better) to lure the enemy into moving onto the bridge. Of course, I have a unit of spearmen at my end and plenty of missile troops. The AI will usually withdraw a little, just outside my arechers' range and sit and wait, but when I start moving with my light cavalry (mounted sergeants with a morale upgrade are agood choice, steppe cavalry get rooted easily even after a few arrows), it usually send its spearmen to meet them. Then I simply turn around and start retreating. The key is not to do it too early, because in this case the AI will stop and it will not come in range, but also not to do it too late, because if the sparmen catch up with your horsemen, they will mince them in a matter of a few seconds, and then your unit will root and it will be rendered useless for the rest of the battle. Once I have the AI in range, I concentrate all my fire on its unfortunate unit. Soon that unit will stop and turn back, turning its back and getting even more casualties, and will eventually withdraw with huge losses. Then I simply repeat the exercise, and decimate the AI's infantry one by one. It takes some time, practice and patience, and you risk running out of time, but after the AI's spears and other infantry have taken huge losses, and their morale lowered as a result (not to mention they get a bit tired chasing after your light cavalry), then the inevitable slugfest at the middle of the bridge is a much easier and quicker affair,a s long as you have a decent spear unit and a decent blade infantry unit that rested and preserved their strength while the enemy was running back and forth only to be shot to pieces by your archers for its efforts. There is one significant risk, and it is for your light cavalry to root because of the constant retreat. I had it happen once on a general (with heavy cavalry with superb morale and no morale decreasing vices) who did not lose a single man, but once he rooted, he wouldn't rally. I still won the battle though.
Of course, all the tactics about bridge battels mentioned so far, work quite well most of the time. I guess it is a matter of personal preferences what one uses, and also on what type of troops one has.

[Geezer57]

One factor seldom mentioned that I find critical to both bridge battles and siege assaults: the squeeze factor. Whenever you crowd men together, so that they don't have sufficient room to wield their weapons properly, they'll attack and defend at significantly reduced effect.

The way around this is to set your unit's formation, before allowing it to engage, to a width that doesn't exceed the bridge or gatehouse width. On an assault across a bridge with the typical infantry unit, I find that a frontage of no more than seven columns (resulting in very deep rank formations) is ideal. I prefer polearms or swords to spear units, as their attack factors tend to be higher. Set to this frontage, I seldom (on Expert) need more than one unit to breach the enemy's frontage, unless they're massively equipped with missle troops. But in melee my men are fighting to full effect, while all the enemy's troops are struggling at half effect.

[Martok]

Good point, Geezer. I hadn't thought of the "squeeze" factor, but you're absolutely right.

I have a semi-related question in regards to bridge battles: When defending a bridge, does everyone just try to jam the attacker right at the crossing (assuming there's only one bridge on the battle map)? I'm curious because I myself sometimes allow the attacker to get a few of his units across, and only then do I hit him (on 3 sides). I realize this strategy can be risky; but it often pays off for me, as the attacker tends to route faster since he's being flanked. Does anyone else do this?

[Geezer57]

I have a semi-related question in regards to bridge battles: When defending a bridge, does everyone just try to jam the attacker right at the crossing (assuming there's only one bridge on the battle map)?

My usual approach when defending is to use a single elite (or as elite as is available) unit just off my end of the bridge, supported by massive amounts of missle troops. But that depends on having the right army composition, right?

So if I'm missle-poor and infantry-heavy, I'll adopt either an inverted "V" (two units) or "U" (three units) formation with my best infantry, which (as you've found) forces the enemy into a flanked position as soon as they step off the bridge.

But I find the single-unit defense method is usually more than adequate, depending on unit morale, General's rank bonuses, missle support, enemy compbat power, and other factors. So that's what I normally use.

[satchef1]

I use the same strategy for pretty much every battle. I base my armies around the spear:
6 units of the best spears i can get
3 units of heavy cavalry
2 units of sword/axe infantry
4 units of Missle Infantry (usually hybrids so i can use them to reinforce weak spots)
1 General (additional to the above, he only joins the fight if its absolutely necessary)

I line up the spears, place the missle behind and the sword/axe on the missles flanks to protect them. The general goes behind and the cavs to his flanks.

I slowly march my force forward, sending my cavalry wide when im near the enemy. I stop my infantry when im close to the enemy (about javelin throwing distance) and move my cavs round to the enemies rear (out of missle range).
At this point the AI usually charges straight into the spears (Note: i never charge the AI. If they dont respond, i march closer) and i simply wait a couple of minutes for the mellee to really get going then hit them in the rear with my cavs and send the sword/axe inf into theyre flanks. If my lines thin too much, in go the missle inf.

Works well enough for me, even though casualties are usually reasonably high among my inf.

[Innocentius]

And another question: Which really is the best unit for deploying the Doppelsöldner-tactic? Is it quite plainly CMAA?

[Martok]

And another question: Which really is the best unit for deploying the Doppelsöldner-tactic? Is it quite plainly CMAA?

If that's your best sword infantry unit, then yes, CMAA would be who you'd want to use. A few factions get another unit even beyond that, but they don't become available until the Late period.