English v Timurid

[Matt_Lane]

Thanks for the advice. I agree the choice of terrain is critical when dealing with this faction. Also my assassins have been able to take out some of the lower Generals and Captains but their core of dread Generals seem untouchable.

For me the tipping factor are the Elephants (surprise surprise). I'm having to set aside so many archers and balista's to try and contain them its leaving me light on forces to deal with their heavy cavalry. Is there a better way to deal with the Panza-phants. Being English I don't have any mounted spear chuckers available and I've been camped out round Bagdad for a while but so far no mercenary Elephants have come by.

[zaher]

Irish kerns can do good work for England, if you cannot hire mercenaries - javeliners from Iberia or South Italy. Put them on skirmish and attack elephants, they usually are in vanguard of Timurid army. 2 kern units must kill 1 ele unit in 20-30 sec with good morale support ( rally ability or standing behind some elite units ) almost without loses. Also, i beleve retinue + yomen longbowmens can also do this job, cause Timurids arent so mobile as Mongols and move slowly with their haldberd militia. Just let them shot their normal ammo, they will kill eles much faster then with fire ammo.

[FactionHeir]

Simple.
Have the following composition for your army:
1 general (high chivalry preferred)
12 retinue longbowmen
4 armoured swordsmen
3 ballistae

Having reinforcement stacks of similar composition is advisable.
Tactics will just be building a ring of stakes and using ballistae to shoot down elephants. They can't charge you with their cav and their infantry should ideally be beaten by your infantry.

[Furious Mental]

That sort of stack is the thing you need. The Timurid heavy cav shouldn't even be an issue if you are the English; your longbowmen's stakes will see to that. Concentrate the ballistae and fire arrows on the elephants and they shouldn't last too long.

[Slicendice]

Put forts on the rivers and funnel them into the area you want to fight.

For instance there are some mountains just north of Jerusalem just above the Dead Sea. If you wait there until their stacks touch you and launch an attack then you will have a very good position. They are aggressive and will attack even though you initiated. There is a spot up in the mountain with limited access to it. Put down stakes and hire some javelins for the elephants. When they come up the narrow pass with their elephants kill them and it will choke the pass even more. I had a stack of Egyptians there once and I killed 3 Timurid stacks there. I had no stakes though, just javelins and brave spearmen and archers.

If you fight on the river crossings, (and sometimes they will engage you there) you are sure to win. Just put the stakes up by the bridge and fall back enough that they won't immediately engage your infantry. Hit them with all ranged fire while they form up there. Their tendency is to use their ranged attack as that is there advantage, but bunched up in a pile with your archers surrounding them is not so advantageous.

Also try the river just east of Aleppo. You have nice high ground to fire down on them.

You can also hire mercenary elephants. I wouldn't use them except when you know you can absolutely win since they are so expensive and rare. But dange they are fun.


One more tactic is the attrition method. Garrison cities with longbowmen and put down lots of stakes at the entrance and along walls you think they might break down. Keep some infantry on the ground near the stakes so their cavalry will charge through instead of walk through. (very disheartening) You will eliminate their horse archers this way and their main advantage. So even if you lose each city you will deal them heavy losses.

The Timurids will attack you more often in the mountains than on a river. But when they do attack a river keep a couple small stacks behind you to reinforce your stack and to act as a block in case your main stack is defeated. The Timurids will have to hit each one to get through to your main stack and it will make them run out of movement points thus allowing you to escape. Don't use forts for this because your army will retreat into it and you will be trapped like a rat.

[Slicendice]

Ballista seem much better than cannon imo. It is so much more acurate. It's difficult watching your cannons shoot barrage after barrage and not hit a thing especially when the enemy is in a big pile up. grr.