Battle tactics- tips and tricks

**icek** · 08-05-2007, 10:02

when you see that your archers/x-bows will engage in shooting battle with enemy archers/x-bows ,rush your light cavalry and put it near enemy missile unit to activate they skirmishing mode. this way your missile units will start shooting at they backs and will not receive a return fire.

**ForgotMyOldNick** · 08-05-2007, 13:03

If in a siege or men are everywhere sometimes CTRL+M and then Backspace :)

**ataribaby** · 08-05-2007, 18:01

Originally Posted by askthepizzaguy

I strongly encourage others to submit their tactics in replay form, so we can see exactly how you envision your brilliant strategies, and prove that they work.

I agree. Those relpays were great

Thanks for posting them. I just spent the last half hour looking at them from all angles - they're much better illustrations of tactics in practice than any YouTube movie.

The way you describe the tactics sounds so neat, clinical and impossible to acheive, when in execution the battles end up more often than not in a big bum rush - planned chaos.

I've only just started to appreciate causing mass routs since trying to avoid the Winning First and Fierce in Battle traits in to-be chivalrous generals.

I'll certainly be giving the Zipper a try. Bunching the heavy cavalry in one mass looks devastating.

As for your Triple Hammer, several of those Hospitaller Knight charges were of the secondary sword-type. I'd recommend when charging-withdrawing-charging cavalry that you hold the ALT key on the re-charge. I've found they use their lances more that way so every impact is as crippling as possible.

Do you have any replays versus the Mongols. I'd love to see a fast Mongol rout (I suppose you can't simulate the 8 dread, 10 star generals, but we'd get the idea).

**Askthepizzaguy** · 08-05-2007, 18:33

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

I appreciate any advice on making those charges more destructive. It's hard to get a good formed charge in city streets, but I did destroy 10 times my own force with simple knights.

Of course, the "gaps" strategy was not so well executed. It works better for seige situations when the opponent is sallying, and you have artillery. I also didn't give myself enough infantry and far too much cavalry.

I did manage to execute the four horsemen fairly well. I got the knights on all 4 sides. But it didn't work the way I described. I ended up using the two knight pairs on two different sides working together rather than all four together.

The surround and pound did very well. I managed to demonstrate how the infantry sets up a net, and how to pin their horse archers against the side of the map. I also showed how to destroy their infantry and foot archers first. That was an amazing battle.

I also like my Horde battle. I did exactly as I described. The zipper went off without a hitch.

I tried to be as creative as possible. Any strategies for an all-infantry army facing off against cavalry?

I think it's interesting to watch our legendary forum members actually execute strategies in real-time battles. Now we can see who is a good general, and who is an auto-resolver.

**ataribaby** · 08-05-2007, 19:30

I just tried the Triple Hammer using three units of conquistadores against a column of computer-chosen Aztecs. It's much harder to pull off than it looks

The buggers stuck a unit of chanting Coyote Priests outside the gates. Needless to say the varied and pretty horde (of mainly heavy warriors) effortlessly handed me my ass back (with, I must admit, admirable, sporting politeness).

On the second try, I chose the army for them using ordinary spears, archers and a couple of heavies. I still got slaughtered but I managed to take 60% of them with me.

The holding-ALT-technique doesn't seem to work half as well as it does in street battles (it's good on the open field though, I promise).

It's going to take practice.

**Askthepizzaguy** · 08-05-2007, 20:08

http://www.sendspace.com/file/2oxpn6

Legendary river defense against the Mongol/Tiumurid aggressors.

This time I gave the enemy what I would consider a full strength army. Timurid elephants, heavy lancers, infantry, archers, the whole smash.
The only thing they were missing was elephant cannons.

I gave myself some of Venice's best italian militia spearmen, basic pavise x-bowmen, venetian archers, two ballistae, a catapult and a trebuchet, and my general was a standard, but I didn't use it or really the 3 units of heavy infantry. They were reserve forces that weren't ultimately necessary.

Watch the Mongols get their asses HANDED to them. I lost so few troops, and I decimated them. Enjoyable to watch.

By the way, I did this battle 5 times, with basically the same results.
This is a proven tactic. It works every time. Nothing gets past this defense.

@atari
Yes, the triple hammer is tougher than it looks. It takes serious practice to get it done right.

However, if you're in a situation where you have cavalry in your city, and you're using infantry to defend the walls, this is what you can do with them to bolster your defense in a massive way. Focus on wall defense and then if they breach the gate, smash them on all sides for rout. I didn't give myself ANY serious infantry and I had NO archers for the triple hammer battle, so clearly the knights were pulling their weight.

It is an expert technique. Took me several tries.

**ataribaby** · 08-05-2007, 21:12

Originally Posted by askthepizzaguy

Legendary river defense against the Mongol/Tiumurid aggressors.

Nice! I love the moment when that second big elephant sees his friend die, about-turns and decimates the Timurid troops massing behind.

I think the Zipper one is my favourite. Lowly Spear and Town Militia against formidable Italian Spears and Genoese Crosbows. When I said "big bum rush - planned chaos" earlier, I wasn't criticising. The strategy is still very clear and devastatingly effective.

There's a moment around the 1400 time-mark (about two and a half minutes in) when the cavalry congeal into a juggernaut and at around 1500 the infantry follow suit and surge into an awesome single mass... the poor Milanese don't know what's hit them; and then it's 'Goodnight Vienna'!