blocking tactic

[snorky]

While playing Egypt, a crusade was launched to one of my cities, Constantinople. And before i could gather some strong units i found myself surrounded by 4 stacks of crusading armies with nothing to fend them of except 800 militia. I also had some Trebuchet's but i never find them very useful during a city defense, so i used them for another purpose, i used them to block the road. Although i lost any way because of my serious lake of useful units and because i was completely outnumbered, still the blocking tactic helped destroying there formations and take a hole lot more enemies with me. Anyway this tactic worked out pretty well for me.

this is a screenshot from the blockade

[Budwise]

I might try that, thanks.

[icek]

I wonder if this would work if you block road just after stakes so elephants, rams and so on cannot destroy stakes.

[supadodo]

Use this against Mongols on bridges
Haven't managed to try this yet because those Mongoloid bastards keep avoiding my tempting bridge garrison and wander around stupidly.

[Towwb]

Heh, I remember doing the reverse of this in EB. During a siege, build ram after ram until every infantry unit, archer or otherwise, has one. When the enemy sallies, use the rams to form a pocket sealed on one side by melee infantry with archers inside, like this:

_____Gates_____



____RRRRRRR____
____RAAAAR_____
____RAAAAR_____
____RAAAAR_____
____RIIIIIIIIR____

The AI wastes so much time going around that the archers will wipe out most of them before melee ever begins.

[hoetje]

Heh, I remember doing the reverse of this in EB. During a siege, build ram after ram until every infantry unit, archer or otherwise, has one. When the enemy sallies, use the rams to form a pocket sealed on one side by melee infantry with archers inside, like this:

_____Gates_____



____RRRRRRR____
____RAAAAR_____
____RAAAAR_____
____RAAAAR_____
____RIIIIIIIIR____

The AI wastes so much time going around that the archers will wipe out most of them before melee ever begins.

I find this one actually quite good :)

Nice find ! =)

[Magraev]

A bit silly though

[Ramses II CP]

Put a ballista or cannon in front of your gates before the enemy ram arrives in a siege, the crew may be lost but the gates won't be.

Put a Great Cross or Italian Standard behind your gates, or at the foot of a bridge. Your men will fight to the death, and the enemy will be scattered when they attack.

Even if the enemy doesn't bring cavalry, put down archer stakes in front of your infantry line. The enemy infantry's charge will be broken by the stakes, and they won't be able to form up effectively.

If your spearmen have to take a charge, put rocks or trees five meters in front of their line, to disrupt the enemy charge.

[Ars Moriendi]

A bit silly though

Silly ? I remember reading (pre-release) about some type of battle wagons or some such mobile fortifications. It didn't made it in the released version, but it looks like creative people can simulate it pretty well with what's been given to them.

[Matty]

Put a ballista or cannon in front of your gates before the enemy ram arrives in a siege, the crew may be lost but the gates won't be.

The crew won't be lost - they'll fight for a while before routing back through the gates, opening them for the enemy to pour through.....

[Magraev]

Silly ? I remember reading (pre-release) about some type of battle wagons or some such mobile fortifications. It didn't made it in the released version, but it looks like creative people can simulate it pretty well with what's been given to them.

I think the battlewagon is in the files, but I don't know if anybody have modded it in?

I'd like to have an indestructable movable roadblock - only it would make all sieges an automatic win for me = no fun. Maybe that's why they took it out?

If you can park a trebuchet in a chokepoint, it should be possible to destroy it for the attackers (and the ai should choose to do so). Also the loss of the treb should equal a loss of that unit imho. Don't bring siege weapons you can't protect. Apart from one or 2 specialists I suspect most of the crew vere only muscle used to operate the device.

The suggestion about placing an infantry line behind boulders or other natural obstackles is a good one though, and I use that myself.

In the end I don't care if you mod all your units to have 5 hp's. As long as the game is fun I say that everything goes!

[Ramses II CP]

If the enemy is at the gate, no one is allowed to rout through it. Same for your troops, you can't chase the enemy routers through the gates if you're already on top of the gates when they rout. Test it out before you post.

Two days ago I captured about 800 routing peasants and militia troops by trapping them against a gate with a unit of 4 Templars. It took awhile, but eventually they ate them all up.

[Ramses II CP]

You can burn a trebuchet with flaming ballista bolts or arrows, or even break it with non-flaming projectiles, but even when it is destroyed it makes a mighty good roadblock. AFAIK the AI never does this, which is to say intentionally attacks the siege engine as opposed to the crew, but if you have a good ballista crew you might have some luck sneaking in close enough with them.

[supadodo]

I tried blocking the bridge with a treb in a bridge battle with the Mongols yesterday. Oddly the Mongols became smart and just waited at the other end, not too smart though, I used my other trebs to blast them into kingdom come

Its only after the barrage where the problem comes. They still overpower my forces so its either I try to lure them in or withdraw. But in the cases they decide to cross the bridge, I win hands down and my losses are only less than a 100.

[avery123]

Here's an idea.

Build a fort on a bridge, with a week unit inside, so your enemy will take it.
Then, with a large army waiting within range of the fort, attack the fort to take it back.

Make sure your large relief army has, say 3 trebuchets.
Split your army on the battle map, parking 1 trebuchet in front of their little fort front door, and the other in front of their little back door, blocking them in.
Then, with your 3rd remaining trebuchet, pound their forces to dust, tying not to hit the wooden walls.

You would probably have to keep a reliable unit behind each parked trebuchet, just to make sure they're bunged up properly. Then I guess just mop up what's left in there.

?

[lobo76]

Here's an idea.

Build a fort on a bridge, with a week unit inside, so your enemy will take it.
Then, with a large army waiting within range of the fort, attack the fort to take it back.

Make sure your large relief army has, say 3 trebuchets.
Split your army on the battle map, parking 1 trebuchet in front of their little fort front door, and the other in front of their little back door, blocking them in.
Then, with your 3rd remaining trebuchet, pound their forces to dust, tying not to hit the wooden walls.

You would probably have to keep a reliable unit behind each parked trebuchet, just to make sure they're bunged up properly. Then I guess just mop up what's left in there.

?

Great idea. This will block them from coming out of the fort which they do now in the 1.2 patch.

I'd think you will need some range units to cover the gate still, and more than 1 treb to kill whatever is inside the fort.

[Magraev]

Only problem is you can't build a fort on a bridge (or even next to a bridge iirc).

[lobo76]

Only problem is you can't build a fort on a bridge (or even next to a bridge iirc).

You can build next to one. They can still go pass by the fort, but will take an extra turn... or two.

[Empirate]

I tried this blocking thing last night, and it worked like magic! The Venetians were attacking a bridge held by my about even forces. I placed to Catapults right in front of the bridge exit on my side, with XBows to the sides. The enemy charged across the bridge and took a few hits of flaming catapult goodness, but then they had to stop, blocked by the Catapult's mass. Only time and again most of a unit would manage to extricate itself from the crowded mess their army had become, to be stopped cold by my pikes. Ouch. Five units of Crossbows rained death into the middle of the bunched up Venetians. After my arrows had run out, I just charged in everybody and simply wiped them out. A bit cheap, I won't be using it much for this reason, but a great find!