Camel Ho!!!

[l3asu]

Sadiq, are you tired of only using your camels only as beasts of burden for trade?

Well then saddle up those mean spirited and ugly things and go kill some infidels!

Camels have the scare horses ability they are the only unit that does so and has been a time honored total war trait of our fluffy sand cows. In MTW2 there are only three camel units all which come from a Muslim faction: Camel gunners(moors), Bedouin Camel Archers(Egypt), and Taureg Camel spearmen(moors).

From my online and single player experience there is a huge camel lack in this game (and playing Muslim factions in general). I'm not saying that you should have armies of camel, even though that would be really fun but very costly, but camel are a very powerful cavalry support unit.

I have done tests with each of the camel units on med difficulty on Grassy Plain (so that their desert bonus isn't added) with the camel acting as a support unit.
For the Moors I had 3 Christian Guards as the main combat cavalry with 2 units of Camel Gunners or Taureg Camel Spearmen.
For the Egyptians I had 3 Royal Mamuluks and 2 Bedouin Camel Archers.
These two armies would face the uber powerful western knights each with 5 units of ass pounding fury including such units as:
Knights of Hospitaller
Lancers
Royal Banderium
Noble Knights

In each case the Muslim army did very well winning in almost every situation leading to understand how to use each camel unit effectively against western cavalry.

Bedouin Camel Archers: let them server their purpose as camel archers first, even though your heavy cavalry is outnumbered by superior knights they will hold their ground well while the camel archers can go behind the knights and fire away and when the enemy is bruised a bit send them charging in to break the enemy knights with their camel stench. From testing do not send them into battle the first chance you have because they are weak in combat and the knights can easily over power them even if the camel are coming from behind. I haven't tested against Cavalry archers but I would suggest to keep them away from them as much as possible or try to force a combat situation against the HA's as long as they are as weak as you b/c your smell will be an advantage

Camel Gunners: One of the coolest units in the game their long range missiles are very nice and the guns intimidate all enemy units. Like the Camel Archer the Camel Gunner should play its role as a Camel gunner shooting at the enemy and entering into combat against enemy cavalry when they have been reduced a little to force a break b/c they are weak in combat. The only problem with this unit is that it is very expensive.

Taureg Camel Spearmen: The only combat camel in the game, he is a very effective cavalry support unit but he must be used patiently to render his maximum effectiveness, Like the other camel units the Taureg should enter combat after it has been initiated by other cavalry units but should charge in as soon it has started instead of waiting like the missile camels should. They are by far the most effective horse killers and can break them in seconds with a well placed charge no matter how strong the knights are. The only weakness of this unit is that it doesn't have range and can't auto skirmish so you have to make sure to always have an eye on this unit so that it doesn't get hit by another unit of knights because 1 on 1 the camel will lose b/c of its poor weaponry and armor.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the lovable desert cow the camel and its uses please feel free to give your insights on how to use this great unit!

[John_Longarrow]

l3asu

Against knights, I'd have 3 or 4 units of spears with the 2 units of camel gunners. Form the spears up in a row with the CG's on either end. Let the knights charge. Walk up the CGs so they form the sides of a box and start shooting. Very quickly your spearmen will be climbing over dead knights to try and reach the survivors.


Camel Gunners just ROCK. They shouldn't get into combat much, just sit back and KILL. Gotta love their very accurate guns!

[Miracle]

When fighting horsemen camel riders gain 2 att/def and their opponents lose 4 att/def. In practice this doesn't matter much as the cavalry melee attack animation is very fast. What matters most is the morale penalty inflicted on horsemen.

Camel Gunners just ROCK. They shouldn't get into combat much, just sit back and KILL. Gotta love their very accurate guns!

Their guns actually aren't very accurate at all (±6.5% θ deviation) but their musketballs do have a high initial speed.

[Shahed]

Good post l3asu!

It's best not to engage BCA in a missile duel with HA as (generally speaking ceteris paribus) the HAs will win a missile duel.

Gotta love the CGs, one of the most fun units ever. Posted a thread on them while back:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showt...highlight=bomb

Some screens from that thread (repost):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[l3asu]

Nice pictures sinan, showing the camels great power, especially in the desert!

Spread awarness camels are power!

[joe4iz]

Two camel gunners working in tandem can decimate an enemy flank and cause your opponents flank to start routing which can in turn cause the whole army to route.

You almost have to use this tactic unless you have lots of christian foot knights(whatever they are called) to engage the enemy front. Urban Militia can hold their own for a while so their job is to keep the enemy fronted toward them while the gunners do their job.

Got to love them. I found them effective against elephants also. They cause the elephants to run amok. The only thing then is you have to get out of their way.

[l3asu]

Only problem i see with that joe is the opponents use of HAs which can be quite a thorn in the side of your camel if u only have one unit on each flank because those HAs will snipe u down or charge and it'll be 1k florins to waste.

I think you would need to get rid of the HAs before engaging then enemy or have granadine jinetes or mounted xbowmen to harrass the HAs while your Camel gunners do their job.

[joe4iz]

I agree and generally will use some chaser units to try to neutralize the HA. I never use just one or two types of units in any stack.

There is no other unit (for the Moors anyway) that can hit and run the Timurs elephants like they do.
I also place them both on the same side for max effect to attempt to "roll up the line".

Prior to having them, I was grinding it out in Europe going toe to toe against the heavy infantry and knights of the European armies. The Russians and Turks are especially suited to counter their effects,IMO. I did not have to fight either army as I never got that far.

Both campaigns had the Turks eliminated by mid game.

[ReiseReise]

Excellent post, I just wanted to emphasize one of your points that I would avoid sending my Camel Gunners into the fracas unless the enemy was very close to breaking or it is a dire situation. If I am on the march I don't want them to be understength in future battles. Better to use cheaper units.

Also a question, can you achieve a similar effect by not actually entering combat but just having your camels in the area (preferably behind the enemy) to make horses rout?

[joe4iz]

Generally, by the time I get camel gunners, money is not an issue. Generally, I have wiped out Spain, Portugal and Sicily. Capturing both of the island castles and have Milan gone or at least effectively neutralized.

But I try to avoid using them to attack HA directly. They can help as long as the unit that is taggled up with the HA gets most of the punishment. They will cause most units to route after one or two volleys. Most of the time, they are excellant support for an infantry army. I kept jihadding into Western Europe and currently every Christian faction is against me. Nothing better than to have them rake one flank of the enemy army, especially if they are heavy armoured infantry. They can also shoot over your infantry if you are defending.