Bodyguards

[Meister-Sibrand]

Hello Im new here b/c i just recently got MTW2 And Kingdoms. I am playing the teutonic campaign and I was wondering how you can add bodyguards for a general. Recently I got into a battle and lost all of my bodyguards for one general. How do i replace them?

[Cheetah]

They refill automatically, you do not have to anything. If you lost all men (except gen ofc) it will take 2 or 3 turns to get back to full strenght.

[Meister-Sibrand]

Thanks alot m8!

[Askthepizzaguy]

This makes bodyguards a risky, yet ideal choice for melee cavalry. Not only do they gain experience and already have exquisite armor, but they automatically replenish their numbers.

I typically carry at least one or two extra generals in stacks which I anticipate closely fought melee situations. I usually risk only my top general in the midst of the fight, because it seems as though he always has the greater number of bodyguards on hand and always seems to last longer than my other generals. But, I send in the other generals as well if the going gets tough, so that he has *extra* bodyguard protection.

I attempt to get high chevrons for my elite generals so that I dont lose them, and so that their ability to destroy and survive increases.

Working on building your generals is at least as important as army composition. Your general unit is the heart of your army, and a weak heart paired with a strong body leads to disastrous results.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Often times, I find that two or three generals, some light mounts, and spearmen are all you need to win the majority of early-game battles. As a blitzer, that is an especially important point to remember. If you need added muscle, mercenaries are better than militia and fill in great until the late game.

By then, it's far too late for individual units to make one shred of difference, as the map is mine. Your playing style may differ.

[Alpedar]

Important thing: Find where general in unit is and try to engage in way he personaly is not endangered (IIRC he is on left side, so if you must risk being attacked by spearmen, take it from right).
And of course, try to attack enemy general (so attack from his left side).

When fighting, try to zoom in and find yours/enemy general and check whether they are being attacked.

Of course, you want your general be hit few times, so he gain hitpoints trait/ancillaries. But its much better to gain them aginst swords/peasants than aginst pikeman (i wish there were indicator showing general's hitpoints (other than how much damaged he looks like).