The Art of Maneuvering; A primer

[Samuel Adams]

Salve (greetings) to all. I hope this will help you in your tyrannical conquest of the world, or your noble struggle to stave off foreign invasions of your lands (A common reality in mods such as RS and IBFD).

First off, why I'm posting this; I have noticed that many people are either new to the Total war series, or coming back to RTW from MII (as I did), and while there are many posts such as "How to deal with x,y or z" there are not as many easily accessible tactical guides to using an entire army to your fullest benefit.

This will not, in the first post, be a "How to" for certain situations, but rather a primer to get you to think when encountering an enemy.

Whether you are like myself, who likes to use my favorite generals in a role-play mode, and take into account the lives of your men, or you simply want the army you've paid for to be available the next turn to fight again, there are many reasons to learn good strategies as a whole, from the movements of the campaign map to the battle map conflicts.

On the campaign map, the terrain will be reflected on the battle map. Historically every great general not only used the terrain to his advantage, but also, when he could, chose that ground. To put your army to it's best use, you should too. Total War is a great game that allows rewards for good placement and makes you pay for poor placement.

Now remember this; when you attack/are attacked, you have a choice; auto resolve or manual battle. Unless an army of vastly inferior troops in poor numbers attacks, you will get better results in manual; and you get the chance to command large bodies of troops on the ground.

Now, while in deployment stage, the computer will have automatically placed your army. I never use this default, but sometimes I don't change it before going into battle. The reason? I will be maneuvering when the battle starts, and so it doesn't matter how or where I start out. However, group your men as you feel the situation dictates. Why? The series of 8 formations opened to you when your men are grouped can be very helpful for keeping your men in good order in the battle.

Certainly, the enemy you are fighting will dictate how you maneuver. Hellenistic armies are slower, have a more powerful front, and generally few cavalry. Barbarians will have more beserk-able units, and are generally keen on charging you right in the center. And Roman units will attack in well maintained narrow yet deep formations, with a solid reserve that makes flanking them difficult.

Also, you may say, the army YOU command dictates certain tactics. Hellenistic armies under human control have a variety of tactics availible to them. Roman armies pre-marian are flexible to an extent Hellenistic armies are not, the reserve units of triarii and Principes being available to either plug holes in the front, guard the rear, or turn a flank.

My concern is not so much battle tactics after the armies engage, but before engaging.

Take the following into consideration on the campaign map: The enemy force makeup. Intelligence is important, and always has been, in war AND peace; why should a TW game be any different? Once you are about to engage, you can right click on the enemy commander to see his force. That's good. Use it to draw up a plan in your head.

Then, when on the battle map, and the battle is started, look at the enemy's deployment. You should ideally look around the battle map in deployment phase and overlook it; are there hills? Thick or thin forests? Sand dunes? All these features can be used to your advantage-or against you, even by an AI player.

When I deploy, I place my army on a defensible locale. Just because you are the attacker doesn't mean the enemy will be keen to just let you take your time and attack at your own pace. They may try to blitz you, and if your in a poor stance to recieve the enemy, you won't have time to re-deploy well enough.

If the enemy general is 4 or more stars, I've found even AI generals on teh defensive will occupy hills or forests; hills tiring your troops out faster, and forests being detrimental to both legions and phalanx units. They also nullify the advantages of missles.

Now the battle has started. You are the attacker, and you have heavy infantry, cavalry, archers, skirmishers, and some light artillery. The artillery is slow; and the enemy have deployed outside it's range. So you move it up right? what does the rest of your army do?

I can't tell you the best WAY to maneuver, since no two battles are the same. I CAN tell you that you NEED to maneuver sensibly. Charging in with heavy infantry nullifies their strengths and brings out their weaknesses-if you do it wrong. I've seen my friends and brothers charge poor enemy lines with urban cohorts in vanilla, and even though they won, that cohort was decimated. Sometimes, it cost them the battle when it shouldn't have.

Think! Move a "group" of infantry to the left, to the right, wherever they won't be opposed. Move your cavalry around the enemy. Make them move to counter the threat, and weaken their front line. Make single units detach from the line to chase you, and slaughter them. Weaken them as much as possible with arrows and missles (keeping care to watch the clock) before closing for the kill.

I may, if there are certain questions, update with certain maneuvers pertaining to certain situations. Feel free to add your input as well.

Thanks for reading.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

This helped about some things.

Thanks!

Leonidas

[Samuel Adams]

Thanks, Leonidas.

For chapter two I cannot resist the temptation to go into details on some of my personal successful maneuvers. Please note that in most of these battles I post of my maneuvers, I only post them because they were not shoe-in battles, I had to really think out how to deploy, how to maneuver, so that I would be inflicted with minimal casualties while inflicting as many as possible. Remember, any good general not only wants to cause harm to the enemy, but more specifically, wants to inflict as many casualties as possible while incurring minimal on his part.

EXAMPLE ONE: This was a series of defensive battles I fought as the WRE in IBFD. However, this principal can be used by barbarian factions or hellenistic factions as well.

I was attacked by a couple of full stack enemy armies of the Alameni. I fell back initially; the ground I was on in the campaign map I didn't think was suitable for a Roman-on-Barbarian fight. Plus, they were attacking from uphill. Not good in any situation!

I placed my heavy infantry (Comtitatenses units) in initial deployment in the center. Barbarians have a nasty habit of attacking the center or extreme flanks. So I placed them there at a place about fifty yards from the peak. My general I placed on the peak, so that he and his bodyguard could instantly plug a hole should all my reserves be used up.

I placed archers in front of my line directly. Not too far, as they will become mincemeat if you should allow them to get caught by the enemy's heavies. My skirmishers I placed farthest out. However, on their flanks I posted my light/missle cavalry, to allow them time to retire once attacked.

My light infantry I posted on the flanks in small numbers. It was a small enough hilltop to allow them to remain out of site on the sides of the hill, but they would be there to block an enemy long enough to be able to be relieved. In reserve was my foederati. In cases of hellenistic factions, I would suggest using in this role 2nd or third tier hoplites for this role, OR falxmen such as thracian or Bosphoran mercenaries.

My heavy cavalry was my largest mounted arm. I had four units of these troopers; one cataphractii, three Bucellari or other barbarian heavy cavalry.

THE ENGAGEMENT:

The enemy as I thought would come at my center. however, they attacked me from about a 45 degree angle; this, I knew, would wreak havok in my lines, and on top of that, my archers would lose their combined fire ability. To make matters even worse, the enemy was coming OFF a large mountain, and at the angle they were coming at (and fast!!), right down on the flanks of my exculetores and light cavalry. I had to quickly order the whole skirmish line to wheel to the right, but this allowed the other enemy army coming from the valley to my front to access their rear. In a full on line-to line battle I wouldn't have stood a chance. I had to retire my skirmishers pretty quickly to a position that commanded the advance of both armies; back up the hill I trotted. The enemy came on; before getting in range of my skirmishers, my archers started pelting them. I had now redeployed my army to better face the new direction of the threat, and although I no longer had the incredible advantage of ground, I was able to deploy my light infantry before now in reserve to guard the left flank. My skirmishers got off a good volley on the enemy left (my right) flank, and they fell back after suffering 75% casualties. This respite allowed me to redeploy yet again to my original position. My heavy cavalry saw the enemy's weakness, and I ordered them to charge the spot. They wreaked the enemy's line, and my archers were now able to re-aim and open fire on the other enemy army; farther away, but coming on fast. I maneuvered the left of my line down the hill. The method I used was "Staggering" marching times, i.e. I ordered the far left unit forward. Then I ordered the one next to him forward, and so on, about three seconds apart, so that they would in effect be like a swinging door, but with their front still going towards the enemy.

The reason? Yes, this left my line's far left wide open! To counter, my reserves on the right were redeployed as well. Since my heavy cavalry had routed the entire enemy army on my right, the light cavalry had pursued them, and there was no longer a threat there. The heavies, at a walk, were sent to the left, and the infantry too, leaving enough to present a line should the enemy rally long enough to hit my center again. My heavies were able to then sweep out the forested area on the left of my advancing door, and send that flank of the enemy right into my trap; my comitatenses pelted them with their javelins, those who didn't route were flanked by other heavy infantry, and charged in the rear by heavy cavalry, who had been allowed to pass unmolested through the forest and came down on them, breaking their units in two and killing them all almost immediatley. My missle troops at this point were sent forward to fire at the enemies retreating, and the enemy presented me with a full rout. My combined forces utterly destroyed them, killing in the process the Alameni King, faction heir, two other generals, and ended a threat that in all reality should have been able to steamroll my army and invade Gaul.

On monday, or maybe this weekend, I will post screenshots as well as examples of maneuvering in offense.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

On monday, or maybe this weekend, I will post screenshots as well as examples of maneuvering in offense.

That's what I want, OFFENSIVE!!!

Leonidas

[Samuel Adams]

Well then, that's what I have for you!!!

This chapter will involve tactical Maneuvering over any terrain when you're attacking, with any forces you may have.

First, as usual before battle, scout the field. look over your deployment area, and look for advantagious points. For instance, if you have the highest point on the map, occupy it with at least one unit. If it's in a good spot, i.e. the center of your deployment area, put your army there. The good thing with hills and mountains is if you're atop them, you can go anywhere 360d. No matter where the enemy will deploy, you can go down to them, rather than up at them; a serious handicap in battle.

Also look for forested areas. If they are directly in front, the enemy could use them to hide skirmishers and even heavy infantry and cavalry. If these dash your line at the onset, it could disrupt your advance and stall your attack. Blitzkrieg is my prefered attack method, unless I'm fighting a phalanx heavy army, but remember, even a blitz requires careful maneuvering to optimize your kill ratio-all to important in any RTW battle.

Also, a good subject in offensive maneuvering to cover is regicide. In a battle, the enemy general is a major focal point. Whether they're idiot AI or smarter AI, either they will charge you at the forefront (even if they're on the defensive) or they will be behind the line, rallying troops, protecting the enemy missle troops, and causing you much grief. Killing him quickly can be your smartest move-if you do it with minimal losses yourself. If it takes half your army to kill him, then I'd say (to myself without acctually saying) that you're an idiot; but it's your call. If it's their king, or last living family member, then it's more than worth it.

This next "Art" deals with cavalry, one of the most underated unit types in RTW, followed only by artillery. For one, there's very few factions in vanilla that acctually have good heavy cavalry that are decent in a head on charge. On top of that, historically Roman legions at least had very few cavalry alae attached to them. Greeks as well prefered to fight on foot.

Also, the infantry units get mad anti-cav bonuses 7 of 10 times. So it's impossible to use them in the traditional victorian charging role. HOWEVER, do NOT underestimate the power of even the weakest cavalry. I cannot stress to you how many times even greek light cavalry have saved my neck.

Here's my suggestion for an assulting force of cavalry; If you have proper infantry support, then you are good to go. generally, my cavalry pre-battle is deployed in support of the weakest flank. i reserve one lighter cavalry unit for the other flank, but the rest are "grouped." If possible, they are hidden behind a hill, in some trees, or some other form of concealment on the far flank. Do not move them until the critical moment; their presence being unkown to the enemy can save your line from destruction. Save this thought for later while I talk a little about infantry.

We have covered infantry roles and possible deployment in the defense chapter. For offense, forget all that. You are not deploying to take heavy blows, but rather to strike those blows at the enemy's weakest point.

My strategy as far as deployment is simple; I group my heavy infantry into groups of two or three units. Never more than three. This, in a properly sized and proportioned army, can give you three groups of three heavy infantry units, and one unit of reserves on it's own, ready to be thrown into the deciding point.

You'll notice that adds up to 10 heavy infantry units. That gives you 10 spaces for everything else; my general makeup of that is 4 archers, 5 cavalry (one light, four heavy unless fighting phalanx, then only two or three light cavalry, the rest substituted for more archers) and a general.

My archers are placed, on the offensive, in front of the line as usual. My heavies, in groups of two or three, are echlonned. This gives the groups seperate lines, a small overlap, and room for them to maneuver.

Maneuvering after you hit "start battle" is pretty much invaluable to cutting casualties. Some people don't like to hit pause after a battle starts; I do sometimes, just to look over the enemy position. In real life, you'd be able to before the battle starts, so why not in RTW?

Then I make my first move; ususally my archers advance into range, and start pummeling the enemy from the very front. How they react can determine where you go and from where your main attack will come. It is also good to draw out their skirmishers from teh lines, and allows your light cavalry to cut them down before the heavies can advance to their rescue. This may also draw out their general, who can be attacked with arrows.

So now your main infantry line is advancing; in the formation they are in, whether you opt for the echlon or some other, there should be room for them to move around, in case the archers start turning the enemy's flank.

Your heaviest, most dependable infantry should be the vanguard of your attack. Group those three units and have them attack the enemy's strongest point. Do this in coordination with the archers, and pin the enemy down.

With your next group, find the enemy's weakest point. Attack it from whatever vantage you can, preferably in the flank. This doesnt have to be the group right behind group 1, but rather the group closest to the enemy's weak spot. Then use the other group to plug the holes. They may or may not fight as a cohesive group at this point. One unit may be sent here, one there, etc. At any rate, you should by now have the enemy's entire front line engaged. If you have good infantry, you should be breaking through in a spot or two, requiring his reserves. He may or may not engage them where they are needed, as the AI tends to be dumb and random at best. If it's a human player, he should engage his reserves.

Now remember the cavalry you hid in the trees or somewhere on the flank; as SOON AS YOU'VE ENGAGED THE ENTIRE ENEMY LINE, they should move out. Right now, your infantry is engaged in a life or death struggle; if they have to retreat, then they will be cut up by enemy forces. If the enemy retreats, they will have to mop up and cant wipe them all out.

So your cavalry is now charging; right?

wrong.

Your cavalry should, at this point, be manuevering around the enemy line. My preference is in a long line, two ranks deep, in open order to protect against missle fire. It also speeds them up a little.

As soon as they are around the enemy flank, I close their lines and put them in a wedge formation. I am not going to try and engage the enemy line in their rear, but rather punch gaping holes that will give my infantry the advantage of small, un-coordinated, single units fighting for their own life, not for their leader.

I always trot them up to within about 300' of the enemy line's rear, and after taking out any archers/peltasts/artillery not already decimated by your light cavalry, I order them to charge the enemy's strongest points from teh rear. Once the stong points crack, the enemy will retreat, and it will cause a chain route.

You have several options with what to do with your general. In Roma Surrectum, for instance, when you have a number of infantry generals with praetorian type guards, your general is a valuable heavy-heavy infantry reserve that can be thrust into the thick of battle. I generally use these type generals on the flank assaults where the enemy is weakest, and puncture their line, using him to wreak havok in their rear. If he's a mounted general or family member, he can be used either in the reserve capacity, to cover a retreat, plug a hole, or charge into the enemy at a point on the verge of a route. Also, he can be used with the heavy cavalry to charge the enemy in the rear at the time of the charge. But remember to keep him away from the enemy spearmen!!! One thing I also do with mounted generals is give them the rally command the moment before impact with the enemy; it puts your general at the rear of his bodyguard (so he's not the first to die) and it rallies your troops.

There are many, many other options to your acctual strategy; you could have your cavalry all mass and charge from the enemy's flank, you could try and attack your enemy from the flank with your main force, you could try and use your cavalry as a screening force, to deter the enemy from turning to meet your infantry, or vice versa. Either way, maneuver your lines as the terrain dictates, as the enemy dictates, and as your army dictates; for instance, if you have a ton of barbarian spearmen against a legionary or phalanx heavy army, the strategy above is suicide.

Take everything into account. But if you properly apply your tactical skill to a good manuevering skill, or vice versa, you will almost certainly win the day every time.

It was common for me in my early TW days to take a soley tactical approach to everything. As good as I thought my tactics were, they were losing me battles one in three times I fought, or at least were phyrric victories to say the least. I'd have in the campaign map by the end of my campaign 210 some odd victories, but at least 100 losses (although some of these were naval battles).

Now that I've studied and applied the skill of maneuvering, I am now in one campaign at 327 victories and 45 losses. In another I am at 231 victories, and 52 losses. (both including naval battles)

So test it out. I always test my theories of tactics in campaign mode; I think, imho, that it's much more realistic, as well as random; much like real battles are.

Good luck; if you read this and have any pertinent questions, suggestions, additions, or comments, please express them. I will reply asap.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

Well then, that's what I have for you!!!

My archers are placed, on the offensive, in front of the line as usual. My heavies, in groups of two or three, are echlonned. This gives the groups seperate lines, a small overlap, and room for them to maneuver.

Maneuvering after you hit "start battle" is pretty much invaluable to cutting casualties. Some people don't like to hit pause after a battle starts; I do sometimes, just to look over the enemy position. In real life, you'd be able to before the battle starts, so why not in RTW?

Then I make my first move; ususally my archers advance into range, and start pummeling the enemy from the very front. How they react can determine where you go and from where your main attack will come. It is also good to draw out their skirmishers from teh lines, and allows your light cavalry to cut them down before the heavies can advance to their rescue. This may also draw out their general, who can be attacked with arrows.

Hm I never put archers in front line..... but know after your explanation I'm giving it a try!

Great as before! Keep up!

Leonidas

[Samuel Adams]

Leonidas,
Thanks for reading and for the feedback.

Yes, by all means try it. I never, EVER put archers in my front line until fairly recently. I thought it was too exposing. But if you have a good plan of attack where they will be supported quickly, it's very effective at softening the enemy line before your troops go steel to steel with them. But remember, if you out distance your archers from your troops, the enemy will most likely break ranks to kill them. This can be dangerous, especially if they are attacked by cavalry. Also, remember to keep close tabs on them. I can't tell you how many times I look at my unit bar and see one unit of archers running, only to find that they are at a far corner of the map being chased by an enemy I let slip by.

Good luck! May the gods protect you...!

[Lord Romanus III]

No offense or anything but I rarely lose more than 30 battles, naval ones included. So if you lose a lot of naval battles, make navies of at least 7 ships. Good, manuvering guide though. WHo do you normally play as?

Cordially, Lord Romanus III

[LeonidasOfSparta]

Leonidas,
Thanks for reading and for the feedback.

Yes, by all means try it. I never, EVER put archers in my front line until fairly recently. I thought it was too exposing. But if you have a good plan of attack where they will be supported quickly, it's very effective at softening the enemy line before your troops go steel to steel with them. But remember, if you out distance your archers from your troops, the enemy will most likely break ranks to kill them. This can be dangerous, especially if they are attacked by cavalry. Also, remember to keep close tabs on them. I can't tell you how many times I look at my unit bar and see one unit of archers running, only to find that they are at a far corner of the map being chased by an enemy I let slip by.

Good luck! May the gods protect you...!

I also wanted to ask.........

When you are defending do you also put archers in front and thne retreat them or put them back........?

Leonidas

[Samuel Adams]

@ Lord Romanus III: Just last night I started a campaign up as Constantine the Usurper and didn't lose a single engagement. However, I retreated a few times and it registered as losses. So I guess this too accounts for the amount of losses I have registered there. With my Naval battles, in roma surrectum I never have lost a naval engagement since I have such killer navies but in a land heavy campaign I have a habit of neglecting my navy.

@Leonidas, yes, on the defensive I place them at the front and have them retire behind my line. This gives them more time to kill as many enemy troops as possible before they engage my infantry. However, remember to give your archers some light cavalry or light infantry support in case they are rushed by enemy cavalry. They can't outrun the horses, and it can be devastating to the battle's outcome. You'll want the archers to give your line close support during the melee.

[bomberboy]

Hi Horton guess what I won a battle against a Milanese crusading army. I was playing Egypt. The battle started when I charged bedouin light cav at some pesky xbowmen and then the enemy attacked I sent missile cavalry to lure the enemy general away so he was exposed. The center was composed of two spear miltia units who I sent to help the horse achers and aphgan javelinmen to kill the general. That left the center defended by kurdish javelin men who beat back several attacks while my other cavalry units finished there other jobs and attacked the enemy center. on the left the crusader general died and the entire enrmy center calapsed later I killed the remaining ones there wan't alot left many ware killed by cavalry and missile fire

casualties.
Egypt-325
Milan- 2080dead and 725 captured.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

@Leonidas, yes, on the defensive I place them at the front and have them retire behind my line. This gives them more time to kill as many enemy troops as possible before they engage my infantry. However, remember to give your archers some light cavalry or light infantry support in case they are rushed by enemy cavalry. They can't outrun the horses, and it can be devastating to the battle's outcome. You'll want the archers to give your line close support during the melee.

I tried that, and yes I have noticed that it is good tactic!
Especialy when I'm fighting enemy who has peltasts in his army cause he advances with them first and my archers masacre them before they even know what hit them.........

Will you write more...........?

Leonidas

[morteduzionism]

On the campaign map, the terrain will be reflected on the battle map. Historically every great general not only used the terrain to his advantage, but also, when he could, chose that ground. To put your army to it's best use, you should too. Total War is a great game that allows rewards for good placement and makes you pay for poor placement.

Although tedious in the extreme right clicking terrain on the Campaign map will reveal its type: hills, high fertility(flat plains), low mntns, etc...but you're right it is wise to know this before hand...especially if you auto-battle...a small army who is on some low mountains will seriously hurt a full legion

Now, while in deployment stage, the computer will have automatically placed your army. I never use this default, but sometimes I don't change it before going into battle. The reason? I will be maneuvering when the battle starts, and so it doesn't matter how or where I start out. However, group your men as you feel the situation dictates. Why? The series of 8 formations opened to you when your men are grouped can be very helpful for keeping your men in good order in the battle.

I'm not sure if you're aware of this or not but...you can make any formation you want a sort of...9th Formation...during the 'Deployment' phase put your army in your preferred battle formation and toggle the 'Group' button. The formation will be locked and your army will march/fight in that formation.

Take the following into consideration on the campaign map: The enemy force makeup. Intelligence is important, and always has been, in war AND peace; why should a TW game be any different? Once you are about to engage, you can right click on the enemy commander to see his force. That's good. Use it to draw up a plan in your head.

That's why its best for each army to travel with a Diplomatic Corp(Diplomat, Spy and Assassin) the spy can reveal more info on enemy armies.

When I deploy, I place my army on a defensible locale. Just because you are the attacker doesn't mean the enemy will be keen to just let you take your time and attack at your own pace. They may try to blitz you, and if your in a poor stance to recieve the enemy, you won't have time to re-deploy well enough.

That's why I decided on sticking with one standard formation...a highly flexible formation...deployed prior to battle(also I use a mod and can't see where the enemy is before clicking 'Start Battle') so I'm ready for whatever happens.

Think! Move a "group" of infantry to the left, to the right, wherever they won't be opposed. Move your cavalry around the enemy. Make them move to counter the threat, and weaken their front line. Make single units detach from the line to chase you, and slaughter them. Weaken them as much as possible with arrows and missles (keeping care to watch the clock) before closing for the kill.

Another reason I settled for one standard formation...I simply couldn't manage so many individual units during the confusion of melee. Now I march my formation right up to the enemy(I can click/drag my preformed army anywhere on the map...their footprint will show where they will be and what direction they'll be facing)...and attack...once the enemy has committed its own reserves I flank them with my cavalry

Also, a good subject in offensive maneuvering to cover is regicide. In a battle, the enemy general is a major focal point.

Very true. I use my Tribune(extra family member in my army) to attack the enemy general. I had a battle yesterday, as matter of fact, where I was able to get my Tribune around an army and attacked their general...the general took a lot of killing...as a result the enemy army kept up the fight causing me to suffer more casualties than necessary

Then I make my first move; ususally my archers advance into range, and start pummeling the enemy from the very front. How they react can determine where you go and from where your main attack will come. It is also good to draw out their skirmishers from teh lines, and allows your light cavalry to cut them down before the heavies can advance to their rescue. This may also draw out their general, who can be attacked with arrows.

So now your main infantry line is advancing; in the formation they are in, whether you opt for the echlon or some other, there should be room for them to move around, in case the archers start turning the enemy's flank.

Your heaviest, most dependable infantry should be the vanguard of your attack. Group those three units and have them attack the enemy's strongest point. Do this in coordination with the archers, and pin the enemy down.

With your next group, find the enemy's weakest point. Attack it from whatever vantage you can, preferably in the flank. This doesnt have to be the group right behind group 1, but rather the group closest to the enemy's weak spot. Then use the other group to plug the holes.

This is sort of an all or nothing tactic isn't it?

They may or may not fight as a cohesive group at this point. One unit may be sent here, one there, etc.

This is why I started using one standard formation. If one of these infantry units is flanked or loses...it's over...you don't have anything left for reserves...since they're all fighting somewhere...using cavalry? (maybe in vanilla you can do that)

If you have good infantry, you should be breaking through in a spot or two,

That's why I thought this was an all or nothing tactic. What happens if you happen to get a freshly recruited army(your army) against veterans?(silver or gold chevrons)

When you are defending do you also put archers in front and thne retreat them or put them back........?

Also, if you have a purely defensive army(one that will not be attacking cities or armies) put some Ballistas with it...they're murder on an attacking army...some armies will rout before they even engage in melee

I play a mod and the unit stats have been rebalanced so I can't really comment on your particular use of cavalry. I will say this though it's probably always best to let Heavy Cavalry(Gallic Noble, etc) do charges and let Light Cavalry(Equites, Gallic Lt. Cavalry) chase routers...Generals should plug gaps in the battle line(gets the close to the troops for rallies boosts to morale) having Generals flanking the enemy negates many of their benifits to the army.

[Samuel Adams]

Thank you for your input mort!

The tactics I use tend to be all-or-nothing quite often. For one, when I'm engaged in full-stack on full-stack battles, it tends to be rather epic. in IBFD and RS, more than occasionally I tend to get into two or three on two or three, sometimes four full stack battles; talk about epic! It's the closest I've ever come, or ever will, to commanding a full legion.

When I do this, I play with the intent of destroying my enemy's capability to wage war. For instance, I took last night a legion to a bridge where, on the other side, 4 gothic armies were laying siege to my capitol. Luckily for me, I was able to draw them away and they attacked me in the next turn. I was able to destroy them all; I had 1200 men, and they had 1500 in each stack. Two of the four attacked me, and I was able to not only destroy (thanks to a well-placed ballistae and archers) their entire cavalry force before it could cross the river, and my comitatenses were able to destroy their infantry as they came.

As far as cavalry, when I'm playing IBFD I use bucelarii cavalry, or equites catafractarii, as my heavy cavalry. Equites are useless except for what you mentioned, chasing routing enemies and also in a pinch for delying enemy flanking action. I'm merciless to my equites, if it saves my army. In RS, I use eastern auxiliary cavalry that are pretty much cataphracts, or heavy gallic cavalry for that role. But I also tend to over use cavalry at times against barbarians if I'm the Romans, moreso than historical accuracy.

[morteduzionism]

Thank you for your input mort!

Thank you for an interesting topic.

The tactics I use tend to be all-or-nothing quite often.

Playing Imp II...I just can't do this. "all-or-nothing". starting out in the red financially makes you judicious in your use of troops...lol...in addition to the fact that the Romans were weakened...

In the early game......Romans, even Principes, would get decimated(as in killed to the very last man if they didn't flee first) by a single unit of Rebel Italian Swordsman

[cherryfunk]

This is very good info -- and would be even better with screenshots!

[LeonidasOfSparta]

Yeah Horton put some screenshots!

Leondias

[Samuel Adams]

Well guys, some good news and some bad news.

GOOD NEWS: I know I have taken some screenies of my army in action in methods I've suggested.

BAD NEWS: I've scoured through my screenies I have at work (Every day after a campaign, my missus takes the time to transfer the picture files to me via instant messenger. She's a keeper.), and although I have alot of action and cavalry shots, I didn't get the ones I took of my army advancing in solid order. So I will have to post them tonight after work.

@Mort;

I hear ya bud, IBFD is the same, although you don't start in the red you go there in the first turn, no matter what you do, unless you disband EVERYTHING and destroy EVERYTHING in the cities you plan on abandoning to the enemy.

I'm a bit of a gambler though, and inasmuch as I want my legions to remain intact, and strong, I also know that with a few exceptions my enemies are facing the same financial and military issues I am. When the barbarian hordes are confronted especially, they become headless and mere thorn pricks after you decimate them.

I can't spoil the next chapter in my AAR, but I WILL say that a group of all or nothing battles saves the west, and destroys someone who threatened Rome herself...

[bomberboy]

So are you going to tell us more about your strategies and maneuvers.

P.S is the chapter for the AAR come to day.

[LeonidasOfSparta]

OK the most important thing is that you'll post screenshots tomorow!

When you'll post more of your strategies and maneuvering????????
Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leonidas