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Thread: How to win a battle when being broadly outnumbered

  1. #21

    Default Re: How to win a battle when being broadly outnumbered

    Once I win a battle with ratio of 1:5. The enemy are rebel army who attack my army while passing their territory, their army are consist of Mamluks, Saracen militia, Turkish archer, and 2 Town militia. And my army: 1 unit of Sipahi horse archers.
    The key of my success: speed, patience, and maneuver.
    I know it's impossible to win the battle with just head on to the enemy. So I lure them to wander around the field, since most of them are infantry, they got exhausted easily. But that's not enough, I keep lure them to break their formation.
    When the time come, I arrow-storm the Mamluks first, since they're the most powerful and dangerous, and the general is in there. I lure them far away so the others won't distract me. Once their number went down to 8, I charge, but unfortunately the Mamluks have very good morale, they won't route no matter what. But I still kill the general.
    The next target is Turkish archers, they're dangerous with their composite bow. I charge to them, but still, they won't route untill their number hit 10.
    At this point, my army got tired, so I take a rest far from the enemy.
    The 3 next target are all spearmen, I can't just charge to them, unless it's a suicide mission. But fortunately I still have arrow left. Saracen militia is my next arrow-storm target, since it's nearly impossible to charge to them, especially when my army winded. So I arrow-storm them until I run out of arrow, then I charge and successfully route them.
    My 2 last target are exhausted town mimilitiasall of them routed in one charge.
    That's a long battle which needs much patience. But the result was sweet. The enemy lost all of their 295 men while I lost 27 (only 13 men survive).
    The battle took place near Damascus (which in rebels possession). I try to pass my army from Acre to Baghdad. I don't know there's a large army stand near me. Maybe because my army is too small for them, so they're just attack me. But serve them right, it was devastating defeat for them. I invade Damascus a few turn later.

  2. #22

    Default Re: How to win a battle when being broadly outnumbered

    As others have mentioned before if you have a mostly or all cavalry army you will be outnumbered but your army is in fact stronger. Constantly withdraw and charge your heavy cavalry and you will wipe out any enemy infantry except for pikes that are facing you while bracing in formation. This even works (though to a lesser extent) with light cavalry and horse archers because any infantry sent flying by a cavalry charge are dead in M2TW, as opposed to infantry sent flying by elephants which can get back up, or in later TW games where infantry sent flying by cavalry can also get back up.

  3. #23

    Default Re: How to win a battle when being broadly outnumbered

    few people said not to chase the fleeing enemy.
    I think choosing when to chase is the hardest choice in these battles, if it's going well no need to chase but when you are so severely outnumbered you can't afford for them to reform and come back so you have to chase but this is of course very dangerous but when you are fighting 2 full stacks if the 1st army flees into the second there is a good chance that they will reform and you're screwed but if you chase them hopefully the sight of the other army being routed an chased will help you rout them and hopefully they are strung out and tired making this easier of course now you have given up your defensive point, it's tricky.

    I was doomed defending a castle against a whole stack led by a king I had like 4 peasants 1 spear an a general at the walls, now the stupid king got hit with boiling oil an the army started routing now I had to chase because if they reformed I was doomed I lost almost everyone but managed to keep them on the run an win the battle

  4. #24
    Decanus
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    Default Re: How to win a battle when being broadly outnumbered

    Quote Originally Posted by Blakdust View Post
    I think choosing when to chase is the hardest choice in these battles.
    No words could ever be as true.
    During such battles, choosing the wrong time to chase the enemy - or choosing not to chase them - can literally become the turning point of the entire battle.
    Ideally, in such occasions, you'd have to defeat the enemy without fighting his elite troops, since doing so would pin your outnumbered and outclassed units down and cost you the battle. If you're forced to fight them, than it is better to dedicate solely to them, after their average and low class troops have been routed; to do so, you have to prevent these troopers to return fighting. Their fateful return could really cost you the day: yours chance of winning are decent as long as you can keep your enemy divided, and prevent them to mass against you.

    That's why, in my armies, I always use at least one unit of light cavalry, mounted skirmishers, and the like: so that they can harass enemy fugitives and keep them running. This unit doesn't actually need to capture them, just to run beside them or behind them, so that they keep on whitdrawing until they're out of the battle; it takes a lot of micromanaging - expecially in large battles, where these units (which are actually quite vulnerable) risk to be neglected. Their purpose is not that of capturing men, it rather is that of keeping all of the enemy units en route. I've found that Mounted Serjeants and Alan Light Cavalrymen are the best in this roles - mainly because they wield a spear and have the skills to mount a decent charge against already demoralised units you might have missed.

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