Barbarian tactics. help please

[Xandras89]

Hi to all, i have decided to start a campaign with the belgae, just for try them i think, but i am not very good in using barbarians, my anly try was with Dacia but it doesn't went very well...
Can anyone who have more experience with the faction give me some suggestion about army composition, economic improvements and battle tactics...

[Anime Divine]

first build up some eco. any building that says trade or tax stuff. then after that build some civilized buildings that improves happiness then after that start working on military.
i dont know belgea and their units i must say. but to play a battle is not hard. first you make a line of 4 cohorts that will be the centre. on th side you place aditional 3 cohorts left and right. not in line but behind each other they will serve to stretch the battle/centre line if needed. but if not they can go straight behind enemy and start killing them from behind. pick units with high attack. and m oderate defence. behind the centre line you put 3 or 4 archers is best to control what they shoot at but if thats too much just set on autofire. and have atleast 2 or 3 cavalry units. with a commander.
and use flanking to get behind enemy lines.
also if you are low on military ocassionally use bridges to give you an advantage or. search for mountains on the map place a unit there and when you get attacked you will get the high ground.

[Gorezin]

Well, anime divine is right. But it's true for every faction. But to be more specific "Barbarians" have not real tactics like the romans, or the discipline of hellenic / hellenistic people. They tend to orient their tactic to raw power, if they can't outsmart their ennemies of course, the battle of teutoburg is the perfect example of germanic cunning. Try to ambush the ennemy, even if the battle doesnt start as one, put some spearmen hidden with some slingers or peltats on the sides.

The main line must have some troops who can form a shield wall, in order to hold the line and add some jav support and shock elite troops on the flanks, protected by light jav cavalry. Heavy cavalry should be used to strike in the back or intercept the ennemy commander and kill him fast.
Long fights are not good for barbarians especially if there are numerous ranged fighting units in front of you. Strike hard and fast.

Barbarians have no or little armour, very vulnerable to every ranged type of units. Use some peltasts and some light cavalry to draw the fire and empty ennemy ammo.
Once they can't fire anymore send your main shield line slowly, no matter if the ennemy charges you, that's what you want with shield wall. but dont do it if you're still shot at, troops in shield wall tend to take more damage since they are packing like an astronaut ration. Once you've been charged send the shock troops (axemen and swordsmen, and maybe heavy peltasts) on the flanks.
Let them fight a bit and retreat them (only if they are winning, going backwards while they're losing and they will lose for sure). And then charge again, if the ennemy counter you or move while you retreat your elite send some light spearmen instead and try to find another weak spot or take ennemy in his back. but again if your elites are behind the ennemy, his ranged troops may be in range, be careful.

To summarize, victory with even forces is based on cunning and the momemtum of the charge. Use every piece of forest where you can, hide a cavalry or some slingers protected with spearmen. Hide them even far from your main line, just to have more options and more ways to flank the ennemy.

Timing is the key with barbarians, they have a powerful charge and a very good attack but they are very weak vs ranged troops so they cant just sit here and lose half their men trying to hold position or pursuing some light cavalry. You must pick your fights and select where and when, especially vs non barbarian factions. Most of light barbarian troops can hide anywhere, or at least in long grass, very useful indeed, also they have a bonus fighting in woods or snow. Things western factions or eastern factions dont have or rarely.

Battles can turn to disaster if you rush head on a line of cohorts, try to distract them, separate them, charge and retreat etc. Harass and then strike with elite shock troops. In comparison greeks have rather slow armies and usually form a large line of spear and shields, even slower with phalanxes but their troops can take some shots and they are mostly defensive, relying on the victory of the cavalry over the ennemy cavalry and come back to finish the job from behind, "the hammer and anvil tactic".
Barbs are more like hitting from eveywhere and dissapear to strike elsewhere, if you're not talented enough try larger number and a massive charge on one point.

Aim for the troop with the most attack and lesser defense first, axemen are trouble vs armour and 2 handed axemen are nightmare. If you fight a cimbri army aim for the bear and wolf warrior, then all their infantry with spear + javelin. I dont know really well the arvernis and celtiberians so i can't advise tactics againt them. If belgaes can do chariots do them and try to learn how to use them, they are the deadliest in nothern europe, on open fields anyway, good luck in a mountain or a forest with them

I said everything i said coz i just started a cimbri campaign and i didnt fought any western faction yet, but the free ppl are being pierced from everywhere. And i begin to have some fun, lurking in forest, waiting for a prey. I hope i gave enough tips and as clear as possible. Enjoy the sound of warcries, 3000 guys screaming at the same time is quite awesome ^^

[Xandras89]

thank you guys... i'll try do my best...but for the moment id very dificult for me to do...i've done some battles and conquesr a lot of land batu they was only poor rebels... i am to much consolidate with greek tacticts...XDXD but i like to mach celtic songs...

[Drowsy]

Ctrl-A - right click enemy unit. Taunt if u want to get even more tactical

[Romanheart]

There are multiple barbarian tactics:
1) Charge.
2) Ambush.
3) Charge and ambush.
4) Ambush and charge.
5) Charging in an ambush.
6) Ambushing in a charge (this is difficoult).

And, if you're in trouble, you can always charge.

[Marcvs Antonivs]

There are multiple barbarian tactics:
1) Charge.
2) Ambush.
3) Charge and ambush.
4) Ambush and charge.
5) Charging in an ambush.
6) Ambushing in a charge (this is difficoult).

And, if you're in trouble, you can always charge.

LOL

Or you could always use guerilla tactics, if you cannot beat them, wear them out if you can. Engage them with minor armies, take out their best units/cavalry/whatever and retreat, then repeat. Once they are weak engange them with your main army. Never played barbarians (only installed the mod yesterday) but if it is affordable I would do that, as I did that to Hannibal. Wore them out in the first battle and lost, them wiped them out on the second battle.

[Xandras89]

There are multiple barbarian tactics:
1) Charge.
2) Ambush.
3) Charge and ambush.
4) Ambush and charge.
5) Charging in an ambush.
6) Ambushing in a charge (this is difficoult).

And, if you're in trouble, you can always charge.

Mmmm.... I Think i will Ambush and Charge...

LOL

Or you could always use guerilla tactics, if you cannot beat them, wear them out if you can. Engage them with minor armies, take out their best units/cavalry/whatever and retreat, then repeat. Once they are weak engange them with your main army. Never played barbarians (only installed the mod yesterday) but if it is affordable I would do that, as I did that to Hannibal. Wore them out in the first battle and lost, them wiped them out on the second battle.

Mmmm this sound interesting combinated with Ambush and Charge...

[Sertorio]

Did anyone already mentioned ambush and charge?

On a more serious note i tend to very much use the same concept i use in other armies except hellenic/phalanx or roman legions.
High defense units on center to pin the enemy line, high atack on the flanks....to flank.
Cavalry to arrass with javelins and make that killer charge.
Just don't try to beat Romans on their own game...hum maybe as a Dacian you try it.
Oh and those lovely falx or romphaia units ? a bunch of those guarding your flank and bye bye enemy cavalry.

[Xandras89]

Ok i Undestand what to do in case of Roman, Greek or hellenic army... But in my campaign i have conquered the british islands (missing Caledonia and Hybernia) and the free settlements in the north of Gallia and now the next step will be to conquer arverni's lands, so What i must do when i fight against other barbarian troops? same tactics or i must change something?

[Petite Wolf]

I don't think "barbarian" tactics differ much from the tactics of other nations, really. The way I tend to do it is have strong, high defense units hold the line - which in my current Arverni campaign is Heavy Arverni Swordsmen. I also have skirmishers out front to throw their javelins at the beginning of the battle then fall back. If they have left-over javelins, then later on I swing them around and hit engaged infantry from behind. I also have spearmen behind the front line of swords on the end of the line. I use these both for flanking and fending off cavalry. Later on when I have better units for flanking I'll use them to flank, but currently Arverny Heavy Spearmen serve me well enough. I of course have some archers or slingers in the army. This depends on the kind of army I'm facing. Slingers are great against armoured units, especially if you can position them behind them.

"barbarian" factions also have some great fear inducing units to make use of. I always have one Naked Fanatic unit in my army, and they rarely do any fighting. They sit behind the center of my line of Heavy Swordsmen and are more for inducing fear in the enemy infantry than anything else. If they're needed I will commit them somewhere, as they are quite useful in a melee, but generally they'll just sit behind my line and scare my enemy.

When it comes to cavalry, you have a range to choose from. You've got the typical heavy cavalry that are great for striking engaged infantry in the back or flanks, you've got lighter cavalry such as Celtic Light and Medium Cavalry, who possess javelins to harass the enemy with as well as quite a powerful charge, and you've also got chariots. Generally I go with a mix of Celtic Medium Cavalry and Chariots. The Chariots for me are mainly units I use to either dispatch enemy cavalry or scare their infantry. Because they have the "scares enemy infantry" effect, they can simply sit behind your line and frighten the enemy, but they're also good for hitting them from behind. You have to be careful doing this, though, as Chariots are the type of unit that is amazing if used correctly, but absolutely dreadful if used even slightly incorrectly. The main key to using Chariots is to constantly keep them moving. If you allow your Chariots to get bogged down, they'll die. That's all there is to it. Keep them moving, however, and they're deadly. One tactic that can be good is sending them through the entire enemy line. By that I mean bringing them to one flank of the main enemy line and telling them to attack the unit at the end of the line so that they ride straight through the entire line. If done correctly this can often cause a massive chain route. It can be risky though, as if they get bogged down they'll simply die.

And then there's ambushing. I love ambushing. And I don't just mean the ambushing from the campaign map. It is quite easy to ambush in a normal field battle as long as there are trees. All you need to do is have your main line visible and find a way to bait them right to them. Because there are trees, you can hide whatever units you wish off to the side in a great position to immediately appear behind/to the sides of the enemy, whether it be some good AP units, some cavalry, or maybe even some archers or skirmishers. There are a lot of possibilities with "barbarian" factions in terms of tactics. I say just use your imagination and experiment.

[Napoleon Complex]

Most of the barbarians have one high-end, powerful infantry unit. I find a combinations of a general, nine-ten strong infantry units, four units of cavalry, three units of slingers and two units of archers works well. Use half your infantry to form a screen that the enemy charge. Hold your remaining infantry in reserve. Once the enemy commit enough forces, smash through any flankers with your infantry, cavalry and ranged units. Use your infantry to outflank the enemy; the enemy should now be caught in a Cannae-esque reverse crescent of your forces. Use missile troops to fire into the enemy rear; this causes dreadful casualties. Use infantry reserves to plug any worrying gaps. Once the archers have cut down the enemy to breaking point, and you've fully scattered any non-committed enemy forces, send in the cavalry and finish the job.

This only works if your five front line infantry units can hold the line for long enough though. Keep a reserve!

[Visarion]

There are multiple barbarian tactics:
1) Charge.
2) Ambush.
3) Charge and ambush.
4) Ambush and charge.
5) Charging in an ambush.
6) Ambushing in a charge (this is difficoult).

And, if you're in trouble, you can always charge.

you forgot about warcry!

[Marcvs Antonivs]

Ah yes, le warcry... ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR

[Drowsy]

Today i was outnumbered 3 to 1 vs a few stacks with late game Boii Champions, few thousand men warcrying in the woods before they charge make for a pretty intimidating scene

I got crushed of course

[Visarion]

for the last part... smthng like Romans against the British Silures right!?

[Rushwithoutmercy]

Charge!!!

Nah, I mean...you have chariots, so do something with those. Otherwise, have a body of 4-6 defensive spear units in your centre and shock/champions on the wings, supported by ample barbarian cavalry. Then it's up to you how to employ them.

[Msciwoj Gniewko the First]

put your faith in number