How to use field artillery

[Sorceri]

I like to use scorpions and ballistae to support my troops in regular field encounters. The problem is that I can't figure out how best to deploy them. I am worried about collateral damage (my shooters like to fire into the backs of my own infantry!). But when I deploy out on my flanks, they are butchered quickly by enemy cavalry. What do ya'll find to be the best way to use these field artillery effectively in regular battles? :hmmm:

[Captain Jin]

Well I'm not positive about ancient tactics but I know in the Napoleonic era cannons were always pushed off on the flanks so that the rounds could cut diagnoally across an advancing line rather than just through it. The idea would be that you hit several ranks and files rather than just one straight on shot. I'm not sure if that works with ballistas and scorpions effectively or not.

I know that if you put them on the flanks you should have a strong unit protecting them. If you were to put a decent phalanx or heavy infantry unit there and maybe some light cavalry that might be enough to deter your enemy from attacking. I don't like using the artillery in regular battles because I feel like I have to waste too many units protecting them.

[Mythos_Ruler]

They are best used before your battle lines meet the enemy. Use them as the opening salvo to batter the enemy forces before they can grapple with your own forces.

[Tiberius Nero]

From what I have read, historically they were placed on the left flank. If you are afraid of enemy cavalry, just have some of your own near them to counter-charge, or a unit of spearmen next to your artillery (not in harm's way obviously!). At least that's what I do, if they are caught up in hand to hand and they are losing badly, just press retreat, its better losing them for the battle (once the armies meet, they are little use anyway) than losing the crew altogether.

[Solaris]

Yes, I do as Tiberius Nero says: have a cavalry unit or two next to them, and deploy my men in a double line, so I can draw on the men in the second line to protect the artillery.

What bugs me though is that having artillery in an army reduces movement points, which is patently ridiculous.

[Sorceri]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try to use them on the left flank and see if they can be effective. I wonder, historically, did the Romans use artillery a lot in field engagements? Or did they reserve them mainly for sieges?

[Tiberius Nero]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try to use them on the left flank and see if they can be effective. I wonder, historically, did the Romans use artillery a lot in field engagements? Or did they reserve them mainly for sieges?

From what I have read, artillery was standard in Roman legions, at least after the Roman army turned professional; probably they wouldn't have used them too much if at all at the beginning of the mod's timeframe.

If you are to see results with artillery, I recommend only scorpions and 2 units of them per stack (1 just isn't noticeable); don't bother with ballistae, they have shorter range, their additional damage is simply overkill (a scorpion bolt has the same result when it hits normal people...) and in my experience you would really hamper yourself if you use them for attacking stone walls; it takes the entire ammo of a ballista to destroy a tower or bring down a section of the wall, and then you render this part inaccessible, so your troops on the wall can't move along and capture the towers you need to make your advance in the city safe.

[Solaris]

Yes, I have learnt that the hard way that one ballista unit will not destroy a part of the wall with one load of ammo, you always have to attack the settlement twice.

Caesar probably first popularised the use of artillery in his Gallic campaign, though that was mainly in siege situations, though it is thought he wanted to make it a field essential too.

[Jamey]

My rule of thumb with using artillery in any RTW game is: don't.

Slowing down my strategic movement is just too big of a penalty. I'd rather use archers and build rams/towers/etc. for sieges. In M2TW, artillery is more useful because it will let you breach walls and destroy towers without exposing your units to defensive fire. I'm much more inclined to use it in M2TW.

[Mikail Mengsk]

My rule of thumb with using artillery in any RTW game is: don't.

Slowing down my strategic movement is just too big of a penalty. I'd rather use archers and build rams/towers/etc. for sieges. In M2TW, artillery is more useful because it will let you breach walls and destroy towers without exposing your units to defensive fire. I'm much more inclined to use it in M2TW.

you're right, Jamey! Why wasting an army slot for a warmachine that is useful only for a few minutes in the beginning of the battle, and also slows your strategic movement?

[Inspiration]

Well, I use a lot of artillery fighting phalanx based armies. That means _always_ when fighting any greek or eastern power. At the moment the enemy phalanx line hits your main line, the phalanx units are pinned. Now tactically fall back with a few units, preferably in the middle of the line and lure them in. Those enemy units will either fall in the trap or retreat to their 'base line' to be used for another charge. Either way there will be some room to stick a artillery unit in, and shoot the phalanx line from the side. Because of the close distance to the line, and the depth of the line from that point, the damage will be maximized and their line will loose anything from 8 to 24 men per shot. Include the 'panicked by artillery fire' and the 'concerned about the flank' and you have a lethal and quick way of making them rout.

This works better in the center of the line because cavalry / quick reinforcements usually prevent this tactic from being succesful on the flanks. Another bonus from using this tactic in the center is that you can just change direction when one side of their line has routed.

Another great use of artillery is versus elephants. They can kill an elephant with a single hit, and even if you don't hit any animal, they will go amok very quickly. Because of the long range, this amok is 99% of the time into the enemy his main battle line. Playing against Carthage with Rome, I frequently had about 2 or 3 units elephants in a full stack attacking me in Nothern Italy. Shooting at them with 2 units of ballistas always caused them to go amok into their own lines before they reached my army. This always caused at least 5% of their units death, usually more (up to 20%, depends on their army composition).

Using artillery as siege equipment is useful for raiding coastal cities that only have a small garrision in them. As Rome I used it with great succes to destroy the smaller Illyrian towns that only have a wooden wall. Land with a small army, use the artillery to smash their walls/gates and move in and capture (exterminate) it. Destroy the macedonian royal barracks and leave the city with your army, into your navy, all in the same turn. This slows down the macedonian endless supply of full stacks and gives you a few more denarii because of the looting and destruction of buildings.

[Andy5]

I have found that scorpions can be extremely useful when protecting a bridge or river crossing.
They are devastating when deployed on each flank and firing across a bridge into tightly pack enemy units. I have had enemy units routing before they reach the my side of the river.

[morteduzionism]

you're right, Jamey! Why wasting an army slot for a warmachine that is useful only for a few minutes in the beginning of the battle, and also slows your strategic movement?

Count my vote too...

I don't use it for the same reasons.

The only instance I would even consider adding artillery to a legion is if it's ONLY going to be defending. For example defending a bridge(i.e. the bridge on the Po River) and facing multiple attacks, they would get artillery.

[green tea]

I am also not a big fan of artillery, for two reasons:
1. they are not relly useful and lower your movement (as was stated above)
2. I believe they are quite unhistorical. Everybody knows the scene from "Gladiator", and those scene from the 2. LOTR movies where Osgiliath was besieged. But I think the imagination of those regisseurs was heavily influenced by pictures from WWI. I just don´t believe that in ancient times armies used catapults/ other siege equipment for field battles (in the way modern armies use them today). Normally catapults etc. were not moved in one piece, the were build together when you needed them. For a field battle, this was impractical. And when we think about the proud roman military, nobody thinks " ah, those cool catapults, with those they build their empire", we normally think about the legionaires. Why is this? And the reloading times were much longer as games like Rome or Med2 make us believe.

I don´t deny that they were in use, I just can´t believe they were used for field battles.

Edit: It might be interesting that I looked at wikipedia, and there I found a difference in the english and german version: The german version states that catapults (I looked at that as an example) were used mainly as siege weapons, while this sentence is not in the english version: There it is said that Alexander introduced them as cover for field battles.

[Korlon]

If you're going to use artillery in a field battle, you should stick them in a spot where there aren't any units in front of their missiles. If the enemy gets too close, quickly hit the retreat button, but don't actually withdraw them if there's no chance of them getting killed. Just stick them to the back of your men and wait until every enemy infantry's engaged with cavalry killed and missile units routed. Then make them take up the siege equipment once more and move so that they'll fire right into the sides of the enemy, not from the back because they might hit your own infantry. Easy pickings. So yes, like it was said, stick them on a flank. It makes it easier to use later on in the battle.

[Tiberius Nero]

There are no onagers/catapults in RTR anyway; war machines similar to the scorpions were used in battlefields, though probably mostly on the defensive and in sieges.

[Only None]

I rarely use artillery in field battles, but when I do I like to put an infantry unit right on top of them, as close to the artillery pieces as possible. If you use a pike phalanx the pikes will engage enemies who attack the artillery unit before the enemy can get to your artillery crew.