Trouble with Timurids

[Hobbes]

Well, here is what's going on : These Timurids have just invaded my great Byzantine empire (vanilla campaign) and they have about six full stacks of armies outside antioch. You know about their generals and their troop experience (and elephants, many powerfull-big-human-killing-unstoppable-freaky-gunpowder-terrible-monsterous-fast-charging-maniac elephants.)What do I do ?

[Empress Meg]

I'll move this to a forum where it might get more answers from battle hardened-vets.

Devoirs The Empress

[TSD]

I played a campaign with the Byzantines, I just fortified my eastern border Castles/citadels. I found the timorids rather easy to fend off, while I invaded and conquered the West. Try to avoid open field combat with them unless you have a much superior force, make them attack your cities.

[dr_guerra]

Assassinate their generals and family memebers, leave the heir and faction leader alone.

Attack their armies at night as they mostly use mounted ranged units, which really suck at night, also try to isolate their armies one at a time. Killing their Generals is the best way to do this.

When you form your armies, don't even bother with heavy infantry. Just go Light cavalry, Missile cavalry, heavy cavalry, maybe some pikemen or spearmen and get the BEST archers you can find and max out their armour.

Get in a defensive position up on a hill, use artillery to bomb their units, use your light cavalry to take out their artillery.

To take out their Elephants, pikes do the job, but the best are any kind of javelin throwers. Mounted are better, but if you must, on foot.

High chivalry Generals with good command are best in this situation, as you'll need the highest troop morale possible.

Defending against them is the best option. Pike walls or spear walls the gates, and put lots of heavy archers on the walls with some infantry ready to butcher anyone stupid enough to use ladders.

Try to burn down their battering rams. The siege towers and ladders are less important as their quality infantry isn't so great.

Also try to build temp forts when you fight them, so you can have a nice defensible position.

[Khassaki]

Stakes are the best option if you have them. ignore walls and just channel them down streets over the stakes. Once they start to pile up fire arrows and trebs will bother them. Bombards can't shoot over their own troops so they aren't that effective.

[WarMachine187]

I agree,avoid open feild battles as theyr horse archers have range.Only face them in open combat if you have better positioning such as a bridge or prolly an ambush.Using forts might work.

[Logik]

Never fight then in the open.Let them attack one of your settlements. To take out their Elephants, pikes men and any unit that fires arrows or projectiles preferably Flaming arrows would be good.Make sure you have archers or any gun unit on the walls.And as someone else suggested may keep a couple of pike units on the walls in case they try to use ladders.Also if you have good heavy cavalry i would use them and charge out of the settlement and raise as much hell as possible and if you can try to kill there general while you are at it.Also if you destroy there siege equipment they virtually have no chance against you.But everyone has a different way of fighting them.