Mangonels awesome for city defense.

[THARN]

Ive tried mangonels on the open field of battle -but its high upkeep in protecting it and its wayward shots are too dangerous to deploy on the battlefield. I have found though- that two of these in a city can wreak havoc on a sieging army. most of you probably already know this- but ive been playing since the game came out and only now use it as a permanent strategy.
rookie mangonel units will still miss and kill off some of your men but -when the enemy is all bunched up outside your walls- its worth the trade.

[Pyrochimp]

One of my favorite things to do with mangonels is let the enemy enter the gates, keeping my tightly packed defending force right inside the gate with a mangonel behind them. They'll send most of their army in right away, pushing your units to the edge of a big circle of enemies. Then, have your mangonel target the centermost unit in the huge mob, and if a barrel lands before exploding, it can kill a couple hundred of the enemy per barrel since they're packed in so tightly. You might end up killing half of your men too, but it's a near-guaranteed way to get them to rout quickly.

(first post!)

[Prof.Moriarty]

I always use Mangonels at bridge battles it has the same effect only they can fire multiple times at a tight packed enemy. I've used this on the Mongols
and I crushed them.

[MrChris]

Cannon towers and longbowmen is my ultimate defense, although I am intrigued by the idea of using the mangonels, I shall try this out

[THARN]

the beauty of mangonels is you can get them long before cannon towers and move them inside less advanced towns and cities.