Bona221's "How to command the Macedonian military"
Some time ago, I was inspired by Century X's Auxilia Legion thread to create one of my own. However, I didn't want to make it on the Romans as Century had already done, so for a while I contemplated who I should do it on.
At first, the Carthaginians seemed like a good idea. But I then began to favor the Gauls, but soon later changed my mind to the Greeks. Now, I have finally decided to do it on:
The Macedonians
Kings of the Earth
"There is nothing impossible to him who will try"
-Alexander the Great
Now, the first thing I would like to say is that the Macedonians have one of the most varied and adaptable war machines in RS. Their phalanxes excel in open field combat, their city state hoplites can destroy any infantry line, their cavalry is outstanding, they have excellent heavy infantry, and a good choice of ranged units as well.
It is up to you, as the King of such a great nation, to wield this power. Will you stick to your borders, defending the sacred homeland? Or will you spread your wings and conquer the lands that belong to you?
The Early Armies
First, you have to build your empire. When you are first starting out, you may want to keep your military budget somewhat low. This is understandable, as the majority of factions require time to build up their economy. So, one of your early armies may look like this:
You'll notice that the majority of troops are Phalanx Pikemen. They are the backbone of any Macedonian army and can hold the line against more or less any unit, save war elephants. The next thing you will notice is the heavy infantry, carrying the bronze colored shields. They are Sword Hoplites, and can go toe-to-toe with the heavy infantry of any other faction. I've seen Principes ripped apart by a good unit of Sword Hoplites, and Gallic Swordsmen trampled by them. Of course, it is all a matter of using them effectively, as I have also seen them destroyed by light cavalry and Hastati.
The next unit you may notice are the Hamippos, the soldiers with the red shields and the odd looking hats. While their outfit may not look too protective, they are a good fighting force when used in conjunction with heavier infantry, such as sword hoplites. The fact that they are lightly armored also means they can move faster for longer amounts of time, so they could also be used as a supporting unit for cavalry.
Obviously, a general commands the army. In RS, you have the ability to recruit generals, so you should take advantage of this ability and recruit them often, as a army led by a general can be ten times as effetive as an army led by a captain.
Next on the roster is the Light Lancers, the Macedonian light cavalry. They are not very effective against any good infantry unit, and most other cavalry can defeat them head on, but they are great flankers and, with their speed, can cause havoc behind enemy lines. How would you feel if you were advancing towards 3,000 enemy infantrymen knowing there were 300 enemy cavalrymen behind you, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike? It's not a great feeling.
The Late Armies
Once your economy really kicks off, you will be upgrading cities, gaining more income, and, more importantly, have access to better units. A late army will look something like this:
The Phalanx Pikemen still play a large role in this army, as they are still a very effective fighting force at this time. The Light Lancers have now been replaced with heavier cavalry, and the Hamippos and Sword Hoplites have been replaced with more exotic pikemen.
The new cavalry are known simply as "Macedonian Heavy Cavalry", and are a deadly force. They can go head to head with most other cavalry units, including enemy generals, and can also take on some infantry units. If you thought that attacking the rear of the enemy with Light Lancers was devastating, these cavalrymen will absolutely destroy them.
The new pikemen are known as Royal Pikemen, and are some of Macedonia's finest soldiers. They will usually form the second phalanx line in your battle formation, and can take down anything thrown at them, save (again) war elephants. They sport larger shields and are trained harder than regular Phalanx Pikemen, and are thus much more effective killers. If the Romans invade your homeland, these are the guys you want on the front lines.
The Very Late Armies
Once you've expanded a bit and your economy is now supporting several early and later armies, you will have access to, yet again, even more advanced units. These are some of the deadliest fighting forces in the game and will carry your banner to the farthest corners of the globe. An example of such an army is:
This army is dominated by Royal Pikemen, as you most likely have more than enough money recruit several thousand of them. You will see that the infantry to cavalry ratio has changed in this army. Due to the fact that your infantry is higher quality and can take more punishment than your previous infantry units, you can now afford to have larger amounts of cavalry. You may also notice the addition of three new units.
The first would be the Companion Cavalry. This army contains 240 of them, which is a good amount for any general to have. They are up there with the absolute most elite cavalry, and will prove it on the battlefield. These units aren't flankers, they are head on fighters. But, this doesn't mean you necessarily want to do that. It would be a good idea to keep these guys in reserve for when the fighting really gets tough. You can use them to chase down the general or attack an enemy flanking force and, used with a good infantry unit (such as city state hoplites) they are almost unstoppable.
The second new units are the Spartan Hoplites. They are the finest infantrymen in the game. They are gods among men, and any army lead by them will know it. They won't break under pressure, they will never falter, and they will kill more enemies in a day then many of your armies will in a year. If you use them in the center, your center will not break. If you use them on your flanks, your flanks will hold. I cannot tell you where you should use them, because you can use them anywhere. They are the best of the best.
The third new addition is the Heavy Peltast. These ranged units are a great advantage. They can dish out a huge amount of damage with their volleys and are decent in hand to hand combat, meaning they can aid your main infantrymen when they run out of spears to throw.
An army like this will take a very powerful enemy to break through, such as the Romans after the Marian Reforms.
Experienced Armies
Obviously, you'll be fighting with many units over and over again in your campaigns. These units will gain experience, adding additional morale and fighting effectiveness to them. It's a good idea to retrain these units and group them together, so you can get the most out of them. Here is an experienced army:
These units have several chevrons of experience, as well as some having weapon and armor upgrades. There isn't much to say about these men, as they are used just the same as any other fighting force. One thing to keep in mind is that you do not want to throw these troops away. Keep them alive and use them against the most deadly enemy armies.
Defensive Garrisons
When you are on campaign, you are obviously going to capture several key cities. These cities are crucial, as they add to your income to support your war efforts and also give you an area to resupply your armies. You don't want to keep any of your late or very later armies holed up in these cities, so you recruit some cheap troops capable of holding a city until reinforcements can arrive in case of an attack. A good defensive garrison looks like this:
First of all, the general in an army like this is not a military general, but a governor general. These generals have no cavalry bodyguards, but instead a small unit of elite infantry to protect them. The garrison force should usually consist of some decent cavalry (in this case, Greek Medium Cavalry), and the most basic of phalanx troops, the Levy Pikemen. These men are not well suited for open field combat, but instead holding small gaps in a wall, or at the gates to a city. The Hamippos and the Sword Hoplites make a comeback here, as non-phalanx troops are very useful in urban combat. There are also archers in this army, useful for showering the oncoming enemy with arrows. This is an army you would probably not want to use in the field unless you are sure they can win.
Invasion Forces
When you decide that an enemy must be destroyed, you will probably need to gather a fleet and prepare an army capable of fighting a sustained war without reinforcements from the homeland. I usually form these large armies into "groups", and each Invasion Force consists of about 3 groups. One group would look like this:
You'll see that each army consists of units from early to very late armies. The reason for this is to make them very compatible with echother incase one army takes a beating and you want to reinforce them with units from another. A force as large is this is the fear of any non-Macedonian country, and rightly so. When a King sees this number of Macedonians, more ofthen than not, he simply orders his men to lay down their arms and joins the mighty Macedonian Empire!
Here are a few examples of some good Late armies, from Brusilov. Kudos to him for his contribution.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
And a classic Macedonian Strategy, posted by Ketchup:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
As a note to everyone, if you wish to add something of your own to my guide, post it in a form similar to my own and I will gladly add it to my guide in your own subsection. For instance, if you wish to add your personal army make-up or your own strategums, please feel free to:
1.) PM them to me so I can add them
or
2.) Post them here so I can add them to the original guide
This is something anyone can feel free to do! I encourage you to do so, as I wish this to be a very broad Macedonian guide which can apply to everyone.
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Originally Posted by snuggans
(Okay, just once)
Thanks for putting this together.
. This thread is Bona's thread and must stay on subject on his system for Macedon Military.
