Stack Organisation

[Henry707]

Afternoon Kongsters,

I would be very interested to know how you all tend to organise your empires militarily....do you keep garrisons to a minimum then have a few battle stacks?

Do you have specialised siege stacks of heavy infantry? Also, how do you deal with rebels?

I know its different for every empire but do you divide larger empires into regions with different army groups?

Henri

[Gogolometro]

Hello happy Henry.Is different from a campaign to other.Like scottish now i tend to fill citys with huge garisons of heavy pike some ortars or thebuchets/magdonels.This because I have 5 enemies who atack me, and 3 non catholics I atack them.Half of kingdom is relative close linked or neighboors but other half are just conqured regions around the world, city in Italy, Finland, Baltic Sea or north Africa.So I need huge garisons, is late game and ppl get gunners or even camel guners.So behind walls and covered by towers is recomended in this stage.
Before that campaign I played Aragon who was a very different affair.Aragon is very strong rooster and access a very good posibility of geting strong units fast and easy.Practicly iberian provinces provide me the best armies the tercios units and arquebusiers plus culverins.In Africa was a industry for DFK and Feudal Knights.In Italy after normal militia I transform all Italy, Sicily, Sardinia in civil setelments funding a new maschine factory(the military academy) like a clone of Iberia.France and England what was under my control was a composite thing.Both areas was my theater of war for conflicts with France, Genova, Scotland, Ireland and England.I recruit what I got good civilian in Paris, Bruges, Rheims and London and good feudal units in Touluse and Nothingham.The rest what they offer was ok just units to be because the scale of war consume units continuos.The good thing was the order of montesa units I tryed every time to replenish their trups so I got a lot of units with gold and silver chevrons units.
Like HRE was more simple, just making all time armored spearmens/regular swords with 3 exceptions, Hamburg the top fortress who provide strong units for smaller citys around, Frankfurt the pike/halebard factory and Bologna the house of Teuton order fill all the stack from there.

[caralampio]

I keep garrisons at a minimum, and a few big armies on the field. As many as my economy can sustain comfortably.

The armies might rest in a city when they have nothing to do, but they're not permanent residents. As to garrisons, I rarely need to exceed the free upkeep militia in cities, or the free garrison units in castles.

My armies are always infantry-heavy, backed by a strong line of missiles and supported by 2-3 cavalry units. I find that I always gravitate to this scheme even while playing factions where other composition would be preferable...

[Gogolometro]

Problem is The Scotts are great like defenders, without the Gendarmes and Montesa Knights of Aragon I feel like a stick army.Yea you can hold a position easy if you have a cover.I not like the word turtle but before turn 70 my dear kilt wearers was not a atack force for blitzkrieg.Can't face 6 Gendarmes with 4 DFK and 2 Bombards suported by voulgiers and French archers.Even if I try to make a relative good stack adding units from 3 different settelaments I cant face the Frechies in open ground.Same busniess with England, Castile and Genova.They got more eclectic stacks and more better archers/artilery so I need to stay in a defence position 70 turns.Ok I dont sleep all time, I tryed to be oportunistic, stealing provinces from excom, bad reputation and atackers of me, I join crusades, and I not atack catholics( but my hand was free for pagans, orthodox and muslims).Ideea is when you god small rooster who shine in defence with bad archers at leat near to turn 70 late game you dont go like mad to atack a cavalry faction just because you can.An a city undefended I discover is like sour for a cat, instant siege happend.So I try to be sneacky and adapt the aragon killer tactics to these rabble warbands.

[Aenima]

4 heavy infantry
3 spearmen
2 archers (optional)
2 heavy cavalry
2 horse archers
2 siege weapons
1 general

all makes one happy player

[Tacitursa]

What i do is Empty every region that can recruit and recruit 1 unit in it and the regions that cant yet recruit i leave 1 unit behind.

Then next turn all of your empty regions now have 1 unit and all others have 1 unit. U should have a at least 1 Complete strong stack on turn 1 get a crusade with this stack to the furthest possible region there is , this gives you free upkeep for several turns and gives you all the cash you need to convert useless castles to cities , build all your ecom structures. After about turn 10 and crusade is over you can start churning out armies to expand and repeat first process at turn 20.

[ivac]

I have spear militias in cities as much as free upkeep allows me. Then I divide my empire in regions. For example when I was playing with France, I controlled whole France, Britain, Spain and Italy. I had 1 full stack in France in Tolouse (HRE were my allies), 1 full stack in Nottingham (for whole Britain), 1 full stack in Granada and 2 full stacks in Italy (northern and southern part because I had many enemies around me).
But it also depends on which faction I'm playing with. When I was playing with Seljuks, I grabbed all rebel provinces to the east and made alliances with every neighbor there. Then I attacked Byzantine Empire and shortly conquered whole Balkans. I was defending Balkans with 5 full stacks of horse archers and preparing 3 full stacks to blitz Italy, including Rome.

[nostradamouse]

My actual campaign with venice...

I have to say that 3/4 of my army are italian spear militias...

The rest are peasant archers and sergents (armored and not-so armored) I got 1 unit of feudal knights, but eh... Not like I use that much.

Let's just say that if I didn't have my general unit during each attacks, I would not make it... My generals are about the only cavalry I use, so I tend to avoid field battles. Another thing that helps me is that I am a siege defense expert. I can beat 3:1 odds against me, so I can make it.

If I have to attack, I just ungarison certain border settlements and I attack. Since I always attack next to other colonies, well, I don't shoot myself in the back. Right now I control pretty all of the coast from Ancona to Tessalonica and I'm at around turn 70.

Also, well, unsurprisingly I fight off stacks and stacks of fatimids at Iraklion, but eh... it's not like it's hard to do.

[Adhamh Ashashi]

When sieging I usually have:

1 General
6 Heavy/ Light infantry
4 Archers
2 Cavalry
3 Spearmen

[Inhuman One]

It depends on the governors to me.

When I am at war I have one or two armies that travel around to capture cities and fight the big wars.

For garrisons I look at the location but also the traits of the governor.

A millitairy minded governor would have more troops around than one that is more interested in trade or farming.

And sometimes I want some sort of local garrison in the form of a mercenary unit, to represent locals, showing that the country has a healthy relationship with its new ruler.

[Henry707]

Something I've noticed is that most of our armies are built around a heavy infantry spine. Someone mentioned even gravitating towards this whatever faction they play. So, when are playing say the Spanish, you spend the whole game trying to re-create a north European army....

What about stack organisation for the non-spear/heavy infantry factions - I have only played the Spanish here but it did really change the way I fought battles....no slogging war etc...

Henri

[Inhuman One]

With the french I focus a bit more on knights, I got some more around than I would otherwise, I try to have a unit of knights in each city of importance.

the quality of knights differs of course.

[captcouv]

I usually play Lithuanians. Being pagan, they're targets for Crusades, so I have to keep some significant garrisons around the Capital (Vilnius - castle; or Hronda/Minsk - city). I build the garrison for the Capital, then build a fort within 1/2 move distance and move the stack there, keeping 1 or 2 units in the Capital. When the Crusade is declared (it ALWAYS comes), I let the Capital fall to the Crusaders - sometimes w/o a fight (move the garrison units out - though I always have some assassins around to try and kill the Crusading general). Crusade is successful and any other Crusading stacks leave the region. Then I counterattack by siege and recapture my city/castle. Bonus is that I can occupy the city/castle & get cash.

[Callawyn]

Garrisons: I'll max out on free upkeep units everywhere, but almost never anything beyond that. Even if its clear the AI is coming to attack me I'd rather deal with them in a field battle, either intercept them, or hit them with a field army immediately after they begin a siege.

Field Armies: Early game, 6-12 unit stacks, as necessary, often without generals to take rebels out, or really exposed/weakly defended AI provinces. Once I can afford it, I go to full stack armies, always with a General, as many as I can afford (getting 4 full stack armies, fully occupied conquering, is always an early game goal).

Halfstacks: Even late into the game, you can make good use of half-stack armies, with Generals if possible though not necessary. You can snatch up weakly defended territories pretty easily, especially if you use boats to ferry these halfstacks to AI faction rear areas. These are amazingly vulnerable. Even if the AI has you hard-pressed on the main front, send 6-10 units in a halfstack to hit one of his rear area provinces. Its cheap, easy and effective.

Brigands: From midgame on, I like to detail a General that has good +movement traits/ancillaries to kill Rebels. His army is usually himself + 4 Horsearchers. If there's a rebel army that needs more to kill, I'll just borrow a few units from the nearest garrison. Being an all cavalry army, it can move around really fast.

Opening move Mercenary gambits: If there's a province far from home that you want to take, send a lone General on a mad dash to it, raise mercenaries once there.

[Rommel]

I start off with 1-2 stacks, usualy mostly inf, some archers, and never much cav... as the campaign gets going my army usualy adapts to the enemy I'm currently attacking, if they use lots of horses, I use tons of spears, etc.... My armies usualy do very well until late in the game and most of them are a mix of late era and early era troops... Usualy by the end of the compaign, i have a good 10 stacks, all spread thin across my empire, and if i'm attacked I just build on a mass scale on that front and invade.

ROmmel

[penquin11]

ok here is what I usually do when I play, I try to keep a 1:4 ration (1 stak per 4 regions) that are outside the cities of course
i usually compose my stacks of the following
3-4 crossbowmen (since archers are weak for some reason)
2-4 units of my throw away army (to stop a cavalries charge)
4 units of dismounted warriors (medium -heavy that is)
2 units of spearmen
3 units of cavalry
2 units of horse archers