I think I fell in love...

**nostradamouse** · January 07, 2009, 11:34 AM

With a mangonnel in siege defence...

Man... I just keep having the images of that mangonnel flinging barrels of burning oil over my walls at tight formations of Viking raiders and burning the 3/4 of the stack in 1 shot...

Mangonnels... I used to hate you, now I just realised I didn't know how to use you. I love you.

Now... Share your Stainless Steel love stories with us.

**schulthies** · January 07, 2009, 12:05 PM

Last night I was playing my Byzantine game and some Turks were sieging a city.

They actually had one of those bad boy Mangonnels and started firing the barrels over my wall!

Well one barrel got lucky and landed smack in the middle of some spear Militia 85% casualties..

I did succeed in the defense but after that loss it was closer than it should have been.

Its moments like this in SS that give you only a tiny glimpse of the terror it must have been to see mass amounts of your troops annihilated right before your eyes.

**ivac** · January 07, 2009, 12:11 PM

http://www.imagesforme.com/show.php/..._Untitled2.jpg
http://www.imagesforme.com/show.php/...Untitled43.jpg
http://www.imagesforme.com/show.php/262976_Untitled.jpg
Result:
http://www.imagesforme.com/show.php/262979_hv.jpg
All done by siege weapons.

**Gogolometro** · January 07, 2009, 12:30 PM

I know the feeling myself about magdonels.In all my towns/citys I keep 1 and 1-2 trebuchets.Are my units who get gold chevrons very fast, and all time save me from sieges.Because I love them so much if only 1 settlement produce them I build and send them all over my kindoms.Only cannon towers make me to not used them like defence force.But my real love and always recognition are the cavalry and especial generals bodyguards.Maybe are traitors, bad traits lovers and sometime they like foreign girls but on battlefield are the supreme weapon of mass destruction.

**TheLastPrivate** · January 07, 2009, 01:57 PM

I like to put one right behind the gate, and block the entrance with 3 spearmen. when the enemy clumps up into a nice ball pushing the spearment out, fire the mangonel. The barrel doesn't pop at such short ranged and just goes FSHOOOM, killling hundreds in a single fire. mass route ensues.

You might lose some spear militia but who cares about levies

**nostradamouse** · January 07, 2009, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by TheLastPrivate

I like to put one right behind the gate, and block the entrance with 3 spearmen. when the enemy clumps up into a nice ball pushing the spearment out, fire the mangonel. The barrel doesn't pop at such short ranged and just goes FSHOOOM, killling hundreds in a single fire. mass route ensues.

You might lose some spear militia but who cares about levies

Keep on talking... I find myself.... enthralled by your words...

**Gnostiko** · January 07, 2009, 05:42 PM

YES!
I actually discovered this entirely by mistake. While I knew that mangonel's were awesome, I found them to be rarely effective against my traditional enemies; mobile, horse-archer heavy Turk armies. They also tended to slow down field and retaliation armies. However in a recent campaign when I took a city, I neglected to turn auto-management off (as I took the city with a captain) and the AI built two mangonels. The city was sieged, and when the besieging army assaulted the walls...wow...the battle lasted all of 5 minutes.

Opening salvo, all but one of the General's bodyguards is roasted, second salvo; the most beautiful shot I've ever seen - two barrels exploded right over the densely packed enemy army, minimal scatter. There was just this glowing crater left, I was laughing like a hyena!

**muffinhead** · January 07, 2009, 09:19 PM

geez, im getting excited...may have to start using them

**lazyrhino** · January 07, 2009, 10:23 PM

Mangonnel + trebuchets + pikemen in defencing bridge is also nice!~
Playing as TO, you will never lose even Castile attack you with 2 large stacks , total 40 units of Dismounted Chivalric Knights.

**Bacon!** · January 08, 2009, 03:14 AM

Im a huge fan of using mangonels when attacking and defending a city. In my recent Holy Roman Empire game i took Pamplona which was a fortress and had to defend it against about 3 full Sicilian stacks. It was so much fun waiting for them to get their siege equiptment to the inner walls and in the mean time i roasted about 50% of their army, and once they actually did get inside they all started routing. Run down the other 50% with my cavalry and get a hefty ransom

**kosmosje1** · January 08, 2009, 05:25 AM

Mangonels are good. You can indeed decimate your enemy. But the same goes for trebushets. I had a few in a city and I decided on wall defence (rather than artillery/city-square defence) and decided they'd take a few shots at my enemy's nice and tidy seige towers. Two shots and they were history

Later I got to try the mortar. These are not as destructive as mangonels per se, but they hit very accurately. Excellent for taking out that one unit that bothers you.

**nostradamouse** · January 08, 2009, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by kosmosje1

Mangonels are good. You can indeed decimate your enemy. But the same goes for trebushets. I had a few in a city and I decided on wall defence (rather than artillery/city-square defence) and decided they'd take a few shots at my enemy's nice and tidy seige towers. Two shots and they were history

Later I got to try the mortar. These are not as destructive as mangonels per se, but they hit very accurately. Excellent for taking out that one unit that bothers you.

Yea... I usually keep a trebuchet with 2 mangonnels in "sensitive areas".

With balista towers, no siege towers can resist.

**TheLastPrivate** · January 08, 2009, 11:13 AM

The bad things about mangonels is that they can't move through doors.

**The Noble Lord** · January 12, 2009, 08:04 AM

Yep, mangonels are good weapon and it's really nice to watch them in action.

**Callawyn** · January 16, 2009, 11:23 AM

Any tips for using them offensively when attacking in sieges? If I move them close they get shot up and burned up, if I don't move them close they hit walls/towers instead of the units behind/on them, doing no damage.

**ConquerAll** · January 16, 2009, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Callawyn

Any tips for using them offensively when attacking in sieges? If I move them close they get shot up and burned up, if I don't move them close they hit walls/towers instead of the units behind/on them, doing no damage.

I find them most useful once the walls have been breached. Once you've swarmed the breach in the wall and the defending forces have retreated to the city or castle square, they generally sit there in an unorganized mass.

You can then use your mangonels (behind some heavy infantry and/or spearmen to prevent direct attack) to wipe out as many defenders in the square as possible.

**The Noble Lord** · January 22, 2009, 08:03 AM

Originally Posted by Callawyn

Any tips for using them offensively when attacking in sieges? If I move them close they get shot up and burned up, if I don't move them close they hit walls/towers instead of the units behind/on them, doing no damage.

Try the tactic where you only move them ofr the shot and then you move them back. It's bit tedious to do that but if you wanna preserve your artillery that's the only way to do it.

**W4SPY** · January 16, 2009, 11:50 AM

Originally Posted by TheLastPrivate

The bad things about mangonels is that they can't move through doors.

yes....but can they move through dmaged walls

**kosmosje1** · January 16, 2009, 11:30 AM

I have found a new sneaky tactic with a mortar, as one shot will destroy a siege tower. After destroying the other siege tower (1-2 shots) let the mortar wait with shooting. As soon as the other siege tower hits the wall, soldiers will start to run up. By the time the first hits the top floor, order the mortar to shoot it. Just moments before the ramp goes down, the mortal will hit the siege tower and a whole unit will die. Mhuwhahahaha!

(plus, it allows you to narrow your choke-points down to 3 rather than 5)