Spanish Square
This is a tactic I've been experimenting with lately, based off the Spanish Tercio and related formations, which dominated warfare from the Renaissance up until improved firearms made linear tactics feasible. Historically, the idea was to have a mass of men about 2,000-3,000 men strong, made up of a pike square filled in with javelin-armed swordsmen (always a favorite of the Spanish) and several 'wings' of gunners that moved independently of the square, usually laying down enfilade fire once an enemy engaged the pikemen. Cavalry units operated independently of the Tercio.
The obvious strength is that it is extremely difficult to overwhelm- the obvious weakness is that it is basically useless on the offensive and is very susceptible to artillery. As far as the game is concerned, pikes are quite underpowered and guns occasionally glitch. All these problems aside, I've had some success with this formation and I want to keep developing it.
The basic idea is to use a hollow box of Pikemen or, failing that, some polearm unit capable of forming a Spear Wall, fill it with tougher, more flexible infantry and some artillery, and have a few gun/missile units outside the box that are close enough to retreat under the cover of the pikes if need be. Throw in some cavalry, preferably missile cavalry, and you have a working Spanish Square. The square itself won't inflict many casualties, but it doesn't have to. It has to hold the enemy in place so your guns and cavalry can do the killing. I've done quite a few Custom Battles to test it out (against computer-generated armies from various factions), and I have won them all, generally with very low casualties for most of my troops except for my gunners, which always get separated from the square and take heavy losses trying to fight their way back, and usually only one or two of the 6-8 pike units involved.
Looking at the unit rosters, it seems like the Portugese are the best suited for it, since they have tough pikes, tough gunners, Almughavars (good reserves), and both Mounted Crossbows and Jinetes for missile cavalry. I've yet to try it out, but a German square (Landsknechts and Sweihanders supported by Arqs and Reiters) could be extremely effective. I've also yet to try it in the Grand Campaign, but once I get to the right tech level in my current game I'll put it into action.
Thoughts?
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