Army make up plan...?'s

[General Tony]

Ok so if you have read my other posts I have been trying to create legions in my empire. Sadly through testing in custom battle I lose with the infantry heavy armies quite a bit on very hard. So I have come up with a way of organizing armies for different uses.

Police Forces

Cavalry police forces are composed of cavalry. They are housed in a fort and will protect 1-3 provinces, depending on size, from rebels and small enemy armies.

Make-up:
3-4 melee cavalry
1-2 missle cavalry

Police Forces 2

Secondary police forces are a small force again housed in forts and will protect so many provinces depending on size from middle range size armies. These forces have the same or near same amount of cavalry and infantry.

Make-up:
4-6 infantry
4-6 cavalry melee/missle

Invasion Force

Invasion forces are infantry heavy armies whose job is to take cities and forts. They will have 2 or 3 cavalry units for support. The size of these forces depends on the size of the garrison they will face.

Main Force

My main force is 1 to 2 large well balanced armies that will run both defence and offense. If a large enemy army is near by I will use these forces to attack and hopefully destroy them. If I need to take a city and this force is near by it will be my sieging army.

Make-up:
1-2 Generals
10-12 infantry melee/missle
4-6 cavalry melee/missle

Now ofcourse my economy will determine what forces I have and maintain. If I start to lose money cavalry PF are first to go. If I still lose money MF go next. If I still lose money I cut back or eliminate PF2. Final resort is to cut back on garrisons. Ofcourse if I am makeing money I will re-establish or increase force strength.

So how does this break down look? Does it appear effective?

Also I am aware I am only playing the AI but this will give me practice for when I get faster internet and can play multiplayer.

Any other comments, tips, or critisisims are welcome.

Thanks for your time

[Conquistatore]

Seems overkill for the AI but good practice for when you get internet like you said. It looks rather good, but don't you want to include any siege weapons in either the invasion or main forces? Ballista, Catapults and Trebuchet (and the later weapons) are very effective against walls and clusters of troops, their importance in sieges can't be underestimated.

Post back here with how your setup works in-game, would be interesting to see the results.

[General Tony]

Well I have never been a big artilery man but yes it can be helpful. So yes invasion forces will now hold artilery. Main forces may or may not. Also what factions unit rooster would work best for this? Im sure most every faction would work but I need something with good cavalry, melee and missle, and good infantry, melee and some missle. So maybe the French or Byzantium?

[AU4Brent]

Well I have never been a big artilery man but yes it can be helpful. So yes invasion forces will now hold artilery. Main forces may or may not. Also what factions unit rooster would work best for this? Im sure most every faction would work but I need something with good cavalry, melee and missle, and good infantry, melee and some missle. So maybe the French or Byzantium?

Spain could be fun to try. They have Jinetes and javelin infantry. Almughavars are very good skirmishers. Jinetes are excellent missile cavalry, and they will give you a pretty big advantage against the other western factions in the early game. Those two units are reasonably priced, and would be good for your PF. Their sword and buckler men are a middle/late game addition that would also be excellent PF troops, with an upkeep of only 150 florins per turn. Your heavy infantry and cavalry needs would be meet by chivalric knights, and DCK. They can also field Tercio pikemen, musketeers, and the basilisk. You really can't go wrong with the Spanish.

[General Tony]

Well I was thinking france with all their cavalry or byzantium with more HA some good melee cavalry and they have more infantry

[AU4Brent]

Well I was thinking france with all their cavalry or byzantium with more HA some good melee cavalry and they have more infantry

If you're wanting missile cavalry, France has only one unit, and it comes pretty late in the game. The Byzantines would be good, but I really don't like their lack of gunpowder. If that doesn't bother you, then they would be ideal.

[Spartan90]

Well I was thinking france with all their cavalry or byzantium with more HA some good melee cavalry and they have more infantry

I think the Byzantines are perfect for you! They have all the units you want, plus they only have access to basic siege weapons, they aren't an artillery superpower like yourself. They are a little difficult to play, but easily the most fun faction. Plus they have access to huge amounts of wealth when they completely dominate the Aegean and Black Sea trades.

[Spartan90]

Seems quite decent, but the garrisons should be able to take care of the police work alone shouldn't they? I agree with Conquistatore, the lack of siege weapons in your invading force is of particular 'interest'.

[General Tony]

Hm well in my mainland is where the police forces would be based. In outlying provinces garrisons can handle it themselves. Also as my borders grow I could move the PF out more towards my borders. And invasion forces will now have some artilery but like ive said im just not a big artilery guy

[Spartan90]

I understand that you're not an artillery guy, it can get quite annoying having your army move twice as slow because you've got to lug around a trebuchet or a dirty big cannon around. Nevertheless, think optimistically. Having siege weapons allow you to attack a city the same turn you siege it. You can knock down the gate without risking your men that are manning the ram. And most importantly, you can use the artillery to knock down towers, dramatically reducing your army's casualties.

[General Tony]

Well when you put it like that artilery is now a must with invasion forces. So any idea on what faction to use?

[Spartan90]

Well really depends on what your preferences are. Explain in a little bit of detail what you are looking for, and I shall provide answers

[Sir Salisbury]

I think your idea regarding your "police forces" is good, but IMPO this would only be worth while in a huge area containing one city, such as Kiev. Otherwise, with closely packed cities such as those in central europe, it works well to hav a castle at the centre of around 4 cities containing a decent but fairly cheap garrison. This can be made of "retired" forces from earlier periods, this way you have a potent force readily available for small armies or rebels whilst not sacrificing much economically.
I think in a force which is intended to take more than one city i.e. a conquering campaign, you need atleast one unit of artillery, just for the purposes said by others: reducing losses in sieges for example.
Another thing i do when i intend to completely conquer a kingdom, which you may find useful, is to have a full stack of militia following your main army, which enables you to leave a garrison straight away in many territories without depleting the more deadly forces of your experienced troops.

Hope any of that helps.

P.S. Militarily France's unit roster is so vast that it can easily get the different army types you seem to be after.

[Conquistatore]

It certainly would be an interesting game as the Byzantines. Be prepared for a challenge!

[General Tony]

It certainly would be an interesting game as the Byzantines. Be prepared for a challenge!

Great I love challenges! I actualy havent ever finished a campain because after so long there isnt much challenge. Thats why the role playing campains appeal to me. It allows me to set up some kind of long lasting challenge for myself

[Conquistatore]

Well I wish you the best of luck. Sounds like you got yourself a good story and goal to go with. Let us know how it goes. Any more help and advice you need, don't be afraid to ask.

[General Tony]

Ok I will keep an update of how the campain goes here. I will probably post an update every day or two. And ofcourse if I have question or need advice ill post them too.

[Conquistatore]

Look forward to hearing how your campaign goes.

[General Tony]

UPDATE

This is the first update of my Byzantine campain. I wasn't able to play long today as I have a school project I must work on for school. So I only allowed myself to play the first 10 turns.

In these turns not much has happened. A new General I recieved took out a 1 unit rebel army on his way to Cornith. I also took Smyrna only loseing men from some mercs I hired to do the dirty work. For taking this settlement I recieved 4 units of the best HA the byzantines can recruit. They are now roaming around with a General as a small PF.

Through these first turns my construction has focused on economical building with a few military buildings built.

For my next few turns I am planning to reinforce garrisons a bit and create an invasion force to attack the Turks. My building will also split to economical and military building.

So not much excitement yet but that should change once I declare war on the Turks!

Thanks for reading, and there is more to come

P.S. I am playing hard difficulty and very hard battle difficulty

[Conquistatore]

Very nice update. Maybe include a picture or two of your campaign, this helps people to see what you are writing about. Otherwise, very nice work so far!