Best Defending Strategy - phalanxes only!

[Flogger]

Everyone probably already knows this, but, some may not, so:

When defending a city, it is good to have about 5 (2 at minimum) phalanx units in your city. Why? Take some of your units, and block off one of the streets the enemy goes down. Take some more and then block off another road the enemy goes down. Even if you have militia hoplites, this strategy works 95% of the time, against however many enemies. I have never seen it fail. Try placing your general behind for morale, and some missile units for added damage.

I should sell this.

[Lord Agelmar]

This is what i do to defend my cities, its a little cheap but it gets the job done. Sometimes i can trap thier armys in the street and then its just a slaughter of the barbs.

[Marcus Scaurus]

The phalanx are nasty :wub: in the narrow streets of a city. Militia hoplites can easily sweep away your experienced legionnairs. My tactic is: retreat to open ground (near the walls), meanwhile covered by archers and/or slingers. If you're lucky, and unexperienced phalanx unit will rout because of the hundreds of arrows or little stones. When they're out of the narrow streets, it's a piece of cake: backstab them with your cavalry or infantry.

[Bruticus the Steadfast]

You can also put more then one unit in the "same" spot when you are doing your deployment. Its kind of cheap, but rarely will a unit get past 4 units of Phalanx units right on top of eachother.

[Marcus Scaurus]

You can also put more then one unit in the "same" spot when you are doing your deployment. Its kind of cheap, but rarely will a unit get past 4 units of Phalanx units right on top of eachother.

Never tried it, but it sounds useless. One, or two, good Phalanx units can easily beat the enemy attacks, no matter what they send to you. You can better use the remaining falanx elsewhere.

I always love to play as Macedonia against a barbarian faction on the Syrian Flats, costum battle. I always give Macedonia 5 experienced Phalanx units, and the barbarian a full stack of heavy infantry and cavalry. I put the units in a circle with the pikes on the outside, making it impossible to come into the circle. Start the battle, sit back and relax, watching 300 Phalanx winning from 2000 barbarians.

[Flogger]

You can also put more then one unit in the "same" spot when you are doing your deployment. Its kind of cheap, but rarely will a unit get past 4 units of Phalanx units right on top of eachother.

I usually put them one behind the other.

[Redfoxx]

if yer on an open field observe perfection
2 losses

[Zuwxiv]

All those spartans fully upgraded against normal warbands and you only lost two?

Geeze, you should have lost none.

But I find the largest weakness of the phalanx is its immobility. It just can't move around much. If it is in an O formation, then missile units can destroy it; if it is in a line, it is easy to flank and destroy.

That is the reason why the Romans managed to beat the phalanx most of the time: they were very mobile and could adapt to any sort of terrain, weather, visibility, battlefield changes, ect. (Although that is another subject entirely, as the great Greek generals weren't around when the Romans were there...)

[Redfoxx]

the warbands were fully upgraded too!!! ...

[Marcus Septim IV]

if yer on an open field observe perfection
2 losses

http://img117.echo.cx/my.php?image=00433bx.gif

http://img279.echo.cx/my.php?image=00472fn.gif

hey nice formation what if the enemy has Onagers or whatewer range support ur spartans wont move like that? did

[boomajoom]

I generally use only a few phalanx units (about 4). Behind them I place four units of other non-phalanx infantry as a reserve. If you're one of the successors, you usually have those superior sword or spear units...silver shields or Agrispades or something they're called. Keep a couple on the side of your battle line, next to your phalanx units. In the front place archers and spear throwers to try and weaken the enemy as they approach, but then withdraw them once they close in. The nice thing about using a phalanx is they tend to anchor the battleline. So once a majority (or, if you're fortunate, all) of the enemy is engaging your pikemen, and you're keeping your reserve ready to reinforce any part of the line that might weaken, swing around with your cavalry units and take the enemy on the flanks and rear. The phalanx is the anvil and the horse is the hammer. That works for me...and is more entertaining than a few other strategies.

By the way, the defensive square was used as early as Caesar's time.

[IndianWarElephant]

Hey RedFoxx ,
well when i applied ur strategy i also added a unit of archers in the centre . And boy did it work . That was an excellent piece of defensive strategy !!!
I loved it ... i mean i killed 1460 romans with a 400+ army .
Thnx a loooooooot

[Bruticus the Steadfast]

Well, when you have to fight other phax, its better. I think, even if they are fairly low level ones, it can bock it off totally.

[Redfoxx]

what i do is take 3 phalanxes surround the gate with them in a \_/ formation and then as others ahve said block off streets easy win, also if they dont have archers or slingers atleast enough to do damge you can make a box around your general and pretty much be safe i did that with spartan hoplites and withstood alot o thracians

[Darkragnar]

well Bruticus the Steadfast is right i have been using 2 pikemen on top of each other, and never lost a battle ,to give you all an example i have 5 units of the lowerst levy pikemen , and a general the enemy Daci had a full stack army with 3 generals in it , i used the same stratagy and had like 3 dead on my side ,while i killed all of the Dacians , there army routed when 600 or so of them died in the streets and killed all the rest of em with my gen when they were running, i have been using this strat for like 5 months never ever has it failed and lost me a battle never. Its a really cheap strat that takes the fun out of def a city ,so i rarely use it nowdays.

[subedei the great]

i find the greatest stragety for open field is lining up your phalanx in the cornor so your flanks are protected, and maybe some missle troops behind the phalanx. If you are using hoplites like spartans it gives them better defense against missles also because they can only shoot you from the front.

[John I Tzimisces]

This doesn't work in MP. Why? Catapults. In almost any seige assault, you will be sure to encounter catapults, and they will burn your city to the ground if they have to. One good flaming catapult hit on those stacked phalanxes would not be pretty.

^ why i do not play MP anymore.

[Marcus Scaurus]

It's also fun to defend one bridge with a single unit of Levy Pikemen. One unit blocked the bridge, against a full stack of Egyptian archers, infantry and Desert cavalry. The Levy Pikemen didn't lost a single men (6)

[Bruticus the Steadfast]

Acutally, you can put them right next to the gate. And their spears will go through the gate, and I have had it where they can attack through it haha.

[student of war]

a few hoplites aint enough to defend a narrow street have u guys ever seen mass of cavs pushing back phalanxes have u ever seen pilas kiling pikes have u ever seen urbs defeat pikes frontally with out flanking . place few pikes in 1 street , 1 behind the other, but not too close behind