Ghaznavid Army composition

[Sassanid Saxon]

Hey there BC community! 1st post from a longtime fan who usually plays with the ERE/Armenia. I'm fascinated by the Ghaznavid (Sultanate of Ghazni) faction and have jus won a campaign with them. After taking over India my late game army composition (ideally) was 4 Ghazni Ghulam HAs, 4 War Elephant Mercs, 11 hybrid archers and of course a General (haha yeah I love drowning foes in archery). I was wondering what some other popular Ghazni army compositions/battle tactics are. I love the combination of strong AP armed horse/foot archers but would like to integrate their awesome spearmen better.


Thanks!

[matmohair1]

how about including Ghaznavid elite guardsmen & Qarakhanid cavalry ?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[gamegeek2]

The guy on the right is already in the game, the Sindhi Mercenary Horsemen.

Has anyone done a Ghaznavid campaign, on the 3.0 style EDU? I'd like to hear a couple reports on them.

[Sassanid Saxon]

I guess I was really wondering if folks actually like to use the "spearmen backed by archers" formation alot with Ghazni with cavalry on the flanks. I just was looking for new ideas for Ghazni armies in field battles.

[gamegeek2]

It's possible to string together an offensive strategy. You don't have the sort of powerful spearhead like other factions' units.

I'd go for something like a wedge, with a heavy spear unit in the front, Pashtun Lashkar behind (forming the bulwark of the offense), and Ghaznavid Regulars behind and sticking out in the flanks behind the Lashkar, with Kabuli Axemen in reserve or between the regulars

By this formation, you "refuse" your spearmen to the enemy infantry, and you position your troops so that enemy cavalry can't get at your non-spear troops, without falling prey to spears (or, worse, 2 handed axes).

This formation entices the enemy to wrap around your wedge, creating easy opportunities for flanking with your spearmen, or good targets for cavalry charges. The axemen are kept in the middle, or further behind as a mobile unit that can be moved to add punching power where needed.