War Strategy(Opinion Help &Easy)

[xGessx]

Ok, i would like to know these things, please i would be very very grateful if you could answer ASAP.

Let's say the enemy has heavy infantry/light infantry, or just to generalize, the enemy has infantry.
With what should i counter Infantry?

Now let's say they have spearmen
With what should i counter Spearmen?

PS: I know that spearmen counter Cavalry, that's why i don't ask about cavalry.
PPS: You counter archers with almost anything right?

TYVM

[Drudelo]

To counter light infantry, use heavy infantry or heavy cavalry, they will cut them to pieces. Heavy infantry is a little more difficult. You can always use superior quality or quantity of your own heavy infantry or some heavy cavalry. The best solution would be to pin them with heavy infantry and then flank with heavy cavalry.

Yes archers can be countered with just about anything but I often use light cavalry due to their speed. In the absence of light cavalry, heavy cavalry would do the trick as well.

To counter spearmen, use heavy infantry such as mailed knights, swordsmen or axemen. If you have no such units or not enough of them, you can use your own spearmen to pin theirs and then hit them in the flank or rear with some cavalry or heavy infantry. Last, if your enemy is lacking in archers of their own, use your archers to soften up the enemy spearmen before engaging them in a melee. This will help to reduce casualties.

[Somerandomdude2]

Ok, i would like to know these things, please i would be very very grateful if you could answer ASAP.

Let's say the enemy has heavy infantry/light infantry, or just to generalize, the enemy has infantry.
With what should i counter Infantry? The most cost effective counter will be cavalry. A charge or two and you can reliably take out a unit with only a loss of 1-3 members of your unit. Infantry without spears or pikes cannot stand up against cavalry.
As a side note, if you're the guy with the infantry... it's a crappy position to be in, but your best bet is to either intercept the cavalry with your own cavalry, or RUN! It doesn't matter if your boys can't actually escape, you just need to move far enough for the enemy to have to switch from "marching" to "pursuing", in the latter, they wont be able to charge (this isn't so a bug, they require good formation to charge effectively and they can't achieve good formation while chasing a moving target). It's the charge that is deadly, and if you can force them into a melee without the charge, your infantry will almost invariably have better stats and will win.

HOWEVER
You can counter with whatever the hell you want, as long as it isn't lighter infantry (or spears, or unsupported pikes) and you will do just fine. Even unprotected archers will do well, because they're lighter and faster and can skirmish.

Now let's say they have spearmen
With what should i counter Spearmen? Anything that isn't sitting on a horse. And if it's sitting on a horse, it better be shooting. And if it's not shooting, it better be charging, but if it's charging, the spearmen had better be ANYTHING but "ready". tbh, you've still got a pretty decent edge against spearmen in the field 1v1 with a unit of cavalry charging head on, but the fact is you can achieve much fewer losses (i.e. next to none) if they aren't ready for you.
This makes spears sound like bad units. They're not, they're awesome because they're readily available and they're great settlement defenders (capable on walls, and behind gates the enemy can form up to charge at them so they have a huge advantage over cavalry). Also, a lot of spearmen with low morale (most tend to have between 3-5 on a scale ranging from 1-11, see FAUST guide - do a search for it) can be made to fight to the death if you put them on schiltrom formation because if the enemy is going to win, they will surround your spearmen and your spears will have no choice but to fight to the death. This is excellent for buying time for other units to retreat, for example, when defending a citadel.

ALSO, schiltrom formation will make them beat cavalry, regardless of pretty much anything. You can often actually hold off cavalry units just by getting into the formation, and they (usually) wont attack. If they do, so be it, your win.

Like I said, spears are excellent. But you can counter them with anything you want, everything is superior.

PS: I know that spearmen counter Cavalry, that's why i don't ask about cavalry. Pikes dude, pikes! If in the field though I find the better counter for cavalry is actually cavalry because they get to where they're needed. If your enemy is mobile, your defence against them must be at least very nearly as mobile. Granted, this does come with heavy casualties.
PPS: You counter archers with almost anything right? Depends on the terrain. Fight them on a mountain and watching your heavily armoured troops chase them will, I promise you, make you cry. Without exceptional terrain though, yeah, anything is superior in an individual fight. Archers are awesome because of their ability to win fights with very few losses... if they win. So if you're vastly superior to your enemy, armies with a great missile dominance will have great survivability and allow you to carve massive paths of destruction through their lands. However, in a single (field) battle, I'd honestly not use any archers at all, everything else will be more useful.
Also, - and I know I'm rambling, but I feel like rambling and I hope some of this will be useful - a couple of units of melee capable archers are great for defending settlements, because they can beat pretty much anything coming up ladders or off of siege towers, and supply supporting fire to the rest of the battle before and after playing this role.

TYVM
No problem, good sir.

[KnightOfPortugal]

JavCav counters everything.

[Mik528]

JavCav counters everything.

Until they're out of javelins. Then their fast light cavalry.

[FirstLaw]

Really, missile cavalry is a great counter to pretty much anything

[Somerandomdude2]

Really, missile cavalry is a great counter to pretty much anything

They dominate field battles, yes.

[Thefallenhun]

I think its also important to note that for dealing with heavy infantry, armor piercing units are important, so if you have a choice when dealing with heavy infantry, use crossbows instead of bows, and axes instead of swords, and lance charges insead of melee cavalry.

[Mik528]

Is melee cavalry really useful for anything aside from attacking light ranged units? I get disappointed when I watch my Chivalric Knights get torn by most Infantry units in a melee.

[Xellos_Moon]

Is melee cavalry really useful for anything aside from attacking light ranged units? I get disappointed when I watch my Chivalric Knights get torn by most Infantry units in a melee.

Having you tried attacking from behind?

Make the enemy infantry ingage yours. Then get your cavs behind them, charge, pull back, charge...

[Somerandomdude2]

Is melee cavalry really useful for anything aside from attacking light ranged units? I get disappointed when I watch my Chivalric Knights get torn by most Infantry units in a melee.

I've always assumed that the purpose behind melee cav is that they have a little more survivability (and do a little more damage) when in a brawl, but that you should still use them the same as your regular charge-retreat style cav.

[Mik528]

Having you tried attacking from behind?

Make the enemy infantry ingage yours. Then get your cavs behind them, charge, pull back, charge...

That's a common tactic but I'm talking about straight up melee cavalry who don't neccessarily need to charge, ones that can go toe to toe with infantry with their armour. Which leads me to...

I've always assumed that the purpose behind melee cav is that they have a little more survivability (and do a little more damage) when in a brawl, but that you should still use them the same as your regular charge-retreat style cav.

Disappointing.. I always wished for a nice melee cavalry, the closest are the Huscarls and Norse War Clerics but they are still at a small disadvantage without a charge. I know the purpose of cavalry is the charge and retreat charge etc, but I'm pretty sure some cavalry could out fight some infantry in close combat.

[dandus]

Archers are great to destroy an army inferior to yours in number without taking even one casualty.

A good way to deploy your archers against your enemy in a field battle is to deploy them just outside of the woods, with the plain in front of them and some spearmen and infantry behind them, hiding. The enemy AI infantry and cav will simply walk to you taking big casualties if your archers are worth their name (e.g. English Longbowmen), then when it gets close enough it will charge, spot your infantry hiding in the woods, stop the charge, then walk away from your archers, showing them their back and thus becoming beautiful mansized pincushions. You can charge the survivors with some light cav if you don't want anyone to survive.

Result? No casualties, at least if you outrange the enemy archers. If not, you can still get very little casualties chargin their archers with your cav.

[Hurricane Brad]

Is melee cavalry really useful for anything aside from attacking light ranged units? I get disappointed when I watch my Chivalric Knights get torn by most Infantry units in a melee.

I will typically use melee cavalry with armour piercing weapons (like huscarls and norse war clerics) as counter cavalry. Their armour piercing weapons give them the edge in a sustained melee with other heavy cavalry. They also work perfectly well for attacking archers and other ranged foot troops, and if you charge them into the back of an infantry unit that's engaged they will likely rout them. Their only real flaw IMO is that they cannot charge head-on into heavy infantry without taking heavy losses unlike lance wielding heavy cavalry.

[... where did it run?]

Is melee cavalry really useful for anything aside from attacking light ranged units? I get disappointed when I watch my Chivalric Knights get torn by most Infantry units in a melee.

yes, cavalry with maces or axes are fine against other cavalry : )

Cav archers = Weak(ish) melee cavalry

Except for Dvor cav.. u gotta <3 'em

[Pistol Power]

Light cavalry (fast moving) can also be very good against light infantry, specifically harassing them due to their fast speed and engaging them whilst you maneuver or engage the flanks and rares with heavy cavalry. I did this with great success as English fighting the Turks in Turkey using some mercenary CArchers and 2 units of fast light cavalry with my general. I remember having to wait with my general whilst 2 units of spearmen where marching to engage it in the flanks, so that another unit (trying to engage my light cavalry) could move enough for me to run my general out of there (across the rear of the enemies lines hehe) without getting trapped in an engagement and dieing hehehe .You have to watch out though because their Horse Archers pelt you're cavalry with arrows causing casualties whilst standing outside the range of you're archers. And if you are unlucky they surround you hehe. And they like to mess up you're cavalry charges.

[Silverheart]

Against Light Infantry - counter with any cavalry.
Against Heavy Infantry - counter with heavy cavalry.
Against Spearmen - use cavalry to kill the enemy general, and then charge them in the back.

Cavalry counters all. Used correctly, you don´t need anyhting else in field battles.

[happy01]

Against Light Infantry - counter with any cavalry.
Against Heavy Infantry - counter with heavy cavalry.
Against Spearmen - use cavalry to kill the enemy general, and then charge them in the back.

Cavalry counters all. Used correctly, you don´t need anyhting else in field battles.

Don't agreed with that, that a cavalry can counter all.
Missile Cavalry can tear down cavalry in the game especially the Mongols.

Also with the spearmen if they formed schiltron a cavalry wouldn't have a chance.

[Somerandomdude2]

Also with the spearmen if they formed schiltron a cavalry wouldn't have a chance.

True, but they have effectively 0 mobility when in formation and can't assist the rest of their army. Relying on schiltrom in the field is like declaring each unit for themselves, the enemy can focus on softer targets and then outnumber your spears.
Using schiltrom behind gates negates the mobility disadvantage, but then, since the enemy cavalry can't charge you anyway; heavy infantry are better rounded and likely more useful defenders than spears.

[Silverheart]

Don't agreed with that, that a cavalry can counter all.
Missile Cavalry can tear down cavalry in the game especially the Mongols.

Also with the spearmen if they formed schiltron a cavalry wouldn't have a chance.

Horse Archers are cavalry too, and a good example of how cavalry DO counter all, even other cavalry.
You can also counter HAs with fast or heavy cavalry or by using Missile cavalry yourself.

The Schiltrom is hard to counter, but it has the downside of decreasing mobility greatly.
Therefore, the AI only use it as a last resort, and all you need to do is demoralize them - kill their general, kill off all nearby enemy units (isolate them), surround them with lots of your own, charge them from all directions at once - they´ll lose heart and rout, for sure.

Cavalry counters all.
Used correctly, you don´t need anything else in a field battle.