Deploying Phalanxes

[Angarah]

Im currently playing the Seleucid campaign (RTW Vanilla 1.5), and Im at war with Armenia, Pontus, Greek Cities and Egypt. So far Im doing fairly well, repelling all attacks and starting to inch forward and solidify my hold on Asia Minor. My armies are mostly made up of Levy Pikemen, with a few Silver Shield Pikemen thrown in where I can. I also have at least two Scythed Chariots per an army and the occasional elephant.
However, Im running into problems. Defending cities, and just defending in general is easy with phalanxes (except against horse archers *shudder*). But I have difficulty attacking. I deploy my phalanxes in a long battle line, with Eastern Mercs guarding the flanks, and chariots just behind. I advance slowly, and try to attack the enemy. However, the AI is just intelligent enough to realize that phalanxes can't manoveur and slips around my rear and tries to attack my chariots/elephants. Usually I can deal with them with those troops and some Eastern Mercs, but it seems like my phalanxes are going to waste. How can I deploy my Levy Pikemen so the AI are forced to engage them?

[Slimshoom]

put the phalanxes on the wings, or take them out of phalanz mode until they are just in front of the enemy to maximize mobility but putting the eastern mercs in the middle and putting the phalanx on the wings would force the enemy to either fight the phalanxes on the wings or going after the weak troops in the center of your line, allowing you to envelop them easily

[Shadows]

You have multiple options here. All of them will work but you have to pick the one that works best for you.
-One good option for your formation is to use a wedge shaped formation:
P-phalanx
E-eastern mercs
S-scythed chariots/cavalry
---P
--P-P
-P-E-P
P-EEE-P
-S----S-
Use this to attack the enemy, when your point unit hits the enem, the enemy will be split and unable to flank your point unit becasue it will hit the ones behind it.
-Also like Slimshroom said put them on the flanks and force the enemy to confront them.
-Another good option is to pick your battle field. Pick somewhere where you can use the terrain to either hold your enemy in place or you can use the terrain to protect your flanks.You may fight less battles but, you can use your phalanxes more often.
-Another good campaign map option.: Change your army makeup. Use less phalanxes in battle (use them as garrison instead) and replace them with quicker infantry or cavalry, cavalry is exspecially good against the Armenians (they use easy to flank legionarries) and the PArthians (mainly a cavalry force, your phalanxes wont stand a chance) and Pontus (just use infantry ti pin and flank with cavalry). With Egypt however you need to bring some phalanxes, as egypt will use them as well. You need to be able to pin their phalanxes down, so you can flank them and hit them from the rear.

[MasterAdnin]

Okay, I was kinda bored, and wanted to play around with paintshop pro, so I saw this and made this for you.

this is how I usually deploy my Phalanx:


Hope it works out for you.

Adnan

[R1776]

I usually play as the greeks heres one that I use
------d r r r d d = cavalry
------x x x x x = phalanx in phalanx formation
-------e e e r = phalanx in reserve
---------------- e = skirmisher
--------YYYY Y = enemies
-------YYYYYY

I've read in the Art of War that if want the enemy to do us you want them to, you have to give something they want. So when I want the emeny to march into my phalagites, I give them something they want IE the weak skirmishers are easy kills and march towards them. Group and turn off skirmish mode for the skirmishers. Send the skirmishers forward alittle ways to engage the enemy, they sould start to march after the skirmishers. Let the enemy get really close just feet away, Then order the skirmishers to withdraw (W key). Now if all goes well you may lose a few skirmishers but you'll defeat the army with only a few lost men.

1.d r r r d
--x x x x
---| | |
---e e e

---Y Y Y
-YYYYYYYY

2. d r r r d
-- x x x x
-- ^ ^ ^
---| | |
-- e e e
---Y Y Y
---| | |
-YYYYYYY

3. e e e
--d r r r d
---x x x x
---Y Y Y

Hope this helps someone out there

~R1776

[Sitarus Originalus PM-30+]

Here is what i try to do.

----------------ccc--
-------------sxx-----
-cc----g--sxx--------
-ssxxxxxxx-----------
---------------------
---------------------
-cc-aaaaaaaaaa-cc-- (these c units are from anemy)
-cc-aaaaaaaaaa-cc--


c = cavalry
x = phalanx
s = skirmisher
a = anemies
g = general

My primary idea is to make AI play my way. i know usually Ai trys to win a cavalry battle first, so i try to support my cavalry troops with some infantry units. i use only some part of my phalanx units to cower my flanks. hmm to say different.. i try to make anemy attack my cavalry on my left. i support my units with infantry and this way i can kill a much bigger cavalry.
i also want my phalanx batteling with as many anemy units as possible and making them bussy whild my cavalry tryest to hit them from behind and make them run from battlefeald. if anemy doesnt attack my cavaly i will just march with my phalanx foreward to contact the anemy with my front line and try to win on that side first as i will tyr to win battle with anemy cavalry using my cavalry and some support infantry (if neccesarry also general will help)
in case anemy tryes to hit my right wing i have enough troops there to fight them. i prefer to lose center of my army and try to attack anemy from 2 sides then to lose one wing and be in sendvich or surrounded. The V formation is in my oppinion too pro-centristic or how to say... it all depends on center of my army.
but it is true that if center wins you have good chances of wining cos then anemy have difficoulties to get you from behind of to attack your flanks.

[Marie Louise von Preussen]

You should change to phalanx pikemen immediately; they have better chances of fighting enemy phalanxes by the time you reach Macedon or Greece, and you should dismiss your eastern mercenaries ASAP when you are able to train silver shield legions.
I pesonally find maneuvering phalanxes a crashing bore. The AI knows they are very slow. Once with the greeks I was fighting the romans and their equites got behind my phalanx and destroyed my greek archers, altough I could repel them in time later without much damage to my line. I prefer the flexibility of the roman legion... But to force the AI to face your phalanxes you can put some light troops like peltasts to lure the enemy cavalry into the phalanx. It worked for me several times.

P stands for Peltasts
PH stands for Phalanx

Initial line

------P------


PHPHPHPHPHPH

Put your peltasts a bit far away from the phalanx line (not too far altough). The stupid AI will send some cavalry to destroy them. As the peltasts are fast, send them back to your rear running. The enemy light or heavy cavalry will then be destroyed by your wall of pikes. Other infantry troops are just too slow for flanking maneuvres.

[Mored]

When you use "Sinuhets AI battle formations" or something else you can put the falanxes in a wedge. Then you centre is better defended and you mercs can be placed at the wings while your elephants and chariots are as reserve.

[Proximus]

Since this thread was revived I guess I better move it to where it belongs.

[Kraut]

For using the Phalanx correctly, just keep in mind the "magic formula".

1. Watch your flanks!

1.1. I repeat, watch your flanks at any price!

2. You need a hammer!

3. You need someone in the back.

Short explanation, talking about units available to the Greek Cities (my favourite faction!):

about 1: Your phalanx is a mighty beast seen from the front, but on the flanks you are very very very vulnerable! Any enemy with a rest of brain will try to flank your phalanx and destroy it from one side. This is your most vulnerable and dangerous weakness, and your first task in any battle MUST be to make sure the enemy can not roll up your flank easily! Watching your flanks will maybe not make you the instant winner of the battle, but it will greatly reduce the chance of being the loser! It is the base of your success. You can use just another two hoplite units placed slightly behind the edges of your Phalanx line to protect it, or use more mobile units (Heavy Peltasts for example) to charge and rout enemy units from the back/side when they are engaging your flanks. Cavalry of course will do a good job here too, but mostly you would have them employed otherwise.

about 1.1: I can not stress it enough, THIS is the most important point in Hellenic warfare!

about 2: Well, we know how to protect our formation to refuse defeat. Now how are we going to win the battle? You need a hammer. Your phalanx is the anvil. The enemy will engage your anvil. Now swing your hammer and finish him off. Cavalry of course is perfect for this job. Maneuver them around the enemy and charge his back. Probably your cav will have to clear the flanks first of enemy cav, but this is ok. Your phalanx can hold the battle line for quite a while (if you protect the flanks!!!) so your Hippies have some time to clean this infidel barbarians off the battlefield. When this job is done, they are going to charge right into the back of the enemy, bringing the decision. Ah well, of course greek cavalry is not the strongest one in the game. Never mind, just use two (or even more) cav units to charge one enemy infantry unit after another. Pick them one by one, they will rout, and the additional time you need is no problem for your brave hoplites to stand. This is the hammer you need to win.

about 3: Let me say this point is not 100% necessary to win battles, but it gives you a better overall chance of being successful. You can win most battles if you just protect your flanks and use hammer & anvil, but from time to time it seems Ares is busy somewhere else (why do we worship him, then?) and Fortuna just does not like you everyday (keep in mind, she´s a girl!). So there will sooner or later be some bad circumstances, and then of course it is better to be prepared. Keep a little reserve behind your main battle line to plug any gaps which might show up in your line or to fight off any barabrian infidels which manage to get in your back. This reserve does not need to be elite first line. Remember, they are for emergeny, so second line melee units like peltasts or militia hoplites will be fine.

Of course they have to share the space behind your phalanx line with your missile troops. Oh, I did not mention? Of course you want to have some missile troops in the second line to pepper the enemy approaching yopur phalanx. Some times the combination of a rain of arrows from the sky and a forest of pointy sticks from the front will be enough for the enemy to remember that mommys home was a much better place then this battlefield. However, do not rely on this. Rely on hammer & anvil AND WATCH YOUR FLANKS!

Appendix: my favourite units for such battles are: a nice line of armored hoplites and spartan hoplites phalanx. Some heavy peltasts first skrimishing, then watching my flanks. Cretan archers in the second line, pounding the enemy. Behind them, next to the general, some hoplites as reserve. At the far out flanks, greek cavalry to drive off enemy cav and be my hammer afterwards.

Of course, it needs some money to afford such fine units. However, principally it also wirks with militia hoplites and stuff like this.

[Vlade the Impaler]

I just keep some fast cavalry on my flanks, because they will not try to take their hoplites around the flanks; you don't have to worry about charging your cavalry into a wall. They will only flank with their fast infantry/cavalry. I charge (in a perfect world this breaks them at least for the moment). Of course sometimes this can be costly as your cavalry may take casualties, but by not allowing anyone on your flanks you can engage the main part of their army with your phalanx

[Legionary Jezza]

ive got another way for deployment.

P
]p p[
c ]p p[ c
eee

the arrows mean for them to face that direection in a diagonal way facin ur enemy