How to defend against the Hordes?

[Pandora]

I would really like to know how to deal with the hordes that always turn up when you think that you have defeated a nation. They always number like 4000- 5000 soldiers and are almost impossible to stop in open battles.
Do you really have to wait until they are besieging you before you can make a move? Or is there some tactic that can be used in order to prevent the hordes from reaching the city walls?

Does anyone have any ideas concerning this issue? If so do feel free to post a reply, i will be thankful for any advice that you are willing to give

[Lusted]

Use bridges over rivers to create a chokepoint, fight them there.

[Pandora]

Thank you this will be really useful. Do you have to garrison these forts with any particular unit type or can you put whatever is available in there?

[Lusted]

Just put armies next to bridges that the hordes will have to cross.

[Pandora]

Ok is it a good idea to have a lot of archers with support cavalry?

[Sher of Palu]

missile troops are good when fighting on brigdes put some archers on fire arrows....you also need two rather good infantry types that can stop the horde to cross the bridge i use comitianses and auxilia palatina with WRE ...it works every time ...when one of the enemy troops gets broken the rest usually do the same then massacre them with cavalry.

this is a great way to take out big hordes ------- but it feels much better to win battles against hordes on the open field....

[Pandora]

Do you use Imperial German Bodyguards as chasers? or do they defend against the horde in the front of your army? i know that it is not fair play to face hordes at bridges but come on.
Since you are as greatly outnumbered as you are you have to exploit anything that you can use to your advantage.

[Sher of Palu]

i use sarmatian auxila as chasers beacuse thats the cavalry unit i use mostly in my field armies ...i do not use imperial german bodyguard in bridgebattles so often only in crises...i let them stand right behind the infantry to keep their morale from getting weaker.

[Pandora]

Oh okay, i often use them as a morale raiser when i notice that my troops morale is dropping steadily. sarmatian auxila? is that not mercenary troops, does your economy allow that, or have you made a buffert for military purposes?

[Sher of Palu]

no it's not a mercenary troop.... i try to manage with few troops...thats the best way to gain a good economy...i have two field armys one in italy and one in france all my good troops are in these armies...i have peasants in the settlements

[Pandora]

ok my misstake, i try to use my best troops in field armies as well but i always get beaten rather thoroughly by the barbarians when i try to fend them of

[Empedocles]

The best thing is to raise full stack armies, with a strong general and trying to place yourself in a good defensive position like hills. Bridges may be too easy IMHO.
I crushed 4 stacks of huns with one ERE army in the same turn, they attacked one by a time of course. I put my infantry in a small hill with trees, then I used my heavy cavalry to defeat them, and attacked their infantry in the back.
Try to arm yourself with one or two units of horse archers, they will be useful against steppe hordes.

Diego, from Argentina

[Pandora]

I dont really like using horse archers because of their low morale but if thats what it takes to survive invasions by the hordes i will be happy to use them.

[Sitarus Originalus PM-30+]

i alwas try to secure bridge also... doing that you can make hordes go other way and they can attack other factions that are probably your anemies. then you just have to follow then and wait untill they get weaker and attack them... use spies and assasinators to kill generals at the same time. =)

[Destraex]

Or you can just hole up in a castle and sally, but thats a sort of cheat method

[LSJ]

The way I have massacred a horde is to find a good long bridge. crossing a deep river.
Having a fullstack army of archers, save two units of Infantry and the Generals unit, the horde can be beaten.
The heavy infantry stand two ranks deep at one end of the bridge using a shield wall. The archers stand in a long line behind the infantry. The general sits at the back for morale.
They are usually weak to arrows (except the vandal archers and chosens). The majority is usually cheap infantry, who cross first. They will be rained on by endless storms of arrows. Of course, the enemy lines will reach the infantry, but they will take very heavy losses.
If the horde has enough chosens or regulars in the army, they may break through the infantry lines (not demoralized by the hundreds of arrows per second), and make the archers run away.
While the infantry are being hacked, the archers can find new postions along farther back. The horde will follow the fleeing infantry, while getting rained on. Having a column works as long as the enemy doesn't have cavalry.
When one archer unit gets too close, they can run to the back line, and on and on with every other unit until the edge of the map. While the archers are fleeing, the rest of the archers will keep shooting, like the rugby move with the unending pass.
The archers will tire and the enemy will get your people, but a defeat with a 50-1 ratio is okay.

Warfare based on rugby... maybe rugby players will understand the pass maneuvre. (passing the ball down the line, the end person runs to the front of the line and passes it down again)

[AndersonVincent]

The bridge thing is a good tip for taking on the Hordes, and I just might try it as I have had very little success with the Eastern Roman Empire up to this point, though they are my favorite faction to play as.