Battle Walkthrough - Brutii vs. Macedon

So you wish to fight the romans as Macedon?

This task will not be easy sence 4 factions are romans and are loyal brothers in arms to other romans. Fist we must take a look at your Kingdom.

Your Kingdom is fairly rich but has a weakness in infantry compared to Hoplites in the early stages but you have the best light cavalry in the world along with good heavy cavalry in the beginning.

First you must build up baracks at your capital so that you have decent infantry that can delay your opponent long enough for your cavalry to hammer and anvil your opponents to the death.

Indeed stay calm and prepare for your mission never rush to a war against a opponent that you know little about!

First before the great war begins we must secure our flanks so Athens must be taken first build up baracks so you can replace your losses and exterminate the population.

This is because you will need experience in street battles so that you can keep going with momentum and strenght and be able to afford a huge army!

Once you have retrained your good infantry and cavalry Sparta is next. Here you will face superior infantry that excels in bottlenecks but only in bottlenecks. Even spartans are vulnerble for flank and rear attacks.

So lets starve them and force them to sally their infantry and cavalry will be devided and a massive infantry assault against the gates will rout any unit that goes through that gate just remember to attack both flanks and the fronts to massacre them and then withdraw a little bit now repeat!

The reason you should do this is that the computer only sends 1 infantry unit out from the city at a time in order to stay organised to crush them before they are ready will greatly minimise casulties.

If they do not sally congratulations you have gained a city without bloodshed but blood is requied so exterminate and then uppgrade baracks if they haven't already!

Whats going on with the romans?

We don't know, we must send spies to inform us on what they are doing since we dont use cheats we fight with honour!

The Julii is problably establishing a powerbase in Italy and prepares for a war against the Gaullic towns that borders them. The Julii never attack without first building up economic and military buildings so they have a balance of troops and a good steady income just in case!

The Brutii, well they are expanding into Greece and lets 2 small towns taste the benefit of roman rule after that Thermon is their next prey!

Why? Because the Julii have by now captured Patavium and by capturing Thermon the Roman factions gets an increased income by sea trade along with tax and other money making things!

The Brutii worship war and has experienced troops from the beginning but no established military buildings it will take some time to get those buildings and then produce units but once they have started they will not stop untill they are the masters of the world.

The Scipii has captured Syracuse and with it all Roman factions gets more income by sea trade and soon Lilybaeum will fall with more sea trade to the romans.

The Roman way of war

The romans fight with swords and javelins, and thus, they are more flexible and mobile than a phalanx unit. The romans know that a phalanx head on is virtuallly invulnerable so they are going to outflank you with heavy infantry along with cavalry to break your cavalry that is the decisive arm of your army.

They will then attack your phalanx units from the rear and flanks since your sarissas will not be effective anywhere but from the front and since their length and the ability that 5 rows can fight in the same time also is a protection, your troops will die like flies from these attacks if your not ready!

In the center they will count on that their generals inspiration shall keep their center units from breaking.

How do we counter this?

First we must know our strength and that is that Phalanx pikemen can beat swordsmen head on! We must use this to our advantage by allowing the romans to attack our cities as long as those cities has 4 phalanx pikemen along with 2 archer units and a light lancer.

Just be careful and watch that pikewall kill anything in front of it. City streets are ideal for defending pikemen sence they cannot be flanked if some of your pikemen switch to swords immideatly press halt and your unit will switch back to spear and while your enemy with swords keep on fighting your troops will stand fresh your enemy exhausted and when in a street your enemy breaks send the light lancers and kill them but stay out of the tower range and pull back your cavalry to the city center and repeat.

Meanwhile you besiege their big empty cities with minimal losses soon Brutii will be wiped out!

How to fight the romans in a field battle

Phalanx pikemen in the center along with heavy cavalry behind them. Rear Guard of Phalanx pikemen but ideally royal pikemen to support the light cavalry on the flanks. And archers to weaken the enemys missile support and 2 units of Onagers.

The majority of your troops should be phalanx pikemen so more enemy units routs and less enemy troops will be able to outflank and envelop your units.

Exploit the vast gap that the enemy leave in the center who says that cavalry should attack only from the flanks then hammer and anvil the enemys left or rigth flank with all your heavy cavalry to make them rout let light lancer units that is on your flank taked down the most important enemy units and rush to the next flank with the rest of your units.

Why this formation and its purphase

As you know the phalanx pikemen are not supposed to be the desisive arm but since 5 rows can fight at the same time they will crush any swordsmen from the front along with the enemy general when they rout kill their combat effectiveness by reducing their numbers from 160 to 15 men in a unit. Royal pikemen has shorter spears but that makes them more flexibe and they have a bigger shield the light cavalry should lure the enemy cavalry into the spears and then you turn and hammer and anvil them from behind and if possible flanking the enemy cavalry that now dead! The onagers are there in order to kill heavy cavalry from afar and reducing this dangerous threat from bodyguards with 2 hp.

Now mop up and kill all enemy family members on the battlefield kill all infantry that are on the field simply kill everything.

The better troops of the enemy is on the field sence the weak has routed from the start these losses are one that this Roman faction will never recover from.

What to do next

Congratulations Brutii is wiped out only 3 strong roman factions to go. Syracuse is your next target and will deny its resourses to the romans while reinforcing your own.

When you have the island under your control we must send diplomats to scout ahead of our army take the small island now Scipii has a severly limited income.

Mass produce 2 fleets composing 10 trimenes in each now the romans are isolated when you have blocked their cities harbours and this will hinder the roman expansion plan.

Take your army and attack any Scipii town exept for Capua and then attack Arretium. By know you have recruted a second army and that army is marching along the coast towards Patavium.

Thrace and Dacia may attack your cities earlier but let them! Your phalanx pikemen have longer weapons than what Dacia and Thrace can field. They can never compete with your advantage with 5 rows fighting at the same time. The only thing these faction gains by attacking your cities is a lower population and therfore late to reach next development level.

Because they have too replace casulties. Crush Julii and know loock at those Dacian cities when you have them your empire become 1 once again not 2 seperate empires isolated from eachother.