Each Medieval Warfare army you decide to use will determine the tactics you will need to develop as a battlefield commander. Once your army building is underway, it is time to learn how all of your different units can work together to ensure victory. Each army has a selection of various troop types that are formed into tactical units. How to use each of these units effectively is what this section is all about. As you get involved in playing more, you will develop your own favorite strategy and tactics as well as become acclimated to using your various units. Some will become favorites and 'workhorse' troops, ones you will begin to rely on each game to swing the battle in your favor. Others are best left in a reserve capacity to bolster morale or lend support to beleaguered neighbors.

The following section will explain each type of unit and what the best tactics are to use with them. Remember that this is just a very cursory outline. No doubt you will experiment and learn tactics of your own as you use your army. These are simply presented as a quick way to get started.

Loose order Lance or Spear-armed Cavalry

These are the shock units in your army. They are used to charge enemy units. Use them in 'Conrois' or wedge, if your army list allows the use of a wedge formation. If you have enough stands allowed in your army list to buy four or more units (of two or four stands per unit), use at least two of these units on one of your flanks. Any remainder can be used as a central reserve.

Also, consider placing each of your mounted generals with a stand of cavalry. This will enable them to use conrois and this will give you more close combat cavalry units, though it will force your generals to give orders to themselves as they are no longer a single-stand.

Any army with a large number of cavalry units, such as Normans, must use offensive tactics. You have the mobility and hitting power to force the enemy to respect your strength. Normans are one of the armies allowed to use wedges. Cavalry in wedge get to fight two ranks deep, whereas Conrois fight a rank and a half and cavalry in neither of these formations only fights with a front rank.

The Heavy Knights

If your army lists include Fully Mailed Cavalry (FMC), Armored Cavalry (AC), or Full Plate Cavalry (FPC), you are even better off. You only need to know that you should be using your knights in an attacking mode, having your units in Conrois, or in wedge if allowed by your army list. Your units will be virtually impossible to stop unless the enemy has units of pikes or long spears, longbows, crossbows or cavalry that can match up to yours.

Loose Order Missile-armed Cavalry

You have cavalry capable of dealing with your opponents from a distance.Normally, your cavalry will not be able to meet the enemy spear- or lance-armed cavalry head-to-head unless your own missile cavalry also are double-armed with spear or lance, such as Huns. Use your missiles to shoot your opponent into disorder before charging in. Huns are brutal at this, being able to shoot and then attack in wedge formation as well.

No matter what your cavalry is armed with besides missiles, once the enemy is disordered, you have a tactical advantage when you charge into him and engage in close combat. It's very important that get the Tactical Initiative as often as possible. Allow the enemy to move first, that way he will indicate what he is planning on doing and you can then take advantage of this.

Try to move your own cavalry up to within close missile range of the enemy unit in order to inflict the maximum number of casualties. If you feel that your opponent is about to charge you and he is not yet disordered, it may be prudent to give your cavalry retreat orders. Remember, however, if you are not trained with a guaranteed fixed retreat move, your cavalry may not be able to outrun the enemy!

Skirmish Cavalry

Though you are allowed to use your SC units as close combat fighters, only Huns, who may use wedge, will have much of a chance when fighting against loose order cavalry. Your SC are best used in a harassing role. They are also very useful for pinning an enemy army thanks to their very fast movement. If you are facing an all-infantry army, you can usually pin the enemy very close to his baseline, thus denying him maneuver room very early in the battle. Use the SC on one or both flanks and rush them straight forward in order to pin the enemy army as far back as you can. If the enemy also has SC, he will most probably attempt to meet your own units and keep you from pinning him.

The best use of SC is to get them within close missile range of the enemy and shoot at him. If he attempts to charge or move into contact with your SC, they automatically get to retreat, being skirmishers.

Another use for SC is to take a unit on an off-board flank move. This is a risky thing to do as the SC may be lost for the entire battle, but if successful, it may drive your opponent crazy when the unit arrives in the rear of his army!

If you opt to use the advanced Fire and Flee rule, SC horse archers can be very useful trying to tempt enemy loose order cavalry to foolishly try to charge and catch them.

Javelin-armed SC are better for close combat work than are SC horse archers. They are not so good at shooting as they must be within close fire range to get a shot off. The javelin-armed SC should be used to charge or move into contact with enemy bow-armed SC. They are much better at hand-to-hand combat, having the javelin and usually a shield against shieldless SC armed only with a sword.

Elephants

Elephants can be very deadly. They count as a close order stand, taking four casualties before one of them is removed from the battle. They also will disorder most enemy horsemen, the exception being Indians. They count as a shielded target and have a very helpful plus combat modifier when charging or counter-charging.

The best place to use elephants is in the front of your army, either in the center or on the flank you are not using your own cavalry on. They are a great deterrent to an enemy cavalry flank attack! When firing, elephants count as a close order foot stand, i.e. as four figures/stand, so get the plus for that as well.

Close Order Foot

These units are usually the backbone of most Medieval armies. They provide the sturdy, but slow-moving units and are usually best placed in the center of your army. If they are Heavy Infantry (HI), close order foot can be very steady and difficult to defeat. Lightly Armored Infantry (LAI) are also powerful and even Unarmored Infantry (UI), if armed with long spears, like the Scots, or double-armed, like close order Vikings, can be difficult opponents.

It is imperative that you protect the flanks of your close order foot, for if they are outflanked, they are very vulnerable to quick destruction. They cannot outrun their enemies, so retreat is usually not an option. They simply fight and die…or their morale fails and they rout. Protect their flanks with other close order units, cavalry or loose order foot. Do not use skirmishers as they simply run away if attacked.

It is a good idea to leave your Commander-in-Chief (CinC) behind a line of close order foot. He not only provides them with support and a morale boost, but also is protected by them in turn. Also, do not use close order foot in delaying terrain. They are disordered simply by moving into delaying terrain and move very slowly if at all once inside.

If closing quickly with your opponent is not of primary importance, putting your close order foot in shieldwall is a good thing to do. This not only helps their morale, but it also makes them a more difficult missile target. Counting shielded and in shieldwall is a very big bonus for missile protection. Remember, however, that if you do decide to charge and go frenzied, you immediately fall out of shieldwall formation.

You may also be allowed to use Crusader Mixed Order is your army list specifies. This is an especially effective tactical formation if you have lance-armed cavalry. You can have your cavalry charge through the close order foot and retire back through them if the charge fails, next turn.

Close order archers should be used from a third rank, if your army list allows them to mix with other close order spearmen. Otherwise, use them on the flanks of your close order shock troops, providing support fire. Remember, close order archers can shoot from three ranks deep, so can put concentrated fire into a very small area. If threatened with an enemy charge, they are most effective with defend orders, able to shoot down their attackers and perhaps even stop the attack. They can't run very fast, so a retreat in the face of an enemy charge is very risky.

Loose Order Foot

Loose order foot are able to traverse any terrain and obstacles without being disordered. They are slowed, true, but not disordered. If they are trained, such as Roman and Byzantine auxiliary foot, they also count as a strength of four, the same as close order, instead of their usual strength of three. Loose order foot get to move faster than close order, allowing them the flexibility to declare and attempt frenzied charges against close order units than may only be able to countercharge them at best.

Armies with heavy or lightly armored loose order units, such as Vikings, are tenacious. Some units may even use wedges, such as Viking huscarls, and if they are axe-armed, they can be extremely effective, especially if frenzied, which they should be when charging!

Loose order archers, usually unarmored, are useless as fighting units. Use them to support your shock units or to provide supporting fire, but if they are threatened with attack, it is often smart to give them retreat orders and get them out of there. Trained loose order archers are a bit better, and if HI, such as Burgundian Ordonnance longbowmen, can actually put up a decent fight. Trained loose order archers do not get to shoot from a third rank as do close order, so are not quite as effective, but they do get to run faster, so retreat orders often will get them out of harm's way from other foot, but not cavalry.

Loose order foot are most vulnerable to mounted attacks, having to test morale If in the open and being unable to outrun the cavalry if attempting to retreat.

Skirmish Order Foot

Skirmish Infantry (SI) are used to screen and protect better quality units from enemy missile fire. They can move faster than other units through delaying terrain and can sometimes delay enemy units. They are also useful as harassing units, shooting at enemy units and attempting to get enough hits to disorder the enemy. Other than that, SI are fairly useless.

They cannot fight unless against other SI or when attacking the flank or rear of other enemy units. Javelin and shield armed SI are great for clearing dense terrain, as they will easily outrun enemy attacks, forcing them to methodically waste valuable time in chasing them out. Use your SI in front of your other units, absorbing as much damage as possible before withdrawing. Every hit on a SI unit is one less on your better quality units. If your SI fail a morale test and rout, which they will as casualties mount up, your other units will not react. They do not have to test morale for seeing SI rout, it's expected for them to run away!

Missile Units

Artillery

Artillery units have an advantage in that they can inflict casualties on enemy units from a distance away. It is important to get your artillery on a hill and get them into action as soon as possible. They do you no good if they spend the entire battle moving around in back of your army.

Gunpowder artillery is extremely powerful, getting a d10 for each crewman, but going Low on Missiles each time it is fired. If it fires when Low, if automatically goes Out of Missiles. This reflects their slow rate of fire.

Artillery units are vulnerable if involved in a close combat. They fight as LAI with no weapon modifiers. Their only chance is to fire as the enemy closes in and inflict enough casualties to cause a morale test, halting the charge. If they are pushed back in close combat, they are destroyed and the unit is removed from the battle. Keep them supported with a unit that can take on any would be attackers or leave the artillery far enough away from the main battle lines so as to not be a target of enemy charges.

Handgunners

Though not having as long a range as archers, handgunners are very deadly, receiving a d10 for every two figures shooting instead of every stand. The disadvantage is that like gunpowder artillery, handgunners go Low on Missiles each time they fire. Units will count unshielded when shooting unless using pavise, if allowed by army lists.

Longbows

These are excellent missile units, out-ranging other hand missile weapons, but costing more per stand due to the added training involved. They are most effective when using Arrow Barrage. Longbow also negate some of the protection afforded cavalry armor, so are better when firing at these units than other missile troops. Units will count unshielded when shooting.

Crossbows

These also have a better range than bows or slings, and also negate some of the cavalry protection, like longbows. They do not get to use Arrow Barrage as they were too slow to reload. Units will count unshielded when shooting unless using pavise, if allowed by army lists.

Bows

The usual missile weapon, used by both foot and mounted units. Better at close range, but still can be deadly from effective range as well if used by close order or mounted. Units will count unshielded when shooting.

Javelins/Various/Slings

Units with these missile weapons do get to use their shields when shooting. This evens things up a bit against the longer ranged longbow and crossbow units. With various or javelin, units can also use these as close combat weapons, a real plus when compared to other missile troops, usually with no other weapon. You can aggressively press forward with javelins or various armed units, fire and then charge into close combat next turn. Javelin-armed units that are Out of Missiles cannot use them in close combat, however, so you have to be careful and pick your time to fire.

More Tactics in Medieval Warfare

Introduction
Offensive Tactics
Defensive Tactics
Units: Using Them Effectively
Frenzy and Conclusion