massed bowmen

[grandad]

need some ideas for tactics using the above unit anyone!!

[dave_r]

1. Get into range.
2. Start firing
3. Hope your opponent doesn't pass all his Cohesion Tests

[peterrjohnston]

1. Get into range.
2. Start firing
3. Hope your opponent doesn't pass all his Cohesion Tests

You forgot:

4. Be superior

[Robert241167]

And 5. Try and have a light spear and bow in the front rank.

Rob

[philqw78]

Be careful on positioning.
Get an angle where you give most shots to the most important target.
Don't let the enemy hit you en-masse. Once it gets to melee you need overlaps.

[Vespasian28]

And try to get them into(or behind) terrain that disorders the opposition but doesn't restrict your shooting.

Oh, and praying helps

[grahambriggs]

I use massed bowmen (MF bow) a lot. The main way they make an impact is through cohesion tests (base losses are very much secondary). Those can either break the enemy or make them charge you at a disadvantage. To cause a cohesion test you need one hit for every 3 bases of the enemy, and if you get one hit per 2 that test will have a -1. So shooting at a 12 base unit, you need 4 hits for a test and 6 for that test to be at a -1. A 2 base target only needs 1 hit to test, and that will be at a -1.

If your massed bowmen are poor they'll do less hits (and superior will do more)

To get hits, you need numbers shooting. Two ranks is the most efficient. A BG of 8 bases deployed 4 wide and two deep will roll 4 dice for hits at long range, 6 at effective range. Generally, the better the enemy armour, the higher score you need on the dice to hit them. So if given a choice, shoot at the less protected guys. there are some exceptions, so have a look at the shooting tables. You don't really want to be shooting at enemy who need 5s or 6s to hit.

Targets with small numbers of bases are good given you want to be causing cohesion tests. Slow moving, unmanouverable targets are also good for two reasons. If you can disrupt a unit, it's annoying if it skips away before you can shoot it again. Secondly, troops that are good at close combat will try to charge your unit as soon as they can - the slower they are the more shots you will have at them.

So really, you'd like to be a unit of 8 elite bow, shooting at a unit if 2 unprotected heavy foot. Back in the real world, you'll need to know, either by calculation or experience, what is a good target and what a bad one for your archers.

[hazelbark]

It is actually very risky for a small force to advance into more numerous bowmen.

A few more points for emphasis in addition to what Graham wrote.
1) Wheel the outside BG so you get more shots at a single enemy BG. going form 4-6 dice to 8-10 dice is monumental in effect.
2) The moment of impact is often the bow's best and most critical moment. The 2nd rank of bow adding more dice is HUGE. Now in Version 2 these 2nd rank will be hitting on 4s or occasional 5s is even better. Having 50% more dice allows a real luck distribution to favor you. So you want a general to commit to the bowmen at impact so you are re-rolling 1s.
Consider Lancers coming in with a double POA. They hit on 3s and re-roll 1s. One 4 base BG means 4 dice. means they will average 3 and often 4 hits. The bow get 4 dice for front rank needing 5s and 2 for rear needing 4s. Adding a general gives you a reasonable shot of doing 3 hits and a touch of luck and you draw or win the impact.

Then in melee if the bow are protected (version 2) the lancers only get 1 POA and if you have overlaps you again have a good chance of drawing the melee. Lancers bounce off possibly disrupted or down a base and you shoot and the whole process goes through again.

If you disrupt or and the enemy stay in or are foot.
A) You want rear support to increase the odds of passing a CT. General obviously helps. Note there are people who like to have a TC fight getting the combat re-rolls and an IC at the rear giving a +2 to the CTs. Then the IC can move off if need be.
B) This connects to 1 up above. They've come in and are grinding down the bow (hopefully slowly), then the units you have that wheeled in on their flank are now eligible for a flank charge and between the charge, impact and fighting in two directions you should drive off the attacker.

Not for the faint of heart.

[gozerius]

Froissart once said "Marksmen are very good, but only en masse. In small numbers they are useless."
Terrain that helps: Open fields, broken ground, brush, enclosed fields, uphill on gentle slopes - covered by brush or broken ground is even better. Gullies can provide a nasty surprise to the unwary. stay out of difficult and plantations as you do not get to use all your dice.