Slitherine

HI guys,

coming from Leutschau, I often play the Hungarian vs Ottoman skirmish or campaign. However, I find that the Turks have overall a better army (quality wise). Any tips on how to approach these battles when playing the Hungarians in the early 1500s?

Thx

OK, so I finally won my first big battle against the Ottomans on difficulty 3. Here are my observations for anyone who might be interested:

1. The Turks will have swarms of Light Cavalry. You need to stock up on both huszars yourself, both light horse and light cavalry.
2. get as many cannons as possible and concentrate your fire on the sipahis of the porte, turkish elite cavalry
3. obtain also maximum of light infantry, they will even the odds with their incoming horse
4. get a few kiels, they will deliver the punch, but initially keep them to protect the cannons
5. it is critical to start the battle with a big cavalry reserve that can be committed as per need
6. dont invest too much in gendarmes, instead opt for szeklers (they carry some bows)

below the battle line:

LC LC LC LI LI A HI A HI A LI LI LC LC LC

..........LC LC...............LC LC

.....................HC HC

Thank you

I will maybe needlessly add that the second and third lines are moved to the wing that needs it. From my experience the enemy often favours one heavy wing over another. Once you know where the main Ottoman punch will come, move the reserves from second and third lines to extend and beef up the wing. Sometimes I even bring 1 LC from the first line over, since some light cavalry is highly mobile.

Hello, I managed to win the first campaign as the Hungarians against the Ottomans on mid-difficulty. I thought I would share my insights for those inclined to play as the decaying Jagiellon against the antecedent Ottoman empire.

The battle array from the previous posts still holds with minor variation that I will get into. One thing is to win several early battles and then keep pressing the AI with bold strikes into enemy territory. The early victories will enable you to ride the wave on auto-resolve. The Hungarian army has already many cavalry units, but you want the infantry to absorb the first strike of the enemy and keep cavalry units as reserve to be dedicated to critical points. The only exception - Light Hussars - use them as a screen and ideally take out enemy artillery at the early phase of battle. Losing a unit is totally worth it and will also trigger a response from a possibly defensive AI.

So when building armies, get all the cannons and infantry you can get. This will help you to besiege provinces quicker (do cannons make a difference?). Use the left over treasury to buy Szeklers. They are fierce riders and have a bow too, so are very versatile and stable.

As for the battle, here is the schematic:

......LCa.........LCa

LI LI LI A HI A HI A LI LI LI


....LC HC........HC LC

LCa are the light hussars used to destroy cannons and provoke a reaction from the AI. Keep the missile and shock cavalry deep enough, so they can easily be committed to whichever flank needs support. And do make sure that your kiels (pavise infantry in RL) are not just standing and guarding your own cannons. When the AI closes in with frontal cavalry charges, deploy your kiels further ahead and make sure you smash into your opponents. They are the only troops that can withstand the Janissary, but make sure you concentrate small arm and cannons fire into their formations first. Dont charge with you knights unless it is critical. You dont want your victorious cavalry to follow fleeing troops into enemy lines. Instead, rely on missile fire to break units. The cannons should help with that. Commit cavalry only at moments of critical importance.

Good luck and let me know your impressions. Naturally, using terrain to maximum effect doesn't need to be mentioned.

Ladislav wrote:So when building armies, get all the cannons and infantry you can get. This will help you to besiege provinces quicker (do cannons make a difference?).

They certainly do.

rbodleyscott wrote:

Ladislav wrote:So when building armies, get all the cannons and infantry you can get. This will help you to besiege provinces quicker (do cannons make a difference?).

They certainly do.

Richard, I do want to say that you have created an amazing little game that has so much to offer! I've been playing it for almost 3 years and I still keep finding new angles to try. Well done, Sir!

Ladislav,

you should sign up for the Italian wars campaign, there are no Hungarians, but there are Austrians from before they became the Austro-Hungarian empire. We need players with enthusiasm like yourself,

Andre

awesum4 wrote:Ladislav,

you should sign up for the Italian wars campaign, there are no Hungarians, but there are Austrians from before they became the Austro-Hungarian empire. We need players with enthusiasm like yourself,

Andre

Thank you Andre for the invitation, but I am afraid I dont have the time now to dedicate to a project like that. I did see your initial thread and it all looks quite interesting, but I feel I would just be playing catch up. Best of luck nonetheless and I hope you will show some AARs!!

Ladislav wrote:

rbodleyscott wrote:

Ladislav wrote:So when building armies, get all the cannons and infantry you can get. This will help you to besiege provinces quicker (do cannons make a difference?).

They certainly do.

Richard, I do want to say that you have created an amazing little game that has so much to offer! I've been playing it for almost 3 years and I still keep finding new angles to try. Well done, Sir!

Thank you.