Light chariots! oh the pain.

Field of Glory II is a turn-based tactical game set during the Rise of Rome from 280 BC to 25 BC.
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FightingPoultry
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Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by FightingPoultry »

please someone help me with light chariots - i have never used them before, i have just about got to grips with the mechanics of actual cavalry, But i cant see who light chariots are effective against.

I was thinking they should be employed as sort of skirmisher - bouncing off units when they charge them in the flank etc , but so far they are just being chewed up by everything they attack - Cavalry seems to be a particularly painful encounter for them. Any tips or best practice use for L chariots would be gratefully received .Thanks in advance
Ludendorf
1st Lieutenant - 15 cm sFH 18
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Re: Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by Ludendorf »

I've found a few good uses for the light chariots.

1) If you put them out in front of your infantry or cavalry (make sure they have gaps they can flee behind so they aren't caught by the enemy's main line) they can act as a sort of 'elite skirmisher', supporting the rest of your skirmishers and keeping pesky javelinmen from charging into your skirmish line (and forcing archers and slingers to move lest they get caught by a charge). A well-placed unit of chariots can throw a skirmish line into chaos, allowing your own skirmishers to follow up. Just don't expose them to too much fire as they die quickly to concentrated fire.

2) Chariot swarm. Chariots are cheap, usually come in great available numbers, and are hard to catch. With a bit of practice and forward planning you can swarm all over outnumbered cavalry and even the flanks of infantry formations, catching open flanks, making the cavalry chase you around the place and just generally acting like a nest of killer hornets that pick off cavalry units as they grow isolated and exposed to attack from multiple directions. A swarm of 36 point chariots can decimate isolated lancers of the same point value if enough chariots can get around the sides to wreak havoc.

2.1) If the enemy is low on cavalry, even happier days! The chariots can waylay the sides of the infantry, locking down expensive warbands, pike units and other units for a fraction of the points cost. Large numbers of cheap cavalry/chariots can effectively paralyse the sides of enemy formations and swarm around them, either preventing them from moving forward and engaging your weaker infantry or hitting them in the flank if they do. Skilled players will try and avoid this by using terrain and by pulling in their lines to make it difficult for large numbers of cavalry to get past small units of flank guards. However, if you can get round the sides of an enemy line with enough chariots, the other player will either be left with their rear open or be forced to dedicate large numbers of reserves in order to stop the charioteers. There are players who excel at this strategy.

3) Cavalry-Infantry support. Sometimes, the enemy lancer cavalry is so dangerous that throwing out a bunch of cheap infantry on your flanks won't stop them. Armoured lancers in particular are quite capable of bulldozing through raw infantry, making throwing out a bunch of raw hoplites or limitanei a dicey proposition that may not stop the lancers from breaking through. In this situation, having a bunch of chariots around to sweep round the sides of the dangerous cavalry while the infantry hold the lancers up can be the difference between breaking the enemy's battle-winning formation and being utterly destroyed as that formation tosses your levies aside and smashes into your rear. Just... don't expect this to work against elephants.
FightingPoultry
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Re: Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by FightingPoultry »

thank you for the detailed response - it makes a lot of sense - i am playing a very cagey game at the moment as ancient Britons against Romans - my chariots so far are skirting round the edges of the all round defence the roman player has put out but so far have come off worse against the roman cavalry ( admittedly this was a head on charge - i like the idea of supporting skirmishers with L chariots , that may be worth a go .
nyczar
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Re: Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by nyczar »

Lundendorf has so eloquently, as is his way, outlined ideas for play with light chariots. To what he has offered, I can only add that my success playing Scotts-Irish has come by using combined forces tactics and maneuver to pin and swarm my opponents. In almost all cases, fighting Indians being an exception, my victories have come from stretching the lines of my opponents, creating gaps with fall backs, and penetrating to the flanks and rear with Light Chariots through the numerous opportunities this has created. My Scott-Irish losses to have all occurred because I was outplayed in the use of terrain and because my opponents executed Lundendorf's point 2.1 well, denying me flanks.
Last edited by nyczar on Tue Sep 25, 2018 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
oscarius
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Re: Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by oscarius »

Light chariots are excellent units, almost overpowered for their price and utility. They waste time of and suck away more expensive heavy cavalry from the real fight (and can even put up a good fight vs most cavalry if working in packs and flanking. Even if not that expensive heavy cav unit has wasted several turns off course from pursuing them). Worst comes to worst they make a decent second line reserve and have the speed to rapidly get to where they're needed (swinging a evenly balanced fight to your favour via the additional unit in combat penalty or helping turn a disrupted unit to a fragmented one quicker). I don't max them out generally but always grab a handful when they're there as they're so flexible you can't really go wrong.

Success of the Scots-Irish list should indicate that they're definitely a good unit.
jomni
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Re: Light chariots! oh the pain.

Post by jomni »

Interesting. I always though of them as just light horse skimishers. But I only have used the Indian list which doesn’t really give us a lot of Lt Ch.
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