Bows: How Do You Use Them Properly?

[Zen]

Hi,

I play Medieval French and I can't seem to get the hang of using Bow elements.

At first, I just put them out in the open to get them in range ASAP and hopefully shoot down any Mounted units having a go at them. I'm getting mixed results; on one hand, my Bows are pretty effective and I even won a game instantly just by killing a Mounted General while on the other, my Bows get run down.

So, do I use my Bows aggressively i.e. get them in range ASAP, use them defensively and stick them in Bad Going or use a balance of both?

[david kuijt]

They're part of your army. Send 'em out alone and you will usually be defeated in detail. Leave them back and you will usually be defeated in detail. You need an integrated plan.

[Ecdicius]

Originally Posted by david kuijt

They're part of your army. Send 'em out alone and you will usually be defeated in detail. Leave them back and you will usually be defeated in detail. You need an integrated plan.

Hey bud, I can understand DK's somewhat curt advice, as you have not availed yourself of what's already out there: a large list of resources including detailed tactical advice. Here's the link to the bows article, which is written by none other than DK himself:
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dbaDocs/bows.html

I've seen a few questions from you Zen but I don't know your background in gaming (if any) so this is purely a guess. You may be thinking at the wrong scale, if you have previously gamed with bow elements/pieces that shoot several times the distance of a foot move. DBA represents an army-level battlefield, not a skirmish, and bows operate at an effective range that is a lot shorter than a cavalry move.

[david kuijt]

Originally Posted by Ecdicius

Hey bud, I can understand DK's somewhat curt advice, as you have not availed yourself of what's already out there: a large list of resources including detailed tactical advice. Here's the link to the bows article, which is written by none other than DK himself:
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~kuijt/dbaDocs/bows.html

That's frightening -- that article is 14 years old.

[Hannibal Ad Portas]

And a good article it is, but if you are a relatively new players you have to pay attention to the fact that the article was not written for DBA 2.2. Bow move 200 paces now, not the 300 paces in the article...and this will certainly effect how you use them!

I find bow useful both for flank protection from mounted/light troops and as part of the main battle line, to discourage knights in particular. Nothing terminates a light horse foray along your flanks or in your rear area quicker than bow! They can also recoil elephants and create a PIP drain on the enemy's forces. If your army is bow heavy, try to avoid placing terrain (i.e. woods) that blocks their fire...unless you are using that terrain for a cunning plan, such as providing shelter from artillery. Also, take advantage of the rule that allows you to kill an element when shooting its rear edge. A simple recoil in that situation leads to a kill.

[Lee Shackelford]

Originally Posted by david kuijt

That's frightening -- that article is 14 years old.

Yes, you are getting THAT old

[Zen]

Thanks for the input guys Yeah, I forgot that you guys had articles and yes, that article by Mr. DK is quite an eye opener and I think I can be confident again using Bows

If you're wondering about my gaming background, I started out with Warhammer then some Dark Heresy RPG then a few miscellaneous non-mainstream games e.g. Song of Blades and Heroes and Outrider before finally, getting into historicals e.g. DBA and Hail Caesar. My first DBA army was actually Alexandrian Macedonians.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Zen

Thanks for the input guys Yeah, I forgot that you guys had articles and yes, that article by Mr. DK is quite an eye opener and I think I can be confident again using Bows

If you're wondering about my gaming background, I started out with Warhammer then some Dark Heresy RPG then a few miscellaneous non-mainstream games e.g. Song of Blades and Heroes and Outrider before finally, getting into historicals e.g. DBA and Hail Caesar. My first DBA army was actually Alexandrian Macedonians.

Bows are a very interesting troop type in DBA, I second the advice from DK. My experience is that Bows should never be left alone, against most armies, they need to be part of an integrated tactical plan. And that can be hard to deliver with PIP constraints.

One thing to remember, is that Bows get to fight in all sorts of situations when other troops can't.

[Redwilde]

In limited certain circumstances they are good in rough and/or on their own -- anchoring a flank where the enemy is threatening a mounted end run.

[ferrency]

Originally Posted by Redwilde

In limited certain circumstances they are good in rough and/or on their own -- anchoring a flank where the enemy is threatening a mounted end run.

They're on their own, but this is also as a part of an overall plan. The plan is the important part. With a good plan you can break all kinds of rules of thumb and get away with it.

Alan