I've only been playing this game for a while but I thought I'd stick up a few things I've learnt about cavalry tactics as some people seem to be having trouble keeping a large force of men alive.
The only thing that will kill a horseman is lack of speed, your goal is to keep them moving as quickly as possible.
Flat Ground:Firstly, a nice flat map with no rivers and no trees is perfect for cavalry, so when possible stay away from mountains and rivers on the main map- thus decreasing the chance of them appearing on the combat map. You can do this by attracting an enemy force, and making them chase you to an ideal site for an ambush in a nice big open plain (of course, you'll have to be attacking a superior force in numbers). Since there are less obstacles then there is less things for your troops to get stuck on- and remember- a stuck horse is a dead horse.
As soon as you enter the map order your forces to hold this position (press 1), attack the enemy on your own, just one pass should be fine- using sword or lance. Make sure you aim for people near the sides of the enemy group cos if you charge right into the middle and get bogged down your dead!!!
Once you've taken a pass the enemy group will be spread out, most of them attempting to attack you, most of them running in all directions. Order your troops to charge (press 3). Since the enemy is spread out there is a lot less chance for your troops to get hit by groups of men, or even to bump into each other.
Rivers:Rivers are deadly to horses,
never ever enter fight in a river. When your on a map with a river order your troops to hold ground. Take a little ride out and scout- if the enemy are on your side of the river, then treat the map just like flat ground.
If the enemy are on the opposite side of the river then ride to the point where they will be crossing it, once they hit the river they'll slow down so you can sit on the bank and pepper them with ranged weapons (javelin style weapons are good for this as you can still carry a lance, a sword and a shield) once they get across the river ride away before they can get you, (you may need to use your shield if you left it too late!) ride directly away from the river, once the enemy group is entirely out of the river order your troops to charge. Once again the enemy will be split up and easily defeated by your men.
Be very careful about reinforcements as these too will appear on the opposite side of the river, you may need to order your men to follow you- if the enemy is far enough away from the river then find a good crossing point and then tell all your men to charge, if the enemy is close to the river then get them to follow you back to where you started and then repeat the whole procedure.
Hills:Hills are trouble, especially if there's rivers and trees all over them. Tell your troops to hold ground and find a nice fairly flat piece of ground. Go to the end furthest away from the enemy and press hold ground again- thus ordering your troops to move to this location. Now you can ride off to find the enemy, again this is a case of using ranged weapons to keep yourself out of combat. Once the enemy troops have reached the flat ground they'll be nice and split up and ready for a good old fashioned charge!
Skirmishers:These units will more than likely completely ignore your orders, but don't worry about them- they usually stay out of combat enough to survive and add to the general confusion of the enemy...
Hope this little guide helps anyone who's finding it hard!!! I'll do one about how to ride horses shortly as well
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