 |
This article is about the scenario in Age of Empires IV. For the scenario in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, see The Battle at the Kalka River. |
The Battle of the Kalka River is the first scenario in the Shock and Awe chapter and the overall first scenario of the The Mongol Empire campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223, which marked the beginning of the Mongol conquest of the Kievan Rus'.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
In 1223, the Mongol army made a thunderous arrival in the west. They would test their tactics and flex their might against an unsuspecting new enemy: the Rus.
Opening cinematic[]
From the vast reaches of the Mongolian Steppe… an army of over 100,000 men swept aside all resistance… claiming territories that spanned continents. Their leader, Genghis Khan, proclaimed his life's ambition was to unite the world – under one empire. Having conquered the east, the Mongols turned their attention… to the west, where they would come face-to-face with some of the greatest armies of medieval Europe. Would Genghis Khan's legendary warriors finally meet their match?
By 1221, the Mongols had taken cities throughout Asia… generating vast amounts of tribute from those they conquered. The west, however… was still an untapped resource. Genghis Khan sent his trusted generals, Jebe and Subutai, to attack Europe. With an army of 20,000, Jebe and Subutai took the west by surprise… raiding cities… and destroying armies. Within two years they had the prosperous Rus territories in their sights. But in their way… was a Rus army… of over 40,000 men. Outnumbered… Jebe and Subutai turned and started to head back east. The Rus sensed an easy victory… and set off in pursuit of their retreating enemies.
For eight days, the fast-moving Mongols stayed just out-of-reach. Then… Jebe and Subutai set their trap. They lured the Rus across the Kalka river… and turned to fight. The Rus had fallen for one of the Mongols' most effective tactics: the feigned retreat. The stage was set… for the Mongol army to test themselves against Europe's finest.
Loading screen[]
The great Mongol tactician, General Subutai, lured the Rus army to a battle site he had carefully chosen: the banks of the Kalka River.
Start of scenario[]
The Mongols charged across the European plains, with the fatigued Rus army in close pursuit. The Rus had fallen for the Mongol tactic of the feigned retreat and unknowingly followed them into peril.
The Mongol general sprung his trap on the enemy scouts. With the Rus scouts cut down, General Subutai crossed the Kalka river. Here, he would stage a full-scale ambush on the vast Rus army.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Feudal Age - Population limit: 140
- Starting units:
- General Subutai
- 36 Mangudai
- 48 Lancer
- 56 Horseman
- Starting buildings:
- 2 Outpost
- 2
- Resources: None
Objectives[]
- Prepare your army to ambush the Rus
- Move some units to the western ford
- Move some units to the eastern ford
- Move some units into the central woods
- Destroy the Rus Army
- Use some units to lure the Rus over the river
- Lead the Rus army to the ambush point
- Eliminate all the incoming Rus
- Eliminate the Rus in their enclosure
Players[]
- General Subutai (Mongols): The player starts off with a large army of Mangudai, Horsemen, and Lancers, as well as two Outposts in the southeast of the map. No additional units or buildings can be created throughout the scenario.
Enemy[]
- Mstislav (Rus): The Rus army comes from the west of the map in several waves. The initial Rus army consists of four Scouts, an Early Knight, 210 Hardened Spearmen, and 160 Archers. The final army is encamped within a stockade in the west and consists of 64 Hardened Spearmen and 32 Archers.
Strategy[]
Because the player must defeat a much larger army than theirs with only the units given to them at the start, this scenario is essentially a test in army micromanagement, and its difficulty highly depends on the ability of the player to control their units. Attack-moving the army into the enemy is the easiest way to result in a quick defeat on harder difficulty levels. The player begins with a highly mobile army containing Lancers, Horsemen, and Mangudai. The enemy army consists of mostly Hardened Spearmen and Archers. In general, the player should focus on using Mangudai to kill Spearmen, and cavalry to kill Archers.
At the start of the scenario, it is best to separate cavalry into two approximately equal-sized groups on the western and eastern fords. It does not make sense to keep any cavalry in the central woods because their goal is to attack the Archers from behind, and if placed in the woods, their path to the Archers will be blocked by Spearmen. To satisfy the objective, the Mangudai can be placed in the central woods. It is helpful to group each of the three groups into a separate control group. Once the first objective has been satisfied, move the units on the eastern ford slightly up and west in between the trees so they have a quicker path to ambush the enemy. When ready, the player should send their Mangudai and General Subutai to attack and draw out the enemy army, while their Knights and Horsemen wait at the western and eastern fords. When attacking, the player should not be tempted to immediately rush their units back to the ambush site, as effective kiting with the player's Mangudai can greatly reduce the number of enemy units they will have to deal with.
With the Scouts and Knight killed, the player can then begin picking off Spearmen while retreating back towards the river. Mangudai have a short range, so the player should experiment with line formation to see if it helps getting a larger portion of the Mangudai to fire. Upon engagement, fire Subutai's Attack Speed Arrow and keep firing it throughout the battle. There should be no need to use the Movement Speed Arrow unless stuck in a bad position, since Mangudai are faster than any units the Rus can employ. Keep a short distance to the army of Spearmen, but be careful to not let them get too close, as Mangudai will fall extremely quickly to Spearmen when in range.
Heading back to the river, the player should be able to kill a reasonable amount of Spearmen. Behind the army of Spearmen, Archers will arrive in several groups. As soon as these Archers pass by the cavalry army positions on the eastern and western fords, command the cavalry to attack them from behind while continuing to use Mangudai to draw the majority of the Spearmen across the river and kite them indefinitely. By doing this, the cavalry should be able to quite easily deal with the Archers and any Spearmen that turn back to help them. If managed well, it is possible to defeat this army with most of the Mangudai and over half of the cavalry remaining.
Should a sizeable portion of the enemy Spearmen turn to attack the player's melee cavalry, the player should withdraw these far away as quickly as they can, and send their Mangudai around to draw the Spearmen away. While the Mangudai will be the player's most effective weapon, it is important not to lose too many of the player's melee cavalry, as without them, the enemy Archers, with their better range, will be difficult for the player's Mangudai to deal with alone.
Once the main army is defeated, pursue any retreating troops and try to eliminate them before they reach the stockade. The final battle with the army in the stockades should follow a similar strategy as the main battle. Use Subutai and the Mangudai to draw out the Spearmen, and attack the Archers with the remaining cavalry once they are exposed or enough Spearmen have been defeated. If in trouble, Subutai can be used to draw fire due to his high hit points and healing, especially when trying to get the achievement.
Achievement[]
Completing the scenario without losing any Mangudai grants the Twinkle Hooves achievement.
Outro[]
End of Scenario[]
The Rus stockade fell. Despite a valiant last stand, the remnants of the Rus army were cut down. Spurred on by the crushing victory at the Kalka river, the Mongols advanced ever further into the heartland of the Rus.
Post-game Screen[]
Kalka River was the first test of Mongol warfare against the armies of the west. With the battle won, Europe seemed ripe for the taking.
Unlockable Content[]
- Campaign Video: Shock and Awe
- Historical Video: Drums and Signal Arrows
Trivia[]
- In the scenario, the Rus army consists almost entirely of infantry. In the real battle, there was a large cavalry contingent as well. This was likely changed for balance purposes, as it would be much harder in the game to take down an army of cavalry with Mangudai while outnumbered.
