When besieging an enemy castle, it is often beneficial to initiate combat, use up all ammunition that the attacking archers can carry, and retreat – repeating the action turn after turn, until the enemy is weakened enough to make scaling the walls easy or at least feasible.
When this is attempted in-game, retreating after the bombardment has been completed forces the besieging army to break siege and walk a few squares away on the campaign map. Until recently, I assumed it to be impossible to harass and retreat without breaking siege. However, a few months ago I read that it is possible to do it, either in Medieval 2 or a mod of the game.
In which Total War games is it possible to orderly withdraw as the besieger without breaking the siege on the campaign map, and if there is a game that allows the maneuver, how to execute it?
Best Answer
It is bit different: As attacker, you cannot sally (because sally is defender trying to break siege). But that is only words.
As attacker, you can only try to mount final assault (and if you fail, you end siege)
On the other hand, if defender sally and don't win, siege continues (but he does not replenish losses in his normal nor garrison units). I don't know whether he takes aditional loses aprat from suffered in actual battle.
In M2TW it was similar, but different, bacause there the sally was actualy from besieged castle/town and defender needed to return inside, and attacker (besieger) could win siege even if fight was initiated by besieged. In S2 besieger wins siege in sally battle only if he wipes out defender.