Battle of Bloodpine Woods

Battle of Bloodpine Woods is a set piece battle in Total War: Warhammer.
It pits the player against a dreaded Messengers of Middenheim army led by Richter Weismund. tbc, update infobox
==Description==
So it is, the Empire must fight against its own kind for survival within the bounds of the Empire itself. We must be wary for there are more than traitors lurking in Bloodpine Woods.
==Enemy==
===Wave 1 - Led by Richter Weismund===
====Wave 2 - Led Hans van Zanger====
==Strategy==
Category:Total War: Warhammer set piece battles
Category:Empire set piece battles
A simple battle to introduce you to the concept of set piece fights and the power of ambushes, Bloodpine Woods is a walk in the park provided you have most of your full army stack assembled when you take it on. Some ranged troops aren't a bad idea this early on, particularly Free Company Militia if you can recruit them, but it's most important that you have around eight Swordsmen and Spearmen in total.
The reason for this is that you start by ambushing a Middenlander reinforcement convoy, consisting of a fair number of troops led by a Captain and including three deadly pieces of artillery -- two Mortars and a Helstorm Rocket Battery. If allowed to set up and do their work, those weapons can raze your army to the ground. It's very unfortunate for them that this is an Ambush, so the odds of them being able to set up are almost nonexistent.
Station your units along one side of the road, right on top of the convoy. In another situation you might want to set up an ambush further out, and the dialogue supports this, but the Ambush maptype will let you jump the convoy in column so they can't set up any kind of organized defense. Put Karl Franz (or Volkmar, depending) at the front of the column so he can engage the enemy Captain -- he should make short work of him. Assign a melee unit to each enemy infantry unit until you run out, and then the artillery. If you have bowman infantry, station them behind your melee troops in the woods; if you have gun infantry such as Karl Franz's starting Handgunners or any Free Company you've picked up, consider putting them on the other side of the road. Place your Reiksguard (as Karl Franz) at the back of the arrangement, aimed at the enemy artillery.
As soon as you start the battle, pause (if not on Legendary) or enter slow-motion and get all your attack orders issued. The melee units should charge their counterparts, your Lord should attack the enemy Lord, and your ranged should open fire on whatever you think is most dangerous. If you have cavalry or a fast infantry unit, make SURE it targets the artillery and especially the Helstorm before it can set up and fire. The fight may be harder or easier depending on the difficulty, but you're right on top of these poor bastards and they're in marching formation -- it should be a slaughter.
As you're finishing up with the Middenlander convoy, the secessionist force will arrive from up the road -- a few companies of Spearmen, a unit of Outrider horsemen, and their own Captain. Make sure they don't get the jump on your ranged units if you stationed them in the open, but apart from that, just regroup your troops and kick their teeth in -- you should outnumber them handily. The Outriders will flee from melee contact and can outstrip even Reiksguard, but they can't outrun arrows and bullets and their protection against either is pitiful.
Once complete, you'll be rewarded with a Sword of Striking -- a common piece of equipment that is far outstripped for Karl Franz by the Reikland Runefang he carries. It would go great on your new Battle Wizard, however -- a hero who appears by Altdorf for you. Which type of Wizard you get can be random -- a Jade Wizard is the best for Karl Franz thanks to their healing, but any of the Wizards is going to be a huge force multiplier for you, so merge them into your Lord's stack and get back to your bitter work.