 Have you ever been frustrated that your Tunneler attack is thwarted because your troops didn't arrive on time? Either they arrive too early and are decimated by missile weapons and boiling oil, or they arrive too late and the enemy has already repaired the breach. Ever wish you could time your Tunnelers and your melee units just right? Now you can by using the "Synchronized Tunnel Assault" and watch your enemies crumble before you.
Submitted by Lord Nick and LordBritian
The art of a successful tunnelling attack (also known as sapping) is to have your combat troops arrive just after the breach is made. If your shock troops arrive too early, they will be arrow and bolt fodder while they wait for the Tunnelers to finish their jobs, and if they are too late, then the chance of the opponent making repairs is increased and the element of suprise is lost. Preparations for the Assault To help us with our timing and the illustration of this technique, we have used pitch to mark out the yardage to the hapless Rat's castle.  The first two dots represent 20 yards (tiles), and every 5 yards are marked off accordingly. The maximum range of a tunneler is 72 yards, so assemble your assault team there. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are using a mixed assault team of swordsmen, arabian swordsmen, pikemen and macemen. First, assign group numbers to your troops, based on their attack sequence (select troops, press CTRL+ALT+# to assign). The number in brackets below shows at what point that melee squad is launched. Obviously, this sequence is based off of how quickly the units travel. Some analysis has been done to determine the best timing.1 = Tunneler (72 yards) 2 = Swordsmen (60 yards) 3 = Arabian Swordsmen (45-50 yards)4 = Pikemen (35 yards)5 = Macemen (15-20 yards) Executing the Attack When you are ready, select your Tunneler and send him down "into the blackness". At 72 yards, he should be outside the range of any archer fire. If he needs some protection, use a shield or seige tower. You many need more than one tunneler if your enemy's walls are very thick. Try to send all the tunnelers at nearly the same time.  Now select your Swordsmen, and watch your Tunneler's progress carefully. When the Tunneler reaches the 60 yard mark, send your Swordsmen to where the tunneler will breach the wall, also called the Point of Attack (POA) (in this case, just to the right of the gatehouse). They should arrive just after the tunneler has breached the walls. 
Now select your Arabian Swordsmen. When your Tunneler is between 45 and 50 yards, send them to the POA.
Next, select your Pikemen, and send them to the POA when your Tunneler is at 35 yards.
And finally, select your Macemen and send them when your Tunneler is between 15 and 20 yards from the enemy's walls.
All of your melee troops will be converging simultaneously at the POA, just in time of the tunneler to complete his work in collapsing the walls!
Once the wall has been sapped, select all of your melee troops and target them to the top of the keep.
Huzzah, the enemy has fallen! Other Considerations Obviously, in most single- and multi-player maps, you won't have the luxury of laying out your distances with pitch, so use these simple rules of thumb to improve the synchronization of your tunnel assaults. --When possible, try to have your tunnelers attack at their maximum range. With all your units located at the same starting position, when your tunneler has travelled: ---~1/6 of the way, send your Swordsmen ---~1/3 of the way, send your Arabian Swordsmen ---~1/2 of the way, send your Pikemen and Crossbowmen ---~2/3 of the way, send your Spearmen ---~3/4 of the way, send your Macemen and Archers ---~5/6 of the way, send your Knights. Use this tactic in conjunction with some siege towers and rams, and you will give your enemy a formidable siege challenge!For additional information regarding Tunnelers or the "Earl Listibald Deathsquad" check out this!
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