Your perfect army

[Jubal]

You have 10,000 men, in the pre-gunpowder era. What, in your opinion, is the best way to equip them to defeat any other given force of the same size?

[DeepComet5581]

5000 Infantry
-1000 Heavy
-1000 Spear
-2000 Light

3000 Cavalry
-1000 Heavy
-1000 Light
-1000 Archers

2000 Archers
-500 Crossbowmen
-1500 Archers

[Jubal]

Quite balanced...

Against it I would put
3000 Pikemen
2000 Med Inf
2500 Longbowmen
2000 Medium Cav
400 Heavy Axemen
20 Ballistae (each with 5 crew)

Basically I outnumber you in archers/shooting, your cavalry will have a hell of a time being sprayed with ballista bolts or chopped up by my axemen, and then hopefully I can hold against your infantry until I can free up my cav/archers to reinforce and finish the job.

[DeepComet5581]

That all depends on my tactics. I may not choose to charge straight at you.

Instead, i would likely use my crossbowmen to fire at your ballista crews while my light cavalry kept the rest occupied. I would also use my Horse Archers to make passes at your front line and flanks.

I would then bring my Infantry and Archers forward. My archers would stop when they are able to fire at your infantry's ranks. Your cavalry will either stay where they are or try to flank my army. My heavy cavarly will either charge your lines or intercept. My heavy cavalry will easily be a match for your medium cavalry.

If you move your pikemen to take out my cavalry that will leave them and your other infantry exposed to my archers and light cavalry, as well as the bulk of my infantry. I would keep firing into your lines until there were no more arrows. I would then charge with my infantry into your line, which would fall quite easily due to my sheer numbers and casualties that you would have received.

I would then move in any remaining cavalry to dispatch your remaining archers from the flank. This would also mean that they would have nowhere to run expect into the infantry, and so would be unable to run, regroup and take potshots.

[Jubal]

Both my thoughts and yours probably don't work too well as both rely on the enemy not replying to them too much... with more balanced armies it does come down to who thiks quicker on the day.

[DeepComet5581]

Someone should play Medieval 2: Total War and simulate a similar battle, see who wins.

[Jubal]

It'd have to be MP, using the AI doesn't simulate a real human opponent very well (even when it's outplaying the player, it doesn't experience human reactions to problems).

[DeepComet5581]

Well that's what happens when developers cut corners to bring a game out for Christmas.

[Jubal]

Too true, too true...

[stormcloud]

I would do a Genghis khan

every one of them a highly skill horseman armed with a light lance, sword, and short bow.
unfortunately for the sake of balance they where split up for different units in medieval2

[Pentagathus]

5000 o what stormcloud recomended and the rest would be the thingimabobies whos name I forgot.

[Gen_Glory]

300 Spartans with Hot Gates on Wheels  

[Jubal]

I'd have me, cloned 10000 times, all armed with big ol' clubs. The enemy's shields, armour and weapons would all act as mirrors and thus break when I looked at them, leaving the enemy defenseless against my club-wielding horde!

[DeepComet5581]

lol.
I'd just give em all guns and let them loose to GO CRAZEH!!

[Ashanorath]

In RTW phalanx are completely overpowered (I managed to defend a town against a full army with only tree squads of phalanx and phalanx can easily defend town even from ravaging elephants)
So, for my perfect army, I would take like 5k-10k of those phalanx soldiers (I think that would do enough)