So I thought I would share what I think is working and what is not working with the Crusaders army. I would be happy to learn what you think about the subject.
First I thought I would like to talk about the different units.
Army General:
Well he is expensive but he does know how to handle himself in combat. Beware loosing him especially since he at the moment lacks stubborn (and drilled). I usually stick him in my main Knight unit for flavour as well as effectiveness. It might be wicked to put him in a unit of Turcopoles and use him as the HtH part while they support him. Though you better come up with a nice reason why he is out scouting instead of leading a glorious charge like a good Chirstian knight should. Since I put him in a Knightly unit he gets the whole treatment of heavy armour, shield, lance, warhorse, barding and lance.
Army battle standard
I try to take one of these if I can and put him next to my general but you might find it more effective to have him bolster a unit with Ld lower than 8. I see him carrying the flag next to his commander so that everyone can see where he is but that's me. Same equipment as the general due to his purpose.
Knights
Well these are the gamewinners of the Crsuaders army. depending on what kind of army you are depicting go with light or heavy armour. If you wish to be more pragmatic take heavy armour against missile heavy armies and always take barding. They are too damn expensive to not be protected. Get the two ranks if you can afford (above 1500 pts as my rule thumb) but then you might want to have a smaller frontage. They hit hard and the charge is essential for progress. Since they are so expensive you need them to keep breaking units and not get bogged down. Choose your units carefuly so that you can break them in a tiemly fashion. Avoid big blocks of infantry unless you can flank them with the Turcopoles and aim for other cavalry units since they will chew them up in notime. Good idea is to charge a skirmish screen and kill them off an then catch he jiucy unit behind in the pursuit. Beware of not charging too far though if your opponent wisely flees instead. If you time it right you should be ok though. The Military order Knights are good at getting stuck in since they are stubborn and are less sensitive to charges themselves but you should hurt yourself if you allow them to get hurt in the first place. To keep you hammer free to do its work always protect them in some way which leades us nicely to next unit.
Turcopoles
Salt of the earth IMNSHO. Very flexible unit and just what you need to support your Knights sinec they are faster and more maneuverable. Since my models have light armour I give them that and shields and I also tend to give them spears to make them really flexible. They can shoot at other skirmishers and deliver vital flankcharges or countercharges in a timely fashion. I usually take two units of around 8 to 10 for each unit of Knights. You might want extra units (or assign one to screen duty to free one for other duties) to chase down enemy light cav or warmachines or just to harass at one flank. If you have two units of Knights (Military orders need s this) just assign two Turcopole units to flank them and keep the knights close to each other. Rather pricey at 21 pts so don't waste them but use them.
Dismounted Knights
I don't know if I hate them or like them. They look dead hard on the table but are a tad slow (if in heavy armour) and quite expensive. They do like to play with the enemy though and excel at it too. Military order Knights are very suitable as meatgrinders with their stubborness and all. I never take spears since I don't see Knights wielding them and I rarely touch 2h weapons even if I have some models with it. S6 is a bit of overkill and then you waste their excellent I of 4. I go with Heavy armour even if it slows them doen since A) I have models that wears full chaimail and B) to protect my investment. This really slows them doen so think really hard on what you want them to do and deploy them according to this. Take units around 12 or 16 in size unless you are playing a really big game since they do cost a lot. They make an excellent flank blocker since noone wants to dance with S4 infantry.
Spearmen
Mandatory choice and take a big block. My models have leather armour and chainmail shirts so I usually go with light armour. Makes sense too since it makes them sturdier. I usually go for one or two units and if one I take 30 spearmen and if two I take 20 to 25 models per unit. Their Ld aren't earthshattering but adequate but don't expect them to hold for too long. They don't have to if you bring in your knights or Turcopoles to relive them. I use them as a pinning force or to nail down a flank or to hold the center if I go for the flanks myself. Military order Spearmen has drilled and I like that a lot since it's not an obvious advantage but it makes manuvering in a tight fight so much easier and it's uqite impressive too and you get to tease his opponent for his rabble troops. Hey they are spearmen so you know how to use them.
Crossbowmen
Ohh I like these. Nothing like pointing loads of Crossbows at your opponent and letting loose. Makes those haughty shock units turn tail and flee. If you just have the numbers you can punch holes in everything. Position them carefully though since are at their best standing and shooting instead of running around and missng opportunities. Being light infantry is great since you can put them in skirmish formation to enable them to occupy less space and still be able to shoot. Do bring a muscian to reform them though in case you get attacked (I tend to buy all my units standards, muscians and leaders just because they look good with it). Drilled is quite good too since you really can use the combiendformationswith it. Just reform or free to bring those crossbows to the front again.
I rarely use combined formations since I find it is more effective getting more crossbowmen to shoot and you get very static spearmen which makes them less effective (they do work charging too).
Archers
They are more mobile than crossbowmen but they are poor against good armour. They are quite effective at knocking out infantry and screens. The shortbow is not very good due to its range and the archers aren't light infantry which I hope is a typo. depending on your type of army you can choose from European or Syrian archers. If you want them to stand and fight if attacked take Europeans since they have full rankbonus you acn actually use their Ld7. However if you just want bowas take the syrians since they are cheaper but shoot just as well. Don't expect them to hang around in a tight spot though. I prefer to choose according to the army you want to lay.
Pilgrims
Well I have never used them but I'm sure they work just like any warband with one important difference and that is their Ld of 7 (only two ranks though but that meansLd of 8) and that they can skirmish if needed. Both are very useful I must say. They don't fit in with my theme though.
Stone thrower
Well never used it but is a stonethrower so aim at the big blocks and remember to shout hurrah everytime you shoots with it.
Allies
Well take what fits your image of an Crusader army and be happy with it. I take the odd Arab/Saracen light cavalry unit myself and they are just wonderful as harassers and screens.
My typical army is a Temple Knight army that is sallying forth from their castle to put down an invading Saracen army. I don't adhere to the armylist *gasp* since I play it as a pure temple knight army so no Hospitallers. all unist have leaders, musicians and standards:
General + battle standard bearer in a unit of 5-10 Temple knights with all the trimmings
2 units of Turcopoles 10 man strong with all the trimmings.
16-20 Dismounted Temple Knights (Higher ranked sergants or initiates actually as I see it)
30 Foot Sergants with spears and light armour.
30 Sergants with Crossbows and light armour.
To get the army larger I usually include a second unit of spearmen and some extra crossbows.
To use this army I usually take two main approaches. On option is to shock him with my Knights in the middle or up one flank supported by the Turcopoles while the infantry defends on the other positions.
Typical setup is as follows X=crossbows, T=Turcopoles, K=Knights, S=Spears, F=Footknights (dismounted ones), G=General, B=Bsb.
ssssss X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
DDDD TTTTT TTTTT
ssssss X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X DDDD TTTTT
kkGBkkk TTTTT
ssssss
DDDD
ssssss
DDDD
ssssss
Just time it well and crush the heathens! (Hammer of God). Good solid offensive but it takes some considerations to get it tow ork so time your charge well and pick the righttarget, Use the Turcoples and remember to bring up the infantry to finish and exploit your success. Shoot everything that can hamper your attack into pieces and strike hard and without holding back. The advantage of this is that you are very active and forces your opponent on he offensive which will slow him downand you have time to make an breakthrough. The disadvantage is that you will have to survive his missilefire and avoid counterattacks without the support of the slower infantry.
The second option is to sit it out and wait. Your crossbowmen are just plain nasty and to deal with them you need to get to them. So you shoot and until you get them close then counterstrike with your Knights and infantry. Don't wait until you are attacked and maneuver all the time to get in position. The advantage of this is that you'll have you full army in support and it's very easy to change to the Hammer of God if you have a intelligent setup. The disdvantage is that your opponent calls the shots so you have to be ready to go on the offensive if there's an opening. The Crusaders army is an army built around its Knights but it has an excellent defensive so remember that. Defensive is not one of reactions mind you. It's just a prelude to activity and to force your opponent to play on your terms.
As always terrain and opponent plays a major part on how to play but these are the majorways I use when fighting with my beloved Temple knights. The two approaches are very simple but you can vary them a lot by setting a trap in the defence or choosing where and how to attack. As always wary your setup and plan each game to keep your opponent on his toes and fiddle around with your armylist to open up new possibilities.
Ahh that was rather long and if you stayed with me this far I thank you for your patience.
Hans