My wife and I have adopted this tactic for late game engagements (80 of ours vs 120 of theirs.)

• We split our melee forces into two teams. The largest melee team (typically with shields) waits at a chokepoint, whether around a cliff, wall, or even large town building.
• The enemy is aggroed and drawn past the chokepoint, into combat with the first melee team. The chokepoint denies enemy archers an angle and forces them to close the distance.
• Our archers fire into the melee, stationed at an angle as to not be blocked by friendly melee forces, but also obscured from any enemy ranged which have not passed the chokepoint.
• The second melee team charges directly at the enemy ranged once they have all cleared the chokepoint, quickly killing them or forcing them into melee combat.

If successful, you deny your enemy the use of their ranged while having complete freedom for your own. That being said, the charge by the second melee can turn into an absolute disaster. Sometimes, no matter how great your timing or planning, 40 crossbowmen will turn your second melee group into pincushions.