Ibrahim
12-07-2009, 06:39
Hi,
I want to know if anyone does this, and to inform those who don't
I am currently having an AS campaign*, where I have to currently deal with Carthage and Dacia, and am woefully outnumbered by both armies. up to that point, It was believed that mere conquest could deal with these factions, but as many know, that can be a pain in the rear (rebellions, administration, defense, etc). raids have been proposed, which are normally part of the VC of a faction: basically, take a town, hold it for a while, and pull back.
its these VC raids, plus my knowlege of the seven years war, that have inspired this new strategy: how to weaken the enemy, without having to hold their territories, particularly if they are more economically vibrant AI factions. I call them "descents", after operations of a similar sort made by the british in the seven years war.
it works something like this:
1) the target must (preferably) be a coastal town. you can penetrate inland if resistance is minimal, or the inland city is behind an already descended city.
2) assemble a small floatilla, and a moderately sized army (full size is if you want to attack multiple towns)
3) land right up to the town, and lay siege. assault as soon as possible, while at the same time drawing in as many enemy armies as possible.
4) somehow defeat the armies, and capture the town.
now here's where things get interesting:
5) do not worry about the defense, government, or even temporarily holding the city: simply enslave the city, and begin to wantonly tear down as many enemy infrastructures as possible: aim for sewege, barracks, and govt. make sure only building that can't be demolished are left, and do not bother repairing any damaged walls. then, in the same turn as the city was captured, leave it, and head right back home. the city will riot, killing more citizens and trashing any remaining buildings, and will eventually go back to carthage. (I got this from Wolfe's descents on the countryside surrounding Quebec after his failed assault on Beauport, and before his battle on the plains of Abraham)
6)rinse and repeat, dealing death and destruction to as many cities along/near the coast as possible.
now, what does this do to the AI faction? firstly, it severly depopulates the cities (Ippone, south of Carthage, now only has 400 people in my campaign; carthage, 1,000), undercutting recruitment. the loss of economic infrastructure wipes out all revenue for the cities (the two cities make -800 or less). then there are the heavy losses incurred on the armies in those cities, as well as the relief force(s); Ippone cost Carthage 40,000 soldiers, and 15,000 civilians, in two descents. and of course, having torn down the barracks, then cannot really retrain those elite units they depended on. I now have very few, if any, attacks on my frontier cities, and Rome is begining to swallow Carthaginian territory, first in Spain, then Mauritania.
now, why do I write this? well, I figured since it works with me, it can help many (hellenistic) players deal with the enemy AI, particularly from Carthage, Rome, and Dacia, and the ptolies, who keep many coastal towns, that are also out of the VC areas.
I also write this to describe the strategy, and to ask (as I mentioned at the begining): has anyone else tried this strategy? I want to know if this is also done by players.
*the computer is at a repair center as this is being written, so the campaign has been paused.
I want to know if anyone does this, and to inform those who don't
I am currently having an AS campaign*, where I have to currently deal with Carthage and Dacia, and am woefully outnumbered by both armies. up to that point, It was believed that mere conquest could deal with these factions, but as many know, that can be a pain in the rear (rebellions, administration, defense, etc). raids have been proposed, which are normally part of the VC of a faction: basically, take a town, hold it for a while, and pull back.
its these VC raids, plus my knowlege of the seven years war, that have inspired this new strategy: how to weaken the enemy, without having to hold their territories, particularly if they are more economically vibrant AI factions. I call them "descents", after operations of a similar sort made by the british in the seven years war.
it works something like this:
1) the target must (preferably) be a coastal town. you can penetrate inland if resistance is minimal, or the inland city is behind an already descended city.
2) assemble a small floatilla, and a moderately sized army (full size is if you want to attack multiple towns)
3) land right up to the town, and lay siege. assault as soon as possible, while at the same time drawing in as many enemy armies as possible.
4) somehow defeat the armies, and capture the town.
now here's where things get interesting:
5) do not worry about the defense, government, or even temporarily holding the city: simply enslave the city, and begin to wantonly tear down as many enemy infrastructures as possible: aim for sewege, barracks, and govt. make sure only building that can't be demolished are left, and do not bother repairing any damaged walls. then, in the same turn as the city was captured, leave it, and head right back home. the city will riot, killing more citizens and trashing any remaining buildings, and will eventually go back to carthage. (I got this from Wolfe's descents on the countryside surrounding Quebec after his failed assault on Beauport, and before his battle on the plains of Abraham)
6)rinse and repeat, dealing death and destruction to as many cities along/near the coast as possible.
now, what does this do to the AI faction? firstly, it severly depopulates the cities (Ippone, south of Carthage, now only has 400 people in my campaign; carthage, 1,000), undercutting recruitment. the loss of economic infrastructure wipes out all revenue for the cities (the two cities make -800 or less). then there are the heavy losses incurred on the armies in those cities, as well as the relief force(s); Ippone cost Carthage 40,000 soldiers, and 15,000 civilians, in two descents. and of course, having torn down the barracks, then cannot really retrain those elite units they depended on. I now have very few, if any, attacks on my frontier cities, and Rome is begining to swallow Carthaginian territory, first in Spain, then Mauritania.
now, why do I write this? well, I figured since it works with me, it can help many (hellenistic) players deal with the enemy AI, particularly from Carthage, Rome, and Dacia, and the ptolies, who keep many coastal towns, that are also out of the VC areas.
I also write this to describe the strategy, and to ask (as I mentioned at the begining): has anyone else tried this strategy? I want to know if this is also done by players.
*the computer is at a repair center as this is being written, so the campaign has been paused.