Can Poor Little Baktria Survive?

**Elmetiacos** · 03-12-2008, 19:11

I'm Baktria and the Seleukid Empire has attacked me. I'd already expanded East a little bit, taking Kophen and Gava Haomavarga, and I've had some short term success capturing two border towns, but what worries me is the relative size of their empire compared to mine. If they make peace with the Ptolemids, for instance, will I just get trampled by 10,000 elephants? Should I make a grovelling peace and hope to grab more eastern cities before they attack again, or try and press on into the heart of Persia?

**Digby Tatham Warter** · 03-12-2008, 19:35

Don't let the size of AS bother you, have you got lots of money, ie gold mines.

In my Bak campaign AS are trying it on(as they do) but I'm rich enough to field a very decent army, which has taken their cities to the southeast, giving me breathing room, and they have to travel along way to hit me with decent troops, to the point that I'm more interested in the 3 Indian cities.

**Decimus Attius Arbiter** · 03-12-2008, 19:37

Someone else may have more experience with Baktria, but I would take a town or two, then make peace with the Selukids. They usually expand more east than north. You want to get those territories before they do. But others have been successful at blitzing the Selukids eastern provinces. Sometimes they aren't well garrisoned.

**Kepper** · 03-12-2008, 21:03

First kill the Pahlava, and the Saka there horse arches can by a pain in the ass.
Hold the AS in the border and go after the Saka and Pahlava, to safe your norther border. Recruit army it many horse archers, win most of you battle and retrain after, to get lots of experience, in some turns you will get killing machines.

**LordCurlyton** · 03-12-2008, 21:11

Even an AI Bartix seems to do fine enough...

**Kepper** · 03-12-2008, 23:16

The Hayasdan, kingdom as gone to steppes.

**Centurio Nixalsverdrus** · 03-13-2008, 00:39

If AI Baktria can become giant, you could easily.

0.81 Makedonian campaign, 198BC:

1.0 Carthaginian campaign, 214BC:

**Elmetiacos** · 03-13-2008, 02:20

Originally Posted by Kepper

First kill the Pahlava, and the Saka there horse arches can by a pain in the ass.
Hold the AS in the border and go after the Saka and Pahlava, to safe your norther border. Recruit army it many horse archers, win most of you battle and retrain after, to get lots of experience, in some turns you will get killing machines.

The Parthians have obligingly declared war on me. They seem to be weak and should prove no more than a distraction. Even after crushing a full-size army of theirs with losses not even in 3 figures, the Seleukids worry me because of their sheer size... and they seem to be conquering Egypt...

**stupac** · 03-13-2008, 04:37

My early Baktria campaign was a little touch and go too. I pushed the saka down to one region, but maintained an alliance with Pahlava till they attacked me late in the game. A tactic that I found incredibly useful was massing spies in nearby Selukid cities, they would often cause a revolt within a few turns, then you can keep them as a buffer allowing the selukids to fight the rebels and reduce the garrisons, then snag them after they are weakened.

**Bactron** · 03-13-2008, 16:23

Originally Posted by Kepper

First kill the Pahlava, and the Saka there horse arches can by a pain in the ass.

Well I dont know if starting a war with Pahlava is a good thing. So far I have played two very long Baktrian campaings (one in 081 version one in 1.0 version) and Pahlava always stayed a loyal ally to me. They never even tried to attack me and later in those games I found them to be a usefull ally and I have used them as a buffer against seleucids.

**Elmetiacos** · 03-15-2008, 14:45

Game over. The Parthian suicide bombers did their work, distracting me long enough for yet another two enormous Seleucid armies to show up. I now have no money left to rebuild and fight them. I suppose what I should do is accept that the Seleucids will declare war at some point and focus on bribing the Parthians to make sure they stay on my side.

**Megas Methuselah** · 07-02-2008, 03:30

Order your peasants to beat their plowshares into swords and their pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, "I am strong!" Clench your teeth and fight on to the bitter end.

Who knows? You might just win.

EDIT: Oh no, sorry guys, I never meant to bring up a dead thread.