Sneakiest Strategic Move

[Martok]

Brilliant, General Dazza! It's not the first time I've heard of players using rebels to slow down and/or destroy a Crusade/Jihad, but it's always fun to read about nonetheless.


One of the boldest (ableit slightly cheesy) moves I made in MTW/VI was in a French campaign from a couple years ago. I immediately blitzed the English's continental holdings on the first turn with what few troops I could scrape together. Normandy & Anjou both fell after hard-fought battles, with the castle in Acquitaine succumbing to starvation a year after that.

While this gambit had left my troops spread ridiculously thin -- I had to fight off several (fortunately weak) counterattacks and invasions from the English & HRE, respectively -- it was worth the risk in the end. With the English removed from the Continent, I was able to secure my newly-expanded kingdom and develop my lands at a (relatively) leisurely pace.

[seireikhaan]

Oh, speaking of Crusades, there's another little trick I like to pull when playing any mediterrenean catholic faction. Build up a massive navy spanning the entire mediterrenean. Eventually, here comes France/England/HRE crusading for the holy land to fulfill their GA goals. They hop my navy with their crusade straight into the holy land.

Now for the mean part. Once they've landed, I pull out my navy from the area, effectively stranding their crusade in the holy land, with no safe haven to retreat to. The enraged muslim armies inevitibly launch a massive counterattack, taking back the province, and destroying the crusade.

I actually pulled this tactic three times against the HRE as Hungary in a span of 14 years. That's how the HRE went from being a world power occupying much of western Europe to being reduced to a meager three provinces after 2 civil wars in three years.

[Dragon20]

The most unusual move I have made was some months ago when I decided to start a campaign as the Turks in MTW/VI. Since the Danes usually don't do very much I bribed Sweden and Norway from the rebels, and send some alims there. After that I destroyed all my buildings in my original provinces and send my sultan and first heir (he was a crappy one) on a suicide attack against Egypt.

My second heir was crowned sultan in Norway. I took Denmark at the same time I lost my last homelands, and from then on I basically played the Danes being muslim. This "vacation campaign" was fun for a while, but I quit the campaign in 1150.

[Agent Miles]

In my Turkish campaign (MTW/VI Early, GA, no mods), I took all of the provinces on the map except for Corsica/Sardenia (Italy), Malta (Sicily) and Rhodes/Crete/Cyprus (Byzantium) by about 1300. I broke contact with them and then reestablished trade. I’m clearing between 20k and 30k in florins each turn while I gather up GA points. Every few turns, I crush a reemerging Pope.

[King Kurt]

I like to look for interesting strategic moves to get out of tricky situations. During a VI campaign as the Irish, I had a strongish army over in North East England, but my main base on mainland England was in Wales. The Mercians and Saxons were strong and a couple of reverses had made me a little weak and money was stretched. It looked bleak for my army in Northumberland as I could not fight my way back to Wales through the Midlands. So I decided to go the long way. I raised all buildings in the province and set off southwards round the coast. Each province I came to I defeated the local forces, raised any buildings if I took the province then moved on. I never stayed in a province, I always kept moving - if the defenders went into the stronghold, I ignored them. The AI was chasing me, but was always a move behind. Eventually I got round to Dornsaete, to link up with my forces in SW England. During this time, the Saxons - my main enemy - had suffered some losses trying to assault my Welsh provinces as well as loosing loads of provinces during my coastal slash and burn trip. Then my assasin killed the Saxon King and his weak hier lasted about a year before falling into civil war. I was then able to bribe some rebels - using the money from the slash and burn fest!! - and my concentrated forces, backed up with some nice ex Saxon Huscarls made short work of the remains of the Saxon empire.
My sweetest move was in my current Teutonic campaign - but I haven't written that up for the Pics and History thread yet, so I do not want to give that one away to spoil the surprise for Martok!!

[Kaidonni]

Long time no post...

My sneakiest move has to be from a Sicilian/Early/GA/Hard/unmodded campaign. It was in the mid 13th Century, and I ached at the idea the puny English, with any chance of their glory ended by war with France, now confined to the British Isles, owning said lands. So...I decided that a second Norman Invasion was in store, and prepared five armies which were to attack all at the exact same time. Complete with Bishops, Spies and Assassins to ensure I had security and religious control. Hehe...I had a stand-off with their king during the initial invasion, and his army retreated...only for him and his heirs to be captured and executed because they couldn't pay any ransom or go anywhere else. Therefore, that ended the English, there was little threat from the Pope warning me off (he didn't even have the chance!).

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

My sneakiest move, was possibly to prevent a HRE crusade from claiming. I simply denied it access to my provinces. Although they attacked every province they touched, it slowly weakened them, and, since I was Orthodox (Byzantines), my provinces, aided by spies and a complete lack of garrison due to no direct HRE access to them, simply revolted back to me the turn they were lost, providing me with a better army that I actually had prior to the province being taken - although that was not part of my plan, it was a lovely added bonus. In conclusion, although they did break through in the end and get to where they wanted to go, they were severely hampered and, when they reached Rum, their target, they were destroyed by the tiny garrison that was residing there (all they had left was a bunch of cheap and nasty Fanatics)!