Thoughts on Forts

[Henry707]

Good Morning All,

Time to confess - I love forts - sometimes they are much maligned as death traps when under siege but we all know in the right location they can be live savers. For example, does anyone else build a whole range around the top of the Italian pennisula, blocking mountain passes, keeping Venice safe & enabling you to keep garrisons to a minimum.

Basically, forts rock!

However, would I be right in saying that when you leave a fort on a peaceful border with a tiny garrison - it seems to act as a 'tempter' for the AI which just steams in as it is somehow deemed a vulnerable point?

Anyway, be interested to see how people use forts....

Henri

[DVX BELLORVM]

I admit that I also like forts . Not as a means of defense, but as a sort of a early warning system in combination with the watchtowers. When placed on a strategical points like mountain passes, bridges etc, they give me enough time to prepare when the enemy invades.

Also when I'm in the offensive, I build fort(s) in the enemy territory to serve as a gathering point for my reinforcements.

The third use is to prevent an army to rebel, if I decide to leave it without a general for some reason.

Once in my Turkish campaign, the forts definitely saved Antioch form falling into the Timurid hands. I built a ring of forts on a choke points around Antioch to slow down the crusaders. The Timurids invaded from Bagdad, heading towards the Antioch. After a few fierce battles, my forces were almost wiped out. The Timurids proceeded to Antioch, but for some reason didn't attack any fort. They were just going around my defense ring, as if they were trying to find a gap in it. By the time they finally assaulted one of the forts, I managed to assemble my armies and crush them.

As for the forts being a "tempter for the AI", I haven't really noticed it. maybe you're right, and I just didn't pay attention to such AI behavior.

[Vladimir]

In addition I like to use them to block roads thus forcing the AI to either siege them first or waste movement points by going around. It's good to place them one tile inside so they're in your territory when they siege it or hit the ZOC. They're very useful for resupply purposes as well. If your border is two or three turns away from a dedicated troop producer, build a series of one turn forts. I really prefer the cheap, wooden ones.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I've plugged the Alps with Forts since RTW. The allow me to gather a militia army from Milan/Genoa/Bologna/Venice, which by about Turn 50 can raise at least a 3/4 stack to resist the enemy and protect those valuable cities, often my economic heartland. Also useful between Spain/France, and in parts of the Holy Land. Don't really have any purpose in the larger, flatter regions such as the steppes and north Africa though, except maybe at some river crossings.

[Robespierre]

i love a good fort, but they ain't cheap. as crusade turk i have built them as stage-posts from Mosul to the West toward Antioch and South toward Baghdad. unled troops don't seem to go rebel in a fort, is this your experience too?
again, playing France in grand campaign, holding out vs. the Danes and HRE, it really helped having a fort on each northern Rhine crossing so both could be held by a single stack at Antwerpen.

what about free upkeep thing from Britannia kingdoms, it would be cool if you could get 2 free upkeep units for the first i or 2 forts in a province.

[DVX BELLORVM]

unled troops don't seem to go rebel in a fort, is this your experience too?

that's right, they won't rebel in the fort.

what about free upkeep thing from Britannia kingdoms, it would be cool if you could get 2 free upkeep units for the first i or 2 forts in a province.

The two most expensive unit in the fort have free upkeep, regardless of a type of unit. Really cool feature.

[ReiseReise]

The only place I use forts is in situations like you mentioned, keeping Venice safe, defending Western HRE border from French attacks, Jerusalem from Egyptian counterattacks and stuff like that. Build a fort on the far side of the bridge or in a mountain pass, especially when I am not at war with somebody but they are likely to attack at any moment. I usually staff it with a depleted militia unit, the fewer soldiers the better. The enemy has to spend a turn or 2 besieging it and I have an extra turn of reaction time to build militias or move them from nearby cities.

, I absolutely HATE that you cannot tell someone who you are at peace with to get off of your territory, ala Civilization series. One of many examples: In one recent campaign as HRE, myself and Poland raced for Magdeburg (Why do you always do that Poland, does Magdeburg sound Polish to you?), I won the race and took it, but then Poland parked an army on the river crossing and prevented Magdeburg from having quick access to my other cities. I didn't want to declare war on them, but how are they allowed to park an army in my territory, blocking my troop, merchant, agent movements? This is like Canada deciding to park a bunch of tanks on I90 for no reason (sorry to use Canada as the bad guys ). That is an attack. And then the defender gets blamed as the bad guy for removing them? If they want to claim the territory, make them declare war, otherwise leave.

[Alpedar]

I wish it worked this way: army in foreign land did not block neutrals, and if owner wanted to go to that space, it would be moved aside (like agent). (So it could get blocked by owner, pushed out by owner. Only situattion when owner cannot go to that place, is when army cannot be moved aside (so no destroying full stack without battle)

[ReiseReise]

Yep.
I didn't mean to hijack. So... back to forts....

[TheLastPrivate]

I put inbred, insane, deranged, lewd, and homosexual geenerals in forts on the border alone, after putting up sufficient watchtowers. When the fort is sieged, sally and try to charge as many of their ranged/siege..althogh not really possible to do much. Even if the general retreats he won't live, and thats a lot easier than trying to get rebel peasants to kill ur general without the unit routing first.

[Robespierre]

yeah, i sometimes put a disloyal general into a fort somewhere really dangerous, on a distant island surrounded by hostile stacks milling round. what a privilige to receive such a challenging mission! you have been promoted to an elite special forces unit, working behind enemy lines ......these potential rebels rarely continue to insubordinate my rule, one way or another.

[PseRamesses]

Sure I use forts, as many of you, strategically or as giving the feel of starting a smaller settlement in uninhabitated regions on the map, acting as half-way houses. Regions like central England, central France, Danube region where Beograd should be or the eastern Turkey region.
I also place forts to block river crossings (on the far side ofcourse for obvious reasons) like Eufrat/ Tigris crossings or block mountain passes like the Alps.

BTW, did u guys know that u can build permanent forts on another factions lands wich whom u have military acess to? I played a camp as Kingdom of Jerusalem recently, had an alliance with Armenians with military acess. I built a couple of forts blocking away the Turks thus protecting the Armenians. The Turks doesn´t take the empty forts there since it would be a DoW on me, cool huh?!