Cheecho's War Tactics: A guide for the beginner

[unmerged(7276)]

Cheecho's Strategy guide

I started making a tactical guide during a night shift on my last job. I then forgot about it and its been sitting in my inbox for weeks. Didnt mean for it to get this long but i got really into it once i started. Its aimed at the noob/meduim skill level however i think there are a few things for the experienced players too. Hope you like it

Tactics
-if You have the stronger navy try to keep the fighting on the coast. This way you can reenforce armies from the sea This is a much larger advantage than some people think. Even Land countrys may be wise to have a navy for this purpose.
-Avoid engaging armies that are suffering bad attrition. Better to let them die this way than waste your men.
-Use armies in pairs. If possible keep the trailing army out of sight. Always expect your opponent to have one also.
-Keep your generals safe. Make sure you keep them in good sized armies with plenty of infantry. Dont feel you have to use them in every battle and dont be afriad to withdraw. (im bad with this one)
-always keep one eye on war score. Remember battles won can be just as important as territory taken, and combat losses.
-High man power countrys suffer less WE than low ones. Be aware of which you are and which your opponents and allies are.
-When starting an offensive war be careful not to overstretch yourself. It is tempting to throw your entire force in at the start. This is bad for many reasons First of all the attack may fail and you might need those troops for defence. Second it is harder to coordinate larger forces. Third and most important you will porobably not be aware of yur opponents numbers and you should test the water first with a limited attack. Always keep reserves if you can.
-Stab hit as soon as you can. This seems obvious but it is easy to get caught up in the fighting or to loose track of where you are. Rememer the longer a war goes on, the more chance that the tide will turn. It may seem like a certain victory today but things can change fast and youll regret not using stab hits when you could..
-When you are at crt disadvantage WS can be very hard to gain. Dont launch an offensive war in this case without help and be very picky about the battles you fight. Youll most likely loose them and even with your border in tact you can loose WS very fast. In the case defending (crt down) then It may be ok to let some territory fall in order to hit them harder with the counter attack. Hit them hard and use cavalry if possible. Use seige warfare and WE tactics.
-When making demmands and fighting wars it is important to take into account how much you will weaken your opponent as much strenghen yourself. Killing an oppoenents fleet, hurting his trade, taking his time away from colonising, can be far more damaging then just a couple of provs.
-When starting a new war i find its good to warm up a little at first. Your brain is probably in economics mode. You may not have faught for hours or even 2-3 sessions! Dont throw all your armies in at first (as written above) because of this. Your more likely to make errors because of your state of mind. As the war goes on your performace will probably get better as you start to get into the swing of the things. Better not to have spent to much cash and WE by this point. Also after a long period of fighting it is likely your performance will dip again as your brain tires. Remember these points when planning your strategy.



Mind games
-Always be aware of your opponents state of mind. If he is tiring of battle then you have the advantage(whatever the WS!) Use his morale to your advantage. Always sound confident even if you are not.
-Be aware of what you opponent can see as well as what you can. This goes for peace time was well as war. Also make sure you can see as much as possible. Use small spy armies, navies etc. Also someone with a RM is always useful. Pay them if you need to.
-In large wars you should use your opoonents time to your adavantage. Distract them if you can using the start stop method and be aware of where their attention is. If they are clearly moving armies on 1 continent, make your attacks on another.
-Try not to get too wound up when you are gang banged. Calm yourself and assess the situation. Oten other players will feel sorry for you and EVERYONE has enemies. Ask around. Even if nonone does want to help things are often not as bad as they seem. If they are over confident or not well orginaized then there is a good chance you can defend yourself. Remember defending is always much easier than attacking. If you were attacking when you were ganged(is as is often the case) then pull your troops out and reposition them. Let the gangbangers overstrech themselfves then hit them hard. If the situation is actually hopeless then negotiate a peace. You can always get your revenge in a few years. Getting wound up leads to poor performance. Do not make things worse than they are.
-Never start talking peace after a bad battle or when things are not going your favor. Many people do as this is the time when you have 'had enough' Its not a good idea though as you will have the phycological disadvantage.
-Try not to be too greedy. The battle may be going your way now but things can change quick and you dont want to loose the advantage you have . Greedy demmands will also encourage others to join against you.
-Be aware of your fellow players wants and priorities. What provs do they want and how much do they want them? Sometimes it might be wise to give up provs to avoid war if your opponent has a temp advantage such as CRT or by event. Its always hard to give up land but stuborness is the ane of many good players. You dont have to wait for war to do this. Do it during peace time. It may feel bad but youll get the last laugh. As soon as hes in trouble backstab him. Remember its is a long game and you have to use long term strategys.
-The early game is the most important part but also imo the most neglected. People often avoid war at this time as they fear permenant dammage and money is tight. Use this to your advantage. If people dont want to fight then they are less likely to help their allies and they are more likely to sign peace.
-During war it is typical that youll recieve a lot of chat messages from other players. This does suck cos its the 1 time you dont really have time to talk. Be aware though that if you are ignoring them maybe your opponent isnt! A small ammount of time on the chat button can make a big difference to who joins the war, and on whos side!. Rememer players like to e talked to. Ignore them at your peril..

Preperation
-Before you DOW you should talk to your neighbours and your targets neighbours. Really you should not go to war without any idea of how others will react. I cant emphesise this enough. Make the effort! Pay them if needed. Secracy is overated and is rarely as important as diplomacy. If it helps then inform these players of your plans/demmands. Make the effort. it is worth it. Players like to know what you are up to and how much stronger you will be if they dont act. Suprise attacks will just encourage gang bangs on you.
-WE is a bitch. Best way to avoid it is to build troops BEFORE the war. Make sure you are at least on your support limit if you expect a war. I usually go way over before i attack and then make sure i suffer loosses early to save money.
-Be Aware of the importance of CRT, moral and leadership at all times. It is easy to underestimate or overestimatre a nations power in this game based on size and numbers. Keep an eye on stats if your games have them.


Timing
-Timing is everything. If it looks like war in unavoidable with a country then try to make it happen at a time that suits you. Dont be afriad to hit them first. You may still loose but proably not as ad. Maybe you are not fully prepared, but are they even less prepared is the question. Will waiting a year make things better for you or him? An obvious instance of this is when an enemy is shipping troops abroad. If you have a superior navy then best attack him early before he moves too many men. There are many less obvious examples though.
-Best times for colonial wars in early. Colonial nations are less likely to fight early cos they lack trade income and are often too busy. Also warships are pricy. Build cgalleys in colonial lands and use them to guard the coast. It takes a long time but it is cheap and not many people do it. Covering that land can be essential with small navies at the start.
-Timing army movements can be tricky. Try to keep cannons/inf in the foward armies as the fire phase is first. Its nice when a large cavalry force arrives just in time for the shock phase.
-When retreating remember combat phases also. Retreat in the phase that suits your armies make up. So for example if fighting v a large cav army on plains then you should retreat just before the shock phase. Let your infantry shoot some before you retreat.

 

[unmerged(5161)]

Good guide. I like it. I was thinking about doing an update to my tactical domination guide now that I put out my new diplomacy guide. You beat me to the punch!

 

[Dago]

very very interesting post
but i think is important stay always at max support limit,not only when u r preparing a war

 

[Slargos]

I object. THis is not a strategy guide. :wacko:

 

[DSYoungEsq]

Yes, well, the concept of "strategy" (meaning overall approach to a situation which is obtained using tactics) is often confused with the concept of tactics themselves. It would do better named Cheecho's War Tactics: A guide for the beginner

If we are talking about war "strategy", there needs to be advice about things like: what can you do to obtain a winning war score quickly, or should naval powers fight land wars with troop resupply through convoy.

 

[unmerged(7276)]

but i think is important stay always at max support limit,not only when u r preparing a war

I like to keep large standing army also dago but on full support limit is slightly much maye. certainly in late game or for low mp nations i agree.

Ok its more tips/tricks that strategey guide..

 

[Slargos]

Yes, well, the concept of "strategy" (meaning overall approach to a situation which is obtained using tactics) is often confused with the concept of tactics themselves. It would do better named Cheecho's War Tactics: A guide for the beginner

A pet peeve of mine.

 

[unmerged(5161)]

Good name change.

 

[DSYoungEsq]

A pet peeve of mine.

Hehehe, you should be Strategos then. :rofl:

 

[unmerged(10146)]

When retreating remember combat phases also. Retreat in the phase that suits your armies make up. So for example if fighting v a large cav army on plains then you should retreat just before the shock phase. Let your infantry shoot some before you retreat.

This sentence made me again realise how little I know about land combat. HOW detailed can it possible be?

 

[unmerged(5161)]

There is a ton of stuff, Barnius. I learn something really important every month or so. Strange how much stuff you dont just pick up from playing.

 

[DSYoungEsq]

There is a ton of stuff, Barnius. I learn something really important every month or so. Strange how much stuff you dont just pick up from playing.

Otherwise known as "there is a reason we pack them off the West Point for four years."

 

[Slargos]

Hehehe, you should be Strategos then. :rofl:

Clever girl.

But yes. It would be a clever way to reinvent myself.

 

[smn_]

Nice tactics guide cheecho. To add to the guide, some thumb rules of mine below.

-if You have the stronger navy try to keep the fighting on the coast. This way you can reenforce armies from the sea This is a much larger advantage than some people think. Even Land countrys may be wise to have a navy for this purpose.

I might add, even in a land power war such as OE against Russia, naval forces might make a huge difference by allowing fast reinforcements all along the Black Sea coast. Mobility is the key to the victorious war, for a smaller power can, if the circumstances are right, maintain local superiority in every battle they fight.

Also, always consider the terrain. Fighting in bad terrain, such as attacking mountains over a river is almost as wasteful as attacking Napoleon without a leader. In warfare I always take notice of the defensive terrains I want to keep covered with my troops because the price of attacking them is too high. I am often likely to walk around the opponents troops only to avoid attacking over a river, _if_ the situation on the front allows that. When fighting defensive, it more often than not does, and the attrition goes to the enemy.

Regarding terrain and preparations, take notice on your worst attrition provinces and build your best forts there. This is especially important in areas such as the Balkans, where the attacker usually gets horrible attrition with stacks larger than 20K. Good fortresses add to your support limit, and decreases the invading enemys chances of assaulting. No invader can succeed if the enemy can move 60k stacks around without noticeable attrition, while he can move only 20k stacks like that.

Regarding terrain and attrition, it is good to remember that late in the game, this isn't so. Late game attrition maximums and good infra technology says that the invading 200k stack will win if you can't field something to counter it.

What else? Look for chances to cut the enemy in two. Usually this leaves you with one serious front to handle, and lots of easy-to-siege provinces on the other side.

With the recent patches, troops can not be reorganized in non-controlled enemy provinces. This gives a new reason for assaulting & capturing a selected enemy province deep in their territory, for the ability to reorganize troops is priceless. When invading, pick a target to capture if you think that your initial invasion might not crush all his armies after all.

 

[unmerged(2833)]

Quite interesting, and good points. Especially interesting was the psychological side.

-The early game is the most important part but also imo the most neglected. People often avoid war at this time as they fear permenant dammage and money is tight. Use this to your advantage. If people dont want to fight then they are less likely to help their allies and they are more likely to sign peace.
-During war it is typical that youll recieve a lot of chat messages from other players. This does suck cos its the 1 time you dont really have time to talk. Be aware though that if you are ignoring them maybe your opponent isnt! A small ammount of time on the chat button can make a big difference to who joins the war, and on whos side!. Rememer players like to e talked to. Ignore them at your peril..

Those two caught my attentions. It is indeed true that people want to avoid costly wars in the beginning, and its the best time for warmonger to strike. Players want to get "consolidated" but face it - you are consolidated (if playing France, eg) more than you will ever be. And its comparative advantage what matters, not your real strenght. Early wars are very nice. I always waged them, in fact, in games i played, XVI century was usually century of warfare...

The chat messages - its also true. Well, the adrenaline rush people mention about playing EU II is good here, it speeds up your reactions. Although you may have hard time reasoning, and thus may be worse and diplomacy - chatting. Its tough.

War itself is more simple - its all intuitive and you don't (well, at least i do not) think - i know instantly what to do. Thus, adrenaline is actually helping.

 

[unmerged(2833)]

I object. THis is not a strategy guide. :wacko:

Of course it is. Maybe not the first part, but mind games, preparations, etc, are strategy.

I like to keep large standing army also dago but on full support limit is slightly much maye. certainly in late game or for low mp nations i agree.

Ok its more tips/tricks that strategey guide..

He meant prior to war. Which is obviously very good move.

 

[unmerged(2833)]

This sentence made me again realise how little I know about land combat. HOW detailed can it possible be?

Well, the combat phases are pretty basic knowledge, my dear ultra-economist