Is there a point in creating a front line

[Bluwie]

Is there a point in setting up an army on every province on the enemy border when all the AI does is lose the battle, and then MOVE FURTHER INTO MY TERRITORY. Is there a way around this or should I creat back up armies to deal with these

 

[Cavalry]

Infantry, hussar and especially artillery is stronger in defense than in attack. So you can try to bait enemy into attack, hiding reinforce force from AI view.

After winning, chase them to finish them off. They can recruite again, but then the war was over. If you lose a battle, try to withdraw to friendly land, you can get much faster reinforce and re org.

 

[Bluwie]

well yeah i built forts and man armies on each tile,but the fact that they can always attack me, which then they will lose the battle, and then retreat into my territory. the thing is i have no problem defending territory, its just the annoying fact that the game has the ability to retreat into further territory which for me is completely bullshit

 

[Darutan]

I will support. The first Victoria had normal fronts. Why break something that works well and introduce it. Unfortunately, yes, this is a problem that after losing the AI can withdraw its units to your rear, the only way to deal with this is to keep the "reserve" troops behind the backs of the main ones.

 

[AsdfeZxcas]

Yeah, because otherwise the AI will send a horde of tiny armies through the gap and it gets really annoying

 

[Kovax]

In this game, a general with a speed bonus can be worth his weight in gold. I tend to use one army with a high Attack or Defense to gain a favorable combat advantage, and then support that army with a second army led by a general with a speed bonus. When the enemy breaks and retreats into your territory, use that second army to chase it, beat it to the next province, and destroy it. Meanwhile, the original army with the combat bonus is still there to deter all of the annoying little follow-up units with 3000 to 6000 men each.

Put another way, you only need enough men on the front line to hold without too many casualties until your powerful reserve units in the provinces directly behind them arrive. In some cases while initially on the defensive, I don't even put a general in some of those front line units, so I can send my reserve army with a +3 or +4 Defense general to whichever province is under attack, to reinforce and take charge of the combat. Ensuring that the enemy attacks your best Defensive leaders, while your own Offensive leaders are positioned to make attacks, is a critical part of the tactical side of the game.

If I can do so, I set up some choke point that the annoying little units can't easily pass, and let them besiege the provinces ahead of it. Then they're vulnerable to being attacked and destroyed piecemeal by a faster unit. That beats engaging them all combined into one powerful army, since you can usually eliminate them with hardly any losses of your own. The real pain is when the enemy pours army after army into a combat, and you end up with a mutual bloodbath. Even if you eliminate 1.2 Million enemy soldiers in that epic engagement, you've still probably lost over half a million of your own pops.

 

[Vohen]

I find the enemy retreating behind your lines to happen quite rarely, enough so that making a Frontline is still worth it.
But maybe that's just my experience.

 

[Cavalry]

Put another way, you only need enough men on the front line to hold without too many casualties until your powerful reserve units in the provinces directly behind them arrive. In some cases while initially on the defensive, I don't even put a general in some of those front line units, so I can send my reserve army with a +3 or +4 Defense general to whichever province is under attack, to reinforce and take charge of the combat. Ensuring that the enemy attacks your best Defensive leaders, while your own Offensive leaders are positioned to make attacks, is a critical part of the tactical side of the game.

Yeah, defense bait is a good 1st step to break enemy strength. Make sure you hide the reinforce from AI view or they will not take the bait. The bait force is about half of enemy force.