Ryoken's Battle Primer
This was specifically written for Nabukodonosor/Dichra/Nab; a man of many names
I figured that the level of combat skill in the community is dropped with the influx of new blood and the withdrawal of a lot of the old veterans. So I decided to write this guide to help the fledglings learn the basic of warfare in the multiplayer environment. Multiplayer warfare is extremely different from single player warfare. The enemy THINKS! The enemy has STRATEGY! The AI.... well the AI is just plain retarded.
This guide is not meant to make incredible strides in new warfare styles, but rather relate existing methods to new players. If you are a veteran, you probably already know this. The goal is to create more veterans!
Note: This guide does not attempt to cover much amphibious or naval warfare; only land based combat.
Mao Zedong's Theory of War:
Mao Zedong, unlike Karl Von Clausewitz and Western scholars, envisioned war as a series of phases. Each phase was not wholly seperate from the others, but mixed a little with the others. The best analogy I have seen used to represent Mao's phases is the OCEAN TIDE; ebb and flow. Mao divided war into three phases; attack, stall, and counterattack. Wars could end in the first, second, or third phase. However, many wars progressed through all three. Like the tide, these phases are not distinctively seperate but blend together in a seamless motion.
Attack:
During the attack phase, the offensive power is attacking the defensive power. The attacker must expend enormous energy to overcome the defenses present. The goal of the defender is to maximize the cost of the attack to stop the forward momentum of the enemy. The goal of the attacker is to minimize this cost and overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible. Either the attacker will succeed and the war will immediately end or the defender will succeed and the momentum of the attack will stop.
Stall:
At a certain point, the attacker will be unable to continue to move forward and he will stop. He may be able to hold his position and await reinforcements. If he is reinforced, he may move back into an attack phase. If the defender feels he has the strength to move on the offensive himself, he moves to the next phase.
Counter-Attack:
Roles reverse. The defensive power is attacking the offensive power. The offensive power must now attempt to stall the defensive power. The goal of the defender is to maximize the cost of the attack to stop the forward momentum of the enemy. The goal of the attacker is to minimize this cost and overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible. Either the attacker will succeed and the war will immediately end or the defender will succeed and the momentum of the attack will stop.
Thus like the ebb and flow of the tide, battle rises and falls. Eventually, one of the three phases dominates. If the attack dominates, the offensive power will likely gain from the peace. If the stall dominates, a white peace is the likely result. If the counter-attack dominates, the defensive power will likely gain from the peace. This is the nature of war.
Note: I am greatly simplifying Mao's theory. I didnt get into key concepts such as "the point of maximum extension" and so on. I suggest you study him more deeply if you wish further insights.
The Art of Defense:
There are so many ways to succeed without competing directly with other players that if you master one thing; it should be defense. The Art of Defense is the Art of FORCING A STALL. You want to conserve your own strength while doing everything you can to undermine the strength of your opponent. There are three ways to kill enemy soldiers; attrition, enemy assaults, and pitched battle.
Attrition and Assaults:
If you begin combat on the defensive or if your own attack fails and you end up on the defensive, you need to maximize the amount of attrition and assault casualties taken by the enemy. There are a variety of ways to do this, the most important is to let them do it. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Hold your forces back in your country and force the enemy to come to you. Allow him to make costly assaults and lose large numbers of men.
This is greatly helped by BUILDING FORTS DURING PEACETIME. You want to put up as large a defensive wall as possible and then stand back and allow your enemy to beat himself senseless. Once he has taken casualties and his morale has fallen, launch your counter-attacks. Dont expend large resources defending the undefendable. Study the terrain and support limits. Know what you can defend and what you cannot. If a province is too far from your reach to defend adequately, dont waste resources defending it. Unless the province is exceptionally valuable to you or worth large amounts of warscore, dont waste your time defending it. Put up a good defense on the ground of your choosing. Dont be lured into a counter-attack until you are sure the enemy forces are overextended. If the enemy tries to siege a province, let him waste a few months on the siege before you break it. Time is usually on your side as the defender.
Defensive Battles:
When you are on the defensive, you often have a smaller army than your enemy. Therefore, it is extremely important that you maximize its power. Take up position in a strategic strongpoint and wait for him to reveal his plan. Dont thrust your army onto the battlefield without as much certainty of victory as possible. You cannot afford to lose!
This illustration shows a site of frequent wars: The France-Spain border
Provinces are marked with X's of various colors. White provinces are FRONT LINE provinces. They represent forces you are exposing to enemy view. Black provinces are REAR LINE provinces. They represent forces you are sending into battle that the enemy does not see. Red provinces represent AMBUSH provinces. They represent forces that would normally be rear line but they are not protected by a front line province. Green provinces represent SEABORNE FORCES that arrive near-instantly via a port.
The French Defensive Position: The French defensive position is fairly strong. Guyenne is their only front line province. Thus the enemy will initially only be able to see the Guyenne forces when they first enter Rousillon. They will see nothing from Bearn. The defensive position at Guyenne will prevent them from breaking their army into lots of siege forces. It will also potentially entice them to send a large army through Rousillon to attack Guyenne. So either Spain will launch a thrust into Guyenne or siege and take Rousillon and Bearn.
Lets assume that Spain sends her main army to Guyenne. French forces hidden behind Guyenne (rear line forces) can be order to Guyenne a few days after the Spanish start their march from Rousillon. This means the Spanish will begin fighting just before the reinforcements arrive. Because there are FOUR potential rear line positions behind Guyenne, it is a very strong position.
Lets assume that Spain expends resources to take Bearn and Rousillon. They must now choose to attack one of three provinces along the front. If they attack Gascogne, they can be countered by three armies; Poitou, Guyenne, and the seaborne forces off the coast. Since the only army they know exists is Guyenne, they will probably send far too few men to take on the combined force. This involves attacking across a river for the French forces, but numbers and the seaborne arrival should spell victory. On the other hand, they could attack Languedoc. Maybe they have a lot of cavalry and hope to kill the French army with them. However, this is where the ambush army in Lyonnais comes into play. It can move in total secrecy in concert with the army in Cevennes and the known army in Guyenne. If they attack into Guyenne directly, you already know what to do.
The Spanish Defensive Position: The Spanish defensive position is less strong. It would be stronger if they had Bearn and Rousillon. However, the defensive advantage of mountains is very helpful. The Spanish cannot use seaborne forces very effectively in the Mediterranian and they rarely send a fleet up near Cantabria, so I am going to assume no seaborne forces.
The French can attack along three provinces; the front line provinces. Unlike France, there is no "dead man's land" between the front lines. This is good and bad. It is good in that no warscore is lost, but bad in that there is less reaction time. If the French attack into Gerona or Navarra, three supporting armies can be brought in to help. If they attack in Cantabria, four supporting armies can be brought in (another seaborne army could also potentially assist / Leon and Galicia not shown on this screenshot). These counter-attacks will be especially useful because the French army will be attacking into mountains in Navarra and Gerona and this will greatly aid the defender.
The Point: The point is to force the enemy into attacking where you can bring UNKNOWN FORCES into play. This will result in victory.
The Art of Attack:
Attacking is hard. The burden of success is on the player. If you are not confident in your abilities or your advantage, you probably should not go on the attack. Playing the Napoleonic Scenario(s) are one of the best ways to build your combat skills because there is no long term consequence to losing. Winning a war happens because you did two things well: captured provinces or killed the enemy army (or both).
Sieging:
Sieging is the least risky way to take provinces. However, it is also the slowest. I think of sieging as establishing a defensive position ON TOP OF AN ENEMY PROVINCE. Use the same techniques you learned in the defense section. Place a siege army out there, but keep reserve armies in friendly provinces to support if the enemy attacks the siege army. Sieges can be used to lure the enemy to attack a position they would otherwise avoid; across a river or into a mountain province. Sieges create anxiety for the defender and they want to lift the siege. When they counter-attack, bring in your reinforcements and crush them. Then return to your positions. You want to MINIMIZE ATTRITION by keeping your main force waiting behind the siege instead of starving in that province.
Assaulting:
Assaults are risky. Improve your chances of success by assaulting when the enemy army is in retreat, you have been sieging for a while, or you have overwhelming force. CHAIN ASSAULTING is a frequent technique used to break a fort. Send in wave after wave of armies. The first army arrives and begins the assault, the second army arrives to continue, then the third, and so on. You want each army to be one march behind the next so that they dont bunch up and take attrition. Chain assaulting also often tricks the enemy into putting his main army in your way and you crush it along with the fortress. Chain assault morale usually stays much higher because of constant reinforcement by fresh troops. The defending army usually breaks.
Here is an example of a chain assault battle plan. The goal is Madrid.
Lets assume three main armies begin in Poitou, Guyenne, and Lyonnais. The Guyenne army is the VANGUARD (GREEN ARROWS) and moves first. Behind it comes the REINFORCEMENTS (PURPLE ARROWS). Whenever the Vanguard assaults, the reinforcements are moving into the battle so that if the attack falters, they will provide assistance. The SECOND REINFORCEMENTS (YELLOW ARROWS) moves to Bearn so it doesnt cause attrition in Rousillon and then, depending on the enemy's reaction and the success of the attack, it can make one of three moves into Spain (TURQOUISE ARROWS). This flexibility allows response to unexpected circumstances (like hidden Spanish armies in the interior).
Pitched Battles
On the offensive, pitched battles are harder to control since you lack the visibility of the defender. However, you should monitor and remember the PREVIOUS decisions by that player to anticipate their defensive positions. The goal is to strike at the weakest point. It may be advantageous, if you have overwhelming numbers, to attempt to crush the enemy army FIRST and take provinces SECOND. Against a prepared enemy, this is less probable and you will probably end up in a pitched battle to protect a siege or assault rather than seek it out for its own sake.
Conclusion:
These are simple tactics. However, it is imperative that you understand the nature of them before you can move on to more advanced tactics. War is a very simple thing. It is the enemy that makes it complex. Use these tactics to bring your military skills up to an intermediate level. STUDY YOUR ENEMIES, STEAL THEIR TACTICS, AND LEARN DAMMIT!!!
Good luck!
This was specifically written for Nabukodonosor/Dichra/Nab; a man of many names
I figured that the level of combat skill in the community is dropped with the influx of new blood and the withdrawal of a lot of the old veterans. So I decided to write this guide to help the fledglings learn the basic of warfare in the multiplayer environment. Multiplayer warfare is extremely different from single player warfare. The enemy THINKS! The enemy has STRATEGY! The AI.... well the AI is just plain retarded.This guide is not meant to make incredible strides in new warfare styles, but rather relate existing methods to new players. If you are a veteran, you probably already know this. The goal is to create more veterans!
Note: This guide does not attempt to cover much amphibious or naval warfare; only land based combat.
Mao Zedong's Theory of War:
Mao Zedong, unlike Karl Von Clausewitz and Western scholars, envisioned war as a series of phases. Each phase was not wholly seperate from the others, but mixed a little with the others. The best analogy I have seen used to represent Mao's phases is the OCEAN TIDE; ebb and flow. Mao divided war into three phases; attack, stall, and counterattack. Wars could end in the first, second, or third phase. However, many wars progressed through all three. Like the tide, these phases are not distinctively seperate but blend together in a seamless motion.
Attack:
During the attack phase, the offensive power is attacking the defensive power. The attacker must expend enormous energy to overcome the defenses present. The goal of the defender is to maximize the cost of the attack to stop the forward momentum of the enemy. The goal of the attacker is to minimize this cost and overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible. Either the attacker will succeed and the war will immediately end or the defender will succeed and the momentum of the attack will stop.
Stall:
At a certain point, the attacker will be unable to continue to move forward and he will stop. He may be able to hold his position and await reinforcements. If he is reinforced, he may move back into an attack phase. If the defender feels he has the strength to move on the offensive himself, he moves to the next phase.
Counter-Attack:
Roles reverse. The defensive power is attacking the offensive power. The offensive power must now attempt to stall the defensive power. The goal of the defender is to maximize the cost of the attack to stop the forward momentum of the enemy. The goal of the attacker is to minimize this cost and overwhelm the enemy as quickly as possible. Either the attacker will succeed and the war will immediately end or the defender will succeed and the momentum of the attack will stop.
Thus like the ebb and flow of the tide, battle rises and falls. Eventually, one of the three phases dominates. If the attack dominates, the offensive power will likely gain from the peace. If the stall dominates, a white peace is the likely result. If the counter-attack dominates, the defensive power will likely gain from the peace. This is the nature of war.
Note: I am greatly simplifying Mao's theory. I didnt get into key concepts such as "the point of maximum extension" and so on. I suggest you study him more deeply if you wish further insights.
The Art of Defense:
There are so many ways to succeed without competing directly with other players that if you master one thing; it should be defense. The Art of Defense is the Art of FORCING A STALL. You want to conserve your own strength while doing everything you can to undermine the strength of your opponent. There are three ways to kill enemy soldiers; attrition, enemy assaults, and pitched battle.
Attrition and Assaults:
If you begin combat on the defensive or if your own attack fails and you end up on the defensive, you need to maximize the amount of attrition and assault casualties taken by the enemy. There are a variety of ways to do this, the most important is to let them do it. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Hold your forces back in your country and force the enemy to come to you. Allow him to make costly assaults and lose large numbers of men.
This is greatly helped by BUILDING FORTS DURING PEACETIME. You want to put up as large a defensive wall as possible and then stand back and allow your enemy to beat himself senseless. Once he has taken casualties and his morale has fallen, launch your counter-attacks. Dont expend large resources defending the undefendable. Study the terrain and support limits. Know what you can defend and what you cannot. If a province is too far from your reach to defend adequately, dont waste resources defending it. Unless the province is exceptionally valuable to you or worth large amounts of warscore, dont waste your time defending it. Put up a good defense on the ground of your choosing. Dont be lured into a counter-attack until you are sure the enemy forces are overextended. If the enemy tries to siege a province, let him waste a few months on the siege before you break it. Time is usually on your side as the defender.
Defensive Battles:
When you are on the defensive, you often have a smaller army than your enemy. Therefore, it is extremely important that you maximize its power. Take up position in a strategic strongpoint and wait for him to reveal his plan. Dont thrust your army onto the battlefield without as much certainty of victory as possible. You cannot afford to lose!
This illustration shows a site of frequent wars: The France-Spain border
Provinces are marked with X's of various colors. White provinces are FRONT LINE provinces. They represent forces you are exposing to enemy view. Black provinces are REAR LINE provinces. They represent forces you are sending into battle that the enemy does not see. Red provinces represent AMBUSH provinces. They represent forces that would normally be rear line but they are not protected by a front line province. Green provinces represent SEABORNE FORCES that arrive near-instantly via a port.
The French Defensive Position: The French defensive position is fairly strong. Guyenne is their only front line province. Thus the enemy will initially only be able to see the Guyenne forces when they first enter Rousillon. They will see nothing from Bearn. The defensive position at Guyenne will prevent them from breaking their army into lots of siege forces. It will also potentially entice them to send a large army through Rousillon to attack Guyenne. So either Spain will launch a thrust into Guyenne or siege and take Rousillon and Bearn.
Lets assume that Spain sends her main army to Guyenne. French forces hidden behind Guyenne (rear line forces) can be order to Guyenne a few days after the Spanish start their march from Rousillon. This means the Spanish will begin fighting just before the reinforcements arrive. Because there are FOUR potential rear line positions behind Guyenne, it is a very strong position.
Lets assume that Spain expends resources to take Bearn and Rousillon. They must now choose to attack one of three provinces along the front. If they attack Gascogne, they can be countered by three armies; Poitou, Guyenne, and the seaborne forces off the coast. Since the only army they know exists is Guyenne, they will probably send far too few men to take on the combined force. This involves attacking across a river for the French forces, but numbers and the seaborne arrival should spell victory. On the other hand, they could attack Languedoc. Maybe they have a lot of cavalry and hope to kill the French army with them. However, this is where the ambush army in Lyonnais comes into play. It can move in total secrecy in concert with the army in Cevennes and the known army in Guyenne. If they attack into Guyenne directly, you already know what to do.
The Spanish Defensive Position: The Spanish defensive position is less strong. It would be stronger if they had Bearn and Rousillon. However, the defensive advantage of mountains is very helpful. The Spanish cannot use seaborne forces very effectively in the Mediterranian and they rarely send a fleet up near Cantabria, so I am going to assume no seaborne forces.
The French can attack along three provinces; the front line provinces. Unlike France, there is no "dead man's land" between the front lines. This is good and bad. It is good in that no warscore is lost, but bad in that there is less reaction time. If the French attack into Gerona or Navarra, three supporting armies can be brought in to help. If they attack in Cantabria, four supporting armies can be brought in (another seaborne army could also potentially assist / Leon and Galicia not shown on this screenshot). These counter-attacks will be especially useful because the French army will be attacking into mountains in Navarra and Gerona and this will greatly aid the defender.
The Point: The point is to force the enemy into attacking where you can bring UNKNOWN FORCES into play. This will result in victory.
The Art of Attack:
Attacking is hard. The burden of success is on the player. If you are not confident in your abilities or your advantage, you probably should not go on the attack. Playing the Napoleonic Scenario(s) are one of the best ways to build your combat skills because there is no long term consequence to losing. Winning a war happens because you did two things well: captured provinces or killed the enemy army (or both).
Sieging:
Sieging is the least risky way to take provinces. However, it is also the slowest. I think of sieging as establishing a defensive position ON TOP OF AN ENEMY PROVINCE. Use the same techniques you learned in the defense section. Place a siege army out there, but keep reserve armies in friendly provinces to support if the enemy attacks the siege army. Sieges can be used to lure the enemy to attack a position they would otherwise avoid; across a river or into a mountain province. Sieges create anxiety for the defender and they want to lift the siege. When they counter-attack, bring in your reinforcements and crush them. Then return to your positions. You want to MINIMIZE ATTRITION by keeping your main force waiting behind the siege instead of starving in that province.
Assaulting:
Assaults are risky. Improve your chances of success by assaulting when the enemy army is in retreat, you have been sieging for a while, or you have overwhelming force. CHAIN ASSAULTING is a frequent technique used to break a fort. Send in wave after wave of armies. The first army arrives and begins the assault, the second army arrives to continue, then the third, and so on. You want each army to be one march behind the next so that they dont bunch up and take attrition. Chain assaulting also often tricks the enemy into putting his main army in your way and you crush it along with the fortress. Chain assault morale usually stays much higher because of constant reinforcement by fresh troops. The defending army usually breaks.
Here is an example of a chain assault battle plan. The goal is Madrid.
Lets assume three main armies begin in Poitou, Guyenne, and Lyonnais. The Guyenne army is the VANGUARD (GREEN ARROWS) and moves first. Behind it comes the REINFORCEMENTS (PURPLE ARROWS). Whenever the Vanguard assaults, the reinforcements are moving into the battle so that if the attack falters, they will provide assistance. The SECOND REINFORCEMENTS (YELLOW ARROWS) moves to Bearn so it doesnt cause attrition in Rousillon and then, depending on the enemy's reaction and the success of the attack, it can make one of three moves into Spain (TURQOUISE ARROWS). This flexibility allows response to unexpected circumstances (like hidden Spanish armies in the interior).
Pitched Battles
On the offensive, pitched battles are harder to control since you lack the visibility of the defender. However, you should monitor and remember the PREVIOUS decisions by that player to anticipate their defensive positions. The goal is to strike at the weakest point. It may be advantageous, if you have overwhelming numbers, to attempt to crush the enemy army FIRST and take provinces SECOND. Against a prepared enemy, this is less probable and you will probably end up in a pitched battle to protect a siege or assault rather than seek it out for its own sake.
Conclusion:
These are simple tactics. However, it is imperative that you understand the nature of them before you can move on to more advanced tactics. War is a very simple thing. It is the enemy that makes it complex. Use these tactics to bring your military skills up to an intermediate level. STUDY YOUR ENEMIES, STEAL THEIR TACTICS, AND LEARN DAMMIT!!!
Good luck!
