Wrath of the AI
- Thread starter Quintillus
- Start date
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Come on, now you made me think there was an update!
So did I.
No, seriously, I think we should be patient. A well crafted story takes time. More than a few stories on this board have gone months without updates only to be resumed when the writer's schedule allows.
Verarde
Pondering Wearing A Hat
Holy crap.
You can tell just how old this thread is based on the fact that I'm quoted as DrumStudent a few posts above.
Welcome back, Quintillus.
You can tell just how old this thread is based on the fact that I'm quoted as DrumStudent a few posts above.
Welcome back, Quintillus.
Dumanios
MLG
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2008
- Messages
- 4,887
Kirejara
King
I have not read everything, but I am curious how you will get out of this mess... if you could get out of course. 
Hey, Quintillus, the link to Part 27 you have in the OP is missing the second [/URL] tag and it doesn't work.
On another note, did you ever work on the mod more? It looks tons of fun and I'd love to play it some time. Does it still have some problems similar to this game, like the Wealthy's gold stash being food for other other civilizations, or the early weakness of the Industrialists and Aviators, or the wonder and tech icons, or anything else like that?
On another note, did you ever work on the mod more? It looks tons of fun and I'd love to play it some time. Does it still have some problems similar to this game, like the Wealthy's gold stash being food for other other civilizations, or the early weakness of the Industrialists and Aviators, or the wonder and tech icons, or anything else like that?
Thanks. I fixed it.
I added a link to the version used in this game in the first post. I did do some further work on it, but it's been longer since I worked on it than since the last part of the story was posted, so I don't recall what all I changed. A quick diff with Civ3 BIQ Compare indicates it's less than I thought, although one of the changes was giving the Industrialists an early-game Forge building for +25% production.
Bottom line, let's start with the story and the current scenario, and move on to the improved scenario later if the story gets rolling. After all, we still aren't sure if this isn't all an elaborate April Fools' joke.
Toxicman007
Custom User Title
The story that brought me here to Civ3 S&T was CotW, Quintillus. I didnt even know this story existed until your necro-update, and I just have to say you're a fantastic storyteller!
"Time to get up! There's Talented Cavalry by our city to defeat! We're six months late in attacking them" called the garrison commander at The Fens.
"Man, I feel woozy," said one of the riflemen. "Did we invent the stasis chamber several centuries early or what?"
"What chamber?" asked a cannoneer.
"It's like a device that keeps you in suspended animation, and then you can be awoken years later and feel just like you did before... only a bit woozy for the first hour or two."
"It does feel kinda like that. Maybe we should add it to our spaceship..."
1725 AD - The war resumes just as we said it would at the end of the last section, with attacking the Cavalry that had tried to attack The Fens. A Regular Cavalry is chosen for promotion-hunting.
The tactic works, and the Cavalry is now a Veteran.
But before we get too much into what's going on now, it might behoove us to give a quick overview of the situation for those who have not re-read the last section recently. We are at war with the Talented, who are by any measure of the term a runaway AI:
We have razed our heartland cities, including the capital of Thunderfall, in an effort to slow the enemy advance. It has slowed them some, but perhaps not enough.
The Talented have stacks of units that are larger than our entire army, and we are sending our entire army north to meet them. The goal is to keep The Fens, home of Smith's Trading Company; Bright Future, the site of JS Bach's Cathedral, has already been razed by retreating troops to avoid letting it fall into enemy hands. Failing that, we hope to defend a desert-mountain line that is impassable to cavalry.
The south, much of which was taken from the Commercial last century, is completely undefended due to the exodus to defend the north. The Commercial are now our allies, having begrudgingly agreed to fight with us after realizing that, should we fall to the Talented, they would stand no chance of stopping them on their own.
So in short, the situation is very grim. The question is not how to win the war, but how to lose the least.
With that goal, additional Cavalry advance to execute our tried-and-true pillaging technique to the northwest of The Fens. Unfortunately, countless Talented Infantry have rendered this impossible, and it becomes a scouting sortie instead.
The four stacks southwest of my Cavalry contain 35 Guerillas, 150 Infantry, 16 Longbowmen, 40 Medieval Infantry, 30 Musketmen, 7 Pikemen, 5 Spearmen, 5 Swordsmen, and 19 Riflemen, for a grand total of 307 units. That compares with our entire army of 141 units (mostly Cavalry and Riflemen). And what does the Cavalry discover when venturing farther? More units!
This stack alone contains 137 units, or nearly our entire army. Two are Archers, but most are Infantry. It is a Stack of Doom.
Seeking more intel, our Cavalry attempts to climb the nearby Mountain.
Surprisingly, no more stacks are revealed.
But we still have at least 444 units to deal with, not counting their Cavalry stacks that we know exist, but have not spotted recently, nor counting their more minor stacks in the area. And of the five stacks, we estimate the first three can reach The Fens before peace negotiations - in other words, about 3/4 of the first 307 units, or between 225 and 230 units in total, plus whatever Cavalry come by. This is Bad News. And our pillaging plan is not going to work.
With 37 Riflemen currently, including Conscripts, it was decided that defending The Fens against 225 units with an average attack of about 5 was probably not teneable. The Riflemen would have a defence of about 10.5 each after fortification and city bonuses, but even if they took out three apiece, it would be insufficient.
So, instead, a gamble was decided upon - building a Barricade outside the city. That would increase the effective strength of the Riflemen to 13.5 apiece - enough that the enemy would at least suffer considerable casualties.
The odds were still very long, but at least they would be better.
Finally, some Cavalry were sent out to pillage the roads leading east, making it so that if the Talented wanted to reach The Fens before negotiation time, they would have to either assault or go around the Barricade - and in the process, take Zone of Control and cannon damage.
A round of drafting concluded the turn, adding another dozen or so Riflemen, while workers built rails to connect our southern cities. And then, with the five-year-turn over, the fateful End Turn button was clicked.
At first, events were largely diplomatic, one noteworthy event being the Innovators turning against Science along with the Talented.
It was ironic, both due to innovation opposing science, as well as that the Talented *shouldn't* have any trouble defeating the Scientists by themselves. The Talented proceeded to bring the Innovators in against the Governors and Utopians as well.
The first combat of the turn invovled our scout Cavalry.
After that, the Talented rushed towards Occidental Slope - a perfect occurence for us.
This was exactly what The Fens needed - a repreive from the onslaught. Occidental Slope was already a lost cause, and our Spearman was ready and waiting to stop their Cavalry from crossing the slopes to our new southern heartland.
After about six minutes, the Talented were finished with troops movements. Doom looked slightly less certain.
"Man, I feel woozy," said one of the riflemen. "Did we invent the stasis chamber several centuries early or what?"
"What chamber?" asked a cannoneer.
"It's like a device that keeps you in suspended animation, and then you can be awoken years later and feel just like you did before... only a bit woozy for the first hour or two."
"It does feel kinda like that. Maybe we should add it to our spaceship..."
1725 AD - The war resumes just as we said it would at the end of the last section, with attacking the Cavalry that had tried to attack The Fens. A Regular Cavalry is chosen for promotion-hunting.
The tactic works, and the Cavalry is now a Veteran.
But before we get too much into what's going on now, it might behoove us to give a quick overview of the situation for those who have not re-read the last section recently. We are at war with the Talented, who are by any measure of the term a runaway AI:
We have razed our heartland cities, including the capital of Thunderfall, in an effort to slow the enemy advance. It has slowed them some, but perhaps not enough.
The Talented have stacks of units that are larger than our entire army, and we are sending our entire army north to meet them. The goal is to keep The Fens, home of Smith's Trading Company; Bright Future, the site of JS Bach's Cathedral, has already been razed by retreating troops to avoid letting it fall into enemy hands. Failing that, we hope to defend a desert-mountain line that is impassable to cavalry.
The south, much of which was taken from the Commercial last century, is completely undefended due to the exodus to defend the north. The Commercial are now our allies, having begrudgingly agreed to fight with us after realizing that, should we fall to the Talented, they would stand no chance of stopping them on their own.
Spoiler Large Image :
So in short, the situation is very grim. The question is not how to win the war, but how to lose the least.
With that goal, additional Cavalry advance to execute our tried-and-true pillaging technique to the northwest of The Fens. Unfortunately, countless Talented Infantry have rendered this impossible, and it becomes a scouting sortie instead.
The four stacks southwest of my Cavalry contain 35 Guerillas, 150 Infantry, 16 Longbowmen, 40 Medieval Infantry, 30 Musketmen, 7 Pikemen, 5 Spearmen, 5 Swordsmen, and 19 Riflemen, for a grand total of 307 units. That compares with our entire army of 141 units (mostly Cavalry and Riflemen). And what does the Cavalry discover when venturing farther? More units!
This stack alone contains 137 units, or nearly our entire army. Two are Archers, but most are Infantry. It is a Stack of Doom.
Seeking more intel, our Cavalry attempts to climb the nearby Mountain.
Surprisingly, no more stacks are revealed.
But we still have at least 444 units to deal with, not counting their Cavalry stacks that we know exist, but have not spotted recently, nor counting their more minor stacks in the area. And of the five stacks, we estimate the first three can reach The Fens before peace negotiations - in other words, about 3/4 of the first 307 units, or between 225 and 230 units in total, plus whatever Cavalry come by. This is Bad News. And our pillaging plan is not going to work.
With 37 Riflemen currently, including Conscripts, it was decided that defending The Fens against 225 units with an average attack of about 5 was probably not teneable. The Riflemen would have a defence of about 10.5 each after fortification and city bonuses, but even if they took out three apiece, it would be insufficient.
So, instead, a gamble was decided upon - building a Barricade outside the city. That would increase the effective strength of the Riflemen to 13.5 apiece - enough that the enemy would at least suffer considerable casualties.
The odds were still very long, but at least they would be better.
Finally, some Cavalry were sent out to pillage the roads leading east, making it so that if the Talented wanted to reach The Fens before negotiation time, they would have to either assault or go around the Barricade - and in the process, take Zone of Control and cannon damage.
A round of drafting concluded the turn, adding another dozen or so Riflemen, while workers built rails to connect our southern cities. And then, with the five-year-turn over, the fateful End Turn button was clicked.
At first, events were largely diplomatic, one noteworthy event being the Innovators turning against Science along with the Talented.
It was ironic, both due to innovation opposing science, as well as that the Talented *shouldn't* have any trouble defeating the Scientists by themselves. The Talented proceeded to bring the Innovators in against the Governors and Utopians as well.
The first combat of the turn invovled our scout Cavalry.
After that, the Talented rushed towards Occidental Slope - a perfect occurence for us.
This was exactly what The Fens needed - a repreive from the onslaught. Occidental Slope was already a lost cause, and our Spearman was ready and waiting to stop their Cavalry from crossing the slopes to our new southern heartland.
After about six minutes, the Talented were finished with troops movements. Doom looked slightly less certain.
I do hope you can find some way of stopping the Talented. They seem nearly unbeatable at this point- and you know that even if you survive this war, it's probably only a matter of time before they attack again.
And given their massive tech lead, there's also eventually the Space Race to consider. Sure, the AI sucks at prioritizing and will take a while to get there, but even if they can't conquer you, that might eventually come into play.
(for that matter, so will the UN, though the talented seem a bit too unpopular to win that)
Holy crap.
You can tell just how old this thread is based on the fact that I'm quoted as DrumStudent a few posts above.
Welcome back, Quintillus.
Thanks! Yeah, it's been awhile. I wasn't intentionally trying to set a record for longest gap between updates in a story, but I may have done so anyway.
Thanks! I recall you posting in CotW on several occasions. I'm glad you discovered this story!
I do hope you can find some way of stopping the Talented. They seem nearly unbeatable at this point- and you know that even if you survive this war, it's probably only a matter of time before they attack again.
And given their massive tech lead, there's also eventually the Space Race to consider. Sure, the AI sucks at prioritizing and will take a while to get there, but even if they can't conquer you, that might eventually come into play.
(for that matter, so will the UN, though the talented seem a bit too unpopular to win that)
Yeah, I am very much cognizant of the fact that they will likely come after me again at some point. I haven't decided yet how best to plan for that, but leading candidates include trying to establish an off-continent base, and going Communist and building up a ginormous army. So far, the strategy has been ceding land, but there's no General Winter in Civ to help me like it did the Russians in 1812.
Space Race is definitely a problem. With survival being an issue currently, it's on the back burner... but I expect it to become an issue. The UN, the current plan is to bring a coalition against them if need be. So far the world is split fairly evenly on us vs. them, but I agree that at the current time the Talented would be hard-pressed to be confident on a UN victory, and would be better off pursuing Space Race.
templar_x
usually walks his talks
due do lack of time i told myself not to read any new stories... and then you go and revive your old story!
i am still here for that one!
t_x
i am still here for that one!
t_x
Slaughter
Initiate
Whoa! I have been long and far from CivFanatics, and decided to do as in my very rare recent forays here - see if you posted a update. Imagine my surprise when you did! 
That said, the DOOMCLOCK still ticks for you.
I think the best chance here is doing a great sea migration/invasion on the other continent's weakest AI, then building naval supremacy and denying the Talented any chance to attack you with their doomstacks until you can take over the other continent.
If so, are you going to take over the Militarists' island, the nearer continent or the farther continent? Militarists' island might be good for the easy & quick factor, but if its easy for you go there, it means its easy for the Talented to land there. And its small, so unless you total secure naval supremacy, you will be eventually swarmed by vast Talented navies and armies even if you raze every city you have.
Also going to a farther continent might make the AI Talented less interested in fighting you, allowing you to get some allies, infraestructure and living space.
That said, the DOOMCLOCK still ticks for you.
I think the best chance here is doing a great sea migration/invasion on the other continent's weakest AI, then building naval supremacy and denying the Talented any chance to attack you with their doomstacks until you can take over the other continent.
If so, are you going to take over the Militarists' island, the nearer continent or the farther continent? Militarists' island might be good for the easy & quick factor, but if its easy for you go there, it means its easy for the Talented to land there. And its small, so unless you total secure naval supremacy, you will be eventually swarmed by vast Talented navies and armies even if you raze every city you have.
Also going to a farther continent might make the AI Talented less interested in fighting you, allowing you to get some allies, infraestructure and living space.
due do lack of time i told myself not to read any new stories... and then you go and revive your old story!
i am still here for that one!
t_x
Welcome back! I'm glad several of the old readers are finding the update.
Whoa! I have been long and far from CivFanatics, and decided to do as in my very rare recent forays here - see if you posted a update. Imagine my surprise when you did!
That said, the DOOMCLOCK still ticks for you.
I think the best chance here is doing a great sea migration/invasion on the other continent's weakest AI, then building naval supremacy and denying the Talented any chance to attack you with their doomstacks until you can take over the other continent.
If so, are you going to take over the Militarists' island, the nearer continent or the farther continent? Militarists' island might be good for the easy & quick factor, but if its easy for you go there, it means its easy for the Talented to land there. And its small, so unless you total secure naval supremacy, you will be eventually swarmed by vast Talented navies and armies even if you raze every city you have.
Also going to a farther continent might make the AI Talented less interested in fighting you, allowing you to get some allies, infraestructure and living space.
I am certainly considering going overseas. But Mutual Protection Pacts are a problem. The Militarists would be a prime target, except I'm pretty sure they have an MPP. And my navy is nowhere near strong enough to invade them now, even if I had spare troops. So I probably will not invade them. The Frisky island is a better target, and the Innovater/Urban/Utopian one is somewhat likely as well. Long distances are relatively strong AIs (some of whom have MPPs with the Talented) make the far one more challenging.
Of course, there's also the option of trying to rebuild at home... it's not entirely impossible yet, only about 99.9%.
1730 AD - Just as the Spearman by Occidental Slope was about to push the trigger on the dynamite to close the mountain passageway, a messenger arrived. "Hold the dynamite! We're sending in the Cavalry!" read the note, stamped with the seal of the Republic's highest general. Sure enough, by mid-evening the sounds of an approaching cavalry army could be heard coming from the eastern edge of the mountains.
The Intelligent commanders had realized that fully half of the advance guard of the Talented Cavalry - thirty-six brigades in all - were unprotected by stronger troops. An additional thirty-six brigades were protected by only two Infantry and a Guerilla. The Intelligent top brass had decided the time was excellent to weaken the Talented forces by striking the first stack, and, if it went exceedingly well, perhaps starting on the second as well.
The Cavalry would cross the mountains, attack, and then retreat back across the mountains before the enemy could react. Once the attack was finished, the Spearman would blow up the crossing, as originally planned. The Swordsman farther south would not blow up that passage this turn, with the hope that additional Cavalry might be lured out into the open for the following turn.
The effort started poorly, with two losses, but quickly improved, and 8 of the first 10 skirmishes were won.
In the end, all thirty-six Cavalry in the unprotected stack were defeated, at the cost of six Intelligent cavalry. It was exactly the sort of victory that would be needed to stem the Talented tide. Unfortunately, it would be more difficult against Infantry, but it was still a major step in the right direction. The second stack was left alone, as over 90% of the Intelligent cavalry had participated in the attack on the first stack.
The remainder of the turn focused on preparation for the next Talented move. Occidental Slope was abandoned, the Riflemen from Leavy Village began a retreat, upgrades were made, and workers built a Railroad to the Swordsman guarding the last passageway through the mountains in preparation for another Cavalry attack.
And then, it was time to wait and see what the Talented would do...
The first move of note was a Diplomatic declaration of war on the Scientists. The Scientists were evidently the world's new favorite punching bag.
But then the Diplomats declared war on the Honourable as well. Now, it looked like the Diplomats had signed a mutual protection pact with the Talented - an undesirable happening, indeed. When a declaration against the Hippophiliacs followed, all doubt was removed - and a large-scale war on the other continent had begun.
We were the next recipients of a declaration of war, when the Civilized declared war on us at the urging of the Talented. While not likely to cause major problems, it was certainly inconvenient.
They proceeded to declare war on the Honourable as well, further engulfing the other continent in conflict. And then they declared on the Utopians - this was quickly becoming a world war. As if to prove the point, the Militarists then declared war on the Defenders and Governors - a pointless war if ever there was one. And then the Talented brought the Innovators in against the Urban - chaos was ensuing.
Surprisingly, the Talented did not really advance towards the undefended city of Leafy Village during their turn. The Cavalry instead appeared to turn back - whether towards The Fens or the Scientists was unknown. Their infantry advanced in droves towards Desert Mine, a city that likely was neither saveable, nor worth the effort of trying to save.
The good news about the Cavalry retreat was that it would give our Cavalry time to heal before they returned.
The Civilized declared war on the Defenders after the Talented turn. Mutual Protection Pacts were definitely at play here. It was anyone's guess what the world would look like when peace returned.
In 1735, we began our turn by sending the Scientists a gold for their territory map. We found that while the Talented were annoying them some, largely the destruction was less than expected.
In other words, they really were directing the bulk of their forces towards us, however haphazardly.
It bears looking at the diplomatic picture on the other continent as well. Largely, the situation is the Diplomats and Civilized (Haute Couture), against the Defenders, Hippophiliacs, and Honest.
All said, the last three control a good 60% of the continent, and thus should have the advantage.
The Governors are currently at war with the Talented as well; if they invoke the suspected mutual protection pacts, the Diplomats and Civilized will then have a warring state dividing them as well. The key question may be how long it takes the Honest to get their troops to the front.
Tactically, the decision was made to abandon Desert Mine in 1740, barring a reversal of Talented troops. A last Rifleman was hurried, and the library and university sold. A Spearman moved in to pillage the road out so the Riflemen would not be sacrificed in doing so.
One Talented Cavalry was also dispatched this turn.
The other was left alone; our Cavalry would not be able to retreat after attacking it.
While the war was relatively quiet, rail construction was not. The network had been expanding quickly, reaching Mountain Wheat, Wind, and CapnVonBaron's Estate this turn.
The expansion meant slightly quicker reinforcements, and faster growth - both potentially crucial in the war.
As we waited for the next Talented moves, news came in that the Militarists had declared war on the Urban. The Great War was expanding yet again.
And it would hurt us, at least nominally, too. We were at war with another nation.
Diplomats, rotten rats... they were dealing with the wrong nation! At least they were overseas and thus couldn't do much.
The Talented moved their troops in two main directions - the mass of the infantry due south, more towards River's Source or Leafy Village than Desert Mine, and the Cavalry east towards The Fens, with a minor infantry escort.
Not much could be done about 300+ Infantry with assorted supporting troops, but the Cavalry? That might be a different story.
The Intelligent commanders had realized that fully half of the advance guard of the Talented Cavalry - thirty-six brigades in all - were unprotected by stronger troops. An additional thirty-six brigades were protected by only two Infantry and a Guerilla. The Intelligent top brass had decided the time was excellent to weaken the Talented forces by striking the first stack, and, if it went exceedingly well, perhaps starting on the second as well.
The Cavalry would cross the mountains, attack, and then retreat back across the mountains before the enemy could react. Once the attack was finished, the Spearman would blow up the crossing, as originally planned. The Swordsman farther south would not blow up that passage this turn, with the hope that additional Cavalry might be lured out into the open for the following turn.
The effort started poorly, with two losses, but quickly improved, and 8 of the first 10 skirmishes were won.
In the end, all thirty-six Cavalry in the unprotected stack were defeated, at the cost of six Intelligent cavalry. It was exactly the sort of victory that would be needed to stem the Talented tide. Unfortunately, it would be more difficult against Infantry, but it was still a major step in the right direction. The second stack was left alone, as over 90% of the Intelligent cavalry had participated in the attack on the first stack.
The remainder of the turn focused on preparation for the next Talented move. Occidental Slope was abandoned, the Riflemen from Leavy Village began a retreat, upgrades were made, and workers built a Railroad to the Swordsman guarding the last passageway through the mountains in preparation for another Cavalry attack.
And then, it was time to wait and see what the Talented would do...
The first move of note was a Diplomatic declaration of war on the Scientists. The Scientists were evidently the world's new favorite punching bag.
But then the Diplomats declared war on the Honourable as well. Now, it looked like the Diplomats had signed a mutual protection pact with the Talented - an undesirable happening, indeed. When a declaration against the Hippophiliacs followed, all doubt was removed - and a large-scale war on the other continent had begun.
We were the next recipients of a declaration of war, when the Civilized declared war on us at the urging of the Talented. While not likely to cause major problems, it was certainly inconvenient.
They proceeded to declare war on the Honourable as well, further engulfing the other continent in conflict. And then they declared on the Utopians - this was quickly becoming a world war. As if to prove the point, the Militarists then declared war on the Defenders and Governors - a pointless war if ever there was one. And then the Talented brought the Innovators in against the Urban - chaos was ensuing.
Surprisingly, the Talented did not really advance towards the undefended city of Leafy Village during their turn. The Cavalry instead appeared to turn back - whether towards The Fens or the Scientists was unknown. Their infantry advanced in droves towards Desert Mine, a city that likely was neither saveable, nor worth the effort of trying to save.
The good news about the Cavalry retreat was that it would give our Cavalry time to heal before they returned.
The Civilized declared war on the Defenders after the Talented turn. Mutual Protection Pacts were definitely at play here. It was anyone's guess what the world would look like when peace returned.
In 1735, we began our turn by sending the Scientists a gold for their territory map. We found that while the Talented were annoying them some, largely the destruction was less than expected.
In other words, they really were directing the bulk of their forces towards us, however haphazardly.
It bears looking at the diplomatic picture on the other continent as well. Largely, the situation is the Diplomats and Civilized (Haute Couture), against the Defenders, Hippophiliacs, and Honest.
All said, the last three control a good 60% of the continent, and thus should have the advantage.
The Governors are currently at war with the Talented as well; if they invoke the suspected mutual protection pacts, the Diplomats and Civilized will then have a warring state dividing them as well. The key question may be how long it takes the Honest to get their troops to the front.
Tactically, the decision was made to abandon Desert Mine in 1740, barring a reversal of Talented troops. A last Rifleman was hurried, and the library and university sold. A Spearman moved in to pillage the road out so the Riflemen would not be sacrificed in doing so.
One Talented Cavalry was also dispatched this turn.
The other was left alone; our Cavalry would not be able to retreat after attacking it.
While the war was relatively quiet, rail construction was not. The network had been expanding quickly, reaching Mountain Wheat, Wind, and CapnVonBaron's Estate this turn.
The expansion meant slightly quicker reinforcements, and faster growth - both potentially crucial in the war.
As we waited for the next Talented moves, news came in that the Militarists had declared war on the Urban. The Great War was expanding yet again.
And it would hurt us, at least nominally, too. We were at war with another nation.
Diplomats, rotten rats... they were dealing with the wrong nation! At least they were overseas and thus couldn't do much.
The Talented moved their troops in two main directions - the mass of the infantry due south, more towards River's Source or Leafy Village than Desert Mine, and the Cavalry east towards The Fens, with a minor infantry escort.
Not much could be done about 300+ Infantry with assorted supporting troops, but the Cavalry? That might be a different story.
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