how many men should I bring to war?

Before I declare a war what is a good unit make up to have? How many seige, ranged, horse, melee should I have? Reason why I asked is I started a war with about 10 units mixed eith the above and it took a while.

A lot of it depends upon the era, the strength of the city you are going against, the terrain, etc. Also--what version of Civ5 are you playing?

2-3 infantry if it's before artillery/bombers otherwise 2 or three mounted/armored, 2-3 siege and 3-5 ranged units (ranged and siege should be around 6+ altogether). Go for march, medic and cover on your infantry, their main purpose is to absorb damage while your ranged units wipe out the enemy units and siege equip destroys cities. Logistics and range should be the main goal on ranged and siege equip.

I say mounted/armored after artillery because meatshields are less necessary due to the artillery's range. All you need then is something that can protect flanks and swoop in to take cities once the defense is torn down. Ranged units kind of take the place of infantry when they upgrade to gats anyway. Obviously you'll want to keep your veteran infantry but if they die replace them with mounted units not more infantry. This is one reason I like the pikes to lancer upgrade, I just wish lancers upgraded sooner.

Later on just add some bombers and a few AA guns to this army and you can defeat anything.

Modern era 6 bombers ww2 era or stealth. depending on how many cities I plan on taking I usually go with ten modern armor with a follow on force of paratroopers to occupy the cities I annex. The para's are cheap and fast to make and you can use them to pillage a civ like a swarm of locust if you want to just cripple a civ.

In the ancient era, archers are the key. I remember doing some serious plowing with one hoplite, two companion cav, and just four archers to back them up. Like, serious kiss-your-empire goodbye damage.

Now, as you progress, siege equipment can cut through a city quickly, sure, but archers, bowman, or crossbowman can pop in and attack a city right away if you plan your attack right.

Like docbud said, terrain is really important. Taking a city on an open plain is easy, but if he's dug in like a tick in some hilly terrain, with some rivers acting as natural bulwarks, then you best come prepared.

Tactics = Situational.

Of course there's also the third alternative

Sturmgewher88mm said:

Of course there's also the third alternative

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Ok I would of stayed awake all night What's the third alternative?

tide15 said:

Ok I would of stayed awake all night What's the third alternative?

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nukes?

Sturmgewher88mm said:

Of course there's also the third alternative

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Indeed as said above it depends upon your era,land mass,and your opponet.Make sure to scout out your opponent strength using your military advisor to gauge their strength relative to yours.Always expect the unexpected.They may have extra money to pull on they may add walls they may get someone to invade you while your invading them.So try to be as decisive and precise as possible. Go for the knock out blow.Or go for key punches that will cripple them to at least a peace settlement that will mean they give up some resources etc.

Is the third alternative paying people to declare war on someone, waiting until a city under siege is in the red then swooping in and snatching it for yourself?

Byzantine Bomb said:

Is the third alternative paying people to declare war on someone, waiting until a city under siege is in the red then swooping in and snatching it for yourself?

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It's nuking them

I like the third option.

tide15 said:

I like the third option.

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Yes

I've never seen the AI recover from a nuke to their capital. One click and they're never a threat again