Armed Forces Isolation Strategy

[SirJethro]

This is only relevant in certain geographic circumstances, but I have used this with great success so I thought I would pass it along:

Requirement: You need to be on a continent with a choke point in the middle that you control, with civs on both sides of the continent.

Step 1: Form an alliance and ROP with the most powerful CIV on the continent, against one of the other CIVs, on the other side of the continent.

Step 2: Your new strong ally will send his armed forces through your territory to fight the other CIV.

Step 3: As soon as the majority of the army has passed the choke point, bottle it up (you can use anything...even workers).

Step 4: Try your damn'dest not to let your ally win any cities in the war. This isn't absolutely crucial, but it helps.

Step 5: After war is over, the allied CIV will know (because it can see all of your forces) that the choke-point is blocked, and they will leave their army on the opposite side of the continent, usually in a small number of large stacks.

Step 6: Wait a few hundred years (to advance your army to new technology). Don't renegotiate any ROPs. If you haven't let them gain a city, they won't have barracks to upgrade, a place to heal, etc.

Step 7: Whenever you have a decided advantage...attack. You now have the offensive force isolated, and a homeland that is much weaker that it would have been otherwise.

I've never seen an isolated group of forces like this become offensive to try to fight their way home.

Using this strategy, I was able to take out a civ with a military of near equal size to mine with very small losses, because I was able to separate the offensive and defensive forces, as well as isolate the offensive units in areas where it had no movement bonuses.

 

[GenMarshall]

I might have done that strategy SirJethro . Although sometines the civilization can go around the choke point via Ships.

 

[robehans]

Quite ok, but of the many gmes i can remember, i cant remember being on such a continent...

 

[SirJethro]

Originally posted by CivGeneral
I might have done that strategy SirJethro . Although sometines the civilization can go around the choke point via Ships.

I had assumed that the AI would come rescue their guys via ship as well. But it never happened! I guess its another disappointment with the AI. This game is going to be so much harder when MP comes along! Then we are going to separate the men from the boys, and many of the strategies are going to be kaput.

 

[Hades]

I have a similar but different strategy:
First, make sure you have a lot of money. Declare war with a distance but strong civ. Use money to get your neighbours to attack that AI. In a few turns, you will have a world war but that's not the point (but thats good to slow down their tech). Start building a strong military force, and as soon as the 20 turns of military alliance expire, attack one of your neighbours.

Here's the logic:
That strong but distance civ will be of no threat to you since they would have to get through your neighbours before getting to you. Also, as your neighbours send out their offensive force to attack our common enemy, they will leave their border on your side relatively weak. Wait for the agreement to expire then you will pay no political consequences.