This article is designed to address a certain dearth of information regarding an invasion of your "friendly" neighbor across the sea. Note: This strategy depends on being able to produce naval units that bombard so you can only use it in late middle ages onward. This strategy is also very effective in taking the island cities that the AI is so fond of building.
First you are going to need Frigates. A lot of Frigates. If you think about it, Frigates are simply artillery that can move faster. Why not use them as such? Your goal here is to bombard your future beachead into submission then take the city with your offensive units. Along with your large stack of Frigates(I usually use 4-8 per city depending on the number of defenders) you need a large offensive force(Cavalry works well for this) along with a large amount of defensive units.
A note on getting there: Remember that Frigates movement rate is faster than Galleons, so slow the Frigates down to keep your force together.
Part 1: The softening up. Begin by bombarding the enemy cities. This does 2 things. One, it weakens the units defending and 2 it weakens any offensive units and pins them down because the AI will most likely keep his offensive units in there until they heal.. DO NOT LAND YOUR TROOPS YET! You want to know exactly what is defending the city before landing your offensive units
Part 2: D-Day!: On the begining of your next turn, land your offensive units and defensive units on the same square. This ensures that any counterattacks will only kill your defensive units. You did bring a lot of those right? This leaves your offensive units healthy to attack the city the next turn. Bombard the city again to weaken the defenders and pin them down.
Part 3: Final Assault: Begin your turn by bombarding the city again. Once the defenders are weakened, attack with your offensive units. Move the defensive units inside the city move a couple Frigates inside the city for defensive bombardment and spread out the rest of them to bombard any counter attacks.
I like to take at least 2 cities on my D-Days as it gives the defenders 2 places to send the troops. You get 2 weaker stacks as opposed to 1 SOD.
I also like to take enough defensive and offensive units to take 2 or 3 more inland cities on the next turn ensuring that the beachhead remains safe.
First you are going to need Frigates. A lot of Frigates. If you think about it, Frigates are simply artillery that can move faster. Why not use them as such? Your goal here is to bombard your future beachead into submission then take the city with your offensive units. Along with your large stack of Frigates(I usually use 4-8 per city depending on the number of defenders) you need a large offensive force(Cavalry works well for this) along with a large amount of defensive units.
A note on getting there: Remember that Frigates movement rate is faster than Galleons, so slow the Frigates down to keep your force together.
Part 1: The softening up. Begin by bombarding the enemy cities. This does 2 things. One, it weakens the units defending and 2 it weakens any offensive units and pins them down because the AI will most likely keep his offensive units in there until they heal.. DO NOT LAND YOUR TROOPS YET! You want to know exactly what is defending the city before landing your offensive units
Part 2: D-Day!: On the begining of your next turn, land your offensive units and defensive units on the same square. This ensures that any counterattacks will only kill your defensive units. You did bring a lot of those right? This leaves your offensive units healthy to attack the city the next turn. Bombard the city again to weaken the defenders and pin them down.
Part 3: Final Assault: Begin your turn by bombarding the city again. Once the defenders are weakened, attack with your offensive units. Move the defensive units inside the city move a couple Frigates inside the city for defensive bombardment and spread out the rest of them to bombard any counter attacks.
I like to take at least 2 cities on my D-Days as it gives the defenders 2 places to send the troops. You get 2 weaker stacks as opposed to 1 SOD.
I also like to take enough defensive and offensive units to take 2 or 3 more inland cities on the next turn ensuring that the beachhead remains safe.
