Do AI units go on strike?

[Nymbo]

I am currently towards the end of a long game, and am facing an opponent who has a much larger, but less advanced army (we're talking multiple stacks with units numbering in the hundreds). However, I have access to oil and he does not. If I used my air force to destroy all of his farms, cottages, and other improvements, tanking his economy, would his units disband, the same as the player?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

It's possible but not practical because the AI gets tons of bonuses for that on most levels. Probably, once you declare you'll have those 100's of units hit you before they strike (if they ever strike). There are a few things you can do to cut down truly massive stacks:

1. High drill promotions + tech lead + defensive terrain: Obsolete calls this a "pillbox" and it essentially functions as one. If you use machine guns you even get to ignore collateral. Drill II-III machine guns fortified on hills are serious business to pre-infantry era stuff.

2. Collateral initiative. Get a massive stack of your own, let them enter your borders, and flatline his whole army with arty and clean it up. You'll probably be able to kill 10x the you lose doing this.

3. Nukes. I don't care how many units are in that stack. 10. 100. 10000. 2-3 nukes in the open field and it is alllllllllllllll gone. Nukes are also extremely powerful offensively and are the only way I'm aware of that lets you 1 turn KO AIs that have 10+ cities.

4. If you're on a different continent, sink his ships in port, bonus points if the transports are loaded .

 

[fathertuck]

I've never seen it happen or heard of anyone who have experienced it, so my best guess is that it can't happen. Maybe you could test it out in the worldbuilder just to see if it's possible or not. But as TMIT pointed out the AI get's so many bonuses in the game that strikes might only happen to human players?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

It *can* strike. It just has safeguards built in like ridiculously low maintenance, lowish unitprobs, or for the AIs with decent unitprobs a tendency to declare when it considers itself in financial trouble.

Although IIRC barbarians can not strike .

 

[Scoottr]

TMIT's idea of machine guns on hills or forested hill works great. I dump two on a hill and then the AI suicides tons of units on it. If they survive a round they get a bunch of promotions and I get a bunch of great general points.

 

[Nymbo]

I do have a sizable stack of modern armor and mech inf that I'm planning to use to cut off most of his army at a defensive choke-point, but I was hoping to reduce his military size so I could start rolling back his expansion and possibly get his vassals to revolt. How much of his tile improvements would have to be destroyed before I start seeing serious reductions in the number of troops he can field?

 

[Nicol.Bolas]

the good people above have just tried explaining you, that you think about this incorrectly.

to put it extremely simply: (above good people ples excuse me)
AI cannot go on strike, consider artillery counterattack, or nukes