Rules of modern warfare in Civ 4 bts (a good guide for warmongers!)
Standing armies in Next War or the future era are NOT an option. Ambitious plans, conquest agendas, or home defense all depend on how big your army is. To survive in this critical phase of the game, all of your dreams and ambitions depend on multiple factors in the eras before the modern one. You need control over lots of resources to maintain your cities that will grow very fast later on, or they will die of unhealthiness.
Also, you MUST have west point and other civics that give xp if you want more bang in individual units. A heavy coastal defence will save you from cross continental armies. To increase your future effectiveness, you should have uranium. Above all, you must have oil and later aluminum to survive the later era. If you have none of these, find some. Oil should be in the arctic regions, where the rivals havent inhabited. Aluminum should be somewhere. If you dont have any of these resources, you have 3 options, listed in the next paragraph before you are gonna get beaten up and lose the game, on any difficulty.
You can make a permeanent alliance with a rival who has oil, if relations are good enough, and they are strong. Opponents WILL NOT TRADE OIL FOR ANY PRICE! So erase that from your options. The next, a bit harder to do, is save 2 great scientists and research the prequisite techs to get Aluminum Co. and Std. Ethanol. You need coal, sugar, corn, or rice for both of these companies. Spread it to ALL of your cities, no matter what. You will not only get a junk load of cash, but you can build the life saving tanks, and later modern armor. Planes are reccomended.
Transports and other naval units depend on oil or uranium. Artillery and SAMS need oil and will save alot of pains in the butt later. Std. Ethanol requires plastics, so you better hurry up to research it if you have no oil. Plastics also gives you the ability to make oil platforms on the coast if oil is present there. You should have corn, rice or sugar by now. If you don't I don't know what you've been doing, but you need to quit messing around and get some.
The last and hardest option is to fight for it. We all know oil is a hard fought resource. More blood has been shed for it's possession than the oil that has been burned. Get me if I'm wrong. This option requires that you man up, and make a big army. Be prepared for counter attacks. They will be rigorous attacks, but be smart and strike harder. When you have oil, and the opponent got their butts kicked enough (vassal state) , or your civ has suffered enough unrest at home, sue for peace. You should pat yourself on the back, because you did the impossible (that depends, actually on difficulty).
You will now have oil. If you lack aluminum and you must fight for it, do your same strategies for war. These two resources are the most valuable and will save you later on. Now, assuming you have these, focus on building large and standing armies. These will influence the A.I.'s descision to mess with you ( especially for me, that jerk Isabella, since she usually demands gold in the thousands, likely for reasons unknown).
You will also have the good feeling of having the biggest army in the world. To fulfill your conquest plans, you need big armies and navies. Preferrably for military victories. Now here are my reccomendations and requirements for armies. If you play next war, you should have 2 categories for armies: mechanized fast moving, blitzkreig like units and slower but effective infantry units.
They all have their special abilities and should be abused. The fast movers are basically blitzkreig wars: Modern armors with their high strength should be trained to attack cities. They will almost always win. Dreadnoughts have the same capacity, but are stronger and can bombard cities to a pulp, and can neutralize opposition in the country. Armor can do this too, but not as good as Dreadnoughts. These must be protected. An Assault Mech should be thrown in as well. They move fast, and attack at a range, to soften enemy forces. Cyborgs, the weaker fast moving soldiers are kinda good. With the 2x strength promotions, they have 36.4 strength, good enough to attack certain units. Make sure they win fights, so they are trained to be deadlier warriors. They can also mop up resistance or set up defensive perimeters to consolidate and rebuild your advances.
Moblile artilley is also needed. Like dreadnoughts they bomb cities and are mobile. They are not blitz units though. They cause collateral damange to weaken enemies. Take caution with them when a gunship is present. They are vulnerable to them. Artillery WILL save lives and in the long run will speed up advances.
Finally, to protect from air attacks and slowing advances, you need SAMS. They are adept at taking out air units and killing gunships. These are valuable assets to have with you. These armies are very fast, but must be in numbers. 50 modern armors, 40 cyborgs, 10 artillery pieces, 6 SAMS, 1 Dreadnought and 1 Assault Mech will suffice. Reserves are encouraged. If you don't play next war, and 40 Mechanized Infantry, more armor, and artillery.These armies must follow the doctrine of blitzkreig, otherwise they will be bogged down and the war will stalemate, maybe without the expected results and little achieved. If battered, they will take a while to recover, so have explorers trained as medics to minimize wait time between attacks.
Infantry based armies are more complex, specialized, and sadly, slower. They should be supported by SAMS, medics, 1 Assault Mech and artillery. Make use of the soldiers. Marines or SEALS will assault coastal cities. Paratroopers can jump to other sides of continents depending on where the city is and how far the landmass is. Or, they jump ahead of everyone to take key positions. Mechanized infantry move faster and have more strength. Each army is reccomended to have armor in it, to support the slower infantry.
In addition, they are reccomended for assaults across large lands, mopping up, or plans involving specialized units. These armies should have 35 paratroopers, 30 SEALS or marines, 40 Mechanized Infantry, 12 artillery pieces, 7 SAMS, 1 assault mech, and 30 Modern Armor. Expect the armies to lose lots of men, so replace them often. If you don't play next war, add more artillery and armor. Navies are also important, very in fact.
Transports will move your large and strong armies to and from landmasses. Escorts MUST BE WITH THE TRANSPORTS!!! Destroyers are imperitive, to find and destroy submarines. Keep them on your coasts to fend off nuclear submarine assaults. Stealth destroyers can escort transports too. The enemy won't know you're there. They have offensive capabilities as well. They can get ships at the enemy coast and wreak havoc. Missile cruisers above all are important. They bomb city defenses and carry nukes for massive Pre- Emptive strikes on selected targets. They are also strong and can kill naval units easily. Their firepower potentials are not to be taken lightly. One packed with nukes could change a whole battle situation.
Submarines do the same, just weaker and carry one less missile port. They are invisible to everyone except destroyers and other submarines, so watch out! Attack subs are stronger. Again, prey to destroyers, they can however carry spies. You never know what they can be used for. Aircraft carriers carry jets. They intercept bombers and fighters, and can provide close air support for ground units and help bomb cities. Be aware of SAMS and other jets. Jets are good for this reason, but carriers must be escorted. Your naval fleet must have lots of each of these units to maintain supremacy and ease the pressure. When you have a good navy and army, you're good to go. Just use them wisely. Good luck!
Standing armies in Next War or the future era are NOT an option. Ambitious plans, conquest agendas, or home defense all depend on how big your army is. To survive in this critical phase of the game, all of your dreams and ambitions depend on multiple factors in the eras before the modern one. You need control over lots of resources to maintain your cities that will grow very fast later on, or they will die of unhealthiness.
Also, you MUST have west point and other civics that give xp if you want more bang in individual units. A heavy coastal defence will save you from cross continental armies. To increase your future effectiveness, you should have uranium. Above all, you must have oil and later aluminum to survive the later era. If you have none of these, find some. Oil should be in the arctic regions, where the rivals havent inhabited. Aluminum should be somewhere. If you dont have any of these resources, you have 3 options, listed in the next paragraph before you are gonna get beaten up and lose the game, on any difficulty.
You can make a permeanent alliance with a rival who has oil, if relations are good enough, and they are strong. Opponents WILL NOT TRADE OIL FOR ANY PRICE! So erase that from your options. The next, a bit harder to do, is save 2 great scientists and research the prequisite techs to get Aluminum Co. and Std. Ethanol. You need coal, sugar, corn, or rice for both of these companies. Spread it to ALL of your cities, no matter what. You will not only get a junk load of cash, but you can build the life saving tanks, and later modern armor. Planes are reccomended.
Transports and other naval units depend on oil or uranium. Artillery and SAMS need oil and will save alot of pains in the butt later. Std. Ethanol requires plastics, so you better hurry up to research it if you have no oil. Plastics also gives you the ability to make oil platforms on the coast if oil is present there. You should have corn, rice or sugar by now. If you don't I don't know what you've been doing, but you need to quit messing around and get some.
The last and hardest option is to fight for it. We all know oil is a hard fought resource. More blood has been shed for it's possession than the oil that has been burned. Get me if I'm wrong. This option requires that you man up, and make a big army. Be prepared for counter attacks. They will be rigorous attacks, but be smart and strike harder. When you have oil, and the opponent got their butts kicked enough (vassal state) , or your civ has suffered enough unrest at home, sue for peace. You should pat yourself on the back, because you did the impossible (that depends, actually on difficulty).
You will now have oil. If you lack aluminum and you must fight for it, do your same strategies for war. These two resources are the most valuable and will save you later on. Now, assuming you have these, focus on building large and standing armies. These will influence the A.I.'s descision to mess with you ( especially for me, that jerk Isabella, since she usually demands gold in the thousands, likely for reasons unknown).
You will also have the good feeling of having the biggest army in the world. To fulfill your conquest plans, you need big armies and navies. Preferrably for military victories. Now here are my reccomendations and requirements for armies. If you play next war, you should have 2 categories for armies: mechanized fast moving, blitzkreig like units and slower but effective infantry units.
They all have their special abilities and should be abused. The fast movers are basically blitzkreig wars: Modern armors with their high strength should be trained to attack cities. They will almost always win. Dreadnoughts have the same capacity, but are stronger and can bombard cities to a pulp, and can neutralize opposition in the country. Armor can do this too, but not as good as Dreadnoughts. These must be protected. An Assault Mech should be thrown in as well. They move fast, and attack at a range, to soften enemy forces. Cyborgs, the weaker fast moving soldiers are kinda good. With the 2x strength promotions, they have 36.4 strength, good enough to attack certain units. Make sure they win fights, so they are trained to be deadlier warriors. They can also mop up resistance or set up defensive perimeters to consolidate and rebuild your advances.
Moblile artilley is also needed. Like dreadnoughts they bomb cities and are mobile. They are not blitz units though. They cause collateral damange to weaken enemies. Take caution with them when a gunship is present. They are vulnerable to them. Artillery WILL save lives and in the long run will speed up advances.
Finally, to protect from air attacks and slowing advances, you need SAMS. They are adept at taking out air units and killing gunships. These are valuable assets to have with you. These armies are very fast, but must be in numbers. 50 modern armors, 40 cyborgs, 10 artillery pieces, 6 SAMS, 1 Dreadnought and 1 Assault Mech will suffice. Reserves are encouraged. If you don't play next war, and 40 Mechanized Infantry, more armor, and artillery.These armies must follow the doctrine of blitzkreig, otherwise they will be bogged down and the war will stalemate, maybe without the expected results and little achieved. If battered, they will take a while to recover, so have explorers trained as medics to minimize wait time between attacks.
Infantry based armies are more complex, specialized, and sadly, slower. They should be supported by SAMS, medics, 1 Assault Mech and artillery. Make use of the soldiers. Marines or SEALS will assault coastal cities. Paratroopers can jump to other sides of continents depending on where the city is and how far the landmass is. Or, they jump ahead of everyone to take key positions. Mechanized infantry move faster and have more strength. Each army is reccomended to have armor in it, to support the slower infantry.
In addition, they are reccomended for assaults across large lands, mopping up, or plans involving specialized units. These armies should have 35 paratroopers, 30 SEALS or marines, 40 Mechanized Infantry, 12 artillery pieces, 7 SAMS, 1 assault mech, and 30 Modern Armor. Expect the armies to lose lots of men, so replace them often. If you don't play next war, add more artillery and armor. Navies are also important, very in fact.
Transports will move your large and strong armies to and from landmasses. Escorts MUST BE WITH THE TRANSPORTS!!! Destroyers are imperitive, to find and destroy submarines. Keep them on your coasts to fend off nuclear submarine assaults. Stealth destroyers can escort transports too. The enemy won't know you're there. They have offensive capabilities as well. They can get ships at the enemy coast and wreak havoc. Missile cruisers above all are important. They bomb city defenses and carry nukes for massive Pre- Emptive strikes on selected targets. They are also strong and can kill naval units easily. Their firepower potentials are not to be taken lightly. One packed with nukes could change a whole battle situation.
Submarines do the same, just weaker and carry one less missile port. They are invisible to everyone except destroyers and other submarines, so watch out! Attack subs are stronger. Again, prey to destroyers, they can however carry spies. You never know what they can be used for. Aircraft carriers carry jets. They intercept bombers and fighters, and can provide close air support for ground units and help bomb cities. Be aware of SAMS and other jets. Jets are good for this reason, but carriers must be escorted. Your naval fleet must have lots of each of these units to maintain supremacy and ease the pressure. When you have a good navy and army, you're good to go. Just use them wisely. Good luck!
