Military size

[TomSpren]

If you are playing a more peaceful game what do you generally have for your military size? Here is what I usually do:

1 ranged unit on each settlement.
3-4 Army commanders fully populated by the end of the antiquity age.
1-2 Navy Commanders by the end of the Exploration
I usually build a couple of aircraft just for the heck of it in the modern era.

 

[TomSpren]

Part of what I'm wondering also is that I've done some wars in the antiquity and exploration age, but I've never gone to war in the modern. If I was to decide to try to sabotage an opponent, in the modern era, who has an edge on me for the victory, would I get destroyed with an army this size? It seems like the AIs like to have a lot of units everywhere by the modern age.

 

[King Flevance]

I would say it depends on map size and also the circumstances. I do what you do basically on your list, but I don't always have a ranged unit in every settlement. Placing my armies where the most tension is and maybe having a few troops in areas I think would be vulnerable if undefended. A larger map size spreads those forces thinner. Standard map size that should be perfectly fine. Even large you could manuever well enough with that size of an army. (Just make sure you have 4 army commanders, not 3.) Huge, you would probably want and extra Commander or two and an extra Admiral. I have not played a whole lot in modern but based on my experience and what I have seen others to have said, it should be plenty.

 

[vorlon_mi]

Part of what I'm wondering also is that I've done some wars in the antiquity and exploration age, but I've never gone to war in the modern. If I was to decide to try to sabotage an opponent, in the modern era, who has an edge on me for the victory, would I get destroyed with an army this size? It seems like the AIs like to have a lot of units everywhere by the modern age.

I've done a little war fighting in Modern. As @King Flevance noted, the map will be important. If your rival is located in Distant Lands, you'll need to include travel time in your plans. If your rival(s) have their capital on/near the coast, you can use combined arms (army and navy).

Where I've been declared on, it has often been one of the larger factions in Modern, who have decent science yields. The AI are not shy with upgrading their units, or building tier2 units.
If you have some gold in Modern, consider upgrading if you plan to go on offense. If you just want to defend, you can get away with ranged units, more than one fortified district in settlements near a front line, and some aircraft based in a Squadron Commander just behind the front line.

As always in Civ games, have a goal in mind if you declare war. The AI do build a lot of units, but they don't always pack their commanders well. So the swarms may appear larger than they really are. The AI also tend to love to squish my Suzerained-City-States if they can. You may be able to concentrate your forces on their big cities. If you take an AI capital, be aware of where their new capital is. You need to know where to send your Great Banker!

 

[stealth_nsk]

If you are playing a more peaceful game what do you generally have for your military size? Here is what I usually do:

1 ranged unit on each settlement.
3-4 Army commanders fully populated by the end of the antiquity age.
1-2 Navy Commanders by the end of the Exploration
I usually build a couple of aircraft just for the heck of it in the modern era.

On Immortal difficulty this looks like pretty offensive setup.

For peaceful play I usually have:
1 Ranged Unit in each settlement
2-3 Naval units from the beginning of exploration to explore (1 often built at the end of antiquity)
Some other units from city states, leader/civ abilities, narrative events, etc.
1 Army commander from the Discipline civic throughout the whole game, unless I have some free time at the end of the age or some bonus commander from leader
0 Naval commanders throughout the whole game, unless I have some free time at the end of the exploration age
1 Aircraft commander in modern from completing the first project in Scientific legacy path