Ministry of Defense - the Persian War

[ravensfire]

The time has come to begin our planning for the War with Persia. Our troops are ready, we just need to determine where to position them, and let the loose on the Persian dogs!

There are a few caveats. First, Persia DOES have access to Saltpeter from the other island. We do not have any naval forces capable of interdicting that trade. We know they have Musketmen. We know they have Cavalry. While we can't completely run rampage over them as we did with the Romans, we do still have the largest Army out there. A bit of patience will surely keep our casualties down.

I plan to conduct this war in two phases. Phase one is Persia - North, while phase two attacks them in the West. Let's focus first on the North.



As you can see, we gather the forces in two areas - Pompeii and Bactra. When we begin, we eliminate the Colony and all Persian troops nearby. The two armies then move to destroy their respective cities, regroup to eliminate Tyre, then head for the Reset Point. We'll hold some forces back for landings from the island, but the bulk will then head for the West.

Pompeii:
7 Cannon
Pyrric Army (3 Cavalry)
1 Rifleman
7 Cavalry
1 Cruader
1 Medieval Infantry

Bactra:
8 Cannon
2 Musketmen
7 Cavalry
4 Crusaders

The forces aournd Rome will remain as a guard against attack in that area, concentrating on defending Rome itself and the coal mine.

The force defending the Saltpeter Colony will be 2 Rifleman and the Cannon in Berlin. The offensive troops around Berlin will move to Olympus to watch for Japanese landings and Persian troops. These units will eliminate all Persian troops in Fanatikos territory on the way.

Thoughts?

-- Ravensfire

 

[DaveShack]

What's the plan for defending Augean Stables if Persia is able to send a force through French lands? Also do we need additional cannons to be built, or do we already have enough?

 

[Furiey]

If you gathered the troops 2E of the silks colony rather than 1E, it would be 1 turn less through enemy territory allowing simultaneous attacks on Pompeii and Bactra. There is also a Persian Settler W of Rome that will rush in as soon as our forces are moved.

 

[ravensfire]

What's the plan for defending Augean Stables if Persia is able to send a force through French lands? Also do we need additional cannons to be built, or do we already have enough?

DaveShack,

We have a fairly strong defensive force in and around Styx right now - several cavalry and 8 or so medieval infantry.

A decision that we need to make is whether to bring France into this war or not. If we do, they will act as a natural buffer between Persia West and our core cities. Of course, that will mean a 20 turn peace between us and France.

If we don't, there is the chance France will dogpile on top of us. We're not exactly loved by the other nations, I believe they are all "Furious" with us. At best, France will remain neutral, and will see Persian troops pouring through French lands to get to us.

With the moderate defenses each city has, balanced with the reaction force in Styx, we're in good shade. The force that will be gathering around Olympus will also help, with multiple Elite Cavalry and Knights to handle Japanese landings and assist with stronger Persian attempts.

-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[ravensfire]

If you gathered the troops 2E of the silks colony rather than 1E, it would be 1 turn less through enemy territory allowing simultaneous attacks on Pompeii and Bactra. There is also a Persian Settler W of Rome that will rush in as soon as our forces are moved.

If I remember correctly, I think my screenshot didn't go that far, and I was starting to run out of juice ... You are correct though, I'll update that tonight.

The Persian settler around Rome will be handled by the troops around Rome tasked for defense.

-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[Furiey]

The Persian settler around Rome will be handled by the troops around Rome tasked for defense.

Doh - of course - it's a Persian Settler not a French one, that's what comes of posting before I wake up in the morning. So I suppose I really should say the 2 future Persian slaves

edit: One thing I noticed as DP last time, and it will be a big advantage for us, is how much easier our rail network makes troop movement. We can now reinforce a region as required without having to keep a permanent force in every potential invasion spot. Even the MI will get there in time!

 

[ravensfire]

I have NEVER done that.

No, really, I haven't ever ... Hey! Why is everyone laughing when I say that?

We will have some French cities founded, and I'm not going to worry about them - we don't have the troops to both pound Persia flat and block all French efforts. If France does come in our side, using Persian workers to block the French is certainly viable, but only if the French ally with us.

-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[TimBentley]

Since cannons can't go on marsh without roads, we'll have to use the original Pompeii gathering spot rather than Furiey's alteration. The Persian cav north of the Bactra spot has moved, so we could go there. I realized after uploading the save there's some workers by Rome that Persia could capture if their cav wants to be aggressive, so a rifle should protect them.

 

[ravensfire]

Outline of instructions for tonights game session:

-- Continue with already posted battle plan.
-- Found a new Army and load the two Elite(*) Cavalry into it.
-- Once the 3 northern cities are captured, capture Istakhar.
-- Using forces from the Northern cities, move towards Persia West. Battle plan to be provided this evening.

DP is given full discretion on timing and pace to account for injured units and minor setbacks. You know what you're doing, DaveShack - go get 'em!

-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[ravensfire]

Phase one is complete! Istakhar is ours, and the Northern Persian cities lie in ruins. The powerful eye of our military now turns towards the remaining Persian cities on this Continent.

Movement plan:

The red dot is a fortress where our forces will gather. The yellow dots are the wall of workers we'll use (with the President's permission, of course!) to block the French from settling the new lands. The route outlined on the map will cut across French lands, but so does the only road.

We'll also detail some troops to block the french Settler pair near our Incense colony. We will certainly lose that colony, for now. The French WILL regret that decision.

Once our troops are in position, we'll attack the Persian cities thusly.


Comments?
-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[Furiey]

I think you may need to look at your image links......

 

[ravensfire]

I think you may need to look at your image links......

Fixed!

-- Ravensfire

 

[Furiey]

Top one?

 

[ravensfire]

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT!

The Ministry of Defense wishes to announce new openings in our cartography and logistics department. The previous staff's employment was prematurely terminated ...

-- Ravensfire, Minister of Defense

 

[Furiey]

Looking at the line of yellow dots for the Worker Wall, I am concerned that several of them would allow a Persian Cavalry to be in the fog in French territory and still be able to attack and capture our Workers eg: look at the fog around the town of Brest, a Persian Cavalry could be hidden to the N or SW or SSW of the city and be able to reach our Workers in 1 move. The Workers do not however need to be on the edge of French territory, but can be further in giving Persian troops further to travel. The ones in our territory can be anywhere as long as they form a wall - the NE/SW wall could run through Rome itself We may need a couple of troops rather than Workers in the area by the Saltpetre, but it is difficult to be sure by the screenie. The French will not settle CXC so we do not have to block the tile right next to their border if the city has not yet expanded. The NW/SE wall will probably have to stay where it is, but building a colony on the silks will block one tile as well as gaining us a luxury. the places on the NW end of the line may have to be taken by troops. Any Workers positioned in the wall should not be fortified, but should build road/rail while blocking the tile.

It may be worth pillaging some of the Persian Silks, but not all as we still need to leave a road for our main forces to move along after the city is razed. We can position our troops on the remaining silks to break any trades they may have for them

 

[TimBentley]

Just noting that Persia has nationalism.