Update coming, but first some quick replies.
@k-a-bob: good move. Razing and refounding is greatly effective, since the newfound city would have zero enemy culture.
@BlackBetsy: no MT, and no cavalry then
- i have to do the job with knights. Your views on the ivory affair are correct, but it's the whole situation that is quite complicated and potentially dangerous. I've addressed better the matter on the following update. Feel free to post an opinion about my choosed path, even if its negative
@Zelda's: alas, the turns needed are 3, supposing the city of Chicago remains loyal, and then we'll have do deal with a
slow healing process (remember: no barracks around). I've pondered a lot the situation, and examined the possible alternatives. None of them are pleasant, including the choosed one... just see and judge by yourself...
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1160AD - Walking on a minefield
The situation is potentially dangerous. To focus more on the critical stuff, non-critical issues are addressed first
The last catapults are upgraded into cannons, and those cannons already available are sent in support of the "insurance troops" stationed outside Philadelphia and New York. I cannot do much for Chicago, just leave inside a knight an hope for another turn of grace.
A knight is rushed in Forte Diavolo - it's costly but i'm a little short of those beasts at the moment. Slaves are redeployed. Reinforcements are sent through the communication line. 2 extra muskets are available in Forte Pizza, and are sent to San Francisco to (try to) speed up the quelling process. The combat settler moves north and reach Atlanta. The stack of cannons and muskets proceeds north (another obvious move).
Now, it's time to deal with that lone ivory tile. Cutting off that luxury would mean 2 happy citizens less in all the American cities, a situation which is likely to cause civil disorder at least somewhere. Abe is already suffering heavy war weariness, and this move could be the decisive blow to its production potential.
A precisation is necessary: while the most effective move would be pillaging it, it's sufficient to have an unit sit on that luxury to negate it at least in this turn, and this would be enough to wreak havoc in loyalist cities. Even if occupation forces are killed in the interturn, next turn they can move there again and repeat the process.
There are 2 basic ways to negate that resource. The 1st would be sending a suicide unit, like an already redlined knight, to sit on it. The second would be sending a substantial force, strong enough to withstand the skirmish, and pillage the tile in the successive turn. Normally i would opt for the 2nd, but in this particular situation i don't think it's the best course of action. It would take 3 turns to move, pillage and return, in which no unit could heal. If i send a suicide unit, the others can stay fortified and have a chance to regain some hitpoints, or instead move SE to benefit of the protection of cannons and muskets.
Then, there's the Chicago problem. The grace period has expired. Now, with 8 tiles under foreign control, 11 citizens resisting, a distance of only 3 tiles from the American capital (opposed to the 30 or so from Athens), a substantial enemy culture and a global culture ratio of 2 and a half to 1, what are my chances to see it still in my hands in the next turn? It doesn't need an expert of the culture flip formula to give an answer.
Ok. There's a suicide knight that is supposed to fulfill 2 tasks: negate a luxury for one turn and divert skirmishers from the healing stack. But... how about offering a better bait, like the
undefended city of Chicago? The knight could survive enough to
pillage the ivory tile, at the cost of a city that is likely to be lost anyway...
An alternative would be betting on Chicago not revolting, give the stack a chance to heal, and sacrifice the suicide knight instead. Then we could have a luxury negated for one turn, a knight killed, and probably a city less.
I'm seriously considering the idea of leaving Chicago open to the American recapture. The wounded stack could move back to my territory, reach Forte Diavolo in 2 turn with a movement left to fortify, then be healed quickly. And if i don't sent one redlined knight to the ivory tile, but 2 units at (almost) full hitpoints, the probability of pillaging it would raise significantly.
Seeing how things look like, probably the best move would have been to delay the attack and wait for better support by muskets and cannons. I'm really tempted to reload the game and behave that way, but honestly... i've played this game fairly so far... cannot do that, not after i've posted such a log. If i was playing a strictly private match, and no one would never know... perhaps...
I move the stack SE, then south, send a musket in support, move the 2 units defending Chicago on the ivory tile, then send the 2 cannons captured in Chicago to reach the stack.
That little triangle in the top-left corner of the screen is tempting. To hell with it! The game will be played fairly and, if i'm screwed up, i'll change my personal title in "complete idiot", as someone did before...
I open the city screen of Chicago, sell all the improvements, toss an unrepeatable sequence of profanities, then finally hit enter.
A frigate tear off 1 hitpoint at the defender in Philadelphia.
A knight walk into the undefended Chicago and recapture it.
A knight charge from Boston and kill my full-strength elite knight.
Another knight charge from Boston. The 2nd knight is redlined but victorious!
I've achieved my goal, for a measley hitpoint. And no city has revolted. The curiosity to reload just to see how things could have gone if i choosed a different course of action is great. But it would be too tempting, and i want to continue playing a fair game.
Chicago is lost, but Abe is left with 2 happy faces less and some WW points more. It could have gone worse.
In the picture: the actual situation on the northern front, at the start of the 1170AD turn, with the next planned moves.
What skill level are you playing on BTW? 
