Size of Armies and Help save my Civ

[Spawnbob]

i know it all depends on difficulty level, map type , civilisation, time etc but roughly as a guide what at your civ's prime would you consider to be a suitable sized army for combined defence on multiple fronts and possibly limited attack , skirmishes etc.

Im saying this as im also finding myself outnumbered, i usually have the more advanced units than the enemy but i tend to peak around 80 units total inc workers.

Yesterday was the 1st time i encountered a sustained attack im playing at quite a easy level(China) working me way up, anyway they must off sent 40 odd units(Zulus) on to 1 of my cities, i had to save and play it tonight as i could see my empire which i was proud of about to fall , i had expanded to cover a large area, this mountain range protected me from the Zulus who had been eyeing up for a war all game and eventually they started it.


My cities to the north of this range are not 2 important i could lose them it would hurt but they are not the powerhouse behind my civ.

The problem is my heartlands to the south are quite poorly protected as ive used the troops that they produced to bolster the frontier cities.

My frontier cities will not hold out, i can see that , but if they break through this mountain range all will be lost, at the moment the Zulus haven’t attempted or don’t have access to an seaborne invasion force, the mountain range is a line of fortress's protected single file at the moment by longbow men, swordsmen on the whole.

So what do I do, i could let go all hope on my border cities and pull the troops south to the mountain line or try to hold out as long as possible in those i feel lost cities. Another option would be to bring all my forces to bolster my weak defence of the actual important cities in the land masse to the south.

I did have more cities to the north of the current border but they where undefended and 2 fell easy, so i gave them to the other but peaceful civ France, i hoped that the Zulus would still want and attack them thus bringing France into the war, alas they did not.

Im settling some cities to the south on some islands, but i fear my civ will go the way of the dodo. I don’t have the resources to counterattack , and we are at the same level tech wise.
I really don’t wanna lose this one as I know I can take the Zulus on later on eventually, so any advice how i can survive the oncoming assault of the Zulus who have no interest in peace.

I should also add that most of my cities are are at 12 pop, well developed and can produce most unit in 2/3 turns. Also am a Republic and about 800 gold in the kitty.

 

[eyrei]

You are in less trouble than you think. You may have to give up your outlying cities, but if you take all those cities that are producing wealth, and build units to send to the front, the Zulu will eventually break themselves on your wall of fortresses. At that point you may even be able to counterattack. If you are no longer in despotism, use the draft if you are really scared. Just make sure you lump a whole bunch of units in Shantung, position many units in your many fortresses, accept that your terrain improvements around Shantung will be pillaged, and you should be fine. I hope you have access to iron at least, or you may actually be in trouble.

 

[zebomba]

Don't be shy!!!
Set your research to 0 after you get military tradition, build an army up to 150-200, and kill them all!
You can always get their techs as war reparations, or buy them from someone else afterwards.
Remember, big army=no one messes with you. If they do mess, kill them all.
Don't worry about moving that army, since 2/3 of it is to be sitting on your territory.
I predict an easy victory, since you're building WEALTH. Bad bad bad idea. Build some troops.

 

[Terminal Strike]

Not a seasoned war veteran here myself, but I would agree that you should be cranking out those units instead of wealth, especially if you have known they have been eyeing you up for a while. With that mountain range of defense it would depend on your units tech levels, but I would suggest to pillage several of those fortresses you have there and stack your units on a few fortress squares. You will have a much easier time attacking from your fortresses to the other mountain terrain if they do take the opening. If you allow them to throw their masses onto one of your fortresses that has only one unit on it, there will be some carnage involved while you try and take that square back and it gives them a pre-made foothold onto your defensive line. I would imagine that they will attack where you have your units stationed as opposed to blasting through your wall into your southern territory as this will be the main staging point for your armies. I would suggest trashing every other fortress and stacking your units in position to cut them off in between even though it will be a mountain defensive bonus, you will have the offensive bonus of your fortress to propel your attack and defense.

 

[MajorFallout]

I agree with Terminal Strike, remove a number of forts and stack up your units for virtually 'impregnable' forts.

Also, with regard to your fortresses, always put pikemen (or your best defensive units) on those fortresses, as well as attacking units. Otherwise that fort may fall very quickly, if it was defended only by an offensive unit(s) - remember, attacking units don't have much defensive values.

With your best defensive unit, you can easily wipe out at least 4-6 attackers per defense unit.