My apologies if this tip seems obvious to some. It may even be on this site elsewhere and I've missed it. But hey, I'm fairly new here
THE SCENARIO: You're launching an attack on a neighbouring country on the same land mass as yourself. You do not have sufficient funds to incite a revolt or they are a democracy. You don't yet have the airpower to take out the defending troops and drop in paratroopers. For some reason you can't sneak in round the back: you have to confront their first city head on. It's big and, you suspect, heavily defended. Worse still, though - like you - they have an internal rail system, the ground between your territories doesn't even have roads, and they haven't even put any roads leading up to the city on your side. You don't think they suspect an attack, yet...
THE PROBLEM: You want to bring your troops in quickly but they're going to stumble over the terrain which is unroaded right up to the enemy city walls. This is at best going to wear them out (can't attack at full power in the same turn), at worst going to take several turns, and it's going to ring all the enemy's alarm bells (they'll have plenty of time to bring reinforcements). What do you do?
THE SOLUTION: Bring in the engineers! And kill the enemy city in one turn. Here's how...
You need a troop of engineers, six minimum (if you're lucky, and close, and if the most direct route is via a 'corner') but usually nine or more. And you'll need a few veteran spies. And your biggest guns.
At the start of the turn, have your first engineer step towards the enemy city (shepherd him with a spy if zones of control are a problem) and have him build a road on the new square. (If the terrain is especially difficult, add another engineer and repeat). Then bring two more engineers onto the newly roaded square and build a railroad. Now take a new engineer along the new railroad, out onto a new square to build a new road and repeat. Very shortly, throwing your engineers in three (or more) at a time, you will have a railroad right up to your enemy's front door.
Then in go the veteran spies to investigate. City Walls? Sabotage them! Keep throwing the spies in until the walls are destroyed. You won't need to sabotage the barracks because this will all be over in one turn.
Then in go the big guns, taking out the forts on the way. Or if you want to save your big guns, shepherd them past the outposts with a spy. Then set them doing what they do best.
THE OUTCOME: The city is yours in a single turn. And it's linked to your infrastructure by a rail network, so you can bring up more resources to destroy partisans, fortify your new city, and go on to take the next batch of inner cities, all still in the same turn!
THE MORAL: Always have a dozen engineers in the vanguard of your head on attack force. And those wonderful veteran spies...
THE SCENARIO: You're launching an attack on a neighbouring country on the same land mass as yourself. You do not have sufficient funds to incite a revolt or they are a democracy. You don't yet have the airpower to take out the defending troops and drop in paratroopers. For some reason you can't sneak in round the back: you have to confront their first city head on. It's big and, you suspect, heavily defended. Worse still, though - like you - they have an internal rail system, the ground between your territories doesn't even have roads, and they haven't even put any roads leading up to the city on your side. You don't think they suspect an attack, yet...
THE PROBLEM: You want to bring your troops in quickly but they're going to stumble over the terrain which is unroaded right up to the enemy city walls. This is at best going to wear them out (can't attack at full power in the same turn), at worst going to take several turns, and it's going to ring all the enemy's alarm bells (they'll have plenty of time to bring reinforcements). What do you do?
THE SOLUTION: Bring in the engineers! And kill the enemy city in one turn. Here's how...
You need a troop of engineers, six minimum (if you're lucky, and close, and if the most direct route is via a 'corner') but usually nine or more. And you'll need a few veteran spies. And your biggest guns.
At the start of the turn, have your first engineer step towards the enemy city (shepherd him with a spy if zones of control are a problem) and have him build a road on the new square. (If the terrain is especially difficult, add another engineer and repeat). Then bring two more engineers onto the newly roaded square and build a railroad. Now take a new engineer along the new railroad, out onto a new square to build a new road and repeat. Very shortly, throwing your engineers in three (or more) at a time, you will have a railroad right up to your enemy's front door.
Then in go the veteran spies to investigate. City Walls? Sabotage them! Keep throwing the spies in until the walls are destroyed. You won't need to sabotage the barracks because this will all be over in one turn.
Then in go the big guns, taking out the forts on the way. Or if you want to save your big guns, shepherd them past the outposts with a spy. Then set them doing what they do best.
THE OUTCOME: The city is yours in a single turn. And it's linked to your infrastructure by a rail network, so you can bring up more resources to destroy partisans, fortify your new city, and go on to take the next batch of inner cities, all still in the same turn!
THE MORAL: Always have a dozen engineers in the vanguard of your head on attack force. And those wonderful veteran spies...
