Things I learned about the science of warfare through Civilization IV

[Iapetus303]

569) The Koreans can build the hwacha centuries before the discovery of gunpowder. Presumably it works by compressed air.

 

[bestbrian]

569) The Koreans can build the hwacha centuries before the discovery of gunpowder. Presumably it works by compressed air.

Elven magic.

 

[Graceheart the Leopard]

570) Snacks are good in moderation.

 

[Bigv32]

#26 A battleship or frigate can still destroy a submarine even though they have no way of seeing it or attacking it.

Also the woman above who drove the tank was my mother,

#27 It cost more to build a single tank than barracks or granary no matter what time period you are in.

 

[toll_booth]

571) In a defensive position, a single soldier with a rifle can take out a tank. He is most likely to pull this off if defending a city, he is well-trained to defend cities, and he has fortified his position over the course of a couple years.

572) Even in modern times, it can take a year or more for an army to capture an enemy city.

573) In the same year that he or she is born, the entire world knows who the next Great Person is. However, only the nation they are born in knows the great acts or discoveries that each GP accomplishes.

 

[Shackel]

574.) A WWII-age destroyer can see a submarine, but a futuristic destroyer built for stealth cannot see one.

 

[zerocold]

575) In a nuclear war, better split your units on small groups

 

[ranger101]

9. A couple of artists in a nearby city are far more able to conquer a neighboring city by writing a few plays, than a large army of swordsmen and catapults. Art is a magical power known throughout history for its world-conquering abilities. The Romans especially were deadly to the Gauls when fielding their 18th Sculptural Legion which created lethal statues that toppled the highest of Vercingetorix' city walls. Only the modern French with their elite existential novelists division were able to withstand the Roman military artistic assaults, and everyone knows the Cold War was about who could paint the prettiest paintings. During a siege, it isn't the city walls that protect against catapult volleys, but sailor's ditties, limericks, and dancing a jig.

Very funny, especially #9 above. Loved the "elite existential novelists division".

 

[malaspina]

576) Building a standard canal requires decades of hard work, because you also have to build a military fort in the same area. Said fort must also include an airport. However, if you instead choose to build a city in that same spot, a huge canal will be instantly dug.

577) Mercenaries never existed and conscription only became available during the middle ages. Even the early clubman was a professional soldier (which is why he can single-handedly raze a megalopolis).

 

[Joecoolyo]

576) Building a standard canal requires decades of hard work, because you also have to build a military fort in the same area. Said fort must also include an airport. However, if you instead choose to build a city in that same spot, a huge canal will be instantly dug.

Don't forgot those forts also have to include a secret Nuclear Silo... I never said anything, this conversation never existed .

 

[troytheface]

i learned that historically the greatest tacticians were...

Bobby Fischer, Douglas Mccauther, and Attacko, and of these three Attacko is the superior.

 

[Shackel]

578.) It will take many, many nukes to destroy every building in a city. Hiroshima was just a glitch.

 

[bestbrian]

i learned that historically the greatest tacticians were...

Bobby Fischer, Douglas Mccauther, and Attacko, and of these three Attacko is the superior.

...and only slightly less megomaniacal.

 

[NoPeace]

Another good one.

In the medieval era, crossbowmen were easier to train than longbowmen, but in Civ IV, crossbowmen cost more than longbowmen.

 

[ORION11380]

#26 A battleship or frigate can still destroy a submarine even though they have no way of seeing it or attacking it.

Also the woman above who drove the tank was my mother,

#27 It cost more to build a single tank than barracks or granary no matter what time period you are in.

Regarding not being able to see a sub, a few days ago a Chinese sub shadowing USS John McCain accidently ran into the destroyer's towed sonar array. Which leads me to wonder:

1. Given that Subs are essentially blind, and can only "see" by sonar, would it not hear the towed array, which, in essence, is a suped up boombox that could transmit sounds hundreds of miles away?

2. Given that the USS John McCain's primary function is to detect submarines, and the towed array is a very expensive piece of machinery, would the crew not reel it in when it saw the sub coming?

 

[bestbrian]

Regarding not being able to see a sub, a few days ago a Chinese sub shadowing USS John McCain accidently ran into the destroyer's towed sonar array. Which leads me to wonder:

1. Given that Subs are essentially blind, and can only "see" by sonar, would it not hear the towed array, which, in essence, is a suped up boombox that could transmit sounds hundreds of miles away?

2. Given that the USS John McCain's primary function is to detect submarines, and the towed array is a very expensive piece of machinery, would the crew not reel it in when it saw the sub coming?

This should be in Off Topic, but two possible answers. 1. The Chinese Sub never detected the Passive Sonar array (very possible), had no idea it was being tracked, and did something highly unexpected and collided with it. 2. The Destroyer never detected the Sub, either, and they both bumped into each other (less likely, but possible, especially if there had been a previous intermittent contact).

 

[Askthepizzaguy]

How about one of these for chess?

1. The king is old and can barely move, but he married Wonder Woman. This is because many centuries ago in a male-dominated society, Chess was invented by some very ticked off feminists.

2. Catholic bishops are superstitious and cannot step on certain colors.

3. Knights on horseback can fly over walls and foot soldiers.

4. Foot soldiers can charge forward until they meet the enemy. Then they stand there wondering what to do.

5. Castle towers like to run around on the battlefield, and fairly quickly might I add.

6. If a foot soldier charges forward long enough, and the enemy army is behind him, he gets confused and sometimes changes genders. Or species. Or into a rock.

7. Your king likes to square dance with the castle towers. But he can only do that if he is a virgin and has never danced before.

8. Your king is very shy when he square dances. If the enemy can see him do it, he will refuse.

9. Your king is homophobic and will never touch the enemy king, who has cooties.

10. Your foot soldiers are VERY confident that anything next to them or behind them is friendly.

11. Your foot soldiers can kill an enemy soldier that tries to rush past them by pretending they didn't run so fast, by attacking the empty spot they would have been standing in if they decided to walk instead.

12. Your soldiers are trained to kill anyone and anything, but they never learned how to duck.

 

[Jaybe]

This should be in Off Topic, but two possible answers. 1. The Chinese Sub never detected the Passive Sonar array (very possible), had no idea it was being tracked, and did something highly unexpected and collided with it. 2. The Destroyer never detected the Sub, either, and they both bumped into each other (less likely, but possible, especially if there had been a previous intermittent contact).

A PASSIVE Sonar array does not ping, it just LISTENS (that' why it's Passive), and often descends into different thermal layers of the sea (which refract and reflect sound waves). Therefore, detecting it would not be easy. The sub was undoubtedly also using just passive sensors, to practice shadowing the destroyer.

 

[Shackel]

Get back on-topic, people.

579. A Medieval Longbow has a chance to beat a WWI era rifle.

This is because they load them with explosives.

 

[Kark]

580. The ingenious Joao II was the only leader to understand how to load settlers and soldiers onto caravel-type ships. This was possible after discovering optics. When Joao II looked trough the new telescope, the carracks not only looked bigger, they were really growing.

When the rest of the civs came to the New World seven or eight hundred years later, after discovering astronomy, they found it completly covered with cities where the people spoke Portuguese. (Terra map.)