Sultan Bhargash
Trickster Reincarnated
Here is my strategy for warfare in a democracy:
First of all, the war cant drag on; sometimes even allowing one turn to end at war is enough to topple your government and stop production on everything (including valuable offensive units) for many many turns. So ideally you sign a peace treaty on the same turn you declare war. This can only be done by convincing the AI that you are ready to kick major ass. This can only be done by having a technological and movement edge. In other words, you have to have tanks (or the glorious Cossacks) and a rail system in place up to the enemy's cultural borders. Since the enemy tends to never build anything but ironclads and archers, their cultural borders are usually within a single turn striking distance from their cities. If not, you can rectify this by building a city up against their borders and rush building a temple there. In two or three turns, you will have extended your border into their land, sometimes up against their own city wall. You have to be ready to take at least four cities in one turn: either by having border routes in to four different cities or having enough workers to build the necessary rail lines after you capture the cities. Take the multiple cities. Take as many as you can and then ask the AI for peace; you can usually even request a city or two (once I even got ALL of the remaining non-capital cities away from Bismark) and you should focus on getting the next closest cities to you so that you will be able to go even further next time. You must have built Sun Tzu so that you have automatic barracks to recuperate in. If the AI is militaristic, they might not want to talk to you on the first turn of war no matter what - I find that razing a city or two changes this behavior quick, but if you cant get them to talk you have to go around to any cities you had earlier captured or traded for with their citizens in them and put people on entertainment or rush build temples or cathedrals as a pre-emption to widespread panic. After a second turn of multiple city grabs, even the toughest AI jerk will surrender an outlier city to be left alone. Always rehearse your demands with your foreign advisor to get the most possible. Never take per turn payments or luxuries from an enemy you are going to start up again with the next turn. End turns in Peace, then when you are ready start the next one turn war. Democracies hate long dragged out wars but they will gladly work on the palace of a leader who can win them luxuries and resources with one turn demolitions of enemies.
First of all, the war cant drag on; sometimes even allowing one turn to end at war is enough to topple your government and stop production on everything (including valuable offensive units) for many many turns. So ideally you sign a peace treaty on the same turn you declare war. This can only be done by convincing the AI that you are ready to kick major ass. This can only be done by having a technological and movement edge. In other words, you have to have tanks (or the glorious Cossacks) and a rail system in place up to the enemy's cultural borders. Since the enemy tends to never build anything but ironclads and archers, their cultural borders are usually within a single turn striking distance from their cities. If not, you can rectify this by building a city up against their borders and rush building a temple there. In two or three turns, you will have extended your border into their land, sometimes up against their own city wall. You have to be ready to take at least four cities in one turn: either by having border routes in to four different cities or having enough workers to build the necessary rail lines after you capture the cities. Take the multiple cities. Take as many as you can and then ask the AI for peace; you can usually even request a city or two (once I even got ALL of the remaining non-capital cities away from Bismark) and you should focus on getting the next closest cities to you so that you will be able to go even further next time. You must have built Sun Tzu so that you have automatic barracks to recuperate in. If the AI is militaristic, they might not want to talk to you on the first turn of war no matter what - I find that razing a city or two changes this behavior quick, but if you cant get them to talk you have to go around to any cities you had earlier captured or traded for with their citizens in them and put people on entertainment or rush build temples or cathedrals as a pre-emption to widespread panic. After a second turn of multiple city grabs, even the toughest AI jerk will surrender an outlier city to be left alone. Always rehearse your demands with your foreign advisor to get the most possible. Never take per turn payments or luxuries from an enemy you are going to start up again with the next turn. End turns in Peace, then when you are ready start the next one turn war. Democracies hate long dragged out wars but they will gladly work on the palace of a leader who can win them luxuries and resources with one turn demolitions of enemies.
