Where is WWI?

[zeeter]

Has anyone else noticed that WWI has been pretty much completely skipped in the game? For ground troops, the Riflemen are more like Civil War guys, and the Infantry are more WWII. Tanks are WWII - they skipped those crude early tanks. I guess that there were destroyers around, as there were in WWII, but they skipped the dreadnoughts which were gone by WWII. You could make a case for Artillery, but to me it looks more like WWII artillery than WWI. The planes, of course, are all WWII.

I guess this doesn't bother me as it would take more time to discover the advances for them, not to mention another upgrade expense, but it would be neat to have every major war represented.

 

[joycem10]

after replaceable parts the best mix for war is infantry and arty. cavalry is pretty much nullified by infantry's defense. there is no strong offensive manuever unit until motorized transport. that period is WW1.

the planes are a whole different story i agree with you. like Exile_Ian said in another thread, flight needs to be reworked.

 

[zeeter]

I guess I see your point. The period when cavalry is the best offense, and infantry replaces riflemen could be considered WWI since the combat style would be similar - massed troops gaining ground inch by inch with a few cavalry here and there proving that they are now obsolete.
However, I still feel that the infantry is more WWII than WWI.

 

[roadwarrior]

I think that the infantry really could represent the troops of either period, but what defines the period is the supporting forces. In WWI it's basically just artillery with a smattering of cavalry, while in WWII you have more ships, planes, tanks, marines, etc. It is possible to go from Replaceable Parts to Motorized Transport really quickly if you hold off on getting RP, but I prefer to grab Infantry as soon as possible, which leaves a decent gap in the game where a WWI type war is really possible.

 

[Richard III]

Funny to read this, because as Germany (on Regent), I just played through to 1870 last night, and had a great time because of a furious battle that seemed an awful lot like WWI to me.

The Aztecs declared war over my failure to pay tribute. So I landed my large reserve of infantry and artillery, mixed with ironclad naval support and a few cavalry onto a hill in between two cities. My objective was to fry those two mid-sized cities to end the war on my terms, and to weaken the Aztecs generally.

So, my infantry spread out on turn two of the landing. Turn three, a huge wave - perhaps 20-30 - Aztec infantry and riflemen charge at my units. I kill lots of them, but they wear me down and do in about 8-10 of mine. It was a fantastic spectacle: troops appear off the railway, and then minute after minute of crazy rifle fire. Then, after a turn of my cavalry counterattacking to kill the cripples, the next wave hits - perhaps another 25, charging my hill position and the guns on it. The Aztecs do damage, but are slaughtered.

I was only able to stop a second deluge because I had wiped out most of the rail infrastructure in the area with the cav a turn or two later, and so I could shell their infantry from my hill as they advanced on my position. Some retreated from the damage, and I got pissed, thinking that I was going to miss out on butchering all of those weakened units. So I charge into the valley again, and lose about 6 infantry and 4 cavalry to their force, which proves to be stronger than I thought. After another few turns of the same sort of casualties, I had advanced a total of four squares, but obliterated all of the cities and ground around me.

Seemed like a good time to cut a deal.

I guess it just depends on when your war starts, really.

R.III

 

[zeeter]

Good point, Richard. I have a similar story which I am posting in the Strategy section in a few minutes.

 

[andrewgprv]

I think WWI is represented very well in CIV3

It is that time where you have infantry but don't have tanks yet. This time is hard to make any head way offensivly because there is no strong offensive unit really all you have is artillerey and infantry, making little progress just like WWI.

 

[Zouave]

WW I is not represented at all in Civ 3. We would need siege guns to reduce fortresses; long range cruisers to attack commerce shipping, etc.

You may remember a pretty decent World War One scenario for Civ 2 with such as Zeppelins and Poison Gas units. I always liked that big cloud!

POISON GAS!! That's an option never discussed around here.

Of course with Civ 3 we have no scenarios at all.

But if you look at the Completed Mods forum, both the one I posted and Plutarck's excellent LWC mod have added Shock Troops, which the Germans first used in 1917 against the Italians at Caporetto. That unit is indeed the offensive precursor to tanks.

BTW, for those with any knowledge of reality, cavalry was quite ineffective offensively as soon as riflemen came on the scene. Cavalry was useful in the Russian civil war as it fought other cavalry.

I was really looking forward to BETTER historical scenarios with Civ 3 than we had with Civ 2. Instead we got NO scenarios at all!!! The joke's on us. But are scenarios coming. . . let us hope.

 

[Jaybe]

For a real WWI tragedy, get into MPP agreements during this time period.

 

[Zouave]

BTW, that LWC mod also depicts the Machine Gunner unit which became common in WW I. Although whether it was in overall effect more defensive than offensive can be discussed later.