- Military Strategy

War is not a life: it is a situation, one which may neither be ignored nor accepted.

-Eliot

> Expansionist Philosophy

The battle cry of an expansionist should be "Strength in Numbers." While an archer vs. a defended city doesn't have the best chances, twenty archers are slightly more formidable. My favorite is the elephant & catapult arrangement. A huge number of elephants attack the city over the course of several turns, forcing the defenders to hole up in the city. The slow catapults then plod in and finish them off. Of course, the strategy changes slightly over the advances in technology, but it still remains useful for a long time. The main drawback to the strength-in-numbers strategy is that large stacks present very easy targets; kill one, and they all die. This is one of the reasons for using elephants, or another two-moving unit: they can lurk just outside the boundary squares of the city, staying just out of reach of the big guns like catapults that are inside the besieged city. My choice of units are just that, a mobile, fast unit such as a knight, and a lumbering juggernaut such as the catapult or cannon. Keep your army mobile! As I said before, the big numbers lead to big stacks, which leads to big deaths. Another concept you should also take advantage of is to use an enemy's forts against him. The AIs are obsessed with forts. They build three times as many as they can man, and if you inhabit them your stacks don't die all at once. A disadvantage to a big army is that it takes a lot of ships to transport over water. Don't forget this, it doesn't do you a lot of good to have a massive army that has to be carried to another continent in one trireme! Obviously, galleons and transports make the best cargo carriers. If you do have a lot of transports, though, it is an impressive sight to see. Eight transports with eight units each, pulling up to the shore and disgorging their cargo. Think of the shock value! You should also read Military Strategies - Militarist.

> Isolationist Philosophy

Isolationists do not have an impenetrable wall around themselves, they just minimize outside contact; they are also seen as juicy targets for invasion, having no allies. Therefore an isolationist must have a military, in fact probably the second strongest of the four philosophies. The military of an isolationist is mostly used for defense, so the unit types vary depending on the size of the civilization. A big nation should have several "response forces" comprised only of mobile units. If an enemy invades, these forces rush to the spot and delay or drive off the invaders. Once you are into the modern era, you should have several air force divisions, but one centralized army(preferrably stationed in a city with SDI!) using the rail system. A smaller nation should have a fortress line, with fortresses manned by heavy units like archers and cannons standing sentry on the borders. This defense simply waits for the invaders to walk into it. One of the vulnerabilities of an "isolated" nation is that all the cities are large, and therefore vital. An isolationist leader cannot afford to lose cities. Because of this, be wary of spies! You might as well have a spy of your own to do counterespionage(reduces enemy's chances) in a few major cities. While being in an "bribery-immune" government might help, you still don't want to take the risk of your city walls or SDI Defense failing. SDI's are another vital city improvement that you should have in each of your cities. The AI's could care less if the world melts down because of a few measly nuclear missiles. Look in the next chapter for more info on nuclear war.

> Militarist Philosophy

`

Attack is the best defense. Most of the time.

`

Ideas from here carry over to other philosophies, so you might as well read this chapter anyway. Well, you're a leader with dreams for military glory. How do you build the armed forces of your new-found country? Good question. It depends on what planet you're on, and your personal preference. If the planet has a lot of water, a superior navy is your obvious goal. It can allow you to expand out from your one island. It can stop other players from doing so. It can finally crack that coastal city that your army couldn't. If you make it wrong, it can also be your biggest mistake. The mistake many players make is simple; they fall for the flashy ships, and literally forget about the true workhorses. While submarines look great, they really aren't. Sure, one or two are good to have around just in case you need to sneak in and launch your load of missiles, but more than that and they just become a pain. They die easily(the computer has a knack for guessing which square your sub's on), and don't have the firepower to deal with the real threats, like battleships or AEGIS cruisers, if they run out of missiles. Another example is the good old battleship. Again, keep one around. It is the ultimate coastal city killer, but for the price of one battleship you can build two better-defended AEGIS cruisers. Your medieval navy should be made up of(surprise!) frigates. If you have Leonardo's Workshop, you should build a few galleons, but otherwise only build them when you need them. Don't get hung up on suddenly having ironclads, you should just wait for electricity and steel. The only exception is if you are getting slaughtered on the high seas. But an excellent navy doesn't do you much good if you are on a land-locked world. There are two items that would-be generals trip on: mobility and terrain. Your units must be mobile! A bunch of slow units are just sitting ducks, but fast ones can attack first. Build knights and crusaders instead of catapults and legions. Legion are useful on defense, but that's about all. AIs are obsessed with legions, but don't follow that trait. The other item is terrain. Beginners and computers alike tend to pay little attention to terrain except when it applies to movement, but that is a huge mistake. Don't literally make a line of units leading up to their death, trying to knock off a phalanx atop Everest. Use situations like that to your advantage, by making your phalanx the one on top of Everest first, and the computer the one throwing corpses up at you. The air is an area that only comes into play in the later stages of the game, and is therefore sometimes forgotten. It can be very valuable to the player who controls it; try and make that player yourself. Helicopters can be useful, if you use them in places where there are few enemy fighters, for two reasons. They can capture cities, unlike the other air units, and they can fly almost indefinitely, even landing on water! One dreaded unit has sprung out of the air, though, that is very often misused; the nuclear missile. MAD(Mutual Assured Destruction) is very tempting to try, but don't unless you do the following:

1. `Have lots of cities.`
2. `Build SDI in every one.`
3. `Build lots of missiles.`
4. `Obtain a complete map.`
5. `Shoot far.`
6. `Shoot fast.`
7. `Shoot first.`
8. `Destroy every one of their cities and every one of their airports.`
9. `Have a lot of stupid, brave engineers in boats ready to clean up the mess you just made.`
10. `Hope that none of their cities have SDI.`
11. `Hope a lot that none of their cities have SDI.`
12. `Repeat steps 1-11 for every civilization on the planet, or you and your country will be promptly turned into a rather pitiful pile of slightly iridescent radioactive dust.`

Cruise missiles can also be very useful in defense of conventional warfare.

> Technologist Philosophy

The technologist's military should be almost opposite to the expansionist's, unless you are a playing a cross between the two. The expansionist's is made up of large numbers of mediocre units, and the technologist's is made up of small numbers of excellent units. Again, the military depends on the world. If you find yourself on a water-based world, go for the caravels. Triremes can't even compare to caravels, which are also invaluable for exploration. If you don't need a navy, there are several land-based units that can, in comparison to slightly lesser technology, can give you a decisive edge. One type is pikemen. The civs of the middle ages become obsessed with mounted units, but these nasty fellows can render those useless against your cities. Another is the knight. The main problem with the line of mounted units, chariot through crusader, is their defense; it's one. The knight is essentially a legion with speed. They are useful in the attack and defense. Don't think crusaders are better because they have more attack, they aren't. In the air, the advantages are obvious. Get there first, and it's bombers against cavalry. Happy target practice!

- Military Units

> Land Units

Alpine Troops - These guys are good on continents where the AI you're attacking has few roads. It's always nice to have a few in the attack force, but you shouldn't need them. They are not that powerful anyway, so you can certainly get by without them.

Archers - Strong on both offense and defense, these are great. They are the most powerful unit you can have at the very beginning of the game, and, while they cannot move quickly, are still excellent in defense. A city equipped with just one or two of these can survive an attack, and then mount a quick counterattack if the time is right.
Armor - Their is not much to say about this old unit. It is the most powerful modern land unit, and also very mobile. It is expensive, but it's still worth it. There is only one drawback: players tend to build these to the exclusion of many other units, and are very surprised when their supposedly omnipotent tanks are destroyed by an enemy air force that they forgot to build.

Artillery - Nice, but howitzers are just around the corner. Only build them if you need to do a lot of technological catch up in other areas.

Cannon - I like these units, but they are far too slow and weak on defense. Use these in the fast & hard model discussed in the Military Strategy - Expansionist section.

Caravan - These are far too under used. The only time players remember to take advantage of these is in the later parts of a game, when they are too complex to be helpful anyway. Make trade routes when you establish cities, and find new computer civs. You can build them, find a suitable target city, and use the GoTo command. These are invaluable in "crash projects", like building a wonder at the last minute.

Catapult - Good in the early game stages, where computer players are easy to catch unprepared in a major assault. They're also useful in the ending stages of any war, when you are just finishing up by picking off those last tough cities. Don't build too many in less you're in the middle of a war, though, they become obsolete quickly. See also: Cannon and Military Strategy - Expansionist.

Cavalry - These are a big jump up from the other medieval units, but they are quickly replaced by dragoons. Good if you have Leonardo's Workshop.

Chariot - These are very degraded from the original Civ, so wait for elephants, crusaders, or knights.

Crusaders - Crusaders are timeless units that are useful up until the time of cavalry. Their movement makes up somewhat for their low defense, but don't use them for defensive tasks.

Diplomats - The people behind the scenes. The best use I have found for these is in cracking tough cities with city walls. If you have the money, you can just bribe the city into submission, but sometimes it's just as easy to do Industrial Sabotage until you hit the walls.

Dragoons - Like Cavalry, these become obsolete quickly, but they look neat and can give your victim a nasty shock. Perfect if you have Leonardo's Workshop.

Elephants - Elephants look nice, but they are too expensive at too early a time to come in much use. They are better than chariots, though, and are a nice companion to catapults. See Military Strategy - Expansionist.

Engineers - A replacement to settlers comes at a perfect time. Not only do they look much more in place, but they work faster in a more fast-paced stage of the game. There is a small section in Domestic Policy - Isolationist that you might want to look at.

Explorers - Most players use these too late. If used as soon as they are found, you can have a decisive advantage in knowing the terrain in a much larger portion of the world than most. Put them on exploring triremes and caravels, and drop them off on continents.

Fanatics - Fanatics are only useful in massive numbers, but luckily that's no big deal as you can just set your cities to building them and forget about stopping. Use them in a flood; even a tank can only handle maybe five or six of these.

Horseman - Very weak. These should only be used to explore because they fail pitifully in combat.

Howitzer - If you can get these while you still have the time to wage war, they can be invaluable. Not only can they ignore city walls, but they have the highest attack of any unit except the battleship. Also, their movement impairment is no longer.

Knights - An excellent, all-around good unit. These are really just fast legions, and can be used on attack or defense. Use them in the first attack wave of an invasion to the exclusion of one-defense units, as they can survive a counterattack.

Legion - If you have knights, use them. If you don't, build them for defense instead of the archer, but don't mimic the computer's obsession with this unit.

Marines - These are modern-era legions, but better. Use them in suicide first-wave assaults; their attack-from-water ability is neat.

Mechanized Infantry - These, combined with tanks, make a great team. Have the tanks punch through to the core of a victim nation, and use the Mech. Inf. to mop up the units that got left behind.

Musketeer - Use these on defense, but they really lack in the attack.

Paratroopers - I like these a lot. If you use these, you can easily pick off any undefended hostile cities, or land on any tiny island, build an airport, and pile the troopers up. The closest continent will get a nasty surprise.

Partisans - Because these pop up after the fall of any city whose owner possesses the tech, these are a double-edged sword. Now that you have them, your enemies have a much tougher time attacking you. Now that your enemies have them, you have a much tougher time attacking them. Don't underestimate these; a big city can spew out a bunch. If you're on the attack but are outnumbered, it's usually best to let these attack you. For some reason, they appear automatically fortified.

Phalanx - The defender of ancient times, there isn't much to say except, "use them".

Pikemen - Better than a phalanx, these can give any mounted attacker (which means most in the middle ages) a not-so pleasant reminder.

Riflemen - The phalanx of modern day. These are much cheaper and more efficient than most other modern defenders, except maybe Mechanized Infantry.

Settlers - These little things grease the gears of a civilization. I'm not going to bother saying much about them, because anything I say is obvious anyway.

Spy - Use these just like diplomats, except that you'll need to use a lot less of them because they don't commit suicide after every mission.

Warriors - If you have to use these beyond the first millennium, I'd take a serious look at strategy.

> Sea Units

AEGIS Cruiser - These are the most practical naval ships available. They are the only unit that can truly defend against a missile attack, and they aren't that expensive. For the price of one battleship you can build two of these.

Battleship - These are still the ultimate unit, period. They can destroy the garrison of most coastal cities, and take on any ship. The catch: they are impractical and expensive to build, and one cruise missile can take down the whole works. Build one or two, but leave it at that.

Carrier - Carriers have the same expense as a battleship, and the same drawbacks. Another problem is that they really aren't that useful except on flooded worlds. Build one only if you're feeling lucky.

Cruiser - These are the first big upward jump in naval tech for a long time. Build these, as you aren't going to find a replacement for a long while.

Destroyer - Skip these; keep your ironclads and focus on getting steel, and with steel, cruisers. The only thing they do well is make fast cannon fodder.

Ironclad - These are better fighters than frigates, and use them for that, but don't forget that they can't carry a cargo. Don't scrap all you frigates to build these, for sure!

Submarine - These are flashy, but their practicality is pretty low. Most modern ships can see the, and the computer surrounds the ones that can't with ones that can. They should just be missile holders, used to unleash a nuclear or cruise missile assault in case some stupid hostile leader decided to start a war. Or you could just not build them at all.

Transports - Don't make a massive army and then forget to build these. Even in a war with another player on the same continent, these can be used to start an amphibious assault behind their back lines. Such an attack can often turn the tide of a war.

> Air Units

Bombers - These are nice, but sitting ducks in the air. Use them anyway, they can make the battle that much easier.

Cruise Missiles - If you make a lot of these, they can win a war in the opening shots. It doesn't matter much that they're one-shot. Their is not much anyone can do if they suddenly have all their units die at the beginning. Nice with helicopters. The missiles take out the defenders, the helicopters immediately capture the open city.

Fighters - The only use of these is to take out enemy bombers. It's useless to escort friendly bomber groups, they just don't have the range.

Helicopters - These are a little strange. One, they can capture cities unlike all other air units. Two, they can land anywhere, even on water. Three, they're free bodies in an air battle; they die quickly. They're nice to use on little "special forces" raids to capture behind-the-line cities. They are also good at killing damaged units, plus, of course, they're fun to play with.

Stealth Bombers - Just a better version of the bomber. It's funny that they go from props to stealth, but there are a few packs that fix that.

Stealth Fighters - A better-looking version of the fighter. Again, the tech advancement is a bit strange.

Nuclear Missiles - Nuclear Missiles are a no-win situation, most of the time. Keep them in reserve, just in case. For information on how to survive a nuclear war, see the section in Military Strategy - Militarist.