WAR ACADEMY: Homeland Defense Plan

[Captain]

My fellow Academy members (and honoured guests),

Soon our war with America will be on, and hopefully, soon it will also be over. We can all see that a quick war will serve us all well, whether we succeed in the objectives or not. A quick victory would be the best we could hope for. But should we fail, it would be best to make peace quickly before the Americans are able to march on our soil.

However, should we be successful, our territory will have expanded greatly. Our neighbours will no longer be America, France and Greece alone. We will contend with the Germans, and possibly the Aztecs. What plans have we made concerning them? Perhaps they will not be as peaceful as our current neighbours.

Many are speaking of yet another war, this time against France, or some other target. Regardless of whether the people of Apolyton decide to wage war once more, it may not be for us to decide.

Other civilizations may see our attack on the Americans as an aggressive and hostile act (obviously). Seeing the tiny Apolyton nation strike such a devastating blow against the larger American nation, they may regard us more warily. In fact, they may even find it wise to pre-empt a possible attack by us, with an attack of their own.

We have not considered how we would defend ourselves in the event of such an attack. We have only discussed wars wheere we take the fight to the enemy's gates. What will we do when foreign soldiers march on our cities, burn our fields, and pillage our native land? How shall we ensure our safety against invasion?My fellow Apolytonians, we must develop a national Homeland Defense Plan! (HDP)


*What contingency do we have against a:
- German attack
- Aztec attack
- Greek attack
- French attack

*What conditions should we have to sue to peace? What would we be willing to give up?

*Which cities are expendable, if any?

*Shall we go out to meet them in the fields, or outlast them in a siege?

*Shall we prioritize road building as a vital part of our HDP?

*Who is the greatest threat? Before RRs, distance counts in defense, where shall we station most of our garrisons?

*If we do not have a city on a resource, should we station a guard to sit atop that resource?

*Are we willing to pop-rush (and in the future, draft) in order to muster a credible militia?

*Should we be infilling our lands with packed cities to prevent rivals from filling the gaps?

*Should cultural border expansion be a priority in order to deny the enemy movement and use of our roads? Should we rush some temples to get our culture up?

*Should we formulate some Manifest Destiny that would help us determine what our territory should look like in order to sufficiently defend it?

*Should our interior cities further from the border be lightly guarded and spare troops all sent to the borders?

*How will we fight a two-front war? Should we sue for peace with one and retaliate later?

*What kind of diplomacy should we be engaging in to avoid invasion? Trading favours? or Gunboat?

*Should we switch all production to military just in case?

etc...

And then the specifics... if the Germans(Aztecs, Greeks, French)attack, where are our vulnerabilities? What will the AI likely target? What can we not afford to lose? Where to station troops? Where to counterattack?

Surely there are dozens more questions to discuss in order to be sufficiently prepared. Remember, the HDP ensures the safety of our nation. It should have an even higher priority than whatever other aggressive aims we have. In fact, perhaps the HDP should even be a key factor when planning future invasions. How much can we spare for an offense and still be able to resist a suprise invasion?

[kring]

Good points to bring up. Hopefully, good decision will follow.

[Ninot]

I request one thing... that we do not call it anything like "homeland defense"

[Robber Baron]

Roadbuilding will be of paramount importance, I believe. We must be able to speed troops up and down the spine of our spreading territory.
It also might be worthwhile starting to build up a horseman force, for mobile defense, potential offence, and an upgradable reserve.
I would continue heavy military production in most of our native cities, and work on some culture-building in captured cities.
When should we start a new palace/pre-build of a Forbidden Palace?
I would expect the Germans to get pretty aggressive soon -- the usually do, in my games. (Though as I've said elsewhere, I would avoid taking them on until we can build a world-class army, since if we cripple them, the Aztecs will pour in and finish them off.)

[Captain]

Ninot, it was the first thing that came to mind.
What do you want to call it? doesn't really matter to me.

RB, good point about the horsemen, they should be even more valuable on defense than offense if we're well roaded.

[Ninot]

i dunno, i just have always hated the "Homeland Defense" phrase of President Dubya Bush.

How about.. The National Integrity System?

Anything but the "Homeland" weiner phrase

[Aggie]

How about we name it Domestic Defense plan. The main thing I always do on defense of my homeland, is;
1) Build roads, this way a smaller number of troops can defend a much larger area. Thus completing the road to ny will be important.
2) Build fast units(horseman). With a road system the can react up to 12 tiles in 2 turns and we would spot an enemy before this. So maybe a rapid reaction foce of 5 horse to serve dual role, offense and defense.
3) Build temples, since this will expand our borders and gives us more warning of an attack, For more specific plans we'll just ahev to wait for the autcome of this war.
Aggie

[Harovan]

I would suggest (supporting Aggie):

• Put Spearmen as defenders in every city, beginning at the borders.
  
• Build a "national guard" of mobile units (horsemen), beginning with 4 and growing.
  
• As soon as we hooked up iron, upgrade our warriors to swordsmen and use them as backbone.
  

Not to forget: The best defense (apart from a good offense) is to control terrain. Who hinders the enemy to approach, sees attacking forces early and can react and regroup forces appropriately, needs a much less national guard.

[trickey]

Roads are definatly a key to our defence (and offence for that matter). Should we see a group of horsemen, arches, or any soldiers from another coutry, we want to be able to rush out and attack them, before they can attack us.
Temples are also a must. The sooner we see a force coming our way, the more time we have to react. Temples should expand our border enough to see the forces before they hit us.

I think our outer borders should be heavily fortified, with our inner cities having not as many defenders.


horse men patrolling the outside with spearmen fortified on any hills, mountains. That should be enough to stop em.

[GodKing]

We can beet them to the punch. Give the gift every few turns of our territory map. It doesn't mean much to us, but the computer loves getting free things that they haven't asked for. Makes them feel powerfull, even if it is garbage. That will keep them off our backs, until we are done with the americans and can consolidate.