Turn 140, 230AD

[Shiber]

Yes, they do.
I'd like to question them about their array of forces before they play their next turn. They might finally come to good use.

[Shiber]

Btw, I support the move to migrate our population of knights to that hill.
It's good for having strong defenses along the way, and next turn we can jump from that hill to other hills that threaten either Salamanca or Merida.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Theseus
What if all the southern Knights followed up the Rider attack?

11 units is formidable, and the following move the stack would threaten both Merida 66 and 63 as well as Alamo 33.

Well, we could get 12k to that tile, but...

There are 11 riders in the area. Note the one from Murcia is not there anymore. There are also at least 11 ansars that disappeared from Pamp 4 4. Those ansars could be as far south as Alamo 2 2.

[Shiber]

Well, if GoW attacks it will be on inferior terms (or if we get lucky with promotions, a little better than that).
Besides, I get the feeling that the mass of the riders and ansars is in a location where they can't retreat far enough after attacking to prevent us from counter-attacking (ansars are especially vulnerable). It's just a hunch, but I suppose that GoW will keep most of their forces closer to RP and in the area of Salamanca.

[Theseus]

I would also:

* Complete the road at Barc 44
* Put a Pike each on Barc 47, 441, and 4411
* Evenly distribute the forces at Barc 44 and 442, with any odd-number advantage going to 44

I think the MedInf at Barc 7 should be left alone for the moment, or possibly moved 1.

[Theseus]

Why has Spain not upgraded the Horse in NM?

They have a potential trade with Lego, btw.

[notyoueither]

Should I point out that all that stands between them and taking everything else in Spain outside of Pamplona, and then Pamplona, is our army there, and that our army there gets no more reinforcement beyond a couple of k, p, and cats?

[notyoueither]

I have to go to the office for a couple of hours. If I am the only one not wanting to send the 12k there, then I would not stand in the way.

However, these are my thoughts...

There is a show down coming in the south. We face superior numbers of faster attackers, and now ND's infantry will also be in the mix.

We are a diversion down here, yes? Well we divert better the longer we keep significant forces in the field. We also need to maintain that force to keep Spain in the game as a lesser power rather than a basket case.

I suggest that we move into the hills next turn, bring a third worker along, and advance 1 hill tile per two turns towards Merida.

[Theseus]

I'm not exactly sure what you meant there, nye.

[Harovan]

He means, if the knights get beaten up badly, we have nothing to replace them and Spain is doomed. We lack the intel to know for sure, that this can't happen.

I agree, btw.

[Theseus]

You are saying you want the Knights defended by Pikes, so go more slowly?

Not unreasonable.

Beyond that, however, I think it's about time to actually challenge them with a threat in the south, and force their hand.

How about a compromise:

3 Pikes to Barc 441, and 6 Knights each at Barc 44 and 442? The following turn, 2 Pikes and 12 Knights to Barc 4441?

From there though (depending on further intel), I think the Knights should be prepared to travel alone.

In terms of remaining strong in the south, don;t forget our 11 MedInf and 8 Cats, which are no trifles.

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Theseus
3 Pikes to Barc 441, and 6 Knights each at Barc 44 and 442? The following turn, 2 Pikes and 12 Knights to Barc 4441?

That sounds about right.

Our pikes are really precious, even more since we know, that they are our advantage, since our opponents have none down there. Let's play that card.

[Harovan]

Can we seize Barc 4442 this turn too? Or would that mean to split our force too much?

[zeit]

I like Theseus idea about a compromise- might blow GoW and ND's intention of engaging our armies, while still making sure we'll be able to retaliate and keep RP alive in case they get lucky and decimate whoever gets on that hill with few casualties.

[notyoueither]

We want to advance beyond our roads?

How about something like...

Next turn we advance to 4 4 1 with the main force, along with 3 workers and the settler.

The following turn, the 3 workers build the road, while the main force advances with a settler to 4 4 4 1.

The following turn we pop the settler and settle in to our new forward base of operations.

The pike to 4 4 4 2 this turn could be a good idea as a screen (spotting encroaching fast movers) and if they want to kill it, they risk the loss of 1 or more fast movers.