Counter-strike

[zeit]

The tide has to change, and in our favor.

For that, we must take the initiative and attack- our current plan says the target is GoW, and the means are a mass of freshly upgraded spears, WC's, warriors and horsies, and our glorious large galley fleet.

But there is much more to it- Vox's and RP cooperation- which means serious diplomatic effort, and probably several sleepless nights , we also have to decide the timeline, the route we take to the landing spot, the composition of the spearhead force, its strategic target, and much much more.

These aspects of this operation are obviously distinguishable, but are also interwined- the date of launch derives from our production timeline, but would also effect our talks with Vox and RP- if we want them to join this most effectively.

I suggest we use this thread for this purpose- shape out the details of the various aspects, and shape them into a combined operation.


First thing, I think, would be the production timeline- how many forces we can get in what time(s)?

[zeit]

I also think a chat with Vox is in order- we need to probe their feeling about this, and have Vox know what their goals are, and how would we support them. Vel's has set a wonderful groundwork, and we need to get things moving-
Vel, can you proceed on this channel?

[Shiber]

That could be a great suggestion, if Vel is as good with chats as he is with written messages. That's up to him to say.

Have we decided on where we want to invade yet? Apparently some want to sweep through the northeast first (starting at PoI and killing lots of small towns as we sweep through the area), while others prefer to hit the core first.
I would like to amass enough forces to let us do both. Attacking the northeast gives us little in terms of hurting GoW economically, but any stronghold that we establish on the area of GoW's core will be almost entirely isolated unless we take over their northeast.

[zeit]

I saw NYE mentioning this and I though it should be addressed: Where do we strike?

NYE said we'll be crossing the channel with 11 galleys- I think at least 2-3 more would be necessary, and more importantly: I'm very much in favor of striking at their core- landing across the channel would get us much good if we want to cripple GoW fast- it is a long trip from PoI to the productive core, and Riders would give us hell- they'll have far too many chances to be on the attack, instead of being forced to defend cities, which I guess would happen if we'll be landing in their core, and threaten a few important cities- they'll have to spread their defence.

Our top priority should be to disrupt their war-production, and the best way to do this is to take Leo's from them. The problem is that it would be heavily defended, and GoW would expect us to hit them there. We could use this to our advantage, and hit their other prodcutive towns which will be cranking out cheaply upgradable troops.

Just my two cents.

[Cort Haus]

Is Embassy-spying enabled in this game? I don't suppose Lego or Vox would fancy, er, having a peek into the Leo city would they? In return for some future trinket, perhaps?

[Velociryx]

As I see it, we're deadlocked, and ANY ground we gain against them WILL be turning the tide.

If we turn the tide quickly/dramatically (especially as I have not yet heard back from Vox re: entering the war and what it will take!) then we risk the ire of Lego involvement.

If, on the other hand, we slowly, steadily gain ground (which we are, btw), the risk of that is lower.

To that end, I would be in favor of a strike against the GoW cities closest to us...easier to establish a beach head there, even if the cities are of lesser importance, and easier to feed in reinforcements.

True, it does not strike at their heart, but it changes the equation...we start taking towns from THEM. Doesn't matter that they're not productive. Doesn't matter that they're not the heart and soul of GoW holdings, we damage them....we HURT them...and better, we put them on notice and force them to re-think their plans. Keep giving them bad stuff to worry about, and the balance continues to shift.

The fact is that we NEED to fight a defensive war if we want to win this thing.

We can't beat their mobility, but we CAN crank out good defenders a LOT more cheaply than they can crank out their high-dollar attackers, which forces them to trade blows at a net-shield loss EVERY time they fight us.

So let's hit their cities nearest us, and dig in. We eat their attacks, taking them on the chin, and reinforce. Then, when we have enough reinforcements, we advance again and hold. Rinse and repeat till we gain the ground we want/need.

If one side gets gunpowder before then, then the only option is to stop, but until then, we can inflict a LOT of punishment and eat away at them severely.

-=Vel=-

[Theseus]

Another argument for hitting GoW closer to us than in the heart:

Think of the enemey forces on Bob surrounding us and RP in a crescent... I believe that the bulk of GoW's second wave is also positioned as a reaction force, and thus logically would be found at the center of the crescent, far enough west to not be visible by an adventurous Knight.

By attacking at the tips of the crescent, we do the most to use up their movement advantage, while minimizing our own movement.