Turn 90 - 625 BC

[GeoModder]

Back in business.

Let's start with the hot spot. As you can see, PaL is rushing in a defense for Heliopolis. For the moment we have one axeman more in the area but 1 unit less overall.
PaL has 2 axes south of our hill stack. There's 1 axe, 1 spear and 1 warrior in Heliopolis. I don't think any of those units has a promotion under its belt.

[GeoModder]

Watership Down

Aka Aachen in previous turns.

A road is finished on the forest plot where a chariot stands. There's 2 workers underneath the chariot. Next turn, I plan to make a road where the second chariot stands (3 from Watership Down), so both chariots can end up in the same spot next turn.

[GeoModder]

Valley Hutch

Nothing special here.

[GeoModder]

Diggers Burrow

A chariot is finished here next turn. Any recommendations on the next production? Another chariot (we'll have 3 next turn), another axeman (we have 6 with one in production) or a spearman (we have 1 in Caerbannog, but appearantly PaL has no horsed units. Otoh, it upgrades to Landsknechts, our UU)?
The workers are on their way beyond Valley Hutch to finish the road connection on that side to Watership Down.

[GeoModder]

Caerbannog...

... is feeding a worker.

[GeoModder]

Next turn, we'll finish Pottery. I suppose we're going for Agriculture thereafter. Espionage is doing well. Imperio and Banana are still not interested in counteracting us. I devoted half of our points to PaL, and half to Imperio.
Both PaL and Banana have finished their research this turn, Pal on Code of Laws, Banana on Writing.

A question: at what point do we decide to call off our harassment strategy towards PaL? Is it once they give enough to us tech/goldwise? Is it after we pillaged about everything pillageble this side of PaL territory? Another markstone? Comments please.

[Zoid]

Re: Diggers Burrow

Originally posted by GeoModder
A chariot is finished here next turn. Any recommendations on the next production? Another chariot (we'll have 3 next turn), another axeman (we have 6 with one in production) or a spearman (we have 1 in Caerbannog, but appearantly PaL has no horsed units. Otoh, it upgrades to Landsknechts, our UU)?

Another Axeman can't hurt

The workers are on their way beyond Valley Hutch to finish the road connection on that side to Watership Down.

[Zoid]

Originally posted by GeoModder
Next turn, we'll finish Pottery. I suppose we're going for Agriculture thereafter. Espionage is doing well. Imperio and Banana are still not interested in counteracting us. I devoted half of our points to PaL, and half to Imperio.
Both PaL and Banana have finished their research this turn, Pal on Code of Laws, Banana on Writing.

A question: at what point do we decide to call off our harassment strategy towards PaL? Is it once they give enough to us tech/goldwise? Is it after we pillaged about everything pillageble this side of PaL territory? Another markstone? Comments please.

I thought the purpose of this tactic was to bring PAL to their knees without too much military losses to us. But IMO we need to wipe out PAL completely or at least make them our vassals.

[UnOrthOdOx]

Excellent position on the local scene.

Get the 2 chariots (what other units are up there?) onto the stone, and the 4th axe onto the Forest/Hill.

Next turn, we'll adjust as PAL reacts.

[GeoModder]

The "other units" you refer to are probably the workers under one of the chariots. There's "only" 2 chariots, a slightly damaged axe and a warrior in the vicinity of Watership Down.
Together with the barb warrior you see in the WD screenshot, we might be able to lay a trap for the PaL Biti warrior in the NW corner of the WD screenshot.

[Chuckman]

I would recommend sending 2 pillages stacks into PAL territory. A pillage stack would consist of 2 Axemen and 1 Chariot. They move 1 square at a time. The Chariot with 2 movement points would move/pillage (or pillage/move) the axemen stick with it and just move. As unOrthOdOx has stated our purpose is not to attack them directly unless a really tempting and easy target presents itself. We want them to attack us and to lose more hammers in the battle than we do. Once we establish a satisfactory defense force, we make more pillage stacks.

On the turn we declare war we should move onto the cows and elephants and pillage them. Then sever the roads to Heliopolis and the western coastal town. Then drive into the heart of his territory to deny him stone and copper, pillaging everything along the way.

Another area of strategic importance is to get Banana in on this. Even if Banana justs lays seige to one of PALs cities it will be a big help.

My initial thoughts on our defesive force would be 2 Chariots and 2 Axemen. As such I would recommend DB build another Chariot.

I would favor Caerbannog building the Oracle so that we can then leap to Code of Laws.

Once Pottery is complete, build 3 grassland Cottages by Caerbannog and 2 by Diggers.

This is going to a be a long war of attrition. We may have some periods of ceasefire, but that will benefit them more than us.

[UnOrthOdOx]

I disagree with splitting the stack.

A stack consisting of only 2 axes is much easire to deal with.

In addition, a single chariot would only be able to destroy an improbement, where a dual chariot stack can kill both road and improvement.

I do think we should consider putting together a second stack in the mean time, but the one stack is fine for now.

It's important that our stack not just be for pillaging, but also present an actual threat to cities that are not properly defended. This ties up the PAL forces to play defense, and keeps em out of our hair.

[Zoid]

I agree with UnO, one stack is better

[UnOrthOdOx]

Oi.

I sure can't type on that laptop keyboard (above post).