Chapter 9
The Conquest of Ireland
After conquering Scotland, I now have 3 likely missions: Recover Normandy, Conquer Ireland, and Occupy Paris. I really want Occupy Paris, so of course, that's not what the AI gives me.
Oh well. At least I got this mission second, and not first, and that France still has no navy worth mentioning. I can easily conquer Ireland whilst mooning the French from across the channel.
On January 1st, 1402, France tries to sneak past my navy with 2 transports, which are sunk instantly. ---
Don't try to sneak transports past a large fleet. If you absolutely have to get your transports somewhere, and can't beat the enemy fleet, you can sacrifice your warships to hold off the enemy fleet while your transports drop troops off and run home... ---
There are several options for the invasion of Ireland. I choose the simplest: DoW all 4 ASAP and start the sieges, then clear out their accumulated armies from Meath. The reason for DoWing all at once, is because the AI sometimes will guarantee a mission target if you wait, and I don't want to bring even more nations in. Even so, Brittany has guaranteed Munster, so I'll have to smack the Bretons around.
I land in Ulster, then spread out my army - 2 regiments in each province because they're building new units, and the rest into Meath to hammer the enemy armies.
Unsurprisingly 4 disconnected armies with 6000 total men don't last long against my 8000 men led with a good general.
Other options:
* Assault your way from Ulster to Leinster using your full army. Since France is occupying 2 of my provinces, I get a little WE every month anyway from that. I want to avoid unnecessary WE.
* Land your full army in Meath, run down the armies, then split off and siege. I chose not to do this, as I want the sieges done ASAP.
On September 22, my general, Robert Knowles, dies. Generals love to die right before you need them.
November 7: Ulster surrenders, and Tyrone is Annexed. Due to my Conquest CB, each annexation will only be 2 infamy, rather than 8 otherwise.
February 9: Leinster surrenders and is annexed.
April 1: Munster is annexed. My WE is still rising slightly due to my 2 French provinces being occupied, but I need my entire army together to take out France.
April 18: In Connaught, I get a breach in the walls, and choose to assault. My thinking here is that time > a trivial amount of manpower and morale that will regenerate before I land in France.
The choice between siege and assault should be made based on the following criteria:
* time - do I have time to sit around and besiege the province, and can I afford having these men doing nothing?
* protection - will my besieging army be in danger from large enemy armies coming through?
* # of enemies - how many countries am I fighting? Assaulting a nation's capital and taking it quickly can get them out of the war much faster, which lets you then turn around and use your army against your remaining enemies. When making this determination, consider a nation that you have a truce with but that will probably attack when the truce is up as an enemy.
* manpower and WE - Assaults can eat through your men, especially if you don't have an 8:1+ numerical advantage. That can sap your manpower, and increase WE.
* morale - A failed assault leaves all of your infantry with 0 morale, and thus a tempting target for the AI.
--- The AI will almost always attack you after a failed assault. Always keep some cavalry with your infantry so you have troops with morale, who may be able to hold off the enemy until you can retreat. ---
* Breached wall - If a breach has occurred in the wall, your assault will be much more likely to succeed. Note: Having artillery help in a siege increases the likelihood of getting breaches.
* Bankruptcy - If the enemy has been bankrupt in the last 5 years, they have absolute crap morale, and their forts will easily fall to assault.
Later, I'll show you a nice trick to help you handle assaults...
Since I have cavalry around to cover me, no enemy armies that can get to me, I can assault without fear.
April 27: Connaught falls, and Ireland is conquered. I get free cores, which means no nationalism! I only have nationalism in the 2 Highland Scottish provinces, and they're poor, meaning small rebellions.
Notes:
* If you get the Conquer Ireland mission first, before Conquer Scotland, invade Ireland fast and assault your way through the provinces. You want to complete the mission before France has a chance to declare a war of Reconquest on you (which brings in her vassals!).
* If Burgundy was allied to Scotland, they'll occupy Calais. However, they seem to like leaving small armies there (1-4k), so while you're waiting for sieges in Ireland, you may be able to invade long enough to kill that small army and load back on the ships. You take no attrition for entering the province and doing battle, and you'll cause them some free WE and nuisance. Same goes for France in Normandy and Caux. Only try this tactic if they don't have another army in a neighboring seaside province.