Lil' Germany and big fighting

[unmerged(108706)]

Since I created Germany with Brandenburg I haven't won a single land battle in which I didn't have overwhelming (3:1) advantage. My latest failure in war against Ottomans with Austria (lost over 100000 troops had to withdraw, luckily Austria went on strong and in the end we won) was the last straw. I checked my savegame and Ottomans have only slightly (0.020 or so) higher morale, they had no leaders in battles, we have the same land tech level, I used calvary heavy armies, and such... Any ideas how to improve my armies, because France, Spain and Poland are showing no intention to make my life easy...

 

[Mats_SX]

Research Land tech like crazy. Concentrate on Offensive and Quality. Also Free Subjects help.

 

[unmerged(75349)]

Also, avoid battles unless the odds are heavily on your side. Focus on sieges instead.

 

[unmerged(108706)]

Also, avoid battles unless the odds are heavily on your side. Focus on sieges instead.

That's a little hard when you can't win a battle to initiate a siege.

 

[unmerged(103313)]

With Brandenburg AGCEEP, I beeline to Land tech 14. Production income isn't important because there aren't any high value goods in that region, and trade won't help you survive in the short term; you need money for men, not merchants. Infrastructure, trade, and navy can all wait until later.

Go land and aristocracy on your sliders. You won't be colonizing, and you don't need to worry about overseas provinces or serious naval action, since you'll focus on the South instead of Scandinavia for cultural reasons. Land and aristocracy will get you some very cheap cavalry, which is useful even after guns appear.

Due to all the little German states, vassalization is more important in that part of the world than anywhere else, because of badboy. This makes decentralization a little less unattractive than it normally is, which frees you to focus on the military sliders, which are comparatively more attractive.

Avoid Bohemia, Poland, and Austria at all costs. Try to take over plains provinces.

 

[likk9922]

I assume you're mid- or late-game if you're Germany.

Calvalry loose their high effectiveness late in the game, becoming inferior to infantry. Focus on Inf later in the game.

 

[unmerged(4344)]

That's a little hard when you can't win a battle to initiate a siege.

You can start plenty of sieges even when always running away. Just don't attack anywhere the enemy has an army.

I know what you're complaining of, though. It appears that the AIs/rebels get a pretty nice bonus in battle. My guess is that for the first roll only, they get about a +2 or so. (After the first days of battle, I think it is fair, but by that time your morale is often shot.)

You can always win with vastly superior tech and morale, and that's what the people above are talking about getting. But, obviously one does not always have that.

So, to win battles, here's a few pointers.

First, you need to understand the battle system. There is randomness in battles, but it happens only every 5 days. So, the first roll that happens has its effects imposed over 5 days, but you can see what it is (more or less) after the first day of battle. It is highly important, esp w/ the AI bonus I think is there, to observe the first day of battle and flee that battle if the first result is at all against you. You should really only fight one major battle at a time, and pause every day while you watch results. When the reroll happens for day 5, again you want to flee if the thing turns against you.

Second, know how to get bonuses, and only fight with them. DP settings, leaders, 2x the cavalry in plains/desert, and defense across rivers are the main ones to look for. Only engage the enemy with bonuses -- if you don't have them, maybe do one day of battle (to see if you get lucky) and flee, or even just flee outright. Try to get Offensive 9 (in the early game; until about 1500 or so), and Quality 9 (after land 9), as soon as possible.

Third, make up for all the battles you lose by (a) killing lots of small armies immediately upon their recruitment, when their morale is low, and winning is easy, or (b) getting 100% warscore. If you will get 100% warscore anyway, it does not matter how many battles you flee.

 

[unmerged(15247)]

Since I created Germany with Brandenburg I haven't won a single land battle in which I didn't have overwhelming (3:1) advantage. My latest failure in war against Ottomans with Austria (lost over 100000 troops had to withdraw, luckily Austria went on strong and in the end we won) was the last straw. I checked my savegame and Ottomans have only slightly (0.020 or so) higher morale, they had no leaders in battles, we have the same land tech level, I used calvary heavy armies, and such... Any ideas how to improve my armies, because France, Spain and Poland are showing no intention to make my life easy...

........do u use great infantry armies??? after LT9 infantry shoud become predominant more and more.

 

[unmerged(108706)]

Hmm, didn't know the bit about infantry.

As for other things, when I formed Germany I already had very good relations with most German nations, so a lot of them accepted to join, so I'd have to look for vassals elsewhere.

Avoid Bohemia, Poland, and Austria at all costs.

Good news is: Austria has a military alliance with me, Bohemia is no more, just Poland remains. Trying to get Russia int alliance so we can force them to fight on two fronts if war ever was declared.

observe the first day of battle and flee that battle if the first result is at all against you

The thing is, There have been battles where I would lose in the first day. Not just by morale breaking, but I would sometimes lose insane amounts of men. I remember a particular battle against Spain where my 30k infantry and 25k calvary fought their 20k infantry and 8 or 9k calvary. I lost around 20k infantry and 5k calvary. In a day... Well, I'm off to play some to see if it was just luck, thanks for the help.

EDIT: Well, it seems that my failures were the result of a glitch, bad luck and stupidity. It seems that I've been fighting those battles at 50% maintenance.
I tried to reorganize my armies and so, and when I was ready I declared war on Spain. I moved the slider to 100% and went to issue orders. Some time after I've noticed that I'm getting far too much ducats monthly. I check, and what do i see? slider's back on 50%. Damn... After that all went according to my plans. Now, if you'll excuse me, Venice just embargoed me.