Picking a fight on your own terms

[T.K.]

There are a number of indicators when an AI Civ is looking for a fight (you all know when there is trouble brewing):
a) You simply border one of the more aggressive Civ’s.
b) The Civ has nowhere else to expand into.
c) Their troops keep straying into your territory.

What you don’t want to do is keep you head down and hope a ruck doesn’t start, it will, relations will eventually break down and their troops will swarm across the length of your border; because the fight is spread out they will have the chance to wreck loads of your terrain improvements before you can repel the assault. Here is a cute way to stop it:

Firstly, before relations have got too bad demand that they remove their troops from you territory (twice), when their troops are moved automatically they will gather in the same square (or few squares) on the edge of your territory. Now you will know where the thrust of their assault will come from when the attack finally comes as they will all move together in one big column. Defend the city(s) near by with troops and artillery weapons in fortresses. Also, form a second army, preferably with mounted troops away from main thrust for the counter attack. While you are doing this do NOT antagonize them any further or they will attack before you are ready, even if they stray onto your land, as they will, let them.

When you are ready demand that they withdraw their troops every go, they will usually agree for a couple more turns, this will further stack their troops on the same square, however they will soon get bored and declare war.

Their single column of troops will drive forward, given their urge to attack weak targets they will try and pass the fortified troops into your territory. Your artillery will soften them up and as they are about to pass into the heart of your land attack the weakened troops. The majority will not get this far and try to retreat.

While they are engaged with this thankless task, move your army in behind. You can either then wreck their poorly defended cities or bring your troops in behind their column and mop up the vast numbers of retreating and near dead troops.

This has worked a treat for me, even against militarily superior enemies

[The Mad Monk]

That's an interesting take on things -- I've seen posts on using the remove troops demand to goad an enemy into declaring war, but I hadn't considered where the troops actually end up, or how it would effect my own plans.

[johncmcleod]

This is a good thread. There's something big you didn't mention.

This thread demonstrates a perfect strategy to get the AI to make a huge stack. You do this and then nuke it a couple of times. Using this strategy is the perfect way to really whoop the AI's forces.

I have used this strategy to to great effects. One time it looked like I would be destroyed by the massive amounts of Roman troops. I knew invasion would be inevitable. They were putting their guys into my territory frequently, and I kept telling them to leave. I got a ton of guys into a stack and wham! Hit it with an ICBM and two tacts. It destroyed all of the guys in the stack. I then proceded to swallow more than half of Rome.

[badams52]

Nice strat.

Sometimes though, out of nowhere (I mean the AI never acted aggressively towards my civ) a huge SOD popped into my territory. I know exactly what it's doing there (unless there's a civ on the other side of my territory, it's gonna be used next turn to attack my cities) and asking him to move makes him declare war, which gives me the opening move without having declared war. And with rails, the full wrath of my armies can usually take out his SOD before the AI has a chance to use them on the offensive.

[T.K.]

[SIZE=1] get the AI to make a huge stack. You do this and then nuke it a couple of times.

Out of some kind of moral obligation I don’t use nukes. But I can see how you could use them to great effect with this tactic.