Well here we go. Beta from WPC sent me a message, first notifying me to communicate directly with him over the next few turns (not a problem). He also attached an 800 word document detailing their idea for upcoming war strategy. Here it is in all its glory:
Beta from WPC War Plans Document Wrote:Proposed Strategy for Upcoming War
Greetings, Scooter and the rest of the gang at Realms Beyond. Beta here. As Proviisori has mentioned, this is a proposed strategy regarding the assault on the German Team (hereafter referred to as the Incas).
The first question is whether we attack as one large force, or two separate ones from our respective civs. From a logistics and ease of co-ordination, the latter makes more sense. If we assume two separate attacking forces, then we have 3 options.
1) We both attack at the same time.
2) You attack before us.
3) We attack before you.
Option one has benefit of forcing them to decide how to defend, but also allows them to plan for that defense. In other words, there are no surprises after the initial attack.
Options 2 and 3 have the benefit of perhaps pulling defenders to one side of the Incan lands, which should help the second team that attacks, and may in fact cripple them sooner and end the war much quicker. The downside is the team that attacks first may take the brunt of the casualties.
I like the delayed second attack – ie option 2 or 3. However, if you attack first, it will probably be no surprise at all to the Inca when we jump in. So, as much as it pains me to say it, I think the best option is that we declare war and attack, and at a pre-determined number of turns later, Realms Beyond (RB) would attack. That seems to have the best chance of catching the Incas off-guard, especially given your recent resource trade with them and your cordial relations to-date.
If we used this option, we would probably go in with two forces. One smaller force westward from Great Plains and Huron River, but a main attack force which would move NW from Great Plains and use the forest and hill tiles to move on Wittenbirge. That has the added advantage of being fairly far north, and as mentioned above, may seriously weaken their southern defences. Thank you for your recent map showing the stack of Incan units. This convinces me even more of the soundness of this strategy to pull their military out of a ‘central’ defensive position.
However, if we adopt this strategy, we need to agree in advance on 1) how soon after we attack that you declare war, and 2) the split of Incan lands after to the war. It is quite possible that we, WPC, will get bogged down in a slug-fest with the majority of the Incan army around Wittenbirge, and then you could ‘waltz’ over their southern cities. Which is fine by us, as it may ultimately shorten the war, as long as we agree on the split.
So, on the first point, we think 3 turns would be a good period to draw the Incan forces northward. Two might even be enough as they will probably react to our approach. So, we would declare war on turn 149, 150, or 151, and you declare two turns after we do.
On the second point, I propose the following. RB gets the southern half of the Incan civ, including the cities of:
1. Wolfrathausen
2. Worms
3. Wassenburg
4. Weilderstadt
5. Wanzelhein
6. Webringen (capitol)
WPC would get the northern half, including the cities of:
1. Westheim
2. Wesselburn
3. Warendorf
4. Wien
5. Wittenbirge
6. Wilhelmshaven
That seems like a fair split. Equal number of cities; ours have slightly more population (from what I can tell); but we are also getting a lot desert and tundra; and you get the capitol. The remaining question is the city of Wismar. If it goes to you, it is fairly close to Wilhemshaven, and if it goes to us, it creates a bit of an uneven border. The best idea may be to raze it and then you can build on the south shore of the lake, say two tiles south of where the city is now.
I would also propose that we evenly split the number of captured workers, if there are any. And finally, that any gold from the capture of a city slated for the other team be turned over to that team. Alternatively, we could agree to a 50/50 split of all captured treasuries.
An unknown variable may be the involvement of other teams. Apolyton comes to mind. Our northern portion of the Incan lands is fairly isolated, but the southern section, as you know, borders Apolyton. If they decide to attack as well, it could upset the ‘fairness’ of the proposed split of land.
I don’t think we need to discuss operational planning; we can each take care of our own. And we will need to stay in close communication during the war to share status, intelligence and ideas.
I look forward to your thoughts on the proposed strategy, and we at WPC look forward to marching beside you, figuratively speaking of course.
Regards, Beta of WPC