[SIZE="7"]Turn 214 - 1520 AD[/SIZE]
Here's how the Battle of Kumbi Saleh went:
1. I checked the composition of our stack and Dantski's.
2. I tested out how our best unit (at the moment would fare) - not so good.
3. I took a trebuchet and a catapult, promoted them both to accuracy, and bombarded the defenses from 60% down to 40%. I decided that wasn't enough - so I bombarded with an accuracy-promoted cannon, taking the defenses down to 20%. With another normal cannon, the defenses went to 8%.
4. I attacked with a City Raider II cannon (not at full health). Unfortunately, despite 70% odds of winning, he died.

He did, however, reduce the strongest defender to 6/14 health.
5. Our strongest unit now had 91.6% odds to attack. I went ahead and he won.
6. I kept attacking, promoting before if necessary. I was careful to make sure that our units attacked with strong enough odds to survive, but poor enough odds to get at least 2 experience points for each attack (usually about 97-98 percent odds). As an example, a maceman was promoted to City Raider I but not City Raider II even though that was possible. With City Raider I, that maceman already had 97.9% odds to win - if I had promoted him to City Raider II, that meant the macemen would have about 99% odds to win, and would only gain 1 experience point after his victory. I ended up getting 2 experience points for that maceman.
7. Captured.
8. But then I noticed ...
9. Therefore, I opted to attack that stack.
10. Mission accmoplished - I don't think there was a single casualty. If there was one, it was at most one catapult. Did Dantski have something hidden behind that stack? It doesn't look like it for now.
11. To conclude the attack, I move in a Medic I cavalry unit. I am sending the Great General up north to make that Medic I cavalry a Medic III cavalry.

To protect the cavalry, I moved in 2 healthy riflemen promoted to City Garrison. There's actually only one possible way that Dantski could even make a successful counter-attack on the city, and that's if India roads their workshopped tile to the north, gifts a bunch of riflemen to Dantski, and then Dantski attacks. However, I don't see that happening. (Of course, this assumes India is finished with their unit movements ... which they probably aren't.)
Meanwhile, stacks to attack Tadmekka (2 loaded riflemen) and Gao (8 riflemen, 5 cannons, 1 catapult) are almost ready to go ....
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Miscellaneous notes:
1. Be sure the worker at Magrave's Port (on the incense) roads the cows. I'd rather road to the silvers, but we only have 1 cow resource in our whole empire, and I am a little worried about Dantski pillaging it.
2. I think it's best to keep about 4 forests at Darkmoor, so perhaps chop one and then lumbermill the other, nondeer ones?
3. I am cottaging in advance for Palanque
4. India's teching towards Astronomy has me thinking of navy issues - so we're teching Compass (1 turn) followed by Optics and Astronomy. What do you think? Does another tech warrant concern?
5. The secondary stack (for Gao) should move 1 square NW or N on turn 215, then on turn 216 move in to the forest south of Gao, then on turn 217, attack. We
should be able to win with flying colors, especially when we add attackers from Crydee. Poor Crydee has been drafted to hell this war.
Total War Casualties:
Holy Roman Emprie
1 Worker (Yes, I should have guarded him

)
5 Riflemen
3 Cannons
Romalinese Empire
1 Spearman
1 Chariot
2 Skirmishers
2 Pikemen
3 Horse Archers
4 Axemen
5 Macemen
6 Rifleman
13 Catapults
14 Musketmen
2 Cities