War – Phase1

So, with some initial cities getting up to speed and copper online it’s time to knock on Gandhi’s door; Madras has been settled close to the NW of Berlin (at the Stone & Horse spot) and it falls to a pair of Axes in 655BC:

It is kept for the Stone access, as well as a buffer to Gandhi and the other AIs. It’s worth commenting on the map at this point, particularly the large desert to the West. This was a very valuable defensive feature during this game as it not only limited the AI’s expansion towards Germany, but also seemed to focus most of their troop movements through the more fertile North – making defence much simpler.

Back to the current situation, and advancing Axes find the next Indian city of Bombay sitting on a hill, so decide to sit back and wait for Construction. Gandhi still wants to expand in my direction though, and sends out Archer/Settler pairs to the South of Madras with disappointing regularity. I ambush some in the open to gain free Workers, but others manage to plant cities which are burned down within turns. Overall it’s very frustrating, as he should be spending this time building the Pyramids for me!

On the Wonder front, Berlin has not been idle and has followed Stonehenge with The Oracle (nabbing CoL & Confucianism in Hamburg). Moses builds the Kong Miao in 175BC, and then the Great Lighthouse is also completed in Hamburg. Over the years, the Industrious Germans thoroughly dominate the Wonder market, and are even able to reach some degree of specialisation with Merchant Wonders in Hamburg and Engineer Wonders in Munich.

5AD, and a scouting force of Horse Archers discover Tokyo to be woefully underdefended and summarily burn it to fund the Empire. The records of the time indicate that we are steaming along marvellously ahead of the pack while Izzy has ruined her economy in true Adv.9 fashion:

The state of the World at the moment; seeing most of the attacks coming through Gandhi in the North, I have just founded Cologne in a nice Southern spot grabbing Sheep, Horses & Marble – for more Wonders! It’s a slightly marginal location, but will serve as a vital cog in the Empire running for years as the major Missionary pump, as we turn to an increasingly religiously-funded economy.

As increasingly large stacks start trying to sneak past Madras, it’s time to advance and focus my defence further. Bombay falls on the march, but the real prize is Delhi; disappointingly poorly defended, it falls in 725AD and the Indians are wiped off the map:

Delhi now forms the focus of defence; Walls are whipped in ASAP, and Chichen Itza (in Munich) adds a cap to make it virtually unassailable … not that the AIs don’t try!

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