How to Defend a City - Deathtraps?

[marquo]

It is written that defending in cities is impudent, that they are death traps. Yet, some like Washington have massive fortifications. Here are some questions about defending Washington, D.C.

1. Place defenders in the city or outside? What is the limit of units which afford maximum defensive value considering frontage being inside as opposed to outside?

2. Does it make sense to entrench in the region yet outside of the city? If cities are, "deathtraps" this seems the way to go? Since we can get high entrenchment values outside of a city, is there ever really any point to placing units inside of a large city? And is all of the city's defenses are breached, will the defender then start to entrench if inside the city?

3. I have tried to move units into besieged D.C. from adjacent regions, yet this seems difficult - any tips?


Thanks

[marquo]

This seems a key point - help please

[Aurelin]

Leave the city garrison, (fixed units), inside the city.

Keep your army outside of the city. With artillery, they will eventually get as high a value as possible. Outside, they could retreat. Inside, if the city falls, they surrender. Which gives a NM hit.

If DC is under siege, I think the only way to move into the city is by boat.

If the city is breached, the garrison will try to repair it IIRC

[Ace]

1. You can do it either way, depends on the situation. In general it is better to leave them outside, but if you have small garrison force which guards important city deep behind your lines, it can be useful to put them in city. In any way, I rarely build forts and redoubts - too expensive for what they bring.

2. The fort brings one bonus, entrenchment another. These effect are cumulative. Even if fort is breach, it will still bring frontage bonus.

3. By boat, or in passive mode by land. Beware, if your opponent is in attack mode, it will slaughter your units in passive mode.

[loki100]

This seems a key point - help please

its actually quite complex to answer.

The simplest is you are outnumbered but can fall back safely. Fight outside the city.
You are outnumbered but a retreat could be a massacre (supply, enemy cavalry etc). I'd go into the city.

The problem of being in the city is if you sortie, you face a large combat malus, and sooner or later an isolated city will fail a supply check and surrender.

So to add to your choices - can you be relieved, ie if you try and hold on in siege, can a new field army reach the province? If so, the city is a good idea, you can then sortie to meet with the fresh attack. Equally can the city be supplied - sear or river, if so, accepting siege can be effective. You get to party all night in the city taverns and your opponent sits outside feeling jealous.

Even in worst case, you may gain more by accepting siege - delay, force the enemy to split up and so on.

If you fight outside, fixed units from the city won't contribute - they will show in the simple battle report but won't actually fight.

So there is quite a lot to think over, and thats before you start optimising stacks to besiege or resist siege.

[marquo]

1. If a region has a garrisoned city under siege, and also an entrenched army outside of the city, can the attacker decide single one to attack independently of the other?

2. Will the army outside the city retreat into the city if it loses a battle, or will it be pushed out of the region?

Thanks

[Canon]

1. If a region has a garrisoned city under siege, and also an entrenched army outside of the city, can the attacker decide single one to attack independently of the other?

2. Will the army outside the city retreat into the city if it loses a battle, or will it be pushed out of the region?

Thanks

1. If I understand your question properly, the answer is no. If you have an army outside of a city, then there is no siege at all, and the first battle fought will be a field battle. It's possible (I think) for the garrison inside the city to come out and aid in the fight, but this rarely happens.

2. Depends. Most of the time my armies retreat to a new region, the few unlucky times they allow themselves to get cornered in the city.

[enf91]

Remember OTL the CSA lost 30,000 men when they retreated into the Vicksburg fortifications. No small part due to the Union's blockade. If you can escape, go for it. You get a huge ZOC bonus to keeping the enemy in the region, too; you can use a big army to trap another army in the same region. Be wary of overcrowding, though. If the CSA is like the guy I'm playing (who dropped a whole bunch of money building every steam frigate he could get his hands on, and smashed my navy), stay out of cities.

[The Red Baron]

2. Will the army outside the city retreat into the city if it loses a battle, or will it be pushed out of the region?

The manual states if you enable the Special Order "Enter Structure", and your army retreats from battle, it will retreat into the structure in the region (if you own it).