Aims of Zim's term as Supreme Commander

[zim]

First off I would like to say I am honored to have won the election.

I would like to leave the running of military affairs in the western sphere of our Coalition in the capable hands of ATPG, who has already devoted much thought and effort to that region.

My main goals as supreme commander are to end our eastern wars. The Shah has continued to ignore the terms of treaties he has agreed to and has holed himself up in Samarqand, presumably counting on Ghorid aid.

The Shah made a LOT of money sacking Samarqand and it is very well developed. He has been using his diplomats to bribe my agents. I am not about to let him stall until the Ghorids can destroy me and the Rajputs. At this point I am going to throw a full stack at one of his forts, ostensibly to draw the Shah out from Samarqand. In truth I am hoping he destroys the army, which will free up thousands in upkeep. I can then use my superior production capacity to beat him out in the agent wars.

Barcamartin, the Shah has repeatedly refused our peace terms, even after having agreed to them earlier. I ask that you attack Khiva next turn and take it. We cna use it to bargain peace with the Shah, or destroy Kwarezhm completely if need be.

The Ghorids are the real enemy, but the Shah is a distraction that could prevent us adequately preparing against an attack by EF. We cannot continue this standoff, but neither can we leave a hostile power on our border opposite mine with the Ghorids. The Shah must be destroyed or pushed west as originally planned.

If we deal with him quickly, we can turn tof ace the Ghorids, following Ramses's suggestion of pouring through the Mountain passes into India. A more detailed strategy on our part concerning fighting the Ghorids will be made after immediate issues barca and I have are dealt with.

Ramses, do you have any suggestions concerning the Ghorids?

[ramsesiicp]

Here is what we can be sure of, the passes around Kabul should be choked with forts by now, if EF is at all competent. There are bridges and passes that would allow him to dominate any counter-attack against a siege force. Fortunately the same is true in reverse, if you can get a family member back to the area of Ghazni you can throw up enough forts to choke his advance and allow you to make those same easy counter attacks.

Therefore the best bet, IMHO, is to move an army through the southern passes at Quetta and Bela in coordination with an attack against the Sindh holdings. Hold a stalemate in the mountains and press home against those rich southern holdings where there are no easy chokepoints. Obviously we'll all need spies in great numbers, and to build forts in the mean time. I suggest that if you have to leave an army in siege leave only HA; they're the troops the AI is best with and have the best chance of surviving a counterattack.

We have to be very wary of Ghazi stacks. Any stack of only axemen, even if it's a large stack, is just bait. If you send a full army to engage such a stack, he'll counterattack the next turn and you'll be on the losing end of that battle due to his production advantage.

Priority target for available assassins are his Slave Bazaars at Kabul and Peshawar. Those are the only places he can recruit real quality cavalry, and if we can eliminate his cavalry we can dominate every engagement on our side with minimal losses. Secondary targets are the mosques, but he gets unholy numbers of cheap Ghazis as mercs anyway.