What is your strategy for Black Caves on Normal?

[Cununculus]

What is your strategy for Black Caves on Normal?

Read through a bunch of guides which have been very helpful.
However, the Black Caves map continues to be a struggle on Normal difficulty.

Have the 5 regular governors.
Haven´t all the advisors yet.
(have the chef, arms dealer, instructor, farmer, town planner, tourist, wealthy exile, realist, pilot, police chef, village elder, tribal elder (delaying the attack), the tax collector, journalist, and the monkey)

Where do you place your HQ?
How do you prevent insurgents turning up in the north, the south, and the centre all the time?
Is that tank depot any use or a poisoned gift?

Even on casual the insurgents keep popping up behind my troops after cornering the last one; thus having to start a new front of defeating them again.

(edited: elders, journalist, and tax collector)

[Malkiah]

Well my strategy on that map boils down to just put my HQ on the biggest town which isn't close to the mountains, stabilize that and prevent the insurgents from taking any towns and usually fight them in the 2 zones with roads between the mountains.

Edit: In regards to the tank depot, I personally don't use it. Because I prefer the cash from it tbh. Also that tank is mostly useless since a lot of the map is mountains and those mountain zones are what make regular zones be hard to stabilize since zones adjacent to a insurgent one gets a stability debuff.

[Messbot]

I always put HQ in the largest city. Highways and roads are the most important followed by healthcare. You will need garrisons for sure on this map. Getting drones and airstrikes to destroy camps is very useful.
Try to control the plains first and leave the mountains to them. When you have enough men, clear the small islands and then push the bigger one. Get Cave fighting tech to help.
Roll out Security 2 and 3 if you can.

It's a hard map.

[Cununculus]

Thank you @Malkiah and @Messbot

By placing the HQ in the large city on the eastern side and the delayed insurrection (thank you tribal elder) I had time to prepare a decent amount of civil policies and throw out four coalition forces at the first antagonists.

Focused on education, healthcare, highways, procurement &corruption and intel gathering.
Started with Coalition soldiers and cave fighting right away.

Focused mid game on expending national forces, battling corruption, and creating jobs.
Eventually got a decent peace treaty.

Tanks are useless here so sold them.

Thanks again!