Beating Rumburg Alone (SOLVED!)

[Daddy Soll]

So I've just got the hang of defeating Rumburg in the new 1.1 patch allied to Agnolia and Lespia, now I want to take down Rumburg alone.

A dev replied to an earlier thread saying "You can beat Rumburg alone."

I tried just now with the same strategy I used previously, just without allies:

- I increased the Military's budget
- I modernised the Army (as the war is mostly land)
- I kept conscription (for the increased manpower)
- I kept the Gendarmerie under Military control (they know Estord "inside and out")
- I went with Iosef's pincer attack
- I chose to attack Thornborough directly after

Now, apparently it was initially successful, but the Rumburgian armies lead a successful break out that smashed the the encirclement and routed our forces - we lost the war.

My question is: If it's confirmed by the Devs, how do you beat Rumburg alone? Has anyone else managed?

[SuperBearNut]

I couldnt even manage to beat Rumburg with Agnolia and Lespia in 1.1, but I would assume that investing into military industry in IIRC turn 8 (when you can choose from various industries) would probably play a big role

[stm8022]

Originally posted by Elin Misk:

A dev replied to an earlier thread saying "You can beat Rumburg alone."

Can you double-check if that's indeed what they said (and not the opposite), and provide a link to where they said this?

As far as i know not being able to beat Rumburg on your own was "by design" and there's no change to this with the 1.1 patch. It only makes sense, as the military power of your country is a few times weaker than Rumburg's, something you can't overcome just with some duct tape and wishful thinking. It'd be pretty silly if they reversed this.

[ThisIsMerlin]

Originally posted by Elin Misk:

So I've just got the hang of defeating Rumburg in the new 1.1 patch allied to Agnolia and Lespia, now I want to take down Rumburg alone.

A dev replied to an earlier thread saying "You can beat Rumburg alone."

I tried just now with the same strategy I used previously, just without allies:

- I increased the Military's budget
- I modernised the Army (as the war is mostly land)
- I kept conscription (for the increased manpower)
- I kept the Gendarmerie under Military control (they know Estord "inside and out")
- I went with Iosef's pincer attack
- I chose to attack Thornborough directly after

Now, apparently it was initially successful, but the Rumburgian armies lead a successful break out that smashed the the encirclement and routed our forces - we lost the war.

My question is: If it's confirmed by the Devs, how do you beat Rumburg alone? Has anyone else managed?

Remember that a modern army does not mean a properly trained and motivated one. It just means they have better kit. The professionalism and training decision is made when you keep/abolish conscription.
Iosef is pioneering maneuver warfare within the game world. If you cannot match their firepower, you need to utilize yours far more efficiently. That means NCOs and junior officers with loads of initiative. And enlisted who are extremely disciplined and trained in formations. Conscripts can't do that.

[Daddy Soll]

Originally posted by stm8022:

Originally posted by Elin Misk:

A dev replied to an earlier thread saying "You can beat Rumburg alone."

Can you double-check if that's indeed what they said (and not the opposite), and provide a link to where they said this?

Originally posted by Mr. Nowak:

You can beat Rumburg alone.

This is from a previous thread asking about how to get allies with the State of Emergency. It staggered me as well, genuinely thought exactly the same as you.

[Daddy Soll]

Remember that a modern army does not mean a properly trained and motivated one. It just means they have better kit. The professionalism and training decision is made when you keep/abolish conscription.
Iosef is pioneering maneuver warfare within the game world. If you cannot match their firepower, you need to utilize yours far more efficiently. That means NCOs and junior officers with loads of initiative. And enlisted who are extremely disciplined and trained in formations. Conscripts can't do that.

Oh neat, does that work? I normally refrain from abolishing conscription because it damages the economy. But I may give that a go!

[Waqas]

So, did it work for anyone?

[Starmender]

Originally posted by Waqas:

So, did it work for anyone?

Ok, so
- increasing the Military budget
- modernizing the Army
- removing conscription
- keeping Gendarmerie under Military control
- going with Iosef's pincer attack
- attacking Thornborough directly after
didn't work at all.
The only other thing I can think of is letting Arcasia use one of you airbases (which leads to modernization of you airforce). I didn't get the option to do so in my last playthrough for some reason. But I kinda doubt it would change much. It really doesn't look like it's possible.

[Daddy Soll]

I'm genuinely stumped, too. I've tried the same a few hours ago and it failed as well.

I know for sure Nowak said you can do it, you can even check my previous thread, he was pretty unequivocal about it. I wonder what we're missing. Maybe we're supposed to go with Valken's Mass Assault Doctrine?

[Radene]

Originally posted by Starmender:

Originally posted by Waqas:

So, did it work for anyone?

Ok, so
- increasing the Military budget
- modernizing the Army
- removing conscription
- keeping Gendarmerie under Military control
- going with Iosef's pincer attack
- attacking Thornborough directly after
didn't work at all.
The only other thing I can think of is letting Arcasia use one of you airbases (which leads to modernization of you airforce). I didn't get the option to do so in my last playthrough for some reason. But I kinda doubt it would change much. It really doesn't look like it's possible.

How was your economy? Deivid makes it clear that your economic capacity will be an important factor for the war effort.

Did you expand the Military industry?

[Starmender]

Originally posted by Elin Misk:

I'm genuinely stumped, too. I've tried the same a few hours ago and it failed as well.

I know for sure Nowak said you can do it, you can even check my previous thread, he was pretty unequivocal about it. I wonder what we're missing. Maybe we're supposed to go with Valken's Mass Assault Doctrine?

Maybe. Bigger army + conscription + Valken's strategy.

Originally posted by Radene:

How was your economy? Deivid makes it clear that your economic capacity will be an important factor for the war effort.

Did you expand the Military industry?

My economy was really bad and I didn't get the option for industrial expansion. I don't think it matters though. It's said that it'll be down to the economy in the case of a long positional war. While I'm getting destroyed right away because the pincer maneuver fails.

[Daddy Soll]

I think we could be on to something here. The trouble is, with no proper save feature each new attempt at the war means a whole new playthrough, which even when do quickly is time consuming.

I've only ever got the option for expansion with a sustained budget surplus. I know that Iosef says our Military Industrial Capacity is insufficient at some stage. So perhaps the expansion has something to do with that?

[Starmender]

Originally posted by Elin Misk:

I think we could be on to something here. The trouble is, with no proper save feature each new attempt at the war means a whole new playthrough, which even when do quickly is time consuming.

Well, you can always make a backup copy of your save before every relevant decision, but since they're somewhat spread out, you'll have to replay a significant part of the game anyway.

[chilango2]

I haven't tested it but I have serious doubts that a bigger army + conscription + Valken would win. Rumburg has an army that's roughly five times bigger in your initial briefing (200,000 vs 1,000,000 IIRC). That's the kind of split that's simply going to be difficult to make up for which is why Iosef's arguments tend to be the correct ones.

If I were going to try it, I'd go with the bigger army +conscription + Valken strategy, plus recover my economy (it matters), and build the forts, but I don't know what triggers the forts decision because I've never gone down that path. That *might* allow you to win a war of attrition on the defensive WW1 style.

[Daddy Soll]

Yeah I've never got the forts prompt either, but that must have something to do with it. I think you could be right that a war of attrition with those forts built could make sense. If I recall, one of the strategies available is to let Rumburg hit your defensive lines, which I always thought was silly. But the forts could be a game changer.

I generally am able to recover the economy with a mixed approach that keeps the Old Guard Happy, so there is that.

So then the question is, which decisions give you access to the Forts? Anyone know?

[Waqas]

No. Fortification doesn't help. You only get the fortification request from the general staff if you reduce military budget. They ask for it and it costs 1 budget point. So, this is not an option.

If the developer said we can beat Rumburg alone, then there must be a way. Time to send them an email/message...?