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?

[Daddy Soll]

I was contemplating this, but I reckon they're intending to keep it close to their chest. In my original thread where Nowak said it was possible he have away no details and wouldn't elaborate. So, I guess trial and error.

If the only way to make the border forts is reducing the military then I agree, it's not the way to go. Perhaps it's in the strategy?

Like I said earlier, I tried doing everything I did in the previous campaign where I won (with allies), and there difference was that instead of being destroyed by the pincer, the Rumburgian Army successfully broke out of Estord. So, is it the pincer strategy that needs to change, or perhaps the Army just isn't strong enough.

[chilango2]

Ok, so if the forts doesn't come up unless you reduce the budget, it's hard for me to see a viable path for enlarging the army + keep conscription and Valken's general WW1 type strategy.

So I'm guessing that it must be modernizing the army, undoing conscription to finish modernizing it fully, go with Iosef's strategy, and then either attack Dome or go back on the defensive and wait for their next attack?

[stm8022]

chilango2님이 먼저 게시:

So I'm guessing that it must be modernizing the army, undoing conscription to finish modernizing it fully, go with Iosef's strategy, and then either attack Dome or go back on the defensive and wait for their next attack?

Perhaps also picking expansion of military industry as your second infrastructure project?

[davlas07]

Ok, here's what I tried:

-increased military budget
-fully modernised army
-removed conscription
-transfered gendarmerie
-did military industry expansion
-went with Iosef's strategy (pincer attack + rush to the capital)
Lost

Though in two previous runs I won with a) Valgsland (did exactly the same, asked Valgsland for the navy cover) and b) Lespia (the same strategy, they covered my flanks. However they also voluntarily provided me with aircraft because they were impressed by my recovered economy, as Deivid said)

That makes me think, what if we should invest in smth else apart from army? Airforce maybe to support Iosef's strategy? Or navy to cover the coastline? (After all, you can succeed if Valgsland covers your coastline, while their army basically doesn't partake)

[King of Wei]

I haven't tried this myself but my one suggestion would be to invest in the air force. In other military strategy games being able to bombard targets from a distance is huge and is what allows smaller forces to win battles they otherwise shouldn't have. I'd imagine the same logic would apply here.

While i avoided war in my previous runs i still increased military budget and invested in the air force. Even without Arcasian aid it said Sordland's planes rivaled that of the other superpowers. Since Rumburg is angling to become a superpower but isn't quite there yet I'd assume that means Sordland's air force is superior to theirs.

[MO-BRO]

The Military Industry Expansion DEFINITELY matters my man, I think thats what got ya, plus the weak economy.

[Radene]

davlas07님이 먼저 게시:

Ok, here's what I tried:

-increased military budget
-fully modernised army
-removed conscription
-transfered gendarmerie
-did military industry expansion
-went with Iosef's strategy (pincer attack + rush to the capital)
Lost

Though in two previous runs I won with a) Valgsland (did exactly the same, asked Valgsland for the navy cover) and b) Lespia (the same strategy, they covered my flanks. However they also voluntarily provided me with aircraft because they were impressed by my recovered economy, as Deivid said)

That makes me think, what if we should invest in smth else apart from army? Airforce maybe to support Iosef's strategy? Or navy to cover the coastline? (After all, you can succeed if Valgsland covers your coastline, while their army basically doesn't partake)

Why'd you transfer the Gendarmerie?

[davlas07]

Radene님이 먼저 게시:

davlas07님이 먼저 게시:

Ok, here's what I tried:

-increased military budget
-fully modernised army
-removed conscription
-transfered gendarmerie
-did military industry expansion
-went with Iosef's strategy (pincer attack + rush to the capital)
Lost

Though in two previous runs I won with a) Valgsland (did exactly the same, asked Valgsland for the navy cover) and b) Lespia (the same strategy, they covered my flanks. However they also voluntarily provided me with aircraft because they were impressed by my recovered economy, as Deivid said)

That makes me think, what if we should invest in smth else apart from army? Airforce maybe to support Iosef's strategy? Or navy to cover the coastline? (After all, you can succeed if Valgsland covers your coastline, while their army basically doesn't partake)

Why'd you transfer the Gendarmerie?

Because I thought they're not professional fighters anyway (during gendarmerie issue mediation your VP says "they deal with *internal* threats for a reason, that's why they should belong to the Interior").
My economy was strong this time, but even with military industry expansion it was not enough. My bad.
Honestly, I don't believe Valken's vision on the military is right (what's the point of enlarging the size if you can never match Rumburg anyway, you just get even more badly equipped soldiers) Which leaves me with at least 3/3,5 possible options so far:
а) Military industry expansion+keeping the gendarmerie under the military (maybe they're not *that* unprofessional after all)
b) the choice of pincer strategy was wrong, should go either for Dome, or fully defensive
c) the Iosef's blitzkrieg ideas were right, but I need airforce/navy, not just fully modernized army. Guess I have to try it one by one

P.S. I almost forgot: what if you attack Rumburg yourself? Does it make any difference? Gives a sort of "surprise attack" advantage maybe? While it sounds dumb, you never know...

[Daddy Soll]

So fellas, I'm liking were this is going. Hopefully we crack this soon - you're a good bunch of peeps.

To respond to some of the points above:

- I definitely think improving military industry is vital. How do you get given this prompt?
- I am still certain the Gendarmerie is supposed to stay in military hands, as they are familiar with Sordland's cities
- The airforce idea is one I've heard floated before, but never tried. Maybe this is the option we should look at? Anyone done that so far?

[davlas07]

Daddy Soll님이 먼저 게시:

So fellas, I'm liking were this is going. Hopefully we crack this soon - you're a good bunch of peeps.

To respond to some of the points above:

- I definitely think improving military industry is vital. How do you get given this prompt?
- I am still certain the Gendarmerie is supposed to stay in military hands, as they are familiar with Sordland's cities
- The airforce idea is one I've heard floated before, but never tried. Maybe this is the option we should look at? Anyone done that so far?

Gonna try the same I mentioned above (but with gendarmerie under military AND modernised airforce) first. Airforce seems more logical, since when Lespians gave me their aircraft out of good will, it made rumburgian army crumble at least during the first phase of war

[Radene]

davlas07님이 먼저 게시:

Radene님이 먼저 게시:

Why'd you transfer the Gendarmerie?

Because I thought they're not professional fighters anyway (during gendarmerie issue mediation your VP says "they deal with *internal* threats for a reason, that's why they should belong to the Interior").
My economy was strong this time, but even with military industry expansion it was not enough. My bad.
Honestly, I don't believe Valken's vision on the military is right (what's the point of enlarging the size if you can never match Rumburg anyway, you just get even more badly equipped soldiers) Which leaves me with at least 3/3,5 possible options so far:
а) Military industry expansion+keeping the gendarmerie under the military (maybe they're not *that* unprofessional after all)
b) the choice of pincer strategy was wrong, should go either for Dome, or fully defensive
c) the Iosef's blitzkrieg ideas were right, but I need airforce/navy, not just fully modernized army. Guess I have to try it one by one

P.S. I almost forgot: what if you attack Rumburg yourself? Does it make any difference? Gives a sort of "surprise attack" advantage maybe? While it sounds dumb, you never know...

At war planning Iosef makes an argument for them being a valuable asset for the Estord part of the effort, since "they know the area in and out".

I may later try to do what you did but without the transfer and see if it's still a loss.

[Daddy Soll]

Somewhat concerning update on my strat with the new patch.

So, I figured with the new update I'd go with my preferred independent authoritarian run and fight Rumburg with the strategy in my original post (allied to Lespia and Agnolia, following Iosef's plan and keeping Gendarmerie under Military) and this time the Rumburg Army broke out of Estord's encirclement.

What's changed? Any tips?

[stm8022]

Did you modernize the railway, or build the highway as your first infrastructure project? The patch notes suggest having the H3 highway has an impact on your war campaign, which is logical enough and it wouldn't surprise me if it played a role before too, but it's now more pronounced.

[Daddy Soll]

I modernised the L-1 High Speed Railway so that Lespia could get there quicker, but I did get told Agnolia was going to be late due to the poor infrastructure. So I'm unsure.

[davlas07]

Guys, I'm excited to tell you that we definitely can beat Rumburg alone, and I just did precisely that. However, it will not be easy: the current patch made military industry expansion more expensive (3 instead of 2). Anyway, as I (and someone else before me here) assumed, the keys to success are as follows:

-Make sure your economy is 'green' (just in case)
-Obviously - invest in the military. Go with Iosef's strategy: a) purchase better equipment, b) remove conscription
-Choose airforce as a second option (seems like *this* is what makes rumburgians crumble during the battle of Estord and prevents from breaking out).
-Keep the gendarmerie under the military (it will cover the flanks just in case)
-Do the military industry expansion
-Trust Iosef, during the war planning meeting do exactly as he says
-Get that 'Treaty of Rayne'

P.S. My economy lost 3 bars as a result of the war and went down to pale yellow, but I think it's a reasonable price to pay after all...