Hannibal at the Gates - some tips for Carthage?

[alhoon]

OK, I start with my faction spread through half the mediterranean, with sparse armies, sparse navies, sparse income and a bunch of allies and enemies. I obviously cannot defend everywhere but I am worried I can't defend anywhere.
After a couple of naval battles that went quite bad for the Romans, my depleted fleet can't reach them (and I don't know if they would win) and they have a serious army in ships getting close to Spain. Now. That's the only full province I control. I just hope they take it out on my client states.

I have trouble financing my empire as I am at near limit financially. If I take Hannibal and fleet 2 from raid\piracy, I will probably sink financially or I will have to increase taxes. It is not that I don't have armies, is that they are not where I need them. I didn't have time to "secure" my large and thin Empire nor to build up defenses in the 10 turns or so I have played. I have made a client state out of a minor faction in Spain, I am at war with a faction in Africa and I try to keep Rome away with ships. It worked - for a time. Now if they land this army and go against Hannibal (raiding in Spain) they will wipe the floor with us.
No money for all those nice mercs BTW.

[alhoon]

Crisis averted - for the time.
The Romans thought prudent to pass their army through the deep ocean and lost about half their troops in the way to Spain. When they saw my fleet there, they turned back towards Italy... losing more troops that way.

So far the 2nd Punic war seems quite like the first thematically. I have been fighting minor factions here and there, looting and fighting the Romans at sea, sinking their insanely powerful soldiers without engaging them. I leave Neptune, my most stalwart ally, do the rest.

[Anna_Gein]

I never played this DLC seriously but following your report I would try something like that :

1) Maintain a large fleet in Carthage to protect your African territories from the Romans
2) Keep an medium sized Army in Carthage in reserve. To be expended and engaged if war erupted with one of your African neighbor.
3) Raise a large army led by Hannibal in Spain with a second army to be raised if needed. Use these forces to secure your territories in Spain and create a network of allies/vassals in the peninsula.

This should buy you time to invest in Africa and Spain in order to improve your economy and enable you to finance larger forces later.

With the input of your second comment I would consider to raise a second fleet based in the Baleares. If needed I would disband some regiments of the second Spanish army.


Regards,

[alhoon]

I never played this DLC seriously but following your report I would try something like that :

1) Maintain a large fleet in Carthage to protect your African territories from the Romans
2) Keep an medium sized Army in Carthage in reserve. To be expended and engaged if war erupted with one of your African neighbor.
3) Raise a large army led by Hannibal in Spain with a second army to be raised if needed. Use these forces to secure your territories in Spain and create a network of allies/vassals in the peninsula.

This should buy you time to invest in Africa and Spain in order to improve your economy and enable you to finance larger forces later.

With the input of your second comment I would consider to raise a second fleet based in the Baleares. If needed I would disband some regiments of the second Spanish army.


Regards,

In short... follow the game missions. Got it.

Well, thing is that my areas are too spread. An army in Carthage would take several turns to help my distant settlements in Africa or my Libyan allies if Sicilians or Romans landed there.
So, I keep a moderate army around Africa, a skeleton crew of general+2 units to bolster important settlements in western Africa and... a moderate army in Spain, under Hannibal. I have also thrown in a diplomat with that +2 to all abilities power in Hannibal's army.
I have a moderate fleet to chase down Romans - hoping Sicily doesn't show up along with them - and a moderate one in Spain that raids my enemies.