My Empire got screwed. (Help!)

[Secret_stamos]

Okay, so I just got a new computer, and I installed M2TW. I started off as the Polish, as I have a large percent of Polish background.
The early years were the best; I invaded the Rebel camps and civilized the rest of Poland. I became allies with Russia and Milan too.
Since the last time playing, I decided I would share a universal troop throughout my Empire: the dismounted Polish nobles. Using three recruiting strongholds, I recruited a vast amount of Polish nobles, most dismounted, while some were on horseback.
To the east, at the border of the Holy Roman Empire, I had a very vulnerable town. I immediately garrisoned 120 polish nobles, and some Balistas untill it grew strong enough to protect itself. Shortly after, the Holy Roman Empire sends a massive attack force numbering almost 1000 militia and peasants to attack the weak city.
The defending forces fell, taking almost 300 enemy troops with them. As a counter act, I sent one of my Generals and a large task force of troops to deal with them. Apon the crushing defeat of their army, the Germans were pushed back into their country. They sent small armies but they were almost crushed every time.
After fighting my way and winning Jeruslim, my Crusading army returned to Cassandra, my largest and only stronghold in the Middle east.
Now here's where I got screwed. Both Imperial Germany and their Danish allies attack at once. I hardly held back the first invasion, when two other enemy armies moved in from the east. Now, I attempt to move all my troops from the main recruiting strongholds to reinforce my cities under siege.
Completely ignoring my other cities, one Danish captain goes straight for my capital. With enough men to overrun the city, I find myself trapped.
I save like every turn, so should I go back and try to better prepare for the attack, or should I try to make friends with Demark before the invasion? The Germans will hardly listen to me after I crushed half their military.
What should I do?

[Elvallie]

Enjoy your defeat. ^^

[Musthavename]

What difficulty are you playing on? I awlays find on any hard difficulty in vanilla all CPUs betray and gang the player at once. If you can't defend, just try and survive anyway you can, migrate if you have to.

[Tsarevna]

Decide where your losses should be. If you are spread too-thinly to defend them all, abandon some. What you can do is destroy (for the $$) all the buildings you can in a settlement, abandon it, let it go over to rebels, and then your invading Germans and Denmark may try to take those cities, and be busy killing rebels while you regroup.

The good news is, when you re-take these cities, either from rebels or Germans/Danes, you can then "Occupy" them, and not have many resisters at all, since they still identify with your culture and feel "liberated."

My advice would be to let go of the towns that don't generate much trade.
Then strike back with a vengeance!

[krycek]

Yes send a sacking force while they are busy this may even make them withdraw back into their own lands.

[Celsius]

Make nice with Denmark and Break relations with Milan

[Poach]

Sounds indeed like you have left yourself wide open for this one. My advice, as with everyone elses, is decide upon a new defensive line, base it on bridges and forests, and retreat to it. Destroy everything beyond that line, leave nothing for the enemy.

I did the same with my Byzantine campaign with the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Destroyed everything in every Levant city and reatreated to Cyprus and the mountains or Turkey, where bridges and narrow passes allowed a strong defensive line to be drawn. Once the enemy was spread out and weakened, I struck back! Granted with my situation it was easier as I just attacked everywhere at once from Cyprus, but the principle is the same.

[Secret_stamos]

All right. My brother had to help me here. He claims he doesn't like RTS games, despite his extreme tactical talent. Here's what happened:
After reclaiming all my cities, I moved my army to a bridge to block the Danish. Despite my army being outnumbered by over 100 soldiers, and the fact my army of spearmen were going up against heavy infantry, I positioned half of my troops at the start of the bridge. As the enemy knights and soldiers came, I got them at a chokehold, flanking from both sides. Being surrounded, most tried to retreat. As for the enemy artillery, which was too far away to assist their soldiers, I sent a lone polish soldier after them. He scared the whole enemy artillery away!

With that force crushed, I focused on the Danish troops attacking my capital. While they retreated into the nearby woods, I sent a few search parties after them. They came back later, prepared and attacked my capital again. However, I attacked them from behind.
My main force charged their force. It was about an equal battle. Soon, my re-enforcments from my capital arrived and flanked the enemy. Huge crushing defeat for the Danish once more. While about 53 percent of my force was still intact, including my three generals, the Danish forces were a wreck. Most were dead and retreating. The two Danish generals who had been sent to destroy me were dead.
While I am still 4000 in debt, I am neither losing or gaining any money.
My forces in the middle east are just pillaging and selling Islamic cities.
I gain about 2000 each city for sacking it, then I sell it to my allies for another 2000.
I am still in buissness! I pushed all Danish and German forces out of Poland.

[cottontail]

Making all those dismounted polish nobles was a bad idea. Too expensive! Disband most of them. Just use about two in an army, with the rest of the infantry being cheap spearmen. Poland's strength is cavalry, so all your infantry has to do is hold the line long enough for your cavalry to hit the enemy in the back. After you disband most of your Polish nobles, buy a heck of a lot of strelczy. They are cheap, fast, and very deadly with their crossbows. Weaken the enemy armies by attacking them with strelczy and then withdrawing when you have run out of ammo. Then engage their armies with your main force.

Another good idea: abandon the middle east. Destroy all the buildings in your cities and then sell the cities off to your allies. Disband all forces in the middle east. Use the money to buy more strelczy.

Hope I helped!

[Secret_stamos]

I don't like Cavalry. I use the polish nobles because they generally dominate other soldiers.
Hey I pulled it off at the bridge, so I guess it works for me.

Yes I did disband a lot of them, but I'll probably just buy more once I get of debt.

[Angrychris]

if your income is ranging high in the negatives and your under multible sieges, then i would start over again and learn from your mistakes. it doesnt seem like you are capable of winning heroic victorys against the enemy siege onslaughts so try to practice now and apply everything in a new campaign. soon you will beable to defend your citys/castles with only a quarter or third of the enemys numbers, but you need alot of spearmen.

[Sorkenlol]

Poland is a particulary hard faction to start as, I did the same thing, but I didn't even last 50 turns before I only had a few cities left getting crushed by russia, france and germany. So I started again as england, easy and very fun, I recommend you do that, the thing is, if you play on easy, the enemy cannot siege any of you english settlements, played england 3 times and it never happened, they haven't even set foot on britain.

[Secret_stamos]

Well, I manged to heroically defeat the Germans and Danish.. for now.
All I have to do is boost my economy, and I'll be good.

[Theseus1234]

the trouble all started when you allied with milan. tsk tsk
i recommend doing Tsarevna suggested if the danes and germans ever come back. create a scorched earth policy and consolidate your forces to where they are needed. if you see the germans or danes going on a particular route often that's easily defendable, such as an unflankable mountain pass or a bridge/ford, try defending those as much as possible while keeping reinfrocements flowing from non-threatened cities and castles. also, watch your back. and by "your back" i mean the russians...and the milanese. NEVER trust the milanese EVER. anyways, with all this struggle to defend your western border, the russians have an opportunity to invade an quickly eradicate you. keep some spies on your polish-russian borders and send maybe one or two to see the movement of their troops. you might want to try the same on the west too, for knowing is half the battle.

anyways, when you're prepared for an offensive, try sending an army or two into scandinavia to cut off the danish expanision, then move south into mainland europe, outflanking the germans strategically. you might want to ally with the pope if you haven't already, as well as france and hungary because they also border germany and are likely to help in your conquests

good luck! :

[Aonghus G. Friedhold]

Did you just say you don't like cavalry? SLAY THE INFEDEL!
I always use cavalry. So strong. Unrealisticly so.

[mikil100]

Did you just say you don't like cavalry? SLAY THE INFEDEL!
I always use cavalry. So strong. Unrealisticly so.

Definitely, I had one generals unit and a few spear men defeat and entire army of Italian militias- towards the end I ONLY had my general and like 15 spear men, and each charge the general mowed like 20 people into the ground xD... so imba

[Secret_stamos]

Well, I have good relations with Russia, so I don't think that they'll attack me.
The Danish sent another army, which I just barely defeated. (They always aim for my capital)
I sacrificed a lot of men to flank them with my main army from my capital city, one of them being my faction's prince.

The main reason why Russia won't attack me is the fact that my king is actually half russian himself.

It looks like I have to press the attack! My goal is to wipe off all the Danish strongholds from central Europe, so that they have to retreat back to Denmark.
Oh, and by the way, I am also out of debt. Though the plague seemed to strike at the wrong time.. It's really hurting my capital city.

[Double A]

My answer to ALL your turmoil is one simple phrase: ALLY WITH THE POPE. He'll love you because most of the time the AI neglect him like the 'lil b@$**** he is, so he is lonely

And because of all the Muslims you killed in the Holy Land, I'm guessing you have good Church relations anyway (and if you want to improve your relations with him, gift him 2500 florins. That's the magic number), so maybe he'll threaten the Jerkans and their allies with excommunication... thus instantly getting them off your back. Or, even better, if they don't go along with Mr. Funny Hat's wishes because he wants to be your friend, you can call a Crusade on them and so all the rest of the Christians will try to kill them too! And that way England can get off their lazy bums and DO SOMETHING.

[Mythre]

The above strategies are good. I also would practice fighting nearly impossible city battles in custom battles. I can take on 5/1 odds if i have the right unit mixes in my garrison. Use a mobile army with polish nobles, strelczy, and hussars. It takes practice to coordinate varied armies such as these, but they are capable of defeating much superior forces. With armies with these units you will not have to have many armies to be able to defend your borders. Thus freeing up money from upkeep cost to invest in your economy.

It could be worse mate, i once faced 10+ opponents simultaneously, was tough at times... still came out on top though ......

[Viking Prince]

IT is only the hard fought campaigns that are apreciated. Sounds like you are having fun. Keep us informed.

And welcome to the forum!