How many units should I be stationing in each conquered settlement?

[zorphon]

Title ^. .

I've noticed that the enemy retakes a lot of the stuff I take because I guess I'm not leaving enough, so just want to know what the general consensus is.

[Brewskin]

I try to keep a 1/4 to 1/2 stack tailing along behind my main army, and use it to replace losses and garrison a newly captured settlement, until I can pacify the area and start producing troops.

[SilentHitman94]

Mostly 5-6 units will do , including a general.

[zorphon]

Mostly 5-6 units will do , including a general.

So I should bring my generals up out of the starting cities, despite the fact that it increases pop. growth?

[SilentHitman94]

Well if you have enough generals yes, I try to make sure I have one general in each settlement.

[zorphon]

Well if you have enough generals yes, I try to make sure I have one general in each settlement.

But you only start with enough to cover starting settlements, how would you bring that many out with you in the field?

[Wizad]

I used to keep at least 1 general in every settlement. Several people on this board pull all of their starting generals to immediately fight at the front.

I just started a new Harad campaign and I only left my faction leader at my capital. After a couple of turns, I was offered a general with some +trade% traits. I accepted and moved him to Umbar. So now, except for the recently conquered settlements at the front, only my 2 most important settlements have governers.

The amount of generals that you send to the front line at the start depends on the faction that you are playing and your personal playstyle. Harad gets really nice cavalry, Elves get deadly archers. I remember the melee generals from Isengard and Mordor to be quite worthless.

Please note that I am a noob, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

[Ngugi]

Economical rule: as few as ever possible, is it some unrest (yellow) thats fine.
Armies cost money and not much else, the only time they make good is when they hinder revolutions (thus a minimum of town guards) and when thet are out fighting, taking new settlements.

[zorphon]

Economical rule: as few as ever possible, is it some unrest (yellow) thats fine.
Armies cost money and not much else, the only time they make good is when they hinder revolutions (thus a minimum of town guards) and when thet are out fighting, taking new settlements.

The problem is I was leaving a couple units in each and then Isengard came in and captured like 5 of my regions with a full-stack army

[Ngugi]

The problem is I was leaving a couple units in each and then Isengard came in and captured like 5 of my regions with a full-stack army

An extra good reason to gather up your forces into one or some few armies and go intercept and wack that Isengard stack. Then move the men taking his settlements. Spread out forces will not stor the uruks and your economy will bleed.
Listen to paradamed you must!

[Bastard King]

You're gonna need to give some more information about your particular situation. You'll usually have a few choke point settlements where you can put a decent size garrison to defend a large area. This lets you get away with under manning other settlements. You should also have a few spies and watchtowers placed in key locations to give you a few turns notice before any enemy units come close to your settlements.

[paradamed]

In only leave the free garrison units in all my settlements. The rest of my army is always in the front. "He who defends everything defends nothing". Some antiquity guy wrote this, hehehe.

[Zafersan]

Rohan can easily rush Isengard with its starting force. I actually managed to take Isengard capital (and kill Saruman in the process) in the first few turns with Rohan on VH/VH. Of course the stupid garrison script is the only thing that makes it hard. Even by taking the capital, Isengard was no slouch and took many more turns to finish.

[dannyalex]

the game is to easy now days....i like the past versions when rohan was fall(all the time) in the power of white hand...

[The SilvanElve NL]

The citys that lay in de borders of my enemy factions are always full with the units I need to defend it. Mostly its 6-7 units.

[Mhaedros]

I almost never have more than the free upkeep. In smaller settlements, I might have more, but that's depending on place/unrest

[Legourou]

I think the bigger question is how to maintain your reaction time to infiltrating armies.

You don't need more generals, you don't need more units, you need more organized nationwide troop hubs that can easily, within a few turns, reach lands near the front line. Remember this from Sun Tzu: if you try to defend everything, you're defending nothing. I'm not talking about 8 units every city. I'm talking the bare minimum in EVERY city except special cities that you choose to keep extra units in case an enemy approaches. And if they can't take stuff back, they can at least greatly hinder the enemies progress while a larger force is mustered.

And if you can't do this, then don't spread out so fast with so few units. I'm pretty sure Sun Tzu said something about spreading yourself too thin, but I can't think of anything right now because I would've thought it common sense.

Find a good balance and that can only come with practice.

[MarcoAntonio]

Engaging multi-front wars is also highly inadvisable, although sometimes unavoidable.

When playing as Rohan you should avoid confrontation with Mordor at all costs in the beginning, focusing instead on taking Isengard on your northwestern front. That should free up some units on your eastern theater. Still it is advisable to leave a considerable amount of soldiers in the cities there (or maybe an itinerant horsemen army patrolling) and some spies watching over the other side of the Anduin river.

Conflict with Misty Mountains Orcs can be hard to avoid. But they tend to attack on the northwestern front so it shouldn't be a big deal. If you occupy Ost-in-edhil they will constantly attack there.

[Ngugi]

Yes, yes, to Legourou you must listen! ...too.

[zorphon]

Just to clarify I'm playing as High Elves, but thanks all for the input.