The Ten Commandments O' Strategy

[Niccolo]

1) Thou shalt keep an armor unit ready at all times.
2) Thou shalt scout an area with expendable units before entering.
3) Thou shalt hold the line.
4) Thou shalt create ambushes using indirect combat units.
5) Thou shalt not assult using recon units, as they are unworthy in my sight.
6) Thou shalt provide adequate transport for thine infantry.
7) Thou shalt split into multiple battle groups for manouverability and the sacred pincer attacks.
8) Thou shalt keep adequate anti-air units ready to defend the army from arieal attackers.
9) Thou shalt create supply routes to the front, and ensure their safety.
10) Thou shalt target supply, recon, and facility-capturing units to halt thy foes' advance.

This has been given unto you by Demon, lord of strategy most high. Thou shalt observe this list and keep it holy.

[Azan]

excellent, nice post ;D

[GamerMan]

splitting the troops if not good strategy unless you outnumber teh enemy 2v1

i can squeeze it down into one step

Thou shall read and live by "The Art of War"

[Niccolo]

Did and are.

Counterpoint- splitting your forces can be very advantageous. I use it to feign weakness, then tear into their rear flank with my second force when the enemy attacks. This works even with a smaller force. Besides, did Sun Tzu not say "commanding the many is like commanding the few"? He actually advocates smaller forces many times.

[GamerMan]

he said that in reference to orginization, he also talks about how supperior numbers is not necissarily a winner in itself...
but he directly tells us that we shoudl split up our force if we out number the enemy 2 to 1, and considering he was a general who has shaped 2000 years of warfair, and you have no experience in war outside maybe a video game or 2, and maybe a book or 2... that sun tzu is a better choice to listen to

[Azan]

Sun Tzu and all great commanders of that time all agreed you should split up your forces when you are able to easily flank or circle them but only if you outnumber them, or have a strong defending force and a fast moving force to circle them, I in many strategy games have defeated opponents when I was greatly outnumbered and I had less superior units but the enemy would break into little squads of like 5 units and I just went around preyying on them and eventualy winning, I myself in strategy games almost never split my forces even when out numbering them (depending on terrain etc.) but in rome total war I will split my greek calvary off and have them wait far away so that when the enemy is trying to penetrate my wall of armored hoplites I can bring them up from the rear, and these moves work great especialy ifits hoplites on both sides of the enemy, just like alaxander the great he named it the anvil and the hamer (the enemy wouuld be the metal)

[GamerMan]

except with alexander, the cavalry charged in from behind the hoplites, but same idea none-the-less.

Here is a good one, if outnumbered, find a choke point :-D

[actionjackson]

Of course surrounding an enemy with a smaller force is possible and very efffective (Hannibal did it). However, with a smaller force, there is less room for error.

[GamerMan]

accually, andy, that was a contest between split and supprise, it was the supprise that hannible opted for, at risky sacrifice of army unity, a fact that hannible knew would cost him greatly if timeing wasn't perfect and supprise wasn't upkept

[actionjackson]

Well, yeah, thats the point of splitting ur troops. The enemy is taken by surprise, which is needed to be taken advantage to pull it off.

[Niccolo]

For no other apparent point than to contradict myself, take a look at the Battle of Bull Run. The federal forces attepted to surround the confederate line, but due to intervening terrain (and a damn green general) they were routed miserably. However, I suppose the union forces didn't flank quite far enough and just wound up bieng overextended, so this may be a bad example.