Tormenting an AI CP

[majpalmer]

While I know from the 1915 scenario that there is little hope in this game, thankfully, of repeating the Gallipoli landing, I did start my latest Entente effort--priviliged--with a plan. There seemed to be an inordinate number of Turks in Palestine and along the Caucasus Front in my earlier efforts. In fact, I had a struggle with the British to break the Gaza-Aqaba line.

When the French entered I sent their BB and CA units to block up the Austrians in the Adriatic. I embarked the Malta garrison and sent them into the Aegean, escorted by the British CA. I didn't expect to land, but thought that an amphibious demonstration would pin down some Ottoman units and tie up their rail transport. I had the CA off Izmir and the Transport off Gallipoli.

At one point the AI had four infantry units and one garrison at these two sites to prevent my landing. I kept switching the position of the CA and the transport. My assumption was that the loss of those five units would undermine the Ottoman position in Palestine and the Caucasus.

It did, until Bulgarian entry when the Bulgars sent reinforcements to prop up the Ottoman Empire (Personally, I doubt that the Ottomans would ever have allowed Christian Bulgarians to garrison Istanbul, but what the hell, it is no less historic than keeping the Malta garrison in transports for a year!). By then I had driven north from the Sinai and taken Damascus. The Russians had overrun eastern Anatolia. And I noted that at the end of 1915, when the Bulgarians entered, the Ottoman infantry had not yet been upgraded. Not enough PPs to go around under all the pressure.

I know this would not have worked against a human opponent. A pair of garrison units should have sufficed to prevent a British landing.

BTW, at one point, as the fronts in the Caucasus and Palestine collapsed, the Turks withdrew from Izmir and the Malta garrison landed. The men were no doubt happy as hell to get ashore in a city where they were greeted by the Greek inhabitants as liberators. Costs me two upkeep points, but costs the Turks two PPs. And I have some Italians on the way to reinforce the lodgment.

[Myrddraal]

Yeah, the AI does tend to overreact a bit to the threat of naval invasion. This heavy reaction was added fairly late in the beta as the AI seemed to be very vulnerable to sneaky naval invasions. Parking a ship off the coast is a bit of an exploit really, the AI doesn't know how to react well to it.