Danish Rules of Engagement

Introduction

One of the most realistic aspects of Lords of the Earth is that, despite the fact that it is largely a war game, war is made to be hell. Armies evaporate, your best generals die only to be replaced by idiots, economies go bankrupt, cities burn, allies and populations get restless and revolt, assassins show up and start murdering the royal family… in many cases, even a successful war will result in a nation being weaker for a while due to its costs. Peace is almost always more prosperous, and a good deal more easy to manage. Thus, war should not be entered into lightly. Empires that avoid needless and petty wars will end up stronger than those who waste their resources and neglect their economic development. On the other hand, war is eventually the only means for a nation to expand, and thus it will occur. When it does, the most prudent overall objective is usually to stop it as soon as possible, minimizing its costs. More often than not, however, your enemy will not want to agree to peace on your desired terms, thus compelling you to force him or her to be more reasonable about things. These rules represent the assembled experience and observations made over many years of Lords warfare. Some stratagems come from Danish history (both at the giving and receiving end), while others are from the wider Lords 1 realm.

General Rules

While all wars are different, there are several rules that should always be kept in mind regardless of the circumstances - they apply whether one is attacking, defending, or duking it out on relatively even terms.

1. Always include at least one shot aimed for the jugular

This is, in my opinion, the best piece of advice contained herein. The crux of it is that, when fighting a war, each set of orders you submit should have at least one action which, if successful, will cripple your opponent. Possibilities include decimating your enemy's biggest army, burning his or her capital and destroying their government, causing a dynastic failure, and cutting off vital supply lines or trading routes. This is by no means the full range of options - it could even be more effective to think of something a bit off the beaten track, as that would make it harder to defend against.
This is often easier said than done, but if you put your mind to it some opportunity should present itself. If it is simply impossible given present circumstances, try to set up something potentially devastating for the next turn. Your attempt doesn't even have to be particularly likely to succeed, and in most wars it may well not be. However, this does not necessarily negate its effectiveness.
There are many reasons why this principle is important.
First, if you don't try to knock off your opponent, chances are you'll still be fighting next turn regardless of how good your dice rolls are. The longer a war continues, the more debilitating it becomes; more importantly, it becomes increasingly unpredictable as well. The longer into the future your best-laid plans extend, the more likely it is that reality will come a-knocking in the form of unexpected misfortune.
Second, by doing this you put your opponent that much more on the defensive, which is a psychological advantage not to be underestimated. The more your adversary worries about where you'll be striking next, the more likely it is that he will start seeing ghosts and defending against nonexistent threats, and the less he will enjoy the war. This can in turn lead to bad moves or suing for peace.
Third, if you do score a knockout blow, it will probably make an impression on your neighbors and any potential enemies, leaving them with the idea that yours may not be the next empire they want to mess with.
Fourth, there are style points to be gained. A quick and dramatic kill makes for good Newsfax copy, which makes any GM happy. Likewise, since keeping track of myriad armies moving hither and yon and making the appropriate die rolls is hard work for your underpaid GM, a quick end to a war is not necessarily an unwelcome thing…

1a. Always cover your vital points

This is just the corollary to rule 1: don't let them do it to you! The main idea is to identify what your vital points are, as they will change from nation to nation, and defend them as efficiently as possible. This also means not defending those things that you can afford to temporarily lose, so you can concentrate your forces on attack or necessary defense.

2. Only fight battles you can win

Of course, nobody intentionally sends their forces into a hopeless situation, but the annals of Lords history are littered with the bodies of hapless soldiers whose unwise overlords sent them into battles in which they were totally outmatched. Take the time and effort to gauge your opponent's strength and act accordingly, and don't rush into anything blindly. A "Reveal Secret" op spent on finding out how big an opponent's army is and where it's headed is almost always a much better idea than, say, a "Battle Assistance" op. The former may help you avert disaster; the latter may give you a small plus on your die roll after disaster is already upon you. If you find you can't win, avoid battle - pull up your stakes and run to fight another day, on what may be better terms.
Some people use a variant of this rule that goes "only fight battles you are sure you will win" (a.k.a. the Pollard rule). While this may lead to a larger proportion of victories, it is a bit too stifling. Doing nothing but rabbit-bashing must get boring after a while. And, the best opportunities set before you by fate and circumstance do not tend to be conveniently risk-free; those who wait for a "better situation" tend to find that it does not come.

3. Keep in mind that your opponent is a person, not an empire

The most powerful empire in the world cannot hurt you if the player behind it does not have the will to do so. Try to make the war costly not only to the empire you are fighting, but to the individual as well. More often than not LOTE wars are stopped not by the military circumstances, but by a change of mood of one of the combatants, whether it is caused by exhaustion, a loss of heart, other-life responsibilities, obtaining inner peace, or whatever else.
While I would advise you strongly to avoid tampering with your opponent's outside life, you can impact their morale for continuing the fight. One of the best ways to do this is to fatigue your opponent. Although the sheer length of a war can have this effect, in the shorter term you can go about it by fighting energetically and on many fronts: militarily, politically, economically, religiously, covertly, etc. The more time your opponent spends figuring out how to deal with you, the better.
A more Machiavellian soul might also try to destroy an enemy's favorite cities, or universities, or pet projects that have been years in the making, ruining many years and dollars' worth of care and effort. This can certainly take the fun out of your adversary's game, but care is necessary, lest you enrage your opponent into caring for nothing so much as your demise. That being said, however, a yet more Machiavellian soul might take this into account, intending to goad an opponent into precipitous action and an uncharacteristic lack of caution…

Rules for Offense

When you are on the offensive, your goal is typically to either demolish your opponent or to take something from him or her in such a way that it cannot be taken back. I assume that since you are on the attack, you have some superiority over your opponent, whether it be in numbers or intel or army quality or even simply surprise. Whatever your advantage is, it should be your utmost goal to strike while the iron is hot and conclude the war as quickly as possible, before your advantage evaporates or your opponent is able to strike in an arena where he or she may enjoy the upper hand.

1. Aim for armies or vital strategic points, not land

Some players pursue wars by trying to take most or all of their opponent's provinces. While this has the admirable trait of sapping the enemy's strength and ability to continue to fight while having the pleasing side effect of allowing one to color in more regions on one's map, it is often a mistake for a number of reasons. First, it fails to take into account what the opponent really is - not a piece of real estate, but a bunch of leaders and armies who want to kill you. These represent your enemy's main ability to inflict damage on you, and while they stick around you are always in danger. Second, it makes you spread your army thin with garrisons, which could in turn be easy pickings if an enemy army should come along while your main force is engaged elsewhere. Third, land really doesn't help you much in the short term. It usually provides only limited money, and no NFP.

2. Figure out what you're fighting for, and how you're going to end the war

In the view of some historians, it was a violation of this rule that led to the defeat of the United States in Vietnam. You must have a clear goal when fighting a war, and a plan that will enable you to obtain that goal. This is important because your plan is what will coordinate your forces and ultimately give your attack its real power. Success is not necessarily achieved by defeating enemy armies and capturing land and cities, but instead by selecting and obtaining worthwhile objectives. As was learned in Vietnam, you can win every battle and lose the war (When reminded by an American colonel that the United States had won every major engagement, his Vietnamese counterpart replied "That is true. It is also irrelevant."). While at this stage you may not have to worry about protesters and anti-war sentiment at home, there are plenty of other things that can go wrong in a war that does not end because you do not know how to conclude it.

Rules for Defense

When you are on the defensive, your main objective is usually not to destroy your opponent, but to just make him or her leave you alone (and hopefully give you your stuff back). Insofar as this is the case, the defending position is often more flexible than the attacking one. The defender mainly cares about survival and fights close to home, while the attacker needs to project is strength to foreign soil and maintain communications, supply lines, etc., all the while striving to win but at minimal cost.

1. Try to pick off your opponents one by one

If your enemy splits his or her forces, or you have a number of countries invading you, you might do best to combine what forces you have into one big army and try to take on enemy armies one at a time. Even though as a whole they may outnumber you, you can still have an advantage in any one battle, and perhaps even all of them!

2. If your opponent has an invincible mega-army, try one of these:

• Figure out how to kill it anyway. Huge armies can and do fall. Stratagems include leaders being killed, mercenary defections, infiltration, supply lines being cut off - even navigational charts being tweaked. Owners of big armies tend to be more complacent, trusting in their numbers to give their wits a rest. Instead of quaking in fear or trying to hide, try turning the tables - it could be the last thing your opponent expects.
• Scatter! Divide your armies into so many buzzing gnats which try to annoy your enemy as much as possible while avoiding confrontation. A couple might get squashed, but while the enemy army is one huge blob it won't be able to track them all down. Good activities for such armies include killing garrisons and liberating provinces and cutting off supply and communication lines (which can in itself be decisive if the enemy is deep in your territory). In this case it is good to keep track of the mobility of your armies - a force consisting of entirely of cavalry is harder to catch and engage than one that has infantry or artillery slowing it down.
• Defend behind walls. An old standby, this can help even the odds considerably. If your opponent tries an assault, huge portions of his or her army can melt away very quickly. This sort of duty may be good for your less mobile forces, while cavalry behind walls are not much good at all.

3. Prolong the war

The longer a war goes on, the more likely it is that random factors will come to the fore and make something go wrong for your assailant. Dynastic failure, famine, desertion or betrayal by allies, acquiring allies of your own - all of these things can happen at any time, so the longer you hold out the higher your chances of survival. While this is once again a bit on the self-evident side, the idea is to avoid last stands and final confrontations and the like, and instead utilize tactics of delay. This is also the best way to fatigue your human opponent. Many times an empire has been saved literally from the brink of extinction by the attacker's simply getting tired of fighting.