INVASIONS IN REAL TIME
AMPHIBIOUS STRATEGIES IN
AGE OF EMPIRES II: THE AGE OF KINGS
Originally Published October 18,
2000
By
Jim Werbaneth
Microsoft’s Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
is one of the best computer games that I have ever played. As a game it is enjoyable, indeed
addictive, and though it is far from a real simulation of a real epoch, the
strategy that it embodies strategy is complex and demanding. Therefore it has value beyond mere
entertainment.
One of the most interesting
considerations is amphibious warfare.
In many games, in the Castle Age or Imperial Age normally, the player
has to project his power across the water.
The phenomenon is rather reminiscent of twentieth-century grand
strategy than the pseudo-medieval world of The Age of Kings. Yet it does focus gamers on some essential
problems of amphibious warfare in a clear and cogent manner.
Players have several reasons to leave
familiar shores for hostile ones. On
occasion it is for liebensraum; one can find there is simply not
enough open land left for later buildings.
But this is relatively rare.
More often, it is a quest for
resources. In the last two ages of The
Age of Kings, the deposits of stone and gold that looked inexhaustible in
the early periods start to look decidedly finite. When one’s agenda includes castles, and
hopefully a wonder, these resources take on greater importance than ever. Even wood can be at a premium, due to
long-term exploitation.
Military objectives can also call for
an offensive across the water. In
these cases, raw materials are less of a lure than an opponent that one
wishes to defeat, and hopefully knock out of the game. Thus there are two opposite lures to
amphibious action; a positive one to gain important resources, and a negative
one to defeat an enemy.
As in the real world, amphibious
warfare mandates a coordination of naval and ground factors. It is not a matter of just gathering a
bunch of troops, putting them on boats, and dumping them on a beach
somewhere. Further reflecting real
military strategy, a seaborne invasion is one of the trickier kinds of
strategy in The Age of Kings.
THE
NAVAL FACTOR
Ships are one half of the amphibious
equation, and count for more than just taxis for the ground troops. This is as true to The Age of Kings
as it was on the beaches of Normandy and
Inchon.
Warships have roles independent of the
armies. Before the amphibious forces
are even assembled, the player should have a significant navy, one capable of
massing force and ranging the waters at will.
One of its primary tasks is to destroy the enemy ships wherever and
whenever possible, gaining and maintaining sea control. This sort of strategy is drawn directly
from Alfred Thayer Mahan and The Influence of Sea Power Upon History,
emulating the independent strategies of the Royal Navy in the eighteenth
century.
At the same time, the ships should
operate in the littoral, engaging land targets. The prime targets should be those that have
a direct or indirect capacity of impeding the coming invasion; docks where
ships can be built, castles, and maybe the most dangerous of all, siege
workshops. Barracks, archery ranges
and stables should not be neglected either.
Sometimes the other side will have
other buildings close enough to sea to be vulnerable to bombardment. Taking out universities and monasteries
might not look like a good way to win a war, but the research at the first
frequently has military ramifications, and the holy places produce monks who
are combination medics and psychological warfare assets. Besides, should enough important buildings
fall into rubble, there is a chance that a computer-controlled owner will
resign in discouragement.
Warships have two roles in the
invasion itself, what Mahan called the “ulterior motive.” One is to protect the transports from enemy
flotillas. The other is to provide
heavy fire support for the ground troops upon disembarking.
Generally, the numbers and quality of
warships needed for an effective invasion dictate that the player wait for
the better types of ships. Galleys and
war galleys are not good enough for the most part. Fireships can be, and galleons definitely
are. Cannon galleons are the absolute
best, providing firepower that can eliminate most buildings in short order.
MUSTERING
THE TROOPS
Just as the needs of the operation
call for better ships, so they demand that the player have more than just
militia to land on the far shore. It takes
a mixture of melee-oriented infantry, missile troops, cavalry, and more.
Balance and mix are nearly as vital as
numbers. Combined arms is as important
in the world of The Age of Kings as they are in actual, historical combat,
as the player has several distinct tasks.
One is to consolidate and defend the
beachhead. The other side will
counterattack, that is certain. The
only questions are in what force, and with what kinds of troops. The player has to be ready for all of them.
Missile troops-----archers,
crossbowmen and horse archers-----are excellent for meeting the counterattack
at a distance. Combined with naval
support, they can be devastating. But
should some of the attackers get through, a reserve of shock cavalry and
infantry is necessary.
A computer enemy will send siege
engines whenever possible, and often they will fire from far enough inland to
be beyond the reach of naval fire.
Thus any invasion force should include some siege engines as well, particularly
the mighty trebuchet, for counterbattery.
They have other purposes as well. Siege engines make excellent coast
artillery, aiding the fleet in the defense of the beachhead against naval
counterattack. Further, artillery has
obvious offensive uses, against both troops and buildings.
Monks are imperative too. Without them, wounded troops will stay that
way. They are the medical service of
the armies in The Age of Kings.
It is easy to overlook the last
element of an invading ground force-----the villagers. If monks are the doctors, then villagers
are the combat engineers. They build
fortifications around the landing area, anticipating the nearly certain
counterstrike. Being able to put up a
castle before the enemy arrives in force can make a huge difference in the
outcome, and even a watch tower or two is a welcome addition.
In addition, ships and siege engines
get damaged, and villagers can repair them.
The civilian presence also enhances
the beachhead when it comes to reinforcements. Under normal circumstances, new units have
to come from the original “heartland” of the player’s kingdom. But if villagers come along to build
barracks, archery ranges, siege workshops, and any other facility where
troops assemble, then the player becomes less dependent on his transport
ships. Likewise, building a dock will
enable him to construct ships at the point of contact.
Even should he have no call for any of
these functions at first, unlikely in most cases, he can still find uses for
the villagers. One can never have
enough raw materials, and many invasions are for them anyway, and so
civilians can go to work cutting trees, or mining gold or stone. Then when there is a need for villagers in
their military engineering mode, they are present.
CHOOSING
A BEACH
The best place to come ashore is the
most obvious: Where one knows there is no nearby enemy presence. The ideal landing is the unopposed
one. But that luxury is not as
available as one would wish.
No matter how powerful a force might
be, and how well supported, charging into a heavily defended shore is
ill-advised at least, and Gallipoli at most.
A powerful defending force, with fortifications and the facilities to
replace its losses, has a major advantage over any foe coming from the sea.
Likewise, one should never land
blindly. Ships must reconnoiter the
site ahead of time. Warships are the
easiest candidates for naval reconnaissance, but fishing ships can be just as
good, as well as much cheaper to replace when lost. Besides, a fishing ship returns with a hold
of food besides critical intelligence.
Concentrating too many ships around
the same place can alert the other side where the blow will fall, and so a
player should look elsewhere as well.
Besides, exploring the map always yields information, and one never
knows when a unit will find a new outcropping of stone or gold, or a relic
destined for a friendly monastery.
A player with offensive aspirations,
and not just of the amphibious variety, should consider researching map
making. This gives him all the
knowledge of his allies, and thus provides him with many more sets of eyes
and ears.
There are two interests in picking a
site to invade. The first is what it
has to offer. Are there resources
there? Does the enemy have relatively
undefended assets there, that the player can destroy with little risk?
The other is opposition. Are there plentiful and strong
fortifications there? Are there
military units, and the buildings that produce them?
A gamer will seldom have perfect
intelligence, even of what is just outside his own settlements. He cannot expect to have it on another
landmass, but there is every reason to get as much information as possible
before he goes there.
CONCLUSIONS
Strictly speaking, The Age of Kings
is not an historical simulation. The
worlds it constructs bear little resemblance to any that have existed on
planet Earth. It is not just the
terrain, but the neighborhood. The
Goths and Japanese, for example, had no interaction in the eras represented,
let alone the experience of living next door to each other.
In addition, the game has a definite
Western bias, defining itself in terms of the aftermath of the fall of the
Western Roman Empire. It was crucial
to Western history, but caused nary a ripple in China, Mongolia or Japan, all
of which are in The Age of Kings.
There were no Dark Ages east of the Levant, where the rise of Islam
and the coming of the Mongols were of far more importance than the passing of
the Caesars.
Yet the game is an admirable portrayal
of real strategy. The conflicts, in
fact the entire kingdom-building phenomena of The Age of Kings, have a
strong ring of authenticity. What
works in The Age of Kings works as well in real-world national
competition, and vice versa.
Amphibious warfare is a clear case in
point. A player who wishes to project
his power across the water will face problems similar to those in real
history. In process, he will find that
combined warfare is just as demanding in The Age of Kings as it is in
our own violent century.
