Hello everyone, and welcome back to another Development Diary for Europa Universalis V!
This week, we’re talking WAR. A topic I’m sure a lot of you were waiting for.
War during the modern era was evolving constantly, and went from the late medieval armies, made of knights and levies, to professionalized armies with gunpowder and destruction power never seen before, to end up, at the beginning of the XIXth century, a mass conscription force wielding efficiently both firepower and shock.
If you’ve read earlier Dev Diaries, you understand now what drives us: trying to make a living simulation where every choice has consequences. And warfare in EuV follows the same philosophy: armies are made of people, logistic matters and the world will fight back against your dreams of conquest.
War Screen in a war between France and England in 1351
Late Medieval Warfare
At the start of Europa Universalis V, most states do not field professional armies. To fight in the multiple wars started by the many kings and dukes, each state will rely on levies, raised from their population : peasants, burghers, nobles… Whoever your laws and institution can call upon.
Calling Levies can be done through the Military Tab
But those people, raised in the army, are real members of your population, and they will leave their jobs to go fight in your wars. Which means also, that when they die on the battlefield or from other causes, the Pop is gone forever. And, of course, if you disband the remains of your army, survivors will return to their home and resume civilian life.
The quality of the levy will vary by the type of pop. A peasant levy will probably form the backbone of your army, but will end up as an undisciplined frontliner with a spear. While noble levy will provide heavy armored knights. Different pops produce levies with distinct equipment, discipline, and role on the battlefield.
Levies come in different types depending on which social class they come from. Peasants make standard levies, burghers and clergy make footmen and Nobles make Knights.
But be careful : Levies will not replenish during your campaigns. To refill the losses, you have to disband the army and raise a new one, making every battle a crucial decision.
Transition to Standing Army
As technology and institutions develop, you’ll unlock more means to field a Standing Army.. As well as many new Military Buildings that employ a particular class of pop: soldiers
Soldiers are employed in buildings that generate manpower for your standing armies such as the Armory, as well as used for castle garrisons and other military based buildings.
Armories - the first building that can be built nationwide that can recruit manpower. This building gets unlocked in the Age of Renaissance under the Professional armies institution. Armories can only be built in urban locations.
Training Fields - the first building that allows you to recruit manpower out of rural locations. Unlocked in the Age of Discovery under the Pike and Shot institution.
Every standing regiment has to be maintained financially, but can also drill and be upgraded over time, as technology progresses. You will manage the transition from standard men-at-arms and archers, to halberdiers, musketiers and canons.
Early Arquebusiers are an Age of Discovery Gunpowder unit unlocked in the Pike and Shot institution. They have higher initiative than other units but take more morale and strength damage.
Falconets are an Age of Discovery Gunpowder unit unlocked in the Pike and Shot institution. They have higher combat power than Early Arquebusiers but only do damage in the bombard phase of battles.
Army Organization & Command
Armies are structured into Left Flank, Center, Right Flank, and Reserves.
This will crucially impact where your troops will meet the enemy on the battlefield, playing a pivotal role in how the battle plays out.
The speed at which each regiment enters the fight is determined by their initiative. Cavalry and light infantry will usually be quicker to get into the fray than heavy infantry. And this difference can make a battle, as if one of the flanks collapses, the center becomes vulnerable to a flanking strike, devastating for morale.
Battle tab in a minor battle between Russia and Sweden.
You can be as precise as you want, and set up your troops on the flanks or the center, depending on your plan, or you can set up an even distribution of your troops across the battlefield.
Mid game army composition of an army of 38 regiments. Every regiment is assigned a front with reserves and logistical support sitting in the back.
The choice of your general is crucial in determining the quality of your army. Your general is usually a member of your court, and all his stats are important in warfare.
The administrative skill boost siege ability, helps troops get into fight faster, and the logistic distance
The diplomatic skill boost the army morale, initiative and the unit food consumption
The military skill boost the army movement speed, the discipline, and the combat speed of the army
Administrative, Diplomatic and Military Ability of a character all play a role in a General’s capabilities in war.
But, to choose the right general for each situation, you will have to plan things ahead of time, as changing commanders takes time..
Army Composition
The army is separated into four categories : Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Auxiliaries.
Each of these groups has upsides and downsides in a battle. And the modern era is one of transition.
During the late-medieval era, the early stage of the game, heavy cavalry is one of the strongest units you can field and can be decisive in a battle. But, as the game advances, the warfare will slowly transition to more infantry oriented armies, with artillery support and cavalry dedicated to precise and powerful shock.
Within each of these groups, there are regional, cultural and technological variants, from English longbowmen, Ottoman Janissaries to Polish Winged Hussars.
The English Longbowmen, a unique levy only available to England. These levies have incredibly high initiative, allowing them to enter the battlefield very quickly compared to other levies.
The size of regiments will also vary throughout the game. When the early version of your regiments will usually field around 100 men, with later tech and reforms, some regiments can go up to 3.000 men, drastically upping the size of warfare.
Hunters are an Age of Absolutism unit unlocked by the Siege Artillery Institution. Requiring 1600 manpower for one regiment.
But to accompany so many men, you will have to rely on auxiliaries regiments, which is your army support structure. For example, early in the game, the Camp Follower unit will increase your army food storage, allowing your troops to go deeper into enemy territories without a direct supply line.
Camp followers are vital to supplying an army in enemy territory.
Logistic & Food
In an effort to create a credible warfare system, moving your armies around will depend on supply lines, and access to resources.
Armies will carry food, but will ultimately need to gather it from a friendly location. This is represented by a line linking your army to the closest friendly location. But this line can only be stretched so far, and can quickly become vulnerable to enemy armies.
“Amateurs talk Tactics, but professionals study logistics”
Once the supply is low, the army will suffer attrition and heavy losses, sometimes forcing a retreat.
Placing supply depots and controlling key provinces will now be the key to an efficient campaign, as planning and strategic decisions will now determine the outcome of most wars.
You’ll also have to take into consideration the weather and diseases. The map, the terrain and natural elements are also your enemies during wartime.
Winter will reduce food production, and raise attrition, but can also freeze coastal sea, allowing risky crossings and sometimes stranding fleets. Severe winters can also make some mountain passes impassable.
Finally, disease can be caught by an army, and spread to the location it occupies, adding civilian losses to the military ones.
Frozen over waters can be traversed but be careful, your army will face severe attrition on these tiles and once the ice thaws, the army could end up on the bottom of the sea.
Battles
Once your army is built, your logistics ready, and your campaign planned, it is time to fight.
Once on the battlefield, the battle will open with artillery fire, making hell fall on the poor souls you’ve sent to die for your dream of grandeur perfectly reasonable reasons.
After that, the main combat starts. Engaged regiments will fight according to the 3 positions : Left flank, center and right flank. Each unit will fight until opponents are eliminated or lose morale, then proceed to attack the closest next regiment.
Look to my coming on the first light of the fifth day, at dawn look to the east
If a regiment retreats, it is replaced by another one in reserve. But a time will come when one side has no more troops to send against the enemy, and it’s at this moment that the army morale is hit, and can lead to a collapse of one of the flanks, or even the center of the army.
This situation has a devastating effect on the rest of the army, allowing flanking maneuver and usually making defeat inevitable.
Once the left flank crumble, the center follows and the losses are terrible
The result of a battle depends on a lot of factors : unit type, technology, number, commander skills, army composition, terrain, morale, discipline, and sometimes a little bit of luck. All of these factors are vital to ensure victory in a battle.
Naval Warfare
Naval warfare is not left aside, and will follow more or less the same rules as land warfare.
Pops to man the ships are sailors, you will need to build specific buildings to field more ships and have more sailors, and having a standing fleet is necessary to provide food support to each of your armies across your global empire.
Fleets will also allow you to blockade cities and cripple your enemy trade, a crucial tool to have in time of war.
Italy and the Maghreb are two important regions for naval warfare early in the game.
But having a strong navy can also help stabilize your proximity and your trade, making it worth having, even during peace time.
As in land warfare, there is a great variation in sea zones, impacting fleet movement and combat ability.
In a time of global discovery and colonization, having a strong navy is paramount to allow you to extend your empire across all the continents.
Mastering warfare, both on land and sea, will require a deep understanding of multiple factors : Army composition, logistics, combat mechanics and strategic planning. But once you've mastered those, your enemies will be many, but none will be your equals.
If you have not seen it yet, make sure to check out the accompanying feature video released on youtube here :
As the saying goes : “War begins where diplomacy fails“, so obviously, next week, we’ll cover Diplomacy and International relations.
That’s all for today ! Thank you for taking time to read this Dev Diary, and don’t forget you can pre-purchase Europa Universalis V now
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Until next time !