Advice for Maratha campaign

[Mo74]

Hi,
So, it's about 1715 in my first MC campaign; I'm at war with just the Mughals and slowly making my way north. As I progress nearly all my forces move further north. I haven't seen any reason to garrison souther India because Mysore is a good ally and the Dutch are just holed up in Ceylon. Neither appear to be doing much.
But it does leave my southern provinces undefended; have you ever seen the Dutch or Mysore attack the MC? Or perhaps a fleet from another country land an invading army?
Should I bother leaving an army in the south?
Thanks,
Mo.

[KingGeorgeV]

I have not played as the Marathas Confederacy but since the A.I. does attack the human player (I have had the A.I.-controlled Marathas Confederacy land forces against my American colonies as Great Britain), I would at the very least build fortifications on every city and leave a small garrison of three-four units plus a cannon just in case. That way, you can hold off losing any regions (and thus providing a foothold for an invader) until you can move an army to counter their invasion force.

[swmackin]

The UK will attack. Make sure to leave some soldiers somewhere in the south-west of the country. You cannot afford to let the UK get a foothold in India.

[feelfreetodie]

when playing as maratha i always took out myshore withing the first few turns. very nice wealthy province and one less headache later on. the brits will eventually come.

[swmackin]

Something to keep in mind with Maratha. They have the worst infantry and the worst Navy in the game. Even worse than the Ottomans. They do however have good melee units. Would be good to learn how to best make advantage of them. Melee units are actually great for fort battles. When attacking a fort send them up the wall first with line finfantry covering them. When defending keep melee units on the ground until enemy units start reaching the top of the wall. Then send the melee units up to fight them.

Later in the game you get a few different elephant units (including general bodyguard) and the 64 lb. fixed cannon. Europeans are scared of elephants and big guns. They however do not have horse artillery or howitzers. So you will have to make do with fixed anr foot artillery, mortars and rockets. They also do not get riflemen.

In general the Maratha military is at its best in a defensive position or when attacking a fort. Maratha are not well suited to an aggressive style in the open field. Set yourselft back to where you can pound on the enemy with your long range heavy artillery before their infantry reaches your sub-par infantry. If you like fast aggressive battles then go with Prussia, France or Poland.

[The People's Commissar]

The British will eventually land on the South-West of India (As mentioned before). They will most likely go straight for your capital, so make sure you have a sizeable army over there to protect it. It also helps to have a ship or two out in the waters so that you can see the British coming, which would be good if you need to send an army down from the northern parts of India to reinforce your capital.

[Mo74]

Thanks guys for your replies. Yeah, I'll see if I can make more use of my melee troops. I wasn't to please to find out I couldn't access fire-by-rank having raced to research it. Maybe that 64lb cannon will make up for it.

Is it only the British who turn up eventually to invade India? (I wonder if it is scripted).

[swmackin]

The elephants will be a big help. You do not need more than 2 elephant units per army. Their greatest strength is that they scare they heck out of enemy infantry. Have them walk back and forth behind your line and it will intimidate enemy line infantry. If the enemy starts to get the upper hand in one part of your line then slam an elephant unit into them. Maratha also have camel units. Camels are great against horse cavalry as the rider sits higher on a camel than on a horse and horses hate camels with a passion.

The British are usually the only ones who invade India. Sometimes the French show up. Keep your capital well defended. If/when the British show pull out all the stops to take them out. Even if you have to leave another territory vulnerable to the Mughals. Better to lose a territory to the Mughals than let the British establish a base in India.