Gaining the Upper Hand on Military Campaigns by Vriesea
After just completing Kebet and Iken, two very militaristic campaigns I would like to share my observations and opinions on a winning strategy when it comes to the military campaigns. Here is what has worked for me, not necessarily in the order presented:

1. Seth doesn’t Suck - You really have to give Seth his due maybe more then people realize. Make sure you build that temple complex and begin throwing the festival in his honor. I usually build the temple complex just after introducing pottery when my population is able to handle the extra 50 workers. Once you have the temple complex , be persistent and constantly throw him festivals making sure there is always a lot of blue anhks. I have always used the common festival (cheaper) and have never had problems obtaining the necessary blessings. I have also noticed that if he promises to strike down the enemies during battle he keeps his promise. Another observation is that during several battles he has struck down the enemy more than once during the battle, which has been a life saver at times. This seems to indicated you can accumulate blessings from Seth and use them in the same battle (has anyone else observed this?). The key is to throw the festivals often and achieve Seth’s promises way before the actual battle takes place.

2. Military Focus Early-On – I have found that you must really focus on the military aspects early in the game. Don’t be tempted to focus on the nonmilitary if it can’t help you defeat the enemy. This may mean entertainment will wait, or houses may not evolve as fast, but all monies need to be focused on Seth, forts, academies, recruiters, towers and walls. Only later in the game after I have successfully built up my defenses and military will I focus on Kingdom Rating, Culture, Monuments, …

3. Walls and Towers – I have found that it’s more important not how you fight but where you fight. The best strategy I have found is to back you infantry on a wall that allows the tower guards to rain their spears down on the enemy. But to do this you need to create a wall and tower complex. This needs to be done early and usually before the second attack which starts getting more intense. The wall and tower complex need not encircle the city but only be placed in a wide open area where you can lure the enemy. Remember, you need a road and housing by the wall & towers to get the tower guards.

4. Dividing the enemy. – What has worked for me is to divide the enemy troops. This can be accomplished by using an archer division to attack and retreat from the main enemy force. Position the archers on the enemy’s flank and attack and retreat without making contact. The enemy’s main force will split and some will follow the archers while the other force will attempt to attack the towers and infantry. I have found that this worked well in Iken where I defeated the force attacking the towers and then noticed the troops chasing the archers also were retreating. I assume they were dejected because their main force was running in defeat.

5. Don’t get out-flanked – I have notice in Iken and Kebet that the enemy will make a serious attempt to move around your right or left side. What has worked for me is to keep an infantry division in back of my fighting troops and then swing them to the left or right when I see the enemy making the same maneuver. You end up fighting in an “L” shaped formation and the enemy will be attacked on two sides. This is very effective if you have to fight in an open area.

6. Plenty of Weapons – Always keep plenty of weapons on hand during the military campaigns. Nothing is more disheartening when you have just fought a tough battle and need to replenish you troops and you receive a message that the next attack is in 9 months or that Pharaoh requests 24 weapons in 12 months. I always try and have close to a SY full of weapons.

7. Mix between Infantry and Archer - What works well for me is to have a single archer division for every two infantry divisions. My archer divisions are used mainly for luring the enemy to desired locations. I depend on the towers and the main infantry force to do the most damage.

Hopes this helps, just my current observations on the military campaigns.

By the way, I highly recommend Iken. It also required a lot of thought on city layout and transportation of goods.

Regards,
Vriesea

[RR's note - that was a post made in this thread in the Game Help forum by Vriesea.  Used here with express permission of the author]