I was getting cocky. I was ahead in technology, and I was busy trying to upgrade my troops a few cities at a time. The english and the irish were to my west on the same continent. (I was sandwiched in between them with the mexicans and the thai to my east. The Thai got my boot in their *ss in the stone age and the mexicans went the way of the dodo as soon as I discovered gunpowder. Hey THEY started it! ) Anyway, with two civs crushed and my progress going along I felt unbeatable. The english managed to get a settler to one of the spaces of unclaimed land on the continent before I could and built a city. Actually, since it was size 13 by the time I noticed it, the city, Stirling, must have been there for awhile. I was mad about it because I wanted that spot and I didn't like the english being that close to me. They either despised or disliked me, depends on what turn you checked the foreign relations. So I demanded that they surrender Stirling to me. They refused. I declared war figuring I'd just take it from them. Whoo boy. Mistake! I attacked the city with a stack of 3 infantrymen, two artillery, 3 machine gunners and a cavalry man. The cav guy didn't actually get to attacked. The blew him away with artillery before my next turn. I used my arty to fire back but apparently it didn't do any good because when I attacked I saw that they had 6 fortified artillery aand six facists in the city. I was mortified...to mortified to retreat and at least save any of the men! Ok, fine, they had good defense! Still they could harm me! I'd been upgrading my guys...except when I looked in the cities nearest the english border I realised that they were woefully underdefended! I hadn't upgraded all of the troops there and the few machinegunners and artillery in the cities were saddled with infantry men and a few pikemen! Then I saw the english arrive over the border with ...now get this FOUR stacks of fascist and artillery. (I know this because each unit arrived one at a time and joined into stacks...as if they wanted me to see it) I think my wife heard me from several rooms away when I gulped "HOLEE ****!".

No, it seems the english AI wasn't a pansy like the others. It was ready to whoop some american ass and make me like it. The nearest city and undoubtedly their 1st target had one measly artillery, two infantry and one pikeman. I offered a cease fire and to my surprise they agreed! A few turns later I asked the english to withdraw and they did! Lucky for me, but why? The AI had a great advantage at that point. They could have concievably taken at least the three nearest border cities before I could muster any resistance.

Needless to say, those cities nearest the english now are chock full of the latest and most powerful troop available to me right now. Now only if the other AI players could have that kind of kick ass mentality....then this would be one intense game!