But that ally becomes a nuisance if you have won the war and he is merely capturing territory which is 'rightfully' yours. So you need to communicate with as many players as possible, to gain intelligence about their operations and to pick up news from around the world. And the greatest aid to military planning is good intelligence about enemy operations. Offensive Strategy There are three ways to beat an enemy - by destroying his will to fight, by destroying his economy and means of paying his troops, or by destroying his armies. These are not the same and should not be confused.
Many players just consider one method and so tie their hands to a limited strategy.
However a good strategist will evaluate the situation and bear all three possibilities in mind. He will also continue to evaluate the situation throughout the war, and remain flexible in his planning. The first method is perhaps the most neglected, but often the most common cause of victory in Austerlitz. Look at the games you have played in and count how many times a country collapses after its first setback. Very often a country will dissolve into chaos when it has a quite reasonable position.