It can also Pillage tiles in between Turns to keep its health up, though this will break the Fortification bonus. If a Melee is slightly damaged, have it Fortify so that it will take less damage from the City. The AI will prioritize damaged units, so you can ensure that your Ranged are not going to be hit by doing this. If you have strong Melee (compared to the City's Combat Strength) you may attack the City to make that Melee unit the target.
You need the Melee to actually take the City once its health has been depleted, so keep at least one at full health, else have a fast unit like a Horseman/Cavalry to run in when the City is at 0 Health. Your Ranged and Siege can attack from 2 hexes away. Use 2-3 Melee Units to act as your front line against the City. If your Units' CS is higher than the City's, the target is in trouble and your Melee will be able to damage it without much fear of retaliation - this typically happens when fighting a Civ's newly-founded Cities. Depending on the situation,and the Combat Strength of your Units relative to the City, you may do even better. These two are not enough to stop a modern Military (relatively speaking) comprised of 6-8 Units assuming no defenders. Cities typically have two attacks - most will store a Ranged Unit inside, and the City has an attack itself. You do not want your Units to take damage until they are ready to attack. Get your units in position, then move in. After moving in, hit the City at range and beat it down, then Capture it with MeleeĪttacking a City with Early Ground ForcesĮncircle a City before moving in to attack, being aware of the City's attack range of 2. Stopping to heal gives the Enemy time to build more Units. This will give both Units XP and allow your Melee to retain more Health. Use your Ranged to soften up enemy Units for your Melee. In fact, the more damage a Unit has taken, the less it can deal whether defending or attacking. Wounded Units do not deal as much damage as those at full health. In these cases, it's fine to rush in - but never one at a time, as I've seen in person a newbie player do. For the first few Turns, you do not want to rush into their lands but rather let some of the defenders come to you - this is particularly important on higher difficultues, but on low you may find you have a Military capable of steamrolling the enemy if you've focused on building an Army. Their goal is to overwhelm, though they may leave units behind to defend. When you Declare War, the AI will typically move in with most of its Units to attack you and leave a little to defend. Kill Units First - Don't Fight Next to Cities Taking their Cities will prevent them from being able to do so effectively, crush their GPT and Science, and deny them Luxury Resources - giving all these things to you. If you clear out a high-difficulty AI's Army, they'll just build another. The purpose of War in Civ 5 is to take an opponent's Cities, as there is no real way to knock them down a peg otherwise. Position your Units before moving into a City's Attack Range Civ 5: War & Peace Guide Attacking Cities & Enemy Units: Combat Strategies and Tips Civ 5 War Guide