An Invasion Begins With a War Decision
In Geoplanetical, choose the grounds and objectives for war, review the war council's consequences, and confirm the declaration before directing the campaign. Your general staff handles unit movement and attacks. You set the strategic directive rather than moving every formation yourself.
The official military overview distinguishes a full invasion from a limited air-and-missile operation, which does not include ground combat in its initial mandate.
Prepare the Forces Before Declaring
Inspect your equipment and formations rather than treating a large defense budget as a finished invasion force. Equipment purchases need cash available for orders in the military treasury, and production and deliveries take time.
Deliveries enter the arsenal first. The general staff reinforces formations over time using available equipment and replacement personnel. Ammunition carried by units is also separate from the national depot: logistics and isolation can prevent local resupply even when depot stocks are high.
These are reasons to check actual readiness and supplies before committing, not a fixed force ratio that guarantees victory.
Set Goals and Review the War Council
The war council considers grounds such as defending an ally, coercion, disarmament, imposing a political status, or conquest. For a territorial campaign, review the provinces you claim along with the chosen grounds.
Before confirming, inspect the expected international response, likely participants, ministers' positions, and projected costs to stability and approval. Breaking an existing treaty is another consequence shown in the review.
A coercive operation stays limited to air and missile action under its targeting doctrine. Authorizing an invasion escalates it into full war at an additional political cost; do not expect the initial limited mandate to start a ground offensive by itself.
Direct the Campaign and Plan the Settlement
Choose Hold, Limited pressure, or Major offensive as the campaign directive. Changes become available at the next monthly review. Across multiple fronts, keep theater priorities on Auto or override them yourself.
Terrain, supply, encirclement, air superiority, and sea control affect how the front advances. Occupation is not automatic annexation: a final peace settlement can transfer occupied provinces covered by your declared territorial war goals if the terms are accepted.
FAQ
Do I order each unit to invade manually?
No. The general staff assigns formations and executes movement and attacks under your campaign directives.
Why did an air campaign not capture territory?
A coercive operation excludes ground combat from its mandate. An authorized invasion is a separate escalation to full war.
Do I automatically keep every province I occupy?
No. Occupation provides military control. Annexation requires an accepted settlement covering eligible declared territorial goals.