Attacking AIs

For those who are new to the game or just curious I will explain how to attack an AI with minimum losses.
When attacking an AI the first thing to do is ensure that all your borders are fortified with troops. Once the battle starts the AI will look for weaknesses along it's border and exploit it. Fortresses make no difference to the AI only troop strength does and the AI is not limited to line of sight. If you have a border city that can't be seen by a real player the AI can see it, so don't scrimp on troops.
The next thing to do is put your ground force together. If it's early in the game (and you don't have artillery) it's best to have a couple of cars piggy backed with a larger number of troops and then charge. If you do have artillery (even if it's one) the best strategy is to put the artillery behind a meat shield (ground forces) and let the artillery start the attack. The AI will leave the city and try to attack your artillery. Your meat shield will take the hit and you can pound the AI with artillery from behind. Don't take the city at this time!!!! Once the battle starts the AI will send troops from adjacent cities to the city that you are attacking and stop. If you are in a battle with the troops that left the city to attack your artillery you are not attacking the city any longer and the AI won't attack until your atillery targets the city again. The AI will bring up troops from the rear cities to reinforce the ones that sent troops to battle and the process will continue with attacking troops getting smaller. By using this method you control when the AI sends attacks at you (by targetting the city with artillery or not). If you take the city right off it will attack that city and once the initial attacking armies, from border cites, end the battle will stop and you will have to move on to the next city and start again against a larger force. Once the AI is petered out you can take the city and will have very little resistance along the way. I've actually sat in one place for over 24hrs pounding away then cake walk through the AI.
Remember not to leave your province to attack until after day change so you will benefit from 24 hrs of high morale.

When I first start in a new game the first 2 things I do is make recruiting centers and then change the status of every AI (using slide bar in deplomacy) to " right of way". I believe on day 7 it will start granting ROW. By making it part of my start up routine I'm not caught in a crunch when I need it and forgot to do it.
When at war with an AI you can use the same slide bar to make peace with the AI. The AI will grant it if you are secure on your borders and are not attacking the AI. It may take a day or two but it comes in handy. The more countries you are at war with the lower your Province morale so no need to be at war with an AI thats not near you anymore or, you maybe waiting on a ally to finish it off.

Generally, if beginner read and get all of those facts you had mentioned, it will get pretty good basis which he could advance later from his own experience.

But there is some things I would like to add, and which have to be mentioned. It refers to order of taking AI provinces. First of all, before you attack an AI, make some plan according to the position of its capital! What is this all about? So first, make sure that capital will be the last city to take down in your conquest. Guided by that, plan your attack. After you take all provinces (except capital) make sure you have left +6, +8, +10 troops (it depends on your economic stability) in all rebel cities (with smoke popping out), then rest of them, send to take capital at the same time (you'll have to play with 'synchronize slide bar'). With this you will get two bonuses. (1) First, most of your troops will get additional bonus moral after capturing capital, finding themselves in occupied ''treasure''. (2) Second, all your provinces (including most recently occupied!) will ''recover'' their lowered moral. Allowing you to pull out your divisions from rebelled cities into cities (read provinces) with greater moral!

All these tips use with tips that Gen. Pain had already mention. Good luck!