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Thread: French

  1. #31
    Wojewoda Pruski Member Loucipher's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    I have recently started an Expert Early French GA Campaign, just to give it a try to actually build that Krak (sounds like a daunting task).
    I haven't yet hit 1100s, and the English are history already. I have never asked them to be allies (I can't afford my Influence being hit as the alliance is inevitably broken), so the only option available was to gather the men and start the slaughter. So, as my chronicles recount...
    "La Guerre de Unite", or "The War of Union" as it will later be referred to, broke out in 1094. The loyalist forces comprised led by Lord Godfrey de Bouillon struck towards Anjou. The other army, under command of Lord Grand Chamberlain de Chabannes, marched towards Normandy. The last contingent, led by Lord Baldwin de Boulogne, invaded Aquitaine. The English forces surrendered both Normandy and Anjou, while in Aquitaine the defending Lord Despenser put up a decent fight. It did not save him, however. His forces, beaten in the field, were slaughtered to a man a year after. Recalled from his conquest in Wales, William II himself led his armies to Flanders. King Philippe I, who was commanding the defence at the time, decide that discretion would be the better part of valour, and conceded the province. This allowed Lord de Bouillon to mount a counterattack in 1096. The Battle of Amiens, fought on the rainy day of August 15, 1096, was the last day of the English royal line. Lord de Bouillon used the damp weather to ambush the English army, made predominantly of archers, in a forest. The personal retinues of King William and both of his sons managed to inflict heavy casualties on the attacking French militiamen and spearmen, but eventually failed to break their positions and turned tail. Only 5 out of 60 knights saw the end of the battle. King William died in battle, as his younger son, Prince Henry. Prince William, the older English heir, was captured. English archers, seeing the demise of their masters, retreated into the woods, but were pushed out of them by valiant French soldiers.
    The local English lords saw this defeat of English royal line a reason enough to withdraw their support. They refused to pay ransom for Prince William, who was subsequently put to the sword, together with 223 commoners and knights who were taken prisoner in this battle. The English line ceased to exist.
    The year is now 1097, and new greatness awaits France...
    Last edited by Loucipher; 01-25-2006 at 12:43.
    Loucipher
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  2. #32

    Default Re: French

    Well, one of my first posts....

    I started a campaign (GA, Hard) with the french, after a time spent in the middle east (played as the Bizantines, the Egiptians and the Turks).... it all seems strange now... as, "who are those black guys and why are they killing my men????"

    I started hitting hard, hiring mercenaries to kick the british out of Europe... and bribing el Cid in Valencia (not very accurate, historically speaking, i know) to set foot in the Peninsula. It took me about 10 years to get rid of the English (who went to a civil war, lossing wessex), and erase the Aragonese (I mean, have you eveer been to Barcelona??? that's a great city, we are talking about!!!!)

    Then, I decided i should attempt to get some GA points, so i sent a Crusade headed straight for Tripoli. I put a lot of mercenaries in the crusade, as well.

    When i got to Trebisond, I realised conquering Tripoli was not going to be easy: i had to pass through Turkish territory (Lesser Armenia and Siria) to avoid the big, badass armies the egyptians had in Armenia and Antioch. i finally got to tripoli (after loosing half of my men) and actually managed to set it free from the muslim evil, but then the Egyptians attacked with a 2000+ army.

    I tried to face them with my 1000 men, and it was the worst defeat I've ever suffered. I don't know what went wrong, I ambushed the eggies from behind, with my best cavalry, and they took great casualties but dispatched my horses without routing nonetheless.... their camels made a mess of my mercenary italian infantry and order foot soldiers. They butchered my men and got to my general and butchered him, too...

    When the dust settled, the Egyptians had lost 600 men, while I had lost 550.... but the worst part was seeing my templars run for their life like sissies.....


    So, the crusade was rereleased (i don't know why.... don't crusades dissolve once the target has been conquered???) and sent to Valencia. The same year, the big pain in the &%$ known as the HRE, decided they didn't want to ask for a Visa when visiting Paris, and invaded Ille de France, and Toulouse. My king decided to seek refuge in Paris, and wait for reinforcements but, guess what: the reinforcements decided it was a good time to get rid of the &%hole that had sent 2000 men to die in Tripoli, and organised a civil war. So I lost Toulouse, Aragon, Valencia, Aquitania AND Flanders, along with my best generals (3 five stars, which was all i had at the moment). I managed to send an army of mercenaries to help my king (who had lost influence like you wouldn't believe)... but it cost me Anjou (courtesy of the HRE). Then, while trying to recover Anjou, Ille de France got attacked by the rebels in Flanders.... i hired more mercs in Anjou, and got rid of the Rebels in Ille de France (I accidentally killed them all, oops!) and Flanders. I used Flanders to hire more mercs.....

    And so, started the excecutioning of the rebels.....

    i managed to end the civil war and a second one while, at the same time, repelling the annoying german invasion.... after about 20 years of doing so, the germans went to civil war and got excommunicated (twice, actually), so i managed to grab some land and send a couple of victorious crusades.

    but I haven't been able to recover Aragon, as the aragonese have re-emerged and seem to be in a very good shape.

    And i lost Valencia, as the traitor who replaced el Cid (after his death) won't accept my bribery and remains loyal to god-knows-who.


    It's about 1130... My stupid king and his Council of One (me) have managed to loose an Empire and forge a new one. Week, but so are our nighbours. We should be able to regroup, forget about Holly Land, and build up our economy enough to crash our enemies under the weight of our armies....

    The wheel of history takes yet another turn.
    Last edited by nanoc; 01-31-2006 at 15:32.

  3. #33

    Default Re: French

    Hey everyone.

    I just build Kerak! Date 1177 of our Lord! Two years later i build Notre Dame in Ile de France.

    This is my history:

    I wiped off the british from the continent. Few years of training army and building troop producing buildings and the war has begun. Army from Brittany and Flanders quickly secured Anjou and Normandy. Then, my 5 star general with some spearmen and archers secure Flanders, efectively bottling up the rest of English on british isles, and King with the rest of troops from Anjou attacked Aquitaine. I was warned by the pope, but finishing the english was higher priority. But winners are favoured by our great pope, cause i didnt get excom after siege in Aquitaine. English counterattacked few times but only to be heavy massacred. Most of their royal knights meet their end at spearwall.

    My emissary sealed ceasefire with english. Next on my list was germans.
    Key to western germany lies in burgundy. This province is well developed for troop building, and attack from the heartland of france is difficult.
    But the germans made their move first, invading Flanders. I beat them, taking several hundreds of prisoners(i butchered all). My first couner was to strike Lorraine, and Provence. German garrisons retreated to forts. When Genuese, Poles and Danes invaded german lands, i knew that this war will be easy.
    But conquering Burgundy wasnt easy at all. Despite attacking from Lorraine and Provance mainly, Germans held the position firmly. My army was voctorious, but that losses....I lost one heir, near half of my royal knights, and my spearmen units lost about 30-40% their original number. But i secured French border in the east. From Flanders in north, to Provance in south, with southern army blocking Spaniards and Aragonese in Tolouse.
    It was about 1110, and i headed to my objectives...Holy land.

    Brittany, Flanders, Normandy and Tolouse was set to fleet production, while Burgundy is set to troop producing. Anjou, Champagne, Provence and Lorraine gives me considerable income from farms. In Ile de France i builded all religious buildings (chapter hause) and quickly fortyfying Paris to Citadel, and raising the cathedral..Notre Dame.
    In the meantime, chapter hause produced for me couple crusades, six, to be precise. And when my fleet reached the muslim shore, i immediately declared my first crusade, to Tripoli. Two years later, crusade and all my spare units from heartland landed on egiptian shore. They meet resistance. I taken about 300 prisoners, and near 1000 muslims lay dead on the field. My losses are about 250 men. I was prepared to siege battle, but egiptian counterattack prevented my move. But, in that battle, muslims lost the whole Holy land i think.
    They had two stacks of troops, mainly consisting of beduin camel warriors, and saharan cavalry. they had few units of saracen inf, and few units of desert archers also. My crusaders consisted 2 units of knight templars, 3 order foot, many peasants, 2 fanatic mobs and other crapy stuff. But my regular army, that supporting crusade had many units of hobilars, urban militians, spearmens, archers, even few royal knights. Muslims massacred their cavalry and camels on my spearwall, while my archers peppered them with arrows. As they broke, hobbys and royal knights pursued the remnants of their first wave. I take near 600 prisonres, and killed the sultan.
    And the rest of the battle was bloody hunting. While muslims tried to form battle line, they were intercepted and anihilated by my hobbys and royal knights. In final outcome i had far above thousand prisoners. I slayed them after that battle without mercy. They lost near 1500 troopers in single battle.
    And i sacked Tripoli in next year. Immedietely afterwards, i declared another crusade, this time to palestine. 3 years later, the jerusalem was in chrisians hands.And another crusade, this time, to Antioch. And next was to Edessa.
    When i finished 4 crusade, i was attacked by three stacks of bizantines....and the war isnt over yet. I lost edessa, but i hired many mercenaries in Jerusalem. I conquered Syria, securing Tripoli. War with bizantines was (and is), my biggest problem. They have better troops, and much better generals than me. My best general in Holy land have 4 stars. Their have 9.... Hard times..

    Uff,
    Sorry for my english.

    This is probably the longest post ive ever written.
    "Only the dead have seen the end of war"

  4. #34
    Upstanding Member rvg's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    A quick tip on defending your outremer provinces in High:

    Build a chapter house in Cyprus and get a couple of crusade markers. Whenever Eggies attack either tripoly or antioch, retreat to the fort and hit the province with a crusade. Even though you have the fort, the province is officially egyptian, and is fully crusadeable.

    The reason why I build crusades in Cyprus is because it's very difficult for the eggies to get to it, thus insuring that your crusades never get gutted.
    "And if the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war and not popularity seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives must stop the war." - William Tecumseh Sherman

    “The market, like the Lord, helps those who help themselves. But unlike the Lord, the market does not forgive those who know not what they do.” - Warren Buffett

  5. #35

    Default Re: French

    Thanx for advice. Cyprus is in French hands.

    And War with biz are ending. I launched 2 succesfull crusades(recapturing edessa and capturing eggys heartland in Egipt(that caused great mass rebellion in all muslim lands - even almos lost 30% of their teritory to the rebels). Egypt is no longer a threat, so i concentraded all my efforts for wearing down Bizantine armies. 3 full stacks of mercs were hired, and reinforcements from crusades and from France slowly take the upper hand. First, and very bloody battle was in Rum, where the Biz emperor was slain by javelin. My losses were horrenduous(for every biz soldier, i lost 2 of my men in return, thankfully mostly mercs). When my mercs battled with biz(heavy losses on both sides) i consolidated my crusader goal provinces, establishing the new Jerusalem Kingdom border from Sinai, to Edessa and Siria.

    And then, using my crusade units and reinforcements from france, and freshly recruited turcopoles, i secured that borders. And massacred my mercenaries on Constantinople raid(i attacked constantinople directly, and i razed all provinces in progress(nicea, trebizond, even greece. As for constantinople, i leaved only castle structures, leveling every other buildings, effectively breaking the backbone of bizantines.
    "Only the dead have seen the end of war"

  6. #36
    Member Member Horatius's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    rotorgun most of the soldiers in the First Crusade where French, although not all of the leaders came from France.

    Anyway it was sent to recapture Jerusalem, and it was suppose to help the Byzantines recapture their land from the Turks along the way, Pope Urban II did not care about Saracens, especially since to him Saracens where nothing more then the people who destroyed the Holy Sepelchure.

  7. #37
    Man behind the screen Member Empirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    In one of my earlier games as French on High, Expert, I actually managed to destroy Egypt without ever using a crusade. I held onto Tripoli and Antioch like crazy, Lord Cadoc helping a lot, of course (he's the good general commanding a unit of Order Foot). For a while it was touch and go: I'd lose one of the two provinces (withdrawing to the castle), then take all troops from the other and reclaim it, only to lose the other on that same turn... My main goal was to beat the Egyptians in a steeply-uphill, nigh-impossible war of attrition. I'd try to keep my army intact and do as much damage as possible to the Egyptian armies.

    Whenever I was able to actually fight them on the field (neither one withdrawing before the battle, that is), I would trounce them as thoroughly as possible while conserving my forces. This is not easy of course, but the AI's tendency to make mistakes can be exploited, as well as Egyptian generals be killed. After killing all good generals the Egyptians ever had and a lot of their better troops, I kept facing still large, but quality-wise quite manageable armies.

    This was when I decided to attack Edessa (with a smaller secondary army) and Syria. I groomed another general up from nothing, repeatedly going on raids into Edessa or Syria: Conquer, burn, leave. When he had two stars and the Expert Attacker virtue, I emptied the provinces I had to go to Edessa and Syria on the same turn. This allowed me to take two provinces in one turn while losing only one (Tripoli, withdrawing to the castle). Then I took most of the troops from Edessa to reinforce Syria and used the Syrian army to reclaim Tripoli. I got lucky in that there was no rebellion in either of the newly-conquered provinces (converting them to Catholicism beforehand sure helped!). I now had four provinces but still only two that bordered the Egyptians. After that it was just usual warfare, building more troops, finally killing a lot of Egyptians in a stout defense of Syrian desert dunes, followed by the final push into Palestine, Sinai, Egypt (ransoming the Sultan), then Arabia to finish it all off.

    Several things must happen for this to work.
    1. You must not lose a single battle. Worse, you must not take too many casualties in any single battle, else it's already over. Use Pause liberally.
    2. Build inns in both provinces first. Hire every merc you can, even Urban Militia. You need every warm body you can get. Use junk mercs to draw Egyptian fire if necessary.
    3. The Turks must be friendly with you. And stay that way.
    4. Build up to shipyard in Cyprus ASAP, and shuffle over troops from this, your third province in the east.
    5. Some luck in battles will doubtless help a lot. Capturing the Sultan once or twice can really keep your economy afloat.
    6. Perhaps most importantly, you must also win the war in Europe at the same time. You must destroy the English as quickly as you are able. Your French provinces are there to save your fiscal bacon. The eastern provinces can't support their own financial needs, as you'll be relying on mercenaries a lot.

    Once your eastern armies have conquered the Egyptians, you're in a very interesting situation: You have two bases from which you can operate, and both are mostly self-sustaining. Ever thought about launching a crusade FROM Palestine? You can do it now. And there sure are a lot of juicy targets close by! This might enable you to beat the game that much faster. You could expand west and towards Spain from your ex-Egyptian holdings, while pushing east and north from France itself. If you want, you can even give up France and try to conquer the world using only Eastern-French units!
    People know what they do,
    And they know why they do what they do,
    But they do not know what what they are doing does
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  8. #38
    Member Member GeoBeeChamp's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    KILL THE ENGLISH!!!! Quick!!
    We have met the enemy and they are ours!

    VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!

    Go Saints!
    Go Hornets!
    Go Zephyrs!
    New Awlins Rules

  9. #39
    Member Member GeoBeeChamp's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Also,my first 2 posts
    We have met the enemy and they are ours!

    VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!

    Go Saints!
    Go Hornets!
    Go Zephyrs!
    New Awlins Rules

  10. #40
    Man behind the screen Member Empirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    One would hope for the first two posts of a new member to be a little more constructive...
    Anyway, does anybody think you could probably get a decent, or at least a more-or-less manageable start without killing the English first? I actually never tried: It seems so obvious you have to annihilate them or at least take all their continental holdings. But would it be possible at all not to? You could try to join Ile-de-France to Toulouse by taking Burgundy, and wage war against the HRE, trying to stay at peace with the English. Or you could just stay put and try to develop your provinces first, build some agriculture and trade, recruit some armies, then launch some crusades against the Almohads. Has anybody ever tried that?
    Last edited by Empirate; 07-17-2006 at 10:41.
    People know what they do,
    And they know why they do what they do,
    But they do not know what what they are doing does
    -Catherine Bell

  11. #41
    AO Viking's Tactician Member Lucjan's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    ...You mean people actually play as the french? I always thought they were there for everybody to trounce on and laugh.

  12. #42

    Default Re: French

    To Empirate:

    In my view that would be quite un-strategical approach. Without attacking and destroying English continental holdings, your armies would be tied for defence and you would need to build another army, just for attacking HRE/Almohads, while having some good troops stationed in your French provinces.

    However, it would make for a challenging RPG element to not to attack English, say for 50 years or so...

  13. #43
    Man behind the screen Member Empirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    I just started a new French game and was immediately attacked by the English. I couldn't help it: I had to shove them off the continent. I honestly wanted to leave them alone. But then I decided I just had to kill them, otherwise the game would be unplayable, RP approach notwithstanding. Then I bribed Wales and also took Wessex, which was menacing Flanders too much for my taste.. Mercia had by this time fallen to rebels in a civil war, so I found it was OK to invade. Scotland was bribed as well, for Highland Clansmen (I love them!). The English were left alive in Northumbria, tying up one of my armies. I sought and got an alliance from Germany, which they haven't seen fit to break yet. All the better, coz it left me a free hand in the south to deal with the Aragonese (they had, quite predictably, tried their hand at invading Toulouse) and quickly after that take rebel-held Navarre.
    After that I decided to only strike out against the infidels, never attack a christian-held province. Ile-de-France is producing Crusade markers one after another. Crusade 1 went to Granada and took it easily, despite a massive counterattack from Morocco to relieve the besieged fort. Crusade 2 then went towards Morocco, but the damn Spanish took it before I got there. Did you ever notice that your King loses influence just as if the crusade had failed if it is dissolved this way? Crusade 3 took all the men that were freed by Crusade 2's demise and marched through Spain towards Algeria, taking it without a fight. Crusade 4 has been commissioned to take Tripoli, but has only just started (I only managed to finish a chain of ships just now). There I will build the Crac des Chevaliers, after which I think Palestine, Antioch and Edessa will be due to be CRUSADED!
    I had never used crusades much before. I remember Fargo over at Gamespy describe crusades as stirring up a lot of excitement, destroying much, being a general pain in the ass for your neighbours, creating a big noise but ultimately accomplishing very little. I only now realized how much fun it can be to send crusade after crusade after crusade... And the French are probably best situated to do so: There's always at least one neighbour whose troops you can suck up, but there's also ready access to sea lanes bound for the holy land.
    People know what they do,
    And they know why they do what they do,
    But they do not know what what they are doing does
    -Catherine Bell

  14. #44
    Hammer of the Scots. Member r johnson's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Quote Originally Posted by Lucjan
    ...You mean people actually play as the french? I always thought they were there for everybody to trounce on and laugh.
    Lol I've only played the French once and i fount it really easy, only playing as the Spainish was easier.
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  15. #45
    Believer of Murphy's Law Member Sensei Warrior's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Lucjan
    ...You mean people actually play as the french? I always thought they were there for everybody to trounce on and laugh.



    The French are rather worthless when the Comp controls them. If you play them they can kick major tail. Lots-o-cash, good units, although mostly standard for Catho factions. In my Campaign I swept the English off the continent and banished them to the Island. I will definately agree that they are one of the easiest Factions to play.
    Every weapon has evolved from the same basic design, either a rock or a sharp pointy stick.

  16. #46
    AO Viking's Tactician Member Lucjan's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    lol. "The Island." That's awesome...

    England shall henceforth be known solely as THE ISLAND. Any attempt to counter this edict shall be met with swift and deadly force...and if that doesn't work, we'll just go right ahead and banish you to the island with the rest of those ingrates.

  17. #47
    Believer of Murphy's Law Member Sensei Warrior's Avatar
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    LMAO

    I second the above motion. The Islanders have no reason to be in Aquitaine, Anjou (I mean the Provence even sounds French), and Normandy, and there expulsion should always be made post-haste.
    Every weapon has evolved from the same basic design, either a rock or a sharp pointy stick.

  18. #48
    AO Viking's Tactician Member Lucjan's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    As a brief side note - though I do endorse the banishment of all anglican naives to the island, I do not recognize the right of the french people to exist, their lands shall be taken swiftly and justly by the mighty Polish hordes...after we take Germany first that is...

  19. #49
    Man behind the screen Member Empirate's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Well, so much for my "crusade them to death" approach! My crusades had by now taken Granada, Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, Antioch, Palestine, and Edessa. Another one was on it's way to Egypt, and bang! "your king has died of a disease, leaving no male heir blablabla". Just great. I hadn't been having as much fun with this game in a long time, and now it's over. Damn. Frenchmen just don't seem to be virile enough to manage a family!
    People know what they do,
    And they know why they do what they do,
    But they do not know what what they are doing does
    -Catherine Bell

  20. #50
    AO Viking's Tactician Member Lucjan's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Thats what happens when they're too busy crusading and not home enough to spend some quality time with the wife.

  21. #51
    Defeater of the Wicker People Member The Darkhorn's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Aggravating. I once had a great French GA going. Had continental France and all of the middle east from Egypt to the Big C and Georgia. Fine crusading and killing the infidel. Was waaaaaaay in the GA points lead. Died without an heir in 1442. AAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH.
    We are men of action...lies do not become us.

  22. #52

    Default Re: French

    Hi all,
    Its the first time I've played as the French. I think my campaign has started reasonably well at the moment.

    French, Domination, Hard

    The French in 1087 managed to defeat the English on the continent, I didn't take any prisoners I did have a fun battle with the the English fielding 4 or 5 hobilars and some spearmen, they originally held the highground. My units were 2-3 UM, archers and RK, I sent my RK around the base of the hill, focusing part of the English forces on my RK. While my infantry slowly crept up the hill so that the English were in range of my archers. There was utter chaos in the English forces, seems the AI was all confused about who to attack or where the pesky arrows were comming from. They were just standing there then reforming their lines all over the place. So my RK the English flank as my UM marched over the crest of the hill, the spearmen where nearly wiped out to a man by a single UM unit. The hobilars were then by my UM's and RK, using my RK to kill the enemy general. The English were forced off the hill, the hobilars were stubborn lot up the hill to be driven back by my archers with my UM guarding them. The English finally decided to the field.

    By 1093 Flanders was pretty well defended against an English counterattack, while I built up fortifications along my borders with other factions. My emissary was busy bribing the Scottish and Welsh. The English sued for a ceasfire in 1094, by offering their princess. I decided to decline the offer, the English were busy putting down revolts up until 1097. While I was having small skirmish battles with the HRE, who decided to call a ceasefire and form an alliance.

    In 1097 the English thought they could teach me a lesson, by invading Flanders which was heavily defended with Spearmen, UM Sarge's and archers plus whatever RK I could field that weren't guarding Ile de France. The English army crashed headlong into my centre, it turned into a real slugfest. You invade my provinces then no quarter will be given, the English are no more. The French are now the masters of what was once English dominion. With Sweden, Norway, Prussia, Lithuania joining my fledlging Empire.

    Its 1114, there is peace in Western Europe, should I go on the offensive or wait until the HRE attacks me. I plan to build up my fortifications in the border regions while building superior troop building in poor income provinces, building improved economic buildings in the richer ones.

    Though I am considering a blitz then scorched earth move, against HRE provinces with keeps, troop building facilities etc

  23. #53
    Upstanding Member rvg's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Taking and keeping Lorraine and Burgundy might be a good idea. The rest of HRE can be safely left to the vultures (usually Italians and Hungarians).
    "And if the people raise a great howl against my barbarity and cruelty, I will answer that war is war and not popularity seeking. If they want peace, they and their relatives must stop the war." - William Tecumseh Sherman

    “The market, like the Lord, helps those who help themselves. But unlike the Lord, the market does not forgive those who know not what they do.” - Warren Buffett

  24. #54
    Member Member Tsavong's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    I try and get as much of the HRE as i can, most of the time trying to avoid being excommunicated it also helps to attack when others are attacking the HRE as well

  25. #55
    Praetorian on Crusade Member Oshidashi's Avatar
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    Default Re: French

    Quote Originally Posted by rotorgun
    There was also a disorganized mob of pilgrims, preists, and peasants that rampaged through Europe under one Peter the Monk, from France. They slaughtered many jews on their way to the Holy land, stealing their wealth to help finance the "pilgrimage". They were the ones you speak of. I'm not sure about the Germans though. I'll have to do a bit more searching.

    I hope you don't mind the "lecture". I thought you might be interested in any case. You should check out the website I mentioned. It's a great site to begin a study of this fascinating period of history.

    Have a nice day!
    Rotogun
    You'd better pick another website because the information on the first Crusade with Peter the Monk is inaccurate. In short, they didn't kill jews but fellow Christians (mostly in the balkan region). They didn't need their wealth to finance the pilgrimage because they had aquired huge wealth before going on Crusade. The fighting with fellow Christians occured cause of several reasons, I gotta go now, but I can reccommend the book "The Crusades" by Robert Payne.

  26. #56

    Default Re: French

    Yeah, I also tried as the French, but I think luck just wasn't on my side..

    Playing XL Mod )of course)

    I blew thru Normany/Anjou immediately and stocked up for Aqua.
    At this point, HRE allied with me, so I knew my east border was generally secure...

    I pestered the English king with both princesses and actually got the English to ally with me, so I thought I was good.. but just wait...

    I was cranking out troops and went after the Genoese and finally said to heck with it and took out the Papacy as well..

    So while I took out the Genoese/Papacy, the Germans took out the Venetians/Hungarians and followed me down the Adriatic.

    At this point, the ALmos had conquered the Spanish, and the Aragons..

    So the Almos had 8 armies sitting on the border and built up a large Atlantic Navy and wiped the English Navy out...

    Guess who they went after while I was finishing up the Papacy... you guessed it.. me...

    They suprised me in taking out with multiple attacks, took me out of Flanders/Normany while I fought them back out of Aqua and I even took over Navarre/Aragon...

    The seem weak in the rest of Spain, since out batles have been EXTREMELY bloody...

    From the movement of his troops, I know he easily have 5 more full stacks, so if I hit him in the north , he'll just re hit me in the south and retake his provs I took off of him...

    So It was looking a bit grim.. I felt lucky when the game blew out instead of saving..:P

    +++++

    So as far as Blitzing the English, I also did it quite fast with XL, and just pester them for an alliance, so they leave you alone.

  27. #57

    Default Re: French

    HI, new to this forum, as well as new to the game...
    I started off allying the English, and then the Milanese(bloody traitors) and the Spanish. The Portugese got wiped out very quickly...and HRE remained neutral for a long time. So i was able to muster enough troops to defend against the traitorous Milanese, took Genoa(lots of trade established by the enemy..hehe), then did the same for the Danes(Brunges).

    I want to expand..since im ranked 2nd after the Mongols in military and economy...but i risk excommunication! I've seen NPC states being excommunicated, but they've never been..crusaded upon. So should i just do it? The Milanese is really annoying, as well as the Danes. I reckon i can take out Spain too, cos they're also fighting the Moors, whos my ally.

    BUT EXCOMMUNICATION!

    BTW, Scots guards blew my mind out...used one unit against 2 units of peasants...took out nearly one entire unit before melee, and still win...crazy

  28. #58

    Default Re: French

    My only experience with playing the French is in GA mode. I agree, get rid of the English - only from the continent (leave them the island). The pope will warn you, but give the English a princess for a ceasefire.

    After two years you should find defense of your kingdom far easier. Now is the time to start training troops (actually, you should have been training from the first turn) and get trade routes set up (3 of your coastal provinces should be building ships). At the same time, you should build towards a chapter house in Ile de France, as successful crusades make up quite a lot of your GA points. Also, you get GA points for building Notre Dame, so this serves two purposes.

    Make sure that one province builds archers, another spears, and another cavalry. You should have enough provinces. Also, urban militia should be built everywhere, as the town watch keeps loyalty up, so serves two purposes.

    Farming upgrades and trade routes are vital - it will allow you to save money in the early years. It will be enough to see you through a lot of the wars you will be forced into. Make sure you have defensive armies set up on all your bordering provinces - you don't have to worry about coastal provinces so early. Also, the AI is quite bad at amphibious attacks. However, you should try to maintain a strong naval fleet close to them to blockade any invasions.

    Your first crusade should be sent to Tripoli. If you have managed to get your ships lined up all the way from Toulouse to the Middle East, then its a bonus. However, I never manage it, and end up marching my crusade across Europe. This has never been a problem. Actually, once I was at war with the Holy Roman Empire, and managed to absorb quite a lot of their troops due to the high zeal in their provinces (even if you are at war, the AI faction will let you pass as long as it is Catholic).

    As your crusade makes its way to Tripoli, make sure you do your best to get a line of ships from mainland France to the Middle East. If your crusade is successful, build a port first - the Egyptians are likely to attack you.

    Building the citadel should be no problem if you give this priority after the port is complete. It may take up to 40 years, but you will manage it easily. Just make sure you hold Tripoli. If you lose it, you have probably lost your chance to build the Krak.

    Hopefully the Byzantines are winning their war with the Turks, allowing your crusade safer passage. Be careful about low zeal in Byzantine territory - it will reduce your forces. You are not advanced enough at this point to raise zeal in provinces.

    Next, crusade to Palestine, Antioch and Edessa. I would do them in that order. You should be building Notre Dame and the Krak at the same time. Also, a crusade to Syria would help to reduce the number of borders you have (even if it isn't one of the GA goals).

    Strange thing happened to me after I launching my crusade to Edessa. The Egyptians lost the province to the Byzantines, and I ended up declaring war on them automatically. So, my crusade ended up fighting its way through Constantinople. I captured it (the AI abandoned the province as it moved most of its troops to Bulgaria on the previous turn), and sacked the place... I felt so dirty... the money was too good, but history will judge my king harshly...

    The HRE will invade. So will Aragon. Just defend. If you can, take some of their provinces (I managed to grab 3 from the Germans before asking for a ceasefire). Basically, turtle in Europe until you have sorted out the Middle East. Then look for opportunities for further expansion (ex-communicated factions are a good start).
    "There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others", Niccolo Machiavelli

  29. #59

    Default Re: French

    For vanilla, the fastest way to domination is to get rid of the English (and indeed dont conquer England more than perhaps Essex), then gather as many mercenaries as possible and get rid of the Aragonese, and if the HRE doesn't attack you the Spanish too. Then take out the border regions of the HRE, and then the Italians. After that, take care of the Almohads (if they have not collapsed under a civil war as it usually happens) and consolidate, giving Switzerland priority for troop production (Swiss halbs) and using the rich Iberian and Italian regions for maritime trade (after building farms), while making CH.knights in Ile-de-France and Toulouse. If you play expert, someone may bother you at this stage (may well be Byzantium), and you'll need to fight them. Eventually, however your eastern foe will be in trouble at 1230, in which time simply stretch your tentacles all the way to Constantinople via Hungary and secure also Poland that makes a perfect border region for the steppes (unlike the rebellious Lithuania). It is then a matter of time and taste to conquer the rest with the army composition of your choice.

    For GA, there can be many ways, and the campaign can be quite fun and exciting, expecially if one mods the peasants out and is not bent on conquering more than GA goals ask him to. It is well known that France has the most fun GA goal set.

    Last edited by gollum; 02-15-2010 at 19:16.
    The Caravel Mod: a (very much) improvedvanilla MTW/VI v2.1 early campaign

    Please make sure you have the latest version (v3.3)
    Since v3.3 the Caravel Mod includes customised campaigns for huge and default unit settings

    Download v3.3
    Info & Discussion Thread

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