Having trouble with Polish campaign.

[TenkiSoratoti]

Ok ive got the diffculty level on Expert and am playing the polish.
You may have read my earlier posts about this but this is getting hard.
I have mangaged to take over the whole of europe bar spain and quite a bit of England (which the French have taken over).
Im on a budget of around 3000 florins which is quite enough. The pope hates my guts and i have been excommunicated.
The spanish have now eaten into my empire from the south west and they have 2 very big armies rampaging my lands, every turn they are taking provinces from me. I cant leave a province unguarded or there will be a revolt when the loyalty is already 200.
Daaaaah so much hard work, clever diplomacy and tactical victorys against the odds seems to be deteriating.
But its ok because the game is saved at the point where i have actually conquered most of europe, but the next turn i make will have the spanish moving into my lightly garrisonned provinces.
Now the reason for my expansion is because my florins kept going below the 0 mark and taking over new lands was my only option (and because i normally only play multiplayer so i have no experience) to gain more money.
How do i stop the spanish in their tracks?and how do I stop the constant rebellions? (which i can put down but they weaken my armies every time unitl theres one unit left).
Should i start a fresh with a different nation? the only problem is that i like the polish (although im english) the poilish seem to give me luck in battle (especially in the early stages of my MTW multiplayer career).
Perhaps my brain aint got what it takes to be a good politician, leader and empire builder.
To put it all in perspective i need help dearly

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"The good fighters of the old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an oppurtunity to defeat the enemy."

[maroule]

hum, in a nutshell :
- build spies to boost your provinces loyalty and leave no more than 100 people per province. That should free up forces. Disband useless units and mercs to cut expenses.
- do what the spaniards are doing : attack a lightly guarded province and roam around.
- Once the pope or your king dies and the excom is removed, try not to attack christians up until your empire is really stable (or attack excommed factions).

[MonkeyMan]

depends if you think the spaniards have a weakness or not and if you have time. It seems that militarily the spanish havean advantage over you, I'd be inclined to kill their royals if they are in short supply, by destroying their armys by shipping into where they are(with mercs if you have to) or some well trained assasins (guess you don't have inquiz.). I've seen a few seemingly unstoppable opponants killed this way or thrown into civil war / revolt from losing a big battle or two in the right place. Of course starting again with a proper faction is always wise. I'm having a great time with the turks at the mo.

[MonkeyMan]

with the rebellions, check where your king is and make sure he's in contact with oter places ar best you can - i.e. costal region with a port in the middle of the empire.

[Cadarn]

Tough one. You need to know if the Spanish have a stronger economic platform than you first. If they have more income coming in and have provinces turning out units with good armour upgrades you need to take them on sooner rather than later. Of course, if you think you can out-produce them you can fight a longer war of attrition.

If you are still in the 12th century then your superb Polish Retainers could still be a decisive factor in battle. Try and take the Spanish roving army on in territory that suits you.

I learned the hard way that Polish expansion cannot be maintained without a good economy, so here are a couple of pointers should you wish to restart your campaign.....

Your first target should be Pomerania with it's access to the Baltic Sea, Denmark/Sweden and onto the North Sea and the UK. Use it to produce trade facilties and loads of ships to set up trade routes along the Northern European coast.
Then, ignore the other nearby rebels and wipe the Hungarians out. Hungary and Carpathia are both rich lands and have iron resources which will enable you to build Weaponsmiths later on.
Next stop should ideally be Kiev with it's access to the Black Sea and Southern European trade routes, but if a strong ally holds it bide your time and go for Lithuania instead as it can be turned into a very productive trade centre.
Sweden is also ripe for the taking, then you can finish off the Danes.

Keep the HRE and the Byzantines allied at all costs while you expand. The Byz will cover you against Islamic agression whilst the HRE is a great buffer against attacks from the West. Keeping peace with France and England is good as you can plonk your ships near their ports to provide you with trade outlets for Lithuania, Sweden, Pomerania and Denmark.

If you can attack Novgorod without losing the friendship of the Byz then do it as you can secure your northeast borders.

In my latest campaign, the Byz are under heavy Egyptian pressure and I'm having to send armies to relieve their beseiged garrisons. I will soon be ready though to land armies east of Constantinople (from Kiev) which will act as a buffer to keep the Egyptians at arm's length whilst I take Constantinople for myself (bwuhahaha !)

Hope this helps.

[TenkiSoratoti]

Wooow ok ill do that thanks alot http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

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"The good fighters of the old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an oppurtunity to defeat the enemy."

[ShaiHulud]

This always worked for the English, historically.... CONTROL THE SEAS!

Spain won't be pushing everything to your borders if you raid and trash thru their home turf. Build a throwaway army, land behind their lines, pillage and plunder til you die! Encourage revolts there with max taxes before you raid the next province. It just might be the start of a new Almohad or Egyptian, etc in their backyard. Try it, you'll like it! hehe

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O stranger, Go tell the Spartans that we lie here, obedient to their will.....

[This message has been edited by ShaiHulud (edited 10-29-2002).]

[TenkiSoratoti]

thankyou http://www.totalwar.org/ubb/smile.gif

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"The good fighters of the old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an oppurtunity to defeat the enemy."

[ShingiOnimushi]

have u put ur setting on Auto-tax
that will relieve pressure of internal revolts.
onces thats done i'm guessing u have quite sizeble armies free
best tip i can if is gather at provinces that have massive hills or rivers u can slow down the assault long enough to form a counter attack army
once the spanish r out of fuel - chances r u the spanish will be as good as dust
the spanish will be crushed within about 20 years

[Satyr]

Do NOT put on auto-taxes. The comp will put on as many taxes as your provinces can bear and will lead to revolts. You can selectively raise taxes in a few VERY loyal provinces for a while until you get back on your feet financially. If you leave them high your governers will get bad v&v's.

[Duke of Cornwall]

Cadarn's post was pretty good.

Your immediate worry are the two rampaging Spanish armies. Two things (one repated from Cadarn):

1. Pick your ground and face them. Navarre and Aragon would give you a real defensive bonus. Even if you loose the battle, you should be able to significantly reduce the number of Spanish troops.

2. Face them with the right type of troops. Find out what troops types the Spanish have and get the counter-troops to the front lines ASAP.

A possible alternative might be to withdraw BEFORE the Spanish attack. Crank up taxes and pull back your troops. This tactic may leave the Spanish facing buffer provinces manned by rebel or French troops.

Remember, in the long run you will not succeed without a healthy economy. Don't neglect it.