Everyone beats on the French

[reconspy]

Hey all,

I started a French, Hard, Late, GA campaign a couple of days ago and boy did this campaign reassure me of the awesomeness of this game (though you guys have all probably heard it before). http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
I started making troops right away, knowing that someone was going to attack me, but I had no idea just how badly the rest of Europe thought of the French. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/joker.gif

The Italians attacked me in Provence right away, though they would be defeated in detail in the years to come The English and Germans attacked the following year in Flanders and Ile de France This went on for several years, all three of them would raid me and I'd have to retreat to the castle but eventually my two armies would come to the rescue. The Swiss decided to join the fun also, launching a massive army of swiss pikemen, armoured pikemen and halberdiers led by their uber 8 star king, only to be utterly destroyed by my 6 star general the following year. I managed to hold them all off for several years.

A snapshot of 1330:

Europe doesn't like me.
http://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-1330-atwar.jpg

English civil war after the flop in Flanders.
http://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-1330-englishrebellion.jpg

Not so quiet on the eastern front.
http://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-1330-easternfront.jpg

However, if things weren't bad enough, the Aragonese decide to raid Toulouse. Things were looking very grim for the French despite their resilience.

Diplomacy wasn't working with anyone, but everyone gets the point when they get their arses handed to them, apparently. The Germans learnt this in 1331, their army of around 1800 attacked my rising star of a general in Burgundy. Though outnumbered 3 to 1, the French absolutely smashed the Germans.

The following year, one of their princes wanted to marry a French princess, citing The Holy Roman Empire thinks you've had enough and She's hot, that one, douchebags. Needless to say, I accepted.

http://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-hredouchebags.jpg

1332, the final year, lucky I saved here. My King and his only heir were trapped in Flanders, The Germans had already taken Champagne a few years earlier, and the Italians in Provence and Burgundy.

Now, I had an army in Ile de France ready to help out my King in Flanders and my 8 star bad boy in Toulouse with veterans, including Hobilars that would make a green unit of Chivalric knights blush.

http://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-badboy.jpghttp://members.optushome.com.au/reconspy/france/fra-badboy2.jpg

Now just for laughs I put both armies into Burgundy. The Italians, naturally, fled the field.

My real question is in Flanders. The English assaulted the castle, and after a hard fight the French were victorious. But my King did not die in combat, nor his heir. But when it went back to the campaign map, it said he did die, and he had no heir so my faction disintegrated. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/angry.gif

Am I missing something? Anyways, back to 1332 I guess, doing it right this time. What a tumultuous 9 years. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Laters.

[Papewaio]

If you have no were to retreat to then you are wiped out to a man after the battle if you lose.

[desdichado]

maybe the siege ended even though you repulsed the assault. Did you still have troops in the castle after the battle or did they all die of starvation in the same year. Only thing I can think of to explain it.

[reconspy]

The year the English assaulted the castle in Flanders was the same year that it was meant to fall. Maybe that's it. However, I did win the siege by defeating the English. All my troops were still inside, my King nor his heir died in that battle.

They weren't cut off either, I still had two provinces adjacent to Flanders (Normandy and Ile de France).

[Papewaio]

Well if it was the last year of the seige you won the battle then dropped dead after all the rats ran out...

[reconspy]

Oh I see, damn.

Thanks.

[Papewaio]

French are excellent to play.

No special units but a very difficult starting position.

Need to have a strategy and look at wiping out the Brits as quickly as possible... or at least leaving them with 1 province.

Your influence increases as you gain victories. So if you have well protected provinces and are winning a war then they should backoff.

Always be ready for your next invasion. Don't build, build, build without being on the lookout for which easy province you can pick up and remind your opponents that you are on the prowl.

[el_slapper]

France is really cool for action-packed games. No loooong building as with the danes. 20 years after the beginning of the game, you're either doomed or invincible. But those 20 years will have been full of action.