Re: Poland-Lithuania
I've been playing for around 45 years now... what an interesting game!
Poland's position is a rather bleak one at the outset of the game. You're surrounded by potential enemies... proud Germans to the west, aspiring Russians to the east, bloodthirsty Turks to the south and power hungry Swedes to the North! In my game, Austria went to war with me almost immediately. I think this is almost a given for games as Poland as I started two other games where this happened...
The Austrians are pretty wealthy in their own right and control a mighty kingdom by this point in time, but they can be beaten. How though? Firstly, maintain your alliance with Russia so that you're not fighting a two-front war. This is critical. Avoid war with the Swedes as well. They went to war with Courland in my game. When this happened, Courland was so enraged that I didn't come to their aid that they declared war on my nation...
Big mistake on their part. They're easy to pick off.
As for Austria, it's a bit of a tougher nut to crack... the invasion route into your territory is through Hungary and past your fort on the outskirts of Krakow. Get troops down there and start to recruit more in Warsaw for the inevitable conflagration. Once you defeat an invasion army or two, Austria will be licking their wounds and preparing for a second assault. As they do, begin a slow advance down their invasion corridor towards Pressburg, recruiting more troops in Warsaw and reinforcing your army as it makes its advance. Besiege Pressburg and take the city. This will put you on the doorstep of Vienna and also cut the empire in two.
Prepare for the inevitable Austrian counter-attack on Pressburg and hold back a few units in Warsaw. Divert these troops to Silesia and have them sweep down towards Vienna from the North so that you effectively have a pincer formed. The Austrians will be forced to split their troops, a situation which they can ill-afford at this point because they simply don't have the resources to generate a large army. You have effectively defeated them in detail at this point. Lay siege to Vienna once you have a strong enough force and wait it out... be patient! Force the defending garrison to come to you.
At this point, the Austrians are easy to mop up and you control their empire... Build up a couple stacks and feel free to rampage through Prussia. They will likely only have a few stacks of troops and should be easy to annex quickly.
This was the first ten years of my game.
At this point, you have a few different options. The scattered kingdoms of Germany lie to the West, the Russian Bear to the East and the Swedes to the North. I found it advantageous from an economic perspective to enter into a couple Germanic wars at this point. I would go to war with a country (Bavaria for instance), conquer it and then bequeath it to one of my German neighbors in return for protectorate status. In very short order, you will have the entirety of Germany under your banner as Allies and will be in a very strong situation financially. You waste no money on the upkeep of these territories and enjoy 50 percent of Germany's income.
You have several warm-water ports at this point... form trade routes with as many major and minor European powers as you can and invest in building a trading fleet to send to the Ivory and Gold Coasts of Africa. Control of the Ivory Market will help you to enjoy massive dividends. At the same time, invest in your own infrastructure at home. Build up your industry so that the balance of trade is decidedly in your favor. Don't forget to invest in "pleasure" buildings as well to keep the populace content.
Consider building up colonies in India and the New World. Tea is a great trading commodity. You can make a tidy sum of money very quickly. I would suggest going to war with Portugal. Take Goa as a staging point and prepare for aggressive expansion. If you colonize, keep in mind that you will need a strong navy. Build up your forces appropriately in preparation for expansion.
At this point, you have fulfilled your objectives and are an economic powerhouse. The endgame for Poland should be one of pet projects, continued scientific research and the occasional skirmish with other major European powers. You're in a good position for this. You should be surrounded by friendly nations, posses a strong army and navy, and be an economic juggernaut. Enjoy the cakewalk!
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