France

[Braden]

Thanks *bows*.

Native Americans as Foes -

This is a word of warning for players as France fighting in North America. The Natives appear weak but approach each battle with caution!

Honestly, foes such as Britain are far easier to deal with as they will fighting (obligingly) in a similar fashion to you and can be blasted to a pulp over a long bombardment from your cannon.

The natives won't permit this, even the mobs fight hand to hand well and swam your small companies en-mass and unless your troops have some experience (and bayonets!) with them they're likely to break and run.

Militia - don't field them if you can avoid it against Native Americans, they will run away.

Line Infantry - your best bet for effective combat. Draw up a tight line of infantry and advance in stages, so that you don't loose cohesion.

Cannon - using several units is very helpful. Later you WILL face Natives with cannon but luckily not too many units so make sure you pound the natives from a distance and use grape-shot as soon as you can.

Hidden Natives - LOTS of Native troops "hide". This is VERY annoying and potentially dangerous as you march past them only to be attacked from the rear! This is why I advance in a tight line, in an orderly fashion over the battlefield... I sweep the battlefield clean slowly and effectively.

Try not to leave large gaps between companies of men as being swamped and overlapped by the natives has a major effect on morale.

[jsberry]

I have had success by concentrating my efforts on the Carribean in the early game. Removing the pirate nation is top priority because Indiamen are basically worthless until Pirates are eliminated. Holland is a natural enemy, so I grab Dutch Guianna ASAP and Curacao shortly after beating the Pirates. That's a lot of sugar and spice right there, and easy to protect. Since Holland is an enemy anyway, I provoke them by trading small parts of Canada to Spain for Flanders. You can defend Paris and Brussels with a strong army in Amsterdam, also blocking Dutch trade. When Britain attacks, trade it Upper Canada for peace (it makes little money, and becomes a hostage that you can get back if Britain double-crosses you). This process should take until 1710 or so.

In 1710-1720, build the universities, trade routes, and infrastructure/buidlings to make France thrive.

By 1720 or so, France should be ready to clear out the Indians and regain Louisiana.