European Campaign 1805-1812

[Fisherking]

This is a French Campaign of Napoleon Total War.

[Fisherking]

I will add some starting details to get things started.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Starting Scenario:


Turns: 168 Early January 1805 to Late December 1812

Faction: France

Allied Factions: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Kingdom of Italy, Batavian Republic, Swiss Confederation, Spain

Neutral Factions: Ottomans, Prussia, Denmark, Hessen, Sardinia, Mecklenburg, Olddenburg, Papal States, Portugal, Saxony

Enemy Factions: Austria, Kingdom of Sicily, Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, Kingdom of Naples

Trade Partners: Baden-Württemberg, Kingdom of Italy, Batavian Republic, Swiss Confederation, Spain

Starting Treasury: 6500

Starting Income: 2753

Regions at Start: (12) Prevence, Piedmont-Liguria, Picrdie-Champagne, Pays d’Oc, Normandie, Hannover, France, Flanders & Wallonia, Corsica, Bretagne, Aquitaine, Alsace-Lorraine

Starting Forces: Army;
Garrisons;Marscille-1 Arty, 1 Mil, Bordeaux-1 Cav, 1 Mil, Torino- 1 Cav, 1 Inf, Reims- 1 Mil, Rennes- 1 Mil, Paris- 2 Mil, Hannover- Bernadotte, 1 Arty, 2 Inf, Strasbourg- Murat, 1 Cav, 1 Arty, 1 Inf.

Field Armies; 1st (Alsace-Lorraine) Bonaparte, 2 Cav, 2 Arty, OG, 1 Grn, 1 Inf, 2 Lt Inf, 2nd(Alsace-Lorraine) Ney, 1 Cav, 1 Arty, 2 Inf, 3rd(Alsace-Lorraine) Davout, 1 Arty, 2 Inf, (Northern Italy) Masséna, 1 Cav, 1 Arty, 2 Inf.

Fleets:(off Span- Atlantic)Vileneuvs w/1st Rate 122, 2 3rd Rate 74s, 2 Frigates 38, 1 Frigate 32, (off Corsica-Med) 2 Frigates 32, 1 Corvette

Agents: 1 Spy, 2 Gentlemen

Objective Regions: France, Austria, Brandenburg, East Prussia, Moscow

Victory Conditions: Capture 35 Regions including the Objective Regions


Abbreviations: Cav= cavalry, Arty= Artillery, Inf= Line Infantry, Lt Inf= Light Infantry, Mil= Militia, OG= Old Guard, Grn= Grenadier, Med= Mediterranean

[Graphic]

The first step is always to consolidate everything you have to start with into one army under Napoleon, or one of France's fine marshals if you prefer (such as Ney ), to fill any gaps in that army with some fresh recruits, and then to set out to make trouble for Austria, with the aim to take her capital Vienna. Once you do that, Austria will automatically make peace.

Don't get preoccupied with the Rhine states early on; you're allied or on friendly terms with all of them, so you can deal with them later; or not at all if you're in a kind mood. Alliances can usually be made easily with Hessen and Denmark in the first few turns, and you should definitely do that. You want to keep a nice buffer against Prussia early in the campaign in order to deter them for as long as possible, while you deal with Schwarzenegger's fatherland.

In fact I strongly advise you resist the urge to conquer the German states as long as you can, or liberate them. If things go south fighting in central-east Europe, it's better to have to retreat to allied territory full of allied stacks to defend you until you replenish; as opposed to retreating your battered army into friendly territory that you're now unable to defend. Remember that protectorate territories count towards your victory conditions.

[James7504]

I play on VH VH. I have found this to be excellent particularly as any autocalc battles leave you with big losses - those big losses and the way units replenish mean finally no roll over campaigns. France is going to need a bigger income and a lot of research done. I suggest leaving our main enemies alone at the start, instead we have a campaign in the Med and in the Low countries to improve our income and eventually taking gibraltar and most of the med trade nodes.

Turn 1 Trade hannover with prussia for melk - then trade your techs with prussia. You can then sell a total of 4 techs each to ottoman and spain for 1 or 2 thousand each, and 2 techs to lesser countires for 500. Rotate some ministers through your justice minister position until you get one with 4 or more stars. After diplomacy we can take baden/wurtemberg with the 3 small armies near napoleon - and use napoleons stack to take zurich - the army in italy move back west of the kingdom of italy as they will join switzerland. We keep each - no protectorites so close to france - we want cash from these. The army that was in honnover now move to paris - all forces with "national" militia will go to join him at paris (will be 5 militia a cav and an arty) to form a home army. Build a trade ship and 2 trade ports in the med and i upgrade any provinces with no road.

Next turn Napoleon marches on the kingdom of italy, your other army there marches to join him. While the baden/wurtenburg force either takes bavaria or heads for tyrol. Bavaria is a useful bulwark and it is allies to you, taking it then liberating means you get some cash and units but you may not want to waste your men doing it. In the next few turns you take venice which you make a protectorate and tyrol which you loot and give to venice. This means you have bavaria and italy guarding your eastern front. I have seen both italy and bavaria taken back by austria but never before turn 60 - though Bavaria usually goes first to saxony, and sometimes russia! Batavia and Hessen hold your north - batavia can be brought into the war when prussia attacks and is a usefull ally (melk can be given to batavia to close the north border completely) - however if left long enough (turn80+) they may turn on you - hessen will attack you eventually as an ally of prussia.

So now you are upgrading your provinces, sending trade ships to as many nodes as you can take (even the spanish ones are ok as the brits dont usually patrol spainish waters) and making more trade ships everytime one is built- convert all the built ports in the atlantic to trade ports also - leave the unbuilt one connected to paris as a future docking yard. You will make yout italian/med capmaign your priority. Taking all of italy, sicily and sardinnia which gets you all the research buildings you need, more ports to make trade ships - leave 1 port as a shipyard- and a good plonk of income. Your last move in the med is to send a force to take gibraltar and fortify it, creating a warship and army recruiting province out of it.

Once you have taken all that - you will find your income is good - over 10k a turn and getting higher as you get more trade ships online and upgrade your provinces. Your income will take a hit as you want to build some ships to keep the brits away from spain, you will need to deploy 3 full armies, 1 to paris for any british landings, 1 to the east to hold Austria and 1 to hold prussia. They will all be troubling you by now - depending on how long your italian campaign took you may get your armies back in time or be forced to build more. Austria will be fighting ottoman and the earliest i have seen ottoman whipped by a russio/austrian alliance was turn 38, i have also seen spain beaten by britain once but they seem to usually land in normandy instead.

From this point you have the money to build and fight in whatever area you want. Take spain and portugal for more income and cut english trade to the south completely? Retake ottoman from austria/russia. Launch your armies on a reverse schlieffen plan through the low countries and on to berlin? From this point on you can do as you like because taking italy and the med makes you a superpower - dont get me wrong you can still lose from this point - but you can field 8 armies with this income, its how you use them that counts.

[ntwfan]

and then to set out to make trouble for Austria, with the aim to take her capital Vienna. Once you do that, Austria will automatically make peace.

It wasn't much of a mission reward for me because after I captured Vienna, the Austrians again declared war the next turn!

You want to keep a nice buffer against Prussia early in the campaign in order to deter them for as long as possible, while you deal with Schwarzenegger's fatherland.

It never works for me. I think the Prussians are hard coded to attack within the first 5 turns, so I end up doing a preemptive strike on them from turn 1.

[Hakomar]

@ ntwfan
Taking Vienna can be a challenge, as well as create further ones.
It is a capital city, and you will probably have a public-order crisis, putting down rebellions and whatnot. However it does make Austria make peace. If Austria and Prussia are allies, then taking Vienna to make peace is a silly idea, because Prussia is meant to declare war on you one turn after, along with it's allies. I would suggest you make them break allies.