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Thread: Campaigns of the Coalition: Russia

  1. #1
    Senior Member Senior Member Fisherking's Avatar
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    Default Campaigns of the Coalition: Russia

    This is the Russian Campaign of Napoleon Total War.

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    I will add some starting details to get things started.


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

    Starting Scenario:


    Turns: 168 Early January 1805 to Late December 1812

    Faction: Russia

    Allied Factions: Austria, Great Britain, Sweden, Sicily, Naples

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

    Enemy Factions: France, Bavaria, Spain, Batavia, Swiss Confederation, Baden-Württemberg, Italy

    Trade Partners: Austria, Prussia

    Starting Treasury: 5000

    Starting Income: 1738

    Regions at Start: (12) Volhynia & Podolia, Smolensk Guberniya, Moscow Guberniya, Little Tatary, Lithuania, Kiev Guberniya, Ingria, Estonia & Livonia, Courland, Belgorod Gub, Belarus, Novgorod Guberniya.

    Starting Forces: Army;
    Garrisons; (Moscow) 2 Arty, 2 Mil, (Odessa) 1 Arty, 2 Inf, (Vilnius) 3 Mil, (Riga) 1 Cav, 1 Grn, 2 Inf, (Kamenets Podolsky) 1 Cav, 1 Arty, 2 Inf.

    Field Armies; (Volhynia & Podolia) Buxhoewden, 2 Cav, 2 HA, 2 Inf, 1 Lt Inf, (Belarus) Bennigsen, 2 Cav, 2 Inf, 2 Lt Inf, (Hungary) Kutusov, 2 Cav, 2 HA, 3 Grn, 2 Inf.

    Fleets: None

    Trade Fleets; None

    Agents: 1 Spy, 1 Gentleman

    Objective Regions: Ingria, Greater Poland, Moldova & Bessarabia, East Prussia, Finland, Galicia, Moscow & Guberniya.

    Victory Conditions: Capture 25 Regions including the Objective Regions


    Abbreviations: Cav= cavalry, Arty= Artillery, Inf= Line Infantry, Lt Inf= Light Infantry, Mil= Militia, Grn= Grenadier, HA= Horse Artillery
    Last edited by Fisherking; 03-15-2010 at 17:44.


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  2. #2
    Member Member Shigemasa Oyamada's Avatar
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    Default Re: Campaigns of the Coalition: Russia

    Of all the factions in NTW, none have I had as much fun in a single campaign than as I had as the Russians. Normally one would think such lack of major opponents the game would be relatively boring, but the Ottomans for instance can be a tough enemy given the time to develop their forces. Most of my expierence as the russians comes from this particular campaign, and it will be the centerpiece of my post.

    First off I completed the first two missions given to you, to take Finland and Moldavia. I completed both of these with minimal effort, and in the relative calm I decided to develop my nation, building up my settlements with lots of markets and paved roads. After a while or so I was annoyed by Napoleon's poor progress against my ally Austria . So, as a diversion I decided to start two military expeditions, both of which were surprisingly difficult and successful.


    The Ottoman expedition

    My Ottoman military expedition started with my stack of units under Mikhail Kutusov, who with his military genius (or command skill, whichever way you prefer to put it) ensured many a victory. My units were coming from Moldavia however, meaning units would have to be used carefully since quality replacements would take much time to get.

    Decided to threaten the Ottoman's capital, Istanbul, since I wasn't feeling too confident about the large stack in Bucharest. However the Ottomans attacked me at the fields to the northwest of Burgas (on the Campaign map its just a big clear area). However the map proved much more tactically interesting. I delpoyed my units a bit tightly on a steep cliff facing a open field. What made this position favorable however was another cliff very close to the right, close enough that forces on the main cliff and the one to the right could have overlapping fire-zones and create a field of death.

    So in short I deployed a majority of my forces on the cliff facing north towards my enemy and a unit of cannons and line infantry and the right-facing one. The Ottomans predictably chose to throw their supieror numbers right in front of my cliff position, and a exchange of fire occured between the opposing forces, but my cannons on the right-facing cliff kept firing canister-shot to flanks of the enemy, ensuring a decisive vistory at minimal losses.

    But that loss seemed to phase the Ottomans little, as in the face of supieror forces (multiple armies, including the Bucharest garrison) I withdrew to the best defensive position I could, the port of Burgas. What happened was short of a miracle- in three consecutive battles against the Ottomans my battered army temporarily crippled the Ottomans (I won't give details of the battles, that'd take too long and I don't feel like destroying my wrists)

    The battles left my army far too weak to take Istanbul, which still had a full-stack, but Bucharest was virtually undefended, so my army marched right in, making Romania a Client-state of mine. There was a long pause after this in which I replenished my forces, feeling quite content with my victories. In that time I produced another smaller army. My plan was to have the replenished veterans of the previous battles confront the main Ottomans forces at the same place while the smaller army would snatch the poorly defended provinces of Serbia and Greece. My main army again, even with more troops this time, got faced with 2 stacks of Ottomans, and retreated into the vicinity of the famaliar port of Burgas.

    Faced with two armies, I decided to hunker down on a large hill in the southest corner of the map and wait for the main army coming from the north to attack me, and after finishing them off in a relatively easy fight I moved my forces onto a plain towards the east to face the arriving army, and in yet another costly but decisive battle I broke two armies. The ironically higher quality of my soldiers sealed the wins for me, something that I would recommend that people play on when facing the Ottomans that somehow pull full-stacks from nowhere.

    My army marching to take the west provinces met little resistance (but I couldn't make Serbia a liberating faction, meaning I had a big territory isolated next to Vienna, which had been recently conquered by Napoleon ) and a few skirmishes in Greece led to the formation of yet another State under my control. As it stands currently, my forces are combining to take Istanbul (I haven't played NTW any time recently, but when I do next I will finish off Istanbul)

    The French Expedition

    At about the same time that I launched my expedition into the Ottoman Empire I decided to put my idle army under Count Von-Bennigsen to use. I gathered a number of ships together with the intent of making few Benelux nations at the expense of Mr. Bonaparte. The Batavian Republic however happened to have too substantial forces for my isolated army to take on, so I took the vulnerable province of Flanders, creating the nation of Belgium.

    It was not to last, as the Batavians swiftly conquered it leaving my army stranded. Undaunted, I moved my army through a bloody path pillaging as I went, and tried to replenish my losses at Marseille. Napoleon, tired of my vanadalism, sent a army under one of his best generals (I think it was Michael Ney) to siege Marseille. I beat back the army, but I feared another so I continued my path of destruction through southern France and up to Brittany, where the army currently sits next to my new nation of Brittany and the British forces at Normandy.


    I know this section isn't so much about an individual's campaign, but it influenced my thoughts on the faction and is the sole source of my expierence so it I couldn't help but include it. Really what I'd have to say about the Russians is that you mainly play a supporting role- Napoleon was very slowly inching his way to me, and as of yet have not threatened any of my provinces. when fighting him though, make good use of artillery as always, since while they can hold the line your infantry typically won't beat the super-soldiers of Napoleon's legions but cannons will make them mulch just as well as against any other unit.
    It is possible to be too much smarter than your opponent. If you give credit for more subtlety than he has, he can achieve tactical surprise by doing the obvious.

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