Quote Originally Posted by British Mutt + Viking
I used to play French a lot and I found a unique strategy of trading one space for another. I took out the English provinces. but not to keep the lands, but to eliminate the English as a faction when stage two is done. Stage two, I build up some extra troops, then deconstruct most of the buildings in France for the gold. I mass all, and I do mean all, my troops in Flanders and then invade and crush all of England, including Wales and Scotland. In the meanwhile, the Germans generally go crazy and invade my french lands, but it is ok, for as long as I can hold onto Flanders, I am ok. Now, I convert England into my new "base." This way, I lose the farming revenue of France, but I need only worry about defending Flanders, and then I can building up my trade-links, and so on. Once I bring Ireland under my control, I have all I need to smash the HRE out of France. The idea is simple. I trade rich but hard to defend France for poor but easily defended England. England doesn't have the resources for me to conquer the world, but it does have the resources for me to reclaim France and then the world.
Aren't u affraid of re-appearing factions? If the English reemerge and attack your probably poor defended english inland you ll be between a rock and a hardcase imho...Defeat guaranteed...

The french have always been my favorite faction, because Geoffrey de Bouillon (the first 5star general) is my favourite hero.

But my strategy is to ally with the english, garisson flanders and chew down a bit of HRE or Iberia... The continental english provinces are little menace, as long as I keep the way from flanders shut..The english will be annexed but later in the game, after I crusaded, after I reached my frontiers to provence swabia friesland, franconia...

Sometimes I actually haven't fought any cathies, if they r either my allies or busy in other frontiers I go straight for my beloved "goldmines" of tripoly and Antioch and I start shipping to Europe Turkopoles, in order to have a blast with early cathy infantry...