Germania

[Stefan the Berserker]

Ah, Germania, always a lot of fun. Here's an interesting strategy I read on the boards at TWcenter and which I've pulled off with great success. If it works, you've won the game, it's as simple as that. When you begin take ALL your troops and gather them into two large stacks near the town below your capital, I believe it's called Mongotiacum. Don't spent money on your towns, you won't be staying in these worthless lands. Buy a couple of spearbands in Mongotiacum and Trier and send them to join your armies while you wait for the troops from Vicus Marcomanni to arrive. Build some diplomats too (another two will do), they'll be invaluable to get money, which you'll desperately need. Now march south into Noricum, but ignore the town, you have bigger fish to fry. Send your diplomats to sell trade rights and maps to everyone you come across, you can often make 5000-10000 denarii with this. March your two armies into Italy and cross the Po river into Julii lands. Attack the Julii and lay siege to both their main towns. Build some rams, attack the next turn and exterminate, you need the money and you an't afford to keep a large garrison. Make Arminium your capital, you are here to stay! By now all the Romans will be at war with so push on to Rome as soon as possible. The Senate army is your greatest foe, the Scipii are probably busy on Sicily and it'll take the Brutii some time to march some troops to northern Italy. Lay siege to Rome, but do not attack. Those walls are deadly! If you're lucky the Senate will do something stupid, like attack your besieging army (you did remember to bring as many troops as possible, didn't you?). Defeat the SPQR army (nasty buggers with good weapons and armor, so use your spearmen to hold the line and flank them with your cav), if you're lucky you can destoy the SPQR troops inside Rome as they join the battle and capture the city the next turn. Exterminate the populace. Congratulations, you've captured Rome, including some very nice 3rd tier buildings!.

By now the Britons will undoubtedly have attacked your deserted holdings in your old lands. Let them! The lands are worthless and you did sell all the buildings, didn't you? Let the Britons waste time and effort buidling up these tiny hamlets. The Gauls will also inevitably attack you with their crappy warband/swordmen combo armies. Easy fodder for your spearbands, just don't let them swarm you. In the mean time your diplomats are running all over Europe selling traderights and maps to everyone they meet. By now you will have built up a large deficit (-10000 k and you'll be losing money for some time) and you need to get out of the red fast! Your armies will have taken losses and you need pecunia to retrain and reinforce your troops!

Retrain and reinforce your army in Rome (be sure to build shrines everywhere, preferably to Wodan) and march on Capua. Be careful here, I suffered a nasty defeat when the Scipii faction leader sallied forth from the town. He's a nasty bugger who can devastate your army. I destroyed him in a second battle but he took a while to die, so don't overextend your forces!

The Brutii will keep sending small to medium sized armies to Arminium, so keep a sizable force there. Hastati and Velites are no match Spearbands and Barbarian Cav, so it's shouldn't be a prob. The Julii are effectively neutered with their two main towns gone. It's possible they've taken both Caralis and Segesta. Take Segesta from them to drive them off the mainland. They may land armies but it's probably just a ragtag band of Hastati, peasants and townwatch, easy fodder for your spearbands (great unit and the key to victory!) so ignore Caralis for now. After you've taken Capua reinforce your army and swiftly march on to Tarentum, siege it, take it next turn, exterminate and march on to Croton. Rinse and repeat.

By now the Brutii are stuck in Greece and the Dalmatian coast and the Scipii are probably holding all of Sicily. Keep a large army near Croton and Tarentum, both the Scipii and the Brutii will occasionally send armies to take those cities. In northern Italy the Gauls are probably making a nuisance of themselves, so help yourself and take the two cities they have there and reifoce the pass leading to transalpine Gaul. Your original homelands have probably been taken by the Britons or have rebelled due to unhappiness. No matter, you now possess all of Italy and you should be making a profit by now and have some cash in your treasury from all those sackings. Build up Rome to make all those highend units you normally can't build until 150 BC. It won't take long, due to the excellent infrastructure in the Roman towns. Now build up an army and a fleet. A small expedition will be enough to finish of the Julii. The Scipii will take more troops but shouldn't really be a problem. And what do you do when you've taken Sicily? By now you're in a practically unassaillable position to take over the world! Be sure to send the Gauls and Britons your regards, preferably by a large army made up of Gothic Cavalry! I'm sure their warbands will appreciate the gesture. :p

I did this also, but keep one of your heirs at the western border and build peasants for Garrison in Germania after you reached Italy. When you attack the roman Cities, enslave their population and the northern villages will soon grow fine... Then you'll be having two Empires, the grown-up Germany and the captured Italy. If you connect the two pieces to one by captuering Iuvavum, Mediolanum and Patavium from the Gauls you have the H.R.E.o.G.N. in the Ancient!

Other emigrations do also work, you can easyly win the short Campaign if you travel to the Balkans and put up somekind of Austria-Hungary in the West or Ostrogoth-Empire in Romania...