I'm working on two German games right now and have had a few failures as the Germans as well, so i'd thought I might contribute my store of experience. Anyone else is welcome to share their knowledge as well.

HRE-Early.

Early is where I have the most experience as it is when I almost always start.

The Empire in early has both good and bad. It is fairly large and has access to potential targets on all sides. Swabian Swordsmen will rip through anything so long as they are not swamped by armor piercing units and do not take the brunt of a cavalry charge, although they do require a bit of teching to get. You have access to both seas, making trade a good goal in lieu of conquest.

On the bad side of things, the size of the Empire makes your borders long and in some cases time-consuming to reinforce, as your troop production centers (such as they are) are Swabia and Burgandy, in the center of your holdings. Targets on all sides means potential enemies on all sides, not to mention that you and everyone around you is Catholic. The Pope will scream bloody murder every time you try to expand, and if you continue on your rampage he will excommunicate you, which will lead to you being a target for everyone else. In a few games more than once i've started beating on one faction, then had everyone else knocking at my doors. With a catapult.

Which is why I suggest you keep fairly low during the first few decades, and build up your production and troop strength, in particular Swabia as it is there that gives you Swabian swordsmen, which should be the backbone of your armies throughout the early period. Get the castle as soon as you can with swordsmiths and armories, and then build nothing but those Swabians. Use your Emperor as your general, but back him up when Prince Conrad comes of age in a few years.

Complete turtling can be rather boring however, which is why I have compiled a list of possible targets:

The Danes.
With only one province right to your north it appears as if the Danes might be easy pickings. Yes and no. While it is true they only have one or two chances to win against you, they also have access to those lovely Norsemen, specifically the Huscarls, Landsmenn, and Carls. These monsters will rip through anything anyone can and will send at them for the first few decades, and the Danes even start out with a few units of them. In contrast all you'll have is a few piddly Urban Militia and some spearmen. The other Danish problem is their king. Apparently the old goat has some viagra in his pocket because he will be pumping out princes with shiny new lances and armor like there is no tomorrow. So if you're going after the Danes, you're going to be very hard-pressed. If you wait too long you'll have fifty little squadrons of royal knights to deal with. If you try to off them right off the bat, you'll have only one or two royal knights, but Viking warriors to deal with. The first time I tried tackling the Danes I simply gathered all units I could spare (I.E every unit except the bare-bone 100 needed in each province to keep order) and marched north with my king. Big mistake. The Danes simply wiped everyone off the map. Literally. I didn't survive that loss and struggled on for a few years until the French snuffed me out. So what do you do? Simple. pump out as many units as you can as fast as you can, and march north with around twice to three times the men the Danes have. Usually they will retreat to the castle if you have enough men, and usually the castle will fall the next turn, owing from lack of supplies. (At least, that has happened to me.) Problem solved, and even though the Pope will yell at you, the Danes will be gone before His Holiness can do anything about it. After the Danes you'll have nothing but rebels in Scandanavia to deal with, but a word of caution. If you don't garrison Scandanavia with a good amount of men you'll have rebellions every day of the week. So only bite what you can digest, so to speak.

The Bohemians
Again, only one province to consider, but easier, MUCH easier, due to the fact that first of all they have no heir, second they only have a few spearmen units, and thirdly you have your king and a few spearmen of your own nearby. If your careful and lucky you should wipe them out with nobody noticing. With Inns you can get the Bohemian Bowmen, a very excellent addition to any armies forces as stop-gaps and skirmishers. They can even hold their own in a fight against the early spears and militia.

Rebel Provinces
All is not lost, however. Prussia and Pomerania are rebel provinces and thus nice targets. If you're playing on GA mode they will help complete both Drang Nack Osten and HRE. Go for them as soon as you are able, and best of all they can form a corridor to the pagans in the east, just waiting for a crusade...

All things considered, your first priority is to consolidate your currant holdings. many of you generals have fairly low loyalty. Hand out those titles to those with the lowest and start building.


After you base is established, you have a few options.
if you manage to get past the Hungarians and Poles everyone to the east will be Pagan or Orthodox. Plenty of pickings due to the many small kingdoms such as the Lithuanians and Cumans. But be prepared to bring along plenty of knights and other horsemen. The plains of eastern Europe are home to some nasty special horses.

If on the other hand you are looking towards the West, you will have to deal with His Holiness first, in fact sooner or later you WILL have to deal with His Holiness, the Pope. But DO NOT under ANY circumstances drive south until your empire is secure, you have those Swabians, and you are powerful enough to at least deter or absorb any attacks brought on by excommunication. Be prepared too for rebellions across the Empire. I suggest doing the battles yourself and simply kill all the prisoners, and if any are left execute them. This will drive your dread rating higher, and make it less likely for people to rebel.

The Venitians have a Citadel in *gasp* Venice. Expect a long seige and/or bloody assault. However you should go for the Pope as quickly as possible. Wipe him out, and when he re-appears torch one small province that he may be re-appearing in (prefferably the Papal States) and let him have that, assassinate him or wait for him to die of old age watching the borders. Leave him be though and make peace with him. As soon as either your Emperor or currant Pope dies you'll be back in the catholic fold again, although perhaps not as in good standing.

From Germany and Rome your goals are up to you.

Viel Gluck!