Has anyone else been playing BiB's Flanders scenario? That's about all I did last weekend. I'd be curious to know what strategies and tactics others have used to achieve some success. Here are some things that have worked for me.
At the very start, leave the alliance with England. While in principle it is nice to have a big, powerful ally, in the event when France and England with their associated allies go to war, which happens within a year or two from start, England cannot project enough of a military presence on the continent with just Calais to protect Flanders.
One of the times I tried working with England I had a combined army (France, Savoy, Lorraine, Genoa and god knows who else) of 150k sieging Antwerpen. This is a Bad Thing.
On the other hand, if I had no allies, France would invade and crush me at the slightest whim, even if I had a royal marriage with her. For a variety of reasons I found little joy when tieing my tiny boat with France, so I soon quit working with her as an ally. More about allies in a minute.
Trying to play turtle - mind my own business and forget about conquering anything in Europe - works so long as all I want is a very small country with a few non-European outposts. Flanders by itself can't generate enough income to expand an empire at any reasonable rate. Or even just develop her own infrastructure, legal counsels and such, beyond a turtle's pace for that matter.
On the religious front - there will come a time to convert to Reformed Protestant unless you want sheer hell for a decade. Those damned rebels which are part of the Netherlands movement have all but invincible morale I've had armies with "very strong" morale, 4x more total troops with 150 guns, overwhelming cavalry (shock) supremacy, still get defeated by those rebels. They are invincible and the only thing I can think to do is let them take over the province and go back to recapture the capitol, leave for the next uprising, repeat, repeat, repeat. It gets real old.
The other reason to convert is to get settlers before colonial dynamism. Since Europe is crammed full with mostly militarially and economically superior nations to Flanders the only long term viable option to expand is to go out in the world. Since Flanders doesn't get an explorer before 1550 I would suck up to England (curiously, leaving an alliance does not reduce favor) and after she knows some 15-20 provinces I don't and I know 28 she doesn't, she'll trade explorations, yielding part of the North American east coast known to me so I can send out a trader.
Taking these points into consideration, my current strategy is this: Plan on conquering a few provinces neighboring Flanders to expand the tax base. Develop a significant enough alliance to deter aggressive large states from invading, but make sure my allies don't drag me into huge conflicts from their own agenda. Convert to Reformed after that is available. Colonize, with the Americas being the most viable at first.
The tactics I've employed in service of these strategic objects include: create military alliances with the larger North German states - Hesse, Pfalz, Hannover, with one more to fill out the allowed four. Get a monopoly in Flanders CoT and put all remaining and new merchants into Venice until I get 5. I don't bother with vieing for a monopoly there as the trading is too fierce and it costs 2x as much to send merchants there.
Allocate all research into land warfare at least until level three, cannon, is reached. After that I may adjust if I want a more economic game, or not if I want to keep up with the military Joneses in Europe and fight a lot. Upon reaching land value 3, build cannon and lots of infantry. Put the spending military spending slider to 100% and pick a fight with Austria.
The goal is to annex Hainaut and Artois. This will require a blitz attack to get those provinces before the allies, then go siege Zeeland as the final bargaining chip to get Hainaut and Artois. I've found Austria values Zeeland too much to get it as a concession with any other province, so I use it to haggle with. In fact, as soon as Zeeland falls into my control I usually immediately get a peace offer from Austria of H&A, which I accept.
Austria just will not give me Zeeland even if I conquer Den Haag and/or Holland in addition to the other provinces. Besides which I would later have the damned rebels on my hands if I do. Luxembourg is always taken over by an ally. I have never been successful when trying to attack Austria on my own, so I make sure the allies help as, er, cannon fodder... Not very chivalrous of me.
This is standard to this point. After here it depends on other countries' wars as to what I can do. Sometimes I get Luxembourg, once I got Champaigne, a couple times Köln, once Kleves.
After I've got 4-6 European provinces I just maintain things and head for the big wide world for a colonization empire. Every game is different here so I'll leave it at that.
I'd be quite interested in what others have done in this scenario. I consider myself as an average player, so what better players do would be of interest to me.
At the very start, leave the alliance with England. While in principle it is nice to have a big, powerful ally, in the event when France and England with their associated allies go to war, which happens within a year or two from start, England cannot project enough of a military presence on the continent with just Calais to protect Flanders.
One of the times I tried working with England I had a combined army (France, Savoy, Lorraine, Genoa and god knows who else) of 150k sieging Antwerpen. This is a Bad Thing.
On the other hand, if I had no allies, France would invade and crush me at the slightest whim, even if I had a royal marriage with her. For a variety of reasons I found little joy when tieing my tiny boat with France, so I soon quit working with her as an ally. More about allies in a minute.Trying to play turtle - mind my own business and forget about conquering anything in Europe - works so long as all I want is a very small country with a few non-European outposts. Flanders by itself can't generate enough income to expand an empire at any reasonable rate. Or even just develop her own infrastructure, legal counsels and such, beyond a turtle's pace for that matter.
On the religious front - there will come a time to convert to Reformed Protestant unless you want sheer hell for a decade. Those damned rebels which are part of the Netherlands movement have all but invincible morale I've had armies with "very strong" morale, 4x more total troops with 150 guns, overwhelming cavalry (shock) supremacy, still get defeated by those rebels. They are invincible and the only thing I can think to do is let them take over the province and go back to recapture the capitol, leave for the next uprising, repeat, repeat, repeat. It gets real old.
The other reason to convert is to get settlers before colonial dynamism. Since Europe is crammed full with mostly militarially and economically superior nations to Flanders the only long term viable option to expand is to go out in the world. Since Flanders doesn't get an explorer before 1550 I would suck up to England (curiously, leaving an alliance does not reduce favor) and after she knows some 15-20 provinces I don't and I know 28 she doesn't, she'll trade explorations, yielding part of the North American east coast known to me so I can send out a trader.
Taking these points into consideration, my current strategy is this: Plan on conquering a few provinces neighboring Flanders to expand the tax base. Develop a significant enough alliance to deter aggressive large states from invading, but make sure my allies don't drag me into huge conflicts from their own agenda. Convert to Reformed after that is available. Colonize, with the Americas being the most viable at first.
The tactics I've employed in service of these strategic objects include: create military alliances with the larger North German states - Hesse, Pfalz, Hannover, with one more to fill out the allowed four. Get a monopoly in Flanders CoT and put all remaining and new merchants into Venice until I get 5. I don't bother with vieing for a monopoly there as the trading is too fierce and it costs 2x as much to send merchants there.
Allocate all research into land warfare at least until level three, cannon, is reached. After that I may adjust if I want a more economic game, or not if I want to keep up with the military Joneses in Europe and fight a lot. Upon reaching land value 3, build cannon and lots of infantry. Put the spending military spending slider to 100% and pick a fight with Austria.
The goal is to annex Hainaut and Artois. This will require a blitz attack to get those provinces before the allies, then go siege Zeeland as the final bargaining chip to get Hainaut and Artois. I've found Austria values Zeeland too much to get it as a concession with any other province, so I use it to haggle with. In fact, as soon as Zeeland falls into my control I usually immediately get a peace offer from Austria of H&A, which I accept.
Austria just will not give me Zeeland even if I conquer Den Haag and/or Holland in addition to the other provinces. Besides which I would later have the damned rebels on my hands if I do. Luxembourg is always taken over by an ally. I have never been successful when trying to attack Austria on my own, so I make sure the allies help as, er, cannon fodder... Not very chivalrous of me.
This is standard to this point. After here it depends on other countries' wars as to what I can do. Sometimes I get Luxembourg, once I got Champaigne, a couple times Köln, once Kleves.
After I've got 4-6 European provinces I just maintain things and head for the big wide world for a colonization empire. Every game is different here so I'll leave it at that.
I'd be quite interested in what others have done in this scenario. I consider myself as an average player, so what better players do would be of interest to me.
