strategies for england

[unmerged(11607)]

is there a link for england strategies. tried the search engine but only found stuff for euII.

haven't played much, still do not quite have it figured out. as england, wanting to change from catholic to prot, had to wait as scotland and france were allied. around 1570 scotland went to changed from catholic, so I assumed the alliance was broken and I could change. had the expected revolts, including a size 10 rebel army kicking the ass of my size 45 army in calais(completely destroyed it). then france dow'ed me, which I expected, and figured with luck I could still keep calais as I had a sizable army left. didn't realize scotland and france were still allied, scotland attacked the marches, routed an army 10,000 men larger, three more revolts cropped up, 2 of which I lost, lost to naval battles in a row to france, one with 42 ships to their 15, they landed troops at wessex, I was almost out of money and completely out of manpower so a loan was of no immediate helped, tried asking for help from holland and spain and they both laughed at me so I quit. this was on easy. is this an abberration or did I screw something completely up. was at level 8 army and level nine naval(had 5 naval manufacturies built, all counties promoted to legal counsel, a fine arts academy in london, level 2 fors everywhere, even 2 colonies in america and a full-fledged province in the gold coast of africa so it is not as if I am sitting around with my thumb up my butt). any help will be appreciated.

 

[unmerged(11600)]

is there a link for england strategies. tried the search engine but only found stuff for euII.

haven't played much, still do not quite have it figured out. as england, wanting to change from catholic to prot, had to wait as scotland and france were allied. around 1570 scotland went to changed from catholic, so I assumed the alliance was broken and I could change. had the expected revolts, including a size 10 rebel army kicking the ass of my size 45 army in calais(completely destroyed it). then france dow'ed me, which I expected, and figured with luck I could still keep calais as I had a sizable army left. didn't realize scotland and france were still allied, scotland attacked the marches,

The alliance was indeed broken when Scotland changed religion, but...

Their relations with France must still have been high enough for the alliance to be reformed, and then later on the war started. Had you been prepared for it, what you might have done is build up your relations with Scotland, and then when they convert so do you, and then you immediately form an alliance with them. That would have covered your back when France attacked.

-Pat

 

[unmerged(11607)]

The alliance was indeed broken when Scotland changed religion, but...

Their relations with France must still have been high enough for the alliance to be reformed, and then later on the war started. Had you been prepared for it, what you might have done is build up your relations with Scotland, and then when they convert so do you, and then you immediately form an alliance with them. That would have covered your back when France attacked.

-Pat

yes, I should have paid more attention to the alliance reforming, but I still think I had army enough to hold off scotland if my armies, which outnumbered the opposition,hadn't lost every time. does this have somnething to do with lack of stability. I had both army and navy fully supported, in all cases I had more firepower and shock value(did not have any exceptional leaders but neither did the enemy. were alll these defeats just anomalies, or is this to be habitual. if it is, I cannot imagine playing the harder levels.

 

[unmerged(21523)]

I think you may have said this, but make sure your army and navy maintenance is set at 100%. How were your land/naval tech levels compared to France's and Scotland's? If you'd fallen behind in tech, that could explain losses. Also look at the composition of your army. If you had mostly infantry and the French/Scots were mostly cavalry, then they could easily have defeated you. Artillery also makes an army tougher to defeat.

 

[unmerged(11607)]

I think you may have said this, but make sure your army and navy maintenance is set at 100%. How were your land/naval tech levels compared to France's and Scotland's? If you'd fallen behind in tech, that could explain losses. Also look at the composition of your army. If you had mostly infantry and the French/Scots were mostly cavalry, then they could easily have defeated you. Artillery also makes an army tougher to defeat.

yes, 100% maintenance, and superiority in cavalry and artillery. In one battle against 17,000 rebel infantry my army of 26 inf, 10 cav, and 9 art, not only did I lose, but had 13 units of casualties compared to barely one unit for the rebels. As far as tech levels, I do not know how to find opponents levels. However, I was diligent in applying maximum funding to research, and if I was still behiind on easy then I give up.

 

[Nikolai II]

However, I was diligent in applying maximum funding to research, and if I was still behiind on easy then I give up.

IIRC difficulty level just changes the costs for armies and maybe colonists andstuff, (and starting money), most of the game is still the same.

And I guess you have spread you research a bit, while France has a tendency to go for the land military, and each of the steps 9,10 & 12 adds immensely to infantry fighting firepower as compared to 8. (9 is almost two times as powerful, 10 is 2½ times as strong and 12 is way ahead.)


Most likely your problem is due in part from having had bad luck with rebels (never keep an army in a province from which it can't retreat, it is safer to ferry troops to Calais if need arises) and the other part probably looks like this:

French leaders of 1565
	historicalleader = {
		id = { type = 6 id = 0100 }
		category = general
		name = "Montmorency"
		startdate = {
			year=1555
		}
		deathdate = {
			year=1575
		}
		rank = 0
		movement = 3
		fire = 3
		shock = 3
		siege = 0
	}
	historicalleader = {
		id = { type = 6 id = 0101 }
		category = general
		name = "Coligny"
		startdate = {
			year=1565
		}
		deathdate = {
			year=1585
		}
		rank = 0
		movement = 3
		fire = 3
		shock = 3
		siege = 0
	}
French leader at sea
	historicalleader = {
		id = { type = 6 id = 0146 }
		category = admiral
		name = "Primauguet"
		startdate = {
			year=1565
		}
		deathdate = {
			year=1585
		}
		rank = 0
		movement = 2
		fire = 3
		shock = 2
		siege = 0
	}
Scottish leaders - note Malcolm
	historicalleader = {
		id = { type = 6 id = 2261 }
		category = general
		name = "Hamilton of Arran"
		startdate = {
			year=1546
		}
		deathdate = {
			year=1573
		}
		rank = 1
		movement = 3
		fire = 1
		shock = 2
		siege = 0
	}
	historicalleader = {
		id = { type = 6 id = 0429 }
		category = general
		name = "Malcolm"
		startdate = {
			year=1550
		}
		deathdate = {
			year=1595
		}
		rank = 1
		movement = 2
		fire = 2
		shock = 4
		siege = 0
	}

When comparing these to your default leaders mere two points of "fire"-skill you see that you need 'huge' amounts of cavalry to compensate for your enemies superiority in "shock"-skill.

My suggestion would be to cut your losses, offer Calais to the French and the scots won't get to fight on, instead having to settle for nothing. Then rebuild your armies (and navy) and go kick the scots when Malcolm has died, just using your navy against the french to keep them from invading.

.

And yeah - other nations techlevels are most easily found with EUSpy (found here among other places) but else you can open your .eug savegame with a text editor, search for

country = { 
    tag = FRA

then scroll down until you find technology = { where their techlevels are listed.

 

[unmerged(11607)]

thanks for the information. I figured the leadership for the French was a factor, but the scottish leadership comes as a surprise. I also had know idea of the dramatic affect one tech level could have.

"Most likely your problem is due in part from having had bad luck with rebels (never keep an army in a province from which it can't retreat, it is safer to ferry troops to Calais if need arises...."

that realization struck me as I watched my once magnificent Armee du Calais ping-pong between three diferent provinces getting the crap kicked out of it until it dissolved. I don't know why I had such a bug up my ass about keeping Calais, it wasn't even part of my strategy to conquer the continent.

"My suggestion would be to cut your losses, offer Calais to the French and the scots won't get to fight on, instead having to settle for nothing. Then rebuild your armies (and navy) and go kick the scots when Malcolm has died, just using your navy against the french to keep them from invading."

That did sort of work(although I had to give up the marches to Scotland, as every army in England lost until I had 2 provinces left unnocupied, as the french invaded also). I thought about my reaction to what happend overnight. I have always been one who was irritated by the lack of challenge the AI offered, yet when I finally get my wish, I curl up into a ball and cry like a baby. I can only conclude that I am clinically insane.

 

[Morlac]

Some hopefully helpful observations -- what you're looking for seems to be not so much strategies for england as basic general strategies. As such, here are a couple that work for me (your mileage may vary)--

(1) That "early" in the game, cannons shouldn't be in combat if you can possibly avoid it. They are for siege work only, and do nothing but die expensively on the battlefield.

(2a) It has been pointed out to you already, but bears repeating -- don't leave yourself open to an attack from multiple big neighbors (like Scotland and France) unless you absolutely have to. It is much cheaper in the long run to make a solid diplomatic alliance with one of them rather than constantly defend a second front before you are ready.

(2b) When picking allies, keep in mind that a major like France might be more attractive than Scotland, it is also far more likely to drag you into wars not of your own making. (e.g. France DOW's Spain and calls for allies). Sometimes, when you're in a good position, you *want* that to happen. Sounds like you're not quite there yet... Also keep in mind that with good diplomatic kings, you might eventually be able to vassalize and diploannex scotland, but unless you're playing with the IGC or hacking the file, France is a major who can't be annexed.

(3) Normally, one tech level does *not* have such a huge impact. However, the military tech levels are loosely "grouped" such that within a group changes are more subtle and incremental. Hitting those key levels that bring you into a new group can have a significant impact. (And you may get a clear visual sign, as for example when your troops start carrying muskets instead of halberds...)

(4a) Randomness is much more likely to be a decisive factor in battles earlier in the game when tech levels are relatively low (you're still at about land 9 out of 50?) and the number of troops involved is relatively small.

(4b) Winning a war, therefore, especially in the early game, isn't so much about killing enemy soldiers as about keeping your own alive and getting them where they can do the most good. Wars are won by earning stars showing relative victory percentages, and it can take several victorious battles to earn even one star, while you can usually get two stars for capturing a fair sized enemy city (up to seven if you take the capital and sole province of a one-province nation). Try to keep your fortification levels up to buy yourself time to let the enemy siege your provinces (and lose men to attrition) while you get your troops to sieging or assaulting his more effectively. That means always bringing enough cannon to a siege, not bringing cannon or cavalry to an assault, supporting sieges of coastal provinces with a naval blockade if you have the tech, and using the info screens to know in advance exactly how many enemy troops his provinces will support, and what level of attrition they will experience. (Attrition can be as little as a couple % each month and can easily get as high as 1/3 per month in a wintry, mountainous, out-of-supply, looted province...)

(4c) If you really feel like trying to steal every advantage you might also resort to sending "suicide squads" of 1k cavalry to attack his troops in transit at key chokepoints -- they'll be destroyed, but they'll pin down the enemy and force him to start leaving the province from the beginning rather than from where he left off (some might call this cheating... :rofl: ) If you manage to do this as he is within your own territory with big troops he may attrit enormously in a very short time (happens to me often playing as spain in the early game against huge turkish armies in north africa and the middle east). Just be careful with your timing and the fact that eventually the enemy will earn a star for winning so many battles...

(5) Know how badboy values and Casus Belli work. Make sure you don't start getting into badboy wars before you're ready, and how to start them when you are. Make sure that you get CB on the maximum possible number of your enemies and give the minimum of them CB on you. In your existing game, you might consider letting france take Calais if only because that removes its only CB against you, making it more costly for them to DOW you again. I don't recall whether England has a shield on Calais, giving you a CB on them if they own it, but if it doesn't -- and if you're ready to fight lots of wars against france -- then you might even consider sacrificing one of your core provinces to them. That gives you a CB to use against them forever (until you take it back, which if you're sadistic you won't do until france is reduced to its capital province and everything else they own is yours...) as well as an "easy" first province to take -- a single french province surrounded by a sea of english ones -- kind of a reverse Calais.

(6) You didn't mention this, but *why* are you trying to take England Protestant? There are certainly good reasons for it, but in general, don't change religion unless you have those reasons.

Just a few thoughts off the top of my head...

thanks for the information. I figured the leadership for the French was a factor, but the scottish leadership comes as a surprise. I also had know idea of the dramatic affect one tech level could have.

 

[unmerged(11607)]

"2a) It has been pointed out to you already, but bears repeating -- don't leave yourself open to an attack from multiple big neighbors (like Scotland and France) unless you absolutely have to. It is much cheaper in the long run to make a solid diplomatic alliance with one of them rather than constantly defend a second front before you are ready."

yes, I learned that from an abotive first game, losing calais, two Irish provinces, and a mainland province.

"(4c) If you really feel like trying to steal every advantage you might also resort to sending "suicide squads" of 1k cavalry to attack his troops in transit at key chokepoints -- they'll be destroyed, but they'll pin down the enemy and force him to start leaving the province from the beginning rather than from where he left off (some might call this cheating... ) If you manage to do this as he is within your own territory with big troops he may attrit enormously in a very short time (happens to me often playing as spain in the early game against huge turkish armies in north africa and the middle east). Just be careful with your timing and the fact that eventually the enemy will earn a star for winning so many battles..."

I feel guilty about this as a cheat, but recently playing as Austria, I was trying to retreat from a province to escape their huge army bearing down on me from a couple of provinces away. Three times it sent single cavalry units at me to keep me pinned down. I escaped with most of my army finallt by losing the artillery.The whole time I yelled at the computer that I was being screwed, then I used the same tactic against bavaria.

"(6) You didn't mention this, but *why* are you trying to take England Protestant? There are certainly good reasons for it, but in general, don't change religion unless you have those reasons"

I was going for colonization, and also wanted the taxes. Plus I was geting messages about provinces turning, so I figured head off major upheavel at the pass :wacko: .

 

[Morlac]

"(6) You didn't mention this, but *why* are you trying to take England Protestant? There are certainly good reasons for it, but in general, don't change religion unless you have those reasons"

I was going for colonization, and also wanted the taxes. Plus I was geting messages about provinces turning, so I figured head off major upheavel at the pass :wacko: .

Hmm -- a couple of comments --

(a) Can't argue with the tax benefit. Note though that while you will get an extra settler for going protestant, that's separate from whatever you'd get for england's colonial dynamism (which should be significant) and for having a shipyard (capture one or get to naval 16 and build one ASAP). You will have to decide whether the 1 extra colonist/year is worth the upheaval and the *loss* of 1 diplomat/year. I'm not saying that conversion isn't worth it, just that it's not as much an automatic "no-brainer" as one might think.

(b) As for provinces turning -- yes, it will be nicer for you in the long run if you are as single-religion as possible. However, note that any colonies you've already founded are catholic and will stay that way until you convert and send another colonist, so you may still be a 2-religion state. You *can* manage very nicely even as a three-religion state (eg Protestant, reform, Catholic) if you don't let yourself get dragged into long wars. It's possible, though difficult, to incorporate muslim as well for a 4-religion state (I do it all the time as Spain). I usually draw the line at 5, though -- and orthodox almost always pays the price (I bleed those provinces till they can be converted).

(c) By the way -- if you must run from a big army, and don't want to use a suicide squad of 1k cavalry to slow them down, you can strip out any cannon from your army and move it separately (or, if you don't want it to attrit on the move, keep 1k of infantry with it). Armies move at the slowest rate of any subunit, and cannons move really slowly. You'll probably lose the cannon when the enemy catches up, but you might have your infantry and cavalry escape. Won't help if he's using small cav-only squads to pin you, though.

(d) Also, in the original post you mentioned not knowing about some enemy generals. You should be able to hover the cursor over the picture of an enemy army you're not currently fighting, which will give you the name of any special general in command (as opposed to the generic commanders). Knowing that the enemy 5k squad has a good general may let you decide to be elsewhere o so as to save your bigger but generic army from a trouncing.