This mission might seem daunting at first sight: you are fighting four Europeans powers (France, Russia, Austria and Sweden), you are surrounded, and your only ally (Great-Britain) will not be of much help. Except for Sweden (who starts with one territory), all your opponents own two territories, while you own three. Hopefully, you only have to destroy their capital to knock them out of the war.
In case having to fight four nations at once wasn't hard enough, you get annoying secondary objectives. Firstly, in order to secure Britain's help (which consist in a regular tribute - don't expect the British to help you militarily), you have to defend Hannover against France's attacks. Secondly, before the Allies start their offensive, you have to sabotage their main City Centers to discover who will attack you first. Neither of these two secondary objectives is going to help you in the long run. But for the sake of the guide, it is assumed you will try to fulfill them anyway.
It is essential that you move first, and that you move fast, otherwise, you will slowly be overwhelmed by the joint forces of France, Russia, Sweden and Austria. Depending on how fast you go, you can knock out one, possibly two of your opponents before they become real threats. Even better: Russia will offer you a ceasefire after some fighting, offering you victory on a plate.
Mission information[edit]
- Primary Objectives
- Force Austrian to surrender
- Force Russian to surrender
- Force Sweden to surrender
- Force French to surrender
- Secondary Objectives
- Discover who strikes first
- Protect Hannover
- Defend Breslau
- Defeat Conditions
- Frederick the Great is killed
- Failure to recapture Berlin
- Berlin is destroyed
- Factions
- Prussia - Red (Player)
- France - Blue
- Russia - Orange
- Austria - Yellow
- Sweden - Dark Yellow
- Hannover - Purple
- England - Teal
- Neutral Country - Pink
- Epochs Available
- IX - The Age of Enlightment
Walkthrough[edit]
Quickly get your Citizens to work, so you can focus on your objectives. You can find all needed nods (Stone, Gold, Iron and Saltpeter) nearby three Warehouses in Brandenburg, as well as a nice forest. For the food, build a couple of Farms in any of your provinces, around a City Center or a Warehouse, and you will be good to go.
Your first objective is to send Spies Sabotage your enemies' City Centers. Start chain producing Spies in one of your Universities, as well as a Cog in your Dock in Brandenbourg. For Sweden, simply put one or two Spies in the Cog, unload them on the coast and run toward the City Center to Sabotage it. For France and Austria, simply have a couple Spies rush toward the City Centers in Paris and Vienna. At least four will be needed in each case, as France and Austria have a couple Outposts protecting their cities. Russia is the trickiest one, as you have to go all the way through Riga to St. Petersburg. If you go fast, you can unload a couple Spies directly in St. Petersburg before Russia build a fleet.
In the same time, send a part of your army to Hannover, to protect the city. Hannover has a decent army that could very well kick France's butt, but most of the time, said army will stand right on your western border, far from all the action. If you want, and have spare resources, you can build a Fortress not far from the bridge that links Hannover and Paris, to repel the earliest attacks.
The most immediate threats are Russia and Austria, but they are also the less dangerous ones. It is strongly advised to take Sweden first, then France, then Austria. Sweden has to surrender as early as possible, because if you let her time to build up, you will face another mighty fleet of Ships of the Line, and be the target of annoying amphibious attacks. France should go next, so you don't have to bother about Hannover anymore. Lastly, you will likely not have to fight Russia, so your next and last target should be Austria.
You will be attacked from pretty much everywhere, but you can create a few effective shockpoints. The first one is the bridge linking Prussia and Riga. The second one is the other bridge linking Paris and Hannover. The third and fourth ones are the two passes that lead from Bohemia to Brandenburg and Prussia. Building Fortresses and Outposts here should be enough to stop most attacks (though you should make sure to repair them from time to time). You will still be attacked from Vienna and from the Northern Coast (if you don't deal with Sweden quickly enough), so have two armies ready to fight back if needed.
Taking Sweden out is pretty easy. Stockholm is vulnerable to an attack from the sea. As soon as you have the resources, make another Dock or two in Bradenbourg, and produce a couple of Ships and two Cogs. Take your fleet up North and start razing Sweden. The Swedish fleet will counter-attack, but hopefully, you have more ships, and better ones. After the enemy fleet is sunk, keep moving north to destroy Sweden's Coastal Defences, Docks and Fortress. Unfortunately, it seems the City Center is out of range of any ship, so you will have to unload troops there to finish the job (keep your fleet around, to quickly destroy anything Sweden might try to throw at you).
At around 15 minutes in, you receive a new objective: defend Breslau against an Austrian attack. The Austrians will come from Vienna and will rush toward Breslau's Fortress. This objective is a bit weird, as the Austrian army usually wipes the floor while trying to destroy the Fortress. In any case, as a security measure, you can station a small army defend in Breslau to defend the city. When the last Austrian attacker dies, you receive a bunch of Regulars (they will be garrisoned inside Breslau's Fortress).
Next target is France. Saddly for her, Paris City Center is right on the other side of the bridge West of Hannover. Make a couple of Field Guns, Bombard Guns and Regulars, and cross the bridge. Destroy the Outpost and the Fortress there, kill the French units and promptly destroy the City Center to knock France out of the war. It seems that even though France stops attacking you, she sometimes keeps fighting with Hannover. If that is the case, you can't really do anything to protect Hannover, as France diplomacy status is locked. Hopefully by now, either Hannover is able to defend itself or you don't need Britain's resources anymore.
Once France is out of the war, it won't be long before you receive a message regarding the death of Isabel I of Russia and the crowning of Pierre III. Pierre III being a germanophile (or rather, a prussianophile) he will get out of the war, leaving you with Austria as your last opponent. Saddly for her, Vienna's City Center is also lightly defended, allowing you to overwhelm it with your superior army. Gather all your troops in Breslau and move your army South, while destroying everything on your way until you see your target. Destroy the City Center to win the level.
Tips[edit]
- The first secondary objective sometimes bugs: nothing will happen after you Sabotage a City Center. If that is the case, you can either give up with objective or restart the mission.
- It is strongly advised to deal with the opponents in the order explained above. If you don't destroy Sweden first, she will unload a bunch of troops on your northern coast, which might slow you down quite a lot. If you intend to destroy Sweden last, expect a huge amphibious assault on Berlin after Russia leaves the war.