The French are potentially the most powerful nation at the start of the game. They have easy access to a majority of smaller states right away and an easy route in to Spain.

The problem is, at the start of the game you do not enough troops to conquer all those regions or build up enough armies fast though to defend them. So you have to focus on defending French soil first.

You have Great Britain, Prussia and Austria right on your door step so its wise to make an alliance with one so you do not have to worry about defending against their attacks early on.

So the first step it to make Alliances with any powerful nations as well as the smaller nations you want to Conquer later on. France is a good position to take advantage of the Diplomatic game in the first Era. You can take over several countries including Spain without firing a shot and by the time you have researched the Loan Armies feature, you can make sure any nations you want to take later over via the Diplomatic game can defend them selves whilst your Sympathy rating is rising with that nation. If the nation is not attacked, you will get your armies back when they join your empire.

For the French Hanover and Spain are probably the most important Nations to conquer first. Spain brings in a lot of resources and Hanover is a key defensive point. Taking this over first gives you control over Batavia. Only the English have access to it after that.

The chances are high that any attempt to take over Hanover early on will fail unless you have reserved armies ready to help out. Also the chances are high Great Britain will take Portugal (Alentejo) and Morocco quickly. So your going to have to defend Spain at a time when Austria and other playable nations are putting pressure on you in central Europe.

So if you take on Spain either Diplomatically or by force then you must also plan to take on Portugal (Alentejo) too at the same time. If you do this then the number of units you need to keep inside those countries will be reduced and it will allow you to focus on Central Europe.

When choosing nations to conquer in Central Europe look for the 3 nations between Denmark and the Papal States. Make these a priority and occupy them by any means. This will leave 1 other independent nation behind your lines. You can take them on at your leisured.

The 3 Nations needed to secure the French borders from all western nations are Hanover, Helvetian Republic and Lombardy.

Your now within striking distance of Austria, Prussia and Saxony. If Saxony is still independent you should take them on first. Otherwise its better to go for Austria or Prussia.

You are now able to take on Great Britain directly. Great Britain will have conquered parts of Africa which will still be beyond your reach and so will be able to fight back if you do not have a large enough fleet to fight them off. If your lucky you would have already taken over any of their territories in Europe. If not then you must do that first.

When attacking Great Britain is is best to conquer as many of its external Territories first as possible. Once you hit the English Shoreline your going to find 3 armies simply is not enough to hold Great Britain whilst your annexing it.

So conquer any nations Great Britain holds in Europe first then place troops in Scotland and Wales to use as reserves during the Annexing process. When you attack Great Britain your going to be attacking a Castle with 2 routes into it and one big Keep hidden at the center. This keep usually has 2 units in it.

If you have any kind of artillery you can usually take out the defenders around the walls without even entering the castle. When you try and take out the Keep, its recommended you use the artillery to destroy the units in the keep. Otherwise your going to lose a lot of men in the square outside the keep.

So your choices are, destroy the units in the keep with artillery or try and storm the keep and accept the loses you will incur. Remember, you need to keep a lot of troops inside Great Britain to conquer it so losing to many in this battle may in the end lose you the war on the campaign screen.

Also Remember that it takes 3 whole turns just to land fresh troops in Great Britain, assuming you have them waiting at a French or Battalion Port.

After Conquering Great Britain your well on your way to winning the game. From this point on things become easier.

Written by giskard