Britain Strategy: 1712

[Samurai Doc]

I'm playing as Britain on VH/VH, and for once I've started off the campaign by striking in the Americas first rather than spending the first three decades fighting against India. I was met with drastic success in the first 10 years of the struggle. I subdued France, blockading all her home ports on the Atlantic and Channel, and robbed her of all her American holdings with the exception of Lousiana. The Thirteen Colonies are mine, as are Georgia and the Cherokee territories.

After maintaining a testy separate peace with Spain for years, the Spanish brazenly declared war and robbed me of virtually all my trade in South America and in the East Indies. Since I was so focused on the lightning advance from Canada down through the Colonies, I neglected the Navy. A joint counter-attack from Spain and France has forced what remains of my fighting fleet back to the British Isles, where I'm slowly trying to build it up to meet either empire at sea.

At the moment, Spain has a massive army stationed in Flordia threatening Georgia while the French have forces scattered about Upper and Lower Louisiana. I have two full stack armies in Georgia and the Cherokee capital respectively.

So in the mean time, I have a few options I'm mulling.

1) Continue the fleet build up, but avoid a direct confrontation at sea for a few years. Hold the line exactly where I am in America, but build a small strike force to pick apart the Spanish in the Carribean by taking places like Cuba or even contemplating a strike for Mexico by sea.

2) Go full speed ahead with the sweep through North America. Meet the French and Spanish on the battlefield, and rid them forever from North America, evicting all the European empires north of the Rio Grande.

I'm inclined to the 2nd option since it's more decisve, but what do you all think?

[Lucky 6]

I definitely favor the second option. Just always keep your wits about you. I've been focused on one theater too much myself, only to have the enemy materialize out of nowhere. Make sure that you have at least some remnant of a fleet in the channel to oppose any invasion should the French be audacious enough to attempt it.

[Heinrich71]

option 3:

Free up an army from your american positions, invade France and finish them off completely. Since you evade any enemy fleet, you won't need more than a sloop to transport your army. That done, concentrate on Spain or ask them for peace. They might be more willing to negotiations once their ally is gone.
Rebuild everything, bring your armies and (rebuilt) fleets in position and strike when ready.

I find it easier to concentrate on France first as they are not that "scattered over Europe" than Spain.

[WykeMartin]

Option 2, with the addition of relatively low spending on sloops to repeated raids their trade ports and starve them of cash. Don't occupy their ports, hit and run. If you need to, lure out defenders and pull them out of position by blockading the port, flee the first battle and forcing them to pursue and strike their ports the next turn.

I usually aim to take control of Gibraltar early and use Provincial cavalry to raid into Spain to consume their cash on repairs and inhibit their economy.