help ottoman campaign(H/H)

[Barbes]

oi oi, just writing this thread out of pure frustration! apologies in advance if a similiar thread has already been posted but i sure as hell cant find it. Ive been playing as the ottomans for the past couple of days now, N/N seems easy enough, war with russia and one other european power (usually poland) I can deal with that, but playing with the harder difficulty settings I soon find myself at war with all bordering nations, including the british who in the past 5 games ive played seem to relish sending their med fleet with a stack of line inf to occupy any ungarrisoned settlement in my empire, coupled with inferior troops, no line shooting (till nizam), failed economy, poor diplomatic relations, worst faction leader and you've got a recipe for otto meltdown.
I did manage to secure a first turn alliance with France after pawning off mesoptamia (in hope of creating a buffer zone) this worked for about 8 turns and I had only the Russians to worry about, but quickly things started to detoriarte, there was a mameluke rebellion in the province, which automatically allied itself with the persians subsequently declaring war on me, followed by an english declaration and naval invasion of egypt (successfully taking it), poland lithuania declared war, so did venice and georgia. please help, im in one of those situations when N/N is too easy and H/H is too damn impossible! Ive read some walkthroughs but they are all geared for earlier patches and half the advice isnt feasible with the otto starting situation in 1.5.

[TÜRKMEN-Timûr]

ETW at Ottomans made worse, Turkey's military is a real morale is high. But the game mirrored the bad Inelaborate Moreover, Arab culture

[TheFirstONeill]

Moved to gameplay, and inappropriate thread title changed

[Barbes]

sorry about the title and posting it in the wrong section >.<

[ottomanfan]

It is very tough i know but it is possible as i am playing on Hard/hard right now and am at 1753 but the key to success at this level is getting a trade agreement early with the marathas and then an alliance with them coupled with trade with as many nations as possible. U must get as many trade fleets to trade theatres as possble to finance a large army to defend all your borders. Its also imprtant to try and make peace with Poland Lithuania after they decalre war, offer them some technology or something and hope that Prussia bulldozes through Austria. The Elite units of the east DLC pack will help give you some decent units to fight with so i recommend downloading that.

[Barbes]

I realise that trade is key to financing the early ottoman campaign, but it seems just as soon as one nation declares war on you every nation smells blood, it seems the ottoman economy can't hold a land war on three fronts while financing a large fleet to deal with superior english and venetian fleets (who enjoy sinking what few dhows ive sent to trade theatres). i have trade treaties with the marathas but the persians declare war and blockade my port in basra usually by the second or third turn, so i cancel my agreement (dont want those buggers getting any richer). Just downloaded the elite units, got any advice on how they could help me in the early campaign?

[Serenegoose]

What I'm learning with the Ottomans from playing on hard/hard mode is that you have inferior infantry. I state the obvious so bluntly because there is -no- sense waiting til you have good infantry. It'll take forever to attain, and by that point your virtually non-existent armies will lose your very existent, and extensive terrain and leave you bankrupt. Recruit Bashi-bazouks, recruit muselims. They cost all but nothing, and are similarly cheap to maintain, which allows you to swamp your foe with numbers, especially in the Balkans, because you've got a large number of territories there, all close together, and the capital Istanbul can bolster your armies with Isarelys and Cemaat Janissaries. the reason you're going to use these large amateur armies is because you need to be aggressive. Austria has territory you need, so take it. They can only present you a small force of professional soldiers at a time. You can drown them in peasants and fight defensively in their own land. Remember the art of war. Engage the enemy where he is weak. Austrian morale is poor and you start the game with the best early game morale breaker in my opinion (cannister), so use it. Don't be afraid to trade your advantage away to the Prussians. They pick cannister and grenades up by the time you're bordering them anyway, so it ultimately makes little difference to you how they acquire it, and if it buys you trade, then more to the good.

You have to fight every battle personally, and against an aggressive AI, be prepared to lose settlements to the UK (as you've noticed) and the Georgians, simply because the UK has no threats and so will happily continue to harass you with high quality troops. Unlike the Austrians or the Persians, because you can shut them down quickly, you might lose Armenia to Georgia because Armenia is simply not big enough to hold them off, and it's too isolated to reinforce. There's no reason to lose Baghdad. The Persians are nasty and aggressive and it's annoying but it's not fatal. Baghdad makes your first semi-worthwhile forces in the east though, in Cemaat Janissaries and Isarelys, and further, the Persians specialise in Pikemen. I can't drive home enough how hilarious it is to fire cannister rounds at armies of pikemen, you'll just have to see it for yourself. This is important to note because you already have the ability to make the right guns, as the ottomans start off with the prerequisite technology.

As for venice and the great blockade escapade that they'll mount after they unsuccessfully try and relieve you of Greece? You've got two options now. If you took Croatia from Austria, then move on Venice. Risky, and unadvisable for the most part. They're rich, and they will have a more concentrated professional force than you. The other option is to build ships from your shipyard in Anatolia and take their navy out. The venetian navy, as you'll notice, is not fantastic. Largely galleys and indiamen, but backed up with at least one admirals fifth rate. That's fine, because even if you're unskilled at naval battles, one admirals fifth rate cannot blockade all of your ports and prevent you from returning the favour all on his own. the question as to how to make the money to finance all this aggression has a simple answer. The Ottomans are fantastically wealthy. With the right setup, extensive trade agreements, the Ottomans can make 8k a turn on turn one from default taxation. If you notch it down, it hovers just below 7. Even with the inevitable persian blockade of Basra it only takes it down to about 6k a turn.

Hope this helps.

[Barbes]

sound as a pound, didnt think of swamping my enemies with turkish giblet fodder! will give it a go and get back to ya, thanks for the advice ^^ +REP