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Thread: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

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    Default TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    The Italian Campaign

    The Peninsular one was wiped in the crash, I found this one. This is a general guide and as is the nature of TW no campaign is the same so use the info here to guide new players and teach them what to expect. - bel

    You start off with an introduction; Napoleon is an individual of great military expertise who, thanks to the French Revolution, has a chance to use his brilliance to attain glory. The Italian peninsula is under the control of Austria and its allies, the French ambitions for success in the region seem to be nonexistent as France focuses on wars in the North. Napoleon Bonaparte then takes control of the French Army in the region and immediately inspires them to take the initiative and renew the offensive. This is when you assume the role of Napoleon and start your campaign.



    Beginner Tips –

    • Time is your biggest enemy in this campaign if you want to achieve all the objectives.
    • Aggression is essential; a defensive tactic will most likely fail.
    • Empire building is out of the question in this campaign!
    • Never risk napoleons life, if he is wounded you lose him for some turns and then he reappears in Nice and has to travel all the way back. This can waste 8 turns in all. You could continue without him but that’s not accurate.
    • Use Diplomacy when you can, try convincing Sardinia to attack Austria or some other country and if there is no chance of you holding a province give it to them, Austria might attack it automatically triggering a war between them.
    • Try trade with as many people as possible, money is scarce on hard settings.
    • Take Sardinia out of the picture as soon as possible by taking Turin.
    • If you wander south you’ll be given a mission to subjugate the Papacy, do this if you took Turin in about 8 turns or less, and keep your supply lines upgraded.
    • Before looting, take into account civil rebellions, will you be able to hold an unhappy province? Rebellions must be avoided at all costs.
    • In central Italy there seems to always be only one force, destroy it and scout about with militia units and if Milan and its neighbor are undefended, take them fast.
    • Parma and its southern neighbor are normally always well defended; take them only if you have not reached the 20 turn warning.
    • If you have 15+ Turns you have enough time to take Venice, ignore the minor cities and go straight for it from Mantua, it will be a hard fight.
    • Austrians have DEADLY sharp shooters and I only encountered them in the final battle, you need some cavalry to chase them off or skirmishers. I can’t emphasize just how good the Austrian skirmishers are!
    • When you reach the final objective there is always a full stack army about a turn away and a full garrison in the city, you NEED to keep reinforcements close behind.


    General Tactics -

    There are some things you need to take into account throughout the campaign. Firstly the main driving force which will dictate your campaign and battle tactics is the time limit. I am playing this on VH/H and the way the AI works is that on Very Hard the unit stats of the Ai are improved. This makes the Italian Campaign more of a challenge on VH battle setting as you don’t have the time to throw armies away as was common in Rome and Empire. Every man is precious and funds will be limited. You don’t have time to wait out sieges, nor do you have time to pacify middle Italy on Very Hard unless you are a very experienced player. The campaign mechanics cause you to rush, but at the same time you can’t leave too many enemy forces behind which could cut you off. You don’t have the time to rush back to retake essential provinces! Battles themselves have to be fought carefully, your tactics must aim to conserve as many of your units as possible and inflict as many losses, which sounds obvious. As obvious as it is one mistimed charge or delayed flank attack could have your army waiting around resupplying thus eating up four to five turns.

    The way I used to control the battle was use the Wellington tactic of always trying to deploy my troops behind a slight elevation in the ground to essentially cancel the effects of enemy artillery. Then I would deploy my artillery on the crest of the hill making sure they are not blocked and essentially force the enemy to attack. As their infantry closes in I would advance my infantry with the first line in a Romanesque checkerboard formation with artillery in the gaps. This prevents the enemy charging my cannons and allows me to blast in some grapeshot before pressing the rout button and allowing the artillery men to run to safety. The amount of artillery you have directly depends on the amount of artillery men who survive. The second line would be solid infantry and if time permits one can move in one or two units to overlap and plug the gaps. The AI always makes some form of flanking attempt; you can either use infantry square formation on the flanks or deploy reserves.

    What I like to do is keep one flank anchored with infantry in square to act as a pining force and attempt to hold for as long as possible, this frees up my cavalry to be offensive. My anchor is placed on the side where I expect the attack to be strongest but I don’t deploy into square, if I misread my enemy and want to move elements of my anchor force. I want them ready to run to the other side and quickly deploy. As was said in time commanders, a truly brilliant general is one who adapts to the situation. So, my artillery lures the enemy, I attempt to fix them and blast them with close range grapeshot and then I have a free fresh cavalry to swing round the unopposed flank and smash into the enemies rear while their engaged in combat. This is a “hammer and anvil” tactic which is ideal for numerically inferior armies. You start off with two units of cavalry in the game, sometimes this is not enough for a hammer and anvil and thus one can use what I call the “Pacman”. The “packman” is simple, if you manage to hold the enemy in a fixed position and are not in danger of routing then gather all free infantry units and reserves and swing round one of the flanks. Deploy in an L shape and if need be allow the L to collapse into the flank and rear of the enemy in a bayonet charge. If one flank and elements of the enemies center collapse simply pull out and recharge into the rest of the army.

    There are many tactics that work and as we know. Napoleon was big on artillery and mutually supportive roles in maneuvering with his army and in developing a “core” like system seen in most armies today. How you kill the enemy is not important but rather the main aim is to conserve your own forces. Using artillery close range is a definite killer as is quickly smashing into a units flank and rear for a rout. Remember, routing men don’t fight back and are easier to kill! Napoleon TW also introduces a supply line system whereby your forces regenerate if they are in an area that is controlled by you. This level of regeneration is increased with the presence of “Supply Warehouses” and consequently you might find yourself either destroying markets to place warehouses or having the presence of warehouses determine what provinces you attack and which are of little importance.

    Campaign Tactics – Taking Sardinia and Genoa

    You start off with Napoleon controlling a small force on the coast within sight of a small Austrian army and another general further inland within sight of the lightly defended Curin. Initially your main enemy is Sardinia who is allied to Austria, but this is an allegiance that the King of Sardinia will easily forsake if you strike hard and fast at Turin. Gather all your forces to prevent yourself from being stretched out and advance on Curin, it will normally surrender without a fight and here you have your first chance to build a warehouse. Build a market in Nice as well as a barracks and train a unit of cavalry, your cavalry is limited. Loot Curin and train a unit of militia or two to hold it. Here is your first choice that determines your campaign.



    Initially I focused a lot on thinking Genoa was of importance, but with a large garrison and its relative distance I found that the losses gained and its distance from my home region meant that even if I took it the time to re-supply and regenerate would outweigh the benefits of holding Genoa. By taking Curin I am closer and have a supply line so the choice is to either quickly knock out Turin and Sardinia or to take Genoa and then Turin fast enough to prevent a Sardinian counter attack on Curin which if I advance to Genoa will be lightly defended. I decide to go for Genoa since this is my second play through and as I advance I am pursued by a small Sardinian force. I Train men at Nice and send them to Curin to defend it as best I can and continue to advance on Genoa. I find the small Austrian Force outside the City and the garrison having mostly retreated to Turin. I know that a Sardinian force is a turn behind me and that the garrison is in the area. I have more men and decide to attack the Austrians. They run, so I attack Genoa. I must take it and be ready to move in less than a month.

    I am faced with an inferior force but the Austrians have turned and appeared on the field so the numbers are nowhere near enough to beat me but just enough to risk me being bogged down in Genoa unable to return for the expected counter attack. I deploy and force the Sardinians to attack by focusing my cannon on theirs, as they advance I pepper them with artillery and as they bring in their main force on one flank I decide to lure them away with my cavalry, gallop past and take out their Cannon. I then pull back my cavalry. The AI is easily distracted by feigned attacks and this is a point one should consider. It’s common for the AI to use a primitive lure tactic, if it is indeed intentional. On the campaign map the AI might let you approach a city only to regroup and counterattack as you besiege it. Seeing as you have to conserve men, this is important to take into account. I take Genoa with acceptable casualties and my speed has allowed me a turn to use the 2500 I looted to train more men at Nice and Curin. I have a turn to resupply as best I can; my next tactic depends on what Sardinia manages to do.





    The force that was following me turns and places itself between Curin and Nice, having anticipated a counter-attack both have enough troops to defend them and within a month (2 turns) will have enough to overwhelm them. Napoleon and my Army are positioned where I can either take Lissandria or swing back and take Turin. I am building a supply line in Genoa and decide to wait a turn to see if I see anymore Sardinians. Sardinia is unable to muster its troops in time and has done nothing, Curin is vulnerable but I decide to move for Lissandria and take it without a shot fired, I see Austrians headed for Turin. Genoa is not yet pacified and I don’t want to risk a revolt I have to send two units from Napoleons army there to pacify it.

    A turn later Sardinia makes its counterattack and Slams into Curin, if you choose to take Genoa then this is inevitable and my aim is to inflict as many casualties as possible so the Forces in Nice can then counterattack and quickly bog down the Sardinians. This would leave Napoleons army which is restocking free to attack Turin and Break the Sardinians, but as I said before this is a high risk Strategy. By taking Lissandria Austrian Milan looms off to the right, the taking of Turin must be fast as attack from Milan is inevitable. I thought I’d apply pressure from the north with Napoleon and South on Curin with the force from Nice. Bad idea, the main force was not on its way to Curin, it was at Turin and at that point I thought this would be a short guide. However I used the hammer anvil tactic combined with some well timed grape-shot which fragmented their army and allowed me to win, barely. I then Ran to Curin, no screenshots as I did not expect victory and just tried it before loading a resave. I combined forces and Curin was retaken without much resistance, most of the units had rushed up to fight napoleon and were now returning to Turin, battered. At this point I have to waste time retraining and restocking but with a warehouse in Curin which I start to upgrade and another one in Genoa I have good supply lines and more tax income to fight the real enemy in the future.

    This is a difficult tactic, and you can lose your campaign easily. Thus I will post a better alternative from my first play through for less experienced players. I recommend Taking Genoa for players who want a real challenge.


    This has taken time and delayed me; I cannot wait for more men and have to attack Turin. When playing the campaign remember you are Napoleon and the campaign actually encourages you to make ballsy moves of aggression, and at this point with 1500 Sardinians a turn away I gather all my men, 1900 in all and attack the City of Turin, which will always be fully stacked with and in my case had over 2500 Men.

    My only chance was finding a hill, deploying behind it and provoking an attack. You will definitely be put in positions where your campaign will rest on one battle and this was it for me. I deployed behind the crest of a hill south-east of Turin and essentially made their Artillery redundant. They advanced with a strong center and left flank, I anchored my flank on a hill forcing the Sardinians to walk round the cliff face, as then did I redeployed so as they turned - they found my men to their left and cavalry ready to flank them, they were crushed. My center held with the advance halted by my withering artillery fire from the hill crest. It might be wise to point out that if you are firing downhill the artillery need to be deployed slightly forward pointing down the hill. If not the muzzle will be aimed down into the ground and all you’ll get is muddy cannons.



    To the right I was just able to hold on, using Napoleon to keep the men from routing and sending in a unit of cavalry which had just arrived from the victorious left flank to charge the general, who was killed. The Sardinians retreated and their advantage lost. I provoked another attack with cavalry and as they charged the hill they sustained more casualties. As they again retreated I started to advance, catching them at Turin and crushing them, a heroic Victory. Sardinia surrenders and becomes my Protectorate, I loot 11000 and repair my war torn warehouses and cities. Next Stop, Milan.



    Alternative Campaign Guide – Sardinia but not taking Genoa

    Gather all your forces and raid Curin, it will fall without a shot in most cases. Then build a warehouse for supplies and whatever reinforcements you can. Advance on Turin with Nice and Curin building whatever men they can. You will note more than a full stack so attack the ones outside the city in the hope of luring the army into open combat. If you think you are too outnumbered in the event of numerous stacks just wait close to Turin and the AI will normally muster one army and attack you. Crush it then restock in Curin and attack Turin. Normally you can just siege it and fight off the superior force with your army, this game is about one of the greatest generals after all! Basically take Turin and Sardinia will surrender.

    Assault on Milan and Mantua

    Due to the large garrison in Turin I was forced to send all forces into one assault leaving Lissandria. The Campaign Ai did what it does best in these situations and attacks the weak point. Lissandria falls as Turin is subjugated. Milan is no-longer an open target and I cannot leave a full stack army in Lissandria to destroy my supply lines and take my power base. Throughout the campaign you will need to reinforce your main army, you don’t have the time or resources to train new army which is the reason why defeat in this campaign is not an option at any stage. I restock for one turn and assault Lissandria. I attack; my aim is minimal casualties and a quick victory with enough loot to train reinforcements.

    Lissandria is taken, my cavalry superiority meant I could launch hit and run attacks on their flanks and destroyed their artillery, I pinned down their right and advanced on their left and took the village while my strong center advanced on the main force and prevented them maneuvering. Once the left was crushed I surrounded the Austrians and those who were not killed by the withering cross-fire were chased down by my cavalry. I loot 3500 franks and immediately ride for Genoa which is also besieged. In Turin I order the recruitment of 5 infantry units and repairs on Lissandria. Genoa is saved as Napoleons army attacks from the rear and the Militia from Genoa hold their positions, the general is killed and I am awarded a Heroic Victory. Two battles mean my men are exhausted and I need to resupply, I end the turn and return to Lissandria to wait for my men from Turin.

    I spend a month Preparing and launch an attack on Milan, the Austrians have retreated after their losses at Lissandria and Genoa so I loot 9000 Franks, which goes to training more troops. Neighboring Lodi is also undefended; I also take it without a fight. I gain a sizable war chest but the Milanese are unhappy, I quickly get all my repaired cities churning out units to garrison Milan while Napoleon, falling behind, advances to assault Mantua.

    On my way, I note that the Austrian force, or what I think is the main force is in Parma, I have no choice but to turn and attach this force, equally matched I know I can’t lose many men and Parma is placed in such a position on the map that I can’t maneuver well. I use my militia to garrison and keep the main Austrian force busy and drive my main force against the armed citizenry on the left flank which collapses. I then face the Austrian lines and flank them with the militia routing them but taking worrying losses in the process. I don’t know whether Mantua is undefended or has its own garrison, I assume that Austria couldn’t afford to garrison both so strongly and go for it. I was correct; in 4 turns I liberated Milan, Lodi and Parma and took Mantua without a fight. I now border Venice, I can’t let them bog me down as I have Austria on the retreat, I need to avoid them or take them down fast.

    I think up a plan, Venice doesn’t want to give me military access to access their lands and I have about 17 turns to take out the Austrians, I have no choice but to rush across and possibly hold off the Venetians with the forces I have coming from Nice and Turin. At this stage in the campaign, if you took the option of taking Genoa and the regions there on Very Hard, you will be pressed for time, taking Venice might not be a realistic option. Venice in my campaign had a full stack army.

    The Race to the Finale

    I prepare for the final offensive, an army in Milan which will serve to defend against any Venetian attacks and Napoleons army primed to strike at the final objective of the Austrian Homeland. Unfortunately using Fraps and windowed mode I didn’t quite notice Nice was rebelling and once it did my forces were already at Milan, I thought I would just turn and destroy them once Napoleon was close enough to Austria, this shouldn’t be a problem in Hard and other difficulties. Lodi rebelled, but that was anticipated as I have no use for it and it can easily be taken back after the final objective (I say to myself!) I could use my Milan Garrison to take Lodi but I rather wait and see what Venice does, we are at war now that Napoleon has crossed into their territory. As I advance I take the province near Mantua (not the venetian one) and move my Milanese army to Lodi and besiege it, my army in Mantua which is 5 stacks of fresh infantry advances to follow Napoleon. The new province rebels and attacks the reinforcements but they defeat the mostly dragoon army and continue to follow Napoleon. I am one turn away from Klagenfurt and an Austrian Army intercepts me on the road, I accept Battle. I win and move on to Klagenfurt with reinforcements from Mantua. I take the City and Win. The last battle was very similar to the Turin battle but I didn't have Fraps on, was outnumbered by about 600 men but as usual I provoked an attack and crushed the advantage with Grapeshot.

    Campaign Tactics Discussion and Criticism –

    I chose this play-through to write a guide and it was probably my worst Italian Campaign. Playing on Very Hard and not rushing from the start proved to be the hardest Italian campaign I’ve done to date. What is evident in any play through of this campaign is that you need to be aggressive and keep the momentum going. If you are bogged down at any point early on you are in for some real trouble once you hit the border with Venice. I was unable to complete two missions, liberating the city south of Parma and subjugating Venice, this was primarily due to the stat balances of the difficulty level and the fact that I took more casualties then I wanted to in Parma and my reinforcements were too far away, I overstretched myself and as a result had to forget about keeping the peace and just push forward.

    Looting gives you money but the penalty on civil order is significant that if you’re not fast and garrison those cities with cheap troops you’re in for revolts. If rushed like I was you may opt to save the essentials such as Nice, Turin and Milan and not worry about the others, once Austria is crushed it should be easy to mop them up. That’s what I kept telling myself anyway.

    My main error in this campaign is that I waited too long and as I took Mantua I only had 8 turns to finish, I had to rush and only just managed to win. It was a challenge and ideally I would have wanted to use my protectorate Sardinia to attack Venice or Austria, but they always refused. I ignored southern Italy and the missions to subjugate the Papacy as the difficulty does not give you the time to refresh your losses. On Hard and Medium it’s very possible to keep a spearhead going and achieve all the objectives but on Very Hard I will have to keep homing my tactics.

    This is by no means a perfect strategy, I made one or two mistakes (one because I kept alt tabbing to write this) and another because sometimes I can be a read idiot but in general I think this “guide” will help the player see the hardest scenario and what is to be expected
    Last edited by Belisarius; July 15, 2010 at 03:52 AM.
    Well, if I, Belisarius, the Black Prince, and you all agree on something, I really don't think there can be any further discussion.
    - Simetrical 2009 in reply to Ferrets54

  2. #2
    jimkatalanos's Avatar 浪人
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Nice.
    Ερωτηθεὶς τι ποτ' αυτώ περιγέγονεν εκ φιλοσοφίας, έφη, ŦΤο ανεπιτάκτως ποιείν ά τινες διά τον από των νόμων φόβον ποιούσιν.


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  3. #3
    Prince of Darkness's Avatar Campidoctor
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    When I first time finish the Italian campaign, I take the Trentino mountain route (the Austrian settlement northwest of Milan) instead of Venice. I did try to capture Venice and Papal States, but it's nearly impossible in Hard setting to field three full stacks(while your principal enemies have endless of them).

  4. #4

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    how can i play total wars

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    Rotaugen2009's Avatar Vicarius
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    What makes it difficult is pursuing all the side objectives. If all you wanted to do was hit the main objective, if you get a protectorate it gives you the number of regions needed. Could you then just rush the maximum number of troops towards Klagenfurt, bypass everything and generally try to avoid combat until you get there? Not that I would want to skip all the side missions, just curious if anyone has tried that.
    Don't blame me, I voted for Pedro!

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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Quote Originally Posted by Rotaugen2009 View Post
    What makes it difficult is pursuing all the side objectives. If all you wanted to do was hit the main objective, if you get a protectorate it gives you the number of regions needed. Could you then just rush the maximum number of troops towards Klagenfurt, bypass everything and generally try to avoid combat until you get there? Not that I would want to skip all the side missions, just curious if anyone has tried that.

    I have, Not as fun.
    Storming the forts and destroying the all mighty venice are the fun parts. Then marching in the bitter winter to klagenfurt. ( I always arrive in Spring)


    The army in the city marched out to attack me, I hid in the bushes then made a run for the city.

    This was a WEIRD campaign for me. I decided to conquer the whole kingdom of Sardina instead of subjecting it to my protection.

    I declared war on Venice just to pass through their territories.


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    Hard/Hard


    I end with 3 armies. One to guard Mantua from Venice, One in Nice (all milita) and Napoleons army on the frontlines.

    I notice the key to this battle are the supplies. You need to have fresh supplies for a strong advance.
    Last edited by RangerGxi; August 16, 2010 at 10:07 AM.

  7. #7
    Rotaugen2009's Avatar Vicarius
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    You can't stress enough the need for speed on this campaign. I had overplayed ETW, so I didn't really get into NTW for a long time. I returned to it, and thought I would warm up with a nice and easy normal level campaign. I forgot about the time, and went off in empire building mode, only to get the 20 turn warning and go into a panic! Luckily Venice was willing to trade Indefinite Military Access and 2000 gold from me for 20 turns of military access from them. I finished the campaign with 2 turns to spare, and the Napoleon led army that took the city was in tatters from several fights in a row without reinforcement or replenishment. If the AI had a chance at a counterattack, it could have tossed me out of the city without needing a huge stack.
    Don't blame me, I voted for Pedro!

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    eXistenZ's Avatar Praeses
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    How much turns do you have actually for this campaign? you start in april , and you get a year and a half or so, so thats about 40 turns?

  9. #9

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    About 40 turns I think yes, each turn is two weeks so you,d have to check the end date. What is clear that this campaign is a race and the only thing that would cause a loss is infact running out of time.
    Well, if I, Belisarius, the Black Prince, and you all agree on something, I really don't think there can be any further discussion.
    - Simetrical 2009 in reply to Ferrets54

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    almg's Avatar Foederatus
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips


    Thanks for this interesting guide Belisarius !

    THIS IS TRUE THAT TIME IS VERY IMPORTANT TO WIN A CAMPAIGN !

    Will you give us more advice soon ?

    Alban




    Last edited by almg; January 22, 2011 at 01:59 PM.


  11. #11

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    thanx for posting such a intersting fact about Italian war.....

  12. #12

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    hmmm but it would be easy to military access if try the proposal offer = Military access+single payments then your demand = Military access.... because in diplomacy
    it would not accept if your demand is not balanced to your offer.....

  13. #13
    eXistenZ's Avatar Praeses
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    im getting back into Napoleon, and i wanted to try italian campaign on hard for the first time. is it me or has genoa dissapeared? Or am i confusing with the MP campaign. And to get the achievement do you have to be in the time limit, cause the achievement doesn't mention it, where as it does mention it on easy and normal
    Last edited by eXistenZ; June 29, 2011 at 08:29 AM.

  14. #14
    Laetus
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Nice, rep +

  15. #15
    AngryTitusPullo's Avatar Comes Limitis
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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Is it possible to ignore all other province and by combining your starting armies to go straight Klagenfurt ? How many provinces you need to own to win this campaign ?


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    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Just finished the Italy campaign on hard/hard. I could have got all campaign goals. I think it was late october when I took klangenfurt so that would be 4 turns to go? I had an equally matched force at bologna where I just let papal besiege me at Bologna to get an easy battle. Reinforcing as they refused to attack so I am sure I would have done it. However it was much harder then I expected after running ETW which offer no challenge at all. One thing is the insectoid AI which is harder to keep in check and also the economy hear which is way more challenging.

    I went for quality over quantity so I did try to preserve my troops as well as I could while being offensive and taking battles where I thought the odds where in favour. Seeing there is nothing to built I got the idea this was a must to make any money at all or be able to aquire troops. Kill offed troops mean less up keep so probably better then always make sure they are 100 % before attacking. I hadnīt even realized there was a time limit finished the GC in ETW in 1725 something instead of 1799

    As for the missions they come naturally to do except the papal states one. Venezia was to big of a threat to ignore. they where in the way for Klagenfurt and they wouldnīt even consider a peace treaty anyway. As soon as I got what I wanted Venice they sued for peace. Road open but then Papal states declared war and Sardini that I made a protectorate as early as possible could backstabbed me. and declared war as well. I thought about just ignoring it all marching to Klagenfurt but the Venice war meant that I couldnīt march with a full stack and if I went I was afraid I wouldnīt get another chance if I let papal states roam free among my money maker provinces. Maybe I should have ignored Sardini they wasnīt as offensive and it was overkill sending a full stack at them. Their most western provinces didnīt generate much income either. Very long march from their most western province to the front even with a full net of cobbled roads. However I suppose I would have to deal with even more crappy militia troops if I would have let them take milan and nice. Playing safe and just within the time limits is the way to go instead of risking it all on a one shot I suppose.

    On hard/hard it appear to be no point whatsoever to loot any province no matter how much money it make. I never really ran out of money and as mentioned had all roads upgraded and all economic buildings even though not being in a rush building them. It took quite a long time for me to feel the need to start spamming militia troops though that would have hurt my infrastructur and economical growth surely. But it was really on the limit on many battles where I was almost a bit short on troops. Hard line to strike here as always. I should probably have raised more ministry buildings for barracks. That opera house I should have raised instantly lol.

    I took the mountain road to Klangenfurt. Am I the only one that got into that ambush? There was a full stack Austrian army that despite I leaped frogged two stacks trying to avoid a possible 1 vs 2 scenario for some resaon bypassed that and only attacked my Napoleon army. And this was not the ambush battles I am used to from previous titles. This had me in the middle not allowed to set up with Austrian armies all set up in line on both flanks with artillery and all. Has somebody managed to win that battle? My Napoleon army wasnīt full stacked but hardly any militia. The only tactic I could think of since the flanks was really close was just go melee on all my infantry and try to swamp the left frank and some really threatening cannon before I got canister shot to small peaces before even getting off a single shot. My artillery I just dumped in place since I knew it wouldnīt get any shot in otherwise just hoping it could hold off the other flank for a minute or so.

    I started maybe 300-500 men short and against 3 artillery units and got a defeat of 500/1500 approx which was okay under the circumstances. I just canīt see how you could possible win such a battle but maybe some pros know how to do it? Extra annoying is that it wasnīt possible to withdraw so the russian roulette had napoleon wounded before I got his horse unit to rout. I did manage to spare him early on at least and trying all he could to inspire the melee troops.

    Backup army took care of it the next turn and Klagenfurt had only 8 units of armed citizenry as opposition. Impossible to loose then when you got 2 cannons spared and half militia half line infantry and two cavalry units.

    Damn lucky I didnīt just go for it early one with just one stack. For me it would been better to fight off that last full stacked venice province. Shorter route as well.

  17. #17

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Got to Napoleon recently and just completed the Italy as my first Napoleon campaign. Done on H/H in 21 turns. So i guess sb with better skill and better luck can get it under 20 turns.

    Itinerary
    - Turn 1: Captured Coni and wiped out the Austrian army near Napoleon, then started new recruitment and marched for Turin.
    - Turn 4: Captured Turin. Then i was bogged down for a while. Austria stationed 2 armies near the crossroad near Genoa. I was not sure if they would raid Coni or Nice so had to keep the new army in between playing cat and mouse with them around the mountain. Finally they chose to besiege Coni and also threatened Nice. Meanwhile, my starting troops went for Milan.
    - Turn 9: Captured Milan, relieved Coni and destroyed the Austrian near Nice. The new army then rushed east as we lost precious time.
    - Turn 10: Captured Lodi
    - Turn 12: Captured Parma and Mantua. Then it took me a few turns to pacify the new territories and rebuild the army.
    - Turn 16: Rallied 20 units in Mantua and 10 units in Parma
    - Turn 17: Bought military access from Venice and marched East. Napoleon lead 20 units thru the Southern road and Massena 10 units thru the Northern road.
    - Turn 19: Massena army captured Trentino and continued for Klafengurt but they lagged 1 turn behind the other army hence no help.
    - Turn 21: Napoleon army captured Klafengurt and finished the campaign. All captured regions were at peace.

    Observation:
    - Looting is possible. i did loot each and every city i seized. But we must rebuild the magistrate to restore order and exempt tax for a while.
    - We should not build new army from the beginning but can wait till we take Milan and Mantua. I made the mistake of building new units in Nice for a long time then had to pay the heavy cost for their 4-5 turns walking slowly east doing nothing. The burden was such that i was always near broke and had to loot every new city.
    - No guide has kind enough to warn me that Mantua is a fort :-( I only learn it the hard way when open the battle, should have brought more troops.
    - From Verona, the Northern road for Klafengurt looks shorter. That's why i chose it for my backup army, hoping they will reach the main army in time. In fact, moving through it proves to be slower than on the Sourthern road.
    - Venice is weird. When negotiating for military access, i had only 1000 in treasury hence could not made a big offer. In stead i offer 100/turn x 20 turns. They countered offer with a single payment of 550 !, as if they knew i would complete the campaign in a few turns.
    - Before departing for Klafengurt, my Napoleon did offer the Pope a small gift, really small, just a payment of 20. They thanked me like God. Am not sure if AI was programmed to mark such a kind gesture :-)
    - Except for historical reason, i don't know why we need Napoleon or any general in the army. They take up 1 precious slot we can use for infantry, cavalry or artillery. In the final battle of Klafengurt, as the battle was declared victory, i pressed the "Continue battle" button thinking of giving Napoleon the last mean and threw him into the middle of 300-400 routing infantry. He was the only person in his unit that got injured! not good as a soldier. I was worried that campaign victory was slipping at last minute due to a stupid impulse but i was declared victor anyway and Napoleon still walked into the city triumphant. So the injury did not effect the campaign completion.
    - Fusilier & grenadiers cannot do fire & advance !?
    - The Autrian army in the final battle, despite being a full stack of regular troops, no armed citizen at all, seemed programmed to dodge engagement. it's really hard to pin them down for a showdown.
    - City setting is too boring, every town/city battle looks the same.

  18. #18

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    For those on Steam, I have posted a Walk-Through Guide for this campaign on VH/H here.

  19. #19

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    I have now posted a walk-through on VH/VH that through Early July, 1796:

    - Reduces Sardinia-Piedmont to a 1 Region protectorate; and

    - Subjugates Provinces Milano, Lodi, and Palermo.

    In consequence the Austrian defense of Northern Italy is largely crushed before it can properly assemble - much as Buonaparte himself did in 1796. There is also analysis on the inefficacy, for the most part, of infrastructure builds in this campaign (playing VH/VH at least) due to its short length. The exceptions are few, and solely due to "military necessity" - not for any expectation of direct economic benefit.

    Also available below on YouTube is a video playlist (13 videos) playing through the entire campaign to victory in Early May, 1797, with Papal States conquered, and Venice subdued.

    https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...paign-on-VH-VH

  20. #20

    Default Re: TWC Italian Campaign Guide and tips

    Quote Originally Posted by oqvist View Post
    I took the mountain road to Klangenfurt. Am I the only one that got into that ambush? There was a full stack Austrian army that despite I leaped frogged two stacks trying to avoid a possible 1 vs 2 scenario for some resaon bypassed that and only attacked my Napoleon army. And this was not the ambush battles I am used to from previous titles. This had me in the middle not allowed to set up with Austrian armies all set up in line on both flanks with artillery and all. Has somebody managed to win that battle? My Napoleon army wasnīt full stacked but hardly any militia. The only tactic I could think of since the flanks was really close was just go melee on all my infantry and try to swamp the left frank and some really threatening cannon before I got canister shot to small peaces before even getting off a single shot. My artillery I just dumped in place since I knew it wouldnīt get any shot in otherwise just hoping it could hold off the other flank for a minute or so.
    Well - it wouldn't be a real ambush if you knew about it in advance. ;-)

    I learned the hard way to buy military access from Venice - it's cheaply had at much more than they actually accepted, even on VH/VH.

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