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Barbu -> RE: Suggestions for Spain? (6/15/2005 8:55:47 PM)
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Do you play with the Gb-Fr mandatory war option? That alone will change many things.
If you're not playing with that option, your first objective should be the destruction of the british fleet. Without the French to tie them down, the british fleet will hang like a sword of damocles over everything you do. The russians might be very well interested in settling a similar issue so check with them.
If GB and Fr are in a mandatory war, then things look better. First off, seek an alliance with Russia. They are spain's best natural ally. They have nothing you want, you have nothing they want, and you have 2 potential competitors in Turkey and Gb.
It's in your best interest to have the Fr-GB war go on forever. If you end up being forced to pick an ally though, pick France. France can beat you up good, but losing a few provinces isn't going to cripple you. Losing your fleet though, will relegate you to the rank of a minor country, and you can bet it's in GB's agenda somewhere.
Like others said, a lot will depend on your judgement of the french leader's character. Either way, the french fleet MUST stay afloat, and the french must not be forced to surrender to GB. Try to find out what the coalition's goals are. Do they intend on going all the way and force a French unconditional surrender and include the brits in it? If that's the case, is the russian player in that coalition? If so, you need to talk to him and make him realize he's being a fool, since GB is a far greater threat to him than France can ever be. If going to war on the french side can prevent a defeat of that scale, do it. Will the coalition settle for a conditional surrender? If so then you can relax and lay back, and maybe even join in the coalition if you think the french player is fickle. Make sure it's clear you are the one getting the extended peace if that's the case. If you think he's trustworthy enough though, try to stay in his good graces and stay neutral. It doesn't mean though that you can ignore what's going on in the continental war.
Pay attention to what is going on, where the french fleets are, what forces are protecting their harbors, what the british are doing to try to capture these ports and force the french fleet out. Do not let that happen! A french player heavily commited in Italy/Germany should stack all of his fleets in one port with a full garrison and a decent corps/leader nearby to intervene. If he's massing his whole army in Germany with 1 factor garrisons in his ports, you can bet that BIG trouble will be coming soon. Give the french proper advice in that regard, and be prepared to take swift diplomatic and/or military action to save the french fleet.
It may seem an easy solution to invade GB early and be done with the problem, but it's not the best solution, as the british won't be available then to protect you from the french. You make an excellent french PP punchbag without british support, and you can bet the French will use that option eventually, maybe even with british support then. By far the very best solution is to play one against the other and strike a balance. Fortunately, the initial situation greatly favors Spain in that regard. Do your best to keep it that way, and remember that usually the greatest threat to tip that balance happens when France is heavily under attack and ends up neglecting/being unable to protect it's fleets.
Once and only once you have the Fr/GB situation under control can you pursue your plan for victory. The Turks should be your primary target, and you should leech PP from them as much as possible. Getting an actual surrender from them, or territorial expansion is irrelevant. All you want is to beat their armies scattered over North Africa for PP. Disembark where they are weaker beat their forces there, re-embark, go somewhere else and keep doing that. If playing with the economic manipulation option, get into the 10 vp square in the dominant zone and manipulate at +2 to stay there. Then you can stop toying with the Turks, hibernate and build up your fleet with most of your available resources. You cannot keep territories like Egypt, Palestine and Syria for very long. Overextending yourself in these areas is only going to mark you as more powerful than you really are, and as a target for someone else. Territories like Tripolitania and Cyreanica are relatively worthless to you with their low income, so better they stay in turkish hands to tempt someone else.
Rolling back to the early game: Portugal is yours, and so are Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Naples is yours too, but make sure you do not excessively antagonize the russians over it. You should declare war on both Naples and Portugal on the first turn, get those extra 17 ships in your ranks as soon as possible. Make it very clear that suiciding these minor countries's fleets will be considered a casus belli.
That's all I can think of right now, have fun :)
Edit: In many ways, the most important city in Spain is Cadiz. Put at least 10I there in the initial setup, and push up that number to 15 as soon as possible. Make sure that your fleets are either stationed there, or in a port with a strong field army close by, or in the actual port area should a british land force be in range for a landing. Do not tempt the british by leaving most of your fleets in a weakly protected port. Not much then can prevent the british from declaring war, moving first in the naval phase and blockading that port, and since they move before you in the land phase, from having a good chance at capturing that port before you can react it, forcing your fleet into nelson's waiting arms. Since a defeated blockaded fleet cannot go anywhere if the port has been captured, this means that the surviving ships must be scuttled. this is the worst case scenario, and a smart british player can capitalize on it if the timing is right. Once Spain's fleet is destroyed, even a world coalition against GB doesn't have that good of a chance at defeating her. Keep that in mind, protect your fleet, and always keep an eye on where the british fleets are.
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