Go Not Softly: A French AAR

Germany is, of course, the 64 dollar question. Though I've read a lot of threads here claiming that version 1.02 Prussia almost never unifies, that hasn't been my experience. For example, in my last game, as a neutral Austria, I had to watch Germany form because of the Frankfurt Assembly proposal, then gradually take over most of Europe as they turned successively on Russia and France and then back again, taking 5-10 provinces each time.

Obviously one key will be to be sure they face a two-front war. I'll also try to build the Dutch into an ally to serve as a buffer state.

Militarily, I can exploit my unquestioned (if UK is on my side) naval superiority to conduct cavalry raids along the coast of the Baltic sea. Other than that, I'll of necessity have to conduct a defensive war. I'll try the 'trap block' gambit of letting him burst through in the center, then hoping to cut him off with strong forces on the wings of the salient his attack will form.

No silver bullets here, but with enough lead ones I hope to survive.

Part II:

So I unpause for two days, which is enough time for me to pick up raw materials on the WM. Now I freeze it again on January 3 and am ready for the serious business of setting up my industry.

France has 30 machine parts available, and all the national states have some craftsmen available, so there is a lot of choice. Already running are a Regular Clothing factory, one for Luxury Clothes, and a Clipper Shipyard, so Fabric is obviously going to be a priority. Other than that, there are the usual Ammunition and Small Arms factories, and ones for Cement, Steel, and Lumber.

It is tempting to go for self-sufficiency right off the bat and invest in Fabric, Regular Furniture, Luxury Furniture, and Paper. But this would use up all my machine parts and leave a lot of unemployed craftsmen lying around, so I am going to hold off on the furniture for now and build lots of Steel factories instead, to both employ my people and make a profit. Steel factories are much more expensive than those for other raw materials (5K vs 1-2K), but they only cost one mp, so they will allow me to stretch that resource as much as possible.

I end up building two linen factories (10mp), one for paper (7mp) and 13 new/expanded steel mills. Add steel to the state with the Small Arms factory, so I can move workers out of that loss-producing industry. Also add steel to the states with industries that rely on Fabric, as even two Fabric factories will not be nearly enough to keep them running all the time.

I’m bringing in about 200 profit per day, due solely to the exorbitant tariffs. This won’t last long, however, once my inventory settles down, so I need to make hay while the sun shines. Two visits to China to sell technology (just the cultural and naval inventions, plus I can sell ‘The Command Principle’ twice (bug?). I haven’t seen that tech since Alpha Centauri.) and a judicious paring of my inventory raise enough cash to set up the remaining three trade posts.

I’m itching to start the war with Tunisia, but unfortunately have used up all my diplomatic points, and am (temporarily) not a great power, so I need to wait until next year.

After a few weeks, the tariffs settle down and I am losing 30-40 per day. Nothing I can do for the time being but watch my debt mount and be glad I’ve grabbed the colonies I wanted already.

In March I catch a break when Alsace-Lorraine debates trade issues. With the polls for the upcoming election moving back and forth in a tight race, I gladly choose the Interventionist side over Lassez-Faire (completely contradicting my real-world beliefs).

In August, I decline to sign the London Treaty. Partly because the Netherlands have more potential than Belgium as a buffer state, but largely because the Dutch always prove quite willing to sell Luxembourg on the cheap. If only I had the Diplomacy to spare….

With the polls from the day before showing the Republicans leading 41-37%, a very close election kicks the free market advocates out and I am free to raise taxes. Soon after, I note a serious case of buyer’s remorse when opinion swings decisively toward the ousted party. Serves them right for voting for a party that promised to raise taxes, then acting surprised when they do just that. Both other parties are Interventionist, so I will keep an eye on this and ban the free traders if needed before the next election.

I bump all my direct taxes to the 60-70% range (more for the poor, that’s where the money is right now). This gives me a small daily profit and allows some long-overdue railroad investment. I concentrate on the provinces with the factory icon in them. Taxes and tariffs can’t stay this high for long without chasing away my people, but I’ll soon be industrializing and hope to be able to cut them back. In fact, since I notice that tariffs only bring in 12 per day on maximum, I cut them back sharply.

This takes me to the end of the first year. Lots of setting up, but I’ve grabbed the colonies I wanted, started industrializing, and put a government in place that will allow me to make a consistent profit. In early 1837, I look forward to my factories coming on-line, and my picking up the Diplomacy point(s) needed to start my North African campaign. My only worries for the immediate future are a debt that is approaching 100,000 and a very slow pace of railroad investment.

Thanks for the support and the tips.

Part III: Implementation

1837 is ushered in with a chorus more beautiful than the 1812 Overture cut from the soundtrack. The chiming of popup windows announcing the completion of my factories.

Except for a few renegade Clerks, my industrial population is now fully employed. I could freely convert the few unemployed Clerks into Soldiers, or Laborers, but they give a research bonus and support future development, so I’ll leave them in place.

After tweaking my factory assignments, I am still woefully short of Fabric, with none available to me on the world market. Good thing I put in those extra Steel factories.

By January 12, I have the Diplomacy point I need to declare Colonial War on Tunisia. After erupting into the capital with five divisions, I quickly knock out the garrison and besiege the city.

Tunisia has a large troop count, but pitiful morale, and thus their forces are easily beaten. After the capital falls, I split my five divisions into two units and set out to subdue the remaining four provinces.

They fall by June 27. It is tempting to take the EU:I course and annex them completely, but I’ve seen the advice on this board and take the EU:II path of annexing all but the capital and avoiding badboy. I add a Humiliation condition to the treaty, in order to minimize the Prestige cost when I finish the job in five years.

Repositioning my forces, I move on the next uncivilized target, Aldjazair, on July 20. I’m tempted to reinforce my divisions, which are at 70-80% strength, but decide not to. I’ve faced only token opposition so far, and most of my casualties have come from attrition, which is calculated on a % basis. So I’ll take fewer losses if I attack with smaller forces.

Meanwhile, my budget is coasting along at +20-30 per day. I pay off some debt, and build some railroads, at a ½ debt/RR ratio. I could just run up the debt and built RR, but I don’t want to end up in the position of the Ancien Regime, spending 50% or more of my income on debt service.

New Year, 1838. My trading posts in the Pacific Islands are finished. I want to start claiming colonies, but I also plan to start researching a “+5% Prestige” cultural tech in another month when my current research is complete. It will be a long wait, but I decide to take the risk. The 5% bonus will enhance the prestige gain when I claim colonies.

Prestige is important to me. In previous games, I have considered WM Machine Tools found before 1850 to be manna from heaven, the equivalent of succeeding in a coup attempt in HOI. But based on what I’ve read in these boards, I think that high prestige will increase my access to machine tools in these early years before I can make them myself. Machine Tools are a binding constraint on my industrial development, thus on my profitability, thus on my ability to support a strong military, etc. So I’ll wait to claim the colonies. Next time I play, I may even pick the prestige-enhancing technology first.

February 4, 1837 – Finish my economic research, start on the cultural invention.

February 10, 1837 – Win another colonial war. Annex all but the capital. Out of Diplomacy Points. Reposition my troops for an attack in the interior of Africa.

The rest of the year is quiet. I continue paying off debt and building RR in my factory provinces.

Next: Claiming colonies, expanding the Empire in North Africa, Building Industry.

Colonial Wars so far are against Tunisia and Aldjazair, both near the north coast of Africa. As soon as I figure out how to host screenshots, I promise to start adding them.

Thanks again for the encouragement. This is such a deep game, the genre has come so far from the early days of High Command, it is good to be able to trade experiments and strategies

I should have another update this evening once I get home.

Interesting question regarding continued expansion via additional trading posts. Right now, I have the six posts in three different states which I can claim as colonies. All were built in early 1836. These will give me a nice prestige bump when I claim them, especially if I can wait until my research into Romanticism gives me an additional bonus to all prestige I earn.

I wasn't planning on trying to grab too many more coastal or island colonies via trading posts, but there are good arguments either way. On the Pro side, a main argument is that everyone else is doing it, and so if you don't get in on the game you will be left behind. You can grab up some nicely profitable resources and either block the expansion of others or set up your own doorway.

The Con side, which I've tended to favor, is that the posts are expensive, they can be quite vulnerable, and are hard to maintain even without great power opposition if revolts kick in.

The cost argument is especially persuasive to me in this game because I've already got nearly 80,000 in debt in only three years, and have lagged far behind in developing my railroads. Interest costs are already eating up almost 75/day, and the money the trading posts would cost will pay a quicker return in railroads or debt service.

Revolts can also be a pain, forcing me to sail troops halfway around the world and dig out what are often large and well-entrenched rebel forces by the time I get there. The more isolated colonies I grab, the more time and troops I need to expend to hold them.

So, for my game as France, I'm going to settle for the islands I've already claimed, at least until I've cleared the way to penetrate into Africa from the North. Once I wipe out the Uncivilized nations in my way, I will have a good base from which to colonize the interior.

(Vperic, I’d like to take you up on your offer of hosting for screenshots.)

Part IV – Growth and Consolidation

In October of 1838, my armies are ready to attack south from Tunisia into Tripoli. This is a large country, but practically undefended. I inexorably begin to swallow up her territories.

Meanwhile, I continue to build RR and pay down my debt. My science research slowly creeps along until finally, in October of 1839, Idealism is ready. Now I can claim my three colonies, and get a nice prestige boost, vaulting me to near 200pp and near the top of the Great Powers list.

All the foreign territory I have added places a much bigger strain on my convoy capacity than I had expected. Worse, my Clipper Ship factories have not been keeping up. I had assumed that the available Fabric would be distributed evenly, but it seems to all be going to the Regular Clothing factory, making a nice profit but not increasing my transport capability. I have to shut down my RC factory and lose more money for a while until I have enough ships to move all my new products.

New Years Day of 1840 sees a nice present: The UK is offering me a Defensive Alliance. A full alliance might involve me in a lot of wars I don’t want to fight, but this proposal seems a good idea, consistent with my strategic goals from the outset, so I accept.

January 13, 1840: Finally, the last province in Tripoli falls. Annex all but the capital. My divisions have been ground down to 2,000-3,000 effectives, but have also gained good experience and greatly increased my foothold in Africa. I reposition them for the resumption of war once the peace treaties from earlier wars expire. I now have three one-province states to annex when that occurs.

October 1, 1840 – The inevitable election campaign is launched. The Orleanists are too popular, and I can’t afford to see them back in power, so I am forced to ban them.

January 27, 1841 - I notice that my imports are soaring, and my cash balance plummeting. Hoping that I know the cause, I check my inventory and am delighted to see that I have managed to import over 21 machine parts! The investment in Prestige is paying off.

Machine Parts in hand, my first move is to open negotiations with the Dutch. For the price of two technologies, they are willing to hand over Luxembourg and a few thousand in cash as well. Woo Hoo!! I immediately add a Fabric factory to the province, which hlready has Clerks and a few Craftsmen in place. Prime, populous real estate in Western Europe will never come so cheap again.

I also add the long-desired Furniture and Luxury Furniture factories, and expand my existing Paper and Fabric factories. These all go in my most populous states where plenty of Steel, Canned Goods, Glass, and Wine workers are available to move over into more profitable jobs. When these come on-line, I will have all the materials I need to start creating new Clerks and Craftsmen.

In deciding who to convert, I of course look first to what factories need more workers. Fabric is still in short supply, next to the possible demand. My Regular Clothing and Clipper Ship factories are among my most profitable, so I would love to be able to increase production.

Next, I look in the chosen state for likely targets. Farmers are better than Laborers, IMO, because they are less profitable. I’d much rather lose a grain farmer than a silk grower or iron worker. So I focus on POPs working on Grain Farms or Cattle Ranches.

Since the cost of conversion is fixed, whether the target POP has 100 people or 100,000, I’ll pick the biggest available. I find a likely first target with 80,000 and convert them to Clerks. This factory has a slot for additional Clerks, so adding them rather than more Craftsmen will mean a production bonus as well as the increase in research. I'll continue converting new Fabric workers as the materials become available.

Problem is that with all the expenses of building the new factories on top of the costs of the machine tools, my debt is soaring. And most of my output is going into products that I am using to convert workers (e.g. Paper, Furniture, Regular Clothing, etc.) rather than selling, so the situation is even worse. Still, if I can gut it out, I’ll be in good position to start making money again.

August 1841 – the militaristic Legitimiste party wins the election with nearly 70% of the vote. They are Interventionist, so I don’t have to change my tax structure. The only difference is that they are pro-military. Eh, let them have their parades. The military has its uses. It isn’t as if there is a demagogic Bonaparte out there still to take advantage!

April 24, 1842 – An industrial crash destroys a steel factory in Auverne. The worst of all the random events. When this happens to a key industry in the early game, before any machine parts are available, I am tempted to call ‘shenanigans’ and start over. However, I have the MP I need to rebuild, and decide to put down a Fabric factory in the ashes as I am still not making enough.

June 1842 – My Tunisian peace treaty expires. After years of watching my forces conduct training exercises right across the border, the people of Tunis are not surprised to see their capital quickly invaded and annexed. A slight increase in badboy, but I am surprised to see that the capital comes complete with two factories. On the down side, one of them makes Clipper Ships and thus just makes my Fabric shortage worse.

I note that I am still accumulating machine parts. I have a stockpile of 60, which is more than I will need for a long while. They are also driving my debt to near 100,000 again. I could stop buying them, but I decide to play ‘addition by subtraction’. Every part rusting in a warehouse outside Paris is a part not being used to complete a Prussian Ammunition factory.

So I usher in the New Year of 1843. Time to pause, sit back, reassess my position, and do some strategic planning …

The debt is a big problem, the interest is taking up a lot of my income. I usually try to not let it get this big. It is tempting to just plunk down RR after RR, especially when you see the AI doing this, but without a little fiscal discipline you can soon spend yourself into a hole that will take decades to crawl out of.

The Fabric shortages are aggrivated by the fact that France starts with the Clothing factories already in place. If you compare the Cotton-Fabric-R Clothing tree to the Timber-Lumber-R Furniture one, it is clear that the second is more achievable in the early game. I've never had trouble buying enough cotton, timber, or lumber on the WM to sustain my factories. So if you are given the choice, I think the Furniture is better early on.

Contrary to 1.00 or 1.01, though, the Luxury Clothing and Furniture are not huge profit centers. The Regular versions make a lot more money. So a small factory for each luxury is useful primarily just to create the goods needed to convert workers. For the bread-and-butter of your daily income, expand the Regular versions rather than adding Luxury ones.

Converting a few Farmers to Clerks can do wonders for the Fabric shortages. For example, a factory with 5 Craftsmen POPs and a total worker population of 81,000 was producing .25/day. Converting a 56,000 Farmer POP into Clerks boosts output up to .36.