William the Campaigner

[xjermx]

I've started a couple of games as William. In one I defeated and captured Harold very quickly, and the war was over.

In all the rest, I've spent as much as 10 years of gametime chasing English (and Norwegian) armies all over lower England, trying to capture or kill Harold.

Is there another trick, or does one just win battles, take land, and hope to finish early by getting Harold?

 

[Lordmars]

the way you are doing it is the 'correct' way to go about doing it, also it is worth making sure you seige every holding in england because that way you can replace the Saxons with more loyal vassals

 

[InnocentIII]

I just besieged as much as I could and killed the English who were handy. The Nowegians I ignored and eventually, I guess, they killed Harold. In any event, they made a white peace and left, while the English were ruled by Edward. I got what I wanted and when I hit 100% I made peace and had some ungodly number of personal holdings. Passed them out and voila, Conqueror of England. The revolts were nothing, Edward had very little left, Lancaster and Oxford revolted and my two mercenary bands put them down easily. I thought "la de da".

Then my bastard of a son-in-law declared war on me, calling himself King of France and demanding Normandy, which I could not hope to retain against his forces (Normandy provided around 1000 men at that point, I couldn't keep my levies raised forever). If I could have, I'd have saved the game there, but frankly William loses that war, and it makes holding England a harder proposition, I'd think. I ought to have continued, I had ten years left, but I just laughed and called myself beaten.