My technique was to build armies of peasants and sieze land from Gaul quickly. Bring them to their knees very fast. Overwhelm their cities with stacks of peasants. I then build up armies of better troops to take Britain, Dacia, Thrace and Spain. I then raised massive armies of Chosen Axemen, Beserkers, Gothic Cavalry and Naked Fanatics before sweeping down on the Romans and crushed them. I am now preparing to take on Greece.

I'm going through a Germania campaign myself, and I would suggest that you try to make peace with the Gauls for the moment. I did that, and they haven't even thought to attack me. My problem, however, is the Britains. They almost immediately attacked me, but I managed to repel them and took their only town on the mainland in Europe, in Belgica. Now I'm waiting to build a port so I can take the fight into their lands. They keep sending annoying raiding parties and keep trying to take it back. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is this:Make peace with Gaul, KEEP AN EYE ON BRITANNIA, build forts and watchtowers along the borders with Gaul and Britannia, and build up your forces until your big enough to fight back at them. Doesn't matter who. Then, go after the other, and then the Romans. Thats my opinion.

The last time I played a Germania campaign, my first objective was to secure my borders and to work on the economy. To secure my borders; I took control of the two rebel setalments in the north, built up an army of spear warbands and barb. cav to guard the southern river crossing, took control of Belgica (the only British setalment on the Continenet), and built as many watchtowers as possible along my borders. Economical growth was spurred by the building of roads, traders, etc... The typical stuff.

I didn't go on the offensive (can't use phalanx's to save my 455) until I could produce axemen, who are a lot better than swordsman!

This will be Great, here are my specs:

Campaign: Germania.

Difficulty: Vh/Vh

Places to Expand: I'm thinking the British Ilse would be nice, so I wanna go All out war with British, and make alliance with Gauls, sounds good.

Favourite Unit: Berserkers, must be the most fun units to play ever.

I'll start playings some more later, and than I will post my results!

Decided to start a campaign, so far..not so good.

I took control of the two cities in the north, then began to build up economy stuff (roads, traders, etc). It was all goin well until the dammed Brits decided to attack.

Fast forward five years; I have expelled the Brits from the Continent (for now) by takeing Belgica, and I have started a war with the Gauls. Not my best idea yet as the Gauls are allies with the Dacians, and the two effectivly suround all of my territory. I did take Alesia by storming it with base axemen, but I have a feeling that this wont last. Also, the Brit's are starting to send armies to the Continent in attempts to take Belgica. I'm definatly going to have to make some concesions with the Gaul/Dacian force so I can deal with the Brits. Maybe some territory? Not sure yet.

Any help would be GRETLY appreciated!

Forget Alesia. In my german campaign, I've taken all of the Gallic territory (fifty years ago) and still haven't taken Alesia. The point is, don't advance that way. Fortify your defence against them on that front, perhaps with occasional brief campaigns into Gallic territory without actually taking territory. You may want to open an additional front. I did this by sending an army by sea to capture the Northeastern corner of Iberia (since it was Gallic) and then supporting the Spainish in their war against Gaul.
Always remember: why spill your blood in fighting your enemy when others are willing to do so? I believe the cold war had a lot of that kind of stuff where one superpower sould support some minor group who had a bone to pick with the other superpower. Also the French support of the Americans in the American Revolution(though that was a bit more direct). I imagine it has been a common tactic throughout history. But I digress. The point is, make useful alliances. The Romans or Macadonians or Thracians are usefull against the Dacians.

I cannot overstress the importance of trade. If someone breaths, you either want to trade with them or stop their breathing. (meaning either trade or make war) That must be the key to your economy. Also, upgrade farming as much as possible. Not only does this help your basic $$, but increases your population. This allows more taxes and axes. Also, since you're in the German campaign, you'll just produce people that are so devilishly handsome like me.
That was mostly common sense.

But know this: when fighting other barbarians, the spear warband is the key to holding cities. The only way for the enemy to storm your cities is to bash holes in the walls, and you'll just have your phalanx there, waiting for them to run into it. They can't do anything, assuming you keep your phalanx in the right spot and they don't all get killed by ranged things.

Since attackiing Gaul Might not work why not attack the Britons. You should destroy them before they say " Wanna spot of tea".

[This message has been edited by Maxintius Brutus (edited 12-18-2005 @ 01:44 AM).]

Why is attacking Gaul not effective? Anyway, I am going for the Britons, and trying to make an alliance with the Gauls, so far, Germania is easy, hopefully it gets harder when we meet the Julii on the battle field.

I found that attacking Gaul in the opening turns works well and you can crush them quickly and efficiently before finishing off Britain. The Gauls are the major problem and if you take all their land then your empire becomes very big. Also sieze the rebel lands and once the Dacians attack pulverise them and follow that up with a couple of armies. If you can sieze Gaul early on it is pretty much all plain sailing after that.

My first attempt ended today, a last stand outside of Mognoticum(sp?) with 3 family members+13 axemen vs. two full stack armies belonging to Gaul and Dacia.

Restarting now, hopefully this wont happen again!.

Edit:

So far so good. I've taken control of the terry that I had before, minus Alesia. I also have instigated war between Dacia/Scythis vs Thrace, so my southern border is secure. The Brits just recently payed me 20,000 deniri to stop the war, nice of them isn't it? The Gauls, however, who have been my allies against the Brits since turn 1 have decided to try their luck against me as well. Oh well, not all things were ment to last.

[This message has been edited by Americ (edited 12-18-2005 @ 10:07 PM).]

^ Lol, intersting first try.

Anyway, Germania has proven harder than I thought, they cities are so spread out, and the Gauls can attack at any city they want, unlike the House of Julii who can focus on a small area.

I took Samobravia, and about 4 turns later I made a ceasefire with Britannia. Too bad the Alliance with the Gauls didn't work out, and now they're attacking me! Might have to start again. =/

In my H/H German campaign, I found the British to be slightly annoying, but certainly not dangerous. If you don't take their continental town, they will use that as a base & attack your cities. I found it better to take the town, and use a holding garrison to defend it against british counter attacks - the stupid AI will neglect ALL your other towns in its attempt to reclaim that starting town.

Also, this town is between your main cities & the richer Galic cities, so you will be moving forces thru/past it the whole time anyway - these can be called on to reinforce the garrison there when the brits come back.

I made an alliance with Dacia early on, & they declared war on scythia/thracia anyway, so that pretty much secured my eastern flank.

The gauls are easy to beat - your spear warbands trump theirs & human cav tactics should always beat any AI cav.
I used about 4-6 units of cav (barbarian cav is CHEAP) per army & stacked them all on top of eachother (including your general/s). I found this mass of horses to be powerful enough to take on just about any enemy unit. I also used a unit of war hounds with my main army just for the terror attribute.

You should be able to steamroll thru Gaul VERY quickly using this combo. Alesia, Massalia, Mediolanum & Patavium are all large & well developed so are worth capturing quickly - don't exterminate the populace - you need them to advance quickly to chosen axemen/archers & noble cav. & it's FAR easier to train those troops close to where you need them (in italy) than sending their populaces all the way back to germany just so you can train them into troops & march them all the way back again...

Once I had conquered the bulk of Gaul, I assembled another army & fleet to conquer Britain, just to eliminate that threat.

After that, rush into cis-alpine Gaul & down into Italy - you should be strong enough by now to blitz thru the main roman cities.

I unfortunately took my time through britain & gaul & by the time I was kicking in the gates at Arminium & Arrentium, the Brutii had all of Greece & Macedonia & were sending post-marius full stack armies to Patavium & up past Iuvavum (Dacian) into the heart of my territory(which should(?!?) have been safe)

I got a bit bored with it after that & haven't played anymore of that campaign.

GM

link

(shameless self-promotion)

[This message has been edited by Chonaman (edited 12-19-2005 @ 02:00 PM).]

Just wanted to point out a flaw in a tip a few posts back: building farms. Germanian areas tend to have...whats the term....really bad harvests. Yeah, they do get you money and population (and, generally, corruption), but I'd try and concentrate on Roads/Ports/markets/whatever else you can get your hands on that makes money. Furthermore: in the case that your cities ever get to large, you also CANNOT destory farms. Just remember that. (As you can tell, I'm rather anti-farm....they tend to be among the last things I build for a city)

i would sugest taking alesia(sp) b/b it has great income and is hight lv.

PS:take it soon b/c you want to take it before the gauls get good troops.

I'm about to start a Germania Campaign on MM. I would normally play on H/H but I'm going to take this on M/M, because I'm compensating by deliberately hamstring myself by using mainly Berserks and Axe units and using no warbands to give myself a more authentic "Germanic feel".

I'm THinking I'm gonna tone it down to Hard/Hard.

oh? why?

What I have found is that your main enemy is Britannia, they pull over a massive force. Don't attack Gaul until you eliminate the Britons from the main continent - even though their forces will outnumber you they're not very smart and easy to defeat. The General just runs his chariots into spear walls, and everyone else routs. Anyway, Gaul has problems with the Julians from the start, so Dacia should probably prioritize over Gaul. The Dacians are a real pain in the ass if you let them build up.
Also, I send my diplomat to Italy and ally with the Julians, then S.P.Q.R., the Scipians and finally the Brutii. Be sure to get trade rights too.

Hmmm, has anyone ever tried focusing on the eastern side of Germania? I might give up on the Gauls and Britons and try the Dacians later tonight.

I tried that a couple of months ago. First thing I did was build up numerous small armies of 5 spearwarband's and 2-3 units of barb cav, or armies with 3-4 units of Scythian Mercs, and set them up along the Rhine river crossing. I then abandoned Trier and sold it to the Gauls (after destorying all the buildings) and let the Brits and GAuls duke it out. I then invaded the upper Balkans and took control of the Dacian territory in no time, followed by controlo of the Thracian terry and the Scythian port settalments.

Edit:

Update on my campaign. Not much has happened really, Iam concentrating on building up Mogonticum so I can hit 6000 pop and start building Chossen Axemen. I have been beating back the Gauls (who want control of Trier) and am preparing to take Alesia with my crack Axemen divisions (9 Divisions at full strength with 1 or 2 silver chevrons each) and my best General+3-4 extra family members to provide cav support.

[This message has been edited by Americ (edited 12-24-2005 @ 06:33 PM).]

Don't ya mean Chosen Swordsmen?

Anyway, I'm trying to upgrade my cities to finish off the Brits at home, Though it takes ages. ( Especially after many restarts). It is annoying how underdeveloped The barbarian cities are.

Even though the Germanians are not so well when it comes to economy I found the best thing ot do was to just sit and wait untill I could begin training large, well equiped, and experianced soldiers before attacking anyone.

My first Campaigns were concentrated on taking the rebel lands to the north and north-west. Once they were under my control I stopped once again to regroup my armies in an area outside Alesia and build the economy up by improving my newly captured towns.

Once I was ready to face the Guals and Brits in a war I set out by taking Samarobriva and Condaqte Redonum. Once the northern coast was secure I began building defenses for a possible invasion by Britania's forces. Once my Armies took Alesia I again took another break to build up my empire's economy.

The next step was to push south from Alesia and capture Lugdunum and Massilia in an attempt to cut off Gaulic reinforcements fromt Italy. It worked and I was easily able to capture the rest of modern day France.

This is about where I am now.

I have about Half my armies spread out across southern France prepareing for the coming roman legions and the other half preparing another capaign into modern day England. Economy is well and I feel that once any threat is eliminated form the northern part sof my empire I can concentrate on Spain and the Alps. To worries from Sythia. They're to busy fighting Thrace and Dacia.

Alright well, Id suppose I'd throw up my Germania strategy for the Campaigns.

Well, the beginning of the campaign must be started with the building of roads in every settlement. After that is done, Trader, then farms, and then temples. Usually at this time in Damme, Trier, and Montagocium, the training of Spear Warbands should be done. Send your diplomat(s) to get trade rights and alliances with the surrounding barbarians (Britian will not ally with you, but Gaul will, as will Dacia). Send your spy into Alesia, you'll need it later.

Now, the shrines I perfer for each city are;

-Damme~Woden
-Montagocium~Woden
-Batavoridium~Freyja
-The one south of Vicus Gothi`Freyja
-Trier~Woden

This is due to the fact that the cities with Woden are going to be the ones that have the biggest starting populations, and therefore will be your "Military" cities (I.E., where the majority of your troops come from). Now, after a turn or two, two Warbands and a General should be taken from the town south of Vicus Gothi (A group of peasants should be trained and left behind) and take Vicus Gothi. The rebels will come out several times from the non-existant city walls, but as long as you keep up the Phalanx wall, you will defeat their attacks easily. Take and attack the city in the same turn. Then move your general back to govern the other city.

A similar strategy should be handled for Bordsholme, with a couple Spear Warbands and A General sent to seige and take the city. Now, you should be moving your troops mainly from Montogocium and Damme to Batavoridium and some to Trier if you're not training Warbands there every so often. now why these two towns? Because, Britian and Gaul will target these two cities mostly. Now, after a half-year or so Brittania will come knocking. Take all your troops in Batavoridium and strike back (Leave a peasant to garrison), driving for Belgicia and Samobriva. Lay seige to it, and fight off any incursions by Brittania to save it. your army should have a couple Merc Calvary, a General, Spear Warband (4-6 would be good), and some Skirmishers are nicely rounded. Now, while doing that, take the army in Trier, and dive into Gaul, perferably Alesia first. Keep Diplomats moving around getting alliances even as you start to take out the Gauls, probably by now you should start making treaties with the Romans. Now, if you're lucky, the spy will grant you the ability to sneak into the capital. If not, seige the town until Gaul sends up an army to stop you, destroy both forces when they do so to take the town. Your army again should haveCalvary, merc if you can't afford regular yet, a General, Spear Warband, Skirmishers, and if you want, Barbarian Merc infantty to guard your SW flanks.

Now, with Alesia and Samobriva in your tow, build some garrison forces, and then with the army in Belgica, strike out for Condate Rodedum. The Army in Alesia should coordinate and strike for Lundugum (South of Alesia). Now the Gauls are attacked two ways, and you cut off land that the Britons can land troops safely. To make sure the Britons cannot take Samobriva back (Oh, they will try), build Spear Warbands in the city to garrison. Meanwhile, back in your home cities, continue upgrading buildings and if you can spare it, building a third small army. If you can manage, take a small force and try to take Bohemium before Dacia can't. If you don't make it, don't worry, the city isn't that important, but it is good for economics.

Now, after taking Lugdunum and Condate Rodedum, strike down to Lemonum from CR, and Massila from Lugdunum (After building two units of Warbands in both cities for garrison, of course). Now, with taking Massila you shave off any attempts by Rome for a bit to get into Gaul, and Lemonum merely kicks Gaul in the britches a bit more while you expand. Brittania will send forces every once and a while to try to take back their coastal city, so keep Samobriva garrisoned and well provisioned.

Well, that's the beginner's steps I always take to playing Germania. After this, I usually take Narbo Martius, garrison it, and then go after the Roman powers with one army heading from the north, and two from the west. I always then handle the Julii, then the Senate, Brutii, and leave the Scipii to their own devices. Spain becomes a problem in the game later on, so never trust them, and Dacia is usually passive, so they're easy pickings if you want more barbarian territory to shift through. Hope this helps you guys.

TTK, Germania is known for axemen, so it has Chosen Axemen instead of Chosen Swordsman!