Notes on Small Nations, Part 2: Sardinia in 1806.
Nov 3, 2020 16:56:29 GMT
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Post by pathdoc on Nov 3, 2020 16:56:29 GMT
For background, please see my thread on Sardinia in 1798 here: european-war-4.boards.net/thread/13588/notes-small-nations-sardinia-1798
The geography of the map area in which you begin the war in 1806 is largely unchanged. However, there have been a few changes to Sardinia and some major geopolitical shifts, and it would be easier to described what's changed.
ASSETS:
CITIES: Cagliari is gone, replaced by Sassari in the northwest. At start, Sassari is capable of training light infantry. Ajaccio on the North Island (which is geographically Corsica) is still owned by the French. There is a bug in Sassari's graphic and you cannot see what stage city it is.
ARTILLERY, STABLES are still absent.
However, you now have a Level 1 sea port on the west coast of the south island. From here, a ranged warship (Frigate, battleship, ironclad; fires 2 hexes) can almost but not quite cover the entire island (it cannot reach the northeast corner).
INFANTRY: Amadeo III is now 64 HP, 1 Nobility; he has a bearskin hat and a rifle, which go well with his infantry unit. There is also a single-group line infantry.
CAVALRY: Again, Sardinia does not start the war with cavalry.
ARTILLERY: There is a single light artillery.
FORTS: No fort is present this time. However, Sardinia in 1806 has the ability to build both MEDIUM FORTRESS (200 gold, 80 metal) and COASTAL GUN (60 gold, 60 metal).
NAVY: There is a privateer in the naval base.
FARMS: There is a farm at the southern tip of Sardinia and another is in Corsica.
MISC: With the exception of Amadeo himself, your minor units are all able to travel on water; Amadeo's boat will still cost him 40 gold.
IMPORTANT CHANGES: PLEASE TAKE CAREFUL NOTE.
1) You are now on the blue team, as is Naples. The enemies who formerly surrounded you (France, Italy, Spain) are now your allies. This means that you cannot steal Corsica without offending the French.
2) Sicily has now separated from Naples and is your enemy (RED). Nunziante has defected to Sicily, and is on double Guards. In addition, he has double heavy artillery and the Sicilian sea port holds a frigate, which can batter your privateer from a distance.
3) Against this, there is a large French fleet to your northwest.
4) The North African nations are no longer neutral. Tunisia and Morocco are now your enemies (RED), and now you cannot count on some random number of free hits or steals before they turn on you. Algeria is now your ally, which on the one hand means you have a friend in North Africa but on the other hand if you want the trade centre in Algiers you will either have to swindle it off them somehow (good luck doing that!) or wait until either Morocco or Tunisia beats them and then recapture it for yourself.
COROLLARIES:
1) You are no longer at immediate risk of annihilation by a superior force (assuming no generals or princesses, or a desire to wait until you have better units to put them on).
2) If you can beat Tunisia before Algeria overruns it, you will have access to an artillery factory and a stable as well as their home city, their sea-port, and three farms.
FOR DISCUSSION:
For the starting player with few or no generals, the best scenario may be to move Amadeo, the artillery and the infantry to Tunisia and use all three of them together to demoralize and take out the enemy units one by one. Amadeo can hold Kahia off while the artillery hits him from a distance. Then build your military-industrial base in Tunisia before attacking and absorbing Sicily. After this, adventures further afield become likely.
Alternatively, use one unit (preferably your line infantry) to capture all of Tunisia's farms. Tunisia is of limited area and this takes only a few turns to do. Once the Tunisian forces are paralyzed by starvation, they can be destroyed at leisure. I found that by Turn 10, the French had come to help and their ships were beginning to attack Kahia. You can park Amadeo on the northern tip of Tunisia where he is out of range of the coastal gun two hexes south of Tunis, but is still close enough to capture Tunis at once if the French empty it for you. The same goes for your light infantry in the south, near their stable. Your privateer can capture the sea port, then run away before it is destroyed.
At least on the first run through, the French did not show any inclination to steal my port in Sardinia.
For a beginning player, it is not difficult to obtain an artillerist like Kutaisov and it is not out of order to give him a double heavy cannon instead of something specialized like a siege gun.
Alternative strategies are welcomed, but please remember to keep the non-endgame player with only four slots in mind.
The geography of the map area in which you begin the war in 1806 is largely unchanged. However, there have been a few changes to Sardinia and some major geopolitical shifts, and it would be easier to described what's changed.
ASSETS:
CITIES: Cagliari is gone, replaced by Sassari in the northwest. At start, Sassari is capable of training light infantry. Ajaccio on the North Island (which is geographically Corsica) is still owned by the French. There is a bug in Sassari's graphic and you cannot see what stage city it is.
ARTILLERY, STABLES are still absent.
However, you now have a Level 1 sea port on the west coast of the south island. From here, a ranged warship (Frigate, battleship, ironclad; fires 2 hexes) can almost but not quite cover the entire island (it cannot reach the northeast corner).
INFANTRY: Amadeo III is now 64 HP, 1 Nobility; he has a bearskin hat and a rifle, which go well with his infantry unit. There is also a single-group line infantry.
CAVALRY: Again, Sardinia does not start the war with cavalry.
ARTILLERY: There is a single light artillery.
FORTS: No fort is present this time. However, Sardinia in 1806 has the ability to build both MEDIUM FORTRESS (200 gold, 80 metal) and COASTAL GUN (60 gold, 60 metal).
NAVY: There is a privateer in the naval base.
FARMS: There is a farm at the southern tip of Sardinia and another is in Corsica.
MISC: With the exception of Amadeo himself, your minor units are all able to travel on water; Amadeo's boat will still cost him 40 gold.
IMPORTANT CHANGES: PLEASE TAKE CAREFUL NOTE.
1) You are now on the blue team, as is Naples. The enemies who formerly surrounded you (France, Italy, Spain) are now your allies. This means that you cannot steal Corsica without offending the French.
2) Sicily has now separated from Naples and is your enemy (RED). Nunziante has defected to Sicily, and is on double Guards. In addition, he has double heavy artillery and the Sicilian sea port holds a frigate, which can batter your privateer from a distance.
3) Against this, there is a large French fleet to your northwest.
4) The North African nations are no longer neutral. Tunisia and Morocco are now your enemies (RED), and now you cannot count on some random number of free hits or steals before they turn on you. Algeria is now your ally, which on the one hand means you have a friend in North Africa but on the other hand if you want the trade centre in Algiers you will either have to swindle it off them somehow (good luck doing that!) or wait until either Morocco or Tunisia beats them and then recapture it for yourself.
COROLLARIES:
1) You are no longer at immediate risk of annihilation by a superior force (assuming no generals or princesses, or a desire to wait until you have better units to put them on).
2) If you can beat Tunisia before Algeria overruns it, you will have access to an artillery factory and a stable as well as their home city, their sea-port, and three farms.
FOR DISCUSSION:
For the starting player with few or no generals, the best scenario may be to move Amadeo, the artillery and the infantry to Tunisia and use all three of them together to demoralize and take out the enemy units one by one. Amadeo can hold Kahia off while the artillery hits him from a distance. Then build your military-industrial base in Tunisia before attacking and absorbing Sicily. After this, adventures further afield become likely.
Alternatively, use one unit (preferably your line infantry) to capture all of Tunisia's farms. Tunisia is of limited area and this takes only a few turns to do. Once the Tunisian forces are paralyzed by starvation, they can be destroyed at leisure. I found that by Turn 10, the French had come to help and their ships were beginning to attack Kahia. You can park Amadeo on the northern tip of Tunisia where he is out of range of the coastal gun two hexes south of Tunis, but is still close enough to capture Tunis at once if the French empty it for you. The same goes for your light infantry in the south, near their stable. Your privateer can capture the sea port, then run away before it is destroyed.
At least on the first run through, the French did not show any inclination to steal my port in Sardinia.
For a beginning player, it is not difficult to obtain an artillerist like Kutaisov and it is not out of order to give him a double heavy cannon instead of something specialized like a siege gun.
Alternative strategies are welcomed, but please remember to keep the non-endgame player with only four slots in mind.
