Austrian Strength and Opening Moves

[jhdeerslayer]

As the French, I find the Austrian's quite aggresive to start the campaign out not too mention they win more battles then they lose. They are quite strong it seems and their cavalry raids in my rear are annoying too!

Maybe some advise for this poor general?

[Sytass]

I managed to push back the Austrians behind the Po despite their superior numbers. What I try to do is corner the weaker parts of their army and try to avoid direct confrontations with main forces. Often I find the Austrians retreating when I put sufficiently large stacks into two, better three hexes next to their armies. Only engage when you are certain of victory and when your troops have sufficient supplies, readiness, choesion and morale (none in the reds if possible). Attack with multiple stacks from multiple directions if possible.

I also detach a few cavalry units to hunt raiders and cause some havoc behind the enemies' lines, too. Maneuvering into superior positions while avoiding being cornered yourself is the key to success for me so far.

The Alpine theater is a bit trickier, because you have fewer troops and less room to maneuver in, but so far it is a rather indecisive draw there.

[jim pfleck]

Yes, concentrate your troops into a few large stacks. If you are playing Piedmont or the long campaignit is best to make two big stacks witha few supporting stacks and attack that way. I alos found that unless I played out some of the battles, especially in rough terrain, I could not dislodge the Austrians. This, for me, is a change from For Liberty, which I could win as any side without ever fighting out the battles. Also, as the French, you have at least 5 excellent leaders in reserve so get them attached to troops as soon as possible.

Jim Pfluecke
NII Playtester