Help on getting countries to cooperate with each other?

[BossGnome]

Trying out the brits in the 1805 campaign, very difficult difficulty. My main problem is getting other countries to cooperate with me. Sweden starts off allied with me, but never does anything whatsoever (just sits there in uppland and sometimes get a protectorate or two), austria gets beat by france pretty quickly, so they're out of the question. Russia I can usually get to work with me, but prussia is another fish. In my game, Prussia decided to go on the side of france (a big pain), and teamed up with the french to go beat up sweden. Although I managed to cut off the french supply routes, making it very costly for them to take over sweden, they still ended up winning, and the Prussians ended up hating me for killing off many of their soldiers... and it seems until the french get the bad boy status, the nations wont willingly make alliances with me....

[Ralegh]

1) Thats how the Brits felt at the time - realism or what!

2) try establishing a trade route or two, and making some innocuous treaties (I sometimes promise not to attack something I view as in their sphere of influence, for example) - you get a small relationship imporvement every month trade is happening between you, and another small improvement envery month you are both honouring a treaty between the pair of you

3) try using a treaty to get what you want: that is a bit harder as Britain, since you dont have much they want, but consider ceding Hannover to Prussia in return for them declaring war on France and becoming your ally.

4) Getting the Swedish army to come out is often hard. I have had some luck telling them to rally in Denmark, and then telling them to rally in Hannover. Once they are on the mainland, it is easier to get them to do as they are told.

5) I agree that Austria is a lost cause in 1805 (unless you can rush a good army there right at the very beginning of the game) - its actually the morale loss from lossing battles with lots of men that does them in. Try telling them to rally in the east of the country - that will draw out the war for a while at least.

[carnifex]

but never does anything whatsoever (just sits there in uppland and sometimes get a protectorate or two),

You do know that you can ask an ally to send his army to a particular province, right? Just checking

[Naomi]

ORIGINAL: Ralegh

1) Thats how the Brits felt at the time - realism or what!

2) try establishing a trade route or two, and making some innocuous treaties (I sometimes promise not to attack something I view as in their sphere of influence, for example) - you get a small relationship imporvement every month trade is happening between you, and another small improvement envery month you are both honouring a treaty between the pair of you

3) try using a treaty to get what you want: that is a bit harder as Britain, since you dont have much they want, but consider ceding Hannover to Prussia in return for them declaring war on France and becoming your ally.

4) Getting the Swedish army to come out is often hard. I have had some luck telling them to rally in Denmark, and then telling them to rally in Hannover. Once they are on the mainland, it is easier to get them to do as they are told.

5) I agree that Austria is a lost cause in 1805 (unless you can rush a good army there right at the very beginning of the game) - its actually the morale loss from lossing battles with lots of men that does them in. Try telling them to rally in the east of the country - that will draw out the war for a while at least.

I followed broadly similar lines, except that I wouldn't tell Swedes to set foot on the continent as they would sooner be beaten into surrender. Let Swedes sit where they would want to, for a longer-drawn-out war of them with the French-Spanish coalition would help a bit where Swedish ships happened to be near - and protect - my merchant ships from sporadic frigate disturbances. For Austrians, I would suggest them to take a couple of protectorates from French's hands, so as to compensate for their inevitable territorial loss a surrender would then force them to make. Same suggestions for Russians. In the meantime, I would try my best to rouse - by diplomatic means - French protectorates, followed by their dual-flag provinces, into independence. For Prussia, seduce them against the French, but remotely possible especially when they liked to attack very early their neighbouring minors, which the Swedes tended to protect. This all serves to be part of my early strategy as Britain.