Description[]
The War Against Napoleon is the seventh scenario of the English Campaign, taking you to Spain in the Napoleonic Wars.
Briefing[]
The War Against Napoleon: 1808-1814
Sir Arthur Wellesley - the future Duke of Wellington - smiled grimly as he considered the task he faced.
The brazen yet brilliant French general, Napoleon Bonaparte, had conquered most of Europe and had even crowned himself emperor. But, by invading Spain and Portugal, he had finally overextended his forces. Iberia had become the soft underbelly of France's new empire.
And the difficult job of splitting it open had fallen upon Sir Arthur.
While the fate of Europe hung in the balance, he would cross swords with Napoleon's Grande Armee for the first time. There he would either perish... or emerge a soldier great enough to challenge Napoleon himself.
Objectives[]
- Sir Arthur Wellesley must ride to Portsmouth to get command of his troops and ships.
- Wellesley must survive.
- The French forces occupying Lisbon must be destroyed. Wellesley must accompany his troops to Portugal.
- Kill enough of General Junot's main army so that he is forced to surrender.
- A large French force stands between you and Talavera. Defeat it, and also the garrison that is inside the town.
- The next force you must defeat is at Salamanca. Along the way, you may choose to liberate Toledo.
- A division of Napoleon's personal army is stationed in Toulouse. March northeast across the Pyrenees and defeat them.
Hints[]
- You are given a small operating fund when you start out, but additional supplies of Gold and Iron will only come as rewards for military victories in Spain.
- Because of your limited operating funds, choose your units and their improvements carefully. Building additional units may not always be better than improving the ones you have.
- Liberating Badajoz and Toledo are both optional, though you will receive benefits if you do.
- British military superiority has always depended on well-managed troops that observe formations and orders strictly.
History[]
Centuries of on-again-off-again hostilities between England and France culminated in the Napoleonic Wars. Following the loss of the American Colonies and the Revolution in France with its chaotic aftermath, the English were aware that times were growing more dangerous. Just where in the world order England would fit was a question without a clear answer.
Then, to further muddy the question, a new power arose in France. Napoleon Bonaparte, with the armies and wealth of France at his disposal, set out to conquer and annex neighboring kingdoms with terrifying alacrity. His strategies and his tactics were revolutionary, and his campaign was brilliant. But it was Napoleon's intractable relationship with England that led to his undoing.
France's failure to defeat the English navy at the Battle of the Nile (1798) and the stunning loss at Trafalgar (1805) prompted the self-anointed French Emperor to undertake economic sanctions against the island kingdom. The total embargo he attempted to impose on British trade, however, backfired. French allies and subject nations began to chafe and openly rebel under the hardships this embargo created for them. And it was in Spain where the first cracks appeared as Napoleon's imperial ambitions began to crumble.
On the Iberian Peninsula, the English saw for the first time an opening where Napoleon's army could successfully be challenged on land. Sir Arthur Wellesley, a seasoned British officer fresh from the wars in India, was given the assignment: Liberate Portugal from Napoleon's armies and, if the opportunity arose, push on into Spain. For it was there, if anywhere, that the little general from Corsica could be stopped.
Walkthrough[]
Warning: Do not read through if you wish to figure the scenario out by yourself
This scenario has a rather straightforward loop of setting the player on the offensive repeatedly with very little variety, though the challenge is finding a tactic and composition that works with minimal losses; the player has relatively very little resources to work with.
The first thing the player can do is deciding upgrades for the army attacking Lisbon; the player has no means to produce army until they've beaten General Junot's forces in Lisbon. Gearing up what they have will be decisive in determining their military capital during the scenario's main phase.
A suggested approach of upgrades:
- Range and Damage for the British infantry
- Armor and Speed for the Royal Cuirassier
- Initially, range for the Bronze Cannon
The first bit of the scenario is pretty straightforward; have Arthur and his army board the transport and sail to Portugal. Beforehand, use the Frigates to clear the nautical path south, as the war vessels are an epoch more advanced that the French's and are fully upgraded. So as long as the player does not force an outnumbered engagement, they are certain to win. Ignore the canal leading east, as the French Towers could easily out-range the Frigates. Even if the player could get to the end, the path leads to a dead end where they cannot directly attack any of the target towns from the water. There is indeed a path leading to a hill overseeing Salamanca that the land units could use later, but the expense outweighs the strategic advantage.
When Arthur and his forces arrive and are fully upgraded, line the infantry and Cannon in a long lateral line facing the town, and set both units' behaviors to Stand-Ground. Have the Cuirassier and Arthur scour the town in tight formation; the French infantry would surely spot and fire at the player's Cuirassiers, but with enough Bullet armor value, especially with Arthur's Morale aura on top, the damage from the French infantry are negligible for the Royal Cuirassiers. It is the Bronze Cannons that the sword Cavalry have to be wary about and target. After successfully destroying the cannons, have the mounted units run back into the infantry and Cannons; the pursuing enemy units will die quickly in the ensuing killzone tactic.
This victory, however, is no cause for celebration; this is a critical time in which the player should not spread out their units, because, as telegraphed by Arthur, there will be an immediate counterattack by a squad of French sword cavalry, of which the the player does not have an effective counter at the moment. Keep Arthur close and keep the Bronze cannons safe. Even with Morale aura advantage, the player's own Cuirassiers are outnumbered and will take significant damage in the ensuing engagement, while the British infantry can only help chip out their health so much.
After surviving the cavalry attack, prepare to face the army north. Use the same Killzone tactic, though the battle will immediately stop with enough losses on the French side, and the player will be put through a scene that transitions into the main phase of the scenario.
Now, starting in Lisbon with a limited economical venue, it is recommended to do the following thing first:
- Have Citizens harvest wood and start a Farm; they are meant to gather resources to further upgrade existing troops
- Build a Hospital, but there is no need to purchase any upgrades
- Build an army; remember, in this particular situation, it is recommended to compose a peak-performing force with less variety rather than having a varied army with thinly spread optimizations. The suggested composition of the main forces are:
- Substantially more British infantry, to deliver the baseline damage
- A few more Cuirassiers to break the enemy's siege weapons and lure their infantry
- A complementing number of Dragoons with Range and Damage upgrade; they are important to counter the enemy's melee cavalry.
- One or two extra Bronze Cannons for crowd punch
- On or two Medics if affordable, though they are more in favor of speeding up the game rather than being irreplaceable; the player can always run back and forth to the prior hospital
- One Serpentine, with a small upgrade in Range, for a very specific purpose.
With the army upgraded and ready, the next step is to plan an invasion route. The suggested order of action are the following: Talavera, Toledo, Baltajoz, Salamanca.
Talavera had to be liberated first before engaging Toledo or Salamanca; liberating Toledo will yield extra resources the player can use to recover their loss or further add to their units' strengths. Liberating Baltajoz will trigger the appearance a Spanish rebel army marching single-mindedly towards any the closest Spanish town still occupied by the French; left alone, they will lose against any of the defending forces, but when the player can catch up with their aggression, they can be useful to bolster the the player's firepower against the French. There is a good reason why it is best to free Baltjoz late and have the Spanish Rebels shelved until before attacking Salamanca as the last target of liberation: after Salamanca, the the player will have one last big fight where they need more than what's enough to liberate each individual Spanish town. The Spanish army does not take time to heal their wounds or reinforce their ranks, so their use would likely be wasted if they don't make it to the most heavily defended French-occupied town: Salamanca, and the player consequently will have to suffer more losses than needed and lose what edge they may have for the final skirmish.
In most of the liberation fights, the Killzone tactic works, except for Baltajoz, which is best dealt with the Serpentine; because of the weapon outranging the Tower, slowly but surely, the Serpentine can liberate the town with no losses. The player need not to destroy both gates, only all the Towers, and the gates that haven't been destroyed will crumble on its own; the Spanish Rebels will appear in tandem with the prompt of success.
After Salamanca is freed, Arthur will want to face the French at their front porch in Toulouse; to get there, the player's army will have to walk over a mountain infested with French Sharpshooters. It is best to have the Cuirassiers and Arthur himself go around the mountain and clear the path before more vulnerable units pass through.
Napoleon's army is not far from the other side of the mountain. While the usual Killzone tactic works to some degree, the player will have to be more savvy in this case because the French have a couple of Bombard and 4 Serpentines with them this time. Have the cavalry target them whenever feasible. the player only needs to cull enough of the French for the scenario to conclude, but it doesn't mean it would be easier than liberating the three towns prior.
Trivia[]
- Should they survive the liberation of Spain, the Spanish Rebels will remain in Salamanca, and will not join Arthur fighting the French on their borders.
