The nation of the Holland has been long dismissed by Europe as a mere nation of bankers. The Spanish and the British have their eyes set on dominating the New World, while the French are just looking to gain money like us, but are more ambitious. But it is time to change that! We must go forth and conquer the New World, for the glory of Holland!
Now that I've gotten that out of my system, here's the goals for the Dutch:
1. Wipe out all Native tribes.
2. Gain 1000 Tribute.
3. Control more land than any other nation.
However, this walkthrough will teach you how to gain every last territory on the western half of the globe.
CONQUESTS
In a Conquest scenario, just rush the enemy with your army. Usually you will have at least one reinforcement army coming, and you will almost always capture the enemy capital before they've even built a military.
THE WEST INDIES
First, invade the West Indies. This mission, as it turns out, has you fighting not Native Americans but pirates. Your goal is to (backed up by an island-city) find and destroy every Pirate port on the map. There are four, mostly in the south/west corners of the map. The Pirates have almost no navy, so the only advice I can give here short of a map of where the ports are is to build Bomb Ketches for siege work and some Men-of-War to explore.
CRUSHING SPAIN
When I first started this campaign I intended on attacking the Orinoco from the West Indies. Unfortunately, the Spanish had beaten me there rather than invading Florida. However, I turned this around, and instead wiped them out in my second turn.
Invade Cuba. If you've read my walkthrough on the American's campaign then you will be familiar with the battle; it is the Battle of Havanna. The map is shaped like Cuba, with numerous islands scattered around Cuba. You have a group of Citizens on an island in the south, and a small army (definitely not enough to rush). The goal is to take Havanna, the Spanish capital.
Initially construct a City, and build up your economy. Try to get Sea Transport (it requires 1 Level of Science and an Anchorage) so that you can explore Cuba. Build a second island on your starting island, and, once you have the resources, construct another City in Eastern Cuba (the way the map is shaped, it would actually be Southern, but I'm thinking of how Cuba actually appears on a real-world map).
Your economy, due to limited space and forests, will be gasping by the time you establish your Cuban city, but afterwards you will begin to flourish. The Spanish only begin with two Cities in the west, and if you colonize Cuba they won't spread southwards.
Continue your economical buildup, and, once you are able to, advance to the Enlightenment Age. Construct a Fortress and train a large force of Spies. The Spies' main purpose will be bribing any and every Spanish soldier they come across. This can be extremely effective, if you purchase enough Spies, and coordinate their bribes (press Pause, give them orders, and then Unpause to have them all carry out orders at the same time).
The Spanish will, by the time you surpass them score-wise, have a huge army of Tercios on the border between West and East Cuba. Bribe most of them, and then launch a huge attack against them. Simply fight your way west, in till you've secured the island.
Upon your triumph, the entire Spanish Empire (Cuba and Orinoco) will fall to you. The legendary conquerors of the Aztecs, Maya, and Inca, and the empire that ruled most of th Western Hemisphere, is already dead.
THE BRAZIL-FLORIDA CAMPAIGN
Make an alliance with the Maya, and then overrun Amazon. All you have to do is place an army there to win said overrun.
Next, attack Brazil. The scenario is a "Frontier Expedition". These are basically just Conquests, but in them only Explorers can ward off the Fog of War and Black Map. This means that you will need to build a force of Explorers to escort your military at all times.
Then, invade Florida. This is a simple Conquest. Make sure, upon your victory, to keep your army stationed there: you'll need it to safeguard your presence in North America. (note: I consider Mexico to be part of Central America)
THE FRANCO-DUTCH WAR: ELIMINATING THE FRENCH
The French, surprisingly, are very tough in this CTW. They will by now have taken Carolina and Pennsylvania, forcing the Americans back to their small capital of Virginia and the British back to New England and Greenland.
Invade the Louisiana Territory: because the French are so strong, ironically, this is the perfect time to strike their capital. If you've read my American walkthrough just ignore this. If not, the walkthrough is in the next paragraph.
Your goal is taking the French capital, which is right in the middle of the map and is the only City they possess. The mission has you beginning with a moderate-size army and a group of Citizens in the east. Establish your first City and begin building an economy like normal.
Send your First Army to the French capital of New Orleans, set to "Raid". They by themselves will kill all of France's Civilians, causing them to have effectively been defeated. If you have an army in Cuba you will get reinforcements and not have to worry about building another army. If you aren't going to receive reinforcements, then just build a small force to take New Orleans.
With the fall of the French capital has come the fall of their mighty empire. You've now walled in the Americans, who cannot Declare Independence nor expand due to you walling them in, and have become just as big a power in the North as you are in the South.
THE FALL OF THE PORTUGUESE: CENTRAL BASIN
You should now attack the Central Basin, which is the Portuguese capital. If the Portuguese fall you will be the only strong European nation left.
The mission is a rather easy one. The French still have a small colony in Brazil, and are fighting with the Portuguese over it. You have to capture the Portuguese capital and the French capital. The French, strangely, are the stronger nation here, owning more Cities in the beginning. You start with a nice-sized army and some Civilians.
Build your economy like normal. Rush the Portuguese, setting your military to "Raid" so that they will kill of the Civilians. Then capture Sao Paulo, the Portuguese capital and sole City. Sao Paulo is in the middle of the map.
The French are in the east and northeast. Build a huge army of infantry (any kind will do) and Bombards, and then use total war (destruction of absolutely all buildings) to cripple them before capturing the Cities.
The Portuguese Empire will fall to you, and with it so does all but a few territories in South America. The only potential European threat to your power is Britain.
CONQUERING THE MAYA
Now is the time to break your alliance with the Maya. While you were conquering the Brazilian territories from the Portuguese/Natives, you should have positioned an army in Cuba. Use the Cuban Army to invade the Yucatan, the Maya's capital. Luckily, because you allied with the Maya, they could expand as they pleased and therefore you are gaining more territory than if you had attacked them earlier on.
The scenario can be annoying, hard, or easy depending on how well you fight the Maya. You start with a large army and group of Civilians, floating out in open water. Your goal is not to capture the enemy capital, but to capture every last City.
Send your troops west in till they hit land, and then build your first City while attacking the nearest Maya City. You will easily capture it, but the next City has guards and is Large: it won't be hard to take, but time-consuming.
Rather than constructing new Cities, just build up your economy in the captured City. The next City is in the northeast, and is the only one that you can easily take: forests create a sort of road, from one City to the next. This City will be a fairly hard fight: you'll just have to win via a war of attrition.
The third City is EXTREMELY difficult to take, as your enemy doesn't have to distribute troops to as many Cities. Construct a Castle in the second City taken, and use it to train a small army of Spies. These Spies will be very helpful in reducing your enemies numbers, while also having the obvious benefit of easing the stress of trying to maintain your army there. Eventually you should win, and then you can focus on Tikal, the fourth City.
Focus on the military buildings in Tikal: if you destroy those the Mayans won't be able to hold you off with their numerical advantage. This will be fairly difficult, due to the fact that every once in a while new infantry will pop out of their Barracks and try to fight you off, but once the military base falls Tikal will be easy to take.
Now, the road splits off into a fork: the northern route leads you to a small, weak City, while the southern route leads you to a large, strong City. Aim for the southern City. Once you capture it the northern City won't be a problem.
In defeating the Mayans, you now have control of Yucatan, Central America, and Venezuela. The Inca are the only nation left to oppose your goals in South America.
AMERICA
The British have been conquered by the Iroquois. This means that America is independent, and thus you can attack them without fear of the British supporting them.
To help you visualize North America, here's the situation:
Aztecs
- Mexico
- New Mexico
- Texas
- California
- Strongest nation in the world, apart from yours.
Lakota
- Dakota Plains
- Nunavut
Iroquois
- Great Lakes
- New England
- Quebec
- Greenland
- Locked behind you and the Lakota, they aren't willing to fight anybody and thus will not expand.
This is a good time to attack Virginia, the only American territory. The mission is simply a Conquest.
THE ANDEAN CAMPAIGN
It's time to remove the Incas from South America, but before we do so you should invade Chile. Make sure that an army is stationed where it can attack Peru.
Your goal in Chile is to take the enemy's capital (a one-city empire), but its different in that you can only build your army using a mass of Ruins (at least two dozen) scattered about the map, which is full of forests and other choke points. Just get about 10 Ruins to spend.
Next, you must attack the Inca. Make sure you have reinforcements coming in from another territory. Your goal is to capture the capital (center of the map), using your starting military and group of Citizens (eastern corner). If you have reinforcements coming, just rush them. The Inca have several Cities in this scenario, but a very small military.
Now, you have united all of South America and, as a reward, get an extra 100 Tribute!
By now you will find that the Aztecs have taken Oregon and the Lakota have taken Yukon. There are no Barbarian territories left for the picking.
THE FALL OF THE LAKOTA EMPIRE
With the British defeated by the Iroquois and every other European integrated into your mighty empire, you have coincidentally staved off the Native's fates. They also now rule mighty empires, like the Europeans do in their homelands and Asia. But it is time to change that: we must take the Lakota capital of Dakota Plains!
The mission has you, starting in the middle of the map, trying to take every Lakota city (of which there are three). Also, the Aztecs should have an army on the border of Dakota Plains and as such will be an ally in this mission, making it very easy.
No mountains and skimpy forests will make constructing an economy a challenge. Two Lakota cities lay in the west and northwest, and the third lays in the north. Just wage a war of attrition in the west, and target military buildings. They will eventually just wear down to where they can't fight you.
THE IROQUOIS
The Iroquois, as they are just at peace with you and not an ally, should be your next target. Invade the Great Lakes. Make sure you have two reinforcements coming in.
The mission's goal is to take the capital. You begin in the southwest. The Iroquois have their empire centered around a donut-shaped lake, with a river (Ocean-terrain) extending to the northern tip of the map. The island in Great Lake, as I will dub it, holds a small City. The other Cities are on the western, eastern, and southern (Capital) coasts. Just rush them: they will have almost no military to beat off your attack.
WHAT WILL YOU DO?
Since you are an ally of the Aztecs, and they are the only competition left, you get the option of ending the campaign now. I chose to end it by invading Mexico, the Aztec capital.
THE BATTLE OF TENOCHTITLAN, AND THE FALL OF THE WEST
This has to be the most enjoyable mission in the campaign. The map is shaped like Tenochtitlan: there is a somewhat clover-shaped island in the middle of the map, surrounded by a lake, with to causeways (wide strips of land) running from the southwest and southeast banks of the lake to the island.
Your goal is to take every city. Since, historically, Tenochtitlan was very large, too large for a single City in this game, it is split into four Cities, which out of laziness I will call Capital (south), Bombsite (southeast), Westcoast (west), and Lastpoint (northeast).
You begin with a large army and handful of Civilians (it never, for some reason, gives you a City as the Dutch) in the south, along the mainland. Bring your army to the southwestern causeway (you will have to explore) and destroy both Towers (the causeway is fortified). Then, cross the causeway and destroy any other fortifications. The first attack will fail to take a City, but it will open the causeway. It is also rather entertaining watching your infantry charge across the causeway.
Build your economy like normal; there is a huge forest to your west, and a mountain towards your east that can be accessed via a second City. Construct, whenever you have enough resources, this military base:
2 Fortresses
2 Siege Factories, in front of the SW Causeway
5 Barracks, in front of the SW Causeway
2 Anchorages, east of the SW Causeway
2 Anchorages, west of the SW Causeway
The reason for build two separate naval bases is that the causeways will prevent you from being able to sail all the way around the island. Now, there's two main strategies you can use to throw the Aztecs into chaos: total war and Spies.
Artillery will get quickly annihilated by the masses of Aztec infantry, so instead build large fleets of Bomb Ketches to sail around, destroying buildings with this priority in mind:
1. Anchorages
2. Fortifications
3. Military Production
4. Cities
5. Economic Buildings
If you've done the total war well, there won't be anything left of Tenochtitlan except scattered houses and the Cities.
While bombarding the island, also construct a large army of Spies. With them you can wait in till the Aztecs build up a large army, and then bribe every soldier in it/
The purpose of the base right in front of the causeway is to cut down on the amount of time it takes to transport soldiers to the battlefield, and train many in a short period of time. The lake is impassable: your soldiers can't turn into transports.
While you can tear the island to shreds, holding it will be more difficult. You should capture (and fortify using a Fortress) the Cities in this pattern:
1. Bombsite (it will prevent a counterattack from Lastpoint on Tenochtitlan)
2. Tenochtitlan
3. Westcoast
4. Lastpoint
Upon your victory, you will have won the campaign, and now control every last part of the Western Hemisphere!
[This message has been edited by Random Username (edited 01-01-2010 @ 09:42 PM).]