Playing Austria in Soldier Kings
By Doug McNair
November 2005

For my second article on playing major powers in Soldier Kings, I turn to Austria, a power with very different priorities than my last subject, Great Britain.

Austria: Barbarians at the Gates

Austria is the richest of the purely continental powers. Unfortunately, it suffers from the curse of an empire assembled through inheritance in that its holdings are scattered (as was common in those days). So, its richest territories are also the hardest to defend. Also, Austria has a real or potential two-front war on its hands from the get-go, with its nemesis Prussia on the northern border and the infidel Turkey to the south. Finally, Austria already controls some of the richest territories on the Continent, so high-value continental conquests are limited for her.

She must therefore plan on a long war, focusing on taking a few specific targets on the Continent while gearing up for a rich overseas conquest later in the game. This latter part is all the more difficult since she has only one fleet. Austria must therefore rely on diplomacy and alliances more than any other power in order to win the game.

Your first task is to stop the Prussian hordes.

Major Power Alliances

Austria’s strategy must shift and evolve as the game goes along. At the game’s start, Austria’s first priority must always be the same: Crush Prussia! Frederick’s armies are far too powerful and numerous, and Austria’s territories of Wien and Bohemia are far too rich for him to ignore. On the first turn, Austria must make alliances that insure a swift death for Frederick.

• Russia: Empress Maria Theresa must make Empress Catherine a sister in arms ASAP. Russia is in the best position to hurt Prussia quickly and divert Frederick’s forces away from Austria. Austria should offer Russia money and event cards in exchange for a promise to concentrate on Prussia. If Austria draws or can procure a “Minor Country Alliance” card, she should offer it to Russia to use on Poland. If Russia can ally with Poland, that gives her (and therefore Austria) two more armies on Frederick’s doorstep. Even taking into account the fact that Austria must keep a couple of armies on her southern border to protect against Turkey, with Saxony, Russia and Poland as allies, Austria will have a nearly 2 to 1 advantage in armies against Prussia. This is the best shot Austria has to K.O. Frederick early.

Austria should, however, be careful when splitting Prussia between her and Russia, so that Russia doesn’t get too close to victory too fast. Austria should demand Silesia and Magdeburg for herself (getting her 7 VP), while encouraging Russia to take East Prussia, Berlin and Mecklenburg (also for 7 VP). This gives Russia a pathway to further conquests in Hanover and Holland (which will hopefully meet strong resistance), while creating a buffer between her and Austria. After Prussia is out of the picture, Austria’s efforts and monetary support must go elsewhere, so Russia may decide later that Austria is less useful as an ally and more attractive as a target. Austria needs to anticipate this and be ready to attack Russia’s Prussian conquests when the time is right.

• France: During her one-night stand with Russia, Austria must pursue a serious relationship with France. The Austrian Netherlands are overflowing with riches and completely exposed to attack from the heretic British and Dutch, as well as France. Austria must hold onto the Netherlands but can’t defend them on her own. She must therefore come to France tiara-in-hand, admitting her defenseless position in the Netherlands, and offering an alliance so that France can quickly move through the Netherlands and immediately attack Holland instead, followed by Hanover. If necessary, she can offer to split the Netherlands’ resource production 50/50 as long as their alliance lasts. This gives France less of an incentive to backstab Austria later.

In addition, Austria should pay to build a fleet on the first turn and tell France that she will send an Austrian army overseas and take a territory from Britain in either North America, the Caribbean, or India (let France choose this so she feels like the senior partner). She should tell France that she’ll position the Austrian fleet in the sea area adjacent to her and France’s colonies so that France and Austria can both receive resources from there without France having to keep one of her fleets present. This frees up a French fleet to combat the British and Dutch. In exchange for all this assistance, Austria should ask France to help it conquer Piedmont quickly. A conquered Piedmont is in France’s interest, because if it allies with an enemy of France it can threaten Provence immediately. Austria also has a bonus to ally with Sardinia (which owns Piedmont), so if necessary Austria can throw in a veiled threat that not going with Austria’s plan might result in a hostile Piedmont with Austrian armies to back it up.

• Spain: Early in the game, Austria cannot afford to annoy Spain, since Austria has far too much valuable territory in Italy that Spain could just sail over and take while Austria is battling Prussia. In addition, Austria needs to get rid of Turkey early, but can’t afford to divert a lot of money and armies away from Prussia. Austria must therefore approach Spain and propose an alliance against Turkey. Austria should offer to attack the northern Turkish territories with a couple of armies while Spain sails directly for the richer territories of Constantinople and Rumelia. Austria should take Moldavia, Bulgaria and Bosnia to while offering Spain the rest of Turkey. This gives Spain a great incentive to go with this plan, while creating an Austrian buffer against later Spanish aggression. Such aggression is to be expected, since Austria will likely have to backstab Spain at some point in the future. Spain has the highest proportion of rich overseas territories to fleets, so Spain is the most likely target for a fall-turn Austrian coup that wins her the game.

Maria Theresa, the Warrior Empress, 1762.

Minor Country Alliances

Unfortunately, the Minor Countries which would be the most useful allies for Austria are countries which Austria really needs to conquer in order to win. Venice and Piedmont are the richest territories within Austrian striking distance, and Austria needs those 8 VP to compensate for the likely short-term loss of some of its exposed territory. Austria should conquer Venice as soon as possible, and ask France for assistance conquering Piedmont so that she doesn’t have to commit too many Resources to that effort.

Austria’s best alliance prospect on the continent is Bavaria, whose two armies can stack with Austria’s and help seal Prussia’s fate. Sweden and Denmark (heretics though they may be) are other excellent prospects, because they can create a third front against Prussia, and they have fleets. If France is vacillating on the overseas alliance deal and Austria has (or can procure) a Minor Country Alliance card, she can ask France to support her monetarily in an alliance with Denmark or Sweden. This would get Austria a fleet right away (rather than having to wait the lengthy fleet construction period), meaning she can fulfill the terms of the overseas agreement quickly, while having extra forces to keep Prussia from interfering with the other part of the deal (France’s conquest of Holland and Hanover).

Continental Strategy

Austria’s three main targets on the Continent must be Venice, Piedmont and Silesia. To get these she will have to ally with Russia and France, offering Russia all of northern Prussia and offering France the use of the territory (and possibly part of the Resource production) of the Netherlands in exchange for help taking Piedmont. Other than that, she must get help from Spain in taking Turkey out of the picture.

Overseas Strategy

Taking one or two overseas holdings is the key to an eventual Austrian victory. There aren’t enough rich targets on the Continent to get Austria a net gain of 15 VP, since she’s likely to lose some of her rich territory during the game. She must therefore build or get the use of fleets through Minor Country Alliance cards, and take an army overseas (possibly supported by minor country armies) to take rich British territory in the Caribbean or North America. She should do all she can to make herself useful to France and Spain overseas until the time is right for a backstab against either of them (most likely Spain). She should wait until a fall turn to do this and attack a territory that has enough VP value to win her the game the following winter turn.

Event Card Strategy

Austria should acquire all the event cards with negative consequences that it can as early as possible, so it can use them against Prussia. Beyond that, the most important event cards for Austria are the Minor Country Alliance cards. Austria needs Poland on Russia’s side quickly, and needs Sweden or Denmark on her own side for a northern front to annoy Prussia and fleets for overseas expansion. Austria should make discreet inquiries as to whether other players are holding the “Hungarian Revolt” card, and should offer to pay for that card. Other cards to purchase from others (and keep in one’s back pocket to help secure and maintain alliances) are “Spanish Provincial Armies” (a good incentive to secure the Spanish alliance against Turkey) and “Jesuit Plot” (the perfect card to threaten an ally who’s looking likely to turn coat).

Conclusion

Austria is an excellent prospect for masters of diplomacy in Soldier Kings. Austria isn’t likely to score a quick win like Prussia or Holland can, but if it plays its cards and friends right, adapts to circumstances as they come along, and positions itself for a decisive backstab overseas, it has a good shot at a late victory.