Playing Holland in Soldier Kings
By Doug McNair
February 2006

Having dealt with the largest land-based power in my last Soldier Kings article, I now proceed to a major power whose claim to any land mass is tenous, but who nevertheless has an excellent shot at victory if she can get other powers to do the heavy lifting.

Holland: We Come to Serve
(ourselves, when you’re not looking. . .)

At game start, Holland’s #1 priority is obvious: Don’t get pushed into the sea! She has only one home territory on the European map, and if she loses that she can’t build more armies or fleets (her overseas territories notwithstanding), so she’s doomed. The Dutch homeland is also a plum conquest, since it’s worth 4 VP (and 4 Resources per winter turn) to the conqueror. So at first glance, it would seem Holland isn’t long for this world.

But this is not the case. In fact, from the perspective of at least three other major powers, Holland is worth much more alive than dead. If the Dutch player can make this clear at game start, Holland can become the facilitator of world conquest to the rich and powerful. Once established in this position, Holland can act like a remora fish, following in her client’s wake and gobbling up the scraps which don’t rate their attention.

Alternatively, she can watch the global movements of enemy powers and wait for them to leave rich targets unguarded, then send a fleet and army off to “Hit 'em where they ain't.” She can thus bide her time, serving others while racking up minor conquests, and then pounce on a rich unguarded territory on a fall turn and pass her 10 VP automatic victory threshold to win the game.

Once upon a time . . . the height of Dutch naval power, 1666.

Major Power Alliances

Despite her small stature, Holland has some key capabilities which other major powers lack. She needs to offer her services to these major powers at game start to solidify the alliances she needs to survive, and to set the wheels of victory in motion. The major powers which are Holland’s best client prospects are:

Britain

Britain has Holland covered by land and by sea, and could blockade and invade her homeland with no trouble. Taking out Holland early would leave rich overseas Dutch possessions open to British conquest later — but the Curse of Empire makes this a foolish strategy for Britain. Even a brief initial Dutch campaign would commit Britain’s scarce armies to the Continent, leaving Britain’s colonies vulnerable to French and Spanish conquest. The 4 VPs Holland would net Britain are easily offset and exceeded by one or two enemy conquests in the Caribbean or India. And on average, the Dutch colonies are of lesser value than the French and Spanish, so Britain would have to spend more time and effort for less payback to conquer the Dutch East Indies than say, the Sugar Islands.

So Britain must spread her fleets and armies around the world to protect her rich overseas possessions and bring in the resources from them every winter turn, while taking more rich colonies from France and Spain to make progress toward her 20 VP victory threshold. She must also earmark much of her huge monetary reserves for the building of new fleets and armies and repairing and maintaining existing ones. If she falls short on production, repair and maintenance goals, one of her global areas of influence could be stripped of British protection and fall to French and Spanish plunder.

This is where Holland can help Britain the most. Holland starts the game with two fleets and two armies, and can build three more fleets plus another army. Holland has all the money she needs to accomplish this, so she doesn’t need to go begging to Britain for funds. She can simply offer to support Britain in India, combining Dutch forces with one or two British units there to eject the French from the Subcontinent. Holland can offer Britain the richer French territory of South Carnatic, asking only for Chandranagore in exchange for her services. Once the French are out of India, Holland can propose that the British and Dutch refocus on the Carribbean, leaving India under Dutch protection, with a Dutch fleet stationed at India to bring both British and Dutch resources home during winter turns.

There is no reason for Britain to refuse this arrangement, or for Holland to break it by attacking British territory there after Britain leaves. The pickings are much richer in the Caribbean, and concentrating her forces there makes Britain much stronger against the French and Spanish. Leaving a British fleet in India would just waste its combat potential, while leaving a Dutch fleet there lets Britain continue to collect India’s resources every year.

Similarly, Holland can keep a fleet in Britain for transport duty, boarding newly-built British armies and ferrying them to hotspots around the world. This frees up another British fleet for combat duty against the French and Spanish. For the Dutch, this is a perfect arrangement, because Holland has to station fleets in India and the Spice Islands anyway to collect the resources there. It will also force France and Spain to abandon the Pacific and Indian oceans to protect their more valuable possessions in the Caribbean. This will allow one or two Dutch armies to take their time and gobble up the Philippines and undefended neutral territories in India and the Spice Islands. And if Britain, France and Spain get tied up fighting each other halfway around the world, there are enough neutral and Spanish VPs in India and the Spice Islands to win Holland the game while nobody’s looking.

Can you make the Prince of Orange a king?

Prussia

France is Holland’s biggest enemy on the Continent, and with Ile de France only two land areas away from Holland she’s an immediate threat as well. Holland needs powerful armies to defend her homeland, but has only two weak armies herself at game start and must send one of them to India. She must find a way to get other major power armies to defend her.

Prussia is an excellent prospect. Prussia has the most powerful armies in the game, but no money to pay them or finance their campaigns. She needs lots of resources fast, because she has to conquer Austria quickly to get within striking distance of the rich south European territories she needs to win, before Russia can build enough armies to threaten her from the east.

Holland has plenty of resources to tempt Prussia, and she also has a direct front on the Austrian Netherlands. The Dutch player can offer Prussia an alliance, with free passage through Holland (either via Hanover if Prussia is allied with Britain, or by sea on a Dutch fleet from the port at East Prussia if not) to the Austrian Netherlands. If Prussia conquers the Austrian Netherlands, she gets 4 VP immediately and four badly needed resources every winter turn thereafter.

This also gives Prussia a northern front on France, who will likely be Austria’s ally and financier. A direct threat from Prussia will require France to spend her Resources on armies to protect her homeland, thereby weakening Austria by diverting funds from her defense. This also leaves Holland free of foreign troops, and creates a solid buffer to the south. Holland can then use offers of Resources to encourage Prussia to attack France from the north, further tying down France’s armies at home, keeping Holland’s ally Britain happy, and freeing Dutch overseas conquests from French interference.

Russia

The other cash-strapped major power that is in a position to help Holland is Russia. Russia is even more destitute than Prussia, and is surrounded by nothing but resource-poor territories. But she has strong armies, and can build plenty more if given the cash.

If Holland has trouble getting Prussia to sign on, she should offer Russia an alliance and invite her to station armies in Holland in exchange for cash up front and more where that came from. A quick Russian boat ride from St. Petersburg gives Holland instant protection, and gives Russia a front on the Austrian Netherlands or a second front on Prussia (Russia’s choice, if Britain permits passage through Hanover).

This arrangement is less advantageous to Holland than a Prussian alliance. Russia has less incentive than Prussia to attack the far-flung Austrian Netherlands and form a Dutch buffer against France. Also Russia is a less-reliable ally than Prussia, since Prussia will almost certainly be allied with Britain as well, and who’d want to break up such a rich and powerful family. . . . So if Prussia is being stubborn, Holland may want to make public overtures to Russia to put fear of a Western Front into Prussia. Then when the Dutch ambassador returns to Berlin, Prussia may well be more eager to sign a treaty.

Minor County Alliances

Holland’s needs allied armies for homeland security, but given the dieroll penalties she gets on the Minor Country Alliance table, she seems to have ticked-off many minor countries in past business dealings. Her nearest prospects, Denmark and Sweden, are neutral or negative toward her. The only prospect with a positive opinion of Holland is Bavaria, which is landlocked and too far away to be of much use. So, if Holland wants to use minor countries to beef up her forces, she’ll have to spend Resources on alliance dierolls to counterbalance bad feelings and bribes from other Major Powers. That’s money which she can put to better use by buying off Major Power allies. So, Holland may want to invest less time and treasure in minor country allies than in major power allies.

Continental Strategy

Holland’s continental strategy must be defensive. She has no business conquering anything on the continent except to create buffer zones between her homeland and enemies. Unfortunately her armies are weak, so she’s better off inviting major power allies to do the conquering for her. She can pay for the conquests, and as long as she can keep her allies’ armies between her and enemies, plus a Dutch fleet blockading Holland to keep out amphibious invaders, she should be safe.

The Dutch fight better at sea.

Overseas Strategy

A Dutch victory will happen on the overseas map, if anywhere. Holland’s job is to support Britain, protecting backwaters like India, ferrying British troops where needed, and adding fleet and army strength to British invasions of French and Spanish territories. But Britain needs 20 VP to win and will certainly have some of her gains offset by French and Spanish conquests of British territory.

Holland, on the other hand, needs only 10 VP to win, and can grab unguarded territories from France, Spain and neutral areas while her ally Britain keeps all comers too busy to invade the Dutch East Indies. Holland can invade the Philippines with ease from her power base in the Spice Islands, and can then ferry a Dutch army across the Pacific to hit Guatemala from the west cost of the Americas. She can then march overland to Mexico and New Granada. Those four conquests would give Holland 10 VPs and the game.

Alternatively, while guarding India for Britain the Dutch can conquer up to 5 VP worth of neutral territory there, and at the same time they can send a fleet and army to Africa. French Senegal and the neutral Gold Coast and Mali offer the Dutch another 7 VP. Any combination of territories from India and Africa can get Holland 10 VP and the game with little or no military opposition. She just needs to keep her allies happy and pointed the other way long enough so that she can make a big conquest on a Fall turn and win before her allies turn on her.

Event Card Strategy

Mercenary cards are of primary importance to Holland, and the Dutch player should be ready and willing to buy them from other players. If he gets “Holy Roman Empire Mercenaries” the Dutch player should spend the full 9 Resources, place armies in Hesse, Swabia and Wurttemburg, and move at least one of them through British Hanover to Holland ASAP. They can all pile into Holland or take up positions in neighboring territories, possibly conquering them for a few VPs but mainly protecting the homeland.

“Swiss Mercenaries” should be put to similar use, although Switzerland’s threatening position next to the heart of France makes the Swiss more useful as a way to draw the French southward away from Holland. Finally, “Sepoys” is a card which the Dutch must have, as it gives them mercenaries in India who can support the Dutch armies there and speed Holland’s conquest of the subcontinent.

The other priority for the Dutch player is to trade for or purchase cards which could wreak havoc on Dutch plans if played against Holland by enemies. Such cards include “Spanish Provincial Armies,” “Pirates,” “East India Company Troops,” “Monsoon,” “Indian Revolt,” “South Pacific Revolt,” “Caught at Anchor” and “Scurvy.”

Conclusion

So overall, Holland has an excellent shot at victory if she can make herself as useful as possible to major powers who can protect her from France and Spain. Holland needs to be generous with her money and provide excellent client service to keep her allies happy. She must act defensively on the Continent, building up buffers against French aggression, while flying under the radar overseas and picking up VPs in backwaters the big guys don’t care about.

Then, when she’s in striking distance of victory, she should make a bold move on a fall turn to take a valuable overseas territory and win the game before her allies can turn on her.