Playing France in Soldier Kings
By Doug McNair
December 2005

Having dealt with a largely Europe-bound power in my last article on Turkey, today I go global with an analysis of how to win as France in Soldier Kings.

France: Go West, Mon Cher Roi!

France has more strategic options than any other Major Power in the game. She has 11 armies and five fleets available to build, plus the money and manpower to build them! She starts with more Resources than any other power, and her homeland is easily defensible as long as she makes an alliance with Spain at game’s start.

Unfortunately, this rosey situation can cause France to become cocky and overextend herself very easily. Fifty years after the time of Soldier Kings, Talleyrand tactfully pointed out to Napoleon that he really didn’t need to conquer the whole world (to no avail). The French player needs to take this advice from the future to heart, and concentrate on capturing the richest targets overseas while avoiding unnecessary military campaigns on the continent. Luckily, she has the money to make sure that her allies can keep other continental powers busy so that she doesn’t have to fight them.

Force de frappe, 1756-style.

Major Power Alliances

France is the richest Power in the game, so other powers will be lined up at the door of the Banc Royale du France from the get-go, promising the world in exchange for a few gold louis. France needs to be very careful as to whom she distributes her largesse, because she needs to keep a large chunk of her money to build armies and fleets. Nevertheless, she needs to have happy allies who will keep her enemies occupied on the Continent while helping her to conquer the British and Dutch empires overseas.

• Spain: There is no reason for France to fight Spain, and they can do wonders for each other as allies. Spain has plenty of money and manpower and has a rich overseas empire to defend but few armies to defend it with. France can get homeland security and a powerful overseas ally in exchange for nothing but a promise not to invade Spain from the north. With a demilitarized Franco-Spanish border, Spain has no immediate threat to her homeland, and the other Mediterranean powers (Austria and Turkey) are so navally-challenged that she has little to fear in the way of amphibious invasions from the east. A Spanish alliance with France leaves Spain free to stack her armies and fleets with France’s, so that the two Catholic world powers can go on a rampage against the Dutch and British. And there are plenty of rich Protestant colonies to go around for both parties, so there’s little chance for Franco-Spanish squabbling over colonial territory.

• Austria: France should let the Austrian ambassador in the door along with the Spanish, but should keep the Austrian in the waiting room a while just to make it clear who’s in charge. Prussia is France’s worst nightmare on the continent, so she needs to fund either Austria or Russia handsomely so that Frederick has no choice but to keep his attention pointed eastward. Despite Russia’s huge manpower reserve (and her concomitant ability to build armies to crush Prussia), Austria is the better alliance choice for France. This is because France needs Austria and Spain to be in the same camp, not fighting each other. Lombardy and Tuscany are huge temptations for anybody, and an unruly Spain could easily decide to go for a quick 8 VP if Austria is getting the worst of it from Prussia. This would doom Austria and empower Prussia, who’d probably have at least 9 VP once Austria was done for, and be poised thereafter to smash Spain’s armies in Northern Italy and win the game. Such an eventuality would provoke a cry for help from Spain, forcing France to entangle her armies in a fight against Prussia, leaving her vulnerable overseas. A British conquest of just the Leeward and Windward Islands would almost completely offset even a total French conquest of Northern Italy. This is something France cannot allow. France must therefore make sure that she, Spain and Austria are one big, happy Catholic family, and give Austria enough Resources to keep a constant military pressure on Prussia. Once this three-way alliance is established, Austria and Spain have little incentive to break it, because doing so would dry up Austria’s money supplies and leave her open to a Spanish invasion of Lombardy and Tuscany, while forcing Spain to redeploy forces home to defend against Austria.

• Russia: If for some reason Austria is not amenable to an alliance, or if she gets crushed early by Prussia, or if Spain falls to temptation and invades Northern Italy, then Russia is France’s next-best alliance choice. Russia has overwhelming manpower but no money, and needs a rich patron to make her militarily viable. If Prussia makes rapid early gains, France should offer generous Resource subsidies to Russia so that she can build numerous armies and make the Russian front mean what it should to Prussia. If Russia is successful, France needs to be careful, because Russia only needs 10 VP to win. If Russia conquers a few rich Prussian territories and cuts Frederick down to size, France needs to find a quick excuse to cut off the flow of funds to Moscow, thereby slowing the Russian advance. She shouldn’t alienate Russia completely, because Prussia can recover quickly (especially if financed by Britain), and France needs an ally in the east to keep the Prussians from coming west.

King Frederik V of Denmark and Norway would make a fine French ally.

Minor Country Alliances

France’s minor country allies on the Continent should be in a position to annoy both Britain and Prussia as much as possible. Denmark and Sweden are the best choices. Both have a back door position on Prussia, both can use their fleets to harass the British Isles, and Denmark is in a position to invade British Hanover and then Holland. Sweden is also in a good position to stack her armies with the Russians or create a northern front to the Russians’ eastern one.

Overseas, France’s best allies are the Pays d’en Haut and the Iroquois Nation. Britain has few armies, while the Indian Nations start with two armies each. So, if France can play Minor Country Alliance cards early and activate these allies, the Native Americans can stack with a French army and make it easy for that army to take British territory in North America. That gives the French a potential 8 VP, and frees up French armies from defending French possessions in North America so that they can concentrate on the richer Caribbean colonies.

Corn Planter, Iroquois hero.

Continental Strategy

France needs to make one or two quick, local conquests on the Continent, and then leave the rest of it to her allies. Piedmont is a quick 4 VP and borders France’s probable ally Austria, so taking it will only require a short-term commitment of French armies. Holland is another 4VP, and is the homeland of France’s lesser overseas enemy. France should base her alliance with Austria on the understanding that the Austrian Netherlands are available to France as a base against Holland. Holland will, of course, fight fiercely for her life, and her likely ally Britain will doubtless support her or hit the French coast to draw her off, so Holland will be the tougher nut to crack. France can’t afford to waste a lot of time and Resources in taking Holland and its 4 VP when there is so much rich, defenseless territory overseas to be had. So, she should keep forces in the Netherlands to threaten Holland, but shouldn’t commit to an invasion until she’s sure of a quick victory.

Overseas Strategy

France needs 20 VP to win. She must therefore concentrate on conquering the richest territory possible while defending her most valuable territory at the same time. The Caribbean is the place where France will win or lose. Britain has 14 VP for the taking in the Caribbean, while France has 17 VP there for the losing. Luckily, Spain has 19 VP for the losing in the Caribbean, so it’s easy for France to convince Spain that Britain must be knocked out of the Caribbean fast and never allowed to return. France should combine her fleets with a Spanish Armada as early as possible, sail to the Caribbean and sink anything British immediately. This will strand any British forces there and give French and Spanish fleets free rein to transport armies between islands, gobbling them up as they go. Of course, France needs to keep a close eye on Spain since she only needs 15 VP to win, and should negotiate carefully in advance as to who gets the right to take which British territory.

Once Britain is out of the Caribbean, if France hasn’t won yet then she and Spain can sail their Armada to the Dutch East Indies or India to finish the job. This is the endgame, and because of Spain’s lower victory threshold France will want to keep a fleet and army back in the Caribbean for a last-minute backstab against Cuba, Puerto Rico or Santo Domingo.

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, marquise de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, power behind the throne. Portrait by Francois Boucher, 1757.

Event Card Strategy

Anything that hurts the British is something France wants to happen, and anything that helps the British is something France doesn’t want to happen. So, France should be willing to open her wallet to any player who has “Loudoun’s Embargo,” “They Boiled and Ate Him All Up,” “Indian Revolt,” “Provincials Go Home,” and “Pitt Takes Power.” Militarily, France wants cards that help her fleets against the British and Dutch and/or protect her own fleets, so she should be willing to purchase “Caught at Anchor,” “Caribbean Hurricane,” “Fair Wind or Foul” and “Gale.” On land, useful cards for the French are “East India Company Troops,” “Sepoys,” and of course “Minor Country Alliance.” Finally, “Papal Bull” is a card France wants to see played (since her likely allies are all Catholic), unless she’s allied with Denmark or Sweden. “Jesuit Plot,” on the other hand, is a card which France should have no qualms about buying. She wants to make sure Les Voyageurs and the Indian Nations have a long and mutually-profitable future before them, with the West left wild and no pesky “Americans” taking over one century hence.

Conclusion

France is the most independent of all the Major Powers, and does not need to go begging to anyone for money or manpower. However, she needs to make the right alliances so that she’s not bogged down on the Continent and can concentrate on taking overseas colonies from the British. She’s not going to score a quick win because of her 20 VP victory threshold, and she has to spend lots of money keeping allies happy and building new fleets and armies. So, she has to be surgical in her military strikes, working with Spain to eliminate the British early from the Caribbean. She must use her first Minor Country Alliance cards to get the Indian Nations to ally with her, kicking the British out of North America before they can build up an army of Provincials. Finally, she must take just enough territory on the Continent and in India or the East Indies to put her over the top.