Advice for The Ottomans needed

[ReneTS]

Hi

I can see I have numerous allies like Wallachia, Albania, Moldavia and Egypt, which are in control of some of my objectives. Is it advisable to attack these allies and take control of these objectives?

Is war against Persia also recommendable? Does the two cities they have on the map, provide much resources?

Also the Army HQ where should I place it, to benefit from the training master attribute? Do you get a message when a unit has gained experience by training?

[vicberg]

I'd attack the minors and start annexing as much as possible. Yes, gobble up as many region as you can, so war with Persia. Army HQ should go in an Army stack with a 3 star leader and put as many divisions into the army as possible. You'll get messages when they get trained.

[ReneTS]

Thanks for the advice. But how do you actually declare war on your allies? Also regarding the Army Hq, does it matter if it is attached to the army commander, or is it ok just to leave it in the stack?

[Durk]

My advice, remember this is a very long game, so do not try to win in a year. Chose to attack Russia or Austria and ally with France. Or, stay out of the main war and subdue your nearby neighbors. Think long term, where do you wish to be in five years. Build a fleet?
The Army HQ enhances the Army Commander but more so the army, so yes, keep them together. If by attached you mean in the same force, that is just fine. The commander does not need to attach as a division commander would.

[ReneTS]

Ok thanks. But I still can't seem to get the training master skill of the HQ to work. I have tried placing it in an army stack, but there is still no units that gain experience. It should happen in one turn right? Can anyone see if they can get it to work with the Ottomans, so I know if it is just me that have trouble with it?

[GraniteStater]

Give it a little bit on the training. Double check the conditions required and make sure you meet them. When a sub-unit gets trained to a certain level, there will be a message in the Message Box, akin to "The 44th Camel Lancers have been trained."

[Baris]

In a pbem game (Jan start) at year 1806 though spring I’ve run out of jannisary pool. My first priority was producing artillery and commerce ships. It can be good idea to bring back tımar inf. from Arab regions and Anatolia that they can be trained veteran level with III. Selim. I think protecting Egypt can be political priority and Moldava maybe. About Persian wars I’m not sure. It can be better not to give much initiative to Russia.

[James D Burns]

Ottoman's are not much stronger than a minor power, so be careful about starting wars with minors early on. You get very few region cards to allow you to draft extra conscripts, so it'll take years to flesh out your divisions. In my PBEM game as the Ottomans I have basically sat on my hands for the first few years while I slowly built up a few divisions and got enough artillery built to give my forces some ability to fight with the more modern Western armies.

Even after several years I'm not much larger than I stated as so going to war with a minor is risky as it might cause you to pull too much strength away from the capital. Sadly I burned far to many diplomats early game trying to get allies to loan me some forces to form an allied corps with and there was no reply to my diplomats.

Now things are fixed (at least I think they are), so I'd recommend you try and get every one of your starting allies to lend you some troops first before you go on any adventures (this will be much faster than waiting to slowly build stuff if they do lend you stuff). If they lend you enough troops you may even get away with fighting the minors you attack with allied troops only so your home troops can keep the capital covered.

Jim