France (Napoleon: Total War)

For other uses of the term, see France.

Flag of France

France is a major playable faction in Napoleon: Total War. It is the star faction, available for every campaign. The campaigns that involve France mostly focus on Napoleon's life, starting from a young man in Corsica all the way to the Battle of Waterloo.

Goal

• Italian Campaign - Control the cities Nice, Coni, Turin, Milan, Lodi, Mantua, Modena, Parma, and Klagenfurt by late December 1797 (40 turns).
• Egyptian Campaign - Control at least ten regions including Alexandria, Cairo, Arish, Acre, and Damascus.
• European Campaign - Control at least 35 regions including France (Paris), Austria (Vienna), Brandenburg (Berlin), East Prussia (Konigsberg), and Moscow Guberyina (Moscow).
• Peninsular Campaign - Control 30 regions, including Sevilla, Midi-Pyrenees, Estremadura, Gibraltar, Castilla la Nueva.

General Information

Italy Campaign

• Alpes Maritimes - Nice (Capital)

Egypt Campaign

• Western Delta - Alexandria (Capital)

Europe

• France - Paris (Capital)
• Alsace-Lorraine - Strasbourg
• Aquitaine - Bordeaux
• Bretagne - Rennes
• Corsica - Ajaccio
• Flanders & Wallonia - Brussels
• Hannover - Hannover
• Normandie - Caen
• Pays d'Oc - Toulouse
• Picardie-Champagne - Reims
• Piedmont-Liguria - Torino
• Provence - Marseille

Description

Napoléon Bonaparte

Behind all the Imperial façade and republican sentiments, France is once again an absolute monarchy, now ruled by Emperor Napoleon I. His efforts to secure good marriages for his brothers and marshals are dynastic politics that Bourbon kings would have grasped instantly. Yet, for all this, the French people have freedom, as Napoleon has used credit gained by his victories to remake France. Merit, as well as birth, now counts for something.

The Emperor’s efforts have given France an impressive empire and domination over many neighbours; he is a source of strength. Napoleon has redrawn the map of Europe to suit his own ends. He is also a great weakness, as his treatment of enemies and rivals has not been entirely politic or polite. He has caused offence to nearly everyone, taking not giving, even when he should have been conciliatory. He has managed, through poor diplomacy, to make the British look like attractive allies to many.

As a result, the Austrians are waiting for an opportunity to strike back at France for their recent humiliations and losses. The Russians, too, will strike down this new upstart emperor if given a chance, and will they ignore Napoleon’s instructions to ban trade with England? The Prussians, apparently, are content to sit and wait, but for how long? Will they idly sit by if it becomes necessary to extend French power in northern Germany? And then there are the British: always there are the British. That vindictive little island will have to be dealt with at some time.

France, therefore, faces many rivals. But if they can be isolated and removed one by one, then Europe really will know peace, under Bonaparte, the heir to Caesar!

General Information

France has a powerful but tenuous starting position. In addition to Spain, it has many minor allies that stay loyal unless France does something drastic to upset them. France has far more starting generals than any other faction, and all are very capable, with the French-unique "General of the Grande Armée" trait granting them increased movement, line of sight, and replenishment rates for their troops. French lands are wealthy, with manageable public order, and France has the third most powerful starting fleet. Its armies, while initially spread out, are more numerous than most of its rivals, and it has the largest and most powerful roster of elite units.

Offsetting France's powerful starting power and potential is its volatile political situation. At sea, Great Britain has a more powerful navy, preventing France from fully taking advantage of trading nodes and potentially invading France itself. On land, France has to fight with Austria, which is soon reinforced by Russian armies. Prussia, while initially neutral, declares war on France (or vice versa--France requires Prussian lands, including its home region, in the historical campaign) unless an alliance is struck early. France is also nominally at war with Sweden to the north and the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples in the south, although in practice these factions rarely cause problems for France unless they are invaded. Trying to negotiate peace with any single faction in this powerful coalition is almost inevitably a waste of time initially, as their allies almost always manage to convince them to rejoin the war nearly immediately. France has nearly all the major factions, as well as a number of minor factions, at war against it by default. While it has some allies, most have historical grievances with France and are generally fairly passive in deploying their troops to aid Napoleon.

France needs its power to accomplish its ambitious goals, requiring lands from Austria-controlled Vienna to Moscow in the far East. Key to France's success is to isolate and destroy its enemies, limiting the foes it has to face at any single moment.

France's unique building, the Arc de Triomphe, increases movement range for all units. In addition, a mission is granted where upon its completion when controlling France in singleplayer, all land units gain one chevron of experience.

Diplomacy

Initial diplomacy map

While nearly all factions begin the war in an unfriendly to hostile state toward France, France may find allies in the Ottoman Empire, with whom it often shares enemies, Denmark, which may help preoccupy Prussia and/or Sweden, or even Sweden itself, which has hostile relations with Russia. Most of the minor German factions also begin the campaign neutral to France, and may be convinced to war with Austria or Prussia with the right amount of gold and other incentives. France may also ally with Prussia initially, though it needs to betray Prussia later as both Brandenburg and East Prussia are required for victory.

Below are a list of grievances/friendships other factions have with France initially. This list is exhaustive; factions that are not listed do not have friendships or grievances (they are neutral).

Ottoman Empire	Prussia	Spain	Baden-Wurttemberg	Batavian Republic	Bavaria	Hessen
-45	-60	-125	-35	-50	-20	-65
Kingdom of Sardinia	Oldenburg	Papal States	Portugal	Saxony	Switzerland
-65	-35	-105	-90	-35	-80

Below are a list of grievances/friendships other factions have with France if they emerge. This list is exhaustive; factions that are not listed do not have friendships or grievances (they are neutral).

Austria	Great Britain	Ottoman Empire	Prussia	Russia	Spain	Baden-Wurttemberg
-105	-75	-30	-75	-85	-65	+25
Belgium	Britanny	Catalonia	Courland	Crimea	Denmark	Hannover
-65	-20	-20	+10	+15	+10	-35
Hessen	Hungary	Ireland	Italy	Mecklenberg	Norway	Oldenburg
-65	-20	+65	+65	+35	+10	-35
Poland	Portugal	Saxony	Scotland	Sweden	Switzerland	United Netherlands
+25	-105	-35	+10	-75	-20	-35
Westphalia	Batavian Republic	Kingdom of Italy	Kingdom of Naples	Kingdom of Sardinia	Kingdom of Sicily	Papal States
-20	-40	+65	-105	-105	-105	-65

Peninsular Campaign

Description

Napoléon Bonaparte

The “Spanish Ulcer” is a canker on an otherwise successful career. Napoleon has never given Spain his personal attention, but he has sunk money and troops into a Spanish war. He has made his brother Joseph, the former King of Naples, the putative foundation of a new Bonaparte dynasty in Spain. But the people have not come to heel. The Spanish are now fighting as though the struggle is a war of independence: their tactics are barbaric at times. Bandits and brigands crawl all over the countryside, mercilessly killing French troops sent to keep the peace, thwarting sensible attempts to make the country governable.

As well disgruntled locals, the French also face the perfidious British. They have used their old alliance with Portugal as an excuse to strike against Napoleon, building a defensive position at Torres Vedras that makes any attack on Portugal incredibly difficult. The British commander, Wellington, has a fair grasp of logistics and the respect of his men: always a dangerous combination. He will need to be swiftly dealt with if France is to stand any chance of keeping control in Spain.

France, then, faces difficulties in Spain. As an occupying power in an unfriendly land, there is no front line. But France also has the finest army in Europe, and able generals to command them.

Unit Roster

As the featured faction in Napoleon: Total War, France benefits from having a powerful roster in most categories. Their elite troops are, by a considerable margin, the best in the game, and also can be recruited in the largest quantity. However, their light infantry and particularly their skirmishers are inferior. In particular, Voltiguers (French skirmishers) only have 100 range as opposed to the 125 range skirmishers most other factions field, though they make up for this with their superior reloading skills.

French line infantry are about middle of the pack, being about tied with Prussia, inferior to those of Great Britain, but being superior to those of Austria and Russia. Thanks to their National Guard, French militia are a cut above most militia in terms of quality. Unfortunately, they aren't available for recruitment outside of the Italian Campaign, and only a few regiments are available in the European Campaign.

France has varied, powerful cavalry. Their standard light cavalry, Chasseurs à Cheval wield muskets, giving them an advantage over most of their rivals even if their melee skills are somewhat lackluster. Their lancers are some of the best in the game. Finally, France has access to a very generous complement of unique, powerful cavalry in the form of downloadable content. Their Polish Guard Lancers, for example, have the best charge bonus in the game, and their Grenadiers a Cheval inspire nearby troops in addition to being formidable heavy cavalry. The downside to France's cavalry is that they are generally more expensive than their peers.

France's artillery is in most ways the best in the game. While their howitzer options aren't as varied as that of Russia, they are statistically superior to all of their rivals and are further bolstered by their superior elite artillery (unique to them, of all the major factions).

France has the second best roster of ships in the game, having a much wider selection of ships and superior stats than all of their rivals except Great Britain. Most French ships have 10 more accuracy and 1 more speed than other ships, though they are slightly more expensive to build and maintain. France also lacks a few ships that other factions have access to, such as the 50-gun Ship-of-the-Line.

All in all, France' most glaring weakness is its average light infantry and line infantry. In multiplayer battles, its expensive units mean that it rarely has the luxury of recruiting better generals or troops if it wishes to fight with a full stack army. Man for man, however, French forces are capable in every category.

Custom Battle Units

Infantry

Militia

• National Guard
• Militia

Light Infantry

• Chasseurs
• 6th Regiment d’Infanterie Légère

Elite Infantry

• Dutch Grenadiers
• Guard Seamen
• Old Guard
• Young Guard

Line Infantry

• Polish Legion
• Swiss Foot
• Fusiliers of Line
• 18th Regiment d'Infanterie de Ligne "The Brave"

Grenadiers

• Grenadiers of the Line

Skirmishers

• Voltiguers

Cavalry

Heavy Cavalry

• Carabiniers
• Cuirassiers
• Dragoons
• Empress Dragoons
• Grenadiers à Cheval

Lancer Cavalry

• Chevau-Légers Lancers
• Dutch Guard Lancers
• Polish Guard Lancers
• 7e Regiment de Chevaulegers-Lanciers

Light Cavalry

• Chasseurs à Cheval
• Guard Chasseurs à Cheval
• 5e Regiment de Hussards

Generals

• Napoleon Bonaparte (9 star general)