Scotland (M2TW Faction)

Scotland (M2TW Faction)
Name:	Kingdom of Scotland
From Game:	Medieval II: Total War
Religion:	Catholic
Culture:	Northern European
Playable:

Overview

Scotland, a country in the north of Great Britain, is a country of plains, forests, mountains, and streams. It has however always been under England's boot, and it is up to you to make England bow before Scottish rule!

Religion

Scotland is a Catholic faction, and thus has to do the Pope's will unless they want to be excommunicated by the Pope.

Infantry

Scotland has a very good Infantry force. If you train castle units you get barbarian-like highlanders to do your bidding, with feudal knights and dismounted knights too. If you recruit from a town/city, you can recruit a lot of different spearmen types. Noble Swordsmen are a must if you want to be able to match Englands heavy infantry. Scotlands use of the pike is a must have against heavy european cavalry. Since Scotland has some of the best pike units in the game, cavalry charges are not really advised...

Missiles

Scotland must have the worst selection of archers possible, but it isn't a problem early on because the English will have superior archers anyway. They also do not have hand gunners... a must for any faction. However the Scots archers are good for close combat, a must when out of ammo. They have similar damages to highlanders and the noble archers have heavy mail armour.

Cavalry

The Scots are also lacking in Cavalry, but the border horse is one of the best light cavalry in the game... I survived a charge at a spearwall with them! They get the standard cavalry of other catholic factions. Cavalry is essential to back up infantry because since the Scots spear units are milita, they have poorer morale.

Useful Units

Highlanders:

These are going to make up the bulk of your early and high period armies, along with Highland Nobles.

Border Horse:

As mentioned before, these are very good, for taking out the English archers too.

Mortar:

Great for defending Sieges

Gallogliach:

effective against armour and powerful for their relatively low cost.

All the Pike units:

Ideal for dealing with some of the supreme European cavalry.

Economy

Scotland in the beginning of the game does not have a great economy, so it would be wise to capture Dublin, upgrade it to large town and build silver mines. The British Isles do not have many available economic resources in comparison to other parts of the in-game world.

Expansion

At the start of the campaign, Scotland has only its capital, Edinburgh, and the surrounding land of the province under it's influence. The Edinburgh province is bordered by a number of rebel provinces. To the south is York, which is controlled by local English rebels. North of the starting postion lies Inverness. Two the west and across the strait, Ireland waits to brought under control. Players may chose their own strategy when it comes to conquering these settlements. Most players opt to take control of York before the English do to gain access to Wales and ultimately Caernarvon castle. If the player adopts this blitz strategy he can deprive England of much needed settlements. Even if the player manages to do so, he or she should proceed with caution when taking Northern Scotland and Ireland.

Taking the settlements to the south of Scotland often results in attack by England if the settlements are poorly defended. If a player or the AI is able to counter-act this quickly enough, most of Britannia will have fallen under Scotland's control. With these provinces, the Scots can build up their economy and military. When this has been carried out, the Scotish Kingdom becomes the top player in the British Isles. It would be best for the player, at this point, to seize upon the opurtunity to push the Normans back across the channel. After becoming the undsiputed ruler of Britain, it is up to the player to choose his next conquest.

Opting to go on a Crusade may be a wise endevour. Or crossing the channel and continuing the conquest of the English might be a fair decision. Sailing east to Scandanavia may be a good bet. When Scotland controls 50 provinces and the Holy City of Jerusalem it's campaign is ultimately won. In the end the player dictates how this is done.

Defence

At the initiation of the game, England is Scotland's main advesary. The best defense is ofense for the Scotish. The majority of players make this a reality by using a blitz tactic to capture all of the rebel settlements to south of them. After all of the rebel settlements are taken, a defensive garrison can be setup in York and Caernarvon. The key to this defence however, is to know when to turn it into an offensive action. Scotland needs to capture all of the rebel settlements to the south and keep them garrisoned while claiming the highlands and Ireland. The player may choose a different strategy, however. The most important thing is to know when to strike and not to let England build up it's forces.

During all of this military and economic build up, it may be wise to establish an alliance with England's other enemy mortal enemy, France. By doing so, it is possible for the player to force the English into a two-front war and ultimately victory.

Another thing Scotland may need to look out for in the beginning of the game, is the chance of a possible naval invaision. The chance of this happening is extremely small, but still possible. It is most probably wise to patrol the northwestern coast of Europe and watch for Danish naval boats.

Diplomacy

It would be wise to recreate the 'Auld Alliance' with France. It will benefit both of you if England is fighting on two fronts. They are also helpful when you come to conquer land over seas by giving you a place to hide behind a bigger army.

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