Thrones of Britannia – Total War Academy
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Campaign
Characters
Economics
Armies
Basics
Battle
Technology
English Kingdoms
Gaelic Kingdoms
Welsh Kingdoms
Great Viking Army
Viking Sea Kings
Loyalty
With all the characters under you command, some are going to like you more than others, here is how you keep them loyal.
Politics and Intrigue
In this video we discuss the enhanced diplomatic options available to you in Thrones of Britannia. Learn how to manage your disloyal subjects with force or bribery, arrange marriages for your heirs and allies and perform underhanded actions.
New Battle Mechanics
We’ve so far talked a lot about the changes you can expect to see in the Grand Campaign of Thrones of Britannia. Today, it’s all about Battle. Here are our top 5 changes that you can look forward to trying out on the battlefield.
- Sheild-based warfare
This is the era of the shield wall. It’s the tactic with which Alfred beat the Great Viking Army at the battle of Edington, and remained predominant across battlefields of the era. To reflect this style of warfare, we’ve reduced the distance between soldiers in many units, with dense blocks of tightly-packed soldiers. We’ve also reduced infantry charge distances, as the short, sharp clashing of swords and shields makes combat feel faithful to this intimately intense combat style.
To complement this, all units with shields now have the Charge Reflect attribute, which means that if they’re stationary and braced when charged by cavalry, the horses will refuse the charge. You’ll see them rear up before slowly advancing into close-quarters combat, negating any bonuses from impact. Of course, this means you’ll have to be very choosy about where to point your cavalry – either at unshielded targets, or maneuvering them into positions where they can play hammer to your shield-wall’s anvil.
- Cavalry combat
Cavalry versus cavalry is a different ball-game.
We’ve actually increased cavalry spacing in Thrones of Brittania, which promotes more realistic cavalry combat, as horses pass through gaps in the opposing unit and cycle round to clash again.
- Critical hits
Thrones will introduce a new critical hit chance for Battle that reproduces the ‘arrow in the eye’ effect. Now, impacts from both melee and missile attacks have a chance of dealing a critical blow, delivering 10 times their usual damage. This means you’ll now see the occasional solder buckle to the ground when charged or under a hail of arrows, as he’s dispatched by a particularly vicious blow.
- Unit modes
Guard mode makes a welcome return for Thrones, and maintains the functionality that makes it ideal for holding ground and not pursuing routers. As a small quality of life improvement, we’re also adding optional default settings for various unit states. So, you can now define Guard Mode, Skirmish Mode, Always-Run and Group-Locking as on or off by default.
- New Settlement maps/Improved AI
A whole host of new maps have been made for Thrones of Britannia, including a lot less ‘hard collisions’ and a lot more ‘soft collisions’, meaning armies will be able to move through towns much more fluidly and fighting in the streets will be less confined to narrow corridors.
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The Character System
The Character system has been reworked for Thrones of Britannia, allowing you to progress with your characters in a way that makes sense to you
The Character system has been reworked for Thrones of Britannia, allowing you to progress with your characters in a way that makes sense to you, and not having traits and abilities locked through a skill tree. So, you could create a general who makes your men formidable fighters, that only a fool would meet in battle. Or you could create one who can range far and fast, striking enemy settlements and sacking them for all their worth.
You can also do this for governors who can boost your income from the region they govern, and boost food output, extend siege holdout times and much more. All the skills can be leveled up five times for greater bonuses. And throughout this process all the skills are unlocked and can be selected allowing you to decide how you want your characters to progress.
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The Province System
Provinces have been made more influential, with key settlements within your regions that cannot defend themselves
Provinces have been made more influential, with key settlements within your regions that cannot defend themselves. If an enemy army invades your lands, they can take key strategic settlements such as, farms that supply your armies with food, when that is lost, and you do not have enough reserves, your men will begin to starve. Mines, that supply you with the coin to pay your armies, if men are not paid their swords are not yours. When you take one of these settlements you then take the surrounding lands with it, and you can garrison your troops inside, which will grant you replenishment from the local region.
This now gives you the opportunity to (instead of having to siege your enemy and losing a lot of men) take away their coin and food, and watch as their army melts away.
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The Tech Tree
The tech tree is now less of a tree and more a series of branches
The tech tree is now less of a tree and more a series of branches. Still split into military and civic, there are several branches to go down, all of which are locked from the start of the game, and must be unlocked through completing pre-requisite conditions. From recruiting units, or sieging settlements, and so on. This gives you some objectives throughout your campaign, and shouldn’t be ignored or it’ll seriously impact your late game. These technologies will unlock new buildings, grant public order bonuses, raise the starting capacity of units, and upgrades to later game regiments.
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Unit Recruitment
Recruitment is not so simple.
When recruiting a unit, you can select the army you want it in, and recruit it
Recruitment is not so simple. When recruiting a unit, you can select the army you want it in, and recruit it. However, it will not give you an entire unit, only a small band of men, which will replenish to a full unit over time. You can improve this by building granaries, souterrains, and arenas, all of which have replenishment multipliers. This changes the focus of unit construction, to unit replenishment and preservation, placing a much greater value on each unit, than in previous Total War games. It also prevents being able to recruit a huge army within one turn without a substantial amount of money.
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War Fervour
War is a balancing act, and your people will always want what they don’t have. When you’re at peace, and prospering, your people will want war and conquest. When you are at war for years on end, your people will want peace. This is a scale, and when the scale is balanced everything will be well, when it tips in one direction or another bonuses and penalties will come into play, and the further it tips the greater these will become.
This scale places restrictions on your rule. You cannot sensibly march your men off to war if they do not want one. There is only one way of dealing with the wants of the people, give them what they want. But do the people understand the cost?
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The English Kingdoms: Faction Breakdown
The English Kingdoms of Britannia inhabit the Southern most lands of the British Isles. After decades of Viking raids, the Kingdoms of West Seaxe and Mierce are ready to reclaim the lands of England under their own banners
The English Kingdoms of Britannia inhabit the Southern most lands of the British Isles. After decades of Viking raids, the Kingdoms of West Seaxe and Mierce are ready to reclaim the lands of England under their own banners, and they won’t hesitate to destroy each other to make that happen.
The English Kingdoms will enjoy the benefits of the Fyrd, part-time soldiers pledged to leave their farms for military service each year.
These fyrdmen limit the amount of levy units that are available to recruit based on the number of settlements players control on the campaign map. You’ll need to be careful not to recruit more than your limit into your armies, as you may begin to throttle your food production. On top of this, all English military commanders have a larger aura on the battlefield and their soldiers will gain a melee attack bonus when fighting battles as the defender.
On the battlefield the English Kingdoms have strong armoured swordsmen and spear infantry at their disposal and can field impressive cavalry in late game battles.
The Kingdom of West Seaxe controls the southern coast of both England and Wales through its own occupation and the many smaller kingdoms that swear vassalage to them. Your vassals are sworn allies and will always join you in battle. You can view the amount of tribute they are sending you each turn via the summary tab in your economic overview. The generals of West Seaxe are well trained and will earn XP each turn, even when idle.
Although lead by the famous King Alfred, players will also have to manage the Witan; An Anglo-Saxon council summoned by the King to discuss progress in the nation and proposals for West Seaxe’s future. The members of the Witan will provide a series of choices for the player to select from concerning the management of the kingdom over the next few turns, each with their own positive and negative effects.
The Kingdom of Mierce is situated north of West Seaxe on the border of England and Wales. Without the benefit of a coastal border, they will be beset on all sides by potential enemies. All units in Mierce’s armies will receive a morale bonus from their generals, provided he is still alive. The King of Mierce will also have to manage the ample gold supply that his faction accrues over the course of their campaign. Once the Miercian treasury reaches certain thresholds, the King can spread his ample supply of wealth between different parties to gain their favour, and bonuses for their campaign.
It’s not always favourable to be giving out cash sums every time you have some in the supply though: To combat this, Mierce can research a specific technology to decrease the amount of money they have to spend to gain each bonus.
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The Gaelic Kingdoms: Faction Breakdown
The culture of the Gaels spreads across modern day Scotland and Ireland, both lands in equal levels of turmoil and seeking God’s chosen to rise and unite the nations under one banner.
The culture of the Gaels spreads across modern day Scotland and Ireland, both lands in equal levels of turmoil and seeking God’s chosen to rise and unite the nations under one banner. Both Gaelic Kingdoms playable in Thrones of Britannia pine for the throne of their respective countries, and to earn it they will have to prove their legitimacy.
Legitimacy is a unique cultural currency for Gaelic factions that scales between -10 and 100. You can earn legitimacy through the capture of settlements in your respective territory, (Scotland for Circenn or Ireland for Mide) by forging alliances with other scottish or irish factions respectively, or by reinforcing the armies of your allies.
With each increase of your legitimacy your faction will receive bonuses to your warriors’ martial prowess on the battlefield and an increase in loyalty from your subordinates on the campaign map. However, dropping below 0 can have adverse effects on both. Legitimacy will also degrade with each turn.
When certain thresholds of legitimacy are reached it will trigger incidents that can benefit your nation and dilemmas in which legitimacy can be spent to trigger even further benefits to your Kingdom. Legitimacy can also be spent to annex other factions under your rule, further strengthening your claim for the crown. The cost of the annex will only be spent on successful attempts.
Gaelic characters will also start with increased loyalty and their faction as a whole will receive a large increase in income from church buildings.
The Kingdom Circenn resides on the Eastern coast of Scotland. The men of Circenn are hardy, and with the construction of a unique Souterrain building their armies will become immune to snow attrition.
The capital of Circenn, Scoan is said to have once been home to the stone of destiny. Playing as Circenn you will be able to undertake consecutive missions to take control of other settlements in search of the stone’s divine strength. On the battlefield Circenn can field good all-round infantry with some high quality spearmen. They also have very strong missile units and powerful, unique crossbow units.
The Kingdom of Mide is the most central of the kingdoms of Ireland. Many High Kings have come from Mide in the past and the current ruler, Flann Sinna, aspires to hold the title as well. Due to their strong central position and a bonus to diplomacy with all other Irish factions, Mide is a good choice for newer players or those looking for an easier start. Armies from Mide will be able to field excellent mid-to-high tier sword infantry, including the unique Gallowglass unit, as well as exceptional javelin infantry.
Every other Summer, Mide will have the option of hosting the Fair of Tailtiu: An event that sees people gather for games, funerals and even marriages.
Players will be given a dilemma in which they can choose to either hold the fair, costing them gold but gaining them legitimacy, or to refuse instead which will cost the ruling character their influence
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The Welsh Kingdoms: Faction Breakdown
The Welsh Kingdoms are as divided as their Anglo-Saxon neighbours. Though they were further afield from the invasions of the Great Heathen army, some kingdoms have fared better than others.
The Welsh Kingdoms are as divided as their Anglo-Saxon neighbours. Though they were further afield from the invasions of the Great Heathen army, some kingdoms have fared better than others. Wales is a land of heroic men and heroic deeds and as such their kings will be well received by their people for following in that tradition. Heroism is a unique cultural currency for the Welsh that can be increased by winning battles, ranking up their characters, unlocking certain technology and owning welsh lands.
The grandeur of a hero is always changing however and losing battles and settlements will undermine your status.
The Heroism bar is measured between -10 and 100. With each section the player fills through their heroic deeds, they will gain more and more bonuses to their campaign. Your men will not suffer cowards though, if the bar ever reaches below 0 you will face large factionwide penalties.
Both Welsh Kingdoms will also receive bonus supplies to their armies in friendly territory and increase to unit morale when fighting on home soil.
The Kingdom of Gwined occupy the northern-most territory of Wales. Secure in their borders, and with a military ally to the south, Gwined have one of the easier starting positions in Thrones of Britannia. A good start for less experienced players, Gwined can take their time establishing themselves before they are met with any great danger.
With the Legendary Battle Sites mechanic, Gwined characters can stand in the shoes of former heroes and conquer famous territory or re-forge old alliances.
These missions will provide bonuses for their completion but can only be given when the mission the player currently holds has been completed.
The followers of Gwined characters are extra effective and will give increased benefits. Gwined can also field strong spearmen on the battlefield as well as exceptional archers.
The Kingdom of Strat Clut inhabits the southern border of modern day Scotland. A Kingdom of the Old North that stood firm through the Viking invasions, Strat Clut will have a difficult start to their campaign. With no strong defensible borders to call their own and caught between two major powers in Circenn and Northleode, they will need to strengthen themselves or risk being crushed early on.
With that in mind, Strat Clut will earn bonuses for owning settlements next to eachother. As well as this, capturing certain major settlements has a chance of triggering specific missions for the Kingdom as well. As with Gwined’s Legendary Battle Sites, the player will have to complete their current mission before they gain another.
Strat Clut can field the strong spearmen that the Welsh are known for as well as exceptional cavalry units.
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The Great Viking Army: Faction Breakdown
The Great Viking Army made their presence felt across the eastern coast of the British Isles and have now staked their claim on the land.
The Great Viking Army made their presence felt across the eastern coast of the British Isles and have now staked their claim on the land. The Viking settlers have not forgotten their roots and continue to raid and sack enemy territory, gaining a bonus to the income it generates. The Great Viking Army has also not forgotten their bitter war with the Anglo-Saxons and their armies will receive morale boosts when fighting against them.
The new kings of Danelaw will have to play a delicate game of appeasing the English and the Danes under his rule. The Here King mechanic is a cultural currency used by the Kingdoms of the Great Viking Army that splits the public opinions of the People and the Army on your nation.
Each have their own gauge that ranges from -50 to 50 that will drop and rise based on your actions on the campaign map. Choices that favour the English people like choosing to occupy non-English territory you have sieged or ransoming your captives after battle will raise their opinion of you. Likewise, actions that favour your war hungry armies will raise their opinion of you as well. Both parties offer benefits to the running of your nation when they are kept happy, and in reverse allowing their opinion of you to drop too far can be crippling. It’s not just the way you run your nation that will affect these however, certain dilemmas will appear, as well, that will ask you to choose between the two and favouring one side will almost always upset the other.
The Kingdom of Northymbre sits not far from the Scottish border, ruled by the Viking King Guthfrid. Rumoured to be a former slave, Guthfrid does not command much influence in his court and is liable to low loyalty from his characters.
Combined with a starting location flanked by 3 major powers, Guthfrid has one of the more difficult starts in the game. Still holding a grudge from the murder of King Ragnar, the faction of Northymbre will receive missions to enact revenge. All missions of Ragnar’s Legacy will focus on fighting the Anglo-Saxons and raiding and occupying their lands, but will only trigger when Northymbre is at war with an English faction.
Northymbre’s forces have a bonus to their charging ability, and access to Berserkers. They also have good all around infantry including the powerful Northumbrian spearmen and very strong axe infantry.
The Kingdom of East Engle reside on the most easterly point of the British Isles, sharing a border with West Seaxe and the vassals of Northymbre. With rich lands and a coastal border, East Engle have a much easier start. Employing the strong axemen, beserkers and well rounded infantry of their northern brethren as well as the powerful Anglian Champions.
The faction leader Guthrum is the King of Danelaw and enacts his will through force and aggression. As such, the faction of East Engle will receive missions which will give unique rewards for fighting with your neighbours.
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The Viking Sea Kings: Faction Breakdown
When the Vikings began to settle in Britannia, not all fleets were focused solely on the eastern coasts.
When the Vikings began to settle in Britannia, not all fleets were focused solely on the eastern coasts. The Kingdoms of Sudreyar and Dyflin travelled as far as the Western coastal isles of Scotland and the Eastern coast of Ireland. The Viking Sea Kings have stayed true to their ancestral desires for exploration and raiding, and have become masters of the seas that envelop the British Isles. Their navies will even be immune to seasickness and high seas attrition.
The Viking Sea Kings can periodically send their ships out to explore new lands, for plunder and colonisation.
The Expedition bar is one of the unique mechanics that the Sea Kings have at their disposal. The bar will fill whenever your faction is raiding, sacking, blockading ports or ranking up your characters. Once the bar reaches 100 your men can be sent out on Expeditions to find new lands. Expeditions take the form of a choose your own adventure, in which you will be able to choose your direction and where to dock your ships. Upon finding new territory, you will be given options with how to proceed which can lead to bonuses for your forces and on the campaign.
As well as Expeditions, the Viking Sea Kings can also force tribute from their weak and coin rich neighbours. The tribute bar ranges from -10 to 100 and instead of only receiving its benefits once the bar is full, with each tier of the bar completed you will receive greater benefits to your campaign. Upon reaching 100, benefits will be felt on almost all aspects of income as well as improving influence. Should the player ever be forced to offer gold in diplomacy, their tribute level will decrease.
If the Tribute level should ever drop below 0, the factions will suffer increased army upkeep costs and a drop in influence.
The Kingdom of Dyflin Resides in the modern day capital of Ireland, Dublin. They also hold the Isle of Man that sits in between Ireland and the mainland of Britannia, making for a fantastic central hub from which attacks can be made on England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Though Dyflin do not have the most difficult start of all the factions, they will be plunged into war almost straight away.
Dyflin have formed a strong economy of forced labour since they initially settled in Ireland, and now hold the largest slave market in all of Britannia. Slaves can be earned by winning battles, raiding and sacking enemy lands, occupying enemy settlements or from your vassals. At the end of each turn a percentage of those slaves will be sold on to new masters giving an alternative source of income for your faction. With the building of the thrall trader, Dyflin can increase the percentage of slaves that are sold each turn and the building or upgrading of these traders will also provide an instant cash bonus.
The large host of slaves that Dyflin have in their workforce means that they will be able to build new buildings with a 15% discount.
On the battlefield Dyflin have access to very strong axe infantry as well as the Norse unit of Berserkers. The Dyflin roster as a whole has a good diversity of units and can also field some strong javelinmen.
The Kingdom of Sudreyar inhabits the western coast of Scotland and the Isles off its shores. Starting in isolation and with a strong military ally to their East, these Vikings do not have a host of issues to deal with at the start of their campaign but with a slow start they will have to be careful not to be left behind.
The Kingdom of Sudreyar hosts a Field of Assembly, a gathering of free men and lawmakers who meet to decide on matters of the day. The assembly will decide on missions that the army should be sent on in exchange for reward. You will only be able to work on one mission at a time and will need to complete your current assignment before a new one can be given to you.
The forces of Sudreyar boast very strong sword and axe infantry as well as access to Berserkers and norse units. Sudreyars armies have a good diversity of troops and will gain +5 supplies when in foreign territory.
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Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia review
Our Verdict
A brilliant early game and bold experiments almost make up for the AI niggles and the boring march to the final battle.
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NEED TO KNOW
What is it? A compact Total War full of Viking raids and warring kings.
Expect to pay £30/$40
Developer Creative Assembly
Publisher Sega
Reviewed on Core i5-3570K, 16GB of RAM, GTX 970, Windows 10
Multiplayer Yes
Link Official site
£9.
06
View at Eneba US
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Total War Saga games, of which this is the first, are smaller standalone games that hone in on a flashpoint in history. This time it’s the age of Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons and historical celebrity. It’s fertile ground for a Total War romp, with the British Isles heaving with people who really don’t like one another, especially the kings. And there are a lot of them. How many kings could you really fit in Britain, you’re perhaps wondering. The answer is loads. Too many, really. Hence all the wars.
The assassination attempt on my king, Áed of Circenn, splintered the alliance of Scottish kingdoms that had previously been united against the Vikings. All of Scotland then erupted in war. It actually worked out, giving me—the terrible pragmatist that I am—an excuse to swallow up all of my one-time allies and consolidate my power.
With everyone at one another’s throats, I was able to pick them off one at a time, Vikings included.
Each of the ten playable factions is part of a cultural group that comes with certain allegiances and grudges. The Vikings might not always get along, but when the Gaels rise up against them, you’d better believe they team up, or at least get pressed into service by the most powerful king. How long that lasts depends on how long the king can keep his vassals and nobles happy, or how quickly he can kill troublemakers.
With everyone being at a similar technological level and fielding visually indistinguishable bearded warriors, they’re not as obviously different as the Romans and Germanic tribes (or the Empire and the Orcs), but each has a mechanical hook that helps make them stand out in a lineup. Viking Dyflin dabbles in the nauseating slave trade, West Seaxe hosts Witans that determine the kingdom’s future, while Circenn has a legitimacy system that encourages leaders to placate the north by going out and doing great deeds, usually at the end of a spear.
King’s quest
Unique events and story missions offer up more flavour while having a knock-on effect, drawing in other kingdoms. Circenn kings can hunt for the Stone of Destiny, for example—a coronation bauble that Scotland and England have argued over for centuries. The hunt is a quest that, much like Warhammer’s, sends armies all across the map in search of glory and treasure (and, of course, lots of battles). The quest forces Circenn to occupy several settlements, however, kickstarting little wars all over the islands.
These events also appear for AI kingdoms, creating a lively map where major crises play out whether you’re involved or not, though you’ll usually hear about it either way. While you’re getting in fights with the Welsh, the Viking kingdoms to the west might be joining forces to pay the Gaels back for attacking one of their settlements, while everyone up in Northumbria is kicking up a fuss over their murdered monarch.
On the default difficulty the enemy AI is a bit overzealous
As the undisputed ruler of Scotland, I was getting ready to enjoy the fruits of my labour.
Some of my subjects didn’t appreciate being conquered, however, and a small band of rebels managed to cause a ruckus and take over a town. In the battle to reclaim it, the king died carving a path to the heart of the settlement. The rebellion was crushed, but only a few turns later the whole kingdom imploded as nobles rose up against his heir.
Holding onto my kingdom proved to be a lot trickier than building it. Thrones of Britannia’s kingdoms and borders are fluid, with wars, uprisings and politicking forcing the archipelago to constantly shift. Old kingdoms once thought long gone can reappear, while powerful nations can be shattered in a few years. In the early game, when there are still five kings for every person, the cavalcade of events and battles means that it’s never not interesting, in stark contrast to the victory conditions that become the focus later.
To the victor
There are seven victory conditions in Thrones of Britannia. Long and short conquest victories return, tasking players with gobbling up a specific number of provinces, but they’re joined by two types of fame and kingdom victories, as well as an ultimate victory that can only be achieved once you’ve completed another long victory and defeated an invading fleet that’s determined by your faction.
The new additions aren’t great.
Fame victories are especially hollow. All you need to do is generate fame by simply playing the game, and not even well. Fight, build stuff and just generally engage with Total War and you’ll end up winning. Kingdom victories, on the other hand, are basically the same as conquest victories, but instead of conquering everyone, you’ve also got to conquer some specific provinces, their number depending on the faction.
As the Anglo-Saxons, I achieved two victories by turn 30. In turn 20, the King of Miede died and I inherited the entire kingdom, instantly giving me a kingdom victory. I’d done nothing. Ten turns later, I also got a fame victory, though I’d not been aiming for it. It means that if you’re playing as a large, established kingdom already, you’re only a few turns from technically winning, absent any satisfaction. The solution, you might think, would be aiming for the ultimate victory.
With two victories behind me, I found myself in a rut.
I had countless vassals, more money and food than I could waste, and nobody who could stand up to me. There were still uprisings, but they were just small things compared to the wars I’d already fought. I started manufacturing problems. I adopted an ambitious noble, who started causing trouble because he thought he also deserved to be the heir to the throne. I was making purposefully terrible decisions just to occupy myself. This wasn’t the case with every faction, though. I spent well over 200 turns leading Circenn before I ran out of engaging things to do. Even that’s a problem. There was no impetus to conquer the rest of Britain.
The events and unique missions that should have been spurring me on and firing me up to go on another war-bender dried up, leaving me waiting for the ultimate victory and the promise of one last, titanic clash. My enthusiasm had petered out by the time the ships arrived.
It’s disappointing to end a game on such a sour note, especially when Thrones of Britannia brings with it a lot of positive changes that I hope will be continued through future Total War games, and not just the Saga series.
For all of its tweaks, it often drills down into what’s great about Total War as a series. For a long time Total War has been stuffed to the gills with systems that can sometimes get in the way of a good scrap. Leader progression, building chains and agents have consistently become more elaborate and diverting. Thrones of Britannia is comparatively neater. Creative Assembly has liberally sheared off agents, trade and military buildings, weaving the mechanics once attached to them into other systems. It’s both slicker and more cohesive than any of its predecessors, though the streamlining does make some parts of the game feel perfunctory.
Most of Thrones of Britannia’s intermingling and streamlining of systems feels like progress, though. Pour one out for agents, because they’re completely gone. Only in Warhammer has it felt like agents—or heroes—offered enough to make it worth putting up with what terrible pests they are. But even though they’ve been cut, agent abilities are now replicated by leaders.
Eschewing both Rome II and Warhammer’s skill trees, leaders now develop exclusively through traits and followers. Traits once again appear over time, based on how a leader acts (or doesn’t act), as well as their environment. Keep a leader inside a settlement with a library, and they’ll become more scholarly. If they win a decisive victory, they’ll be able to command more respect and throw their weight around more.
Followers, on the other hand, are dramatically different. Instead of being random hangers-on that leaders collect, they are manually unlocked when a leader levels up. If you want them to be more loyal and less likely to start a civil war, for instance, then you should give them a priest. Much like an agent in previous Total War games, the priest will also decrease public order in enemy territory. This removal of superfluous units from the campaign map makes sense for a faster-paced Total War such as Thrones of Britannia, although I’m not convinced that this alternative to agents is quite a one-size-fits-all deal.
While agents are out, there are still plenty of other units just itching to be recruited, a process that has changed considerably. Waiting for an army to finish recruiting is not a particularly fun way to spend a few turns, so Thrones of Britannia gives you one instantly. If you’ve got the cash and food to support 20 units, then you can get all of them straight away. They won’t, however, have a full complement of troops. It’s the skeleton of an army, filling up over time as new troops arrive. Instead of being stuck in a settlement, it can move around, get in fights and even go off and do a spot of conquering.
So much busywork is cut out. There’s no more constructing the same archery ranges and barracks over and over again, or trudging armies halfway across the map to reinforce a village where, for some reason, nobody can learn how to hold a bow without this one very specific building. There’s definitely an argument that some of the need to plan out a long-term strategy is reduced when you can summon an army almost anywhere in your territory, but there’s still a significant cost, both upfront and in the maintenance of the army.
And since it takes a few turns for them to muster enough men to get to full strength, they won’t be tough enough to handle an an enemy force that’s actually prepared.
Even if you’ve got fat coffers and a population that’s hungry for a fight—people can get tired of constant warring, eventually, reducing public order—you’re not going to be able to keep all of your settlements safe. Thrones of Britannia’s map is incredibly dense, with potential targets rarely more than a couple of turns away from each other. Armies can rapidly swallow up territory, especially since most settlements are undefended villages that support the main fortified towns. These places make for particularly tempting morsels for raiders, as the lack of a garrison makes them easy to sack. It’s thematically rather appropriate for a game rich in musky Vikings, but more than that, it creates new ways to put pressure on an enemy, denying them much-needed resources. If they’re occupied, they can also become potential staging posts where armies can gain a foothold and seek shelter during winter.
Reinventing history
Performance
Thrones of Britannia’s smaller frame—and rapidly shrinking roster of factions—means that turn times aren’t a nightmare. They’ll certainly be a welcome change if you’ve been dabbling in Warhammer’s Mortal Empires campaign. The swift turns are accompanied by solid performance across the board, on the campaign map and in battles, generally straining my rig less than its fantasy predecessor. Wee hairy troops apparently require less horsepower than great big scorpion monsters and massive killer statues.
Thrones of Britannia doesn’t quite go back to the drawing board when it comes to the real-time brawls, but it does reconsider several things, along with bringing back welcome features like guard mode and formations. Shields get a lot of time in the spotlight this time around, and they can be used to completely halt cavalry charges and more effectively protect against assaults of pesky, eye-gouging arrows.
Once the initial cavalry charges have been repelled, however, the battles largely play out the same way they did in Attila.
Critical hits mean that a lucky shot can kill an enemy outright, while warriors will now stand closer together so they can huddle behind the shield wall. But these, much like several other tweaks to combat, don’t noticeably change the tempo or tactics.
The subtler differences between Attila and Thrones of Britannia may become more apparent in multiplayer, but there’s less of an impetus to get into the nitty gritty when playing against the AI. On the default difficulty the computer is a bit overzealous, committing almost everything to a big push, only occasionally hiding units in forests or embarking on sneakier strategies. On the campaign map, the AI is quick to take advantage of the weak points in your kingdom’s defences and retreat when it’s bitten off more than it can chew, but it struggles more when it’s on the defensive.
In several battles during my first game, the AI got rather confused and let me walk to victory. In one case, the entire enemy force got so spooked by the cavalry that appeared behind them that they started pacing on the spot until they decided to charge at my army, one unit at a time, until they routed.
In another, an indecisive fleet couldn’t pick between two landing areas and, instead, sailed between them for the entire battle, allowing me to conquer a city nearly unopposed. Several of these AI cock-ups happened in quick succession, but haven’t appeared since, after several days of playing.
Thrones of Britannia is the most unusual historical Total War instalment since 2010’s Napoleon. Though it’s still a historical Total War right down to its core, it feels like every feature must have been on the chopping block at one time or another. It’s bold and surprising, but it’s also a game that’s often at odds with itself. It attempts to condense the Total War experience, throwing everyone into conflict and cranking up the pace, but it does little to stop the significant lulls that can happen in the mid and late game. Indeed, while the events and busy map initially make this one of the most engaging games in the series, it can suddenly devolve into one of the dullest once some of the pieces have been knocked off the board.
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Total War: Thrones of Britannia
A brilliant early game and bold experiments almost make up for the AI niggles and the boring march to the final battle.
Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he’s been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He’s also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he’s not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
Shadow of Goebbels. What is «total war»? | History | Society
Andrey Sidorchik
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
22483
Story World history with Andrey Sidorchik
Goebbels congratulates underage fighters.
1945 commons.wikimedia.org
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in an interview with the German newspaper Bild did not rule out the start of a full-scale war with Russia. “We want nothing more than peace, but we must now, unfortunately, consider the worst scenarios,” Poroshenko said.
According to the President of Ukraine, the Ukrainian army is in much better condition than five months ago.
“I am not afraid of a war with the Russian troops, and we have prepared for a scenario of total war. Our soldiers show that they can protect our country,” the Kyiv leader said.
Theorist Ludendorff
The use of the ominous term «total war» caused the greatest resonance from Poroshenko’s interview.
The authorship of the concept and the very term «total war» belongs to German military theorists, primarily Erich Ludendorff , a military leader who became famous during the First World War and in its final period was engaged in planning all military operations of the German army.
Ludendorff outlined the concept of total war in 1935 in his book Total War.
According to Ludendorff, total war is a military conflict in which the participating country uses all available resources and methods to defeat the enemy.
German military theorists came to the conclusion that by the beginning of the 20th century, war had moved from a «battle of armies» into a «battle of nations». To win such a conflict, it is necessary, on the one hand, to mobilize all the material and human resources of one’s own nation, and on the other hand, to undermine the enemy’s spirit by forcing the population of the opposing country to demand from their authorities an end to the military conflict.
The concept of “total war” gained its notoriety already during the Second World War, when it became the basis of the doctrine of the actions of the Nazi troops. This was especially pronounced after the radical turning point in the war, when Nazi Germany suffered a crushing defeat in the battle of Stalingrad.
Paul von Hindenburg (left) and Erich Ludendorff (right). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Main speech of the Minister of Propaganda
18 February 1943 years Reich Minister of Education and Propaganda of the Third Reich Joseph Goebbels at the Berlin Sports Palace delivered a 109-minute speech calling for «total war».
This speech by Goebbels is considered one of his most famous and striking speeches. “I ask you: do you want total war? If need be, do you want a more total and radical war than you can even imagine today?” exclaimed the chief propagandist of the Third Reich.
Goebbels’ speech was intended to prepare the German population for the introduction of tough measures aimed at strengthening the defense industry. One of these measures will be the announcement of «total mobilization» of the male population of Germany into the army. In the final weeks of the war, this would result in sending old men and underage boys into battle in the Volkssturm detachments, whose death was supposed to delay the final fall of the Third Reich by several days.
In Soviet historiography, “total war” is commonly understood as the terror unleashed by Nazi Germany against the civilian population of the occupied territories, the looting of material values, and the destruction of monuments of culture and art.
Goebbels’ speech about total war, delivered in February 1943, contains some very curious moments that echo the anti-Russian rhetoric of some contemporary European and Ukrainian politicians.
Hitler and Goebbels. 1935 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
«The West in Danger»
“I appeal first of all to the world community and proclaim three theses regarding our struggle against the Bolshevik threat in the east. The first thesis: if the German army had been unable to destroy the threat from the east, the Reich would have fallen to Bolshevism, and shortly thereafter to all of Europe. Second, only the German army, the German people and their allies can save Europe from this threat. Third: we are in danger.
We must act quickly and decisively, or it will be too late,” said Dr. Goebbels in a speech on February 18, 1943 years.
“The storm from the east, daily crashing against our lines with increasing force, is nothing but a repetition of the historical devastation that so often threatened this part of the world in the past. This is a direct threat to the existence of all European powers. Do not think that Bolshevism will stop at the borders of the Reich if it wins. The goal of his aggressive policy and aggressive wars is the Bolshevization of all countries and peoples in the world … We know that in the East we are dealing with a hellish political devilry that does not recognize the norms that determine relations between peoples and states … The European powers stand facing a huge problem. The West is in danger. And it doesn’t matter if their governments and intellectuals realize it or not!» exclaimed Hitler’s chief propagandist.
Joseph Goebbels. Photo: www.russianlook.
com
The last crime of «total war»
Hitler’s chief propagandist of «total war» did not live to see the Nuremberg Trials. Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda committed suicide on May 1, 1945 in the same bunker where Hitler and Eva Braun had lost their lives the day before. It is known that the Goebbels took potassium cyanide. It is possible that Goebbels tried to shoot himself at the same time, but this could not be established reliably.
The last crime in the life of Joseph Goebbels was the murder of his own children. Helga, Hilda, Helmut, Holda, Hedda and Haida , who were between 4 and 12 years old, were poisoned by their parents before the Goebbels themselves went to the next world.
The bodies of the members of the Goebbels family were burned in the same way as the bodies of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.
Joseph Goebbels family. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
world historyUkrainePeter PoroshenkoJoseph GoebbelspropagandaWorld War II
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Churchill’s plans against the USSR
Secret military plans
W. Churchill against the USSR in May 1945
From the Government Records Office
This document is the property of the Government of
His Majesty The King of Great Britain
Top secret
Final [version] May 22, 1945
War Office
Joint Planning Headquarters
[1].
We have analyzed [the possibility of carrying out] Operation Unthinkable. As directed, the analysis was based on the following assumptions:
a) The action receives the full support of public opinion from both the British Empire and the United States, respectively, the morale of the British and American troops remains high.
b) Great Britain and the USA have the full support of the Polish troops and can rely on the use of German labor and the remaining German industrial potential.
c) We cannot rely on any assistance whatsoever from the armies of other Western powers, although we have bases and equipment at our disposal in their territory, the use of which may have to be resorted to.
d) Russians enter into an alliance with Japan.
e) Date of declaration of hostilities — July 1, 1945
f) Until July 1, the implementation of plans for the redeployment and demobilization of troops continues, then it stops.
In order to comply with the regime of increased secrecy, consultations with the headquarters of the ministries in charge of the types of armed forces were not held.
Target
2. The general political goal [of the operation] is to impose the will of the United States and the British Empire on the Russians.
Although the «will» of the two countries may be regarded as a matter directly related only to Poland, it does not follow at all that the degree of our involvement [in the conflict] will necessarily be limited. A quick [military] success may induce the Russians to submit to our will at least temporarily, but it may not. If they want total war, they will get it.
3. The only way for us to achieve the goal in a definite and long-term way is victory in a total war, but in view of what was said above, in paragraph 2, regarding the possibility of an early [military] success, it seems to us correct to approach the problem with two premises:
a) total war is inevitable, and we have considered the chances of success with this attitude in mind;
b) the political attitude is such that a quick [military] success will allow us to achieve our political goals, and subsequent participation [in the conflict] should not worry us.
TOTAL WAR
4. Since the possibility of a revolution in the USSR and the political collapse of the current regime is not considered by us and we are not competent to make judgments on this issue, the only way to take the Russians out of the game is as a result of:
a) occupation of such a [vast] territory of Russia proper as to reduce the country’s military potential to a level at which further [Russian] resistance becomes impossible;
b) inflicting on the Russian troops on the battlefield such a defeat that would make it impossible for the Soviet Union to continue the war.
Occupation of Russian living space
5. Such a development of the situation is possible in which the Russians will be able to withdraw their troops and thereby avoid a decisive defeat. In that case they may adopt the tactic they have used so successfully against the Germans and in previous wars, which consists in exploiting the vast distances with which the territory has endowed them.
In 1942, the Germans reached the borders of Moscow, the Volga and the Caucasus, but the methods of evacuating factories, combined with the deployment of new resources and the help of the allies, allowed the USSR to continue the fighting.
The scheme of military operations against the USSR according to the plan of the military operation «Unthinkable» (from the Daily Telegraph newspaper)
6. In fact, it is impossible to talk about the limit of the allies’ advance into the depths of Russia, at which further resistance [of the Russians] will become impossible. It is difficult to imagine the very possibility of such a deep and rapid penetration of the allies, as the Germans managed in 1942, despite the fact that such an advance did not lead to a decisive outcome.
Decisive defeat of Russian troops
7. Details of the available forces and the deployment of Russian and Allied troops are given in Annexes II and III and illustrated on maps A and B (maps not published.
— Approx. comp.). The current balance of power in Central Europe, where the Russians have an advantage of approximately three to one, makes a complete and decisive Allied victory in this territory unlikely in the current situation. Although the Allies are better organized and slightly better equipped, the Russians proved to be formidable opponents in the war against the Germans. They have a competent command, appropriate equipment, and an organization [of troops] that may not meet our standards, but has stood the test [of the war]. On the other hand, only about a third of their divisions correspond to a high level [of requirements], others are far behind them, and in terms of mobility, all of them, without exception, are significantly inferior to the corresponding formations of the allies.
8. Inflicting a decisive defeat on Russia in a total war will require, in particular, the mobilization of manpower [of the Allies] in order to counter the current colossal manpower [of the Russians].
This exceptionally long-term project includes:
a) large-scale deployment in Europe of colossal American resources [manpower];
b) Re-equipment and reorganization of the human resources of Germany [1] and all Western European Allies.
Conclusion
9. Our findings:
a) if the political goal is to achieve a certain and final result, it is necessary to achieve the defeat of Russia in a total war;
b) the result of an all-out war with Russia is unpredictable, one thing can be said with all certainty: victory in such a war is a task for a very long time.
FAST SUCCESS
10. Nevertheless, on the basis of a political assessment [of the situation], it may be concluded that a quick and limited victory will force Russia to accept our terms.
11. Before deciding whether to start hostilities, the following should be considered:
a) If the assessment is erroneous and the achievement of any limited goal set by us does not force Russia to submit to our conditions, we will in fact find ourselves drawn into an all-out war.
b) It is impossible to limit military operations to any one region, and therefore, as they unfold, we will have to reckon with the reality of a global battle.
c) Even if everything goes according to plan, we will not reach the final result from a military point of view. Russia’s military power will remain unbroken, and the Russians will always be able to renew the conflict at any moment that suits them.
12. Nevertheless, if we are ready, in view of all the above dangers, to risk limited military action, we have analyzed possible steps to strike the Russians with a blow that would force them to accept our terms even in a situation where they can avoid a decisive defeat. and militarily will still be able to continue the fight.
General strategic situation
13. Of the Russian forces opposing us, the most formidable, of course, is the Red Army. There is no threat to our bases and ships comparable to the German threat from Russian strategic bombers or submarines, and therefore the main attention should be paid to the strength and deployment of the Red Army.
14. Europe . The main forces of the Red Army are concentrated in Central Europe. Although the Russians may occupy Norway as far south as Trondheim and Greece, this circumstance will not significantly affect the overall strategic situation. In Europe, the Russians can also occupy Turkey and, using their current dominant position in southeastern Europe, are able to blockade the Straits, preventing any possible Allied naval action in the Black Sea. This in itself does not pose an additional threat to us, but South-Eastern Europe, including Greece, will immediately be closed to our influence and trade.
15. Middle East . An extremely dangerous situation could arise in Persia and Iraq. It seems quite likely that the Russians will advance in this region in order to seize valuable oil fields and because of the exceptional importance of this region for us. According to our estimates, about 11 Russian divisions can be used here against the allied forces as part of three Indian brigade groups.
In view of the foregoing, it is difficult to imagine how we will be able to defend these territories, given that the loss of this source of oil supplies can have extremely serious [consequences].
Due to transport difficulties and due to involvement in the [campaign in] Central Europe, it seems unlikely at the initial stage [of hostilities] that the Russians will advance in the direction of Egypt.
But they will certainly try to provoke unrest in all the states of the Middle East.
16. India . Although the Russians will no doubt try to provoke unrest in India, the possibility of their military action in this region is doubtful.
17. Far East . In the Far East, any agreement between the Russians and the Japanese would allow the latter to free up forces to strengthen the mother country or to resume the offensive in China. They are unlikely to be able to undertake large-scale operations to return the territories they have lost. Since, however, decisive operations against Japan are likely to have to be postponed, a stalemate may arise in the war with Japan.
Russian offensive actions against the allies in the Far East seem unlikely.
18. The above arguments and the current disposition of the main forces lead us to the conclusion that Central Europe will inevitably become the main theater [of military operations], with auxiliary [in character], but extremely important [in consequences] operations in the region of Persia-Iraq.
19. In Appendix I we analyze the [possibility of conducting a military] campaign in Europe. The key points of our analysis are summarized below.
Factors influencing our strategy in Eastern Europe
20. First of all, we will have superiority over the Russians in the air and at sea. The latter will allow us to control the Baltic, but in itself this will not play a significant role in achieving rapid success.
21. In the air, our advantage will be to a certain extent complicated by the fact that our strategic bomber forces will initially have to be based in England — even in the case of using intermediate airfields on the Continent.
The exhausting workload of the Air Force and the long distances that they will have to cover will hardly allow them to be used with the same efficiency as during the war with Germany.
22. Russian industry is so dispersed that it can hardly be considered a winning target for air strikes. At the same time, the considerable extent of Russian communications, apparently, can offer us much more preferable targets [for bombing], especially at important crossings through water barriers. However, to achieve any effective results, such attacks on communications must be coordinated with an offensive on land.
So, the only way for us to achieve a quick [military] success is a land campaign that allows us to fully use our advantage in the air — both tactically and in attacks on Russian communications.
23. The study of the topographic [map] and the general direction of communications indicates that the main efforts of the land offensive should be concentrated in the North [of Europe].
This provides us with additional advantages, since it allows us to use our naval advantage in the Baltic to cover our left flank and act against the enemy’s right flank.
24. So, the campaign should be carried out in the North-East of Europe, first of all, by ground forces.
Land Campaign in North Eastern Europe
25. The possibility of involving Allied troops in offensive operations will be largely determined by how many of them will be bound by the need to restore and protect communications in the destroyed areas of Germany.
26. Taking into account this part, as well as the forces necessary to ensure the security of the front north to the Dresden-Chemnitz line, we, according to our estimates, get about 47 divisions, including 14 armored divisions, which can be involved in offensive operations.
27. In response, according to our estimates, the Russians will be able to deploy forces equivalent to 170 Allied divisions, of which 30 divisions are armored.
Thus, we will face a disparity of forces in the approximate ratio of two to one in the armored forces and four to one in the ground.
28. It is difficult to estimate the extent to which our superiority in tactical aviation and command and control would help restore the balance [of forces], but in view of the above disparity between them, launching an offensive would certainly be a risky undertaking.
If, in spite of everything, this option is chosen, it can be implemented through two main blows:
— northern, along the Stettin-Schneidemuhl-Bydgoszcz axis;
— southern, along the Leipzig-Cottbus-Poznan and Breslau axis.
29. The main tank battles are likely to unfold east of the Oder-Neisse line, and the outcome of the campaign may depend on their outcome. With a favorable outcome, we will probably be able to reach the common Danzig-Breslau line. Any subsequent offensive, however, would have meant a stretching of the front, which had to be held through the winter, and an increase in the threat posed by a salient that had taken shape in the region of Bohemia and Moravia, from which the Russians would not necessarily have to retreat.
Therefore, if we fail to win the victory we need west of the Danzig-Breslau line, then it is very likely that we will actually be drawn into an all-out war.
30. So, the success of the land campaign will depend on the outcome of the battles west of the above line before the onset of winter cold. Our strategic position is not strong in itself, and in fact we will be forced to rely on one major battle with an extremely unfavorable balance of forces for us.
CONNECTIONS
31. According to our conclusion:
a) starting a war with the Russians, we must be ready for a total war, long and costly at the same time;
Attached:
Appendix I — Campaign Evaluation in Europe.
Appendix II — Russian forces and their disposition.
Appendix III — Allied forces and their disposition.
Appendix IV — German reaction.
(Source: Rzheshevsky O. A. Secret military plans of W.
