Conquering Europe As Austria: Strategies For Domination

Playing as Austria in Europa Universalis IV can be challenging, but with careful planning and strategic alliances, it is possible to emerge victorious. Here are some tips to help you win as Austria:

First, focus on your starting conditions. Ensure that Hungary rivals Poland, and neither Hungary nor Bohemia has strong allies. It is preferable for Bohemia to have only Holy Roman Empire (HRE) minors as allies, while Hungary's allies should be no stronger than TO and a few HRE minors. Before unpausing the game, set your rivals, use estate interactions to gain power projection, recruit regiments, and ally, guarantee, or offer military access to every elector.

Secondly, you can exploit the double CtA exploit by declaring war on Bohemia and calling in your allies. This will draw your allies into two wars simultaneously, allowing them to do most of the work in Europe while you focus on other regions.

Additionally, it is crucial to prevent Austria from becoming the emperor of the HRE. Cause them to lose wars and prestige, and if possible, make them release any HRE minor nations they have conquered. If you can become the emperor yourself, it will significantly weaken Austria's position.

Lastly, form strategic alliances with major powers such as France, the Ottomans, or Prussia, and use their strength to counter Austria's military might. By carefully implementing these strategies, you can increase your chances of winning as Austria in EU4.

Remove their emperor status

To remove Austria's status as Emperor in Europa Universalis IV, there are several strategies you can employ:

Reduce Austria's Imperial Authority

Passing reforms can cause a significant drop in Imperial Authority (IA), which can lead to Austria losing the Emperorship. Aim to pass reforms that will reduce their IA to below 30, or even lower if possible. This will make it harder for them to regain the title.

Influence Elector Votes

The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is chosen through an election by Prince-Electors. By influencing these electors, you can reduce the chances of Austria being elected or re-elected. Improve relations with the electors, offering them gifts, subsidies, royal marriages, and alliances. You can also try to pull a Personal Union over Bohemia, which will give you their land and electorate, making it easier to get elected yourself.

War and Debt

Engage in wars with Austria to reduce their prestige and annul their alliances with electors. You can also demand unlawful territory, which will cause them to lose provinces and further reduce their Imperial Authority. Additionally, you can attack nations that will cause Austria to defend, weakening them and allowing you to demand more money and concessions in the peace deal.

Religion

Converting to the Orthodox religion can be a way to remove Austria's Emperor status, as this will cause other Christian nations to dislike them. However, this is a drastic measure that may have other consequences, so consider it carefully.

Dismantle the HRE

If all else fails, you can try to dismantle the Holy Roman Empire. This will remove Austria's Emperor status, but be warned that this may not be in your best interests as other nations may take advantage of the power vacuum and expand their influence.

Make them release HRE minors

To make countries join the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in Europa Universalis IV, you need to ensure that they have a low total development of 200 or less, good relations with the Emperor, and that their capital province is located within the HRE.

Countries may join the HRE if they have good relations with the Emperor and are threatened by larger countries, especially if the threat is a rival of the Emperor.

• Conquer a province within the HRE without directly attacking the owner. Give up your non-HRE provinces by making peace deals or releasing vassals. This will cause your capital to be moved into the captured HRE province.
• Conquer a province, core it, add it to the HRE, and then release it as either a vassal or independent nation to increase the number of states in the empire.
• Vassalize diplomatically enough one-province minors (OPMs) within the HRE. When the existing Emperor dies, you may be selected as the new Emperor since you have enough influence over the voters.
• Take the land instead and release them as vassals. Vassals that border the empire and have good opinion of you will join the empire.
• Take a country's capital, core it, add it to the HRE, then give it back to the original owner. They will move their capital back, and since their capital is in the HRE, they are now a prince.
• Find a country that doesn't currently exist but has cores on a lot of territories. Conquer one province they have a core on, core the province yourself, add it to the HRE, and then either release the country as a vassal or return the province to them. Since their only province is part of the HRE, they will automatically be a member.

Attack when they're already at war

Attacking Austria when they are already at war is a great strategy to weaken them. Here is a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to do this effectively:

• Step 1: Wait for Austria to be engaged in a war, preferably with a powerful enemy such as France or the Ottomans. This will divide their attention and resources.
• Step 2: Form alliances with nations hostile to Austria. Strong allies like France, Spain, Russia, Scandinavian countries, Poland, or the Ottomans can be very useful. Having allies will help you overwhelm Austria and increase your chances of success.
• Step 3: Once Austria is already weakened by their ongoing war, declare war on them. Try to coordinate with your allies to attack from multiple fronts, carpet siege their territories, and take advantage of defensive positions in the mountains.
• Step 4: Use numerical superiority and merc spamming to your advantage. Austria tends to merc spam and quickly rebuild their armies, so you need to act swiftly and decisively.
• Step 5: If possible, separate peace with Austria's allies to force them to release nations they have conquered, such as Styria or Tyrolia. This will deal a significant blow to Austria.
• Step 6: Repeat the process of declaring war, conquering, and forcing them to release nations until you have weakened them to your satisfaction.
• Step 7: If you have gained a casus belli on Austria, break your alliance with them and attack while they are still recovering from the previous wars.
• Step 8: Profit from your successful campaigns against Austria and expand your influence in the region.

Remember, the key to this strategy is to take advantage of Austria being distracted and weakened by their ongoing wars. By coordinating your attacks with allies and utilising numerical superiority, you can deal significant damage to Austria and force them to release conquered territories, ultimately weakening their regional influence.

Ally with France or Ottomans

As France, Spain, Russia, Scandinavia, Poland/Lithuania or the Ottomans, you can beat Austria by outblobbing them and defeating them in battle. If you are an HRE member, you can take the emperor title from them while taking stuff outside the HRE and blobbing a bit inside the HRE. You can also make them spit out any HRE minor you can, and return any core territory to an HRE minor.

If you ally with France, you can benefit from their stronger military. France is always powerful but Austria scales much more by the time. They have a huge possibility to have good numbers of personal unions and, since they are most probably the emperor of the HRE, they will have much more boosts by their imperial reforms.

However, staying allied with Austria can also be beneficial. As the emperor of the traditionally fractious German HRE states, it is up to Austria to unify the Empire as the famous Habsburgs and stake their claim on history as a world power. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire may be called into defensive wars against outside aggressors, and is also tasked with maintaining order in the empire and enforcing religious unity. Austria has two unique government reform power structures available, one at the standard game start and the other more advanced form available after completing the Hungarian-related mission, Multicultural Empire.

Austria is also perhaps in the best position to form the Holy Roman Empire, due to starting as Emperor, having several diplomatic-oriented national ideas, and their relative position and strength in the empire to enforce their will on the other Princes.

Attack from defensive positions in mountains

Attacking from a defensive position in the mountains is a great way to repel an invasion from a larger enemy. Here are some tips to help you do this as Austria in Europa Universalis IV:

• Build forts on mountain provinces. This will give you a defensive advantage and make your territory a very undesirable target for invasion.
• Use your mountains to your advantage by drawing enemies into unfavourable terrain. This will allow you to take advantage of terrain modifiers during combat.
• Make use of mercenaries. Mercenaries can be hired to bolster your forces and turn the tide of a battle.
• Take advantage of the "Control over Monetary Policy" estate privilege from the Burghers. This will give you a range of bonuses, including a reduction in interest per annum, which will make loans cheaper. This is especially beneficial for Austria as taking loans is a key part of a successful Austrian strategy.
• Ally with nations such as Poland, France, or the Ottomans. Having powerful allies will deter enemies from invading and provide backup should you be invaded.
• Focus on improving your diplomacy and building strong relationships with electors to ensure you remain the Holy Roman Emperor. This will grant you a range of bonuses, including increased force limits.
• Make use of personal unions (PUs) to expand your territory and strength. Target nations such as Bohemia, Hungary, and Bavaria for PUs early in the game.
• Prioritize idea groups that will boost your military strength, such as Quantity, Economic, and Quality. These idea groups will increase your force limits and improve the quality of your troops.
• Keep your forces well-maintained and at full force limit. Ensure you have enough manpower and mercenaries to quickly replace any losses.
• Take advantage of the unique government reform power structures available to Austria. The Austrian Archduchy gives a significant bonus to retaining subject nations, while the Imperial Austrian Monarchy gives a major advantage in diplomatic power income.

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