Hungary strategy
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[edit] Introduction
You start in the Eastern research group. This means you get 0.9 of the normal (Latin) research rate. This may be considered a problem but in fact when you start your game and for your first a hundred or so years is one of your biggest assets. Why? Simple. Eastern countries have a wide variety of cavalry. They are getting better and better cavalry types almost with all their Land tech levels. Also, since cavalry is seriously overpowered in the game, you can use it to your advantage while fighting and in fact win many wars easily that you would most certainly lose if you weren't Eastern. So don't cry, be happy you're Eastern.
Also, don't think that getting 0.9 of research means you're going to be very backwards. Just don't waste your money on research you don't need like Naval or Production (after level 1 that's allowing workshops).
Now let's find out what type of a country Hungary has to become to be the most effective and become something more than an austrian vassal like it did in the real history.
So. There are three types of nations in the game. Those who colonize, those who trade and those who fight. This can be told basing on what is the first National Idea they choose. There's no way you can go colonizing early as you have too many things to sort out in Europe and can't really afford any serious colonial effort. So you have a choice between trading and fighting.
Focusing on trading is difficult with Hungary as they are surrounded by countries that would like this land to become theirs and each time you have to show them forcefully where's their place.
So the choice is simple:
If you are willing to fight, you are pretty much set from the start. Just take Military Drill as your first idea and keep pushing forward to Balkans, Bohemia, Poland, Austria (and Italy!). Invest in cavalry-only armies, have your king lead your armies and don't don't even allow your enemies to rest.
Hire an army reformer and a statesman to boost your Goverment and Land research if they are available. If not, take other guys that boost your research. If you manage to get a good statesman and a good army reformer, you can set your research in that area to not additionaly financed from your budget and spend your money elsewhere.
Move towards Offensive (if you're not that good in fighting) or towards Free Trade (if you're planning to Trade) with your domestic policies. Also from the beginning invest all your budget to Goverment tech and build as much of cavalry as you can.
[edit] Fighting Ottomans
You start at war with the great and mighty Ottoman Empire that has just beaten Byzantium. Ottomans want to increase their influence in the Balkans and this is not very good for you.
You have to allies in this war, Transylvania that is also your vassal and not that very friendly Serbia. To befriend Serbia and other Balkan countries you have to improve your tolerance towards Orthodox. Do it before you start playing.
Now, you have to know that Ottomans strike on Serbia very early and annex it very quickly. This is not something you could tolerate. Take your both armies and tell them to march to Serbia. Have the one that is close be led by your very skilled general. You want to knock Ottomans back from Serbia and hold that ground till you have Military Drill or at least reinforce your armies with additional cavalry.
If you see you can push forward, follow their army and beat it again. After that, follow them again.
Don't stop building more cavalry until your manpower lowers. You want to group all your infantry in two armies that will siege something if they have an occasion and all your cavalry in the second one, led by your general and pursuing ottoman armies.
Your goal in this war is to push Ottomans back and disallow them from taking any land from Serbia and Transylvania. If you can achieve that and get a ducat, congratulations, you are skilled in fighting in eu3 and can be not afraid of any war. If your allies manage to get a province or two, the situation can't be better.
This way or another, you want this war to end before Austria finishes fighting Venice as you're next target of Austria just after they win there.
[edit] Gaining influence in Balkans
After the war you have to secure your influence in Balkans. Start with proclaiming a guarantee to every single country there, from Athens up to Transylvania. You want to leave yourself a chance to intervene in any war that is carried around the peninsula. Especially you should strive to stop Ottomans from expanding further here. You won't always succeed in this, but even trying to do that makes their work harder and this way gives you more and more time before they reach your borders. So don't neglect any intervention that could discourage Ottomans from coming to Europe.
Don't worry about wars that small countries fight against each other. Also, don't oppose Poland and Lithuania from taking Moldavia. You want one of the countries here to consolidate control over the region, most probably it will be Serbia or Bosnia, and to separate you from the green menace. Also, presence of Poland is quite helpful, as Poland and Lithuania are not something Ottomans would like to mess with. So befriend Poles and ally with them to secure Balkans from Ottomans for good.
[edit] Austria
This country is going to backstab you sooner or later. Having a huge armies can discourage them for some time but sooner or later you will have them on your back. If you have won with the Ottoman Empire, Austria shouldn't pose much challenge. Just make sure you don't fight them two at the same time. Such a war will end up in you losing half of your land and all your armies.
Fighting Austria is a bit easier than fighting Ottomans as you have no little losers to defend, it's only you and them.
How does Austria fight? In a most silly way you can imagine. They come in one or two huge stacks led be generals or even by their king. They siege one of your provinces, win the siege, than win another one.
You don't probably want an open battle with them early in the war. Allow them to siege a province or two, let attrition do its job. You're not Norway, ok, but still the attrition will take its toll against their huge stacks. So wait half a year, consolidate your cavalry with a general that does a lot of shock damage (after one or two wars with the Ottomans your tradition is 100% or close to it, Austria won't match your generals, not after a war with weaklings from Venice) and attack their biggest stack with them. He will win, don't worry. After they run, keep following them. If they have more armies, you have to use your best general and a part of your main cavalry force to deal with it too.
Now, when their biggest stacks are running and your cavalry is chasing them, hire some mercenary infantry (you need 2k stacks per province you want to siege) and send to their land. Siege as many provinces at a time as you can afford. Move to the provinces producing gold and to their capital as soon as you get a few from the first sieges.
Most favourable situation would be if you could vassalize Austria. You can do it, provided you can afford enough mercanaries and you don't screw a major battle. Be warned though that having Austria off your back for good can spoil the game as what's great in playing Hungary is being squeezed between two major powers that want to expand into your territory and can't do it.
[edit] Italy
Why conquer poor orthodox provinces in Balkans while you have a great, wealthy and full of universities piece of land just across the sea? I don't know. Still, I see many people that don't see that opportunity.
First task here is to get some sort of a foothold. Some sort of an occasion to intervene and take a province or two. You can do it in two ways. You can ally with one of the countries here, preferably a monarchy and wait for them to drag into a war. Then take whatever you wish. If you can't get anybody to ally with you, you may proclaim guarantees to as many countries as you can and wait until somebody attacks one of those. Siena and Urbino are attacked early and are great for that purpose.
Have 5 cogs prepared, declare a war when you have a Casus Belli, send your elite cavalry armies there and force vassalize or annex whatever you're fighting with. Prefer provinces with Universities over anything else in your peace deals. You want to control everything between Sicily and Switzerland.
[edit] Holy Roman Empire
This is something you have to invest a lot of money and a lot of time in. Is it worth it? Yes, it is. Additional manpower and land force limit means that Ottomans and Austria won't even dare to think about conquering you. Additional stability investment will make it easier to keep your country intact while fighting numerous wars.
To become the emperor you have to make friends with as many electors as possible. If you get majority, your king will become the emperor just after the old one dies. Bribe them, organize royal marriages with them and do not ally with anybody as you don't want to participate in any of their wars as it could make other electors like you less.
[edit] Westernisation
We have a separate article on Westernisation. Keep in mind that you don't want to do that for the first 150 years of your game. At least until you are safe from Ottomans and Austria, allied with Poland and hold a serious piece of land in Italy. Your cavalry is your great asset and this 0.1 penalty to your research is not that evil as you might think.
[edit] Trade
After having secured your position and wealth you want to proceed to become a trading nation. Take Shrewd Commerce Practices as your second National Idea, take National Trade Policy as your third idea. Move towards Free Trade with your sliders. If you don't fall much behind in your Trade research and your monarch's Administration skills are at least half decent, you should be able to keep five merchants in each of the five most profitable CoTs you know about. Especially if you have good reputation. This can triple your income and make up for your research penalty. So don't think you can ignore trading.
[edit] Colonization
You have no resources and no time for any exploration and you have more important National Ideas to take instead of Quest for the New World. Anyway, you can have a few colonies, especially if you have moved towards Free Trade. After fifty years you're shown what others have explored. Try to send your colonists to South or North America, somewhere close to the natives who you can conquer. This way you will get manpower and gold you need later in your game in huge blob wars in Europe of 17th and 18th century.
