Barbarossa



Barbarossa refers to Frederick I Barbarossa (1122–1190), who was a Holy Roman Emperor during the 12thcentury. The Barbarossa Campaign in Age of Empires II is a series of scenarios that follows the emperor during his conquests of Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Holy Roman Emperor
The objective of this scenario is to claim dominance over the other European Duchies by claiming 4 of the 6 the Relics that each team possess. The player controls the Teutonic Army and begins on an island in the center of the map, surrounded on all sides by various Central European enemies. Mining the plentiful stone reserves on Barbarossa's island and using it to construct castles, a gateway and other fortifications on the near side of each of the four entrances onto the island (blocking these off) is the best option to defend the town from the frequent attacks.

Allies

 * Mongols
 * (Mongols) The Mongols are located to the far northeast and possess a large army but do not have a settlement nor do they have any Villagers. The Mongol army consists of three Siege Onagers, six Mangudai and four Cavalry Archers. They will join your army for  as tribute once the Market is completely built.

Opponents

 * Austria
 * (Goths) Austria is one of the weaker teams on the map, but their Relic is defended by a Castle. They are also close in proximity to the stronger teams of Bohemia and Bavaria and primarily uses Long Swordsmen and Battering Rams in battle.


 * Bavaria
 * (Teutons) Bavaria is one of the stronger teams on the map. They are relatively the counterparts of Saxony and primarily use Knights and Scorpions in battle. Their settlement is surrounded by Stone Walls just southeast of your initial base.


 * Bohemia
 * (Teutons) The Bohemians begins off with negligible forces and a limited amount of villagers, but are the only team (besides you) to begin on the Castle Age. They build up quickly and will later become one of the more powerful opponents on the map. Their distant location also makes it difficult to attack them, as you have to pass through Austria first.


 * Burgundy
 * (Franks) Burgundians are one of the weakest opponents on the map and are easily accessible from your initial base. They pose no real threat to the player but their Guard Towers are scattered throughout their village. Their settlement resides just southwest of your initial village and mainly use Crossbowmen and Skirmishers in battle along with a few Knights. It is recommended to claim Burgundy's relic first. They are also the only Non-Central European Civilization on the map.


 * Saxony
 * (Teutons) The Saxons one of the stronger opponents on the map and starts out in the Feudal Age much like the rest of your opponents. Their settlement is located just to the northwest of your base and is surrounded by Stone Walls. They primarily use Archers and Teutonic Knights in battle.


 * Swabia
 * (Teutons) The Swabians are one of the weaker teams on the map. Their army is predominantly Spearmen and Knights along with some Mangonels. They reside just west of your initial settlement.

Henry the Lion
Barbarossa must defeat Poland who reside in a scattered non-nucleated base in the east of the map. The Polish attack with many siege units and Huskarls. Barbarossa is allied with Saxony, Bavaria and Henry the Lion. Henry the Lion quickly changes to enemy, and his large army will make things difficult, but he can be defeated. Saxony and Bavaria provide you with resources, as you begin with no villagers. However, villagers can be obtained from Henry the Lion, as there are several Gaia Villagers at the West side. It is possible for the Polish to attack Henry The Lion's team, they will destroy most of his units and his castles if they do.

Pope and Antipope
Barbarossa must convert the magnificent Cathedral in the Italian city of Milan (blue).

Allies

 * Carcano
 * (Teutons) Carcanians start up with a small fort north-west of your forces. They field some Teutonic Knights and Scorpions. They will be attacked several times by River Guard (purple).

Enemies

 * Milan
 * (Teutons) The Milanese have a big city in the south-west. They field Teutonic Knights, Hand Canoneers, and Monks.


 * River Guard
 * (Franks) The River Guards have two bases from which they send Throwing ax-men, skirmishers (later elite skirmishers), and bombard cannons. They send transport ships and land their forces north of the Carcanian base. They will also send war galleys (later Galleons) and cannon galleons against Carcano and your docks.


 * Crema
 * (Britons) The Cremians have a small village south-east. They start out with a small army consisting of few Pikemen, scout cavalry and archers.

Tactics
Since you start with no villagers, you will need to convert some Cremian villagers to the east. Send your forces down they quickly to take out their soldiers and the use your monks to convert their villagers. Alternatively, you can change the diplomatic stance of your allies to convert Carcanian villagers instead. Use the villagers to build up a base. It is highly recommended to build a castle as early as possible since you will need many Teutonic Knights to defeat the River Guards and Milan in order to make your way to the Milanese Cathedral.

Later on, construct several docks so that you may build a navy and start attacking the River Guard (purple). Use Transport Ships to send units and attack their by land too. If you manage to attack them early, you might halt their attacks on Carcano (yellow). Once you have defeated the River Guard (purple), only the city of Milan (blue) remains. Use Siege weapons and Teutonic Knights to destroy their walls and enter the city. To easier defeat them, build up a small base on their side of the river from where you can send unites faster (Among the buildings you should have a castle and a monastery) Once you have defeated the Milanese army, send in a monk to convert the Cathedral and you will win the scenario.

The Lombard League
Barbarossa must construct a Wonder in one of the Lombard League cities. The opponents in this mission are:


 * Padua
 * (Teutons) The Paduans have the largest army on the map. they launch an attack on Barbarossa at the beginning of this mission using Trebuchets, Paladins and Teutonic Knights, amongst other powerful units. Their fortified city is in the northern corner of the map.


 * Venice
 * (Byzantines) Venetians are situated in the center of the map, with a large fortress on the mainland, with a Castle and large army on an island offshore. They have the largest navy on the map.


 * Verona
 * (Franks) Veronians inhabit the smallest city on the map. They lack a Castle to begin with but will build one relatively quickly. They are protected by the adjacent city of Padua, and are the furthest away from the player.

Henry the Lion also features in this level, betraying Barbarossa as he did in the second level of the campaign. The betrayal is triggered when Barbarossa constructs a castle, though as long as it's not completed, Henry will not become an enemy.

Tactics: Remember to sail east on the transports to get a navy and additonal units. There are two viable areas to build your town; the area immediately south of your old town and another area across the ocean to the northeast, close to Padua.

The northeast area is a good choice if you wish to build a castle, since it is awkward for Henry The Lion to attack you there. Be sure to reorder your boats so they sail directly there and don't get hit by the Venitian towers to either side of the journey. Padua will be occupied with your old walls for some time so will not immediately be aggressive; you will have time to build a town. Build your town northwards, behind the patch of trees and towards the edge of the map, to avoid the Venitian navy which can be quite aggressive. A good place to build your castle is in front of the left set of shallows; this places it close enough to Padua to defend you across the river, and forces ships to sail up the river to attack the castle, meaning they come into range. Be sure to research your unique technology to give your castle more range, it will make things easier. Good unit choices are Halberdiers to counter the Paduan cavalry and some Cavaliers of your own to take care of any of Henry's Teutonic Knights or Paduan Trebuchets. Punch away at the Paduan walls with some Trebuchets, with your units in front of them to defend; your castle and units should defeat them easily and drain them of resources. Edge forward until you have destroyed their town, then build the wonder there. Defending it should not be any trouble.

Barbarossa's March
Barbarossa must sail across the Sea of Marmara to reach the Hospitaller camp in the south. At least 10 military units must make it. He must threaten Constantinople (blue/Byzantines) who change their diplomacy to enemy once you get close to them in order to use its navy by stationing near the wonder. You may go to the weak port of Gallipoli (cyan/Teutons) but they do not have a protective navy, just transport ships, so I would advise going to Constantinople. As you cross the sea, you can find Throwing Axemen and a trebuchet shipwrecked and as you land, the Seljucks will attack and have Cavalry Archers and Onagers and Monks for you to steal. As you get closer, an Earthquake tears down the seljuck walls and some of their units. You do not have any villagers on this level.

Tactics: A very hard mission, use your troops with extreme care. The only way to get Constantinople back to your ally is to garrison your troops near their Wonder. You may change your stance with Gallipoli to Neutral and convert their Pikemen if you are running out of soldiers. You must have either your Siege Onagers or Trebuchet alive because there is no direct way from the Sea of Marmara to the Hospitallers camp so you will need to knock down some trees to get there. There are two other ways to get more men from tributes. There are Throwing Axemen and a Trebuchet stranded on a deserted island to the south, you will have to go through Guard Towers to get there. Another way is on your way to the Hospitallers camp, while your in the Holy Land, 4 Seljiuk Turk Heavy Calvalry Archers will join you. They can be found to the East.

One of the easier ways to get your army across the Sea of Marmara is to remain allies with both Gallipoli and Constantinople. Send one of your soldiers to Gallipoli. They will give you all their transport ships. The entire enemy navy will sail to the Gallipoli and destroy these ships. While they are doing that, invade Constantinople quickly and board their transport ships. The enemy navy will be out of position and you should be able to undock on the other side.

The Emperor Sleeping
Barbarossa's army must get the deceased Emperor Barbarossa's body (hidden in a pickle barrel) to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. He encounters Saladin (green, saracens) and the enemy city of Damascus (yellow, Persians) along the way, and is allied with Richard the Lionheart (orange/Britons). You must break the walls and get through Saladin's camp to get to Jerusalem that create no units other than monks, and all towers must be destroyed to help the trade cart make it. You lose if the Dome of Rock gets destroyed (Similar to Saladin), or if the trade cart dies (Similar Joan of Arc).

Tactics: Damascus is Persian and usually send Trebuchet and War Elephants at you, it might be a good idea to convert these to protect and replenish your soldiers.