The Italian Wars
The Italian Wars places a large river between four Italian City-States that players must capture and hold. The river and separated objectives make access and sustained control the core of the match.
Historical setting & objective
Scout the crossings and the approach to each City-State before splitting the army. Capture the positions your force can reinforce, then keep enough troops nearby to prevent an opponent from retaking them. A successful push must leave a garrison capable of holding the objective after the first fight.
Map control & approach
Contest crossings before committing siege or support units to a far bank. If the army is too small to cover all four positions, concentrate on reachable City-States and respond when the opponent’s control becomes vulnerable.
Holding the four City-States
Four City-States create several simultaneous fronts, and the large river makes a cross-river attack a commitment. Scout access before dividing the army; a group that reaches a City-State but cannot receive reinforcements may lose the position immediately. The first capture is only useful if the force can remain long enough to hold it, so protect the approaches and preserve a reserve for a threatened crossing. If the opponent concentrates on one city, use the resulting space to contest another rather than sending every unit into the same fight. The map rewards a balance between field combat and occupation: capture reachable objectives, reinforce the ones that contribute to your position, and retreat when a distant city costs more troops than it can secure.
Crossings are commitments, not shortcuts
The four City-States sit across a large river, so the crossing route controls how quickly a force can reinforce the far side. Scout bridges or passable approaches before splitting troops and identify where the opponent can intercept a crossing. A force that captures a city but cannot receive support may be pushed out before the position matters. Keep a reserve on the side where it can respond to several cities, then move the main army when one objective can be held by fewer troops. If the opponent concentrates on one crossing, use the space elsewhere to contest another City-State rather than accepting an unfavorable head-on fight. Each move should leave a garrison capable of surviving until reinforcements arrive.
City-State capture rules and roster
The allowed civilizations are British, French, Germans, Italians, Ottomans and Spanish. The match begins with a timer, and the player or team that holds the most City-States wins. Players start in a fortified city; a large river separates four City-States and the map includes four royal palaces associated with the Houses of Bourbon and Habsburg. Each City-State has a central Trading Post and two City Tower positions, plus either a Papal Embassy or a Great Bank. Claim its Trading Post from neutral guards or an opponent to take the site. The City-State can provide local upgrades, units and resources; its City Defenders call to arms can summon fourteen City Guards for 400 Food and 400 Coin. Capturing several Trading Posts matters more than simply visiting all four: decide which locations can be reinforced across the river and preserve forces to defend the current majority until the timer resolves.
Win by controlling the four City-States
The Italian Wars centers on four City-States separated by a large river. Capturing and holding these sites is the central objective, so a normal plan focused only on destroying the enemy base can miss the victory condition. Scout the river crossings and City-State approaches before splitting the army. Secure a position that can be reinforced, then use a second force to contest the remaining sites without leaving the first one open to a retake. The river makes crossing points valuable: a force that arrives at the wrong bank can lose time or be isolated from reinforcements. Keep a reserve close enough to move between the crossings and respond to a flag or settlement changing hands.
Balance capture forces and the main army
A City-State must be held after capture, which means the army cannot treat each objective as a one-time raid. Leave enough units to deter an immediate counterattack, but avoid tying the full force to a location that the opponent can bypass. When several City-States are contested, concentrate on a group whose approaches can be defended together instead of scattering small detachments across the whole map. Use the scenario’s eligible civilization and starting rules from the match briefing; historical-map restrictions can change the opening compared with ordinary Supremacy. Once a site is secure, direct production and shipments toward the river crossing most likely to decide the remaining control battle.
Hold a connected group of objectives
The river makes access to a City-State as important as the capture itself. Before crossing, check whether the army can retreat or receive reinforcements without passing through the opponent’s force. Holding nearby sites with overlapping support is usually safer than touching all four once and leaving them undefended. If the enemy concentrates on one bank, keep a mobile reserve ready to cross at another route and threaten a recapture. Use the exact victory threshold shown by the scenario briefing; the practical aim is to hold enough City-States continuously to secure the objective, not simply visit them with a fast unit.