Short Guide and Summary to Denmark

[Sionnach]

This is a comprehensive, shorthand guide to Denmark. While avoiding lengthiness, it will delve into singleplayer and multiplayer advantages to the Danes.

Denmark retains the remnants of its viking heritage. That being said, it's no surprise they are an aggressive faction that excels on foot rather than from horseback. This is the theme behind its army, which I will go over first: it is aggressive and the foot units typically do better than their horse units.

I personally believe that an infantry faction can compete with a cavalry faction despite the dominance of cavalry in Medieval 2 Total War. The trick is to know how to use infantry factions, and to have variety with them to fill multiple roles. For this purpose, I hold Denmark and Scotland as among the best infantry factions, not because their infantry has the best stats, but because their armies have an impressive degree of variety. I believe Denmark is better than Scotland because Scotland uses pikes, which are unfortunately unwieldy in most situations.

The Danish infantry fits into the aforementioned aggressive theme.

Aside from the usual militias and peasant archers, your first real infantry unit is the Viking Raider. The Viking Raider is a lightly-armored one-handed axe infantry. They're fast, and have a surprising amount of damage behind them, particularly when compounded with the armor-piercing axe damage.

The Dismounted Huscarl, the following infantry unit, is essentially an armored Viking Raider. They do significant damage to the enemy, carry an axe and shield, but have mail armor from the get-go. This means they can withstand a certain amount of punishment. Dismounted Huscarls mixed with Viking Raiders is the ideal early-period army, either in singleplayer or multiplayer. I have had immense success in numerous multiplayer sieges with Raiders and Huscarls because they mesh well together: the Huscarl tanks and the Raider shreds. Even greater success awaits with this combination in singleplayer.

Around the same time, you either get the Norse Swordsman or the Dismounted Feudal Knight (DFK). If you don't know what the DFK is, you don't play Medieval 2 enough. Suffice to say, they are an incredibly dependable unit that all Catholic factions can field. Their defense rating is incredibly high, perhaps amongst the highest, if I'm not mistaken, which means they can outlast their opponents. DFKs are heavily armored sword-and-board infantry units. The Norse Swordsman is the offensive contrast to the DFK. They too wield swords and shields and are armored, but they do more damage than DFKs while having less defense. This means you can have a defensive line of DFKs and a secondary line of Norse Swordsmen who can, meshed together, grind through the enemy infantry in a matter of seconds. Though the Swordsmen lack the axes of the Huscarls or Raiders, their base damage is still an improvement which is good when fighting lightly-armored enemies (armor-piercing axe-damage doesn't matter as much when the enemy isn't wearing much armor).

The next Danish infantry unit is the Norse Axemen. This is my personal favorite unit in the game due to appearance, personal interest in Danish long axes, and its challenging utilization. If you're playing Vanilla Medieval 2, then the Axemen presents a conundrum. It is a 2-handed unit, and in Vanilla - incase you are unaware - there is a bug dubbed "The Two-Handed Glitch/Bug" that renders 2-handed units less-effective. Long story short, units who can swing faster consistently interrupt the slower swing animations of 2-handed units. This disables 2-handed units from fighting as effectively as they should. Norse Axemen fighting peasants in a 1 v 1 leaves the Axemen taking more casualties than they should. They will win, but they'll take severe casualties. If you're playing a Kingdoms expansion or a mod, this typically won't be an issue because both fix the 2-handed bug. Regardless, the Norse Axemen is an incredible unit. It has a massive attack value and a charge bonus that is larger than even the General's Bodyguard. This isn't to say more units will just fall over when an Axeman charges, the way they do when cavalry charge, but whatever unit the charge connects with will take MASSIVE damage. This makes Axemen INCREDIBLY useful in taking out bogged-down cavalry. Cavalry tend to have huge HP and armor stats, which is what typically gives them their huge durability. Norse Axemen don't care about that. In singleplayer, I had three stacks of Mongols attack a castle where I had garrisoned four units of Norse Axemen. The Mongols didn't stand a chance. Assuming you're playing Vanilla, however, you have to use the Axemen smart. Their charge bonus is fantastic, so using them to flank around is always effective. However, the most effective use of Axemen is to mingle them sparingly in your infantry line. The idea is to have them be able to take out enemy infantry who aren't engaged with the Axemen themselves, allowing them to execute their animation. This is particularly useful against heavily armored enemies due to the axes. Norse Axemen are also useful for taking out enemy cavalry. It is, however, a suicide. Due to their 2-handed nature, Norse Axemen take SIGNIFICANT damage from a cavalry charge. However, if they're charging back, they will still dole out their damage before they die. This creates a situation where both the Norse Axemen and the cavalry are utterly devestated. Therefore, if you know the cavalry charging you is more expensive than your Axemen, or you need the cavalry gone so as to avoid a flanking charge, it's a completely viable "All In" mentality. Due to the huge, potential damage Norse Axemen can deal, it is always worthwhile to have them despite the bug in Vanilla. In Stainless Steel or the Expansions, they are incredibly lethal.

The Danes also come with two halberd units: the Sword-Staff Militia (SSM) and the Obudshaer. As the names suggest, the SSM is a militia and therefore trained in cities while the Obudshaer is a professional unit; the Obudshaer is infact the most professional unit in the Danish army. It is heavily armored in plate and carries a halberd(duh). I feel that halberds are significantly more effective than pikes, and this is the distinct edge the Danes get over the Scots. However, the Obudshaer is essentially a pike unit. I like to use them on the flanks to zone out cavalry or in a secondary line to push the enemy infantry.

Finally, the Danish come with the standard Dismounted Chivalric Knights (DCK). These guys are basically DFKs with a bit more defense.

As one can see, the Danish infantry is incredibly varied. You have fast axe-infantry, armored axe-infantry, armored sword-infantry, 2-handed axes, and halberdiers. All of the particularly Danish units are designed for offense. Mixing them with DFKs or DCKs gives the Danish a resilient yet lethal infantry line that shreds through most anything. Only Scottish infantry will hold up the Danish line for some time, but the Danish typically prevail depending on positioning and player skill. Of course, infantry is not the only facet to the Danish arsenal.

Danish archers are another reason I feel the Danes surpass the Scots. Scottish archers are typified as okay-in-melee, terrible-in-range. Their range sucks, their damage sucks: Scottish archers suck. They will be outranged by almost every other ranged unit in the game. Danish archers, on the other hand, are more "modern" in a sense, and versatile.

You basically have two regular archer units: Norse Archers and Crossbowmen. Norse Archers are in all ways better than Highland Archers and even Noble Highland Archers. Their ranged damage is acceptable, and the actual range on their bows is comparable to all other archers except long-ranged crossbows and English/Welsh bows (some French and Byzantine). However, their real boon is they are a mix between Huscarls and Raiders in terms of melee prowess. Norse Archers can hold their own in an infantry fight; decently armored and wielding swords, they are excellent for seize-and-exploit manuevres. For example, you're an attacker in a siege. You want to put your archers on a wall and fire down on the defenders. As most factions, you have to send up professional infantry to clear the wall and THEN send your archers up, which can be costly and time consuming. Norse Archers, however, are perfectly capable of handling this entirely by themselves. Obviously one should not send them against DCKs or Venetian Heavy Infantry, but if the enemy has a fair amount of archers on the walls, Norse Archers will suffice. I tend to use them in early-period sieges as the first up the ladders and siege towers. On the other hand, Crossbowmen are a more dedicated archer unit. They are the basic Crossbows that the French and you receive. They are not Pavise, they have no Pavise shields. This is both a blessing and a curse, but fits into the offensive Danish army. Pavise Crossbows have shields and are thereby more durable. They can take more damage in a skirmish or a fight. Subsequently, they have a long reloading animation. Therefore, Pavise Crossbows take longer to fire. Normal Crossbows do not have this issue. Danish and French Crossbows reload surprisingly fast, which allows you to utilize their range more aggressively since they can dish out more damage than most crossbow units. Additionally, since they are crossbows, their range and damage is impressive. Which archer unit out of these two you use largely depends on who you're fighting. If you're fighting a heavily-armored faction, I would suggest the Crossbows. If you're fighting the Mongols or Turks, I would recommend the Norse Archers.

Danish cavalry is an interestingly lot. Aside from the standard Catholic cavalry (Feudal Knights, Chivalric Knights, the Templars and Hospitallers), they only have 3 unique cavalry units. The first is the Scout, which is just a peasant on horseback. They lack the fast-moving trait and will not hold up in combat. However, if you bring one or two of these guys, you can reliably chase down routers to ensure they do not return to the fight. This is, however, the extent of their purpose. The second unit is the Huscarl, which is the mounted version of the Dismounted Huscarls. They share a characteristic with the third unit, the Norse War Clerics, in that these two Danish units are meant to remain in the fight. Neither the Huscarls nor Clerics have good charge bonuses. However, they do have armor-piercing maces and axes, allowing them to be a sustainable force and cut through armored enemy cavalry. I have seen these cavalry units stand up to general bodyguards, but they do suffer casualties. Against gendarmes or feudal knights, they should be absolutely fine.

The reason I went over the units first is so that you understand what you have to work with. Again, the Danish army is incredibly aggressive and based on its infantry. With a variety of infantry, you can grind and overwhelm your enemy in pitch or siege environments. You can use your sturdy cavalry to screen enemy cavalry charges to preserve your infantry, and your archers to provide good ranged and even infantry (Norse Archers) support should the need arise.

Next I shall discuss singleplayer. Denmark starts with one settlement: the city of Arhus located on the Jutland Peninsula. To the south is the Holy Roman Empire, to the east is Poland and Russia, and to the west is the sea and British Isles. However, these enemies are distant. Denmark is surrounded by rebel settlements. No matter what your endgame goal is for your campaign you want to take these certain settlements first: Hamburg, Stockholm, and Oslo, in that order. Hamburg is the castle south of Arhus. It is situated on the Elbe River and another (whose name I cannot recall), making it a perfect natural barrier for your southern Danish border. This also robs the Holy Roman Empire from having an excellent fortress so close to your capital. Stockholm, in Sweden, ends up being a money-maker in the campaign. Oslo is a small fort in Norway which I would recommend converting to a town (or upgrading to a castle and then upgrading to a bigger town, if you have the money). The idea is to create for yourself an economic powerhouse: Scandinavia. Hamburg serves as your military production area and the three Scandinavian cities produce significant income for you. From this point, the world is your oyster. However, I would suggest you avoid Russia. The Russian cities are poor and underdeveloped, as well as far away. Conquering Russia would leave you thin and poor. This leaves you with one of two options: Britiannia or Germany. If this is your first Denmark campaign, I would tell you to go to Britannia and take out Scotland and England. The reason is this: you already have an economic base in Scandinavia, and you could steamroll most factions early game with that. How fantastic would it be to have TWO economic bases: Scandinavia and Britannia? Britannia is an incredibly rich area. With numerous settlements and a sea border, it leaves you with a safe location to develop economically and give yourself even more of a war chest. Additionally, England and Scotland do not have the military might to oppose you in the early or middle game. Danish infantry crush their units, and neither really receive comparable units until later in the game. Even if they did, Scotland would be your only challenge. England is so vulnerable to the Danish forces that you could easily re-institute the Danelaw in England. From here, you could do whatever you want. I typically push down on France and the Holy Roman Empire simultaneously. You could assault the Holy Roman Empire early in the game, but it bogs you down in a war with little economic gain in the center of Europe. While entertaining, I find it best to save that for the middle of the game. The Holy Roman Empire also acts as a reliable distraction for the French and Polish forces while you conquer the Northlands.

In multiplayer, the situation becomes more interesting as it becomes entirely reliant on the Danish army and how well you command it. Being an infantry faction, its greatest weakness is enemy cavalry. However, as aforementioned, you can use your sturdy cavalry, perhaps your crossbows if you have them, or your Norse Axemen and Obudshaer to cut down the enemy cavalry if you can pin them down. Either of these methods, or better yet a combination of them, will decimate the enemy cavalry and leave your infantry intact. From then on, you simply overwhelm the enemy infantry, push through, and take out their archers. My typical setup, depending on the money and era, is; a defensive line of Dis.Huscarls, DFKs or DCKs; an offensive line of Viking Raiders, Norse Axemen, Norse Swordsmen, or Obudshaer; a third line of DCKs for those high-money battles. On the flanks in one of the lines I also toss on SSM, spear militia, or Obudshaer to assist against enemy charge. If skirmishing an enemy army, I put my Norse Archers/Crossbows in the front; if in an infantry engagement I put them in the back. Cavalry sit on the flanks ready to respond to enemy cavalry. The idea is to use your defensive infantry to sustain the damage while your offensive infantry grinds through them. Alternatively, you could spread out your line if you know your flanks are safe and envelope the enemy.

In a siege environment, just bring your favorite Danish units and some archers to support. This is typically enough for you to carry your weight. My Danish army for sieges greatly resembles my field army, except with more infantry. I prefer to use DFK, DCK, Swordsmen, Huscarls, perhaps a few Axemen (I normally toss my general in an Axemen unit), and a few Obudshaer. If it's early period or low money, Raiders and Huscarls do wonders.

And there you go! A very short guide to the Danes. Go ahead and ask questions if something was unclear!

~Casper (Cas), Veteran Danish Player

[Gunther von Rittersburg]

This is the Forums, not the Guide section.....

[FriedAss (Squid/Ward)]

Move this to guides

[Darth Cannabis]

I will disagree with the 1st thing you say as far as infantry entirely. Forget all about viking raiders. Just get to producing Norse archers faster. Norse archers have nearly the same armor and shield as raiders, and melee attack as high as a later Norse swordsman. This makes them cheap easy to produce, yet effective light infantry, even thou they are technically archers.

Thus due to the Norse archer, being able to be used as light infantry so effectively, completely eliminates the need for any viking raiders. You simply use your archers as light infantry when needed, and huscarls as heavy, until you can fill in more axemen and eventual Obudashurs.

[FIRE&ASHES]

agree with darth
thats why in a turkisch campaign , i rush to ottoman infantry,, this combined with the saracen militia, give's you a strong force, (not the best, but still good)

[Armchair Civilian]

Dismounted Feudal Knights are the cancer of M2; i like the fact that the availability of Dismounted Huscarls makes them redundant for Danish forces.

[Duke Jason]

Thank you