Some Stuff On Tactics/Barracks
(written by SloDragon)

Another trick/tactic that has worked well for me on a few maps is to make a very hard push into the enemy's land looking for the barracks... once found, I then attempted to take the near towers to destroy it before my force was destroyed...

It usually takes the enemy quite a while to replace it and it gave me the necessary time to increase my own army to win. I'm sure that most people know about how easy it is to distract the enemy... feint an attack at one end of his land, then make a serious attack on the other end.... but I'll mention it here for those that may not...

First it is very important to use thieves/spies to find the enemies mining operation, as it will be grouped in one spot...wood, stone, food, will be scattered all over, but mines will be a much more serious way to disable the enemy....once you have the knowledge of the enemies layout, send just a few swordsmen with about 20 archers (you want a large enough force to last a little while) to the end of the enemies land that you want to draw him to, as far from the mines as possible...initiate your diversion and wait till your attacking force is almost destroyed

This will allow the time for the enemy to move most and sometimes all of his troops to that end of his land...then attack with your main force into the heart of his mines, and destroy as many towers as possible, as quickly as possible, crushing them as you go...

Sometimes the enemy returns and destroys your main attacking force, but by that time you have done such damage to him that he cannot recover...and you have a fully functional settlement that will allow you to recover quickly and finish the job you started....without this tactic, I would never have won the original Vikings 2...