Hi, my friends. This is my first AAR. If you find something wrong or something needed to add or change, please advise me. Any advices will be considered. I am not a very good player and I can’t play SS on H/H difficulty. This means very hard in vanilla. So I think M/M is the most suitable difficulty level for me. It is still quite challenging for me because this is also my first H/H campaign if it is vanilla. And I am not a native speaker and may have grammar or vocabulary errors. And please forgive me if this AAR include some errors.
The facts and rules of this AAR-
- Mod I used: Stainless Steel 6.1, RR/RC, Byg II Army Supply.
- Cheating: Use toggle_fow to show the world but no other cheats
- Report Filter: No rebel cleaning reports in mid- and late- games. Report only the most important messages that directly involve with my faction or largely involves with me indirectly.
- Some of the rebel provinces are renamed just in this AAR to have closer historical accuracy.





After the Battle of Tours in 732, in which Charles Martel, the Mayor of the Palace of Frankish Kingdom claimed victory over the Moors, the tide of the war seems to be on the side of Christians. And he won much more battles. The Moorish Invasion of France was a disaster. Under his grandson, Charlemagne, the Frankish Kingdom become even more powerful and Charlemagne could push the Moors back behind the mountains of Pyrenees. There he established several outposts to defend the Kingdom’s borders. Gradually the border guards of these outpost towns and fortresses could extend their grasp on Iberian Peninsula through several bloody battles. And their lords and generals became Kings themselves in their conquered lands. In this way, the Christian kingdoms of the Iberia emerged again. In the beginning of 11th Century, there had been five powers eager to grasp the supremacy of Iberia, the Kingdom of Aragon lies on the feet of mountains of Pyrenees.
Kingdoms of Leon and Castille lies in the middle of the Peninsula, and the Kingdom of Portugal on the western coast exposing the Atlantic Oceans. Kingdoms of Leon and Castille have been united under King Alfonso a few years ago and it is now a considerable power in Iberia. There are also three more independent kingdoms the Navarre, Valencia and Murcia, with merely power to involve in the Iberian politics. Even so when they have to defend their homelands, they can still put on a hard fight against their opponents. The last power of Iberia is a Muslim kingdom, the Umayyad Moors, thrusting her armies towards north into the Christendom. Three Christian powers struggle against each other, one Muslim kingdom ready to retake the Iberia. One Peninsula, Four Kings, Iberia is a land of TOTAL WAR.




The Original Character Details
King Alfonso,
The fifth king of Castillian Dynasty. The first king of Leon-Castillian Dynasty. He united the two kingdoms throough war and marriage alliance and raise Castille from a small kingdom to a capable powerful kingdom under his rule of 20 years.


Prince Rodrigo,
The only son of King Alfonso, and heir to the throne. He governs and guards the city of Salamanca, the former capital of Castille. King Alfonso moved his capital to his conquered city of Leon, which is safer and stronger.

Vermudo de Toledo,
A general, known for his Chivalry in his royal service under the king. He is very likely to become a family member as the king favors him much. He is the lord of Toledo and third in command of the whole Castillian army and is responsible for every campaign the Castillians set out.


Year 1080,
The King Alfonso of Castille had recently put down a rebellion by the Leonese people who still didn’t accept him as the king of both Leon and Castille and now returning to his residence in Leon. He is still on the way and thinking what to do next of his kingdom. A messenger rode down along the road towards him. When the rider is close enough to speak him, he stops and gives the king a letter. The king looks for who wrote it. The envelope says “Vermudo” So it was his general who was to capture Toledo. The letter says,

Milord, King Alfonso the Lord of both Leon and Castille
While you were planning to put down the rebellion, my army and I were at the Toledo’s gates. The enemies had been starved out for long and they tried to sally forth. Even they outnumbered us, they failed to break our siege and were forced to draw. Within days, they offer surrender of their castle. I will replenished my forces with the new volunteers of Toledo and ready for your next command.
Your loyal and obedient servant,
Vermudo

The king now has clear future plans. He said to the messenger,
“By capturing Toledo, our Southern border is much safer. And I glad you archived this with a few troops. What a heroic act. I give you the title of the Lord of Toledo and you will be responsible for the safety of southern lands. To ensure the bonds between us, you will marry one of my daughters and join our court as one of the family members. I will send more conscripts from Leon and Salamanca and then you will march for Burgos, a castle of the Kingdom of Navarre. Try to recruit more garrisons to keep the inhabitants of Toledo in peace. And then bring your whole army and join with my conscripts on the way to Burgos. Give these exact words to the General Vermudo.”
The messenger replied, “Yes, milord” and rode back towards Leon, where he will have a rest tonight. The king summoned one of the imperial spies, Pedro Diaz and ordered him to spy the way to Murcia, the only city which will give his kingdom access to build a Mediterranean navy. Even in his reign, Murcia will boost tax and trade revenues significantly and he hoped to get rid of currently low treasury and tight finances. He is also planning to fight off Islamic Faith in his kingdom and finally he decided to request Cardinal Domingo Franco to preach in Salamanca and convert those infidels in the region. Then he called his nobles and some of his bodyguards and galloped towards the city of Leon. He needs to conscript soldiers as quickly as possible to support Vermudo’s army. As the feudal systems in Iberia have been in ruins and he was not possible to get the conscripts until the end of June. And the new conscripts are able to learn only lining up straight and a few formations. Nevertheless, he was able sends his knights, the two conscript peasant forces, an archer unit and a spearmen unit in mid-summer to Burgos. They were commanded by captain Jaime who was ordered to wait on the way to Burgos until, Vermudo’s army arrived. At the end of the year, Vermudo had arrived very near to Jaime’s reinforcements. But the rations were almost gone and he had no choice but to camp there until spring.


Year 1081,
Vermudo marched forward as soon as the ration bags were fully filled. And after a week march, he met Jaime’s reinforcements and brings them in to his army and marched forth to Burgos and laid siege to the castle. The Navarre was not prepared for the invasion. They are busy defending Pamplona, their larger castle as well as the home to their king. The garrison of the city waited for a long time hoping the enemy to lift the siege or to assault them which might result in a close victory for Leon and Castille. So Vermudo waited them to surrender or sally out.



Conscripts and some of the Salamanca’s garrison summoned by the Duke of Castille, Prince Rodrigo, son of King Alfonso are also on the way to reinforce the besieging army.



Pedro has reached to Murcia and infiltrated the town and wrote reports to the Prince Rodrigo.



Year 1082,
At the Royal Residence in Leon,
The king was sitting on a chair in his room waiting for Lorenzo de Penarroya, one of his lesser nobles, to make him as a royal diplomat in order to speak with other regents in the peninsula and throughout Europe. While waiting Lorenzo, he read the reports for the construction of mines completed in Leon and for the betrayal of Captain Enrique who commanded a spear levy unit and deserted the army on the way to Toledo. His delay to reinforce Toledo might result in the less support of his nobles. “Ah! Captain Enrique de Barcelona, betrayed me? I should not have made an Aragonese a captain. Aragonese are just coward bastards. Anyway I have lost my levy force to support Toledo” the King told himself and sighed regretting to appoint an Aragonese a captain. "Did you call me, my king?" , a voice came from outside the room. The king said, “Come in”. As he thought, it was Lorenzo and told him that he had appointed him a diplomat and ordered him to collect translators throughout his kingdom and start diplomatic relations with the Moors as soon as possible.

Just outside the city of Salamanca, Winter, 1082
The two diplomats say greetings each other and Lorenzo started to propose the demands and offers, “My king offers trade rights and the map information of his Kingdom and neighboring kingdom within his reach. And he demands to give 500 florins. The Moorish diplomat seems to be disappointed and said, “ What! Do you think my sultan, blessed by Allah himself, is a fool to accept such an unbalanced proposal. Try a new one that makes us beneficial." It was Lorenzo’s first diplomatic task and he simply offer trade rights, which he think is beneficial to both kingdoms. But the Moor replied, “Oh, I will only agree with a proposal that is entirely beneficial for us. If not, I say no. I’m not interested in discussing with you now. Please leave us. And "Assalamu Aleikom", the Moorish diplomat said his traditional farewell. Lorenzo replied, "Wa Aleikom Assalam" The two diplomat went on their different destinations leaving each other without a treaty. The meeting seemed to be fruitless.


Year 1083,
Pedro was still in Murcia sending reports to the king what is happening in the city. One of his reports states that,

Milord, King of both Leon and Castille
A capable Moorish army has come to besiege the city. The Murcians decided to wait for an assault in which they will take those Moors down on the walls and at the gates instead of sallying out in an open field where they will be slaughtered by the Moors. Umayyad Sultan wants to invade Northern Iberia once again like his forefathers. I will report what happen to the city as soon as I get my information.
Pedro, your loyal servant



Outside the walls of Burgos, the sun was shining brightly and the weather is very dry. Vermudo, saw dusts rising into the air behind the wall. He could easily say that is from the garrison force preparing to sally out. He ordered his army, “Prepare for battle! Line up! Spearmen front! I said front of the archers. Are you cowards! Archers will angle up high to avoid friendly fire. Come on line up men." He was annoyed by his new conscripts who have no experience of battles. “Knights on the left flank!” He continued his orders. “Archers behind the spear militia and Jinetes on the right flank.
The army started to deploy very quickly as he said.

The Burgos garrison rushed out from the gate and heading towards the Castillian army.
The two armies started the missile exchange before melee takes place.

One of the enemy spearmen unit run towards the knights, and that will make knights a trouble. Even the formidable knights can’t successfully break a line of spearmen just in one charge. So Vermudo ordered the spearmen on the far left flank to block those spearmen. The spear militia did as he said. And the enemy spearmen had to engage the Castillian spearmen leaving their rear side in front of the charging ground for the knights.
Knights equipped with light mail armour and protected by Norman shields and wielding a wooden lance, riding brown and horses, first galloped then sprinted towards the spearmen,

and then lowered their lances and shouted “CHARGE!!”, and the lances gushed into the a ball of men. The enemy spearmen were flying in the air because of the great impact of the charge. The knights perfectly halted their horse to avoid friendly casualties and switch to their long swords and started to chop down shocked, broken and routing enemy. But just in the charge, most of the enemy are killed.


Meanwhile Jinetes engage with enemy desert cavalry by throwing javelins with each other.

As the heat of battle rises, Vermudo’s retinue nobles are eager to fight and ready for charge. Vermudo found difficult to halt his noble bodyguards but finally he managed to make them calmed down and just watch the battle and wait for a chance to fight.

Jinetes now engage the desert cavalry with swords. And Vermudo ordered his guards, “It’s time! Charge at the enemy cavalry and let’s kill the enemy captain in melee.” "FOR KING AND COUNTRY!" , he and his nobles shouted charging with his horse at the enemy desert cavalry unit.
The enemy captain losing many men,

shocked and routed oblivious to the world running at the gate, where Castillian spearmen killed him.

The rest of the army was broken and run back to the city. They were all killed.



Not to be disappointed by the king, he decided to just occupy the city without sacking or killing its inhabitants.

November 14th, 1083,
Pedro Diaz, the spy reported that the Murcians have broken the Moorish siege and the king should send an invasion force as soon as possible to take the city without conflicting with the Moors. The king was pleased and sent a message to Vermudo to bring his troops and besiege the city of Murcia.


Year 1084,
On 12nd of March, marriage of Urraca de Castilla, the King’s younger princess and a Leonese noble Sancho Velez was held. This marriage will strengthen the bonds of once separated kingdoms of Leon and Castille. And also the church was started to established in Toledo to spread Christianity among inhabitants who are mostly infidels. Prince Rodrigo sends two spear militia force under the command of Captain Diego to Toledo. On the way they encounter Enrique’s deserted forces that are ready to disband and join in the Moorish armies as mercenaries. Diego fought and killed all of the deserters and executed the deserter, captain Enrique. And continue his march to Toledo. During winter of this year Vermudo returned to Toledo and replenish his troops once more, ready to set out for Murcia in spring. Lorenzo now make an alliance with the Portuguese.


Year 1085 and 1086,
Vermudo now marches very quickly to Murcia before the Moors besiege the city again. But he can’t reach the city just in six months, due to marching in unfriendly lands and the invasion being not well-prepared. Anyway, he send his knights and jinetes to the city first and lay siege with them, being mounted they are able to besiege the city. The Moors were unable to besiege it without conflicting with Christian powers. So they just make camp near the city, waiting for an opportunity. In summer 1086, Vermudo marched again to Murcia joining with his cavalry expedition force and continue to lay siege.
In the same year, Portuguese started to attack the Moors, Reconquista which had been silent since the Moors lost several cities in the north of Iberia which became separate lesser kingdoms last several decades ago, now revives again. During the fall of 1085, Lorenzo arrived at the Aragonese Court and asked for their map info in return of giving them trade rights and map info. In October, 1086 Lorenzo arrived at the castle of Toulouse of France and offered the French trade rights and map information and asked them for map information in return. And he succeeded for the first time. Pedro now leaves the city and go spying deep into Moorish lands.


Year 1087,
The pope was very pleased about converting infidels of Iberia by Castillian priests and he gifted the king 500 florins. The florins are not important but the relations with the pope. The King was pleased and ordered Lorenzo to make a trip to Italy and speak with the pope to become allies. Under good leadership of the Prince, Salamanca the capital of older Castille is now able to build a stone wall to defend against besiegers. During summer of this year, Portuguese army engaged with a Moorish army and Portuguese asked for assistance. Even combined force of the Portuguese army and the Castillian army besieging Murcia doesn’t have good odds against the Moors. So Vermudo, didn’t assisted the Portuguese and rejected the request with the reason of not getting permission by the King to fight the Moors. Undoubtedly, the Portuguese force was crushed by the mighty Moorish army. Capturing Burgos, the marriage of a Leonese noble and Castillian princess and besieging Murcia without conflicting with the Moors pleased the Leonese and Castillian nobles so they gifted the king 3000 florins.


Year 1088 and 1089,
Year 1088 was a quiet year. Vermudo continued the siege. The Moorish diplomat came to the palace of Salamanca to discuss with the prince. And made a deal of giving 500 florins to the prince in return for map information and trade rights. In the year 1089, Murcia finally surrendered their city to Vermudo. After Castillian forces occupy Murcia, a Moorish ship blockaded the port of Leon. This is an act of war! Castillian will revenge soon! Pedro now infiltrated the city of Cordoba. As the Portuguese pushed back the Moors in the first battle and the sultan realized that he can’t be at war in two fronts and so requested a ceasefire. For blockading port, Castillians missed some valuable profits this year and will not forget it. So Prince Rodrigo demanded the Moors 2000 florins and map information. They accepted because of their eagerness to ceasefire with Castille and wanting to throw whole full stacks into Portugal. In the reign of AlfonsoII, the king's grandfather, the Moors have taken of Galatia like by paying some money to other Christian kings and focuses their target at Galatia. Alfonso II also accepted the Moor's bribe and watched the Galatians, his rival Christian kingdom, died out. But Galatia was later retaken by the Portuguese through a bloody costly war. Now Alfonso IV, the king of Leon and Castille, will not keep a long peace and watch the Portuguese, another Christian kingdom, died out again. Castille and Leon will go for war against the infidels this time. Now the Reconquista revives once again.

To be continued....

Year 1090- 1093,
During the fall of this year, the Moors marched north preparing for a Jihad called against Baghdad. This left Moorish lands in Spain weakened. King Alfonso had made a decision to invade the Moors. If not, the Portugal will be crushed under the mighty Moors and so will the Castillians after they fall. Now Christians must unite each other, all for one purpose to drive Moors out of Iberia.
Fearing the Moors taking control of Baghdad, the pope reacts quickly to counter the Jihad. He also called a crusade upon Baghdad too. Prince Rodrigo was eager to join. But the king didn’t permitted him as he need every men to defend his lands.


On 4th May, 1091. The first units of Vermudo’s army set out for Granada. Vermudo chose a small passage with mountains in the north and the sea in the south, hoping to sneakily pass through the Moors’ land undetected.



A forced march made them reach the city in the autumn. And they started to lay siege to the castle.


In the year 1093, the Republic of Genoa declared war against the Moors. It seemed that the Christians outside Iberia had known to halt the Moorish advance into northern Iberia. Leon being a city of religious conflicts between Christians, Heretics and Moors, the Theologians’ Guild request to establish their guild in Leon. And the king welcomed them. France launched a crusader army to Baghdad. Anyway, Jihad to Baghdad was canceled by the time 1093 ended.
Lorenzo arrives at the Papal Residence in Rome and discussed with the Pope to become an ally and trade partner. The pope agreed. This friendship with pope would make Castille less backstabbing by most former allies and reduce the chance to be excommunicated by the pope. Seljuks captured Baghdad with an army and therefore Jihad is canceled. The Jihad army of Moors came back to Iberia and will try to block Vermudo’s army from behind. A recently recruited spy Franco Corrales went spying to East deep into Estremadura and Extremadura.

Year 1094, summer
Vermudo was woken up by a guard while sleeping his tent, one morning. The guard said, "Milord, one of the scouting party returns. I see them coming uphill. Let’s get up and hear the news." Vermudo went out and wait for the scouts. The scout leader came down from the horse and and hurried towards the general and said, “We scouted together for some days after you sent us. Then we separated into three groups. I went scouting to the east and one of the other sub-parties to the west and another along the coast. My party and I saw a large Moorish army from the west coming to block our supplies from Murcia. We have to assault the castle as soon as we can.” Vermudo said, "Thanks for the information, scout. But should I besiege the city guarded by a general and his bodyguards with our a thousand men. I am Vermudo. I always want to be chivalrous in the way I fight. I will fight them on the field."


Battle of Granada


The Frontiers of the Reconquista,


Year 1095-1096,
Although Jihad was canceled crusade continued. The armies of Danes, Imperials and Knights Templar now join the crusade during the fall of 1095. In 1096, the Great Council of Catholics was held but the king couldn’t support it because of the kingdom’s tight finances. Vermudo adopted a son Carlos Hermosilla and sent him to Murcia where he had to keep order and peace in the region. Franco, the spy reported that the Moors are having a full-scale invasion into Portugal and now trying to take Lisbon.

Year 1097,
A papal bully arrives to the court in Leon. The bully states that the region of Granada must have at least 45% of the population being Christians. And if the king succeeded in doing so, he will reward 1000 florins and the pope will be pleased. So King Alfonso sent the Cardinal and a priest to convert those infidels in Granada. Moors had planned for a counter-invasion to take Murcia. They assembled two armies, an Andalusian army and an Algarvese army. Algarvese forces went for Lisbon and Andalusian recruits marched for Murcia. A Spanish outpost on the border saw them. And the messengers took the message to Vermudo in Granada.

Year 1098,
Vermudo took his army and force marched to Murcia once he heard the news. In winter the two armies met near Murcia.


Battle of Murcia


Year 1099-1101,
The Grenadine population had recently been converted to Christian by 45%. And the Pope was pleased and sent 1000 florin for the King.

On 10th April, The capital city of Portugal fell to the Moorish Algarvese army. The king of Portugal died defending the city. It seems that Moorish invasion of Portugal was nearly successful. But this success will only buffer its losses in the plains of Murcia.

Iberia in 1101 Anno Domini


Year 1103,
Vermudo’s army recovered full strength and invade the Andalusia in the spring. Froilan de Castilla, son of Prince Rodrigo took his Toledo garrison and came to aid in the siege of Cordoba, the capital of Umayyad Moors. In September, Vermudo had reached the city. He threated the Moors as he is about to lay siege to the capital and demanded 10,000 florins in return of ceasefire. Indeed the Moors accepted and gave him 10,000 florins. Clever Vermudo took the bribe money for ceasefire and waited for a month near the city then laid siege to the city breaking peace. Froilan now reached the city too and aided in the siege. In the same year Crown of Aragon was excommunicated by the Pope for not obeying his orders by taking Palma from Genoa.



The Siege of Cordoba

At the same time about 3 full-stack forces of Moors are ready to take Badajoz, a Portuguese castle.

Year 1105-1107,
Franco Corrales was killed during his mission to spy a Moorish army this year. May he reach the Heaven for serving in a Godly war of Reconquista.

The world in the 1105 Anno Domini

In the year 1106, Thieves’ guild was established in Salamanca to train better spies in memorial to the death of Franco Corrales. Also in this year, King Alfonso had died and Prince Rodrigo became king of Leon and Castille. He is the second king of Leon and Castille and the sixth of Castillian Dynasty. Froilan de Castilla, son of Rodrigo became prince. On 4th August 1107, the Pope was dead too. And papal election was held. The preferati Pious II the Warmonger of the Papal States became pope.

In the first few days of February, Ya’qub al-Andalusi (Yakub the Andalusian), a Moorish noble in an attempt to retake his homeland, led an army of 1350 men composed of a few Andalusians, and mainly Algarvese conscripts. It joined with the conscripts from Fes led by Hazm al-Andalusi.

Defending Cordoba
16th December, 1107, outside the city of Cordoba

Crusade News: The Holy Roman Empire had taken Baghdad and the Crusade was finished.

Year 1108-1110,
A strong Moorish army besieged the city again after seven months after Ya’qub’s attempt. Vermudo rushed to Cordoba ready to help. In August, Vermudo was camping near the city waiting for Moorish moves. The Moorish siege of Badajoz was a failure too. To relieve this pain, they lift the siege of Cordoba in 1109 and marched for Badajoz. Portuguese held only Galatia and Extremadura. Taking Extremadura would leave Portugal helpless and hopeless in Galatia. So stop the Moorish advance into Galatia, King Rodrigo requested the Pope a Crusade against Silves, a major town in Algarve region. And the pope accepted.


In winter months of 1109, The Danes, Imperials and Hungarians joined in the crusade. Portugal and Castille had exchanged military access rights, strengthening the alliance. A Moorish ship blockaded Murican Port but was sunk by a Castillian cog.
In spring of 1110, a full stack Moorish force of Algarvese recruits entered the northern Andalusian plains between two mountain ranges, there are possibilities that the Moors invade Murcia or Toledo again. The Sicilians and Aragonese joined the crusade to Silves.

Year 1111,
Aragonese hurried for the crusade. They sent an unorganized crusader force with very few men. It arrived Silves in May and was completely destroyed by the Moors. The pope requested a port blockade to Bourdeaux in France, an excommunicated kingdom. The king accepted to blockade and declares war on France. A half-stacked imperial army was the second crusader army to arrive the Algarve. Much more organized than Aragonese, they could defeat a Moorish field army near Silves and thus they are able to besiege the city. While the imperial army was besieging Silves, Vermudo took out a small Moorish force near Granada with minor causaulties.


To be continued....