Very good AAR.
It really reflects the struggle of an empire. Keep it up!
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Very good AAR.
It really reflects the struggle of an empire. Keep it up!
As I like to say, you cant win them all but at least you weakened them. Great job, you did great considering the odds that were against you.
Thanks for the encouragement. It's a tough slog. My Aragon campaign was just like this for a long time, with me taking and losing castles and cities to the Moors for 50+ years. Then all of a sudden, the Moors started recruiting huge amounts of Grenadine Lancers (presumably from Grenada?), and my only spear units were spear militia. I was still able to hold on for a long time until Genoa backstabbed me from Toulouse. Then I was increasingly hemmed in, lost most of my generals and my cities, and had no army left, so I gave up in 1195 or so.
I'm hoping that having jinettes and some additional infantry (though it seems like no better spears unfortunately) will make this a bit easier. I'm concerned about those Lancers, which I haven't seen much of yet.
The good news is that those pictures of the four generals are actually from 1139, so you all know they have at least survived that far. I'll usually do rankings, family tree, legacy, and pictures of all characters (generals and princesses) every time a king dies. Hopefully it will be a while, because editing the pictures takes quite a while.
Nice update. I also liked your info setup with the family tree and family members. :thumbsup2
The worst situation I have ever been in was as followed, playing as France, as is going more then well, too well as a matter of fact, then, the Black Death arrived, my economy went downhill into the -8000 florins and HRE decided it would be an awesome time to attack with 6 full stacks.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBard
Wow, I'm hoping I don't have to worry about the Black Death for awhile, assuming it is done historically.
As for the current campaign, there is another new king (!), so I am going to do rankings and family tree and legacy again. I won't tell you how many years I played ahead, but Afonso is no more. It will take a few days to get everything updated, so bear with me.
Take your time :D, as far as I know, the Black Death is quite accurate. It doesnt last long but it lasts long enough to cause some major issues.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBard
In my AAR, as of now, I have not seen the Black Death but I have a strong feeling that it is coming extremely soon :(
Chapter 6: The Last March of King Afonso
King Afonso sets about strengthening the Kingdom during the first few years of his reign. Salvador’s defeat of the Moorish army under Taj Amir Hasan has provided at least a little breathing room. By 1139, Afonso has begun to rebuild the navy that was destroyed in 1135. It is not a moment too soon, either, because the Moors continue to blockade the ports at Lisbon and Silves.
In addition, a large Moorish army moves on Oporto. It is commanded by Siraj ibn A’id, the general so responsible for Afonso’s defeat a few years earlier in what is now remembered as the Battle of Penafiel.
Salvador leaves Seville in the moderately capable hands of Prince Alexandre, taking with him enough troops to force Siraj to return to Salamanca.
Sebastiao’s daughter Francisca marries a well connected Portuguese nobleman, Alberto de Castelo, and the King’s son Fernao [which I misspelled above because it looked like an “m” in the family tree] comes of age and soon marries Beatriz, a beguiling Portuguese girl.
Unfortunately, none of these events is enough to shake King Afonso from his melancholy. After the Battle of Penafiel, he retreated to Oporto, refusing to leave the city. Because of the large armies at Salamanca, and increasing troops in the South near Seville, Salvador needs the King to take Oporto’s large garrison and link up with him. Salvador has a daring plan to take Salamanca. But without the King’s army, Salvador will soon be forced to retreat to Seville to defend against the Moors.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Fernao leaves Oporto, and Alberto leaves Silves, both to be educated in Lisbon, where the newest school has been built. Salvador leaves almost his entire army in Seville with Prince Alexandre, heading to Oporto to convince the King to march.
Not only has the King’s inaction made any assault on Salamanca impossible, it has contributed to the disastrous financial situation. Between five years of upgrading both cities (Silves and Lisbon) and both castles (Oporto and Seville), the treasury has been nearly depleted. Plus, Salvador has 60 knights and 60 jinettes from Seville that he must maintain. Having such a huge garrison in Oporto leaves no money left over for any new building or troops.
Salvador arrives in Oporto in 1145. Having inherited some of his father, Gaston’s, audacity and brusqueness, Salvador confronts the King. “My Lord, this is our last chance to take Salamanca. Seville is about to be hard-pressed from the south. Think of your people. Think of your sons!”
After weeks of needling and prodding, the King is convinced. Still, he seems to have lost any passion for the fight, and goes along with Salvador’s plan only begrudgingly. Having finally agreed to Salvador’s persistent demands, the King is flustered when Salvador tells him they now have to wait.
In early 1146, word arrives that León is besieging the Moors at Cordoba, southeast of Seville.
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At that word, Salvador springs into action, rounding up the King’s army and urging the King to march. King Afonso wonders how Salvador knew the Moors would soon be distracted, but Salvador keeps his secrets for now.
Per Salvador’s specific instructions, the King’s army from Oporto marches deliberately toward Salamanca, covering barely 5 miles per day. In the meantime, Salvador and his knights and jinettes race back to Seville, where they show Prince Alexandre the message from Afonso. “What? He wants ALL the men? How will I defend the city??” Salvador, only one year older than his cousin, pulls the Prince aside. “You are Prince of Portugal. This whole Kingdom will be yours someday. In the meantime, you will do what you must.”
A bit flustered by the encounter, the Prince nevertheless sets his captains to double their recruiting efforts as he watches the entire garrison of Seville follow Salvador away toward the horizon.
Salvador and his army march quickly to the north. Salvador’s army arrives to attack Siraj from the south just as King Afonso’s army attacks from the east. In that respect, the plan works perfectly. But there is a wrinkle. A small Leonese army was scouting the city nearby and gets caught up in the battle. Salvador has some concerns as to whether Portugal’s ally will join in and help. León has been quite expansionist lately, content to let Portugal take on the brunt of the Moorish attacks, while they pick off lightly defended Moorish cities. In the end, the Leonese army does join in, though Salvador doubts they will provide much aid, small as they are. The King, still in a deep malaise, despite the oncoming battle, could hardly care much either way. [I chose to control Afonso, and let the computer take Salvador]
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
King Afonso’s army streams down the side of a large hill, crashing into the Moorish forces. Siraj breaks through the Portuguese lines and causes havoc among the archers on the hills, killing some of the levy archers, and scattering the more professional regular archers.
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The King and the 32 knights left by Salvador chase Siraj away from the archers, down into the valley. Afonso remains on the hillside, content to let his army grind it out against the Moors. After initially chasing away Siraj from the archers, the knights then turn and smash into the rear of Siraj’s infantry, which are already engaged with the Portuguese spear militia.
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With the knights engaged and bogged down, and Afonso seemingly happy to wait the battle out on the hillside, Siraj returns to harass the Portuguese archers. This time, he does serious damage to many of the regular archers. Finally forced into action, King Afonso turns his cavalry and charges into Siraj’s cavalry.
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Afonso’s cavalry, so long cooped up and unable to fight properly, are eager to engage the enemy general, and to seek revenge for the loss at Penafiel.
Siraj’s men are cut down one by one, until he too is killed. With Siraj dead, and his men already routing, Afonso turns his army to reinforce Salvador.
The young general flies all over the battlefield, ordering his cavalry in charge after charge. Still, his charges are not reckless, as he meticulously smashes into one engaged Moorish infantry unit after another, routing each in turn. His knights and jinettes play a similar role.
The King’s army arrives only in time to watch the enemy army flee, and to see Salvador run down the second Moorish general, Tammam. Captain Julian and his Leonese army play a minor role, only serving to add to Salvador’s efforts to run down fleeing Moors. The losses to the Portuguese forces are moderate, but far less than those of the Moors, which are completely destroyed.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
After the battle, Salvador and King Afonso meet to discuss the next step. Despite the Moors’ preoccupation with León, Salvador isn’t convinced that Seville is safe because the Moors have repulsed the Leonese attack on Cordoba. Afonso is in better spirits, but is concerned about Prince Alexandre’s safety there, as well. Hoping that the King has recovered enough, Salvador and his army race back toward Seville, while Afonso besieges Salamanca.
Portugal’s ally has grown dramatically over the past 15 years. Taking advantage of Portugal’s First Moorish War, the Kingdom of León has retaken their capital at León, which the Moors had taken decades earlier. They’ve also begun pushing back against the Moors in the east, taking Burgos and Toledo.
As Salvador heads to Seville, he hears word that León has attacked an English army that landed on their shores in northern Iberia. He sends an urgent message alerting Afonso at the siege of Salamanca. Unable to remain allied to both León and England, Afonso considers the options. The alliance with England was one entirely of convenience and self-preservation. León has been a loyal ally for nearly 50 years. On the other hand, León has been sending troops through and into Portuguese territory lately, and will no doubt be looking to expand once their opportunities against the Moors are gone. Still, King Afonso makes the easy decision to remain allied to León and sever the alliance with England. Perhaps France will be pleased this time.
In 1148, King Afonso assaults the city of Salamanca and wins easily, destroying the small force of Moors remaining there. Portuguese nobles give 2000 florins to the Royal Treasury in appreciation, no doubt expecting to more than make back their money through bribes and corruption later on.
With three cities (Salamanca, Lisbon, Silves), and two castles (Seville, Oporto), Portugal has become a true Kingdom. The Moors are gone from central and northern Iberia. Reports are unclear about León’s success repelling the Moors in the southeast, but the Moors can hold no more than, at most, Valencia, Murcia, Granada, and Cordoba in Iberia proper. The Reconquista has been a huge success so far. It seems as though perhaps the Portuguese armies can rest and regroup for a while.
Instead, the Kingdom of Portugal experiences a series of immense setbacks, one after another.
The Portuguese hero of Silves, Sebastiao, dies in 1149 at only 57. His death in the faraway southern city is a mystery, though rumors of poison abound. With his death, the city is leaderless, and quickly reverts to rioting and uprisings. Only Sebastiao’s strong personality kept the city’s residents in check for so long. Prince Alexandre’s younger brother Fernao is sent to govern the city, but he does not have the force of will of Sebastiao.
The next year, word comes that León and the Moors have signed a truce. Whether the ceasefire can last is uncertain, but the Moors have continually asked Afonso for an end to their war, presumably to turn on León. With Afonso’s repeated refusals, the Moorish caliph has apparently gone to León with the intent to turn its attention to Portugal. The late Sebastiao’s son-in-law, Alberto de Castelo leaves Lisbon with all the troops the city and the castle at Oporto can spare, heading east to reinforce Seville.
Fernao’s son Marcio is born in 1151, and Alberto’s son Miguel is born one year later. The two are born in dark times, for King Afonso dies in 1153 from some sort of affliction. The King’s personal physician deems it, and his deep melancholy, to be a result of an abundance of black bile.
That same year, León breaks its truce with the Moors, hoping to assert itself as the dominant force in all of Iberia. They again besiege Cordoba, with an even larger force. With Portugal’s king and its greatest general dead, León supplanting the Moors as the most powerful regional force, and no place to expand except into territory held by León, the Kingdom’s prospects for growth are limited. In fact, Prince Alexandre will have his hands full simply retaining the current lands.
Good job against the Moors, I love playing in Iberia...oh I miss it so much. The Chaos...the wars..:whistling
Just when I thought things were about to get easy in this campaign, they actually got harder. I'll add another update soon, probably in the next few days. The good news is that I've got plenty of children on the way.
Chapter 7: Peace
With the death of King Afonso, the Kingdom of Portugal suffers from a serious lack of experience in its commanders; the 37-year-old Salvador is the oldest surviving male in the royal family. The newly anointed King Alexandre is 36. With five cities and the Moors still determined to fight, it will be difficult to expand.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The King is widely regarded as a handsome man, and Salvador’s admonitions seem to have forced him to become more assertive. He’s done an excellent job governing Seville, and his men respect him. Still, he has very little military experience, but assumes he will be able to easily wipe out the Moors when he does fight them.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Since Alexandre has no children yet (a fact for which the people increasingly blame his wife Costanca), his brother Fernao is the heir at the moment. Fernao is like his brother in some ways: smart, inclined more toward governing than fighting, but physically strong nonetheless. Fernao is widely seen as being a harsh ruler because he is exceedingly focused on fighting corruption. He harshly punishes merchants and shopkeepers for being late on taxes, and he is always trying to find a way to curtail the nobles’ power.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Salvador is the most experienced general in Portugal. He loves to be in the thick of the battle, but the common people overlook his half-French blood and embrace him as one of their own. He is often found celebrating victories with the people in local taverns. And while Salvador is widely regarded as pious and a fair fighter toward Christians, he absolutely despises the Moors. He blames them for his father’s death, and has already fought half a dozen battles against Moorish armies.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Alberto de Castelo, the late Sebastiao’s son-in-law, is quite inexperienced, but he is somewhat religious and may turn out to be a good leader of men.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Rankings
Overall
1. Byzantine Empire 320,000
2. Fatimid Caliphate 280,000 (+47%)
3. Khwarezmian Empire 240,000 (+66%)
4. Holy Roman Empire 165,000
5. Cuman Khanate 155,000
12. Moorish Caliphate 95,000 (-29%)
13. Kingdom of León 85,000
23. Kingdom of Portugal 45,000 (+13%)
Military
1. Byzantine Empire 245,000
2. Fatimid Caliphate 240,000 (+92%)
3. Holy Roman Empire 185,000
4. Khwarezmian Empire 140,000
5. Cuman Khanate 95,000
10. Kingdom of León 75,000
18. Moorish Caliphate 46,000 (-42%)
19. Kingdom of Portugal 45,000 (+80%)
Territories
1. Byzantine Empire 23
2. Cuman Khanate 15
3. Khwarezmian Empire 15
4. Fatimid Caliphate 14
5. Seljuk Sultanate 12 (-14%)
11. Moorish Caliphate 7 (-22%)
12. Kingdom of Portugal 5 (+25%)
13. Kingdom of León 5
Population
1. Byzantine Empire 295,000 (+40%)
2. Khwarezmian Empire 205,000
3. Fatimid Caliphate 200,000
4. Cuman Khanate 165,000
5. Holy Roman Empire 150,000
11. Moorish Caliphate 95,000 (-10%)
15. Kingdom of León 60,000
21. Kingdom of Portugal 50,000 (+100%)
Afonso’s emphasis on infrastructure and building up cities is manifested in the huge population jump of the kingdom, despite adding only one new city. The Khwarezmian Empire and the Fatimid Caliphate have expanded dramatically, while the Byzantine Empire has continued its gradual growth. The Seljuk Sultanate and the Moorish Caliphate have both suffered devastating losses as a result. León, experiencing its own golden age, has combined with Portugal to finally force the Moorish Caliphate to contract, rather than expand. Afonso’s reign, while not as dramatic as his father Henrique’s in terms of conquest and expansion, did set the stage for a stable and perpetual Portuguese Kingdom. The question now is not if, but when, Portugal and León will fight for dominance in Iberia.
Only two weeks after Afonso’s death, Salvador and his army assault the walls of Cordoba. Salvador has nearly twice as many men as the garrison, though a small army of Moorish reinforcements has arrived as well.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Portuguese army uses siege towers to climb the walls, and a ram to batter down the gate. Fierce battles form on the walls of Cordoba, as Salvador’s men crash through the gate.
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As Salvador and his cavalry prepare to enter the city, the enemy’s reinforcements crash into his flank. Though the Portuguese cavalry eventually kill the captain and all his men, it is a damaging attack. As the Moors are slowly pushed back to the town square, they form a tight defense in the streets.
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After hours of fighting street by street, Salvador’s army is victorious, having killed or captured every last enemy soldier. The price in blood is very high, though, as Salvador’s army is cut by 2/3.
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Seeing that León’s armies contain more and more professional troops, King Alexandre urges Alberto toward Granada, in an attempt to take the city before the Leonese can.
In the meantime, Alexandre’s daughter Angelina is born in 1155, a month before Fernao’s son Filipe. The King finally has an heir when his son Guilherme is born in 1157, the same year that Fernao’s daughter Rute is born.
Alberto defeats a small army of Moors along the way to Granada, finally assaulting the city in 1157.
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Alberto and his men march toward the city’s walls in a driving rain. By the time they breach the gate and mount the walls, the Portuguese soldiers are drenched and miserable.
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With two separate rings of walls to fight through, the Portuguese have a difficult task. Moorish archers rain down arrows as the Portuguese ram through and capture each gate in turn. Eventually, Alberto and his men destroy the defenders and take control of the mountain castle.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
With recent reports from scouts and spies, the King soon discovers that Granada had been the last stronghold of the Moors in all of Iberia. After hundreds of years of Muslim control of southern and central Iberia, King Alexandre has accomplished a goal set 57 years prior by his grandfather, Henrique. Spain is once again a Christian land.
Chapter 8: War with Leon
After the news that the Moors are gone from all of Spain, King Alexandre orders all cities and castles to construct buildings for recruiting soldiers and creating wealth. He knows that León will soon be a rival.
The royal family tree expands greatly in the next few years, as Salvador has a daughter (Marta) and Alberto has a son (Diogo) in 1158, while Fernao has a son (Estevao) the following year.
The Pope calls a Crusade against the Imperial city of Frankfurt, as the Holy Roman Emperor has continued to defy him. Various emperors have been excommunicated and reconciled for the last 30 years, and the Pope has finally had enough. King Alexandre can spare no generals and few soldiers, however, even with the Moors pushed back to northern Africa. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop Salvador from taking his army on crusade in 1159. Salvador’s drinking has gotten out of control over the past few years, and he seeks to atone for his many sins. Having heard that all sins will be forgiven for crusaders, Salvador is eager to sign up. His pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago years earlier had deeply affected him, and he sees this as a call from God.
The King is furious when he hears of Salvador’s decision, and takes some satisfaction when the Holy Roman Emperor is reconciled in 1162 and the Crusade is cancelled. However, Salvador causes the King some added consternation as a result.
Alexandre had sent a diplomat to speak with León’s king earlier that year. The diplomat was to complain about León’s armies continually marching across Portuguese lands without permission. Alexandre’s letter to León was clear: “Our alliance does not grant you the right to storm through our lands whenever you please.” The Leonese King laughed when he read the message. “Well…tell your King that one of your armies is right now ‘storming through our lands.’ We will be happy to remove them, since they do not have our permission. Otherwise, tell your King we assume the terms of our alliance still hold.”
Thoroughly embarrassed by León’s response, Alexandre soon discovers that Salvador and his army are, indeed, travelling through Leonese lands upon returning from the aborted Crusade. In a surprising reversal of roles, the King dresses down the exhausted Salvador when he finally returns to Portuguese lands in 1164.
Salvador’s son Gil is born in 1162, as Salvador brought his wife Ines with him while he travelled toward Frankfurt. He was confident she would be safe, as they would be in Christian lands the entire way.
Alexandre has another daughter, Luzia, in 1164. The Moors and León go to war again in 1163, and León continues to willingly cross Portuguese lands to attack the Moors in north Africa.
Fernao’s son Marcio comes of age in 1165, and begins military training in Oporto. That same year, the King takes a large army to attack Moors commanded by Hazm ibn Salama. The armies are roughly equal in size and quality, but the Portuguese King is confident.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The battle begins with Portuguese mangonels sending huge barrels of fire high over the Moorish lines. The barrels explode, showering the enemy with fire and ash.
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King Alexandre sends his cavalry around the flanks of the enemy, and they crash into the Moorish general’s bodyguards. However, they are unable to immediately kill him, and are bogged down behind the main lines. Moorish archers shred the Portuguese spear militia, as hundreds of Moorish horsemen charge the Portuguese flanks.
The militia soon begin to rout, and the archers turn on Alexandre’s cavalry. The entire Portuguese line begins to roll, and Alexandre is forced to flee.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The Portuguese army is nearly destroyed, and has to retreat to ships in Cordoba’s harbor, while there remains a huge Moorish army near the city.
Fortunately, Salvador and his veterans arrive. Furious both with Salvador (for the fiasco with León) and the Moors, the King takes Salvador’s jinettes and hires hundreds of mercenaries, hoping to break the siege of Cordoba. The garrison sallies as well, but Alexandre is nervous.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
The King’s army meet Hazm’s men in the field outside Cordoba. The Moorish soldiers are more disciplined and more motivated, as they are trapped between two enemy armies in Christian lands. Alexandre’s decision to rely on mercenaries is a foolish one, as the mercenaries flee as the battle drags on.
Still, the King’s men hold on just long enough for the garrison to arrive and shatter the Moorish army. Hazm ibn Salama is killed, and Portugal is victorious.
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Despite the victory, the King is gaining a reputation as a mediocre general, and there are whispers that he fears the Moors. He tries to cover these fears by executing all the prisoners from the battle. Still the whispers continue.
The King has another son, Bartolomeu, in 1167, further securing his royal line. The King is content to once again govern from Seville, though the official capital remains at Oporto. Fernao’s son Filipe comes of age in Salamanca, where he learns from some of the greatest teachers in all of Iberia.
The Pope asks Alexandre to blockade the French port of Bordeaux, as the French have not learned from the Holy Roman Empire’s mistakes. Alexandre orders the rebuilt Portuguese fleet to do so, bringing war between Portugal and France for the first time.
In 1169, the Moors again ask for a ceasefire. The King considers it long and hard. The Moors are relegated to their lands in Africa. The Portuguese navy continues to grow, helping to secure the waters near Gibraltar. There are plenty of troops to hold the straits there. And after decades of war, the King wants the Portuguese people to finally be at peace, even if only for a short while. In the end, the King accepts, and the First Moorish War ends that year.
The King orders armies across the kingdom to be reduced and to ease the burden on the royal treasury. King Alexandre orders all levied peasants mustered out of the army, other than a few spear militia in each city. Emphasis is placed on recruiting and maintaining more professional troops, as light men at arms and knights, as well as professional archers, are recruited and trained. These troops take years to train, but the smaller more powerful Portuguese armies cost much less to maintain each year.
Salvador and a large army construct a small fort at the strait of Gibraltar, where they wait to hold off any attempted Moorish attacks.
Cities and castles renew construction, and the next wave of Portuguese generals comes of age, with Alberto’s son Diogo in 1172 and Fernao’s son Estevao in 1173.
Relations across western Europe are changed forever later that year, when the recently excommunicated England attacks León with a large army transported by ship right into the heart of León’s kingdom.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Still angry about León’s presumptuous marches across his lands, and with the Moorish threat fading, Alexandre nullifies the alliance with León. King Alexandre’s message to the Leonese King expresses disappointment with León’s “evil and greedy actions,” blaming them for a war that was very clearly started by the English. Portuguese diplomats quickly sign an alliance with the English, under the pretense that enemies of the French are Portugal’s friends.
But León takes it as a direct threat. León convinces their close ally Aragon to take the blockade of Bordeaux and the alliance with the English as a direct threat, as well. Aragonese armies march across Portuguese lands with compunction, crossing the straits into Moorish lands as Salvador’s army moves north to confront Leonese armies.
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Alexandre’s daughter Angelina, and Fernao’s daughter Rute, are both sent into France to secure alliances with other Christian kingdoms. [Fernao is technically the heir because Alexandre became king without any sons, so Rute is considered a princess. This is going to lead to some difficulties later, as I want Alexandre’s son to take over when he dies.]
Angelina is widely considered one of the most beautiful women in all of Spain. She is brave, but knows her place.
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Rute, on the other hand, is pretty though not stunning in the way that her cousin is. Rute is a spirited, fierce woman clever enough to understand how to play men off one another.
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In 1175, King Alexandre orders Salvador to attack the Leonese transgressors, which he does. The aging Salvador takes his men from Gibraltar (narrowly missing Aragonese troops headed south) and meets the Leonese troops east of Cordoba.
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Despite overwhelming numbers, Salvador is not able to quickly dispatch the enemy army, and it turns into a drawn-out, grinding affair. In the end, Portugal is victorious, but suffers a large number of casualties.
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Thus begins the Leonese War. For now, Aragon waits on the sidelines, but León’s diplomats are urging them into the fight. The Kingdom of Portugal will be hard-pressed if both its Christian neighbors make a concerted effort to attack.
Hope you guys are enjoying this so far. The War with Leon is really really tricky so far. I'm having a lot of trouble. Bankrupt economy, blockaded ports, difficult battles against professional-level troops, Aragon and France pissed. And to top it all off, too many family members, so no marriages or new babies. It'll be a bit before I can update, but the next one will be a doozy.
The fun of Iberia, wars on all fronts, I noticed that most of my Iberian campaigns, I had to be extremely opportunist to succeed. I hope your situation will improve my friend. God speed. :)
After realizing that I could lose (which is what happened with my Aragon campaign), I've really come to love Iberia. Portugal is very difficult, though not as difficult as Aragon. What makes it more difficult (I'm only on H campaign, VH battles and Savage AI) is my own house rules. I wouldn't allow myself to just invade Leon when we were allies, or even once we were back to neutral. I had to wait for some transgression on their part, however flimsy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Karnage
I felt justified attacking them in my territory after ending the alliance, and after they'd been trampling through my lands for years. Now, for example, I can't go attack Aragon or the Moors just because I feel like it. I like to let the computer be the aggressor, or at least goad me into attacking.
Leon's going to be tough to beat. We have the same number of cities, their other border is their longtime ally Aragon (while mine is my erstwhile enemy the Moors), they have many more professional troops than me, plus they have access to Santiago Knights.
I actually just saved the game at the "defend battle" screen right before a crucial battle at Oporto where I'm being assaulted by Leon. It's one of those tipping points that could go either way. If I lose, I'm in big trouble. If I win, I'm in less trouble. We'll see.
I remember my good old Portugal campaign in Vanilla, the only way I was able to succeed was to betray Spain while they were away on a crusade, then I took out the moors with relative ease.
Leon as always been strong in my campaign, they have decent units and always manage to stay on top of things. Portugal being a "sandwich" nation between them and Moors can be extremely challenging, my only suggestion to you is, hit them strong and hard as quickly as you can and only defend against the Moors. Moors can pop huge armies but rarely are those armies really powerful.
From my opinion anyway.
I don't trust the Moors as far as I can throw them, but they are less dangerous without Grenadine Lancers. Unfortunately, even though I own Grenada, I don't get access to them. :-( Regardless, I'm doing everything I can just to hold on against Leon for now. I'm going to hit back if I can win at Oporto. If not, I'm in huge trouble. Losing Leon, Aragon, and France as trading partners has really curtailed my economy. I'm now trading with the Moors and England (I assume), but that doens't help a whole lot.
I know what you mean, fight the greater evil though, Moors are less dangerous in my opinion then Leon. If Leon sends the bulks of its force against you, you'll be in for one nasty surprise. I dont trust the Moors either, but for now, they are not your immediate threat.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBard
If you win your battle against Leon, try to make peace if not to muster enough forces to strike at them later.
Your in a tough spot economically but nothing I'm sure you cant handle, manage your resources well, cut on troops or mercenaries if necessary. It should help.
Very good story and nice updates. I like your house rules too. Sure one can conquer all the unprepared and clueless neighbors in a few turns, but what's the point? Just takes away the fun. :)
If you play with Gracul AI, you don't have to wait long for multiple AI factions to transgress against you :whistling .Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBard
In my own Aragon game, I've been forced to use the Ancient Roman art of war called Defensive Aggression. Now I have all of Iberia, everything west of Tunis in Africa (except the far south west settlement that the Portuguese are holed up in, but they are soon to be relegated to the dustbin of SS history), Sardinia and Corsica, Toulouse, Bourdeaux, Marseille, Florence, Genoa, and soon to be Rome once I kick his holiness butt for a random Port Blockade, declaration of war and excommunication all rolled into one.
I was forced to attack Sicily because they wouldn't remove a stack next to one of my newly captured castles, and so I will have to push the Sicilians out of Italy to protect my dominance of the Mediterranean!
On the bright side, having all this territory means I don't have to trade with anyone :laughter:
Anyway, it's been an interesting AAR you have here.