Legacy of the Navigator (a Portugal D&T5.9 AAR)

[KillingMeSoftly]

LEGACY OF THE NAVIGATOR
a modest, sometimes silly, after action report

"Henry the Navigator is described as having no luxuries, not avaricious, speaking with soft words and calm gestures, a man of many virtues who never allowed any poor person leave his presence empty-handed." (Good job, wikipedia!)

INTRODUCTION!

Welcome to my very first AAR, ever! Thanks for coming to visit! I'm a newbie to this, so please bear with me and I'll try to make this entertaining. The style of this AAR will be mostly gameplay focused with some light roleplay sprinkled around for flavor and spice. Suggestions, comments, and feedback are more than welcome and highly encouraged!

I will be playing as Portugal in Death & Taxes mod. Portugal is well-known to be quite easy considering its remote location from the heartlands of Europe, and its closeness to the New World. Because of this I will be taking on several house rules, with a mix of historical and ahistorical goals. Game settings will default with lucky nations disabled. Difficulty is set to Hard!


HOUSE RULES!

1) Portugal will always be a steadfast ally of Spain. She will always answer Spain's call to arms, and never allow any foreign power to hold territory on Iberia. However we wont let Spain bully us and take our rightful territory. If Spain is wiped off the map, then it's game over.

2) Portugal will attempt to maintain an alliance with England, but this is not as important or encompassing as our alliance with Spain.

3) Portugal will only colonize (mostly) historic in the New World, which will keep our interest around Brazil and perhaps a few islands. This is mostly for flavor and to keep us from becoming too wealthy and too powerful.

4) The Crown will never have a reputation worse than slightly tarnished, and will attempt to remain honorable and respected.

5) There will be no reloading to erase unfavorable outcomes. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to have my navies sunk and my armies wiped out!


GOALS!

1) Protect Spain at all costs!

2) Establish a trading empire across the entire world!

3) Become a colonial power!

4) Conquer the Holy Land before 1650!

5) Circumnavigate the globe before anyone else!

6) Don't die, Portugal! Hang in there, buddy!


A Special Note!

I started our game in 1356 and I have already played the first 43 years, up to the beginning date of the Grand Campaign. I did this for an important reason. As Portugal, these years would be the least interesting with a total lack of exploration, colonization, and major wars. I spent this time focused on building my economy, culture, and military with minimal fighting except for one war in particular. All of the most interesting events I'll summarize in a Prologue, the first official chapter of this AAR. Starting early allowed me to set the stage for the weirdness I have in store for our little green nation. Let's all just pretend 1399 is the *real* start date!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 0 - The Story Thus Far

Chapter 1 - Spanish Flights of Fancy

Chapter 2 - Rowdy Merchants

Chapter 3 - Glory Hounds

Chapter 4 - The Tides of War

Chapter 5 - African Ambitions

Chapter 6 - Italian Serpents

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 0

The story thus far...

The Castille-Aragonese Unification War begun in 1356, with Portugal taking the side of her steadfast ally, Castille. The war ended with Aragon being ruled from the Castillian throne. Only a short few years later much of the Iberian peninsula united under the banner of Spain, a new and powerful nation.

The Hundred Years' War continues to rage, with naval assistance from Portugal aiding the English crown. Scotland was defeated and became a duchy of England. There has yet to be a decisive battle on either side. France has done well to keep the English off the continent.

Portugal waged war on the excommunicated Queen of Naples. The enemy alliance was defeated soundly both on land and sea. Because of their heresy against the Pope, the Queen of Naples and King of Sicily were revoked of divine right and became duchies of Portugal.

The deceased King Pedro II commenced a vast construction project across the entirety of Portugal, building Courthouses, Training Fields, Drydocks, Workshops, and Trade Depots in every province. This project was largely funded by the Crown through minting and several loans from banks over a period of two decades.

Local Portugese banks were financially restructured, vastly reducing inflation and allowing the Crown to loan much larger sums at a time.

The focus on construction works and building projects left little coin to spare for the advancement of research, and thus Portugal's technical innovations began to lag. King Pedro II commissioned many great artworks and literature to richen the cultural heritage of Portugal. This attracted the services of several great advisors to the Portugese court, and they have since overseen government policy, regulated foreign trade, and begun naval reforms.

Now, onto the pretty pictures!

There we are! Us! Portugal! A lovely strip of mild green along the coast, surrounded by ocean blue and eye-gouging yellow. We've seen a few wars, and we're doing just fine right now. The reigning monarch, King João I, dreams of greater glory across the sea. Lets see where we stand in this crazy world.

We have alliances with England and Spain, and our two Italian vassals, Naples and Sicily. We've arranged royal marriages with these nations, as well as Ireland and Brittany. Nothing really unexpected, here.

King João I is an absurdly skilled king! 8/8/7 stats, I've never had a leader this good before. He's also only been on the throne for a handful of years, too. His son has nice stats too (8/5/4), but doesn't compare to his father. Knowing my luck, something terrible will happen as soon as I unpause. Our advisors are also quite excellent! Hooray!

Our economy is strong for our size. We have 5 merchants placed in Lisbon, Barcelona, Liguria, and London, and even with our poor efficiency that's almost as much monthly income as our taxes. Soon our trade will totally eclipse our tax income!

Tech-wise, we're focused in Government, Trade, and Naval. Our three key areas of research that will lead us to greatness! We're pushing for more Government so we can unlock a new National Idea at level 12. We lag in Production and Land. Our plan for these is to skate by on neighbor bonus unless we become too backwards. Fingers crossed!

A review of our glorious military. We field 18,000 soldiers and knights. It's a modest sized army, and our economy supports it without a lot of trouble. I've noticed in Death & Taxes that army sizes, force limits, and manpower are quite a bit higher than in Divine Wind. Our navy is capable as well, more so than our land forces, at 15 carracks and 15 cogs. For some reason we like the number 15.

As Catholics, we have a lot of potential religious policies to pass, and I intend to pass them all at some point! Thankfully we have no rebels, but our army would deal with them easily. Lastly we see that France is the Defender of the Faith. We're not a big fan of France, though our best-bud Spain is allied with them. Let's hope that France gets pulled into some distant war and something horrible happens to them.

Here's some meat to sink our teeth into. Our first National Idea was Church Attendance Duty, but only so we could pass the excellent Gilded Iconography decision. I switched immediately to something more befitting of our grand nation: Naval Glory! It's quite better in Death & Taxes. A sizable boost to naval morale, some extra yearly tradition and prestige, and finally double prestige from battles. This is a wonderful all-in-one package that gives us quite an edge in a war. The boosts to prestige is handy in all sorts of ways. Namely increasing our merchant chances! Besides better admirals, this will also allow us to hire better naval or trade-focused advisors.

Further down we see our government policies, which are just as important. We have big plans for our little green strip of land, and one of them entails becoming a trade empire. Portugal begins the game with heavy mercantilism, which doesn't suit our goals in the slightest. Mercantilism is quite a bit stronger in Death & Taxes, as it reduces inflation and increases production in addition to its normal effects. Our inflation is very minimal and our production is only a tiny portion of our income, so Free Trade is the way to wealth for us.

Portugal has no generals or admirals. We had a general once, quite an amazing one (4/4/5/0), but he died in the first exchange of his first land battle so we're hesitant to hire anymore. Generals seem to be quite flammable and prone to getting stabbed. Admirals behave better, but ultimately we don't plan to get into any wars soon and we have enough ducats in our treasury to hire one immediately. King João I could become a general, but that would be tempting fate.

Look at all that yummy cultural tradition. Portugal is quite a fancy place, it seems. There is unfortunately no interesting decisions to pass because we've passed them already.

Here's our current mission. Do I need to say more?

As for the policies below, we're going to pass as many as possible. This will require us becoming much more Centralized, which we plan to do anyway. We also need to make our people less free than they currently are, so they become more free again. Strange, but with nice benefits. We'll see how it pans out.

Our current modifiers and bonuses. Forgive the double showing of some of them.

Sorted by income. Spain is unbelievably wealthy, thank goodness they are on our side. The remainder of the top 5 is no surprise. Portugal is actually in 6th place, which frankly surprised me. Looks like our trade policies are paying off! Another item of note is Muscowy's infamy, and you'll see why it's so high shortly.

We place low on this list, which seems unfortunate at first blush. However this placement is deceptive. We're 4th place in Big Ships, combined with our transports, makes our Navy the 3rd strongest on the list. Only Spain and England with their ridiculous fleets are mightier than us. We can't easily dismiss the Galley fleets in the Mediterranean, though. If they outnumber us with a good admiral we can still lose, especially on Hard difficulty with our morale penalty. We aren't invincible yet!

Several of our provinces are rich, and we have plenty of wine to increase the value of our Center of Trade in Lisbon. Our fish also command a good price as well. They must be tasty.

I still can't get over how awesome our ruler is. Look at those stats! Our previous kings were mostly capable as well, so Portugal has been blessed with competent leaders. We'll make sure that's always the case. (foreboding!)

Thanks to our previous king's expansive construction programs, we've got all the best buildings we can possibly have in all our provinces! It only took a lot of blood, sweat, tears, loans, and minting. Seriously, I think I took 10 loans in 43 years. But they're all paid off! Thanks to diegoami's Venice AAR for showing me several loans won't bankrupt my country.

Our relations with people important to us. Spain guarantees us, and we guarantee our vassals. We're hesitant to get into many royal marriages, since we don't want to accidentally inherit something on the mainland. We'd need to defend it, then. We have other lands on our minds across the ocean that need to become civilized. For Gold and Glory! And God, too, we guess.

Current wars being waged throughout the world. Something very strange is going on here.

The whacky world as we know it. Seems fairly standard, with some notable exceptions. Spain is already formed and so early, but we know that already! Milan is gobbling up Italy, which may be a big problem for me later. Lithuania is still Pagan and swallowed a huge chunk of the Golden Horde. Seems like Muscowy got jealous and took a bite out of Lithuania. If they keep going at that rate we may see Russia in 100 years. Current Emperor is Bohemia, which syncs up nicely with the standard 1399 start.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

[MrQwerty]

Death and Taxes is an excellent mod among others, so it's good to see more AARs of this sort . Only it seems strange that Castille could claim a personal union over Aragon when Aragon has a PU with Trinacria (Sicily) .

So what is your trade and naval techs? You'll need 15 and 15 to claim the "Quest for the New World" idea, right? Good luck to you. I'll be following.

[KillingMeSoftly]

Thanks for following!

I have a bit of a ways to go before I can pick up Quest for the New World. The year has to be 1520 it says on the tool tip, unless that's a mistake. Even so it'll probably be a while before I can reasonably get 15/15 in those techs! They'll be my main focus, though.

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 1

Spanish flights of fancy

The Year of Our Lord, 1400 dawns on the (sometimes) peaceful nation of Portugal. King João I soaks in the great prestige of his realm, but is far more interested in sending traders to Italy than commencing warfare.

Our military becomes divided concerning the current disposition of our majesty. Many of our commanders speak out for more expansion and greater glory for Portugal, while others remind us that our current strategy brings us greater wealth than ever before. These arguments create a divide among the nobility.

We decide Portugal will remain defensive. This is a nice event for us, as I plan to eventually go full defensive at some point. Defensive reduces our national revolt risk, stability cost, and artillery cost. It also increases our yearly diplomats and fort defenses. While all of this isn't worthwhile yet, it will become increasingly more relevant as the years pass.

Sardinia seems to have muslim troubles. Algiers and the Mamluks are sparring with the Italian nations for reasons we can't fathom.

Portugal's culture and wealth attract a brilliant grand captain seeking a place in our court. Our King dismisses his ambitions, however, much to the frustration of our hawkish nobility. The captain's talents are simply unneeded with no wars to fight.

Spain continues to "war" with some distant lands no one has ever heard of before. We believe that the Spanish King has gone insane and taken by strange moods. He continually orders his armies to embark and set sail around Iberia, only to land again in Granada. This repeats until King Ramiro III gets tired of chasing after enemies that only he can see.

Our excellent treasurer passes away after spending too many sleepless nights counting all of our gold. He was quite an obsessive person, but it's unfortunate because he was also quite skilled. King João I hires one of our well-known traders, and brings him to his court.

We aren't researching more Trade technology right now and competing in Liguria has been hit and miss. The Traders +8% bonus tips the scales, though. This also lets us begin placing merchants in Venezia and hopefully before long, Lubeck. Portugal only creates a little under 6 merchants per year, so it's been difficult holding onto our expanding trade network.

Unfortunately for us, England decides it's in their best interest to get into even more wars than they already are.

Portugese merchants arrive in Venezia and immediately set up shop. They fill their warehouses with huge stores of valuable trade goods and sell these back in the homeland. The influx of new iron, cloth, and salt is most useful to our army and their future endeavors.

We research Government 10, which gives us something we already have. Also it seems it'll take the better part of 30 years to reach the next level at our current pace, because we're so far ahead of the curve. Since it would be silly to invest anything more in this field for now, we switch our focus to Naval research.

King João I boasts that with our new wealth we may not even need an army anymore, and simply rely on mercenaries in the event of a war or rebellion. This doesn't sit well with the court, and our nobles begin to think that all this money is eroding our majesty's sensibilities. They are quite wrong, however, as our King has enough sensibility to use those coins! He bribes our trader to take the blame, who offers the excuse that he was simply number crunching and it was just a silly idea, after all. Oops?

Without ever touching the Production tech slider, we gain a new level! Hooray!

France calls Spain into the war against England, believing the Spanish armada can turn the tide and allow an invasion of the islands. A massive naval engagement soon breaks out in the Channel, and the English attempt to stop the landing in Cornwall.

The entire Spanish fleet is sent to the bottom of the English Channel, but the Spanish army manages to land and besiege the fortress at Cornwall. Was it worth it, Spain?

During all of this, our Land technology increases much like our Production technology had. Let's see how the Spaniards are fairing...

Not very good.

The Spanish lose at least 60 ships and 13,000 soldiers for absolutely no gains.

The people of Europe watch the great naval battles of the Hundred Years' War and wonder: "Where is Portugal?" "Why doesn't Portugal fight?" "They must have leaky ships and sissy sailors!"

To make sure they're wrong, at least mostly, we invest some money to patch up our ships. Just in case.

A "saint" performs a wondrous miracle at the court, bringing to life the King's long dead cat. This "saint" is actually the hired magician and the cat just happens to strike a remarkable resemblance. These odd moods seem to run through the Spanish bloodline. Regardless, this so-called miraculous event spreads like wildfire throughout the realm, bringing wayward sheep back to the Church.

The huge English fleet blockades the Andalusian port and gives Spain the stink eye. We fret about the possibility of war against England, but thankfully England doesn't bring an actual invasion. Instead, simply insults.

Elsewhere in the world, the last vestiges of ancient Rome fall to the Muslim. The Ottoman Empire seizes the City of the World's Desire, half a century early. The Ottomans and Mamluks are doing quite good while the great powers of Europe squabble over tiny pieces of land along the French coast.

A dastardly, masterful French sneak attack that will surely end the war!!

Without a fleet, the Spanish army marches across Europe and occupies Calais. That'll show the English!

[ve3609]

so far so good. I rarely see a Portugese AAR.

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 2

rowdy merchants...


The Year of Our Lord, 1405

"My Lord! Look at what those English bastards have done!"

"Good lord! They've occupied Spanish territory! Arm the men! To the ships!" King João I rushes from his throne room, shouting orders to everyone in hearing range.

"Wait, my Lord!" the out-of-breath messenger barely manages to catch up with the furious King, "You can't declare war on England!"

King João I nearly runs the messenger through with his drawn sword, assuming he must be an English turn-coat. But then his senses finally prevail, "Why can't we declare war on the British?"

"Because they're at war, sire."

"So?"

"But those are the rules, my king!"

"Preposterous! I'll just break the alliance and then-- Oh, wait, you're right," King João I sighs and returns to his throne, calling off his men, "Bring me my ledger, let us see if Spain will be able to retake their island fortress."

"It doesn't look good, sire!"

We see that Hungary is having some trouble with peasant revolts. They've already lost land to Austria, Bohemia, and Poland. We wonder if they can handle it.

Thankfully, Spain comes to their senses. We wonder if maintaining an Alliance with England is a good idea while Spain is allied with France. But we won't be able to break it until England finishes its war, which may be never at this point.

The English hear rumors of King João I's willingness to break the alliance. Thankfully the volatile situation is avoided by lining the pockets of one of the King's advisors.

Our naval reformer dies horribly while testing a new ship design. Our rich culture and navy tradition attracts the service of a skilled treasurer. We will be focusing on researching more Trade soon, so this is great.

Portuguese merchants bumrush the rich markets of Lubeck. They buy up as much as they can and raise quite a noisy fuss while doing it.

The benefits of their hoarding soon become evident. Exotic fish flood into our markets, making our people happy. But more important than peasants are the excellent naval supplies for our ships. If we can keep a dominant position in Lubeck, we'll be able to expand our royal armada. A noble goal!

King Ramiro III of Spain calls us to arms against a distant foe that none have ever heard of before. We begin to worry about our cousin's mental health. We accept the call regardless, as our own King feels its a fine excuse to levy war taxes to pad our treasury.

(Special Note: I'm not sure when/how it happened, but Latin America and South America are revealed. It's impossible to get there because the sea zones are still Terra Incognita. But this doesn't stop Spain and others from declaring Tribal Conquests on those nations, which is extremely annoying. Especially because Spain has a mission to conquer one of them. The AI doesn't seem to recognize they can't get over there. It's also disappointing because I wanted to personally explore those lands!)

The King of Burgundy is persuaded by Spain to join the "war" as well. We wonder if he has the same idea as us, or has been taken by Spain's whims.

It seems that rumors of distant savages made out of gold have even reached the lands of the heathen. Will the world soon be gripped by mass delusions?

We take the opportunity to commission a fine new Carrack. Long live the King!

Soon our merchants' rowdy behavior sees them kicked out of Lubeck. We will have to send less boisterous traders next time.

Prominent merchant princes in Portugal meet with King King João I. They petition the King to be allowed to purchase arms and armor from foreign nations, suggesting it will be much cheaper this way than pursuing our own innovation in these fields. Not willing to upset his hawkish nobility in this time of "war", the King refuses their offer.

The wealth of the Hanseatic Trade League knows no bounds. We are green with envy.

We advance in the field of naval technology, but abandon the faulty ship design our reformer was designing before his untimely death. Now we cut back spending on the navy and funnel our wealth into our treasurer's hands.

Portugal is called once more to arms against imaginary foes. We entertain the Spanish King's fancies, as otherwise we would dishonor the alliance. This is unfortunate for us, even with the war taxes, as such frivolous wars cause potential merchants to seek riches outside of our court. (-1 Merchant per year because of the war)!

Hungary manages to pick itself up off the floor. We wonder which side won? The peasants or the king?

A slider move becomes available, and we take the Free Trade route. This puts us at +2! Unfortunately, the fierce competition in Lisbon drives away a few of our merchants and causes them to hunt for greener pastures.

[KillingMeSoftly]

so far so good. I rarely see a Portugese AAR.

Welcome to the AAR! I didn't see anyone playing Portugal, either. I felt I needed to remedy this problem, and I happen to like playing Portugal anyway. So double bonus!

[morningSIDEr]

A good start to things, I like the rules you have set yourself as they'll keep things interesting. Protecting Spain likely to prove especially difficult considering their performance thus far.

The Spanish lose at least 60 ships and 13,000 soldiers for absolutely no gains.

Domestically things seem to be going well though, Joao a skilled King, although his diplomacy of 8 seems rather high considering the amount of court scandals he's already caused!

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 3

glory hounds

The Year of Our Lord, 1410

Our standing army is shy of being up to force limits. We recruit 2,000 additional soldiers and knights to bolster our defenses.

After decades of peace and prosperity, King João I begins to plan for a grand festival. Catching wind of his designs, his treasurer approaches the King and persuades him of a different plan: the courthouse in the Algarve is in much need of renovations, and after-all our people are quite happy anyway. What good would a festival be? Our wise King sees merit in this.

A young officer proves his mettle on the training fields, and whispers of his tactical genius circulate through the royal court. As we have no leader for our grand armies, King João I appoints him as our General. He is quite talented, indeed.

Our field of research advances in the area of Trade. We are ahead of the curve, but we decide to pursue the next level anyway. The projected date of the next increase is deceptive, as with each passing year the requirement lessens.

Spain gains the backing of a majority of cardinals in the Holy See. We wonder how our cousins will handle their new-found political-- I mean, spiritual-- clout.

Rebellion grips Mamluk provinces along the Red Sea. Nationalists seek independence!

The Ottoman Empire has overstepped their boundaries. A great coalition of Eastern European nations seek to strike down the heathen and drive them from the Balkans. So far it seems they have been quite successful, but only time will tell.

A talented captain has proven his worth and bestowed the rank of Admiral by our glorious King.

For once in many decades our military is led by skilled and talented commanders. Our fleet is the largest it can be without straining the capacity of our ports, while 20,000 men compose our modest army. Our new-found strength doesn't go unnoticed by our nobility, many of whom seek greater glory through warfare and expansion by claiming more land.

A group of mighty lords convene a council with King João I in the month of March. They argue that the heathen realm of Morocco, if left alone for too long, will become too dangerous and threaten our interests abroad. Already the Moroccan fleet rivals our own, and while their army is larger it is less disciplined and will surely crumble before our knights. Taking the strategic ports of Tangiers and Ceuta will assure our dominance in the region.

King João I deflects their arguments, reminding them that we don't have a just cause for war, even if they are muslims. There would be no honor! However, the council of lords have already hatched a cunning plan: Decades ago, the Pope called for a Crusade against the Golden Horde in the East. Diplomatic reports have informed us that Morocco and several other North African realms have allied themselves with the Horde. If we begin this war under the pretenses of a Crusade to the East, then the Muslim nations will surely accept the call to arms of their brethren.

The King is a bit stunned by the ambitions of his lords! But their plan may just work. Or doom us all. Our majesty approves the war, and diverts funding into the army and navy to bring them up to fighting shape in preparations for the conflict.

With preparations complete, 15000 soldiers and knights embark upon our fleet on the short voyage south. King João I issues the declaration of war against the savage Golden Horde, giving life the only Crusade in the last 50 years. Our duchies of Sicily and Naples follow us to battle, but we do not call Spain nor England into the war. The King has a desire to see how his nation fares on its own against the forces arrayed against it.

During all of this, our cities begin to demand greater autonomy. While resisting their desires will create some instability, which is unfortunate at this time, Portugal is strong enough to handle the backlash.

The enemy alliance that opposes our ambitions. The Golden Horde is no threat at all as it has no ships. They may be the "target" of our Crusade, but the real goal is weakening Morocco. Algiers and Tunisia join the war, and the latter becomes the war leader. The Mamluks are the Defenders of the Sunni Faith, but cowardly abandon their brethren in need. They are much too preoccupied with the revolution raging through their lands. Very fortunate for us.

We immediately see the powerful effects. Crusaders from all across Christendom flock to our banner. We put them to use and begin raising new regiments to supplement our invasion force.

King João I knows the most important battle of the war will be fought at sea. Morocco's navy is comparable to our own, but we put faith in our skilled admiral. If we fail to crush the Moroccan fleet, then our plans will be delayed for at least a year.

Predictably, the Moroccan armada sorties from its home port to intercept our landing at Tangiers. A great naval battle rages in the Straights of Gibraltar.

The superior tactics of Admiral Aveiro bring our first taste of victory. Our cannons batter the Moroccan fleet, and after suffering under our fire for some time they attempt to flee. Several of their ships are too damaged to escape and are captured. Unfortunately the greater part of their armada manages to retire to port for repairs, but will not be a threat for the remainder of the war.

Several cardinals and the Pope himself back our crusade. The upswing of religious fervor sees the Ottoman Empire being driven out of the Balkans and North Africa under attack by Crusaders; the papacy must surely be pleased. Little do they know that our ambitions are rooted in far more... temporal matters.

The entire heathen army gathers and then launches an attack to break the Siege of Tangiers. 26,000 soldiers are arrayed against our own 15,000. Luckily by this time we are already landing 5,000 reinforcements on their shores.

During the great battle, a boundary dispute erupts along the Spanish border. We ease tensions by dismissing our admittedly weak claims.

In a brilliant maneuver, General Pereira orders the reinforcements to come around and attack the rear of the enemy formation. A complete slaughter ensues and the large Moroccan army is utterly decimated. The tattered remains of their force flee, and our general chases them to Ceuta.

It is a total route, though a tiny fraction of Morocco's army manages to slip away to the south west. Confident that we've bested the Moroccans, we begin to lay siege to Tangiers and Ceuta. Once these key forts are in our hands, we'll have a foothold in Africa and greater capacity to reinforce and resupply our armies.

Not anticipating any naval invasions from Morocco, our fleet is given orders to sail east and relieve the Tunisian blockade of Sicily and Naples. Our duchies are bearing the brunt of the attack by Morocco's allies, and need our assistance! On the way, Admiral Aveiro spots the Algerian fleet and engages it off the Barbary Coast.



To be continued...

[morningSIDEr]

A most promising start to the war with Pereira trouncing Morocco's army and Aveiro her navy. Quite right that Portugal has been made Papal Controller following such a devoutly inspired war too!

[KillingMeSoftly]

A most promising start to the war with Pereira trouncing Morocco's army and Aveiro her navy. Quite right that Portugal has been made Papal Controller following such a devoutly inspired war too!

Yes! Things have been going very smoothly, but Portugal's good fortune is soon to run out.

[Ashantai]

Very impressive mix of history and pictures! Portugal AARs are rare, so this is a welcome sight for me! Well done.

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 4

the tides of war

The Year of Our Lord, 1412

The Portuguese Crusade rages...

The Battle of the Barbary Coast is a brilliant victory! Admiral Aveiro nearly sinks the entire Algerian fleet. Our royal armada continues to sail east to relieve our duchies, both are fighting (but losing) naval engagements. The presence of our fleet swings the Italian theatre into our favor.

We use this opportunity to send a new wave of merchants (softer spoken ones, this time) into Lubeck. Our fleet swells with captured muslim ships beyond our usual capacity. We need more naval supplies to keep our ships well stocked and in fighting shape.

General Pereira lures the remaining Moroccan army into a battle by leaving the siege of Tangiers lightly manned. As soon as the battle commences, we march our army west to ambush the Moroccans.

The tactic pays off and the enemy army is beaten, but not defeated. Our scouts detect a sizable Algierian army directly to our south waiting in the mountains. General Pereira decides not to pursue the fleeing army as it is too risky.

The Moroccan army slips further south to recover, and the Algierian army moves west into open terrain. Now is a perfect time to attack! Leaving behind a token force to maintain the siege of Tangiers, our brave general leads our glorious army into another battle.

The enemy commander proves to be a worthy adversary, providing the first real challenge in the war. Our armies clash, but the Algierians are made of sterner stuff than their brethren. With our smaller army and limited supplies, there is nothing to gain from continuing the battle. General Pereira disengages, and we march back to Tangiers to recover and finish the siege.

A fresh army of 5,000 soldiers has been raised in Portugal to supplement our invasion. We hire a new general, an old noble noticeably less talented than Pereira. However, we don't like the idea of armies running around without commanders in the desert. Even though General Correia is totally unremarkable, he understands logistics well enough to reduce attrition of our numbers due to the harsh climate.

Our heir is introduced to the courts of Europe. He possesses a keen mind that is readily apparent to all who meet him. This is a good trait for a future king, and thus increases our prestige.

The Moroccan army has time to replenish its dwindled numbers thanks to the timely assistance of Algiers. Our siege is going well and their fortress will fall very soon. Our reinforcements wait on the ships in the event the enemy army attacks. Otherwise their presence on land would strain our supplies too greatly.

The Fortress of Tangiers falls, and immediately fresh soldiers and new supplies begin to stream into the occupied territory. We now have a foothold on North Africa! The enemy army outnumbers us considerably, but mirrors the start of the Crusade-- 26,000 muslim troops arrayed against us. Portugal has several more regiments in the area than before, however! Unfortunately none of them are at full strength. General Pereira allows his men to rest and recuperate for the planned offensive in a few months time.

Adal nationalists throw down the oppressive yoke of the Mamluk tyrants, and form a new nation. We wonder how long they can hold on to their lands utterly surrounded by their enemy. Ultimately, such affairs of insignificant heathen nations are no concern for us. But we thank them for keeping the Mamluks too occupied to be bothered with our Crusade.

Our men grow restless after a month in the desert without any fighting. The new crusaders arriving on the shores of Tangiers are itching to take the fight to the heathen instead of waiting for it to come to us. General Pereira senses an opportunity for a quick battle to thin the Moroccan army. We march east and engage them.

It proves to be an ill-advised endeavor. General Pereira vows to never listen to the impetuous demands of foolish crusaders for the remainder of the war. If they manage to make it out of this hellish desert alive!

Reports of the Crusade's current defeats pour into King João I's court. With the disaster at Ceuta, our majesty worries that Portugal has bit off more than it can chew. The Muslims are proving to be far more resilient than his lords made them credit for months earlier. There is little threat to Portugal itself as our fleet is strong and will easily repel any invasion. Regardless, King João I feels its time to call on his allies. Spain will surely turn the tide! It may make us seem weak in the eyes of Europe, but we are far more interested in victory than saving face.

In the wake of our crumbling hold on North Africa, new rumors begin to spread throughout Portugal and abroad. Our heir has been quite busy playing with the chamber maids of the palace, instead of attending his duties and setting an example befitting the crown prince. With our precarious situation in the war, King João I can't afford to scold his son publicly. In the long run, tarnishing the royal bloodline may be worse than the outcome of the Crusade!

A pitched battle erupts outside the Fortress of Tangiers. The Algierian warlord Muhammad II Zayyanid personally leads the assault. During the battle, General Pereira learns that the Algerian lord is the same one who bested him months earlier! Before long the Moroccan army joins, turning the battle into a desperate struggle for survival.

Amidst the melee, a miraculous event occurs. Algiers catches wind of Spain's declaration of war and becomes spooked. Muhammad II Zayyanid may be a commander whose skill rivals even our generals, but he is also a coward! They disengage from the conflict and retreat across the mountains, leaving the Moroccan brothers to their fate.

While our Crusaders fight for their very lives on a god-forsaken strip of land, this year's vintage cannot be any more excellent. The fine wines we make and import from Europe will keep our people blissfully unaware of our Crusade's impending defeat.

Unfortunately, the damage has been done. The Algierian warlord weakened our army beyond the point of being able to resist the Moroccans. Our lines crumble, but General Carreia and a small group of defenders stay behind to screen the royal army's withdrawal. The tattered remains of our once-glorious Crusader army rushes to the ships in a mad panic. They just managing to embark on our transports as General Carreia is beaten back into the fortress.

Only a few months ago, our victory seemed assured. The tides of war are ever shifting, Pereira muses.

General Pereira sails back to Portugal in defeat. The desire to raise a fresh army and relieve the siege of Tangiers burns hot in his mind. Will the fortress hold out long enough? Will King João I even want to continue the Crusade?

[MrQwerty]

Well that's unfortunate . The Muslim nations are push-overs for most Europeans, but alas Portugal does not have the force limits to raise a large enough army. Maybe you can claim Tangiers at least, before the war drags on for too long?

[KillingMeSoftly]

CHAPTER 5

african ambitions

The Year of Our Lord, 1413

General Pereira and the 2,000 or so remaining crusaders land in Portugal. The battered, ragged army is a disgrace to the royal court and proof of our defeat on the shores of North Africa. Pereira is summoned to a private audience with King João I, and many nobles fear this the end of their war. Possibly the end of a brilliant general's career, too.

Instead, our majesty and his general draw up plans for a new invasion. When King João I asks what is needed to make the occupation of Morocco a reality, Pereira replies "More men"! With Algiers out of the war, and Tunisia cut off, Morocco stands alone. There will be none to relieve them. The fatal flaw in our original plan was underestimating the Muslim, believing them to be weak. We still hold Tangiers, but the fortress will only stand for a few months as it is already damaged from earlier battles. We have to act soon if we're going to keep our foothold on North Africa.

The royal army sets up camp in the Algarve to rearm, resupply, and reinforce. It will take many months before the 20 regiments of footmen and knights return to fighting strength. A call to arms is issued to hopeful crusaders across the realm. Despite the earlier setbacks, the religious fervor gripping Portugal sees the training of 7,000 new soldiers. However, this strains our natural ability to supply our men. Thankfully Portugal is awash with coin and her traders bring goods from markets all across Europe.

Our patrols spot the Moroccan fleet off the coast. Perhaps they felt now would be an opportune time to raid our coasts, but they are wrong. A combined armada of Portuguese and Spanish ships utterly crush them and send their fleet to the bottom of the ocean. Morocco's navy is now nothing more than some fishing boats.

Spain has little interest of committing their armies to the Crusade, but readily lend their naval superiority. Truthfully we don't need their assistance on the seas, but they do us a good favor and blockade the ports of the enemy. At least our cousins are useful somewhere. It seems the Spanish King is interested in seeing how we fair without their considerable muscle.

Reports filter in that the walls of our fort have been broken. Curiously, our spies in the region also tell us that the main Moroccan army marches south. They leave behind a token force to complete the siege of Tangiers. They must believe we have no intentions of returning. They are very, very wrong.

After several months, our crusader army swells with fresh recruits totaling nearly 14,000 men. While our regiments are still not at full fighting strength, now is the time to lift the siege before it is too late. We must save General Correia and his courageous defenders! The orders to embark onto the fleet are given, and our valiant crusaders land on the shores of Tangiers once more and immediately attack the besieging force.

The second army arrives in Lisbon, eager to fight the heathens and reclaim our glory. We have no suitable commander, but they have plenty of spunk regardless.

Our grand army crushes the besieging force and saves our trapped men from their grisly fate. Tangiers will remain ours!

The second army disembarks to besiege the stronghold at Ceuta, and are given orders to disperse the enemy soldiers collecting in the area.

The Moroccan general is lured into attacking the small force besieging Ceuta. They fall for the same trick that crushed their army in the opening battle of the Crusade. General Pereira waits in Tangiers, and once the enemy is committed to the battle he marches to flank them.

The results are devastating. We lose count of how many Moroccans are slain in the field, and there are more pressing matters than counting their dead. Pereira gives chase across the desert and along the coast.

The Church lends its considerable wealth to the State, in an effort to ensure victory in this most holy crusade. We thank them for their generous donation to our righteous cause. This gives us an opportunity to cut back the taxes on our people, increasing the morale of the entire realm.

General Pereira's dogged chase runs down the fleeing Moroccans, who surrender without a fight. Portugal is truly blessed to have such skilled commanders.

Meanwhile, our duchies take the fight to the Tartars. While we have no plans to hold onto these lands, our subjects at least keep up the image that our crusade is more than an excuse. Thanks, guys!

Men loyal to the Moroccan warlords rise up in arms in an attempt to break our siege at Ceuta. General Pereira splits his force, leaving behind a large contingent to besiege Toubkhal while he personally leads a flanking maneuver against the revolt.

The revolt is put to the sword and utterly crushed. Hopefully this will dissuade the locals from attempting it again. General Pereira marches south to link up his split army.

A fresh Moroccan army watches us from the mountains. Meanwhile we've broken through the defenses at Ceuta and begin the assault for the keep. It is a pitched battle, but the castle now flies the Portuguese flag. We're definitely making headway now.

The heathen army is led by a new, but desperate, commander. Morocco tries to reverse her bleak fortunes and attempts to recapture Ceuta. General Pereira senses an opportunity to soundly defeat the enemy. Leaving a token regiment to continue the siege at Toubkhal, he splits his army once more. Sending one into the mountains to cut off the Moroccan retreat, while the main force marches to Ceuta for yet another flanking attack.

They never see it coming.

But they really should have.

The shattered army is driven into the mountains where it is ambushed by our forces laying in wait. The result isn't pretty.

We lay siege to the strategic fortress in Fez. This is one of two key strongholds we must take for us to claim victory over Morocco.

We cancel our mission to protect against Burgundy. If we ever had a chance to complete that objective, it would have been during our Crusade. Our war with Morocco proves to our King that Africa is much larger than we once believed. Bases must be set up along the West African coast! Unfortunately, this vision from our Lord is even more impossible than the last. We have no idea where this "West Africa" even is, or how to get there!

(In addition to parts of Central America and South America already being revealed, a portion of the African coast is as well. However we can't get there because Terra Incognita sea zones. I'm not sure if this was an event with D&T that revealed these areas, or a bug, but it's definitely annoying.)

Toubkhal falls to the might of our Crusaders. The final prize of Marrakech lies before us. If the Moroccan capital is sacked, they will surely capitulate and give into our demands. The conclusion of our holy war draws near.

[KillingMeSoftly]

Very impressive mix of history and pictures! Portugal AARs are rare, so this is a welcome sight for me! Well done.

Welcome to the AAR! And thanks! Enjoy your stay!

Well that's unfortunate . The Muslim nations are push-overs for most Europeans, but alas Portugal does not have the force limits to raise a large enough army. Maybe you can claim Tangiers at least, before the war drags on for too long?

That's a good suggestion and I tried that immediately, but I hadn't racked up enough war score. Getting our armies kicked around hurt us there. So it was either give up for nothing, or come back. I'm a good bit over force limits now, but thankfully I hoarded plenty of cash before hand and a lucky event makes it worth raising a bunch of new regiments. I'll just disband them when it's over. I've not had war taxes going either so war exhaustion is still very low (4.xx), meaning it only took a couple months to raise a new army. I've noticed in D&T war exhaustion accumulates MUCH quicker with war taxes so I try to avoid it unless I'm desperate for money. A good change, I think.

[morningSIDEr]

Things were going so well until Algiers entered the war! Thankfully things are going well once again now that Algiers has exited the war. Still, rather bruising stuff, nonetheless at least victory seems likely once again and with it the riches which follow.

[franciscolpo]

Nice to see a Portuguese ARR.
And nice job on your Moroccan invasion.

[KillingMeSoftly]

Nice to see a Portuguese ARR.
And nice job on your Moroccan invasion.

Thanks! Welcome to the AAR!




Sorry to everyone reading, I've not had a chance to update this week. Been busy! But there will be one soon, so no worries!