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II - First Steps
The first thing to do is to be clear who my friends and enemies are. I choose Portugal, Castile and Algiers as my rivals, with the last being labelled as my enemy by the game already. On the other hand I have brokered an alliance with Granada and after just few days into the game I received an offer from Tunisia as well, which I gladly accepted as they might prove useful against Algiers.
On the Iberian peninsula there lies three powerful kingdoms, but only two of them are of immediate concern to me. Portugal owns Ceuta, which should obviously belong to Morocco, but poses no direct threat at this point, whereas Castile is both powerful and has its eyes set on Granada and will DOW them at any moment. That in mind I will be concentrating my efforts against Castile at this point.
Then there's Aragon. I don't share a border with them and neither are they too keen to attack me or my allies at this point, while at the same time we have a common enemy - Castile. This might prove to be fertile ground for a future alliance, and I send my diplomat to improve our relations.
First and foremost I must now concentrate on building an army though. I have quite a low income - just over 5 ducats a month, which is comparable to that of Georgia. Considering the fact that it is essential for me to recruit and rely on cavalry at this point, since superior numbers are an unrealistic goal, it is going to be a lengthy and costly venture and I hope I will be able to pull it off before Castile goes after Granada. I also begin hauling my troops to Iberia in preparation for the future. I'm quite confident that Aragon won't dare to attack me unless I am beaten down already by someone else, and can safely leave my home unguarded.
Barely a month into the game I receive some good news.
A heir! And what a heir! Well, he's no Frederick, but I sure am happy about those stats.
As I was speaking of income earlier on, lets take a closer look at that.
This was actually taken a few years into the game but it is basically same as at the beginning, apart from having more costly army after my recruitment spree was finished. As you can see Morocco is a poor poor country despite its size, and the inflation is rocketing thanks to my gold mines. Finding new and more reliable sources of income is crucial for Morocco's future survival as the current situation is far from sustainable.
Trade could be a viable option, especially since I am close to Sevilla trade node which is bound to become very rich very soon once colonialism kicks off. I am also sitting on Safi trade node, which is dirt poor and can be ignored at this point, but might become more prosperous once somebody gets trade going from around the Cape. Right now my merchants will concentrate on collecting income from Seville and transferring trade from Tunis.
About a year into the game I hire another advisor, Yusuf the natural scientist, who provides me with -10% admin tech cost which will come in handy since I want to reach and pick the first idea group before it is time to bid farewell to Morocco.
Elsewhere in the world the Ottomans annex Albania and move on to harassing poor Dulkadir. Right after an Ottoman army begins besieging their only province, Aq Qoyunlu (AQ) thinks it would be a brilliant idea to DOW them as well... Their neighbour and Shiite namesake Qara Qoyunlu (QQ) on the other hand has Georgia on their mind, which is soon flooded by angry nomads.
My attempt to forge an alliance with Aragon is proceeding rather well. They still view me as a baggage and a burden, but I hope that a near-200 relation and my future army will convince them otherwise.
I also get to give to the poor. At this point I am trying to achieve as high a piousness as possible, as it grants me extra morale for armies, extra missionary strength and a nice bonus to fort defense which will all come handy in the un-reconquista. Impiety on the other hand would grant me extra manpower, extra taxes and a neat 10% tech boost, which is where I would lead Morocco after establishing myself in Iberia but I doubt I will have the time for it.
Meanwhile the Timurids go to war with their Azeri neighbours, the Pope annexes Urbino and the Ottomans move on from Dulkadir to Candahar. It is essential that I keep a close eye on what's going on elsewhere in the world and also to keep you informed since all of these events will influence what nation I should play next. Morocco is in a perfect position for this since I am able to see nearly all of Europe, the Middle East as well as all the way down to Swahili and South-East Asia, including a full view of things on the Indian peninsula.
On 1st of January 1448 I am finally done with my recruitments, with my whole army based in Gibraltar. I was aiming to have an army of 20 000 men but it would have become way too costly as I am already way over my land forcelimits. The current stack consists of 10 000 infantry and 7000 cavalry and right now I will start saving money for a nice war chest from which I can recruit mercenaries to patch up the numbers as soon as we are hit by the inevitable war.
It seems that Ayutthaya is doing just fine without me in the East, while Georgia is forced to cede Circassia to QQ, who immediately ends up being DOW'd by AQ, hoping to do some cherry-picking while the Timurids are grinding down the armies of QQ. Back in Europe the HRE is engulfed in the usual petty wars, and Scotland suddenly declares war on England while they are busy losing the Hundred Years' War.
Obviously I will pick the pious option again. It also gives me a nice prestige boost, bringing me up on the positive side.
My current piety has reached a neat 90%, with the bonuses stacking up nicely. That +0.90% to army morale will hopefully tip the balance in my favour in future wars, not to mention the extra missionary strength which I will desperately need if I am to convert all the rich Iberian provinces in the future.
Poor QQ has had it for good, I am sure of it. I wonder whether there'll be anything left of them after this rampage. Even the Mamluks joined in on the fun on the side of their Timurid allies.
A bit further south we have Ethiopia struggling to overcome Adal, while Yemen is being hammered down by Hedjaz and Oman.
But let's get back to Morocco. I am sorry that there's been an unfortunate lack of action from my side, but now it is time to get on with our business with Castile.
Why of course Andalucía should be Moroccan! We might not be the Almohads, but I'm sure we can still lay a proper claim to Al-Andalus. Still, it seems that Castile won't be idly waiting for me to attack.
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Let's see if you can defeat Castille and form Andalusia!
This might convice me to play a Morroco EU4 - Vic2 mega-campaign
This might convice me to play a Morroco EU4 - Vic2 mega-campaign
You really have to watch out for that inflation, I'd normally say an inflation advisor is mandatory (you can reload until you get it), also Tripoli, Tunisia, and Granada can all be offered vassalization without getting into war. If you get a good start Portugal will lose their army in France, and Castille and Aragon will duke it out.
If you get a bad start they all team up >.<
If you get a bad start they all team up >.<
@robin the red: No worries, there will be many more to come. In the current game with Morocco I am nearing the end date and next elections should be held after max 3-4 updates.
@videonfan: Well I hope it will and I hope I can! I always thought that Morocco would be a rather tedious country to play but they are actually great fun!
@RMcD94: Well, I would view reloading until I get one to be a gamey trick, which I try to avoid using. But you are right, inflation is a real killer. I actually do have an inflation reducing advisor available right now but I don't have the money to hire him at the moment. I guess this is one of those good starts, I forgot to mention it in the AAR, but the Portuguese army got decimated while fighting in Provence. Not that it matters much at this point.
And so it begins. I immediately hire 4 regiments of mercenaries back in Morocco and reposition my main army to be able to step in and defend Granada's 4000-strong forces besieging Córdoba, the grand-city of past Moorish Iberia.
Unfortunately the DOW came a tad too early for my plans to form an anti-Castilian coalition with Aragon. Just a few more years and I might have had them on my side... though I am doubtful whether they would have actually stepped in to help me in this struggle.
Before the war in Spain really kicked off, Timurids finally signed a (crushing) peace with QQ, while elsewhere the Livonian Order annexed Riga and Friesland did the same to East Frisia. But that's the last bit of news from rest of the world for a while. Time to concentrate on what matters most. Back in Iberia my plans came to a halt by something I should have expected but for some reason didn't prepare for.
A blockade by the Castilian Armada. Great, now my reinforcements are stuck in Africa and there's no way I can defeat Castile on the high seas. On top of that I ran out of money and had to take one of my many loans to come.
Things heated up pretty quick around Granada, with the entire Castilian army pouring south to crush the siege in Córdoba. To my surprise I realised that me and Granada held the superior numbers, but despite this I was certain the following battle would be an equally balanced struggle for all or nothing. However, suddenly something unexpected happened. As soon as my men had joined in to reinforce the Granadans, the Castilian main army decided to change course and head south to Jaén instead.
Going good, the number flying on top of the Castilian army that you can't see in its entirety is in the 1700s, which means the Spanish were suffering casualties more than double to ours. Unfortunately, since Granada was the leader of this battle my men didn't enjoy the extra 5% to discipline granted by my advisor or the gap in casualties would have been even higher.
As soon as the Guardia Real had arrived to Jaén, they started heading towards the battle again... what lies behind this mysterious manoeuvring I cannot tell, but it sealed the fate of the battle.
I'd call that a massacre. It also put Guardia Real on a new course once again, this time heading towards Granada.
A bit further south I took a risky decision and decided to try and brake free from the blockade. While my main fleet was desperately fighting off the three times larger Castilian navy, I managed to retreat my transport fleet to Gulf of Almeria unharmed. To my surprise I didn't lose a single ship in this venture, and to top it off, Castile deemed it unnecessary to go after my transports before my mercenaries had managed to cross safely into Iberia.
And so, it was time for another major battle to commence.
At the beginning of the battle I realised I had forgot to assign a leader (the splendid Sultan Abdalhaqq himself!) to my army. Luckily at this point my mercs were still on their way and the deficit was quickly repaired. Not that a leader with only +2 to fire was to be of any significant advantage.
And another loan... I was still playing by the old EU3 system where after 5 loans you would go bankrupt, but then I checked out and realised that I can have up to 113 concurrent loans active! Well, it did give me a bit room to breathe more freely but I still hope this war won't last too long and drive me debt-ridden.
Although victory is always a victory, this one wasn't as sweet as the previous one. Those are some heavy losses I had to endure. But even so, I have had the better of the Castilians and their armies are on the retreat to north. But how about the impact of these victories?
Well that is disheartening. The Castilians still greatly outnumber my forces, not to mention that while my manpower is sinking like a ball of lead dropped in the sea, theirs is still on the healthy side of things. And thanks to blockades, the actual warscore remains at -2% in their favour.
In the light of these facts, I decided to go for an all or nothing approach - a great chase to the north would begin with an attempt to decimate the Spanish forces for good. Note, that the earlier army that I defeated in Córdoba had retreated to Cantabria as well, and a good while ago which means they must have already reached their destination and have recuperated a little. If they remain in Cantabria and join forces with Guardia Real, I stand little chances against them as they have the numbers and terrain on their side, and are in possession of greater leaders not to mention that they will be reinforcing in home terrain while my armies are practically drying out on this great trek.
What happens next? Is this the end of Islam in Iberia? Or is it the beginning of a new era? What happened up north was to decide the fate of things to come so stay tuned!
@videonfan: Well I hope it will and I hope I can! I always thought that Morocco would be a rather tedious country to play but they are actually great fun!
@RMcD94: Well, I would view reloading until I get one to be a gamey trick, which I try to avoid using. But you are right, inflation is a real killer. I actually do have an inflation reducing advisor available right now but I don't have the money to hire him at the moment. I guess this is one of those good starts, I forgot to mention it in the AAR, but the Portuguese army got decimated while fighting in Provence. Not that it matters much at this point.
III - The Battle for the Fate of Granada
And so it begins. I immediately hire 4 regiments of mercenaries back in Morocco and reposition my main army to be able to step in and defend Granada's 4000-strong forces besieging Córdoba, the grand-city of past Moorish Iberia.
Unfortunately the DOW came a tad too early for my plans to form an anti-Castilian coalition with Aragon. Just a few more years and I might have had them on my side... though I am doubtful whether they would have actually stepped in to help me in this struggle.
Before the war in Spain really kicked off, Timurids finally signed a (crushing) peace with QQ, while elsewhere the Livonian Order annexed Riga and Friesland did the same to East Frisia. But that's the last bit of news from rest of the world for a while. Time to concentrate on what matters most. Back in Iberia my plans came to a halt by something I should have expected but for some reason didn't prepare for.
A blockade by the Castilian Armada. Great, now my reinforcements are stuck in Africa and there's no way I can defeat Castile on the high seas. On top of that I ran out of money and had to take one of my many loans to come.
Things heated up pretty quick around Granada, with the entire Castilian army pouring south to crush the siege in Córdoba. To my surprise I realised that me and Granada held the superior numbers, but despite this I was certain the following battle would be an equally balanced struggle for all or nothing. However, suddenly something unexpected happened. As soon as my men had joined in to reinforce the Granadans, the Castilian main army decided to change course and head south to Jaén instead.
Going good, the number flying on top of the Castilian army that you can't see in its entirety is in the 1700s, which means the Spanish were suffering casualties more than double to ours. Unfortunately, since Granada was the leader of this battle my men didn't enjoy the extra 5% to discipline granted by my advisor or the gap in casualties would have been even higher.
As soon as the Guardia Real had arrived to Jaén, they started heading towards the battle again... what lies behind this mysterious manoeuvring I cannot tell, but it sealed the fate of the battle.
I'd call that a massacre. It also put Guardia Real on a new course once again, this time heading towards Granada.
A bit further south I took a risky decision and decided to try and brake free from the blockade. While my main fleet was desperately fighting off the three times larger Castilian navy, I managed to retreat my transport fleet to Gulf of Almeria unharmed. To my surprise I didn't lose a single ship in this venture, and to top it off, Castile deemed it unnecessary to go after my transports before my mercenaries had managed to cross safely into Iberia.
And so, it was time for another major battle to commence.
At the beginning of the battle I realised I had forgot to assign a leader (the splendid Sultan Abdalhaqq himself!) to my army. Luckily at this point my mercs were still on their way and the deficit was quickly repaired. Not that a leader with only +2 to fire was to be of any significant advantage.
And another loan... I was still playing by the old EU3 system where after 5 loans you would go bankrupt, but then I checked out and realised that I can have up to 113 concurrent loans active! Well, it did give me a bit room to breathe more freely but I still hope this war won't last too long and drive me debt-ridden.
Although victory is always a victory, this one wasn't as sweet as the previous one. Those are some heavy losses I had to endure. But even so, I have had the better of the Castilians and their armies are on the retreat to north. But how about the impact of these victories?
Well that is disheartening. The Castilians still greatly outnumber my forces, not to mention that while my manpower is sinking like a ball of lead dropped in the sea, theirs is still on the healthy side of things. And thanks to blockades, the actual warscore remains at -2% in their favour.
In the light of these facts, I decided to go for an all or nothing approach - a great chase to the north would begin with an attempt to decimate the Spanish forces for good. Note, that the earlier army that I defeated in Córdoba had retreated to Cantabria as well, and a good while ago which means they must have already reached their destination and have recuperated a little. If they remain in Cantabria and join forces with Guardia Real, I stand little chances against them as they have the numbers and terrain on their side, and are in possession of greater leaders not to mention that they will be reinforcing in home terrain while my armies are practically drying out on this great trek.
What happens next? Is this the end of Islam in Iberia? Or is it the beginning of a new era? What happened up north was to decide the fate of things to come so stay tuned!
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This is getting tense! Also, im going to guess that one of the options for the next time will by in the central Asia/turkey rejain?
Seem to be in a position to lead Morocco to victory against Castille! That would be quite an amazing feat, and will be very interesting to see the AI handle that when you change nations Looking forward to seeing how this war concludes.
Looking forward to seeing how this war concludes.
You will definatly win now,you just need to destroy completly their armies and carpet - siege Castille.Now Aragon and Portugal would be a different matter...
In my game,Portugal blockaded me and Castille defeated my army(they were in an alliance) so I had to wait many years so that the warscore could go over 10% even though Portugal had 13 war exhaustion and I had conquered Ceuta
In my game,Portugal blockaded me and Castille defeated my army(they were in an alliance) so I had to wait many years so that the warscore could go over 10% even though Portugal had 13 war exhaustion and I had conquered Ceuta
@robin the red: Possibly, looking at the way things are developing I think it would be one of the more interesting regions to play in at the moment.
@tnick0225: Indeed it would be very interesting! If I do win... That's why I can't go too reckless with any nation, I need to think of the future AI as well, and to try and land the countries I play in a stable and sustainable form that the AI can handle. At least in my previous games AI controlled countries have been notoriously incompetent at handling even small rebellions, leading to empires falling apart because their doomstacks were too busy besieging provinces of their allies' enemies at some far corner of Europe...
@videonfan: Ouch, that sucks. At this point in time Portugal is still relatively strong and Castile is a behemoth compared to Morocco. I was lucky enough to only have to deal with one of them.
I was lucky enough that the army I had defeated earlier was no longer staying in Cantabria, but had moved to Asturias as I later discovered (where the Guardia Real was attempting to escape as well). The "battle" was quickly over and the Castilian main army completely annihilated.
The day also marked an end for the story of Gelre.
Next in line were the Spanish infantry resting in Asturias. I had to set my army on a course through Leon to prevent them from slipping away.
Meanwhile my relation boost with Aragon hit the maximum and by the looks of it I should be able to pull off an alliance with them after the war. Gives me a nice cosy feeling of extra security if nothing else. I also boosted my stability to +2 and had to use 150 diplo points to reduce my war exhaustion down by 4 from 4.35. The Castilian blockade, coupled with my losses in battles, keeps it on an unfortunate surge upwards.
Another great victory.
The Spaniards are on a retreat to Murcia, but with barely over 1000 men they are as good as done for. With the Castilian armies decimated I cannot relax and consider myself a victor yet. They are still high on manpower and are sitting on a pile of gold. Not long before wiping out the rest of their army they went on a recruitment spree, with new troops under way in every province in sight.
Meanwhile I receive news of a Great Eastern War evolving as Poland clashes against the Teutonic Order. The Polish alliance is stronger but only so and so. The outcome is impossible predict at this point. Elsewhere the Ottomans reduced the Byzantine Empire to Constantinople, but a large coalition against OE including the Mamluks will give them some protection for the time being.
Although I hate to take the piety hit, I am in desperate need of money and putting the next loan off by just a month or two will help me in the long run. Besides, there are bound to be many more opportunities to move back towards piousness.
With the Spanish armies destroyed, it is time to move onto sieging some provinces. Granada is already done with Córdoba and unfortunately they managed to move towards Andalucía - a province I have a diplomat forging a claim on, before my men.
And with that, the situation in Europe went from this:
To this:
Nothing new under the sun of course, but it does put all those HRE minors into a very unfortunate position.
Meanwhile I move on to besieging the Castilian capital in Toledo, while my main forces play a little whack-a-mole with fresh Spanish recruits. I also hired a new general who is a military genius compared to my monarch with his whooping +1 to shock. I clear out all of the small Castilian stacks in the south and get news of the Ottomans going to war against Serbia which is busy conquering Bosnia, while the Golden Horde goes after the remnants of QQ.
Suddenly I see more Spanish pouring south from the north and immediately move my main forces to counter them. They might be small stacks but I can't afford to let them join forces. Divide and conquer will be the strategy of the day.
And once more the Castilians outnumber me. Again, my hope lies in keeping them divided and separated while I take them out stack by stack.
And that's the situation at the end of this update. As you can see my situation is good and steady but one or two mistakes could collapse my entire progress in the war. I also have barely any manpower left and my income is sinking low with three loans in the fold already. However, the war has went much, much better than I had anticipated.
I will probably post another update today since I have free time in my hands. I'd also like to know whether you prefer the images laid in the middle like in this update, or was the earlier style of keeping them at the sideline better?
@tnick0225: Indeed it would be very interesting! If I do win...
That's why I can't go too reckless with any nation, I need to think of the future AI as well, and to try and land the countries I play in a stable and sustainable form that the AI can handle. At least in my previous games AI controlled countries have been notoriously incompetent at handling even small rebellions, leading to empires falling apart because their doomstacks were too busy besieging provinces of their allies' enemies at some far corner of Europe...@videonfan: Ouch, that sucks. At this point in time Portugal is still relatively strong and Castile is a behemoth compared to Morocco. I was lucky enough to only have to deal with one of them.
IV - Spanish Annihilation
I was lucky enough that the army I had defeated earlier was no longer staying in Cantabria, but had moved to Asturias as I later discovered (where the Guardia Real was attempting to escape as well). The "battle" was quickly over and the Castilian main army completely annihilated.
The day also marked an end for the story of Gelre.
Next in line were the Spanish infantry resting in Asturias. I had to set my army on a course through Leon to prevent them from slipping away.
Meanwhile my relation boost with Aragon hit the maximum and by the looks of it I should be able to pull off an alliance with them after the war. Gives me a nice cosy feeling of extra security if nothing else. I also boosted my stability to +2 and had to use 150 diplo points to reduce my war exhaustion down by 4 from 4.35. The Castilian blockade, coupled with my losses in battles, keeps it on an unfortunate surge upwards.
Another great victory.
The Spaniards are on a retreat to Murcia, but with barely over 1000 men they are as good as done for. With the Castilian armies decimated I cannot relax and consider myself a victor yet. They are still high on manpower and are sitting on a pile of gold. Not long before wiping out the rest of their army they went on a recruitment spree, with new troops under way in every province in sight.
Meanwhile I receive news of a Great Eastern War evolving as Poland clashes against the Teutonic Order. The Polish alliance is stronger but only so and so. The outcome is impossible predict at this point. Elsewhere the Ottomans reduced the Byzantine Empire to Constantinople, but a large coalition against OE including the Mamluks will give them some protection for the time being.
Although I hate to take the piety hit, I am in desperate need of money and putting the next loan off by just a month or two will help me in the long run. Besides, there are bound to be many more opportunities to move back towards piousness.
With the Spanish armies destroyed, it is time to move onto sieging some provinces. Granada is already done with Córdoba and unfortunately they managed to move towards Andalucía - a province I have a diplomat forging a claim on, before my men.
And with that, the situation in Europe went from this:
To this:
Nothing new under the sun of course, but it does put all those HRE minors into a very unfortunate position.
Meanwhile I move on to besieging the Castilian capital in Toledo, while my main forces play a little whack-a-mole with fresh Spanish recruits. I also hired a new general who is a military genius compared to my monarch with his whooping +1 to shock. I clear out all of the small Castilian stacks in the south and get news of the Ottomans going to war against Serbia which is busy conquering Bosnia, while the Golden Horde goes after the remnants of QQ.
Suddenly I see more Spanish pouring south from the north and immediately move my main forces to counter them. They might be small stacks but I can't afford to let them join forces. Divide and conquer will be the strategy of the day.
And once more the Castilians outnumber me. Again, my hope lies in keeping them divided and separated while I take them out stack by stack.
And that's the situation at the end of this update. As you can see my situation is good and steady but one or two mistakes could collapse my entire progress in the war. I also have barely any manpower left and my income is sinking low with three loans in the fold already. However, the war has went much, much better than I had anticipated.
I will probably post another update today since I have free time in my hands. I'd also like to know whether you prefer the images laid in the middle like in this update, or was the earlier style of keeping them at the sideline better?
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Following This is going good, but an alliance with Aragon is something which you must take advantage of soon, because of the Iberian wedding.
(images in the middle seem better to me).
This is going good, but an alliance with Aragon is something which you must take advantage of soon, because of the Iberian wedding.(images in the middle seem better to me).
What's the goal of the war? I know you were initially defending, but what now that you're winning?
I like that you include details of around the globe.
I like that you include details of around the globe.
@ANO1453: Welcome aboard, and I am glad to hear you like it! How does the wedding actually work, what are the requirements for it to fire, or is it completely random and inevitable?
@alaestr: Thank you!
@RMcD94: The goal is to spread out to Iberia and weaken Castile as much as possible. And glad to hear that.
I also agree with you that images in the middle look much better. Edited the previous posts to follow suite.
With the Castilian armies divided between two stacks in Portugal, one heading down towards Badajoz and two fresh recruits in the little space between occupied Toledo and Granada, plus a 3000-strong force besieging Córdoba I decided to first clear the armies in south of Spain.
I also finally completed my first mission as the latest battle gave me enough prestige to pass the required limit of 50. I am now standing at +3 stab. My war exhaustion is still climbing fast though, and I had to spend yet another 150 diplo points to reduce it down below 1.
For my next mission I picked claiming Tlemcen, since I have an idle diplomat after finishing a claim on Andalucía and it was something I was going to do anyhow. And so he departs on another commission.
In the east AQ has finally had the better of their bigger brother QQ, taking two provinces and cutting them into three isolated fractions.
Back in Spain I finished off last of Castile's stacks in the south, apart from a group of new (and initially their last) recruits in Murcia. At this point they were down to 5000 men, 3000 of which you see marching south in the picture, 1000 in Murcia and another 1000 right behind the larger stack in Caceres.
My intention was to spare this last stack to allow them to retake Andalucía from Granada and then step in to annihilate them and occupy the province myself, but of course my ally wouldn't have any of it. It must feel grand for little Granada to finally yield an army larger than Castile's though.
After the last of Castile's stacks was vaporized, I felt relieved - especially since they seemed to have halted new recruitments altogether despite still having plenty of manpower and ducats galore. I could finally concentrate on occupying their land in peace.
Then out of Portugal comes surging forward the last of Castile's great armies. Unfortunately I don't think they will manage to finish that siege in time before Granada's bloodthirsty warriors are vacant from our current joint venture.
Up north Brittany finishes a quick war with Provence, taking Anjou and expanding deeper into France. They are allied with Aragon which will hopefully mean that the Catalans end up in a war with the BBB at some point in the future.
And not long after that, the Hundred Years' War finally came to and end. Lucky England was allowed to keep their holdings in Calais and Normandy. Also, the war between Scotland and England seems to have come to a halt, with neither side having sieged any provinces in ages and the English army busy fending off rebels. I don't think the Scots are even in a possession of one...
Yes yes, let me do all the work first and then join the fun... At least they chased the Castilian navy away.
The Iberian peninsula on 23rd of July 1452.
Unfortunately I can't afford to give alms, forcing me further away from the path of righteousness...
...because I still need to do something about these buggers.
Meanwhile down south, Hedjaz and Yemen come to terms with each other. Ethiopia and Adal ended theirs with a white peace.
Just when things were peaceful and quiet... luckily Aragon decided to be helpful and cleared them out for me.
And here's a little map of Europe at the end of August 1453 to bring this update to a close.
How does the wedding actually work, what are the requirements for it to fire, or is it completely random and inevitable?@alaestr: Thank you!
@RMcD94: The goal is to spread out to Iberia and weaken Castile as much as possible. And glad to hear that.
I also agree with you that images in the middle look much better. Edited the previous posts to follow suite.
V - The Moorish Occupation of Castile
With the Castilian armies divided between two stacks in Portugal, one heading down towards Badajoz and two fresh recruits in the little space between occupied Toledo and Granada, plus a 3000-strong force besieging Córdoba I decided to first clear the armies in south of Spain.
I also finally completed my first mission as the latest battle gave me enough prestige to pass the required limit of 50. I am now standing at +3 stab. My war exhaustion is still climbing fast though, and I had to spend yet another 150 diplo points to reduce it down below 1.
For my next mission I picked claiming Tlemcen, since I have an idle diplomat after finishing a claim on Andalucía and it was something I was going to do anyhow. And so he departs on another commission.
In the east AQ has finally had the better of their bigger brother QQ, taking two provinces and cutting them into three isolated fractions.
Back in Spain I finished off last of Castile's stacks in the south, apart from a group of new (and initially their last) recruits in Murcia. At this point they were down to 5000 men, 3000 of which you see marching south in the picture, 1000 in Murcia and another 1000 right behind the larger stack in Caceres.
My intention was to spare this last stack to allow them to retake Andalucía from Granada and then step in to annihilate them and occupy the province myself, but of course my ally wouldn't have any of it. It must feel grand for little Granada to finally yield an army larger than Castile's though.
After the last of Castile's stacks was vaporized, I felt relieved - especially since they seemed to have halted new recruitments altogether despite still having plenty of manpower and ducats galore. I could finally concentrate on occupying their land in peace.
Then out of Portugal comes surging forward the last of Castile's great armies. Unfortunately I don't think they will manage to finish that siege in time before Granada's bloodthirsty warriors are vacant from our current joint venture.
Up north Brittany finishes a quick war with Provence, taking Anjou and expanding deeper into France. They are allied with Aragon which will hopefully mean that the Catalans end up in a war with the BBB at some point in the future.
And not long after that, the Hundred Years' War finally came to and end. Lucky England was allowed to keep their holdings in Calais and Normandy. Also, the war between Scotland and England seems to have come to a halt, with neither side having sieged any provinces in ages and the English army busy fending off rebels. I don't think the Scots are even in a possession of one...
Yes yes, let me do all the work first and then join the fun... At least they chased the Castilian navy away.
The Iberian peninsula on 23rd of July 1452.
Unfortunately I can't afford to give alms, forcing me further away from the path of righteousness...
...because I still need to do something about these buggers.
Meanwhile down south, Hedjaz and Yemen come to terms with each other. Ethiopia and Adal ended theirs with a white peace.
Just when things were peaceful and quiet... luckily Aragon decided to be helpful and cleared them out for me.
And here's a little map of Europe at the end of August 1453 to bring this update to a close.
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VI - Turning the Tide of the Reconquista
The war is practically over, but it's been tough on my manpower. On the bright side of things, at least I have a positive income again.
In the east OE annexes Serbia and the Grand Eastern War ends in a white peace between Teutonic Order and Poland.
Hey wait a minute, we're supposed to be on the same side here! Sort of.
On 14th of November 1453, after 8 years of war, the last Spanish fortress falls, and Castile comes under complete enemy occupation. Let's see what kind of a peace I should bargain for.
At first I was opting for this kind of a settlement, giving me the rich Madrid province and preventing Granada from expanding beyond their three provinces still suitable for a diplo-vassalisation, but I wouldn't be able to core the three inland provinces and I can't really afford to go over my OE with no manpower and a bunch of loan sharks breathing down my neck already. Besides, I would have to rely on a military access through Aragon when dealing with the inevitable rebellions. Also, at this point the income and manpower of the provinces don't really matter to me since all of Iberia is considered overseas territory and I will be looking at zero income from taxes for a long time to come.
The second option I was considering looked like this. It would make Granada out of reach for diplo-vassalisation, but I'd rather have a strong ally in Iberia against the Christians at this point. They also benefit from any additional provinces much more than I would, considering they are on the same continent and of the predominant Andalusian culture. The obvious problem here is the divided nature of our gains. I would have to keep shipping troops back and forth between the north and south, and I believe the northern provinces are out reach for my colonial range so I couldn't core them either.
Thus I decided to settle with this. It cuts Castile neatly in Half, effectively isolating Andalucía and giving me control of the southern coastline. Granada will be strengthened by Córdoba and Jaén and I can hopefully core Badajoz and Caceres in the near future after grabbing a piece of coast from Portugal. And as I mentioned before, the income and manpower of these provinces is of little use to me, but this option does grant me a nice boost to trade power in the Sevilla node, which automatically translates to more £££.
And so the war comes to and end - a war that might have sealed the fate of Castile.
It did bring me quite a bit of AE, which means I can say goodbye to my plans of an alliance with Aragon. Though at this point I feel like there's no imminent need for it and considering that they have the rest of Castile up for grabs, I fear they might simply become the behemoth in place of a behemoth.
Game: "Do you mind if I feast on your manpower a little?"
Me: "Why, go ahead, old chap! It's not like I need it for anything."
Game: "And do you mind if I snitch good old Andalucía for your friend Granada?"
Me: "Oh not at all! I honestly can't think of a good reason to want it to remain in Spanish hands..."
At this point I can only afford to make one of my coastal gains into a core and using admin points is unfortunate since I want to accumulate enough of them to be able to pick the first NI for future AI Morocco.
Luckily the inland provinces are poor enough to be converted within a reasonable time frame.
But there's more trouble brewing in the horizon. With practically no manpower left and with revolts bound to be large in such rich provinces, I am anxiously anticipating what the future holds for me even in times of peace.
Morocco and surroundings after the war.
Time for a little Jizya on my new subjects. Although it takes me another step further away from piousness, that extra income will definitely become handy.
Especially in clearing out my notorious debts...
And more rebels pop up in Iberia...
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Even though it's overseas it still costs that much to core? Is that because of Castille's cores on it? Would it be worth it to wait to get into another war with Castille and revoke all the cores or would that revolt risk be too much? Speaking of which is 20% day/month/year?
@Enewald: Thank you and welcome! I remember you from some of my previous AARs and it was always great to have you aboard.
@videonfan: Thanks. I must admit though that the war was way too easy thanks to Castile's forces being divided from the start. Somebody needs to give the AI some lessons on Clausewitz.
@RMcD94: I must admit I don't actually know how the coring mechanics work, but the tooltip doesn't state any additional costs caused by Castile's cores. It simply says that the base is 120 (due to high base tax) with +2.9% from WE. I looked around the map and this seems to be the case with all provinces far and near, despite them being overseas. The revolt risk is a monthly one, I believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.
Time for another slaughtering. All those terrain modifiers are hurting my eyes...
And the battle isn't much of a success.
I chase them to Córdoba where the results are slightly better.
Finally another boost to my piety.
Another stack springs alive in Córdoba. I also begin making Murica... I mean Murcia as my core province.
While I am whacking the rebels, elsewhere in the world Savoy goes to war against Provence, backed by their Austrian allies - just in case.
Hey, that's my Madrid! Anyhow I believe I can safely pronounce that Castile will no longer pose a threat to anyone. Their capital Toledo is now nicely isolated and up for grabs in the next war.
Also, the war on the British Isles has come to a complete standstill, with only the rebels making gains. Yet neither side is ready to peace out.
I'd really wish to have one of those rebel leaders on my side for a change. After I had dealt with all the rebels, my armies in Iberia had shrunk from 15k to 9k men. That's painful when you're at zero manpower, replenishing it at 113 men per month. Besides, I need to actually watch out for that Aragon now. I will have a few years leeway while they are coring their newly gained provinces, but after that it's open season against infidels once more.
Though they did go after the real threat in Iberia first.
On 28th of August 1455 my claim on Tlemcen is finally formalised. But Algiers must wait for now while I core and convert my gainns, not to mention to get rid of my loans and recover my manpower.
Besides.
They are only second in line.
@videonfan: Thanks. I must admit though that the war was way too easy thanks to Castile's forces being divided from the start. Somebody needs to give the AI some lessons on Clausewitz.
@RMcD94: I must admit I don't actually know how the coring mechanics work, but the tooltip doesn't state any additional costs caused by Castile's cores. It simply says that the base is 120 (due to high base tax) with +2.9% from WE. I looked around the map and this seems to be the case with all provinces far and near, despite them being overseas. The revolt risk is a monthly one, I believe. Someone correct me if I'm wrong though.
VII - Rebels, Rebels, Rebels...
Time for another slaughtering. All those terrain modifiers are hurting my eyes...
And the battle isn't much of a success.
I chase them to Córdoba where the results are slightly better.
Finally another boost to my piety.
Another stack springs alive in Córdoba. I also begin making Murica... I mean Murcia as my core province.
While I am whacking the rebels, elsewhere in the world Savoy goes to war against Provence, backed by their Austrian allies - just in case.
Hey, that's my Madrid! Anyhow I believe I can safely pronounce that Castile will no longer pose a threat to anyone. Their capital Toledo is now nicely isolated and up for grabs in the next war.
Also, the war on the British Isles has come to a complete standstill, with only the rebels making gains. Yet neither side is ready to peace out.
I'd really wish to have one of those rebel leaders on my side for a change. After I had dealt with all the rebels, my armies in Iberia had shrunk from 15k to 9k men. That's painful when you're at zero manpower, replenishing it at 113 men per month. Besides, I need to actually watch out for that Aragon now. I will have a few years leeway while they are coring their newly gained provinces, but after that it's open season against infidels once more.
Though they did go after the real threat in Iberia first.
On 28th of August 1455 my claim on Tlemcen is finally formalised. But Algiers must wait for now while I core and convert my gainns, not to mention to get rid of my loans and recover my manpower.
Besides.
They are only second in line.
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So, you have serious debt and low manpower, yet now is the time to strike Portugal?
@Enewald: Not quite yet, not quite yet...
In the east, the Golden Horde rips apart the last remnants of QQ in the Caucasus before Georgian patriots ceded Circassia back to the motherland. Only months afterwards AQ launched yet another campaign against the poor two-province QQ. Elsewhere Savoy took a piece of Switzerland and continues their fruitful efforts against two-province Provence, letting their Austrian allies do most of the work.
The Ottomans and Crimea are engulfed in a war against Poland and Lithuania in what looks like a Crimean incursion into the northwest. Our brothers in faith seem to be enduring well in this contest.
On 4th of November 1456, Castile collapses and Andalucía finally cedes to Granada.
Which seems to prompt more Christian Andalusians wish to join the Sultanate... I'll rather just grant them boons this time, although I had to take another loan for it.
In July 1458 my claim on Algarve is complete and I could probably take Portugal on without too heavy losses as their army is slightly smaller than my half-recuperated army, but I decided to let them be for a while longer just to be safe.
Besides, my truce with Castile is soon over and considering that their army is 1000-man strong, I might want to wait a while and grab Toledo in the meantime.
I should really have done this earlier already now that I think of it.
Some peasants want an audience, else they'll burn and pillage everything in their way back in the mainland. Needless to say I prefer the less violent option...
Soon after more rebels spawn in Iberia - Christians in Andalucía and patriots in Badajoz. Just when I thought things were cooling down. On the positive side I finally gained Cadiz as a core.
Though I'm not the only one having trouble with the rebels.
In January 1459, when I finally thought I would soon be debt-free, something completely unexpected suddenly happens.
VIII - Rebellions and Recuperation
Obviously the Portuguese regency is of sound opinion.
It is time to return the favour in a proper Moroccan fashion.
Meanwhile Navarra becomes an Aragonese vassal and little Friesland keeps expanding in the north, alongside Lüneburg which not long afterwards took Vorpommern from Pomerania.
England and Scotland finally agreed that it's rather silly to keep waging war while neither side has a proper army at their disposal.
Obviously the Portuguese regency is of sound opinion.
It is time to return the favour in a proper Moroccan fashion.
Meanwhile Navarra becomes an Aragonese vassal and little Friesland keeps expanding in the north, alongside Lüneburg which not long afterwards took Vorpommern from Pomerania.
England and Scotland finally agreed that it's rather silly to keep waging war while neither side has a proper army at their disposal.
In the east, the Golden Horde rips apart the last remnants of QQ in the Caucasus before Georgian patriots ceded Circassia back to the motherland. Only months afterwards AQ launched yet another campaign against the poor two-province QQ. Elsewhere Savoy took a piece of Switzerland and continues their fruitful efforts against two-province Provence, letting their Austrian allies do most of the work.
The Ottomans and Crimea are engulfed in a war against Poland and Lithuania in what looks like a Crimean incursion into the northwest. Our brothers in faith seem to be enduring well in this contest.
On 4th of November 1456, Castile collapses and Andalucía finally cedes to Granada.
Which seems to prompt more Christian Andalusians wish to join the Sultanate... I'll rather just grant them boons this time, although I had to take another loan for it.
In July 1458 my claim on Algarve is complete and I could probably take Portugal on without too heavy losses as their army is slightly smaller than my half-recuperated army, but I decided to let them be for a while longer just to be safe.
Besides, my truce with Castile is soon over and considering that their army is 1000-man strong, I might want to wait a while and grab Toledo in the meantime.
I should really have done this earlier already now that I think of it.
Some peasants want an audience, else they'll burn and pillage everything in their way back in the mainland. Needless to say I prefer the less violent option...
Soon after more rebels spawn in Iberia - Christians in Andalucía and patriots in Badajoz. Just when I thought things were cooling down. On the positive side I finally gained Cadiz as a core.
Though I'm not the only one having trouble with the rebels.
In January 1459, when I finally thought I would soon be debt-free, something completely unexpected suddenly happens.
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