The Noble Lives: A Chronicle of the Kingdom of Castile

[Sharur]

Poor Lefty Doing a battle scene from your enemy's POV is certainly new. I don't think I've ever seen it done before. Very nice

 

[Secret Master]

With the castles of Mohammed the Left Handed under siege, Luna made a brief return to court in Madrid to consult with King Juan about the future of the war.

"Hail to you, my dread liege!" Luna greeted his king with a low bow.

"Dearest Luna, I am glad to see you safe. I hear great things about you from my messengers." Juan raised his servant Luna with a gesture of his hand. "Please, sit with us and give our royal person council as to the conduct of the war."

"My dread lord, I think that Granada will be ours within two celebrations of Christ's birth. But, we will still have the North Africans to deal with."

"Indeed, we shall. And what of them, Luna? Surely, after their defeat at the Battle of Almeria Gulf just recently, they are of no consequence?"

"My lord, they are of the gravest consequence, if I may be so bold to suggest that your crown can always benefit from prestige."

"What do you speak of Luna?" The king was listening, but so was the Duke of Murcia from his hiding place behind a tapestry within the chamber. While this would certainly look silly, no one in the room knew he was there, and it was just the king, Luna, and a few servants.

"My lord, how would you like to have a foothold in Africa?"

"Why, you mean take the Reconquista to the shores of the infidels? That would be wonderful! But, would it not be dangerous as well?"

"Of course it will be dangerous, my lord. But, I have a plan. See, with naval supremacy in the Gulf of Almeria, there is nothing stopping us from landing the army in Fez and sacking all those cities from Morocco. If your lord feels even more kingly, we can attack Algiers directly as well. They cannot hope to defeat us in battle."

King Juan was smiling. In his eternal quest for more lands to add to his crown, Juan had suddenly grown much fonder of his Constable, Alvaro de Luna.

"Very well. Let it be as you say. I give you leave to invade the infidels. If any of them oppose your invasion, put them to the sword."

"As always, I am your humble servant, my king." Luna was also smiling.

"Oh, and one other thing, Luna. Should we manage to take those lands from the hated infidels, someone will have to help me rule them as my vassal. I would like to think the Luna family would be willing to serve me in this capacity...."

"Of course, dread liege. It would be my duty to serve you in such a thing." Luna was all smiles.

"Excellent. Now, hurry to your army and invade them."

Luna left the room, with the king trailing behind him. The Duke of Murcia left his hiding place and stealthily crept to his horse. After riding back to his summer home in Madrid, he called for his servant.

"Yes, I want you to give a message to Ferdinand of Aragon. Tell him that we should have a meeting sometime soon. I have some things I would like to discuss with him."

"As you wish, sir."

The servant rode to deliver the message. The Duke of Murcia sat in his study, writing letters, and plotting heinous plots.

 

[Secret Master]

It is the afternoon of October 10th. The Castilian navy had anchored off the coast of Fez a few days ago, but it is only after the sun has began to set today that Alvaro de Luna and his army have begun to disembark. While Luna knows that Algiers and Fez have armies in the area, they have not made an appearance. Luna has made a critical decision: he wants to disembark the army quickly and land them so they may begin to advance into the deserts of North Africa.

While Luna supervises operations in the fleet itself, he gives command of the army's vanguard to Sir Percy. Sir Percy has proved himself to be rational and incapable of rash actions. This is ideal, for Luna cannot afford a fight until his army is in place. So, Sir Percy, with a vanguard of 5,000 Castilian knights, scouts ahead as Luna slowly gets the main body of the 30,000 man army together.

As luck would have it, that is when the Fez decides to strike.

Sir Percy recognized the danger immediately, and sent messengers back to Luna to warn him. Percy's first action was to begin screening enemy cavalry away from Luna's primary position. He was doing quite well, and for an hour, the army of Fez was unable to advance anywhere towards the disembarking army.

It was then that disaster struck.

A stray arrow from the Moorish archers struck Sir Percy in the visor of his helm, right through the slit for his eyes. It was a one in a billion shot, but the effect was just the same. Sir Percy was dead. As a result, his vanguard fell apart and began to rout.

Luna had just gotten the last of the his men on shore when Percy's vanguard routed past them without even stopping. The fleeing of the vanguard instilled fear into the army, especially when the Moorish horsemen struck within a few minutes after their fleeing. Luna rallied the army and managed to form a defensive line. The advancing Moors would hit the line again and again. Soon, it became too much, and Luna's army began to withdraw. Rather than have it turn into a rout, he directed the withdrawal eastward, into Algerian lands,

It was not until a scouting party came back to the battlefield a few days later that Luna received news that out of the 27,000 Moors he faced in battle that day, only 5,000 survived. Luna's army of 30,000 had taken 3,000 casualties. When he learned of this, he would spend days fuming in his tent, refusing to see anybody.

Thus, Castile had lost the Battle of Fez, only to have effectively destroyed the armies of her enemies.

 

[Sharur]

Originally posted by Secret Master
Thus, Castile had lost the Battle of Fez, only to have effectively destroyed the armies of her enemies.

I hate when that happens!

 

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When ever I read an AAR abou Castille the name de Luna gives me the shivers;P

 

[Secret Master]

Sharur,

Let me say that I was even more furious than Luna was at losing the battle. Watching it unfold, I thought to myself "Gee, they will be wiped out before morale makes a big difference in this battle." Then, during one shock phase, I saw Luna's army lose about 3/4 of its morale. I can only assume I got a really crappy result in the CRT, and then it was over. So, I figured that was a good example of a single random action that decided a battle. Thus, Sir Percy had to die.

On the plus side, at least Luna managed to survive. I would have been sorly tempted to restart the entire game if he died in this battle!

 

[unmerged(6777)]

Yeah, it's a killer when you're beating the daylights out of an enemy army but end up breaking right at the end. One really bad CRT roll for you or really good CRT roll for them and it's all over.

Nice job SM. Now what do you suppose the Duke of Murcia has in mind?

 

[Secret Master]

With the setback in the Battle of Fez, Luna moved to regroup his army over the next two months. While his enemies were desperately trying to gather reinforcements, Luna carefully nursed the morale of the army back to health, and marched back into Fez.

Algiers and Fez decided to fight it to the bitter end, and combined their broken forces. Still, even with reinforcements, they had only half the number of Luna's men. With Luna advancing by the beginning of December, they withdrew to the best defensive position they could find: Tangiers.

Leaving the garrisons in Fez for Luna, Abdul Mohammed of Algiers figured Luna would stop in Fez and siege the garrison out or would leave a detachment behind to do so. If he stayed to siege, it would buy Abdul's men time. If he left men behind to siege, Abdul's combined army would have more equal footing.

Luna, being no fool, realized the ploy for what it was, and simply marched the army past the castles in Fez without stopping to do anything other than pillage a few towns for food and water. Luna knew well that crushing the combined armies of his enemies would ensure that nohting would stand in his way between victory and defeat.

By New Years, he was closing on the position of the combined army of Abdul Mohammed. Abdul chose the worst terrain for the battle he could find: a large, craggy hill top that would nullify the advantage of Luna's heavy knights. Abdul's army of 10,00 men was almost all footmen.

On January 18th, Luna's scouts reported to him the disposition of the enemy, and he halted them well away from Abdul's position. After conferring with his knights, they concluded that it would be suicide to charge up the hill. So, they devised another plan.

When the dawn of January 19th broke upon the field of battle, Abdul's Moors strode confidently around their craggy hill top, looking down at the mounted knights of Luna. When the Castilians had formed a good set of battle lines, the command was given loud and clear by Luna.

"Knights.... Dismount!"

At that command, all of Luna's heavy knights dismounted their steeds and closed ranks, wielding slightly lighter weapons and armor than they would use for a horseback attack. Behind the dismounted knights stood several rows of archers, complete with new sets of English-style longbows. Once the knights were ready, Luna gave the order, and the battle line began to advance at a slow pace.

Moving up the hillside was treacherous, but the cadence of the march was slow. When the first arrows from the Moors began to reach the front rank, Luna ordered them to halt. The archers deployed, and began to rain down a hail of death upon the position of the Moors. The superior craftsmanship of the Castilian bows meant better arcs for the arrows to take. Rather than directly trying to hit the Moors through the craggy rocks, the arrows shot very high, and then fell upon them from a high trajectory.

It was too late before Abdul realized that his men could not effectively return fire with their bows. He ordered his footmen to charge down the hill, but Luna's dismounted knights were ready for them. Having taken such heavy casualties in the first minutes of the battle, the charge down the hill was futile. Many of Abdul's men injured themselves on the same crags that kept Luna's knights from charging. The ones that made it to Luna's battle lines were dispatched by the knights. The ones who remained at the hill top were cut to pieces by the archers. It was not until the archers used all of their arrows that Luna orders the knights to advance and take the hill. As they advanced, they put every Moor to the sword, and when they reached the summit, only Abdul Mohammed remained among his army. He was quickly and efficiently put to the sword.

Luna's army slew all 10,000 of the Moors they faced that day, while Luna lost 34 men and he himself sprained an ankle.

The Battle of Tangiers sealed the fate of Fez and Algiers. Within the year, Fez and Tangiers would be sacked by siege. Within another year, Sahara would be taken as well.

By March 19th of 1429, the Second Reconquista war is over. Granada is annexed outright, along with Fez, Tangiers, and Sahara in North Africa. The war has been a huge success for both Castile and Alvaro de Luna.

 

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10,000:34 Wow! Them's pretty good battle stats. Luna rocks!

Great installment...thanks SM, it's a treat.

 

[Sharur]

Wow! What a comeback by Luna! And those were some nice battle stats, especially compared with the last battle

Great job, SM!

 

[Secret Master]

Originally posted by MrT
10,000:34 Wow! Them's pretty good battle stats. Luna rocks!

Actually, MrT, that would be 10,000 to 34+ a sprained ankle. Let me tell ya, that sprained ankle almost did Luna in!

 

[unmerged(6603)]

Great job... but what of Castille's allies? What have they been doing throughout these battles, twittling their collective thumbs?

 

[Secret Master]

Lord Joseph,

Twiddling their thumbs? Yeah, basically. In fairness to my ally Navarra, there wasnt alot for them to do. They have no navy, and once Granada was sacked, they had nothing to do.

I will be posting a screenie today.

 

[Secret Master]

Map and historical extract, circa 1430:

With the end of the Reconquista Wars, Castile claimed its first lands in Africa.

Note that according to the treaty that ended the Reconquista Wars, Fez should have gone to Casitle; however, owing to cartographer errors and mistranslation, Fez remained nominally independant, only to be incorperated later.

These lands would be the focus of a large effort to Christianize the moslems there. It would eventually succeed, though not until large amounts of time and money were spent. It also gave CAstile its first foothold into the slave trade. At first, this would be insignificant. It would not be until later years that Casitle would profit greatly from the exportation of African slaves.

 

[Secret Master]

On New Years Day, January of 1430, King Juan celebrated Castile's new prosperity with a huge party. Everyone who has anyone was invited, including the various German relations Castile now had. Castile's utter and complete victory in the Second Reconquista War has made Christian Europe sit up and take notice of her growing power. There is no real envy..... yet.

All of Castile's dukes were in attendance, including the fun loving Duke of Leon and the ever thin and grinning Duke of Murcia. Of special note were the sons of Ferdinand of Aragon, still on their eternal quest for brides with large doweries. King Juan frowned at their presence, not because they were looking for wives, but because they continued to stick their Aragonese noses into Castilian affairs. Still, protocol demanded that they be invited, so Juan made up for his loathing of them by spending time with his son.

Enrique was a strong and healthy boy, but less a boy now than a man. He was even sporting a fledgling beard. Enrique was close to his father, primarily because of Juan's insistence to dote upon his heir. Even at this state function, they talked and partied like good friends. Enrique's mother, the queen, was glad for this. "He will have too few friends once his father dies, so he should get his fun while he can," she thought to herself.

Alvaro de Luna was also present, basking in his moment of glory. He was the star of the party, and even as Ferdinand's sons were looking for brides, so was Luna looking for one as well. Being a hero for the country, his prospects were looking good. Even the tales of his dark-skinned, Moorish lover did little to dampen his appeal. In fact, it only enhanced the mystery surrounding him. The good Christian girls were properly intrigued.

Yet, for all the merrymaking, the Duke of Murcia sat more idle and thoughtful than others during this festival. While he smiled the requisite smile, his eyes followed Luna about the room. The problem for the Duke of Murcia was simple: he hated King Juan, and he especially hated anyone who has a good servant of the king. And as the man of the hour, Alvaro de Luna had his attention.

The sons of Ferdinand, minus their retinue, stopped by the table of the Duke of Murcia.

"Good morrow to you, noble duke."

"And good morrow to you, sons of the famous Ferdinand. How goes the selecting of brides?"

"Most well, but we regret that me may pick only one wife and one dowery!" There was a good bit of laughter.

"My noble duke, for do you not party with the rest of us?"

The duke feigned ignorance.

"Why, what ever could you mean?"

"You seem to be unwilling to revel, though a new era of peace is upon us."

"Perhaps I am not built for this weak piping time of peace."

"You're a man of conflict, are you duke?"

"Perhaps I am. Or perhaps I see the king being led astray."

"Really? And how is that?"

At this point, their conversation stopped, for Juan had asked for everyone's attention.

"My great and powerful nobles, and my honored guests..." Juan nods to German princesses at this point, "...it pleases me to announce a surprise for our great festival we have here. Would my dear Constable of Castile, Alvaro de Luna, come forward?"

Luna, with the eyes of several woman on him, advanced and bowed to his king. The king pulled out his ceremonial sword.

"Alvaro de Luna, as a reward to your great service for the crown, rise and stand, not as Constable of Castile, but as Duke of North Africa!"

The assembled gentry gave a loud applause. The Duke of Murcia gave a polite applause, as did the sons of Ferdinand. During this, Prince Enrique gave Luna a manly hug, signifying that he was of one mind with his father about how well they liked Luna.

The party continued, as did the conversation between Murcia and the sons of Ferdinand.

"Do you see what I mean? Luna is a worm that infests the king's judgement. What is worse, Enrique is falling under Luna's spell as well."

"Hmmm... we see your point. He is growing quite powerful, isn't he?"

"Yes, yes he is. Imagine what happens if he decides he does not like Aragon anymore..." Murcia let his voice trail off perfectly. The point was clear.

"Perhaps, noble duke, we should speak more often."

"Yes, perhaps. Oh, I feel I must retire for the evening. You two noble lads have fun looking for brides."

"We shall, noble Murcia. Expect a letter from one of us."

"I shall. Good night."

As the Duke of Murcia walked to his temporary quarters for the season, he smiled. This was the only genuine smile of his for the whole evening.

 

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assassination?

 

[Storey]

So is this the beginning of a North African empire or just a side effect of the Second Reconquista War. I’m enjoying the writing.

Joe

 

[Sharur]

Whatever it is, that last post was excellent I like the changing scenery throughout the aar, following different characters around: very Durhamesque, I must say

 

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It appears your link is no longer working for the Screen shot.

 

[Secret Master]

It appears you are right, Lord Joseph. I will beat my web space provider around the head and neck until they fix it.

Anyway, I should be posting something tomorrow and Saturday... Including one of the ahistorical surpises!