NewJeffCT
01-02-2004, 15:37
If you have read my posts from the past few weeks, you know I have been playing as the Polish (SP Early) and have been worried about a huge Almohad empire. The Almos were the richest and had the biggest armies (by far). I was doing well as the Poles – having taken Prussa, Pomerania, Sweden & Norway pretty early. I also grabbed Moldavia to get access to the Black Sea.
However, in the meantime, the Almos were staging a Blitzkreig like run through Europe, knocking off the Spanish, Aragonese, French, English, Italians, the HRE, the Pope & the Sicilians. Their armies (due to such aggressive conquest and early Catholic rebellions) were all led by 8 & 9 star generals. They even held all the English isles & Denmark. I was lucky and snagged Ireland, Kiev, Crimea and Bohemia while the Almos were smashing resistance in the Italian peninsula. So, I was doing okay monetarily, and I strangely had a run of kings with extremely high acumen... (odd, I played as the HRE and did well, but was blessed with a line of 0 and 1 acumen kings, while as the Poles, I am getting kings with acumen 7, 8 and 9??)
Anyhow, in the year before the Horde arrives, the Almos were starting their elimination of the Egyptians & the Hungarians. Denmark, Brandenburg, etc. were all threateningly filled with 4 or 5 stacks of orange Almo troops on my borders as well, while the Almos used a Golden Horde-like number of stacks to toy with the Egyptians, respawning Popes and the Hungarians. The Byz had respawned a few decades earlier, but were stuck in Rhodes, while the Turks were also losing ground to the Novgorads, myself and the Egyptians.
I was thinking I am headed for my first sure defeat as the Horde arrives. So, now I have the Horde on my eastern border and the Almos on my Western & Southern borders and the Novgos and their nasty boyars to my North.
So, rather than be passive, I figured the best defense was a good offense and that I should go down to a glorious defeat rather than sit in my citadels and castles waiting for the end. I hired a bunch of mercs (usually a strategy I abhor) and overwhelmed the Novgos in a few years with numbers. I then sent assassins after the Khan and killed him. The Horde was heirless and became rebels. So, I then bribed a good part of his army to my side (which was then depleted seriously in a war with the stacks that did not get bribed in time, or refused my bribes…)
In the meantime, the Almos finished off the Egyptians, Hungarians and Turks. They held probably 2/3 of the map. I held 1/3 and the sole remaining faction was the Byz with Rhodes. It was almost a dream come true - down to two huge factions.
Again, I decided that fortune favors the bold and figured I would attack the Almos quickly, even though I am not a good attacker and consider myself pretty good defensively. We both had ships in every sea province and I literally attacked them all, even though the Almos had a numerical superiority with ships as well. I then sent a bunch of metalsmith's workshop upgraded troop from Sweden into Denmark.
Well, I could not have asked for better results. As is usual, the attacker with ships is usually victorious and I won about 75%-80% of those sea battles. I also won Denmark and figured I would hold on when the big counterattack came. I could always fall back to Sweden, if I needed to...
But, the big counterattack did not come right away. The very next year, the Turks, HRE, Sicilians, Danes & the Pope all re-spawned at once. The Turks were loaded with JHI and Janissary Archers, while the Pope was wielding demi-cannons in the 1240s? And, the cut-off Almo provinces rebelled like mad. The whole of the English isles and most of Spain had huge uprisings as well and some provinces in central Europe as well.
The Almos still have better generals and more troops than me, but I now see a lot of grey provinces on the map and I feel I have them on the ropes now.
It was a dream come true, though, to have it come down to two big factions and several huge battles to decide the fate of Europe. But, the invasion of Denmark may be the beggining of the end.
However, in the meantime, the Almos were staging a Blitzkreig like run through Europe, knocking off the Spanish, Aragonese, French, English, Italians, the HRE, the Pope & the Sicilians. Their armies (due to such aggressive conquest and early Catholic rebellions) were all led by 8 & 9 star generals. They even held all the English isles & Denmark. I was lucky and snagged Ireland, Kiev, Crimea and Bohemia while the Almos were smashing resistance in the Italian peninsula. So, I was doing okay monetarily, and I strangely had a run of kings with extremely high acumen... (odd, I played as the HRE and did well, but was blessed with a line of 0 and 1 acumen kings, while as the Poles, I am getting kings with acumen 7, 8 and 9??)
Anyhow, in the year before the Horde arrives, the Almos were starting their elimination of the Egyptians & the Hungarians. Denmark, Brandenburg, etc. were all threateningly filled with 4 or 5 stacks of orange Almo troops on my borders as well, while the Almos used a Golden Horde-like number of stacks to toy with the Egyptians, respawning Popes and the Hungarians. The Byz had respawned a few decades earlier, but were stuck in Rhodes, while the Turks were also losing ground to the Novgorads, myself and the Egyptians.
I was thinking I am headed for my first sure defeat as the Horde arrives. So, now I have the Horde on my eastern border and the Almos on my Western & Southern borders and the Novgos and their nasty boyars to my North.
So, rather than be passive, I figured the best defense was a good offense and that I should go down to a glorious defeat rather than sit in my citadels and castles waiting for the end. I hired a bunch of mercs (usually a strategy I abhor) and overwhelmed the Novgos in a few years with numbers. I then sent assassins after the Khan and killed him. The Horde was heirless and became rebels. So, I then bribed a good part of his army to my side (which was then depleted seriously in a war with the stacks that did not get bribed in time, or refused my bribes…)
In the meantime, the Almos finished off the Egyptians, Hungarians and Turks. They held probably 2/3 of the map. I held 1/3 and the sole remaining faction was the Byz with Rhodes. It was almost a dream come true - down to two huge factions.
Again, I decided that fortune favors the bold and figured I would attack the Almos quickly, even though I am not a good attacker and consider myself pretty good defensively. We both had ships in every sea province and I literally attacked them all, even though the Almos had a numerical superiority with ships as well. I then sent a bunch of metalsmith's workshop upgraded troop from Sweden into Denmark.
Well, I could not have asked for better results. As is usual, the attacker with ships is usually victorious and I won about 75%-80% of those sea battles. I also won Denmark and figured I would hold on when the big counterattack came. I could always fall back to Sweden, if I needed to...
But, the big counterattack did not come right away. The very next year, the Turks, HRE, Sicilians, Danes & the Pope all re-spawned at once. The Turks were loaded with JHI and Janissary Archers, while the Pope was wielding demi-cannons in the 1240s? And, the cut-off Almo provinces rebelled like mad. The whole of the English isles and most of Spain had huge uprisings as well and some provinces in central Europe as well.
The Almos still have better generals and more troops than me, but I now see a lot of grey provinces on the map and I feel I have them on the ropes now.
It was a dream come true, though, to have it come down to two big factions and several huge battles to decide the fate of Europe. But, the invasion of Denmark may be the beggining of the end.