8th Chapter: The Rise of Al-Adil
Prelude: The conquest of the Turk and their Byzantine lands had given quite some knowledge in the use of the sword. Since the mid 13th century, the tribes had started to value this weapon and trained with it when out of the stables. This process now gave al-Adil a new weapon in his arsenal as camel warriors could now dismount as Arab Infantry. [This was a move to try to do something about the heavy spears that kept bugging me enormously – it’s not what developers intended, but it is what I need]
1291: In the west: Pulled out of Castille, as I had too few camels to keep the population in line. But as I intended to knock out the Spanish, and attacked where they still had an army of decent size: Portugal and Grenada.
In the East, all reinforcements are sent to regions barring any Turk progress towards Egypt, the border force in Georgia is sent south, and the wave of camels in Tunesia is recalled from the western front. If I can keep the Turks contained, they will soon feel the might of the Empire. Granada is a victory, assured by ‘the uncle’. It seems almost impossible to take down cornered chiv.sergeants with camels unless they are valor 5 or more. In Portugal the Spanish withdraw, and in both provinces a siege is begun. In Cordoba the siege is ended as the castle falls. Armenia garrison fortifies in the fort, but they are doomed.:skull:
1292: In the west: The Spanish has been brought to their knees. They are now only 310 in Leon, 10 (!) in Castille and 260 in Valencia. Less than one turn of camel-recruiting. But I need to take them down quickly. Castille is attacked with every available camel, keeping sieges and populations in check. The Spanish in Castille once again withdraw, facing impossible odds.
In the east: Turkish expansion begins as a move against both Rum and Syria in the same year. The fort in Armenia is assaulted and falls, taking down a disappointingly low number of Turks in the battle. Can you really take down a stockade with a torch? :inquisitive: The camels in Rum under a 0-star commander try to stay and fight in order to wear the enemy down a little, but fails miserably and I lose many more than they do. In Syria the odds are more even. 600 camels vs. 800 Turks attacking through the desert. Despite the inherent advantages of the desert it is a close battle, but it is a victory. The expansion has been stopped for now.:sweatdrop:
In Arabia the population rebels! They have always been somewhat low in loyalty, but open rebellion? They shall be put to the camel! :whip:
In Flandern, an English crusade appears, somewhat worringly. But as the objective is Muscovy I pay it no more attention.
1293: In the west: As both the king and the only prince is now held up in Leon, I once more rally all available camels and invade Leon. As the ‘uncle’s personal bodyguard is somewhat depleted, I dare not use him in the attack, and a 0-star camel captain is given charge. The sieges in three provinces are upheld, but Valencia is left alone for the moment. King Enrique does not stand idle in Leon, but takes his remaining army of chiv.sergeants and arbelasters to Castille in order to lift the siege. This gives me immediate control of Leon, and in Castille it’s 847 camels vs. 486 top-of-the notch western army. The camels dismounted to a great extend and hid in the woods. It was no great success however, as a single unit of chiv.sergeants simply churned through four Arab inf, attacking at different angles in the forrest. Argh, those heavy spears!!! :wall: I lost 400 camels and had to ransom an additional 100 back. The Spanish lost half their number, though, and the campaign continues. I’ve lost a battle, but I intend to win the war. Portugal falls and begins camel training.
The English crusade moves south to my amusement! That was a funny route to Muscovy! :laugh4:
In the East: As I dispatch camels to the rebellion in Arabia, the Turks move the bulk of their remaining forces to Syria. It’s 650 camels vs. 1.800 turks, so I withdraw to the castle. Reinforcements are coming to the region from all over the Empire and the tide is already beginning to turn.
1294: In the west: I pull out of Leon and make a move towards Castille. The numbers are heavily in my favour, and the Spanish abandon the province, freely giving me the castle of Madrid. Much rejoice in the camel camps! Now peace in the west is within grasp. Granada falls, leaving the Spanish with two provinces, Leon and Valencia. But then, completely unexpectedly, the English crusades lands in Morocco after secretly embarking in Normandy! What!?! :dizzy2: Obviously the English have no understanding of geography. It’s not the most fearsome of crusades, though, with only 346 men. But 80 of those are Knight Templars, and the 40 Berber camels in Marrakesh do not feel like fighting against these odds, but withdraw to the castle.
In the east: The siege in Rum is lifted as the camel horde makes the Turkish commander abandon his positions. An attack against Armenia fails though, as the Turkish Sultan relocates his army to the mountains. The numbers are now against the Turks, through a constant supply of camels, and the lack of training facilities in Armenia.
1295: In general, the population in the eastern empire is showing great disloyalty, perhaps due to the fact that an English crusade and a Spanish navy are effectively blocking the lines of communication. And in the western parts, the catholic population shows no love of the camel.
In the west: Many camels are needed to suppress the locals, but I still try to attack Leon. Though there is no military pressing need to finish the Spanish, their navy is really starting to bugger me, and the end of the Spanish would eliminate the entire navy with a stroke. But Leon resists the camel invasion, and I realise a period of rebuilding is needed before the peninsular can be won.
The English crusade goes east and attacks Algier.
In the east: Both Armenia and Syria, the sole remaining provinces of the Turks, are attacked. The Armenian garrison withdraws, expecting safe haven in Syria. But unknown by them, Syria is also under attack. It is the end of the Turks, as the Syrian army is defeated. Whew! That was a short, but fun, reappearance.:2thumbsup:
1296: Province Loyalty continues to pose problems and a couple more rebellions ensures that al-Mustansir, previously a no-name commander goes to three stars. With the title as Amir of Castille, he goes to four, and is now beginning to look as a young new ‘Camel Lord’. The turn is used to build and suppres.
The English crusade continues to stir up trouble, and I move quite a lot of camels in their direction. They attack Tunesia, and I stand and fight with 200 local camels, but they have a good general and the templars gives a good account of themselves.
1297: As I move against the crusade, it evades my army and re-attacks Algier! Now I’m certain they are completely lost: “Where are we? I guess this must be Lithuania. Never heard of camels and desert in Lithuania? I thought we would fight the golden horde? Well, this must be the place, it’s an odd looking church. Why does it have four towers?” :dizzy2: Oh the confusion.
Across the board I rebuild and reshuffle my forces. King Enrique dies, and leaves the Spanish with a broken empire, almost turned to dust. He was also their last competent commander.
1298: Finally I’m ready to attack Leon, now without any member of the royal line, and no commander worthy of mentioning. It’s a complete victory, and the castle is put under siege. As the crusade tries to re-enter Tunesia, it bumps into an army of 1.200 camels and is destroyed completely. The lines of communication have been reopened. :beam:
The Aragonese reappear in Navarra, with nice 5 stacks. Though they are not immediately at war with me as with the Turk reappearance, they will prove a contender in the near future.:sweatdrop:
1299: Build-up and reshuffle. Loyalty is back in the green all over the empire, and I start to add to the navy after years of panic camel recruiting.
1300: Valencia is attacked, and ‘the uncle’ scores another victory against a horde of urban militia. The Spanish are now finished in all but two castles, which will fall in 2-3 years. A massive victory on both fronts!
There are now three different routes to take, as I see it. There are three major factions left in the game: The Horde in the East, the Holy Roman Empire in the West and the Hungarians in the Middle. Italy is a mess (quite historically correct). My income of 13k florins are met by my expenses of 13k florins, so there is no need to wait and build further.
Whom should the Sultan of the Camels attack now? The steppes? The Italian peninsular? France? Pull a navy to Ireland? All options are open, as the Empire is at its strongest.
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
/KotR
