Spain

[Franconicus]

I am Pope!!

One big advantage of Spain is that you have access t the land of the heathens right from the start.

It is a nice strategy to produce priests. I made four or five of them. Take then to the new conquered lands, they will help you make the people catholic and happy. Then send them to Africa, where they can convert the (still) free moors.

Three priests were promoted to Cardinals, then the Pope died and one of my Cardinals was elected.

[Aenlic]

After finishing a short campaign as the Spanish, I decided to try a new strategy as the Spanish for a long campaign on H/H. The following is a synopsis of events so far:

My first council mission was to take Zaragosa, instead of Valencia. OK, works for me. I sent my army to take Zaragosa, which is an easier conquest anyway (El Cid can be be annoyingly tough and his entire garrison are veterans). Taking Zaragosa seems to stop French southern expansion plans. They went for the English instead. By this time, I managed to get both the Portuguese and Moors to pay me for alliances.

With Zaragosa mine, I began building a second stack with my new found wealth from extorting alliances from my neighbors, garrisoned Zaragosa and sent the army that took it south for Valencia. Valencia was tougher to take than Zaragosa, but fell after a long siege. I garrisoned it and sent my now fairly experienced army to get retrained and resupplied before heading north to wait on the border of Pamplona.

My second army was untried, so I made sure it had my best general (4 stars) and was a bigger stack, then sent it west to wait on the border of Lisbon. When both were ready, I attacked the Portuguese in the same turn. The Pope didn't even raise an eyebrow when both fell and the Portuguese were eliminated.

I then sent part of an army back to Zaragosa in case the French became annoying, and sent everything else to get retrained and resupplied. I now had one and a half armies, with good experience to take on the Moors. I also built a stack of 4 ships to use to block the land route from Africa. With it sitting on the land bridge, the Moors were unable to reinforce, and al-Andalus was mine. So I made the Moors pay me for a new alliance - again.

Now I had to make a decision. Moors or Europe. I owned the land bridge with my ships. The Moors were now impoverished and their ships aren't a match. So I went for Europe. So far it's going well. I took the still rebel Bordeaux while the French and English were at war. Then the English got themselves excommunicated. Too bad for them. I took Rennes, Caen and Angers (which was apparently the province that got them ex-commed) before they made friends with the Pope again. I sacked all three. Then I went after Toulouse. This made Il Popo annoyed. So, I gave him Caen and Angers after destroying all the available buildings in both and retreated to Rennes and Bordeaux. Now I owned Rennes, Bordeaux and Toulouse and the Pope was happy with me and acting as a nice buffer between me and England in the process. Woe to anyone becoming a problem on my northern border. The Pope makes a fine buffer.

At this point, I am about to go for the rebel islands, taking Ajaccio and Cagliari. I'm still allied with the Moors. That's about to change, however. After I take the islands and build up a nice army in Granada, I'm going to start a series of crusades, since the one in Jerusalem just failed (I didn't join). I've been saving the Moors for this. I ought to easily get to each target first. And I should succeed in each. I think I can take each Moorish town in turn and each as a single crusade. This will boost my armies' experience, give me plenty of loot, a new power base in the south, more income, and best of all make the Pope my best buddy. If I can manage to use crusades to take Marrakesh, Algiers, Timbuktu and Tunis, then I should have a very experienced army or two to take east toward the Egyptians for Jersualem crusade and the resultant relics; and hopefully be ready for the Mongols, who should be appearing soon.

I know it was kind of long. But the above illustrates my idea that attacking the Moors too soon wastes an opportunity to use them later on for Pope manipulation and building armies through a series of crusades. It's not historically correct, but it sure has been fun so far.



Note: How to attack and then garrison cities immediately.

I try to always have at least one useless general who has at least 3 loyalty and 2-3 or more piety and some chivalry helps too - the more of each, the better. I don't care how may stars he has. I allowed him (and hopefully one other general too) into the family for one thing - garrison commander of newly taken cities. Behind my armies, when I can, I try to have a baggage train/follow-on force ready to garrison. This small stack army consists of my lovable but militarily useless general, 2-3 or sometimes 4 milita units and 1-2 priests/imams. Their only purpose is to immediately garrison a newly conquered province so my main army can immediately move on to new things. Just a little tip from your uncle Aenlic.

[Lorenzo_H]

Here are some observations I have made with the Spanish Campaign:

• They have excellent Cavalry in the beginning.
• But no real infantry.
• Portugal is a joke of an enemy at the start (left pamplona virtually unguarded- much too tempting) take advantage of it.
• Their early game economy is mediocre at the worst.
• Their Merchants are weak.
• Their Papal missions so far seem to be realistic and almost easy.

Altogether I like the Spanish, and I am looking forward to accessing some of their really good units like Conquistadors (which can only be trained in America).

[mgholson]

So My Spanish Campaign isn't going good.

I started off taking Valencia easily then Zaragosa with the rest of that army. Valencia is loyal but Zaragosa is not. I leave my army here in Zaragosa for awhile to quell the unrest.

At this point in the game I am allied with the English, French Portugese, and oddly enough the Moors, who sent a diplomat and asked for a alliance.

The Moors now demand my attention as I wish take their cities. I start with the army I'm building up in Toledo and take Granada. Over in the East I notice that Bordeaux just repulsed a French army. I rush an army up and take Bordeaux with ease, but apparently steped on a few Portugese toes to get there and they break their alliance with me.

Apparenly the French feel as if Bordeaux is there's by divine right because they send an army to seige it. Its a pitiful army and I sally out of my castle and destroy the crossbow men and spear militia.

Unfortanily next Turn I realize that Bordeaux was only a cunning trap, those devious French lust for Zaragosa and send a giant army to capture it. The Army I was raising to finish off the pitiful Moors finds itself heading East. Next turn I am warned by the pope not kill other Christians, but apparently it doesn't count if you attack an army that is sieging your city. I bring down reinforcements from Bordeaux and with my mixed army that should be off slaughtering heathen muslims I decemate the French and they scury back to their own lands.

Things seem to be getting back on track, but wait, those bloody portogese didn't like me trampling through their pastures. They attack from Pamplona with a weak army that breaks against Zaragosa's walls, but oddly enough leave a large army standing around on the border.

Meanwhile I ceasefire with the French apparently at the urging of the Pope. Other than an isolated Pampalona it looks like The East is fine, I turn my attention back to the Moors and take a newly built army into Cordoba. The Moors don't put up much fight and I kill their faction leader and sack their capital for 11000 florins. Things are looking up.

I decide it would be a fetching time to make those Pampalonian's pay for their insolence. I send my army out of Zaragosa, almost a complete stack. But Zaragosa citizenry need a larger garison to keep them under control so I move back my general along with a few units of caverly. Apparently the army was bitter of spilling Christian blood so they turn on me. The entire stack becomes rebel. Oh and did I mention that Lisbon is fielding a large army against my capital, and did I mention the French just showed up at Zaragosa again but this time with a large force of Feudal Knights.

So I am now fighting a 4 front war, Portugal to the West and Northeast, French to the East, my own rebel army, the French from the East, and the Moors from the South. Looks like things couldn't get any worse.

On a happy ending note for some crazy reason the French left all their troops at my border and attacked Zaragosa with none other KING HENRY the MEAN and his 40 royal gaurd, he stands at my door. I engage him with two units of peasants to the front and flank him with a calvery on either side, his guard crumbles and he dies.

Next turn I am attacked from all directions. Game over.