Thanks for the encouragement, y'all, especially from the Master Chronicler :).

Sorry for the shortage of pics so far. I'll try to do better in the future. However, it's a pain for me because I've got a VERY bad dial-up connection, usually only 26.3K :(. Therefore, as with the pics in this post, most will be cropped and/or shrunk to minimize filesize.

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The Spanish Chronicles, Book II, Chapter the First
... And on Michaelmas, in the year 1088 of Our Lord's Passion, before the whole chivalry of Europe, in the cathedral of Toulouse, King Alfonso did give his daughter Teresa as wife to Louis, Crown Prince of France, that the mixture of their blood should forge an eternal bond of friendship between their kingdoms. There was great rejoicing at the news, and the splendor of the pageantry was such as had not been seen by any man before. Then returning hastily to Spain, King Alfonso arrayed all his hosts before Toledo castle, where they receive blessing and absolution from Cardinal Franco, and never had a finer army been assembled in all of Spain. Then about Easter in the year of Our Lord 1092, while the fleet closed shut the Gibralter Strait, the army marched on Cordoba under the standard of Don Horacio Paniagua, husband of Princess Urraca, with Don Vaasco de Toledo at his side, to begin the glorious Reconquista.

Opening Moves
I began as I laid out in the 1st post, sending both princesses towards the Pyrenees while pumping out cogs and diplomats at Leon and troops at Toledo. I also installed some basic improvements such as roads and land clearance, plus a chapel at Toledo to mass-produce priests, and an inn at Leon for assassins.

My diplomacy went perfectly. I succeeded in marrying off a princess to the French faction heir as well as buying off the Portugese for the time being, leaving me free to attack the Moors. Now I have a diplomat approaching Italy, another in Aquitain, and one nearing Lisboa. Preaching is also going well, with Toledo up to 70% Catholic already and I start made on Cordoba.

Once I had a fleet of 3 cogs at Leon, I sent them towards Gibralter, which takes 3 turns. I'll be reinforcing them with 1 or 2 more shortly, but I went with 3 due to the need for speed in the conquest of Cordoba. As the ships sailed along the Portugese coast, they spotted a large number of Portugese ships. That could be a problem in the future. In any case, my fleet blocked the sea bridge successfully, but just AFTER a 1/2 stack of Moors under a family member crossed over from Africa. Oh well, hopefully he'll be the last.

In the midst of these preparations, in the year 1090, my other princess Urraca (now 26) had an affair with, and was rumored to be pregnant by, Don Horatio Paniagua, a mere lad of 16. It was a shocking scandal and all the more galling because King Alfonso had had dynastic plans for Urraca. However, despite his youth, Horatio had already proven himself in war and was utterly devoted to the king. He was also, alas, also utterly lacking in piety. But Alfonso needed another general for the war he was about to start, the princess wasn't getting any younger, and piety could be gained by converting the heathens. Therefore, with little fanfare, a second royal wedding was held, this time at sword's point in the chapel of Toledo castle. Then the young man was hastily shipped off to lead the army in Cordoba, under the watchful eye of General Vaasco.

Don Horacio Paniagua
  • 16 years old
  • proven commander, confident defender, very loyal, fair fighter, royal ties
  • 3 command, 3 chivalry, 10 loyalty, zero piety


The war began on the very next turn. And none too soon--the Spanish treasury was now exhausted and needed an infusion of plunder. The army consisted of the 2 generals, 2x mailed knights, 2x jinetes, 4x peasant archers, 4x spear militia, and 1x town militia.

Book II, Chapter the Second
The glorious Reconquista began on Palm Sunday in the 1092nd year of Our Lord's Passion, when Don Horacio Paniagua led the flower of Spanish chivalry across the Rio Guahana, at the ford near the hamlet of Puebla de Don Rodrigo. There he paused to erect a monument, that none should forget the time and place of it, and to offer praises to Almighty God for granting him the privilege and honor of commanding the Reconquista. And immediately began the Holy work of bringing the Word of God to the heathens, and a great many unrepentant sinners were burnt along the army's route to Cabeza del Buey. Amen. Then messengers arrived bearing tidings from King Alfonso's spies inside Cordoba, that Emir Khayri, recently arrived from Marakesh, upon learning of the Spanish advance, had taken his army through the mountains north from Cordoba, and was even now near Siruela, behind Don Horacio and threatening Toledo. Whereupon Don Horacio, divining the Moors' strategem, sent Don Vaasco de Toledo with all the knights and squires back to Siruela to chastise the Emir, while he himself continued onwards with the levies to besiege Cordoba and await Don Vaasco's return. Don Vaasco, following the track of the Moors, came upon them at the foot of Monte Sangre, down which he charged and, by the Grace of God, drove them with great slaughter into Rio Guahana. Emir Khayri was unhorsed and captured, but refusing to accept the Sacrement of Baptism, he was put to the sword along with all his retainers. Amen. A small remnant of the heathens escaped back to Cordoba, but their condign punishment was not long delayed. For Don Horacio, arriving before the walls, beheld the gates standing open. Greatly gladdened by this sign of God's Favor, he immediately rushed in with all his force, and the streets of Cordoba ran red with the blood of unbelievers, Don Horacio himself always in the forefront and slaying in single combat the Emir Ayyub, although he was himself sorely wounded. Great booty was had from this city, and more than 2000 heathens burnt, with the remainder taking the Sacrement of Baptism. And for this glorious victory, vouchsafed unto us by the Eternal Grace of Almighty God, a new feast was added to the calendar, in perpetual celebration and thanksgiving. Amen.

The Battle of Monte Sangre
This battle exposed some strange things in the game relating to the craziness of the mountains in central Spain. The setup area was on both sides of the peak of an extremely high mountain, but most of the Moors' area contained an impassable cliff. However, they had some room on my extreme right flank where they could occupy the high ground. Expecting them to do that, I placed my troops there, only to find the Moors centered left-right, at the foot of the huge cliff. I guess they didn't want the cliff in their rear. So there was nothing for it but to march all the way to the left flank, where I could get down around the cliff. This shot shows the height of the mountain at the center of the battle area--note that the Moors are directly in line with my right flank here, at the bottom of the sheer cliff.

http://people.delphiforums.com/jtwel...Mountain01.jpg

The next shot shows more strangeness. Once I got around the cliff, I was still much higher than the Moors. That's when I discovered that mountains do strange things to units. For instance, the jinetes in the foreground were able to hit every Moor unit way down there with javelins from this position. But seeing the enemy disorderd and trying to climb the steep hill towards me, I decided to charge everybody. So without pausing the game, I went down my 4-unit line clicking each in turn. That's when I found out that units go VERY fast down hills like this, and charges begin at the gallop immediately. Note the lone Spanish unit at the bottom of the hill--it got all the way there by the time I'd clicked the last of my units, none of which are in sight yet. Fortunately, the other units got there equally quickly so the fight wasn't so uneven for more than a few seconds. Still, that unit took heavy losses in that time.

http://people.delphiforums.com/jtwel...Mountain02.jpg

About 1/3 of the Moors escaped, minus their general. The most annoying part was that most of the fugitives were foot archers, with whom I had the usual rout-chasing problems :(.

The Sack of Cordoba
Unfortunately, I was so excited by the gates being unlocked and then by the fighting that I forgot to take pics of this fight. But it wouldn't have made good cinema anyway--the small forces invovlved were kinda swallowed by the size of the city. Suffice to say that the enemy was scattered about so I could crush most units in isolation. Despite outnumbering the defenders in men 2-1 (though about equal in units, thanks to some Moors being the decimated survivors of Monte Sangre, and 2 others being ballistas), this battle was classified as an "Heroic Victory". Don Horacio came out of this fight (in which he took a star role), the subsequent sack of the city in which 2000+ people were butchered, and the immediate construction of a church, with a positive outcome. He gained the traits of wall taker, scarred, religious, and fair in rule. That gives him +4 hit points, chivalry up to 4, and his very 1st piety ring :).

Next step, blitzkrieg isolated Grenada. Then hopefully peace with the Moors for the time being, so I can concentrate on Portugal and the rebels. By then I should be His Venality's #1 boy.