How the Byzantines came to love Crusades

[AndyH]

I used to hate Crusades. Then I realised they are so predictable you can really get the AI to play for you.

As the Byzantines I was having trouble on all borders. I'd wiped out the Egyptians and Turks very early, but as a result the Catholics were massing in unbelieveable numbers with only one target- ME!.

I'd been backed into the SE corner of the map. The AI started sending out crusades from both Spanish and HRE. Having worked out their routes I made a stand in Egypt (against the Spanish) to the south and Hungary (against the HRE) to the North.

I poured everything I had bar the guards on Constantinople. Luckily I won the first battle and the crusades faultered. But they had so many troups outside of the crusade it was obviously only a matter of time. I threw in all my last reserves into the two provinces. The crusades faultered again. This continued for about 3 or 4 turns. Then I looked at their gerenals. Their V&Vs had become terrible.

What is more they still sucked troups out of the provinces they returned to. They were literally bleeding Spain and HRE dry.

The more they sent reenforcements the more I laughed, the more their generals V&V became ridiculously bad.

This must have lasted 15 turns. The extra troups their factions were sending were keeping the crusades going. My generals were gaining experience and was soon able to turn defence into attack and walk the rest of the game.

[Bob the Insane]

Interesting history 'what if' situation there...

[Magraev]

hmm my experience is that after a turn in a province a crusade doesn't steal anymore troops. I have had full stacks keeping loser-crusades company for years (same religion, but not same nation - does that matter?).