Portugal Invades Morocco!

This weekend I had an urge to get back to my strategy gaming roots. I saw on Steam the complete Europa Universalis III package was a decent price. I've played the first two a lot and thought they were great.

I chose Portugal in the year 1399 (Grand Campaign). You can be pretty much any nation in the world at that time. Portugal is fun because they get involved in exploration and colonization.

You do get goals to help guide you. They don't need to be followed, but I will try to as I get acquainted with the game. The first given to me was to improve relations with Castille, who will eventually be Spain... maybe. I sent off a Royal Marriage request and they accepted. I figure it is good to be friends with the big neighbor to the East.

My next mission was to conquer Tangier, part of Morocco. It seems the Christians there need to be liberated. That's nice and all, but Morocco has some trade goods I am interested in too. Portugal is looking to be an economic power, so I will need those.

I assembled about 10,000 men and set course for Tangier. Once my force had arrived, I declared war and the invasion began. England, who are my allies at the start, also joined in the war as did Morocco's allies, Granada. My general (who has nice stats) began the siege. We received word that the Pope, controlled by Castille, called a Crusade against Granada. As a Catholic nation, this gives me a nice bonus. It should be known that Castille is at war with Granada too.

The Moroccan army mobilized and sent about 12,000 men against my forces. I had the terrain advantage and was able to break their morale causing them to retreat. Morale is very important, as troops with poor morale don't fight long. This was really the turning point in the war, as their main army had been defeated.

The siege of Tangier ended and we occupied the area. I sent forces to Ceuta, the neighboring province, to begin the siege. England's forces also began to land in other provinces. After we had occupied several provinces I sent a piece offering, we wanted Tangier and Ceuta. They agreed. This ended the Moroccan war.

In actual history, I do Portugal conquered Ceuta in 1415 but failed to take Tangier until 1471. I managed to get both provinces but it could have been more. My General died during the campaign and the war was dragging on my fiances. I thought it best to take their 2 richest provinces and call it a day.

Posted in: EU3