YAY!!!!! I've been waiting since u said you would do it!! Never played as spain might do so after this...

Sweet! Spain should be interesting, since (from recollection) your early game units aren't that great. The Bull Warriors you get later on are pretty sweet though. Good luck!

DesertBoy

Wow, that was a fast response! Yup, handed in 4 assignments today, and I wanted to get started right away :P

Gaius_Carolus

Thank you for the interest! You assess the Spanish very well. I've never played them before, and I'll be looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

First update will be up soon, stay tuned!

[This message has been edited by Xingjianma (edited 02-15-2012 @ 06:07 PM).]

Spain is possibly the hardest factions to play in RTW, harder than even the likes of Numidia. My territory start divided by the Gauls and the Carthaginians. My military roster is very weak. I have no archers, and my best cavalry are Long Shields. Worst of all, I am unable to train any decent infantry until I have Minor Cities, which none of my initial settlements are very close to. Iberian Infantry is probably the worst 2nd tier barracks unit of all time. The only redemption? Bull Warriors of course.


My strategy is thus decided. I will first unite the Iberian peninsula under Spanish rule, and will then (or at the same time) expand into Gaul. I will build up growth building before all else, and I will carefully use enslaving to boost select settlements to Minor City first, so that I will at least be able to field some decent infantry.

I start building Shrines to Esus in most of my settlements. Iberia will only be a corner of the future Spanish Empire, and I will need the Law Bonus to keep these settlements in the corner of the map under control.


During Turn 1, I get all my units moving towards Numantia and Corduba. Generals and Round Shield Cavalry leave slow-moving infantry and Skirmishers behind.


The next turn, my finances are completely down the drain.


I set Osca as the capital before marching onto Corduba. It is my only Town, and I’d like to grow it to a Large Town.


I try to sell Trade Rights to the Goth for 500 denari.


But they would only give us 200. Better than nothing I guess.


My fast moving general and Round Shield Cavalry units attack Corduba. It does not have walls, so I assault immediately. It is defended by an all cavalry army, with one general and one Round Shield unit.


A bug that I will see many more times. A Spanish general dressed in Briton blue. It does make the general very easy to locate, which should help me protect my generals.


I walked my general toward the town square, hoping to draw the Carthaginian general out. He took the bait, immediately charging out at my general. I pull him back out of the town, where my Round Shields await atop a hill. Here my general and a Round Shield unit charge downhill at the Carthaginian general. They were completely destroyed, while I lost only 3 men from my Round Shields.


I attempted to use the same trick on the remaining Carthaginian Round Shield unit. I march my Round Shields back and forth in front of the town square.


They refuse to budge, and after 5 attempts to draw them out, I decide to go for the straight out charge.


It turns into a big brawl in the square. As they were in the square, the enemy Round Shields did not rout, and fought to the last man.


Victory. Most of the 40 losses came from the big brawl in the square.


Even though Corduba’s population is not very big, I still enslave. Corduba has one of the biggest growth rates in the game, and I want to slow down its growth as much as possible.


7.5% growth rate with no farms or trader. It can easily grow to 10%. I decide to destroy the Shrine to Baal while I still have full control over the town.


I was planning to build a Shrine to Esus, but seeing that big Carthage stack not far away, I opt for Walls instead.


Very surprisingly, after the end of my turn, the Carthaginians offer Ceasefire. I was so surprised that I forgot to demand payment :P


With the addition of Corduba, and the fact that I’m not training anything except peasants anymore, finances are back in the black.


But where did that Carthaginian stack go? It was right outside Corduba two turns ago, but now I cannot find it anywhere. I am reluctant to send all of my troops away from the region while there are so many enemies unaccounted for.


Osca has hit the 2000 population mark, so I moved my capital to Carthago Nova. It is must closer to the battlefront, and it has a port on the Mediterranean. It will make a fine training center and trade center.


I combine forces from Asturica and Scallabis, and attack a Gallic army outside Numantia, drawing in the garrison as reinforcements. The goal, of course, is to eliminate the entire garrison on the battlefield. This will be difficult, as the reinforcements are a general and a unit of Barbarian Cavalry. This is going to be very interesting. 3 units of cavalry, 5 skirmishers, and only 2 units of Scutari.


The enemy does not have any ranged units, so I bunch my Skirmishers together behind my Scutari for protection. I use my cavalry to feint the enemy, and sure enough, the Barbarian Cavalry units follow. Right through the line of fire of my 5 Skirmisher units.


Scutari are very interesting units, reminiscent of Roman infantry. One volley of pila (or are they spears?) killed over 30 men from that Warband unit, and the following charge from the Scutari and my general promptly routed it.


The Gallic captain just sat there doing nothing while his army was slaughtered around him. He was soon routed by Skirmisher fire.


Caught up in the heat of battle, I did not notice the garrison of Numantia withdrawing until it was too late. I was unable to stop them. Still a very good victory.


Looks like my skirmishers did not inflict nearly as much damage as I thought. Their 6 attack is just too weak.


I am unable to reach the city on the same turn. Numantia will fall next turn.


A small army marches into Gaul and attacks a small Gaul stack. Only 2 Warband units.


This is a very easy battle, but the goal is to achieve victory with the fewest casualties possible. There is a hill right in the middle of the battle field. I send my cavalry sweeping around to the hilltop while I position my Town Militia and Skirmishers downhill from the enemy. This way, the enemy either present their backs to my Skirmisher fire, or to a thunderous downhill charge from my cavalry.


Wow, Town Militias are really terrible aren’t they? 50 men was lost from the unit before my cavalry got through the first unit to the 2nd one, and that took perhaps only 10 seconds.


I seem to have forgotten to get a shot of the results, but it was an easy victory, no survivors. Losses were a little high for my liking, but Town Militias are just plain terrible.


That’s it for the first installment. So far I’ve been getting by with only my starting units, recruiting only peasants. I started with 3 units of Scutari, but they are not going to last forever, and I cannot afford to recruit mercenaries right now. Perhaps it is time to consider Town Militia as my main line infantry? *gags* :P

[This message has been edited by Xingjianma (edited 02-15-2012 @ 07:33 PM).]

Awesome first post!!! Really like it !!! one thing tho you said trade rights with Goths when it should be Gaul :P Otherwise great!!!

Excellent start! Looking forward to more Iberian conquests. EDIT: Doesnt Spain have naked fanatics?

[This message has been edited by MPounders (edited 02-15-2012 @ 11:33 PM).]

Echo the above- a great start!

Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

DesertBoy: Thanks for catching the error

MPounders: Thanks! Spain does indeed have naked fanatics, and I will probably look into using them, but they do not really fit my style of play. I use my infantry to hold my line while I pound them with missiles and cavalry from the side and back. Naked Fanatics with their low attack probably won't be too effective for that purpose. We shall see though

Terikel: Thank you! Spain's unit roster is quite unique, and having never played it before I look forward to seeing how this plays out as well.

It was odd the Carthaginians offered peace so quickly, especially with a larger army lurking around. Do they have their hands full with the Numidians/Romans maybe?

Good start, never played as Spain nor seen a Spanish AAR so I will be following. Welcome back into the fold

Aftermath: Thank you for the warm welcome!

The Carthaginian offer for peace was confusing. Even more confusing was the disappearance of the army. I have attempted to locate it with watchtowers and a unit of town militia roaming around, and thus far I have had no success.

Spain in RTW is not a popular faction it seems (I wish they were as powerful a faction as in M2TW :P). Outside of Bull Warriors they really have nothing going for them. This is going to be extremely interesting, I'm sure you won't be disappointed :P

I imagine the Carthaginians wanted a ceasefire so quickly as they simply don't have the forces to attack you. And you aren't likely to be reaching Africa any time soon, so it makes sense to maybe open up some more trade routes, for both you and them.

Good luck working your way through Gaul without any quality infantry - once the Gauls are getting swordsmen from Alesia I reckon you might have a bit of a challenge!

Gaius_Carolus: Thank you! The Gauls are already getting Swordsmen from Mediolanium, so I'm sure I'll have my work cut out for me!

The action continues.

Summer 268 BC

My small army marching into Gaul is attacked by a much larger Gallic army. Odds are 5:7 against me.


The Gauls start atop a tall hill, while I deploy halfway up.


I move my entire army towards the right flank of the Gallic army. The AI compensates by adjusting its lines to stay facing me, thereby losing its elevation advantage. One Barbarian Cavalry unit gets ahead of the enemy lines, and I charge downhill with my general.


The Barbarian Cav are promptly routed.


I use my Round Shield Cavalry to bait the Gallic general into giving chase, while I take apart the main line. Even an uphill charge is enough to rout this unit of Barbarian Mercenaries.


I then move my Town Militias into the path of the Gallic general. He turns and engages, leaving him open to cavalry charges from all sides.


Meanwhile, Skirmishers pelt the enemy Warband with javelins.


The Gauls are short one general.


Mass rout started shortly thereafter.


Heroic Victory. I got careless and let my Skirmishers get routed by a Warband unit, but they are probably the most expendable of my troops right now.


Winter 268 BC

Lucco gains the Good Commander trait for that battle, giving him +2 Stars.


I assault Numantia. This battle will unite the Iberian Peninsula under the Spanish banner.


Rams batter the walls while Skirmisher units pelt that lone Warband unit with javelins.


Being fired upon by Scutari and Skirmishers really riles up those Gallic generals. This one charges out of the town square.


The other unit of Scutari, running around the town to approach the square from a different path, let loose their pila on the enemy general.



I then charged home with my General. Down another general for the Gauls.


The 2 remaining Gaul units also charge out of the square. This is quite surprising. Most of the time the AI is content to sit around in the town square. Of course, I’m not complaining :P


The Warband routs. Just need to rout that Barbarian Cavalry unit as well before the Warband has time to reform.


Barely managed it.


More losses than expected. I hate sieges that involve enemy generals with a huge number of bodyguards.


Numantia has a much higher population than my starting settlements, so I decided to Occupy. I will develop Numantia into a minor city first.


Numantia is in an ideal location to become the capital, so I make the move.


Lucco’s army attacks another Gallic field army, almost in the exact same spot.


The 900 odd man Gallic army consisted of 4 Warband units, so it was a very easy battle.


Narbo Martius’s garrison is practically non-existent. I hope my spy will manage to open the gates.


Unfortunately, he did not, so I lay siege.


Summer 267 BC

Due to my policies of Economy First and No Recruitment (literally), my finances hit the 4000 mark for the first time in the campaign.


Osca expands. I’ve always tried to expand all my towns to Large Towns asap. Large towns can build much more advanced economic buildings, which in turn leads to a much higher income.


With 6 regions, we are the Largest Faction.


Uh-oh, trouble! 3 years into the campaign, the Romans are already knocking on my doors. This is kind of ridiculous…


The turn, our spy manages to open the gates to Narbo Martius.


I assault immediately.


Auto-resolved, easy victory.


Narbo Martius is a very small town, so I occupy.


Lots of sieges happening here. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to beat the Gauls to Massilia.


Winter 267 BC

Our finances are steadily improving.


Our Faction leader is very old. I immediately move him to Osca, where he transfers all of his retinue to our Faction Heir.


I sell Trade Rights and Map Information to the Carthaginians for 900 denari.




A decent sized Gaul stack appears close to Narbo Martius. This is very worrying.


So I order my Faction Heir, Caraunios, to march towards Narbo Martius immediately. He also hires all the good mercenaries he can find along the way. I still haven’t trained a single unit outside of peasants, and I’m going to need all the forces I can get my hands on in the upcoming war against Gaul, the Romans, and most likely Germania.


Lucco, who led some fast moving units from Narbo Martius towards Massilia, lays siege. Our spy has managed to open the gates again.


So of course I assault.


I have Lucco’s bodyguards form up facing the gate, and hit the Warband unit standing guard in the unshielded side with Skirmisher fire.


Once the enemy morale was sufficiently weakened, I order Lucco to charge in through the gates.


The Warband unit routs very quickly.


Meanwhile, my other general was racing around the perimeter of the town, hoping to envelop the Barbarian Cavalry in this side little alley.


This is extremely worrying. The general all by himself, surrounded by Gallic horsemen.


Thankfully, the enemy routs first.


The Gallic captain does down first.


This unit of Warband does not want to come out of the town square.


Maybe my Skirmishers will present a more attractive target.


Sure enough, they take the bait. Now only a small part of the unit is still standing on the town square.


Seizing the opportunity, I charge my general and Round Shield unit through the town square into the back of the Warband. They will drive the Warband back out of the town square.


Sure enough, they rout soon.


Victory.


A small settlement, Massilia is Occupied as well.


I demolish the Shrine to Athena to lower the Cultural Penalty, and start building a Shrine to Esus.


Summer 266 BC

Our beloved Faction Leader is dead! May his spirit rest in peace!


Thankfully, a new family member comes of age the same turn, taking the Faction Leader’s place in Osca.


That small Julli army is still there. I do not want to provoke war with the Romans before I conqueror Mediolanium and Patavium, but I also do not want to leave units behind to babysit Osca. This is very annoying.


A single unit of Gallic Barbarian Cavalry has laid siege to Narbo Martius. I attempt to relieve the siege with 2 Round Shield units.


I got careless in this battle. Lost many more men than I should have.


Man of the Hour! With the recent pace of expansion, more family members are due. This young lad will make a fine general.


My units from Massilia are unable to reach Lugdunum this turn. However, a Barbarian Cavalry Mercenary unit hired by the general after his movement is done can and does lay siege. The rebel defenders are all infantry, so I should be able to do quite a bit of damage if they sally.


Another big Gallic army wanders south. I order Caranunios to attack.


Heroic Victory. Spanish Mercenaries, which are basically weaker versions of Scutari, are not suitable for holding a line. I lost over half of my Spanish mercenaries against enemy Warbands and the enemy general.


Summer 265 BC
This Carthaginian diplomat has been following my armies all the way from the Iberian Peninsula. Makes me wish I had Assassins.


My forces slowly trickle into northern Italy. There does not to be too much opposition.


So that’s the situation so far. Italy is the first priority. I hope to at least take Mediolanium and Patavium, and hopefully I will be able to train Bull Warriors from them before long. I’ve taken on the big SPQR stack this early before as Gauls and Greece, but without any decent infantry I cannot hope to challenge Rome. I will, at the same time, expand north into Gaul.

That’s all for now!

[This message has been edited by Xingjianma (edited 02-16-2012 @ 09:17 PM).]

Very nice, Xing! Looking forward to more posts!

Agrippa 271 : Thanks! I expect to have another update posted tonight.

If you have the money you should really buy some mercs, especially balearics. The Gauls wont get archers soon, so they will give you a nice advantage by showering those warbands with slingstones.

I love playing as spain. To take a divided and very poor nation and to make them a super power is awesome..

Thompsoncs: Indeed, I have always relied heavily on mercenaries to support my quick expansion. I've hired a number of Spanish Mercenaries, Baleric Slingers, and Barbarian Mercenaries. They will make their appearances soon..

Awesome Eagle : So far this Spain campaign has been very interesting. Oddly enough, I am now steadily making a profit of almost 4000 denari per turn, even though I still only control the relatively poor regions of Spain and Gaul. I have been able to build constantly in all settlements as well as hire all mercenaries I come across.

This will be a short update.

Summer 265 BC

Lucco assaults Lugdunum. Should be an easy battle.


And it was.


I thought about enslaving, but ultimately decided to occupy. Numantia is pretty far from the front now, and enslaving such a small populace wouldn’t help much. On the other hand, Lugdunum will make a lot more money if it grows into a Large Town.


I do not like having armies sitting around. The army that took Lugdunum marches on toward Alesia, cavalry once again marching ahead of the infantry. Since whatever unit is in the Recruitment Queue is completed right after the end of the turn, the unit of Peasants in the queue will prevent the riot from happening.


I mop up some rebels.


There were 2 units of Spanish Mercenaries in the Rebel army, which took a chunk out of my army.


Winter 265 BC

Gaul has laid siege to Narbo Martius with a single unit of Warband, while the Julii have landed a single unit of Hastati right outside. I send some units back from outside Massilia to relieve it.


My diplomat has finally reached Italy. I will squeeze every bit of money out of the Romans before the idiots decide to attack us.


After I ended my turn, the Julii Hastati attacks a unit of Round Shields I sent to reinforce Narbo Martius. I withdraw. Technically this is my first defeat of the campaign.


That’s all for now!

I’m kind of curious, is there something other aspect of the campaign everyone would like to see documented in greater detail? Right now, in addition to documenting the overall progress of the campaign, I’m trying to show the various tricks on the battle and campaign map that I’ve learned or figured out over the years. If you’d like to see something else as well please let me know.

Looks like things are going good so far, except for the DOW from the romans..:/
Good luck, i will keep an eye on this..

Made good progress. United the Iberian Peninsula quickly, can't wait for you to begin clashing with the Julii in full

Looks good so far

Awesome Eagle: I'm not really too concerned about the Romans. There is no way the Julii don't declare war on me after I take Mediolanium and Patavium. The only serious loss is the fact that I won't get the chance to sell trade rights and map info to the other 3 Roman factions.

Afty: Thanks. I like to move fast, and barbarians are probably the easiest to deal with.

The situation with the Romans is quite interesting. I won't be able to take on the big SPQR stack right now. Do I wait for Bull Warriors, or do I try to use my cavalry superiority (2 generals + about 7 units of Round Shields to try to cause some damage?

Liam: Thanks! I hope you will decide to do another AAR soon!

I would use your cavalry to have a series of raids on the SPQR, maybe destroy a couple units each time, retreat, retrain try again.. you would kill them quicker then they could produce units, using attrition..

Awesome Eagle: That is actually a moot point. For details, see the following update.


The action continues.

Summer, 264 BC

I lay siege to Alesia. Looks like a decent size garrison. It has been 6 years since the campaign started, I wonder what kind of units the Gauls have in there.


Some reinforcements relieve the siege of Narbo Martius.


I start out hiding my Spanish Mercenaries behind my Baleric Slingers, while my Round Shields try to draw out the enemy general.


However, I didn’t expect to stumble upon the hidden unit of Warband.


That short tangle with the Warband unit did, however, convince the enemyto give pursuit


The enemy general turns to pursuit my Slingers. I order them to retreat behind the Spanish Mercenaries.


Coming out of hiding, the Spanish Mercs are ordered to fire at will. They will be able to get off one volley before the charge hits.


The damage done by the pila, plus my Round Shields charging home from behind, routs the enemy general.



After that, the Warband was easily dealt with. Easy victory.


Man of the Hour. He will help the war efforts greatly.


I besiege Mediolanium, to find that my spy has opened the gates.


However, I really do not relish fighting that big bodyguard and all those Warhounds in the town.


I decide to lay siege, hoping that the big Gallic stack will attempt to relieve the siege.


The Gauls sally from Alesia.


I position my Skirmishers to the left side of the gate, so they get a clear shot at the Warband as they march out through the gate.


Here they come. Those blasted Warhounds.


And they are immediately set loose, before I can try to rout the handlers.


I try to absorb the shock of the dogs with my Town Watch.


But they break cleanly through, and start chewing through this Skirmisher unit.l


Meanwhile, in front of the gate, a mass brawl occurs.


A charge from my general routs all of them.


The Skirmisher unit is almost gone, and there are still many dogs left.


After they were through with the Skirmishers, they started with the Town Watch.


I charge my general ahead to the town square, where there are only some remnants of the routing Warbands remaining. I would like to take them out while they are relatively few in number, before the 2 enemy generals get here.


No such luck. I can’t hope to win against 2 full strength generals, so I have my general run.


No sooner had my infantry formed up than one of the enemy generals charge right into their midst.


And… routs both on the spot?? Their morale cannot possibly be that bad…


To my relief, they quickly reformed, and together with my Barbarian Cavalry Mercs bring down that particular general.


The other general was dealt with quite easily. Heroic Victory, though at an extremely high price. I don’t think I’ve sustained this many casualties the entire game.


I enslave. Though in retrospect I probably should have occupied, the 2000 slaves won’t do much to boost the population of any of the other settlements, while Alesia already have 4000 population.


Winter, 264 BC

We are now rolling in gold (relatively speaking :P).


We are also the most advanced faction.


I am now at war with the other Roman factions as well.


I have not made much progress in my quest to obtain Bull Warriors asap. I plan to try a new strategy. I will continuously train peasants in Asturica and Scallabis, and disband them in Numantia.


Look at these, the prize for taking Alesia. Iberian Infantry! *rolls eyes*


Uh oh, the Gauls have put together a huge stack, and are within striking distance of my army besieging Mediolanium. It will be possible to defeat that stack, though it will be very difficult. I decided that the best course of action would be to attack.


But when I lay siege, I find that I made a very stupid mistake. I forgot to build siege weapons last turn. This turn, my spy wasn’t able to open the gates. So much for that plan.


Meanwhile, I mop up that single unit of Hastati that caused the Romans to declare war. The first bloodless victory of the game, not a single casualty.


I leave you with this shot, of the situation in northern Italy. Do I retreat, or do I make a stand? The deciding factor, surprising as this may sound, might be that unit of Warhounds in the town. I just do not know how to deal with them.


That’s all for now!

[This message has been edited by Xingjianma (edited 02-19-2012 @ 08:15 PM).]

Great writing, Xingjianma! I'm looking forward to more.

Excellent gameplay so far, Xing!