Q: 1437 Siege of Tangers

Hi everyone,

So, I've been doing some research on the Portuguese Siege of Tangers in 1437 and a few things bug me.

First, the numbers I get for the Moroccan army are near a million men, which is ludacris. Speaking with John, we thought it might be closer to 100.000 men, which is the number I have for the first relief army.

But what really bugs me is that, even though the Arabic army is at least 50.000 men if we're being more than ultra conservative with the estimate, that's still 10 times the size of the Portuguese expedition which was badly prepared and only had half the men it should have had, and very little artillery.

And yet, the Portuguese, despite holding the siege and being attacked by that relief army, managed to hold for quite a few days, and a Portuguese charge even broke the Moroccans on the 3rd of October.

So, why is that? Is it just the strength of heavy cavalry? Didn't the Moroccans have anything that could defend against it? Why, despite that massive imbalance, were the Portuguese able to hold for that long?
 

Don Quijote

Banned
It's surprising of course, but not exactly an isolated incident. Rorke's Drift, Plassey, Baghdad and Habbaniyah, Agincourt. There's always going to be cases of massively outnumbered forces winning impossible victories. In this case the Portuguese didn't even win, so it doesn't seem like an especially unusual battle.
 
And we have to consider possible dissensions on the moroccan side.
Apparently the regent wasn't popular before the siege, so we can surmise that not everyone was eager to fight.
 
And we have to consider possible dissensions on the moroccan side.
Apparently the regent wasn't popular before the siege, so we can surmise that not everyone was eager to fight.
That's what I understood as well, but wouldn't it be overpowered by the fact it's a Christian invasion?

Luso-musulman relations were not exactly happy go merry back then

It's surprising of course, but not exactly an isolated incident. Rorke's Drift, Plassey, Baghdad and Habbaniyah, Agincourt. There's always going to be cases of massively outnumbered forces winning impossible victories. In this case the Portuguese didn't even win, so it doesn't seem like an especially unusual battle.

Sure, but for example at Plassey it's the fact the British were very well trained and the powder was too wet for the French-allied side to use their cannons. In Azincourt, the use of the new bows and tactics were the decisive factor.

So what happened here?
 
Check the army's composition. If most men are untrained light infantry thrown together for the occasion, as it is often the case in Moroccan history, you have your answer.
 
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