Declaring longest road/largest army

Hey everyone,

Last night I was playing a game and attained largest army late into it. I played my knights throughout the game, not all at once at the end. No one attained it prior to me, and it ended up giving me the points to win.

As the game was coming to a close, someone asked if I had largest army, to which I answered yes. He then said I should have declared largest army, but we were both unsure if it was explicitly mandated in the rule book or not.

So, my question is this: Was I supposed to openly declare my attaining of largest army?

I admit, I was trying to stay under the radar so I could sneak up on points, but part of me wants to argue that the other players could have paid more attention to it. Am I wrong in saying this? Was I playing dirty?

Thanks!