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Post by cerdigon on Apr 14, 2016 13:00:01 GMT
Battle of Orrinshire
The raiding band of Firetooth Coalition cavalry had been carving a red swathe through the Baemiran countryside, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. The town of Walden had been sacked and burned, the people put to the sword, and torch put to the field. Now with their saddlebags heavy with gold, the Firetooth cavalry were heading towards their next real target, Orrinshire. The mining town was vital to the production of gunpowder for the Baemiran army and was a target of strategic importance. The slowing advance of the Firetooth and their allies was due in part from the lack of local knowledge of the terrain and because many of their Stonefoot allies refused to part ways with their loot. As a result, General Plienfim was able to force march the vanguard of the Baemiran army to Orrinshire, taking only the lightest units and leaving the rest of his army far behind in the distance. When the General arrived, he would find that the local militia had already been raised. News of the sack of Walden had spread to the surrounding countryside and the local lords had taken their rusted swords and ancient family weapons off the wall rallying their serfs to form a makeshift defense. There had been no time to fortify the city, instead the streets of Orrinshire had been blocked off with overturned wagons and whatever makeshift debris the townsfolk could find. The General could only hope that it would be enough. |
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Post by cerdigon on Apr 17, 2016 2:52:24 GMT
Deployment Phase The opening stages of the Battle of Orrinshire was less of a battle and more of a standoff. Venturing outside the large town to take on four thousand heavily armed and well trained cavalry was suicide. Likewise, a direct attack on the town by the cavalry was bound to inflict heavy losses on the invader with the narrow confines of the street, the wooden barricades, and the cruel iron muzzles of light cannons blocking off roads. Chief Erog Boarsplitter had a reputation for cunning and he used it to his advantage. A thousand horse archers began circling the town, launching fire arrows into Orrinshire and onto the roofs of the thatch houses. The town was so large that the arrows were bound to find targets but the towns size also worked against the raiders, it would take time for the flames to spread. The central powder mill lay within the center of the town, it was the lifeblood of the village. If the flames managed to reach it, then no doubt great damage would be inflicted on this critical supply depot. It would be up to the defenders to stop the flames and pray to their Gods that the winds did not pick up. The fire arrows were met by a crackle of gunfire. While the archers were out of range of the regular line infantry and the cannons were proving too inaccurate to keep pace with such fast moving targets. This was not so for the light infantry which had been stationed on rooftops began opening fire. Unlike the infantry regulars and militiamen in the town itself, the It wasn't long before the first riders and horses were laying dead or wounded on the ground but the encirclement continued and the fires kept spreading. |
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Post by cerdigon on Apr 24, 2016 23:30:31 GMT
ENGAGEMENT PHASE Like hungry birds of prey, the wargs and horse cavalry continued to circle the town, waiting for an opportunity to strike. The spreading fires gave the cavalry a chance, the smoke masking their approach as the horse cavalry charged from the eastern flank of the town. They were greeted by hastily armed and prepared militiamen, only a single unit standing between hundreds of heavily armed knights and their lighter counterparts. The fight was short but brutal, more than one Orc was dragged down in the narrow confines of the streets and killed. But the militia were mere conscripts, hastily ordered to defend there town and now much of it was burning. The militia were scattered but their sacrifice and the brief delay they offered gave the line infantry deployed in the center time to reorient their lines. '' FIRE! '' The first rank of the Firetooth and Stonefoot cavalry shuddered, the led balls tearing through their armor as if it were mere paper. The boom of artillery guns sent rounds of canister slicing through the ranks as artillerymen struggled to reload. The wargs peppered the unarmored line infantryman with arrows, humans screamed and died, muskets roared, and the knights pushed on. When they struck the line infantry, the knights were hardly a cohesive mass and more of a mob. The line infantryman on the other hand were well disciplined and drilled but were not armed or equipped for a grueling street fight with Orc's in plate. The Baemiran regulars were joined by a regiment of militiamen armed with pikes, slamming spears into horse and through mail to drag the armored behemoths down. The power mill lay within sight and smaller bands of Orc's were slipping past the main melee armed with torches. Only the warrior Liands Cinde, his personal bodyguards, and a handful of artillerymen stood in their way. Pistols were loaded, swords drawn as the last of the Baemiran defenders prepared to greet the marauding Orc's. NOTES: -- Firetooth raiders have entered the town burning as they go, but encounter stiff resistance near the center of the town from dug in Baemiran regulars. -- Smaller groups of Warg's have broken apart from the main melee and have struck towards the powder mill armed with torches to set it alight! -- Fires have begun spreading throughout the town, fire brigades have become scattered due to the Firetooth assault. |
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Post by cerdigon on Apr 30, 2016 14:03:32 GMT
CONCLUSION As suddenly as they had appeared, the Stonefoot & Firetooth Cavalry were withdrawing. But not without a parting gift as fire arrows struck the powder mill. Baemiran soldiers struggled to fight the fire, bucket brigades forming long ques as townsfolk were pressed into service. Meanwhile, Warg's and horse archers staged mock charges only to be met by a hail of gunfire and boom of cannons. The King's light infantry were particularly effective at forcing the Firetooth to pay with blood for every attempt to move back towards the town. The fight to save the powder mill was a lost cause however and when it became apparent General Plienfim ordered an evacuation of the immediate area. With a roar that leveled houses and shattered windows, the powder mill disappeared in a rush of flame, smoke, and burning debris. The town center was absolutely devastated, a smoking ruin. But all was not lost, the Baemiran's had successfully managed to contain the fires in other parts of the town. While Orrinshire still stood, it was a smoking husk of its former self. The destruction of the town's powdermills would mean that the army in the field was bound to experience major supply issues with gunpowder until Orrinshire's mill was rebuilt. Likewise, while securing this victory, the Firetooth raiding force now had thousands of troops scouring the countryside for it. They were cut off from the main Firetooth army and now faced the bleak prospect of crossing unknown terrain and a vengeful populace watching their every move. OUTCOME: -- ORRINSHIRE HEAVILY DAMAGED; will not produce income or resources until rebuilt. (Costs to repair will be noted in campaign PMs) -- All Baemiran gunpowder units will experience significant supply issues until Orrinshire is fully rebuilt. |
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