[TAR] The Alessian Rebellion - War Thread

[Barry Goldwater]

Combatants

Human rebels & their allies (Supreme leader: Alessia/Al-Esh) VS Ayleids (Supreme leader: Umaril the Unfeathered)

We'll use this thread for all of the actual battles of the war.

[Barry Goldwater]

Battle of Nirnroot

The northward march of the Laelorian host has been intercepted by the King of Fanacasecul, a cruel and proud lord who had converted to the worship of Mehrunes Dagon together with his father when the latter still ruled the land - and had yet to be murdered by him. The Fanacaseculians have set up positions by a small lake in a part of the great tropical jungle the Nedic slaves call 'Nirnroot', but their coming was noisy and the Laelorians have been made aware of their presence. The humidity, mud and dense foliage will surely present both obstacles and opportunities to both sides, as they have in past Ayleid wars...

Map

Laeloria deploys to the south & west, NPC Ayleids to the north & east

Forces involved

Laeloria Characters : -Valasha (Master Mage - Illusion and Alteration) -Lanath (Master Mage - Destruction and Conjuration) -Eóganan (Skirmisher Captain) -Calinden (Infantry Captain) Four units of Dae Ohtar(Ayleid Wardens) - 1,200 Mer Six units of Light Infantry - 9,000 soldiers (7,000 Nedic, 2,000 Mer) Six units of Heavy Infantry - 6,000 soldiers (2,500 Nedic, 3,500 Mer) Six units of Spearmen - 6,000 soldiers (3,000 Nedic, 3,000 Mer) Five units of Archers - 6,000 soldiers (4,000 Nedic, 1,000 Mer) Three units of Mages - 600 Mer Six units of Light Cavalry - 3,000 soldiers (2,500 Nedic, 500 Ayleid) Four units of Heavy Cavalry - 2,000 Mer Fanacasecul King Lalor-dan (Master Mage - Destruction & Conjuration) Narfin (Arane Pelin) 4x Light Infantry 4x Heavy Infantry 1x Archers 1x Ayleid Wardens 2x Mages

[Xion]

Orders

Map Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Beige - Light Cavalry Purple - Heavy Cavalry Dark Red - Ayleid Wardens/Dae Ohtar Gold - Spearmen Red - Heavy Infantry Light Blue - Light Infantry Dark Blue - Archers Green - Mages Cavalry - The Light Cavalry are to attempt to flank the enemy host and skirmish with javelins/slings/any ranged weapons they have along with carrying out hit and run attacks on the enemy formation. The heavy cavalry are to support the light cavalry, charging isolated enemy units if they chase the light cavalry away from their formation. Otherwise they are to wait until the engagement begins and attempt to charge and roll up an enemy flank. Essentially, an attempt to use Mongolian style warfare in the jungle. Cavalrymen are ordered to avoid the mud as much as possible, or if impossible to avoid, the heavy cavalry are to dismount and join up with the Dae Ohtar and the light cavalry either dismount or remain mounted and still skirmish/harass the enemy. Dae Ohtar/Ayleid Wardens - They are to sneak/hide on the left flank of the Laelorian army, being led by Lanath. Once the main engagement has begun, their commander will attempt to cast a mudslide or lightning storm/fire storm on the enemy flank, followed by the Dae Ohtar casting fireball/chain lighting/frost spike on the enemy. They will attempt to avoid melee and continually harass the enemy with magic. Lanath, after casting the mudslide or other spell, will attempt to use the Command spell(unless we're having it be part of the Illusion school as it seems to have switched between conjuration and illusion in the games) to cause infighting in the enemy ranks, or cause nearby animals to attack the enemy. 100 Dae Ohtar will remain with their commander at all times to protect her from duels/the enemy. Archers - March forward in loose formation and use as much cover as possible to skirmish with the enemy. Remain out of melee range and once the battle begins, fire at the rear ranks of the enemy army, targeting any mages left if possible. Mages - One unit of mages will assist their queen in casting Oakflesh/Ironflesh, illusions of soldiers, demoralize, silence(on the enemy mages if possible), and cast paralyze along with restoration spells once the engagement has begun and they withdraw behind the battle lines. The other two mage units will cast Destruction spells against the enemy force. 200 heavy infantry will be present here as bodyguards for Valasha. Valasha will attempt to cast chameleon over parts of her army, create illusions of units, Oakflesh/Ironflesh, Shield, Burden, turn the mud into quicksand/mudslide if Lanath can't, Rally/Courage on her soldiers, and Mayhem on troops in the middle or rear of the enemy formation. If her guards fail to keep the enemy away from her, she attempts to make an illusion of herself or cast paralysis/burden on the enemy so she can withdraw back to her guards. Light Infantry - Being led by Eóganan, the Light Infantry of Laeloria will march ahead in loose formation and harass the enemy with their throwing weapons, slings, and even rocks or sharp sticks they pick up on their way. They will work with the archers and attempt to avoid melee, withdrawing behind the line of spearmen to reinforce it/fill in any holes that appear in the spearwall for the main battle and to flank the enemy in the melee. The Nedic chieftain will have an escort of 200 of his finest warriors. Spearmen - Form a spearwall and advance towards the enemy. Then hold the enemy in place for the flanking forces to strike and roll up their flank with the support of the other infantry units. Heavy Infantry (minus 200 from a unit who are with Valasha) - Three units who are led by Calinden will attempt to flank the melee or reinforce the spearwall if it seems the melee is turning against the forces of Laeloria, while the other three units will support the spearmen in the melee along with the light infantry. Calinden will have an escort of 200 heavy infantry.

[Barry Goldwater]

The battle began with the Laelorians, as the attacking side, taking the initiative. Their archers & light infantry advanced and traded volleys with the Fanacaseculians, though the dense cover available to both sides made it difficult for either to inflict many casualties. They did succeed in provoking Lalor-dan into ordering an attack however, at which point the various Laelorian skirmishers melted away to regroup behind the safety of their advancing spearwall & half of the heavy infantry. An attempt by the other Laelorian heavy footsoldiers to flank the growing melee was countered by the Fanacaseculian light infantry, who had been pushed forward to extend their infantry line and were able to use the terrain to keep their more heavily equipped opponents off-balance. The mages of both sides also went into action at this time, some strengthening their warriors or weakening those of the enemy with Alteration spells such as Oakflesh & Paralyze while others lobbed Fireballs or smote multiple men/mer with Chain Lightning, among other Destruction spells. Further complicating the now-multicolored battlefield, Lanath the Laelorian dropped a Fire Storm on the Fanacaseculian flank, which burned bright and fast despite the humidity and soon set large parts of the jungle ablaze, menacing both sides and preventing the Nedic light footmen under Eoganan from rejoining the fight to flank the Ayleids.

As both sides' infantry began to flee to avoid the spreading fire while their mages worked to cool it, the Laelorians were able to salvage the situation when Lanath's command spell threw some elements of the Fanacaseculian infantry into chaos, as regiments began to fight one another and turned what had already been a panicked retreat into part rout, part self-inflicted massacre. In retaliation King Lalor-dan flung numerous Fireballs in Lanath's general direction from his command post, but enough Wardens stood between him and her to ensure that she never suffered worse than some mild burns (the same cannot be said of her personal guard, however). The final blow was struck by the Laelorian cavalry, which had trudged through mud and foliage to attack the disorganized Fanacaseculian host's flanks while Lalor-dan and his Arane Pelin struggled to rally the troops. In the ensuing rout, Lalor-dan was able to escape while most of the Ayleid infantry & mages were busy trying to put out the raging inferno now separating the two armies, but his Arane-Pelin Narfin was felled buying time for his master to quit the field: the rival Ayleid Knight had fought valiantly, felling more Laelorian horsemen (both light and heavy) than most of his kingdom's routing infantry regiments before he was finally overwhelmed and cut down. On the Laelorian side, all of their commanders had gotten out alive and with no lasting damage, the worst-off being Lanath and Eoganan - and even then, neither had sustained any injuries that would leave scars if magic was used to heal them.

Outcome: Laelorian victory

Casualties

Laeloria 150 Ayleid Wardens 400 Light Inf 800 Heavy Inf 600 Spearmen 100 Archers 50 Mages 200 Light Cav 250 Heavy Cav Fanacasecul Narfin (killed in action) 2,000 Light Inf 1,500 Heavy Inf 300 Archers 250 Ayleid Wardens 100 Mages