Eston/The Falasan Campaign/Battle in Belegmon II
| Siege of Belegmon | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of the Lake | |||||||
| |||||||
| Combatants | |||||||
| Eston Darka |
Falasan Ash Sea Islands | ||||||
| Commanders | |||||||
| Sir Herumor Corsairs of Umbar | Sarrath d'Peabee | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1,726 infantry 351 archers 233 cavalry 54 special forces 31,900 CS |
940 infantry 693 archers 156 cavalry 34 special forces 28,000 CS | ||||||
| Casualties | |||||||
| minor |
very heavy | ||||||
| Noble casualties | |||||||
| Dakhir Yorke, Marshal of the Bear's Paw Dakhir of Falasan | |||||||
Preparations
Eston, along with many Darkan mercenaries, had occupied the field of Belegmon. The province had been seized by Eston for almost a week before the Falasani, joined by their Ashlantean allies, finally launched a counter-offensive. In the days prior to the battle, the Falasani had done several feint attacks, in an attempt to confuse the defending forces, and possibly drive them away without battle. However, the Estonites and Darkans remained in their defensive positions inside the palisade walls of Belegmon. But on the evening of March 5th, the long-awaited assault finally came. It would prove to be one of the largest and bloodiest battles in Atamaran history...
Battle
Although the attackers had the benefit of fresh, strong troops, the numerical advantage of the Estonites and Darkans would prove to be a crucial one. The attackers had less soldiers, but they were heavily trained, and were almost equal in raw strength to the defenders. The attackers brought many missile troops, but that decision turned out for the worst. Infantry-wise, the Eastern Alliance were outnumbered almost two to one, and those odds turned out to be insurmountable in the end. as it turned out later, over a quarter of the attackers did not make it to the field in time, or failed to move out of Barad Falas at all. Led by Herumor Corsairs of Umbar, the High Marshal of Darka and a seasoned combat veteran, the defenders formed a human wall, a few feet behind the palisade wall. Infantry stood side by side with archers and special forces. Over two thousand men would be trying to drive the attacking infantry, who were less than a thousand men strong, from the walls.
The battle was fought under a clear sky, causing Sarrath D'Peabee, High Marshal of the Ashlanteans and commander-in-chief of the Eastern Alliance army, to place his missile troops before the infantry lines. Upon seeing this, TwinBlade Shadow-Stalker, a Darkan special forces commander, led his soldiers outside the gates and ran towards the archers. Panicked by TwinBlade's charge, the attackers focused their volleys on the special forces instead of the wall defenders. The special forces were cut down to the last man under a veritable arror storm. TwinBlade himself was wounded and carried off the field, but his sacrifice allowed the defending missile troops to cut down many enemy archers without suffering casualties themselves. Upon seeing TwinBlade's bold charge, Torik Dom, an Estonite special forces commander, was quoted as saying "I'll be damned if a merc gets all the credit!", and ordered his men forward as well. Again, the attacking archers singled out the charging unit, but this time the volley was followed by a cavalry charge. The special forces were wiped out, but now the Eastern cavalry found themselves in the crossfire and many horsemen were killed.
Finally, after an hour of exchanging missile fire, the attackers led their infantry to the walls. It was at this point that the numerical superiority of the defenders would prove to be the decisive factor. About a dozen rams battered and breached the walls, and the first attackers poured through the breaches, only to be greeted by a second wall, made of razor sharp steel and clad armor. What followed was hardly a battle, but a massacre. Because they had made such a small number of breaches, the attackers were unable to attack as a front, but were forced to wait their turn to make it through the gaps. The Northern battle lines stood firm, leaving only two feet of space between them and the walls. In a manner similar to ancient phalangite armies, the defending archers used their shields to push their infantry comrades in the back. The pressure from the push neutralized the pressure exerted by the attackers, and the Northern infantry were kept in place. Meanwhile, many attackers were cut down, as others were crushed under the weight of their comrades who kept pushing forward. In the melee, two heroes of the Eastern army were trampled and killed.
No matter how hard they tried, the Falasani and Ashlanteans could not break the enemy battle line, and eventually, the last of their infantry were cut down or sent fleeing. Knowing that victory had been achieved, the defenders stormed out of the gates and charged towards the Eastern archers, With nobody to protect them, they were slaughtered in droves by the Estonite and Darkan infantry. Many who tried to run were mowed down by the cavalry, who circled the melee hunting for fleeing enemies. In the end, the last of the attackers were killed or routed, and the Estonite-Darkan alliance emerged victorious.
Aftermath
The defending generals had expected a close battle, but had delivered a crushing defeat to their enemies. Countless enemy nobles were wounded or captured, and two laid dead in the midst of hundreds of slain Eastern soldiers. The palisade walls were damaged beyond repairs, however, and torn down a few hours after the battle. The defenders remained firmly in control of the area.
