Rettleville Library/Report: Sir Lychaon Abdheran Strategy

A report from Sir Lychaon Abdheran, knight of Twainville, on how to defeat Aurvandil.

First Chapter: Preamble

This essay is intended to put in written words some general strategies for the war against our common foe. Some of these clues may be useful to mature a strategy that lead the Federated Realms of the Véinsørmoot to a decisive victory against Aurvandil. That will be a work to be done jointly by the nobles that compose it.

There is an uncomfortable truth in the war that the Véinsørmoot has been fighting for long time; there has been a general feeling of military inferiority towards Aurvandil, and the myth of their strength has been fed. Aurvandil can be defeated, and will be, if the free nobles of the Véinsørmoot Federation stick together and fight as a sole realm. We need to trust in victory, because it is certain, and even if it would not, we will only success if we believe in victory and we can taste it before a single man advances towards the enemy.

The final objective of the war is essential. Every noble should be determined to devote himself to the dissolution of Aurvandil as it is currently known. It cannot be just defeated, it must be destroyed and erased, the same way they did to Madina. They will always be a threat for the existence of the Véinsørmoot, and if they have the chance, they will do the same with this our Federation. Do not fool yourselves, they will try to make it look through an honourable way towards the rest of the nobles in Dwilight, but they will try hard and get it if we do not avoid it. If we seek that objective, it will be easier to cause severe damage to our enemy; if we just seek a victorious campaign, it is probable we do not even get to hurt him.

There will always be great powers to fight in Dwilight, realms are founded and dissolved. It is the time that the Aurvandilan regime falls, and our time to take its place in the new world order.

This cannot be a fight for survival any more, it has to become an invasion, because only through invasion we can damage their lands and so make harder for their army to be sustained. Though, it would have to become so in a second phase.

But there is something every noble in the Véinsørmoot should know: victory will be expensive. It will be necessary to make sacrifices, and assume that probably some regions will be seriously damaged. It is not honourable to admit, but in Barca we have seen how the civil resistance can inflict some losses to the enemy. If it turned to be indispensable, it is a resource that can make a difference against our foes.

Second Chapter: Global strategy

Gathering documents written by many theorists and statisticians, I have concluded these are the main points of the global strategy that can grant us victory:

Political warfare

1. Internal stability amongst the Federation. Since Luria Nova threatens D’Haran borders, it could not get fully involved on war. A truce is essential.

2. Political support against Aurvandil. War declarations can turn civil population against their rulers. The Farronite Republic could be likely to declare war on Aurvandil, as a major Astroist realm. The Grand Duchy of Fissoa, currently in peace with our enemy, is in war against the closest allies of Aurvandil. Maybe we can attract them tempting them with the isolation of the Falkirkian Free-State if Aurvadil falls.

3. Propagandistic warfare. There is a common feeling in Dwilight about the Aurvandilian pompousness, but they are not completely isolated. We need to convince Dwilight of the necessity of the war, and to create sympathy towards the Véinsørmoot.

Preparations for war

1. Coordination and leadership. In order to coordinate the actions, there should be a High Command composed by a representative of each realm, but also a Commander-in-chief whose decisions would be accepted in case of the necessity of a quick reply. This position should be appointed by the High Command.

2. Availability of forces. Before to launch an action, every realm should evaluate the amount of Troop Leaders they can deploy and the strength of each troop. Different reports and studies by many scribes have stated that recently, military strength in Terran has equaled the Aurvandilan. With half of the D’Haran forces (to keep their eastern borders safe), the combined army of the Véinsørmoot would be almost a 50% superior, counting with the slight force Barca can provide.

3. War costs and taxes. If every realm invests (through their Treasure and their wealthy families) in the army, taxes would not need to be higher. Also, the size and strength of the combined army could be much bigger. We cannot win this war if we do not fight as if it would be the last.

4. Supplies and equipment. Troops should have a minimum amount of food of half their capacity. Troop Leaders should be able to pay their men twice out of their borders, waiting until the seventh day each time. The equipment damage of the troops should not exceed 30%.

The battlefield

1. Divide and win. A whole army is more difficult to fight, and there are ways to divide the enemy. Aurvandilan forces split to loot Barca during their invasion, and would probably split to fight an army that invaded their lands while they are fighting out of their borders, if they underestimate their enemy.

2. Select the scenario. Aurvandil has several times dodged combat to attack other objectives. The place to set battle should be chosen actively by the Véinsørmoot High Command, instead of waiting positioned in a region which is expected to be attacked by them. That would mean we would be launching an unexpected attack.

3. Knowing the enemy. In his recent attack over Barca, Aurvandil forces were composed by infantry, archers and special forces, in a proportion of 10-5-1. The Véinsørmoot Army should set a homogeneous combat strategy that allows it to respond to an aggressive or defensive performance of its enemy.

4. Deployment. If the Army gets to attract to combat the enemy granting us a defensive position, setting the troops to dig in and keep a defensive strategy will grant us slightly less damage.

5. Unit size and settings. There should be the most homogeneity as possible among the Véinsørmoot size of units and withdrawal values in order to avoid units to flee from combat in different moments, which could increase the losses among the remaining soldiers. Generals will have to decide common settings to make the army act as a compact force.

Third Chapter: Phases of the campaign; Defensive strategy

This strategy would be set to procure battle in allied or rogue regions. The benefit of this strategy is mostly the capacity to launch an unexpected attack, if our enemy is focused in a distracting front. The disadvantage lays in the necessity of preparing a bait to bring Aurvandilan to the desired field. This is a proposal of which kind of action could be displayed in order to bring the enemy to our field:

1. Mobilized troops. Véinsørmoot troops that could join the campaign should be prepared for battle in the closest borders to Aurvandil, in order of a quick reply. A force of 25000 CS should be enough. That means about 2000 men commanded by 35 nobles (with an average unit of 57 soldiers and 715 CS).

2. The bait. Barcan attack over Gallaecia, Kydonia or Celtiberia. In their recent counterattack to Barcan lands after the failed attempt to take over Gallaecia, they rallied their troops and marched to Rettlewood three weeks after our attack. They launched an offensive of about 1130 infantry, 335 archers and 110 special forces (ca. 19000 CS). According to their own words, it was just part of their army. That would be an affordable enemy to fight with a combined army.

3. Scouting and rallying point. If Aurvandilan borders are quiet, a Barcan noble should be stationed in Celtiberia, so the inner Aurvandilan regions could be scouted in order to prevent from an eventual reply. It would be necessary to pay special attention if they expect allied troops involved. When some Aurvandilan movement was detected, Twainville and Rettleville could be some interesting positions to wait for their movement into Barcan borders, to launch a quick counterattack.

4. Aurvandilan reply. In their recent invasion to Barca, they sent a small party to Twainwood, while little time later they launched the main offensive to Rettlewood. If they would attack again Barca, maybe they would decide to focus on Twainwood and Twainville, which have not been damaged. That would be assuming they would not suspect of some kind of stratagem. It would be necessary to think about that possibility and its possible repercussions. If they decided to attack in first instance Nark or Ulitsa, unfortunately it would be advisable to let them do. It is possible that if they find no resistance, they split their army to advance towards Twainwood or Rettlewood.

Two Barcan Troop Leaders deployed in Gallaecia and Celtiberia could warn the Véinsørmoot army in time to move from one of the cities to another, according to the enemy movements.

5. Counterattack. When scout reports inform of the advance towards Twainwood or Rettlewood, it will be time for troops in Twainville or Rettleville to attack. It takes at least 12 hours travelling from Gallaecia to Twainwood, and 24 and 25 hours from Celtiberia or Kydonia to Rettlewood. The order to move should not be given until few moments before the expected arrival moment of the enemy troops to these lands. That would mean they would be taken by surprise.

It would be necessary more than a single battle to disband the enemy army, but when that came it would be the moment to advance south. Their northern regions are, in Aurvandilan words, the most important producers, so taking over or looting them (the fastest option to make them stop producing for them) would be decisive in a wearing campaign. Also, creating Terran and D’Haran isles in these regions could help troops to get taxes and recruit reinforcements.

Moreover, that could give Aurvandil some precious time to reinforce their armies, so maybe it would be more advisable keep on marching south with the main army, while an allied detachment could damage production in these regions. Note that peasant militias can offer an important defense.

This would not be enough to defeat Aurvandil definitely, but if the Véinsørmoot gets to keep Celtiberia, Gallaecia, Kydonia and Evanburg as allied islands, recruitment centres could provide the necessary troops, gold and food to prolong the campaign.