Riombara/The Great War

The Great War - Third Part

To read about the second part of the Great War covering the 5th Campaign from November 1006 to February 2007, go here: The Great War - Part 2

5th Campaign, results

The entire 5th campaign was fought by Riombara and Alluran against Luz, Enweil and Irombro. Our enemies were considerable stronger than our side, still they did not manage to gain anything. In the beginning, Luz and Enweil retook Mio Dupaki and Glongin, but after bitter fighting we managed to retake them. This did cost us Rii which was taken by Irombrozia, and Brovyl which was taken from Alluran by Luz. So after all that strength being invested by our enemies against us, they had practically given up on holding Grehk by force and were unable to make any significant gains against Alluran.

Sixth Campaign (February 1007)

First Sortie 

• Feb 8th: Luz has abandoned their efforts of taking Xween, thus over 22.000 enemies now concentrate on taking Brovyl from Alluran. We reenter Ardmore.

The 2nd battle of Eno, Feb 10th

Diplomacy: Irombrozia treacherously and unsurprisingly lowers relations to Alluran to 'surprise' them and joins Luz and Enweil in the long expected attack against Eno. They enter in an alliance with Luz de Bia as well. The day before, Fwuvoghor joins in an alliance with Enweil. This completes their complete turnaround from having a defensive alliance with Riombara. It is expected that Fwuvoghor will turn openly hostile soon.

• Feb 10th: 24.000 attack Allurans 12.000 defenders. The battle is tough, but the enemy superiority is too large: They take the walls, inflicting around 7000 casualties among the Allurans but suffering an equal number in return. Right after this battle our advance guard attacks into Bolkenia to intercept Iormbrozians returning from their surprise attack against Eno: 2.100 Riombarans fight 2.500 Irombrozians - and lose, though losses are substantial on both sides. At the same time we run a friendly TO of Rii, which soon fails. Another is started right afterwards.

The 1st Assault against Irombro, Feb 11th

• Feb 11th: With Irombrozia cut off and our main army having arrived at the front in Rueffilo, we immediately attack the city of Irombro: 12.100 smash the 3.200 Irombrozian defenders. Enweil starts to leave Eno, heading north. Our TO of Rii fails yet again and a hostile one is started. After investing 26.000 men against Alluran, Luz now finally takes control of Brovyl

Diplomacy: Our allies are marching - a massive army from Avalon, Fronen, Old Grehk and Thalmarkin totalling over 40.000 men marches towards Fengen, the capital of Enweil.

• Feb 13th: We hold Irombro, Bolkenia and Rii with light forces while our core marches through the still burning Eno to attack the rearguard of Luz in Brovyl: 6.200 Alluran and Riombarans rout 2.400 Luzian rearguard troops. Over the next day there are 2 more skirmishes in Irombro and 1 in Bolkenia, leading to roughly 1000 losses for Irombrozia.

Diplomacy: In two massive and bloody battles, our allies meet defeat in Fengen: 32.000 attack 24.000 defenders, resulting in a stalemate, followed by another battle of 16.000 attackers against 16.000 defenders, resulting in a clear victory for Enweil. Fwuvoghor uses this to declare war against Riombara. After fighting side by side, after being supported by us against Avalon, they have decided to break our common alliance and attack - without provocation or cause.

The 3rd Battle of Rii, Feb 15th

• Feb 15th: Irombrozia in a desperate but futile attempt attacks with 2.300 into Rii - and is met by 7.400 Riombarans. Only a handfull Irombrozians escape - noone understands why they threw their lives away like that. Fwuvoghor starts a hostile TO of Melegra.
• Feb 17th: Our hostile TO failed after 4 days. We march towards Grehk to meet a freshly refitted Luz that was also heading towards the city. A friendly TO of Grehk is begun by our advance guard.
• Feb 19th: After the friendly TO failed, we start a hostile one. By now our army numbers 14.000, Luz' has moved 12.500 into Mio Dupaki. Alluran is still holding Bolkenia in force, running a TO there. By sunset, Luz cunningly moves two thirds of their army into Glongin, masking their move...this might be a preparation to attack our army in Grehk from two directions. Fwuvoghor takes Melegra. Especially damaging is the fact that we lose our claim on the region as well...
• Feb 20th: Luz move to the attack - but instead of being pleased by blood and mayhem, the gods decree that no fighting shall take place. We are dismayed, as we outnumber our foes considerably: 16.200 against 11.900. In addition, our hostile TO fails due to the enemy army being present. The faceoff continues at sunset, the only difference being additional Luzian reinforcements. In the northern theater, Fwuvoghor has moved into Ajitmon, starting another TO.

The 5th Battle of Grehk, Feb 21st

• Feb 21st: Finally the truce is over: 14.800 Luzians warriors meet our 15.400. The battlefield is fiercely contested right from the beginning, with our forces having a slight edge in quality. During the 2nd hour, the both sides charge their cavalry into the melee - the bloodiest moment of the entire war, with 8500 and 7300 wounds received...both sides lose over 230 lances in this round alone. From now on, our better armoured troops make themselves felt...little by little the enemy is pushed back, though the the Luzian warriors fight bravely. Still, it is to no avail - in the 6th hour their line crumbles and slaughter ensues. Luz loses over 10.000 men, we roughly 6.000. Both sides have heavy casualties within the noble ranks as well: Riombara has 6 wounded, including a Duke, a marshal and a count. Luz has 5, including their chancellor and their general. The heaviest loss is Luz' hero Motig though.

The 1st Battle of Bolkenia, Feb 21st

• Feb 21st: While the battle in Grehk rages, another battle is fought in the south: Irombrozia attacks the forces of Alluran which were conducting a brutal TO of Bolkenia: 5.100 Irombrozians charge 5.900 Alluran warriors. The Irombrozians are routed with heavy losses, though they manage to break the TO.

The 6th Battle of Grehk, Feb 22nd

• Feb 22nd: The following sunrise, one more battle is fought in Grehk: The surviving 4.600 Luzians bravely charge our 10.600 defenders but are cut down. After the dust clears, only 2.800 of Luz once mighty army have survived while ours still numbers 9.500. Even our TO is still active. Luz withdraws. The next day our TO fails. That makes the count 2 friendly, 1 hostile failed in Rii - and 1 friendly, 3 hostile failed in Grehk. We withdraw to refit.

The 2nd Battle of Bolkenia, Feb 25th

Second Sortie 

• Feb 25th: During the morning, 4.600 Irombrozians attack the Alluran forces running a TO of Bolkenia - during the 3rd hours of the assault their line is broken and they flee the battlefield after suffering heavy casualties. While that fight rages in the south, Fwuvoghor takes Ajitmon. A few hours later our relief army reaches the region but the enemy had withdrawn except for 1500 which are cut down. We start a friendly TO.

Diplomacy: In a magnificent ceremony, Duke Marc is cremated in Irombro.

• Feb 28th: We retake Ajitmon and our army heads to refit. Alluran starts another brutal TO of Bolkenia. One day later, Luz' vanguard of 5500 has reached Mio Dupaki, starting a hostile TO. At the same time Irombro ventures forth from their city into Rueffilo, starting a hostile TO as well. They are right next to Allurans 7000 holding Bolkenia.

The 3rd Battle of Rueffilo, March 1st

• March 1st: Despite having ample time to see our buildup in Ardmore, Irombro holds in Rueffilo, guarding their TO. One cannot fault their courage, only their general...on sunset, our 10.100 warriors charge Irombro's 5.300 defenders. As two thirds of their army consist of archers, we make short work of them, though the high quality of Irombros armies once again shows: we lose about 2000 men while of their force only 800 survive. As Alluran now commands over 7000 men, Irombro will be hard pressed to field a force strong enough to become a threat again...by now they probably rue the day they attacked their neighbour.

Diplomacy: While we enjoy success in the south, our allies are beaten twice in Vilriil - a painful defeat.

• March 2nd: After marching north again immediately after th battle in Rueffilo, our advance splits up and strikes into Glongin and Grehk simultainously. The risk is worth it: in Grehk 4.500 Riombarans rout 1.300 defenders, in Glongin, 5000 Riombarans drive around 800 Luzians off....while over 9000 further Luzians look on from Mio.

The 1st Battle of Mio Dupaki, March 3rd

• March 3rd: After having driven off Fwuvoghor in the north and breaking the Irombrozian TO of Rueffilo, we confront Luz in Mio Dupaki: 14.900 Riombarans charge 9.600 Luzians who have dug in to defend their TO - Luz is clearly missing the strength of their advanceforces lost in Grehk and Glongin. As their marshal orders them into fortification defense, our cavalry charge followed by a fierce attack of our infantry line wreaks great havoc. For a while they hold, but as most of their troops are fresh recruits their line is broken by our veterans in the 5th hour of battle. In the aftermath great slaughter ensues: only 1.100 of their men manage to escape, while our losses are comparatively light at 3.500. We now have an army of over 11.000 ready to march while no enemy force remains... During the aftermath of this decisive battle we receive the report that Alluran has taken Bolkenia from Irombro, cutting Cagamir off.
• March 4th: We push on into Kuugl, routing 1000 Luzian survivors and starting a friendly TO. By the next day 7000 Riombarans have reached Thromegor, where a skirmish with retreating Luzian forces results in some more nobles being captured. We now stand before the city of Jidington, the enemy capital - its duke hastily recruits additional defenders.
• March 6th: Our advance marches onwards into Elloranaal, resulting in another skirmish - we stand poised to storm Luz' capital but their emergency recruitings are just sufficient to prevent an assault. Surprisingly our friendly TO of Kuugl succeeds after 3 turns. Thus we head on into Epinotke and Bym. By now we have battlefieldcontrol of all of Luz' regions except the cities of Jidington and Eylmon - all other regions are held by our forces. In addition we hold 13 Luzian nobles in our prison, most of whom where captured after the main battle. A friendly TO of Bym is started.

The 1st Assault on Eylmon, March 7th

• March 7th: 7.100 Riombarans charge the 2.300 Luzian defenders of the city of Eylmon. Holding their shields above their heads, our warriors charge the level 2 walls - but to their astonishment they do not suffer the expected hail of arrows and spears. Once they reach the top of the wall unopposed, they see that the defenders have deployed in the 'Delay and Wound' formation, disregarding their walls. Not being ones to complain, we cheerfully overrun their position. Luz loses 2000, we 800 men, we start a Colony TO. Irombrozia moves into Rueffilo once again.

The 4th Battle of Rueffilo, March 9th

• March 9th: Our Colony TO fails. Our army gathers in Bym to guard our second TO. 4200 warriors from Alluran attack the 4000 Irombrozians in Rueffilo, routing them though the battle is bloody. Bolkenia revolts and goes rogue, though it is retaken by Alluran immediately afterwards.
• March 11th: Our TO of Bym succeeds - with Kuugl and Bym taken we have advanced further than ever in this gruelling, 8-month long war. We head home to refit. Luz has not dared to venture farther than Eloranaal, but now that our army leaves Bym they march south against Alluran.

Diplomacy: Avalon and Fronen hold the recently retaken region of Wilwau with 24.000 men, Enweil and Fwuvoghor attack with 20.000 warriors. The heavy troops of our allies make themselves felt right from the beginning, pushing the attackers back. They break after several hours of fighting, but only 2000 escape, leaving 18.000 fallen on the battlefield. Though our allies suffer 10.000 losses, this is a decisive victory!

Third Sortie 

• March 13th: Alluran once again routs Irombrozia, this time in Bolkenia...and this time Irombro suffers heavily while Alluran does not. Luz is running a TO in Xween, attempting to take the region from Alluran. Another Luzian TO is started in Kuugl. Our vanguard starts to head south again, though half of our army is right now only starting to repair the massive equipment damage.

The 2nd Battle of Xween, March 14th

• March 14th: Right after smashing Irombro in Bolkenia, Alluran attacks Luz in Xween: 6500 attackers advance against the 10.000 Luzian defenders. Though Alluran loses, Luz suffers quite a bit more casualties. Right afterwards, Alluran charges once again - and this second attack forces Luz to withdraw from Xween, abandoning their TO. This achievement of the small citystate is impressive indeed - and noted throughout Beluaterra! One day later, Luz retakes Kuugl - half a day ahead of our relief force.
• March 16th: Our vanguard reaches Epinotke and Elloranaal where a small Luzian detachement is destroyed. Alluran - after barely having refitted in Eno - is once again charging Irombro in Bolkenia: 3.100 Alluran warriors charge 4.800 Irombrozians - but are repelled. That is the first victory for Irombrozia in quite some time and results in Irombro taking Bolkenia. We start a friendly TO of Epinotke - and this draws Luz out of their fortress Jidington into Elloranaal.

The 1st Battle of Elloranaal, March 19th

• March 19th: Luz has assembled in Elloranaal - we attack: 8.800 Riombarans charge 8.400 Luzians. Our battlehardened warriors carve a bloody path through Luz' freshly recruited ranks: During the 5th hour the battle is decided: We lose around 2500, Luz their complete army: 7500. We start a friendly TO of Elloranaal, which fails soon afterwards. We start another TO in Elloranaal, this time a hostile one. Alluran starts another friendly TO of Brovyl.

Diplomacy: In a surprise election in the Republic of Fwuvoghor, Retravic loses her seat to Widfara. He starts to distance himself from Enweil and offers better relations to Avalon and Riombara. Retravic starts a rebellion which sometime later succeeds. She once again sets her course towards Enweil.

• March 22nd: Luz sends a small strikeforce of 3500 northwards from Jidington. THey manage to reach Grehk, supplying it with food, then head southwards. Several skirmishes erupt in Rueffilo - we manage to beat back Irombro even though outnumbered, but the 3rd skirmish ends with Irombro holding the field - though being powerless to do anything.
• March 24th: After 5 days, Riombara takes Elloranaal. We head home to refit. Luz leaves Jidington and starts a friendly TO of Elloranaal, which succeeds 2 days later.
• March 26th: Luz heads into Bym and starts a hostile TO.

Third sortie / Aftermath: We are able to reach, hold and take a region right infront of Luz' captial - while they have not come close to ours for months. We were able to shield Alluran from Luz for a while though their TO was not to be successfull.

Fourth Sortie

The 3rd Battle of Bolkenia, March 28th

• March 28th: Alluran holds Bolkenia, Irombro aided by a luzian strikeforce attacks: 7.000 against an equal number of Alluran warriors. Though Alluran wins, their losses are severe - and the following day their survivors are slaughtered. Our advance reaches Glongin, killing a small Luzian advance force of 1000. We at once head into Mio Dupaki, catching another 500 that are withdrawing from Grehk.
• March 30th: We assault Bym with 8.500 men - but their main force withdraws. Still, we manage to crush 1.700 stragglers while suffering only 200 losses ourselves.
• March 31st: We concentrate our army in Grehk, starting a friendly TO. It looks like finally the peasants do not believe in Luz anymore after having been cut off for months - and after Luz has given up on stationing any force there for over 8 weeks.

The Taking of Grehk, April 3rd

• April 3rd: By now we have concentrated over 17.000 men in Grehk - and finally, after countless takeovers - Grehk is ours! The old capital or our realm, the city where Riombara was founded once again flies the golden banner! Luz moves cautiously into Thromegor. One half day later, Irombro marches over 7000 men into Rueffilo, their largest army yet. They even start a hostile TO, announcing to all the world that they intend to stay there. Why they do that when they know that a veteran army over twice their strength is only one day march away, an army that is by now rested and has repaired its equipment...no one knows. We set out towards Glongin anyway, suspecting some kind trickery.

The 5th Battle of Rueffilo, April 5th (sunrise)

• April 5th: True to their usual stubbornness, Irombro holds in Rueffilo though they have to see us approaching: 13.400 Riombarans charge 7.200 Irombrozians. Even though their green troops fight bravely and well as usual, their line crumbles under our cavalry onslaught. They try a strategic withdrawal, but what starts as orderly withdrawal from the field ends in a bloody rout: Riombara loses 1.600 men, Irombrozia over 6.000. The Riombaran general Herkan, incensed at seeing such incompetence in his adversary, insults the Irombrozian commander Renee for squandering the lives of her men due to her gross incompetence. Now Alluran commands the south and Luz has roughly 9000 Men in Kuugl against our 15.000 in the area.

The 2nd Assault on Irombro, April 5th (sunset)

• April 5th: Right after the battle, while most of our army hurries back towards Grehk, a small Riombaran force follows the retreating Irombrozians - and even though their troops manage to get into the city and close the gates, Hireshmont orders them to a rearguardaction. Gleefully, our 4.600 warriors storm the empty walls and start to cut into the 2.700 defenders. Though these manage to retake part of the wall, even push some attackers back into the fields before their fortification, it is to no avail...only a few defenders manage to withdraw. Luz vanguard enters Mio, but they face a hastily reinforced Grehk...1 halfday earlier and they could have taken the city.

The 2nd Battle of Mio Dupaki, April 7th

• April 7th: While we fight Irombro, Luz has cautiously moved nearly 9.000 men into Mio Dupaki, starting a friendly TO. Why they do that while they have to know that we have over 15.000 men within 1 day march is only known to them. We forcemarch towards them and cheerfully attack: 14.600 Riombarans attack 9.100 Luzian warriors. After initial skirmishing, our main battlelines meet in the 3rd hour of fighting - the clash is tremendous, but for every Riombaran that falls, Luz suffers two casualties. In the fourth hour, 4 of theirs fall for every one or ours...and their line breaks, resulting in bloody mayhem: Luz' losses number around 8.000, ours around 2.500.
• April 7th: Immediately we set out to follow their withdrawing remnants towards Jidington: Skirmishes in Mio, Kuugl and Thromegor result in Luz' mobile army being completely destroyed and half their nobles being wounded or imprisoned.

The 1st Assault on Jidington, April 9th (sunrise)

• April 9th: After having reached Thromegor, we at once assault our enemies capital, which is held by 4 nobles commanding 1.400 men and around 4.100 militia. Those 5.500 face 9.000 Riombarans - all that were able to finish the forced march after having fought in two main battles, one assault against Irombro and countless skirmishes. Fighting is bitter, we gain the walls of the stronghold several times, but at last Luz is able to hold them against us and we are repulsed. Both sides lose around 5.000 men.

Diplomacy: Our allies celebrate an important victory after having assaulted and taken the long contested fortress of Fwuvoghor - though a strong Enweilian army assembles nearby.

The 2nd Assault on Jidington, April 9th (sunset)

• April 9th: While 3 skirmishes are fought and won in Bym, Thromegor and Kuugl, we prepare for another assault against our enemies' capital: 5.500 Riombarans charge 2.400 Luzian warriors who hold their position on top of the walls of their stronghold. Both sides are exhausted, their armour is torn and their swords are blunt...but both sides fight tenaciously. Riombara gains a small foothold on the walls which is bitterly contested for the next 6 hours. Some of our men are thrown back again and again, only to scale back up. Siege engines are destroyed and Riombaran banners cut down...but in the end, the defenders cannot hold and we win the day. No pursuit is possible as both sides just leave from each other after being completely exhausted - but still we rejoice, as now we hold their capital! But in a dastardly act, Magnum Opus, the judge of Luz tortures one of our own to death: Morir, an infiltrator. He did attack a councilmember without Riombara's consent, so a hefty penalty was in order - but an unclean death like that will be remembered.
• April 10th: Fighting again ensues in Jidington as Luz tries to push us from their city - though this time there is no clearcut fieldbattle, only vicious house to house fighting: 1.800 Luzians try to surprise 4.800 Riombarans, but we hold firm. The following sunset, the bloody fighting continues as once again 1.800 Luzians try to dislodge us from the heart of their realm, though again they lose. By now we barely have more than a handfull of frontline fighters left standing...on both sides, scores of nobles have been wounded during those 2 bloody days and nights.

Diplomacy: While our allies hold the fortress of Fwuvoghor, Enweil attacks: 17.400 Enweilian warriors charge 22.300 defenders, but are beaten soundly. Our alliance stays in control of Fwuvoghor city. Two days later, 5000 allies defeat 4000 of our enemies in Vilriil.

• April 13th: We are heading home to refit after two glorious weeks of combat. While Luz refits - after recruiting they are fielding a total of 8.000 men in comparison to our 22.000 - Alluran takes Brovyl. Irombro moves into Rueffilo but is soon driven out after accomplishing nothing.

The 3rd Assault against Irombro, April 16th

• April 16th: As our forces in Rueffilo number 8.500, the order to assault the stronghold of Irombro is given. The 5.200 defenders again disregard their walls, but luckily for them reach them in time to defend them against our assault - and defend them they do! Our forces never gain a foothold on the walls and are mauled, though the defenders suffer as well. This is Riombara's first defeat since Irombrozia declared war against us.

Diplomacy: On April 17th, Enweil charges the allied defenders of Fwuvoghor once again - but their attack is too weak: 15.000 against 27.000 defenders. Even though the defenders lose a notable part of their forces, the attackers are completely crushed.