Battle of the Helean Coast

Look to the shore! Look at these men! Men that have chosen to fight for a traitor. Men willingly supporting the cause of a criminal. Men that tear our ancient homeland apart and drench its sacred earth in the blood of our kin! Let us give them the only thing they deserve! Death for the traitor! Death for the Usurper! Soldiers of the Hegemony, Take the Day!

— General Anthiemus Gaderis

Even in a conflict as filled with carnage and bloodshed as the War of the Seven Princes, the battle that tore apart the Helean Coast stands out. A dance between fire and earth and water. The beginning of the end for an Emperor.

Prelude

Following Vespasian's coup in early 2219 DA, Empress Miera fled to the western continent of Scetia. The Legions there were generally supportive of her cause, many of her pre-war policies had heavily favored colonial forces after all. She found a willing ally in General Anthiemus Gaderis and by early Apris of the next year, had assembled a force of around 100.000 soldiers. Vespasian's spies in Scetia had taken notice of the army, however, and by the end of Apris, made the Usurper aware of this new threat.
Early-onset of the Storm Season slowed the Loyalist fleet down and gave Vespasian time to garrison the great harbors of western Vardania. At the same time, Dhion Hi had raised five new Legions and made camp near Nikoris, patiently awaiting Miera's army. The Loyalist fleet arrived before Nikoris on the 26th of Maius but found the city heavily fortified. Rather than force a landing here, Gaderis decided to sail north. Shadowed by Hi's scouts, the fleet eventually reached the Helean Coast on the 28th of Maius.

What choice is there to make? My son's birthright is at stake. The work of a dozen generations is burned as we speak. Order the landing.

— Empress Miera

The Battle

by Creative Assembly

With Storm Season fast approaching the Vardanian coast, Gaderis new that he had to act fast. After a short discussion with the Empress, he ordered his forces to land on the morning of the 1st of Iunis. The Helean Coast consisted of a flat, sandy beach several kilometers long and about 300 meters wide. Behind the beach, a stretch of coastal plain that ended on a sparse tree line about two kilometers from the coast. The previous night had been foggy, which resulted in Dhion Hi's scouts losing the fleet. They found it again in the early morning hours.
Knowing the main army just an hour behind them, Hi's scout commander decided to charge the disembarking soldiers. Charging from the woods, they soon came under fire from the loyalists. The first drops of blood stained the fields and sands of Helea. A fierce skirmish ensued, both sides equal at first. As time went by, however, more and more loyalist soldiers managed to disembark, including several Legionary regiments. Casualties had remained light on both sides, but Hi's scouts had lost the field. They retreated into the woods just as the main army arrived.

Inferno on the Beach

by Tommy Kho

Rather than charge out immediately, Hi chose to wait a while longer. While it allowed more Loyalist soldiers to embark, it also meant that a large part of their army would be stuck on land when the attack happened. Miera would be forced to either commit fully or risk losing a large part of her army. While waiting, he send a large cavalry force north to patrol the coast and possibly fall onto the enemies flank, should they managed to advance. Three hours after dawn and two after the battle had first begun, he gave the signal. Thousands of soldiers now rushed toward the beach.
Gaderis reacted immediately. His fleet consisted not only of transport ships but also sixty-seven warships, all equipped with strike ballistae. They had anchored shortly off the coast since before dawn and now opened fire. Ground and formations alike were torn apart, as a row of fireballs rose into the sky. Meanwhile, loyalist forces moved into formation. Legionaries formed rows with archers taking up position behind them. They managed to fire two volleys before Hi's soldiers smashed into their lines. Across the length of the beach, the two lines crashed into each other, infantry engaged in a brutal melee while archers shot volley after volley across their heads.

Chaos on the Left

A few kilometers further north, another battle had broken out. Gaderis had started to embark his cavalry at another location around the same time as the skirmish had begun. They had originally planned on circumnavigating Hi's forces but now found themselves suddenly confronted with several thousand Vitrian Cavalry. The two groups clashed in a whirlwind melee. Normally the light Vitrian cavalry proved a devastating weapon on the battlefield, but against the heavily armed and armored loyalists, they began to slowly lose ground. After hours of fighting and heavy casualties, they finally began to rout. The loyalist riders split. Part pursued the fleeing Vitrians, the majority turned back toward the main battlefield.

A lonely Squadron

As the coast drowned in blood and fire, a small squadron of ships was making its way south. Hidden by the rest of the fleet and the clouds of smoke and dust that rose from the beach, Centurion Julian Atis was moving his regiments to another location. Half an hour away from the battlefield, his force disembarked. The coast here was a bit rougher, and it took quite a while longer for Atis to bring his seven thousand men onshore. That he managed to do it unnoticed was mostly due to luck. Hi's scouts had moved north to either assist the attack or harass the approaching cavalry. Despite his worries about the center holding, Atis waited for another force of five thousand to land. Forming them into two columns, he began to move north.

Meanwhile, the formerly calm stretch of coast had turned into an inferno. Dhion Hi had managed to bring several ballistae of his own into position and began to target the fleet. Flaming shots arched through the sky, tearing holes into formations and ships alike. Several of Gaderis' ships had been beached, now serving as elevated platforms for his archers. And within a whirlwind of dust, sand, and smoke, tens of thousands of men were slaughtering each other. The massed charge of Hi's soldiers had pushed the loyalists back, but their line had held. Now the differing quality of the two armies began to show itself. Hi's men, while more numerous, were fresh recruits and untrained conscripts. The Scetian Legions, on the other hand, battle-hardened veterans of an almost decade long war. They held their ground. Hour after hour after hour.

The Guard Charges

by Fabio Silva

Around noon, Gaderis made the deciding move. He charged the beach with his elite Legion, the mass of ten thousand heavily armored Legionaries smashing the enemy center. The timing was ideal, as his cavalry emerged from the woods, charging into the enemy rear with devastating force. Dhion's soldiers broke into a frenzied rout, their formation nearly evaporating. Seeing his position nearly surrounded, Dhion Hi decided to flee. Around the same time, his left was rolled up by Julian's contingent.
This did not mean that the day had been won, however. Several smaller and larger contingents of Hi's army had remained intact. It would take another two days and nights to fully clear the surrounding area of them. As the 3rd of Iunis dawned, Miera's forces smashed the last big enemy contingent near the small village of Kela, a few kilometers from the coast. The battle was over.

Repercussions

The Battle of the Helean Coast would mark the turning point in the war against the Usurper. Vespasian's armies now had a large enemy force in their flank, and after similar defeats near Crea and Aurasio in the following weeks, they were forced to withdraw toward the capital. Dhion Hi's army had evaporated, tens of thousands of soldiers either fallen or taken captive. Miera's army had remained largely intact, with no source mentioning more than 10.000 casualties. Many captured soldiers joined her, bringing her army back to full strength. On the 9th of Iunis, Miera marched her now rested force toward the imperial capital of Velaris.

All these men that fell today, be they enemy or ally, will be avenged. It was Vespasian's greed that send them to their doom. I swear that by the end of the year, it will be his body that is torn apart by scavengers!

— Empress Miera

Included under Conflict

Usurpation of Vespasian

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

01.06.2220

Ending Date

03.06.2220

Conflict Result

Empress Miera lands in Vardania. Beginning of the end of Vespasian's regime.

Location

Western Provinces

Loyalist Coalition

Four Legions ~ 100.000

Light Casualties

Secure the beach. Drive back Vespasian's army.

Led by Anthiemus Gaderis

Vespasianid Forces

Five Legions ~ 137.000

Heavy Casualties

Drive the Loyalist forces back into the ocean.

Led by Dhion Hi

by Joel Chaim Holtzman

Vitrian Cavalry
Lightly armored, lightning-fast, and extremely deadly, Vitrian forces have become an increasingly common sight on Vardanias battlefields. Originally a nomadic culture, Vitrians have kept their traditions of horse breeding and riding alive well into the present. Even Ferans cannot match the Westerners skill.
Vardanias general soon began to realize this as well. Vitrian forces would see widespread use in the colonies. In Scetia, they served as the perfect counter to other cavalry based forces and on the plains of Anidara, would annihilate anyone foolish enough to challenge them in the open.
The Battle of the Helean Coast was an exception. By accident, the Vitrians found themselves directly charging at the loyalist cataphracts. This resulted in a brutal close-quarters battle, where they were unable to play out their strengths. With no room to maneuver or skirmish, their light armor and weaponry made them easy targets for the enemy.

We'll drive those bastards back into the sea. Who doesn't drown, gets gutted. Oh, and if you manage to capture the Empress...leave her to me. Might as well enjoy myself before I rip her throat out.

— Dhion Hi

Storm Season
As the weather changes during the months of Apris, Martius, and Maius, so does the water of the great ocean. The last cold, northern winds of Frigian mix with the warm currents of air that announce the outset of Calidan. Large storms are the result, and for many weeks, the coasts of Vardania and Scetia have to withstand heavy rainfall and cutting winds.
Legacy of War
The remains of the many thousand fallen soldiers, were only partially recovered. The hasty and chaotic nature of the war, made many simply forget about the battle, far too focused on the future to care about any past event.
Nearly six years later, Emperor Seron Valerian would start a continent-wide recovery effort. His agents would locate over a hundred battlefields and excavate the remains of the fallen. They would then be properly buried. A gesture meant to symbolize the final end of the Princes War. Still, to this day, people may stumble across skeletons or fragments of armor and weapons.

by Deiv Calviz (David Villegas)