Battle Of The Frozen Harbor
The leading up to the battle was a series of events where an army from the Alliance of City-states. had dispatched an army specialized in quick movements and had been given the task of disrupting the Kingdom of Dercia.
This lead to a series of skirmishes with the Derican forces until an army could be gathered from the Kingdom, the general in charge of the army would shadow the Alliance army for weeks until the fatal battle at what would later become known as the Battle Of The Frozen Harbor.
The Conflict
Prelude
Leading up to the battle, the Dercians were shadowing an army estimated to be slightly smaller than their own and they were looking for suitable ground to fight on, this went on for a couple of weeks until the Dercians learned that the Alliance army had drawn up for battle at a place that did not suit the Dercians with their heavy infantry and cavalry.
Deployment
The two armies lined up in front of each other.
Kingdom of Derica:
The Dercians deployed their army in the standard formation with thinner flanks and a heavier centre and it was the plan that the flanks should hold the enemy at bay for long enough that the centre could break through the enemy lines and in that way envelop the enemy and destroy it.Alliance of City-states:
The alliance strategy was similar but they formed up their army with the best of their units on the flanks to hold back and slow down the enemy while the centre would be formed up with the newer recruits and the less experienced soldiers and their task was to as slow as possible to retreat back in good order and draw in the enemy so that the flanks could hit the centre in the flanks.Battlefield
The field where the battle took place, was near a small natural harbour that was used by a local town, it was covered in small hills but nothing that would make the advancement of the armies any difficult.
Conditions
The conditions for the battle have also been what gave it the name when the battle started on the first day the conditions was sunny and with a slight breeze but when the generals formed their armies up for round two the next day the alliance mages had formed a plan to freeze the area.
The Engagement
The Battle Of The Frozen Harbor started with the alliance archers firing arrows and ranged spells towards the wall of shields formed by the Dercians, the rain of arrows and spells were responded in the same way by the Dericans together with some light artillery in form of large bolts from ballista supplied from 15th Legion´s specialized artillery section
After the ranged attacks had been completed the Dercians moved in with their army to close the gap between the two armies, for the next half hour, the two frontlines were locked in close-quarter combat without any side being able to push the other side in any way, at some point in the battle a rumour began to spread among the Dercian ranks that the general had been killed and this caused a moment of weakness in the lines what the alliance was able to exploit and push the Dericans back along the flanks.
The rumour forced the Dercian general to ride along the lines showing that he was still alive and this reassured the soldiers enough that they were able to stabilize the lines and the general lead a counterattack that managed to drive a portion of the alliance army away but for reasons unknown the rout was never followed up.
At this point, the battle had lasted for several hours and both sides in good order pulled back their soldiers to give them some rest and food and with no more fighting this day the armies went to sleep with guards posted along the lines to make sure the enemy didn't try anything.
The next morning the two armies lined up again and with the horn of battle sounding the Dercian army began to march towards the enemy expecting a rain of arrows and spells but instead only one white ball was coming towards them and when it hit the ground right in the centre of the Dercian army, a giant white flash was seen and when it faded the entire area in a 10x10 km circle had been frozen, except the Alliance army who had been protected by their mages.
Outcome
For the Kingdom of Dercia, the loss of the army meant that their right flank was now open and the fields feeding the capital was now open for the enemy to do as they pleased with.
For the Alliance, this presented a strategy that they would use with success in upcoming battles.
Aftermath
The Alliance followed up on their victory at the battle by marching their army towards the now open corn chamber of the kingdom, along the way they had reinforcement joining them and with the heart of the kingdom now laying open for them they expected that the Dercians would surrender shortly after.
Instead, they only received a few local surrenders in form of cities surrendering in hope of now being besieged.
Historical Significance
Lots of histories and myths have sprung up following the battle, one of the most widespread is that the Dercian army was never defeated by ice but instead defeated in battle and retreated and because of the shame could not return home and settled the northern plains of Derica.Legacy
The battle left an important legacy on the Derican army, once they had analysed the events from Alliance soldiers they captured or that defected they would implement measures to make sure that such an event would not be able to repeat itself.
In Literature
Not many Derican historians have written about the battle and it seems to not be a popular choice for writers to make plays about unlike other battles and wars.
For those who want to learn more about the battle, they would have to go to some of the cities that were once the capitals of the Alliance because the scholars and others have written many stories about the battle from their perspective.
Included under Conflict
Included Conflicts
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
15 of Camue 170
Ending Date
16 of Camue 170
Conflict Result
Devastating defeat for the Kingdom of Dercia
Belligerents
Kingdom of Derica
Alliance of City-states
Strength
15.000 soldiers
10.000 soldiers
Casualties
12.000 casualties
2.000 casualties
Objectives
Maps
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Mirateia
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