Battle of Olensk

Upon the 4th of Trocken, 1029md, King Albrecht I, the River King, marshaled the whole of the flower of Kingdom of Augsberg, with dwarves from the KINGDOME OF GRUNDLICHE-HOHLE and mercenaries from the north. They clashed with two of the dark god Unklar’s imperial legions, commanded by Duke KAIN, near the village of OLENSK. The armies drew up upon the gently rolling snow covered downs in the early morning hours. Albrecht led 9000 footmen, 4500 horse, 3000 dwarves, and 4500 mercenaries, arraying them in a tight battle line, with the dwarves under the hero OSLEIGH in reserve. Before him Kain commanded two legions, the 11th and 33rd, about 27,000 men. The imperial legions were set in two great squares with light troops of skirmishers on their flanks. In both armies countless heroes, lords, and chieftains stood to arms. They stood thus for several hours, neither one willing to commit, but by mid-morning Kain grew impatient, unleashing the fury of Unklar’s folk upon Albrecht.
Kain hurled the orcs of the 33rd against Albrecht’s right flank. They soon broke through and ran headlong into the dwarves. A gory contest of arms ensued. The dwarves refused to yield against the overwhelming numbers. Here the orcs and dwarves wrestled, and the bleeding of both armies began. Kain used the orcs ruthlessly, not sparring their numbers.  Albrecht’s royal levies were drawn from his center line and his mercenary horse was committed by day’s end. These proved too few and too late, and the dwarves were at last driven back, and with them the royal levies were overwhelmed. By mid-afternoon, the right flank collapsed.  The orcs slaughtered the dwarven wounded who lay behind their lines.
For the whole day the battle raged, the loss of life, immeasurable. On the left flank late in the day the whole of Augsberg’s chivalry, the cavalry of his old legion, charged, striking the lines of the 11th. With a deafening impact the horse ground into the men, and in a very short while the 11th legion collapsed, and fell back. Their leader, the Sanjak HAMID, fell, grievously wounded. But also, noble men died and Albrecht’s youngest son, FREDERICK CEDRIC, was killed when an orc lance struck his breast. But by dusk the heavily armored knights broke through the shattered legion. With the dwarves driven back and the royal levies slaughtered, and the whole command in doubt, the army teetered on the brink of destruction. Not until the dwarf lord, Oxleigh, chief lieutenant and heir of DOLGAN fell did the tide turn. The dwarves were driven into a frenzy and counterattacked, some 800 grouping together and hurling themselves against the thousands of orcs who remained. The dwarves fell, but their blood and honor blunted the orc charge and laid that people to waste. Not far from this melee the king’s first born, ALBRECHT II, cut off by the orcs, fell amidst a heap of bodies. About his corpse his guard gathered, a mass of blood and flesh waging a merciless war, but they too were overwhelmed and destroyed.
Into this fray came the greatest of Kain’s captains, KORAK. He shattered Albrecht’s center and cut off the retreat of the dwarves and the others from the right. The battle raged insanely around the village of Olensk. Korak himself drew up in the confused melee, the dwarves in their lust to slay orcs, unknowingly cut him off, and the northmen under the young maid, FYORGYN, brought over from the left, hammered him. They carried his head to the halls of the dead. So fell Kain’s second in command.  With this the Horned God’s army became disheartened, and for a moment stood confused and in doubt. Then other of Kain’s servants rallied them. There proved to be precious little time to regroup, for into the melee the knights from the left flank, with Albrecht at their head, came about and plunged into the rear of Kain’s battle line. Here the orc leader ARCOZ was cut down and killed.
Kain’s host staggered about, thrown into consternation. Leaderless, they attacked in fitful groups about the field. Albrecht’s knights rode to and fro crushing the foe until a chance blow from a great axe brought down Albrecht himself, who fell, wounded and bleeding. For a moment the battle hung in the balance, but the orc losses proved too great, and they were without leaders on the field. The orcs reeled and at last began to flee. Albrecht’s knights regrouped once more and pressed the retreating orcs. Across the bloody fields and rivers, the orcs fled to their master, Kain.
In the waning hours of the afternoon, Kain rallied his orcs, organizing them in troops of several thousand. They were brought into line in time to hear the rising tumult of the River King’s folk. Albrecht’s horse charged, led by his third son, FRANZ CONRAD CEDRIC, thrice wounded. There rode the flower of Augsberg, all that remained of Albrecht’s army.  Against this, Kain’s legionnaires fell like wheat to the scythe, and the greater part of them were slaughtered in moments. Some unknown hero cut Kain’s steed from under him and horribly wounded that grim captain. Kain rallied his guard and fled the field to haunt other pastures and other places. The grim business of slaughter carried on into the night and the following day.
Albrecht pardoned none, and ordered all the prisoners slain and thrown into the river, so that the death toll of Imperial Troops ranged well above 21,000 men and orc, the rest having fled into the hinter-lands. Two legions were extinguished in their entirety. The dwarves exacted a horrible revenge on all the orcs and goblins who lived as well, but their losses were great and their master dead. Fully 1,600 dwarves died and ‘went to stone.’ Throughout the night and following day their moans carried far and wide, and they tore at their beards. In their grief they vowed to clip their beards, to burn a bald spot on their chins, in memory of their fallen comrades, and they were called ever after the BARTIGTOT, the Deadbeards.  Albrecht’s losses were great too, along with two of his sons, including his heir, 3,400 of his troops died, a further 6000 were wounded, thus leaving the valiant king a bare 3000 able bodied warriors to guard his realm.

Conflict Type

Battle