Battle for Crimson Peaks

The Battle for Crimson Peak was a semi-early conflict between The Kingdom of Regalweald and The Surune Empire. Crimson Peak was an area rich in ressources, ruled by Regalweald and desired by Surune. A ploy by Surune to set up an outpost in the area triggered a conflict where Commander Ghorza of the Surune was forced to march to the area to reinforce the outpost despite having just finished another engagement, leaving her forces deplete and tired.
Ghorza would end up victorious, but only at great cost to her army. This would later inspire her to overthrowing her Empress and succeed her as ruler of the Surune Empire.

The Conflict

Prelude

In the year 56 DF, the Surune Empire aimed to seize the Crimson Peaks from the Kingdom of Regalweald as part of their ongoing war against the nation. A small force was dispatched to begin scouting and make preparation for a campaign, as much of Surune's forces were occupied elsewhere. However, the advanced scouts were careless and the newly raised outpost was spotted, leading to a counter attack. This forced Surune into a problematic decision. If they pulled out or didn't reinforce their outpost, Regalweald would no doubt fortify the area, sensing their enemies eyeing the ressource rich range. But the very reason they hadn't comitted any more forces to the task was that there barely were any available. Empress Yotul the Bloody Blade decided that the Crimson Peaks where to valuable target to give up and ordered Commander Ghorza, a skilled veteran who at the time was on their way back from a succesful battle, to redirect their forces to Crimson Peak. Ghorza was well aware that their forces where exhausted and undersupplied, but being unable to refuse a direct order, headed for Crimson Peak.

Deployment

Ghorza arrived at Crimson Peak with an orc army of roughly 1000 units of infantry, 1000 units of archers and a cavalry force numbering about 400. These orcs had already recently participated in battle and were tired, supplies were low and a significant amount were wounded.
Regalweald had deployed forces in the area numbering a total of roughly 2500 units of infantry, 2000 units of archers and a calray force numbering about 800. However, these forces where split into three groups.

Battlefield

Ghorza came in from the north of the Crimson Peaks, at the base of which lay the Regalweald fortress. Between them lay dense pinewood and a great lake with a single, massive bridge across it. Both the Surune outpost and the Regalweald fortress lay in elevated areas, with thge lake in a low point.

Conditions

The weather at the engagement was sunny, with a few clouds.

The Engagement

Knowing that her forces where in no condition to fight, Ghorza held back from reinforcing the outpost, awaiting the arrival of the Regalweald forces, consisting of 400 cavalry, 500 infantry and 500 archers, and letting them initiate an attack. Once they were deeply engaged with the meagre forces of the outpost, Ghorza attacked the human armies from the rear. The battle turned into a brutal melee that ended up breaking the humans' morale. Ghorza orderes her achers to fire at the retreating enemy and her cavalry to run them down, to avoid word of her arrival to get back to their allies.
Once the outpost had been saved, she reorganized and incorporated much of the remaining defenders into her army, before marching for the bridge. She knew that Regalweald would destroy the bridge if they had to and aimed to seize it. Another force, consisting of circa 200 cavalry, 1000 infantry and 1000 archers, held the bridge, awaiting for signal to either march on the outpost or to return to the fortress. They were taken by surprise by the lightning attack by Ghorza's forces, leading to a bloody skirmish the lead to both side losing a majority of their troops, though Ghorza ended up taking the bridge.
She then sent raiders to attack the fortress, drawing out many of the remaining troops. She left a token force on the bridge, a sacrifice to give the impression that her army was weaker than it was, then waited for the Regalweald forces to move uphill through the forests. She then unleashed a series of hit and run attack combining her remaining cavalry with her archers, bloodying and weakening the army. By the time their commander realised the problem and ordered a retreat, they were severely tired and weakened. Ghorza hounded them all the way back and by the time they reached their foritfications, they were too few to hold the area for long, allowing Ghorza to take the Crimson Peaks.

Outcome

Crimson Peak fell under the domain of the Surune Empire, allowing them access to its rich minerals. This would help fuel their further campaigns.

Aftermath

The cost soured Ghorza's attitude against the then empress. She felt that the whole thing was poorly planned and her own involvement was a desperate move to cover up a massive failure on the Empire's part, which ended up requiring her to sacrifice a lot of her soldiers. This would eventually lead her to overthrow Empress Yotul the Bloody Blade.

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

56 DTF

Ending Date

56 DF

Conflict Result

Surune conquered Crimson Peak

Belligerents

Surune Empire

Regalweald

Strength

While the forces at the Surune outpost were weak, they were well situated on hilly terrain surrounded by forest. The forces brought in by Ghorza where skilled veterans of previous conflicts and very disciplined.

Regalweald had a well fortified position, superior numbers and controlled the bridge that was the only way across the lake.

Casualties

About 60-70% of their forces were lost in the engagement

About 80-90% of their forces were lost in the engagement

Objectives

Conquering Crimson Peak

Defending Crimson Peak