The Battle of Akooll

Situated in the early months of the War of Reckoning, this was one of the first major victories of the United Lands against the Armies of the Giant King Xolgi. Fought on the slopes of the Quikmal Heights in the dead of winter, all the advantages lay with the giant army, as many were in their home territory and the United Army was exhausted from several months of travel.

The Conflict

Prelude

When the Kingdom of Gabevaria realized that the raiding parties of giants that were destroying its western border were too coordinated for them to be random they sent some scouts deep into the Giant territory. The few scouts that returned reported that King Xolgi, master of all giants, was mustering a massive army. Realizing they were on the verge of a massive and potentially catastrophic war, messages were sent out to all the kingdoms on the continent asking for aid. Two of the other three kingdoms to the east of the Quikmal Range responded immediately by mustering their armies to aid their neighbor. This took place near the end of Jaler.
When the Seven Kingdoms to the west of the range received the message they convened together to decide their response. It was decided that each nation would send half of their army on the treacherous journey over the mountains to the aid of Gabevaria, while retaining half of their armies at home for their own defenses. They also decided that the armies would meet and at the end of Kiju they would begin their march over the mountains, and try to slip through the giant territory in the winter.
They put their plan into action and on the 35 day of Kiju, under the command of General Greene Brugge of Azithen, they began their long march over the mountains. The total force numbered nearly 200 thousand men.

Deployment

Towards the evening on the 14 of Haygot as the vanguard was laying out their picket lines for their camp just beyond the Pass of Akooll, the main pass in the Quikmal Range, when they were attacked by a contingent of Giants from below the pass. They quickly rallied and drove the giants off. The next day scouting parties reported that an army of giants estimated to be 40 thousand troops.
Realizing that his army was tired and that he was in the giants territory, General Brugge ordered the construction of field fortifications and drew back his vanguard to a more defensible position. Fearing a flanking attack from the giants, he also ordered about 30 thousand men to develop fortifications on the rear.

Conditions

Through out the battle temperatures were hovering at or below the point of freezing, and there were sporadic flurries that hampered the visibility of the combatants and made conditions worse.

The Engagement

Throughout the day on the 15th of Haygot, scouts kept reporting the advance of the giant army and skirmisher units harassed the giant army. On the 16 the first main attack came just past mid-day. For the next two weeks there was fierce fighting on the eastern side of the pass. On the 29th the giants achieved their first major breach of the United People lines. Realizing the danger that the breach constituted General Brugge, rallied his reserves and drove to plug the hole. Several hours of desperate fighting they managed to drive the giants back and repair their line. However in the fighting General Brugge, was badly wounded and would succumb to his wounds several days later. Command than fell to Arch Commander Naholm E'Valxu of Zuishn.
Realizing the desperation of the situation Arch Commander E'Valxu ordered a contraction of the lines and reduced the number of troops guarding the rear to 10 thousand. This was the moment that the giants had been waiting for, and with a force of 10 thousand they assaulted the rear defenses on the 34th of Haygot. E'Valxu ordered his entire reserve to the rear with the orders to prevent the fall of the rear, and if possible destroy the giants force. The rear guard fought bravely and despite taking heavy losses were able to hold out until the reserves arrived. When they did they strengthened the front lines and began a flanking movement. This reaction was unexpected and it caused a stir in the giants lines as they tried to redeploy to counter this movement. At this moment Lord Farl U'Npaqu, the commander of the rear ordered a general counter attack. This maneuver was successful and by nightfall on the 34th the rear was secured and the giants had either been killed or scattered.
On the eastern front things were beginning to fall apart, the line, though it had been condensed was being strained. In the middle of the night of the 34th E'Valxu sent a message to the rear asking for all troops that could be spared. Tired and exhausted from the heavy fighting the day before, the rear guard marched through the night to support the eastern front.
After several more days of heavy fighting, as the giants pressed hard to break through the lines, the men of the United Peoples army were nearly all spent. Recognizing this, and realizing that he needed to act quickly, he gave the orders to counter attack on the 1st of Zasdert. The counter attack happened as planed, and the giants, caught completely by surprises, fell into a panic and their lines were routed. King Xolgi, in an attempt to rally his troops, led a counter charge, but few of his followers were with him and he was badly wounded. A general rout followed and the giant army began to scatter. By nightfall of the 2nd of Zasdert the last remnants of the giant army were scattered.

Outcome

The Army of the United Was able to continue their journey out of the mountain, but they had paid a heavy price. nearly 70,000 soldiers had been killed or wounded, and may of the wounded eventually perished from their wounds because of the extreem temperatures. Those that survived were able to finish their journey un harrased by the giants, and were able to assist in the defense of Gabevaria.
For the giants the bulk of their main army was either killed or scattered. They lost about 20,000 soldiers in the course of the battle, and the remainder of the troops were scattered.

Aftermath

The giant army was not able to recover from the loss of their king and the number of soldiers that they lost in the battle. They lost a lot of time in the following campaign season just try to recover their scattered troops allowing the United people to develop their defenses. As the war dragged on it became apparent that troops that the giants had lost would be needed later, and because the United Peoples army made it through, the alliance was solidified. The alliance was able to coordinate attacks that eventually wore out and destroyed the giant's empire.

Written By Bellas Hermys, Professor of Military History at the University of Knowledge in Weisari, Capital of the Qaizia Empire.

Conflict Type

Battle

Start Date

14 Haygot, 679 years before the rift

Ending Date

2 Zasdert, 679 years before the rift

Belligerents

Giants of King Xolgi

United Peoples army

Strength

At the beginning of the battle his force numbered about 40,000 troops, but by the end of the fighting he had committed a total of 80,000 troops to the fight.

They had about 200,000 troops when they began their march, and most of these troops made it to the battle.

Casualties

They had about 20,000 killed and another 5,000 wounded.

They lost about 70,000 troops.

Objectives

Their goal was prevent an army from the west of the mountains from crossing through their territory, and destroy this army.

Survive and make it over the mountains.