The Banteavan Invasion of Ostamber
Faced with economic devastation after several years of terrible droughts, King Robern was left with few options to salvage his destitute kingdom. The commonfolk were growing restless, and the signs were clear that a revolt would soon flare up in Robern's own holdings if he didn't offer the people of Banteave something else to focus their ire upon.
So he looked to the West, across the Backbone of Banteave, where the kingdom of Ostamber lay. While both domains had suffered during the long droughts, Ostamber had weathered the storm far better than The Kingdom of Banteave . The valleys to the west of the Backbone held by Ostamber were still verdant and fertile, and Ostamber's agricultural traditions had ensured their recovery from the famines far quicker than Banteaves. Their merchants were also too happy to sell their produce to Banteavans at exorbitant sums.
A ripe target like that was too much for Robern to resist. In conjunction with the Church of the Six Saints , he forged "ancient" documents that indicated the Ostamber valleys to be ancestral territories of Banteave and presented them to the assembled Great Houses. They seemed to be a divine gift right when Banteave needed it the most; the valley farmlands were de jure part of the Kingdom of Banteave, and if there was ever a time to correct this age-old wrong, it was now. With the full force of the Banteavan Great Houses behind him, King Robern sent an emissary to the Ostamber courts, demanding that they recognize his claim to the valley and cede the holdings to him.
The Ostamber queen and her attendants laughed Robern's emissary out of their court.
The day after the emissary returned in disgrace, the first Banteavan levies crossed the border into Ostamber.
The Conflict
Deployment
King Robern was quick to call his levies from the Great Houses into service and send them across The Backbone of Banteave into Ostamber . House Sandoreale headed up the assault along the southern roads, while House Oake and House Dillestone lead the assault through the passes at Ashendarrow. In the north, House Antyre marched their highlanders through the passes at Farlany
Battlefield
Ostamber did not sit idly by while Banteave prepared for war. The mountain passes and dense pine forests lining the western side of the Backbone were rife with pockets of Ostamber saboteurs, ready to harry the advancing armies with triggered rockslides, traps and hit-and-run ambushes.
Once Banteave's forces had arrived in force in Ostamber, they were met by the assembled hosts of Queen Magrevel's noble kin, their levies and their champions. The fields that King Robern had lain false claim to were soon drenched in the blood of Ostamber and Banteavan sons and daughters alike. The campaign would rage on for several years across three fronts, and none would be spared the ravages of the conflict.
Outcome
After a series of stinging defeats, the Banteavan armies were forced to regroup near the Backbone, having lost almost every piece of territory they had claimed during several years of bloody conflict. What's more, the coffers of Banteave had run dry early on in the fighting, and Robern had borrowed huge sums of gold to keep his soldiers paid... but now, even his creditors had turned away from him. The Kingdom of Banteave was destitute, and Robern was forced to call his forces back from Ostamber in defeat.
Conflict Type
War
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
1319
Ending Date
1325
Conflict Result
The Kingdom of Banteave suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Ostamber
Location
Belligerents
Strength
The massed armies of many nobles houses, their levies and their knights were sent across the Backbone.
Thousands of volunteers joined forces with their standing armies, backed by fearsome Ostamber warriors.
Casualties
Extensive. Banteave was not prepared for the full weight of the resistance Ostamber put up against their armies.
Low to moderate. Fighting on their home soil in forests and mountain passes they were intimately familiar with, Ostamber could make ten men feel like a hundred in a pitched battle.
Objectives
To seize the valley farmlands to the west of The Backbone of Banteave as the de jure territory of The Kingdom of Banteave
To protect and defend the valley farmlands from Banteavan occupation.
