Battle of the Broken Swords
The Battle of the Broken Swords (also referred to as the Battle of the Valley of the Broken Swords) was fought in a narrow river valley of a tributary of the Eau del'Est on the east face of the Nordarak Mountains. It was a lopsided engagement between 250 of the King of Aria's finest knights and 1,800 Orcs still ravaging the Nordarak region after the death of Ughat Toshbuzzutu four years earlier.
Remembered as the last major defeat of Arian forces by the invading Orcs, it was of particular impact because the battle resulted in the death of the reigning King of Aria, Serge VIII Courbet and his only two sons, Serge Courbet and Alain Courbet, thus ending the Courbet dynasty and ushering in the Royal House of Carrel as the ruling House of the Kingdom of Aria.
With the destruction of the last remnants of Ughat Toshbuzzutu's vast Orc horde, the end of the long and bloody conflict now known as the Ten Winter War was finally in sight.
The Conflict
Prelude
The King of Aria, Serge VIII Courbet, was on his way to the Tourville region of Daynmor with a retinue that included his two sons, Serge and Alain Courbet, and more than 200 of the Kingdom's finest mounted knights. They were returning from a tour of the Eau del'Est region of the County and were just beginning to set up their camp for the night. Unbeknownst to the King and his men was the fact that a significant number of @Orcs were waiting in ambush just uphill from their camp.
Deployment
The King and his men were just setting up their marching camp and the sun was just touching the far horizon. Scouts and pickets had failed to find the waiting Orcs, who numbered more than 1,700 warriors and were hiding in the foothills of the mountains in case the encamped knights were simply a forward detachment of a larger force.
Battlefield
The King's camp was located in a narrow ravine created by a small tributary of the Eau del'Est river. While many modern tacticians now feel the choice of that particular site to make camp was a very poor one, it must be understood that the summer campaign had done a remarkably thorough job of clearing and pacifying the surrounding region of remaining Orc bands in the weeks prior to the battle. It must be assumed that the King and his men were confident in the presumbed safety of the steep defile-like gorge and they saw it as a natural fortress rather than a hazard.
Conditions
A warm clear evening with little breeze. Once the sun had begun to set behind the western Nordarak Mountains, the bright sky and the dark horizon perfectly concealed the initial advance of the Orcs into the valley.
The Engagement
Within minutes of the sun dropping below the high mountain ridges, the first waves of Orcs rushed the still busy camp. The few survivors of the battle estimate that the initiall attack at sunset numbered more than 800 Orcs, and the King's men were caught nearly completely by surprise. A group of some 100 Orcs managed to set a range of hay ricks on fire with flaming spears and the resulting fire spooked and caused a large number of the knight's horse to stampede through the camp, adding to the general confusion and mayhem. Less than 20 knights were still mounted, and the rest scrambled to secure and saddle their steeds.
The initial attack gained much in surprise and shock, but the King's knights were veterans and quickly rallied a defensive perimeter that stopped the worst of the Orc onslaught. During this short lull in the fighting, the King dispatched four still mounted knights to ride west and north to try and find a relief force and alert them to the attack. By full dark, the Orcs charged again and the defenses held but at great cost. By midnight, the King's men had suffered more than 50 dead or seriously wounded men and the loss of nearly 100 horse.
Outcome
The actual Battle of the Broken Swords was a devastating defeat for the Kingdom. The reigning King and his two male heirs were all killed in the battle, along with nearly all the knights accompanying the King. In fact, fewer than 16 knights survived the attack on the camp out of the company's original number of 207 men.
Aftermath
With the tragic death of Serge VIII Courbet and his sons during the battle, the country was reinvested in completing the destruction of the invading horde once and for all. Under the banner and leadership of a new King, Marcel Carrel, the fight was won by the end of the following year.
Included under Conflict
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
July 4, 117 AF
Ending Date
July 9, 117 AF
Location
