Post by Chris on Dec 14, 2009 18:20:07 GMT -5
The story of Iearn.
For the upcoming military campaign a veteran named Iearn was named commander of the amry. He had 1 week to conscript and train the levies before the Andoran force of 1500 men would reach the river Taren.
Iearn was a hard man, though he may not look it at first sight, the gray haired stick of a man had been in many battles and his lack of scars proved his success. He had speant 15 years as a Captain of the Horse for a lord in Arad Doman whom he had little to no loyalty towards, finally he had been asked to retire after his joints had started acting up he had accepted thinking it was time to move on.
After retirement he had decided to see some of the world before he was stuck to a bed, and so spent time travelling down through Tarabon, Amadicia, Illian, Tear, Cairhien and finally into Andor. However he had not had the same lust for life outside of soldiering as he did in it, living each day as one of your last made you appreciate it all the more. So he found himself in a small inn somewhere in Baerleon wondering what to do next when he overheard of well paying military positions being offered down in the Two Rivers of all places.
He jumped at the opportunity, he was unlikely to gain position in any respectable force now due to his age. This was a possibility for him to get back to the proffession he loved, it took him all of a week to arrive and start his new post. Life was quiet to begin with, then one day out of the blue a messenger arrived with news that the Queen of Andor had finally found troops to put down the rebellion in the small backwater province. He knew if he fought it would likely be his last fight, but he didn't mind.
Iearn was named the head of the Valhalan Military that evening, calling this rable a military Hurrrmphh he thought to himself. Before taking to bed he asked for messengers to be sent to Devon Ride and Watch Hill and all the farms in between to tell them that every man able to wield a weapon was to meet at Emmonds field the next morning.
When Iearn woke at sunrise he was surprised to see a large group of people allready gathering. He walked out to greet them and tell them why he had called them here. He set out the chain of command naming the 9 other veterans that had accepted the pay as his officers and the three blademasters as advisers.
Iearn spent two days directing his senior officers in the training of the Valhalan levies. As he was strolling the ranks he began to see how difficult this campaign was going to be, these farmers wouldn't be able to stand up to a single cavalry charge or even 5 minutes in hand-to-hand with trained soldiers. However he did not give up, fighting on home soil was one advantage he was hoping would level the field slighlty.
The third day he spent alone with the blademasters pondering the best possible battle strategy for the upcoming campaign. As the sun began to set over the the mountains of mist they finally decided on a plan of action.
The defense of the Taren
The next day they marched up to Taren Ferry and destroyed the one way across the River Taren. They asked for Taren Ferry men to join in their fight, however none accpeted the offer. They then retreated to the top of a nearby hill overlooking the town and river to set up camp. They got a number of lads on horseback to act as runners and sent them down to the river to watch for signs of the approaching army.
The Valhalan troops then set about setting up defenses along the riverside and around the village of Taren Ferry. Two days later a few hours after sunrise the Andoran army appeared on the other side of the river. The Valhalan men jumped into action and filled the defenses along the riverside, while 100 were kept back as a reserve unit. The Andoran force cleared an area of sparse woodland and set up camp. The Andoran officers then moved towards the river to inspect the defenses and the possibility of crossing. They then returned to camp and bedded don for the night.
Two days passed without any incident, on the third night the Andorans sent a skirmish force across the Taren using small 5 man rafts that must have been built in their camp. The force must have had numbers of nearly 100 men. They managed to approach to within 50 yards before the guards spotted the force and called the alarm. The attack was broken off immediately, however the Valahans managed to inflict a few casualties.
The next morning the Andoran Army had disappeared. Iearn however thought he new where they would be heading. He left a force of 750 men to man the defenses and took the other 1200 into the Westwood. He also sent the scouts down into the Waterwood just incase the Andoran troops were foolish enough to attack from that direction. However if he was correct then the Andoran force was going to cross the taren further west, towards the mountains.
Fight and Flight
He split his force into groups of 50 and scattered them through the northern area of the Westwood. For three days they waited before the first runner came in the morning mist saying he'd spotted the Andoran force on the other side of the Taren moving towards a ford into the Westwood. Iearn then sent the word out for the groups to set up small ambushes and to generally try to harrass the Andoran force.
The first ambushes managed to inflicted up to 20 casualties at a time on the Andoran Force before they would melt away into the undergrowth with perhaps 1 or 2 casualties received. The Andoran force immediately turned east aiming to exit the forest as quickly as possible. Iearn sent word for his units to slow the Andoran force down with multiple ambushes on the vanguard and leading squads of the Andoran column. He then sent word for the 750 men he had left at the Taren Ferry defenses to enter the wood and to set up an ambush as the Andorans approached. As the casualties to Iearns ambushing units started to increase significantly he was forced to begin more infrequent and more daring ambushes.
By late afternoon the Andorans were close to exiting the Westwood. Iearn called off his ambushes and regrouped at his primary rendevous point on the north road a league or two north of Devon Ride. He began to organise a roll call while his men built a defensive camp for the night. An hour or two before sunset and the second band of Valhalan troops filed out in double rank from the Westwood. They had set up their ambush and waited until half the Andoran column had passed. They had then struck, inflicting heavy damage. However before the northen half of the ambush could fight through to join the southern half the Andorans had counter attacked blocking off their exit. The southern half had offered a fighting withdraw, then sent out scouts looking for any surviving members of the northern half. They had collected perhaps 200 of the 350 men that had made up the group then decided to return to camp. The Andorans were now camping on a hill overlooking the North road. Estimates put their casualties at perhaps 600 men, the Valhalan end of day role call left 350 men missing including 2 veterans, there were also 200 injured men.
Iearn could no longer rely on guerilla tactics and would have to fight the Andorans in open battle, where they were clearly more adept. He had perhaps 1400 men left at his disposal, most tired due to the days fighting. He decided to stay put for the night and allow the men some rest, however he would have to attack before they were able to send for reinforcements from Baerleon.
A good gift.
The next day he gathered the army and began a march north. He had no special plans this time on how to fight the Andorans, but the other veterans agreed that they needed to fight now that they no-longer controlled the river. By mid-morning the scouts reported that the Andoran force were still encamped about a league further on. Iearn lined his men up, he had perhaps 80% archers, with those formidable Two Rivers bows that were as tall as a short man, then the other 20% were armed with spears and poleaxes. He decided to form a simple line with the infantry infront of the archers. They then marched in formation towards the Andoran force. As they approached they saw scouts dissappear over hill tops, undoubtedly going to tell their captain.
The Valhalan force crested the brow of a small hill, and looked across the valley to the Andoran force arrayed infront of their camp on the opposite hill a league away. The North Road was a few hundred spans to the left, and the startings of the Waterwood a few leagues to their right. The Andorans had maybe 900 men left, consisting perhaps 200 infantry in the centre of their line, 400 cavalry (presumably queens guard by the uniform) were split into two flanking blocks and there were perhaps 300 archers and crossbowmen lined up infront of the infantry.
A group of about 10 men on horse broke from the group and walked towards the centre of the valley. Iearn and his senior officers did likewise. When they met the Andorans demanded a complete surrender to the crown. Iearn had been told to refuse if he thought the men could still win, and looking at them lined up, every one of them looking determined to hold to this new found loyalty to the nation they had began only a few weeks previously. Did he think he could win? he thought he would win twice over! The two groups parted and returned to their separate forces. Iearn turned to his men and raised his voice;
'Lads, you have found something to believe in for these past few days! And it was not something forced onto you by a foreign power like those dogs across the valley are attempting to do to you now!
It was offered to you by your councils and elders, it was offered to me as well and by the light was it not a good gift!
Those boys over there think that you are just farmers, unknown to battle and war! But I know different.. And you know different!... It was no farmers that thwarted their attempt to cross the Taren.... It was no farmers that destroyed almost half their force yesturday as they went running to saftey... and it is no farmers that I see lined before me today ready to fight for that which they believe in! You my friends are as much the warriors they claim to be! and I ask you now to prove that to me, ADVANCE!!!'
The Valhalan men began marching forward with a roar of appreciation on their tongues and a determined strut in their march towards the apposing ranks. As they reached halfway down their hill the Andoran cavalry began to trott forwards. Iearn gave the order for the archers to halt. They strung their bows and waited as the 300 Valhalan infantry reached the bottom of the hill. Iearn ordered them to halt just out of the Andoran missile range a few hundred spans further up the hill. The Andoran cavalry chose that moment to increase their pace to a gallop, they were halfway towards the Valhalan ranks when Iearn gave the order to fire, 1100 broadhead arrows streaked into the sky closely followed a few seconds later by another and another.
As Iearn turned to watch the damage he saw the Valhalan infantry standing rigid, without a hint of retreat in their postures, pride filled him to think that he was their commander. The first arrows hit their marks as most of the front rank of cavalry went down, each bringing down others behind them. Then the next volley hit and more went down, by the time the Andoran charge hit there were less than 25 units left. All were brought down with minimum casualties. The Archers picked up their planted shafts and marched down to join their comrades.
The Valhalan war march continued, suddenly hundreds of shafts streaked into the sky. The Andoran archers had fired, Iearn ordered the charge of his infantry and for the archers to run into range. They scrambled over the fallen Andoran cavalry and were faced with the best part of a 400 span charge. After a short sprint the archers slowed to a walk and began sending shaft after shaft into the air.
The hill was carnage as men fell on both sides, the two lines of infantry collided and the death toll soared. The Andoran infantry were cutting swathes into the exhausted Valhalan lines, and the Andoran archers had begun picking their targets in the gaps in the fighting. The battle was turning. Iearn ordered the charge of the archers, they raced in to reinforce their beleagured comrades, who immediately redoubled their efforts. Through sheer weight of numbers the Valhalans forced the Andorans back round their own camp. Finally the Andoran commander was slayn with 100 men left the Andorans dropped their weapons and surrendered.
After the battle the wounded were sent to be tended by their respective towns. The village councils came up to Iearn and thanked him for his efforts, however they all realised they would not be able to hold out against another Andoran attack. They asked Iearn his tactical military advice, he told them to secure the town of Taren Ferry and to build a bridge across the Taren, with a basic fort around the village. He also recommended an outpost to be built in the Westwood by the ford in the Taren. The Andoran soldiers who surrendered were offered the opportunity to become citizens of the nation Valhala, suprisingly they all accepted.
The overall figures of the campaign are as follows;
Andor:
-1500 troops.
Valhala:
-5 veterans,
-560 men,
+100 Andoran soldiers,
+the town of Taren Ferry.
loss in production of -800 gold marks per month.
For the upcoming military campaign a veteran named Iearn was named commander of the amry. He had 1 week to conscript and train the levies before the Andoran force of 1500 men would reach the river Taren.
Iearn was a hard man, though he may not look it at first sight, the gray haired stick of a man had been in many battles and his lack of scars proved his success. He had speant 15 years as a Captain of the Horse for a lord in Arad Doman whom he had little to no loyalty towards, finally he had been asked to retire after his joints had started acting up he had accepted thinking it was time to move on.
After retirement he had decided to see some of the world before he was stuck to a bed, and so spent time travelling down through Tarabon, Amadicia, Illian, Tear, Cairhien and finally into Andor. However he had not had the same lust for life outside of soldiering as he did in it, living each day as one of your last made you appreciate it all the more. So he found himself in a small inn somewhere in Baerleon wondering what to do next when he overheard of well paying military positions being offered down in the Two Rivers of all places.
He jumped at the opportunity, he was unlikely to gain position in any respectable force now due to his age. This was a possibility for him to get back to the proffession he loved, it took him all of a week to arrive and start his new post. Life was quiet to begin with, then one day out of the blue a messenger arrived with news that the Queen of Andor had finally found troops to put down the rebellion in the small backwater province. He knew if he fought it would likely be his last fight, but he didn't mind.
Iearn was named the head of the Valhalan Military that evening, calling this rable a military Hurrrmphh he thought to himself. Before taking to bed he asked for messengers to be sent to Devon Ride and Watch Hill and all the farms in between to tell them that every man able to wield a weapon was to meet at Emmonds field the next morning.
When Iearn woke at sunrise he was surprised to see a large group of people allready gathering. He walked out to greet them and tell them why he had called them here. He set out the chain of command naming the 9 other veterans that had accepted the pay as his officers and the three blademasters as advisers.
Iearn spent two days directing his senior officers in the training of the Valhalan levies. As he was strolling the ranks he began to see how difficult this campaign was going to be, these farmers wouldn't be able to stand up to a single cavalry charge or even 5 minutes in hand-to-hand with trained soldiers. However he did not give up, fighting on home soil was one advantage he was hoping would level the field slighlty.
The third day he spent alone with the blademasters pondering the best possible battle strategy for the upcoming campaign. As the sun began to set over the the mountains of mist they finally decided on a plan of action.
The defense of the Taren
The next day they marched up to Taren Ferry and destroyed the one way across the River Taren. They asked for Taren Ferry men to join in their fight, however none accpeted the offer. They then retreated to the top of a nearby hill overlooking the town and river to set up camp. They got a number of lads on horseback to act as runners and sent them down to the river to watch for signs of the approaching army.
The Valhalan troops then set about setting up defenses along the riverside and around the village of Taren Ferry. Two days later a few hours after sunrise the Andoran army appeared on the other side of the river. The Valhalan men jumped into action and filled the defenses along the riverside, while 100 were kept back as a reserve unit. The Andoran force cleared an area of sparse woodland and set up camp. The Andoran officers then moved towards the river to inspect the defenses and the possibility of crossing. They then returned to camp and bedded don for the night.
Two days passed without any incident, on the third night the Andorans sent a skirmish force across the Taren using small 5 man rafts that must have been built in their camp. The force must have had numbers of nearly 100 men. They managed to approach to within 50 yards before the guards spotted the force and called the alarm. The attack was broken off immediately, however the Valahans managed to inflict a few casualties.
The next morning the Andoran Army had disappeared. Iearn however thought he new where they would be heading. He left a force of 750 men to man the defenses and took the other 1200 into the Westwood. He also sent the scouts down into the Waterwood just incase the Andoran troops were foolish enough to attack from that direction. However if he was correct then the Andoran force was going to cross the taren further west, towards the mountains.
Fight and Flight
He split his force into groups of 50 and scattered them through the northern area of the Westwood. For three days they waited before the first runner came in the morning mist saying he'd spotted the Andoran force on the other side of the Taren moving towards a ford into the Westwood. Iearn then sent the word out for the groups to set up small ambushes and to generally try to harrass the Andoran force.
The first ambushes managed to inflicted up to 20 casualties at a time on the Andoran Force before they would melt away into the undergrowth with perhaps 1 or 2 casualties received. The Andoran force immediately turned east aiming to exit the forest as quickly as possible. Iearn sent word for his units to slow the Andoran force down with multiple ambushes on the vanguard and leading squads of the Andoran column. He then sent word for the 750 men he had left at the Taren Ferry defenses to enter the wood and to set up an ambush as the Andorans approached. As the casualties to Iearns ambushing units started to increase significantly he was forced to begin more infrequent and more daring ambushes.
By late afternoon the Andorans were close to exiting the Westwood. Iearn called off his ambushes and regrouped at his primary rendevous point on the north road a league or two north of Devon Ride. He began to organise a roll call while his men built a defensive camp for the night. An hour or two before sunset and the second band of Valhalan troops filed out in double rank from the Westwood. They had set up their ambush and waited until half the Andoran column had passed. They had then struck, inflicting heavy damage. However before the northen half of the ambush could fight through to join the southern half the Andorans had counter attacked blocking off their exit. The southern half had offered a fighting withdraw, then sent out scouts looking for any surviving members of the northern half. They had collected perhaps 200 of the 350 men that had made up the group then decided to return to camp. The Andorans were now camping on a hill overlooking the North road. Estimates put their casualties at perhaps 600 men, the Valhalan end of day role call left 350 men missing including 2 veterans, there were also 200 injured men.
Iearn could no longer rely on guerilla tactics and would have to fight the Andorans in open battle, where they were clearly more adept. He had perhaps 1400 men left at his disposal, most tired due to the days fighting. He decided to stay put for the night and allow the men some rest, however he would have to attack before they were able to send for reinforcements from Baerleon.
A good gift.
The next day he gathered the army and began a march north. He had no special plans this time on how to fight the Andorans, but the other veterans agreed that they needed to fight now that they no-longer controlled the river. By mid-morning the scouts reported that the Andoran force were still encamped about a league further on. Iearn lined his men up, he had perhaps 80% archers, with those formidable Two Rivers bows that were as tall as a short man, then the other 20% were armed with spears and poleaxes. He decided to form a simple line with the infantry infront of the archers. They then marched in formation towards the Andoran force. As they approached they saw scouts dissappear over hill tops, undoubtedly going to tell their captain.
The Valhalan force crested the brow of a small hill, and looked across the valley to the Andoran force arrayed infront of their camp on the opposite hill a league away. The North Road was a few hundred spans to the left, and the startings of the Waterwood a few leagues to their right. The Andorans had maybe 900 men left, consisting perhaps 200 infantry in the centre of their line, 400 cavalry (presumably queens guard by the uniform) were split into two flanking blocks and there were perhaps 300 archers and crossbowmen lined up infront of the infantry.
A group of about 10 men on horse broke from the group and walked towards the centre of the valley. Iearn and his senior officers did likewise. When they met the Andorans demanded a complete surrender to the crown. Iearn had been told to refuse if he thought the men could still win, and looking at them lined up, every one of them looking determined to hold to this new found loyalty to the nation they had began only a few weeks previously. Did he think he could win? he thought he would win twice over! The two groups parted and returned to their separate forces. Iearn turned to his men and raised his voice;
'Lads, you have found something to believe in for these past few days! And it was not something forced onto you by a foreign power like those dogs across the valley are attempting to do to you now!
It was offered to you by your councils and elders, it was offered to me as well and by the light was it not a good gift!
Those boys over there think that you are just farmers, unknown to battle and war! But I know different.. And you know different!... It was no farmers that thwarted their attempt to cross the Taren.... It was no farmers that destroyed almost half their force yesturday as they went running to saftey... and it is no farmers that I see lined before me today ready to fight for that which they believe in! You my friends are as much the warriors they claim to be! and I ask you now to prove that to me, ADVANCE!!!'
The Valhalan men began marching forward with a roar of appreciation on their tongues and a determined strut in their march towards the apposing ranks. As they reached halfway down their hill the Andoran cavalry began to trott forwards. Iearn gave the order for the archers to halt. They strung their bows and waited as the 300 Valhalan infantry reached the bottom of the hill. Iearn ordered them to halt just out of the Andoran missile range a few hundred spans further up the hill. The Andoran cavalry chose that moment to increase their pace to a gallop, they were halfway towards the Valhalan ranks when Iearn gave the order to fire, 1100 broadhead arrows streaked into the sky closely followed a few seconds later by another and another.
As Iearn turned to watch the damage he saw the Valhalan infantry standing rigid, without a hint of retreat in their postures, pride filled him to think that he was their commander. The first arrows hit their marks as most of the front rank of cavalry went down, each bringing down others behind them. Then the next volley hit and more went down, by the time the Andoran charge hit there were less than 25 units left. All were brought down with minimum casualties. The Archers picked up their planted shafts and marched down to join their comrades.
The Valhalan war march continued, suddenly hundreds of shafts streaked into the sky. The Andoran archers had fired, Iearn ordered the charge of his infantry and for the archers to run into range. They scrambled over the fallen Andoran cavalry and were faced with the best part of a 400 span charge. After a short sprint the archers slowed to a walk and began sending shaft after shaft into the air.
The hill was carnage as men fell on both sides, the two lines of infantry collided and the death toll soared. The Andoran infantry were cutting swathes into the exhausted Valhalan lines, and the Andoran archers had begun picking their targets in the gaps in the fighting. The battle was turning. Iearn ordered the charge of the archers, they raced in to reinforce their beleagured comrades, who immediately redoubled their efforts. Through sheer weight of numbers the Valhalans forced the Andorans back round their own camp. Finally the Andoran commander was slayn with 100 men left the Andorans dropped their weapons and surrendered.
After the battle the wounded were sent to be tended by their respective towns. The village councils came up to Iearn and thanked him for his efforts, however they all realised they would not be able to hold out against another Andoran attack. They asked Iearn his tactical military advice, he told them to secure the town of Taren Ferry and to build a bridge across the Taren, with a basic fort around the village. He also recommended an outpost to be built in the Westwood by the ford in the Taren. The Andoran soldiers who surrendered were offered the opportunity to become citizens of the nation Valhala, suprisingly they all accepted.
The overall figures of the campaign are as follows;
Andor:
-1500 troops.
Valhala:
-5 veterans,
-560 men,
+100 Andoran soldiers,
+the town of Taren Ferry.
loss in production of -800 gold marks per month.