The Invasion of Tear.

[Chris]

An Illian force of almost 70,000 men began marching on the Tairen border 2 months after the main Tairen force began a siege of the city state of Mayene. A small Tairen force of almost 15,000 men were all that stood between the Illianer army and the capital of Tear.

As the Illianer army advance into Tairen lands they came across a well dug in force of 10,000 Tairen soldiers consisting of 7,500 infantry and 2,500 cavalry. The Illianer commanders decided to move round the Tairen defensive embankments to more flat ground that would suit their army. The Tairen force followed, and after two days they reached an area on the Plains of Maredo, around the Far Madding road. The Illianer first line of Cavalry lined up, they numbered 20,000, with the second line of cavalry behind them and the infantry to the rear.

The Tairen force made a crescent using 3,000 of their 3,750 Pikemen in a three men deep line. with the other 750 acting as reserves. The 3,750 Tairen crossbowmen with their large shields then formed up behind in a second defensive line about 5 yards behind the pikemen. The small contingent of cavalry were kept to the rear in five blocks of 500 units, two in the front rank and three in the rear.

The first line of Illianer cavalry charged, they came under a hail of crossbow bolts but their vast numbers hit the Tairen line of Pikes. The Tairen pikes caused alot of damage, however their line was destroyed by the charge. The cavalry sustained such losses however that they couldn't break the shield wall of the Crossbowmen presented to them behind the pikemen. The Illianer cavalry retreated, leaving a ragged line of Pikemen, but the majority of the crossbowmen and all the Tairen cavalry were left. The Tairen commander then ordered the retreat back towards Tear.

The Illianers then sent in the second wave of cavalry as the Tairen force marched facing the Illianer force towards Tear. The new line of pikemen consisted of the reserves and almost 1,000 survivors from the first encounter. a line 5 men deep and 150 men wide at the rear of the line, then had two men abreast up the sides of the column. The force of Crowssbowmen then formed the centre of the column, protected by the pikemen and cavalry.

The Second wave of Illianer cavalry landed home, but with a deeper line and more concentrated fire on the centre of the charge it was the Illianers who came off worst. 2 of the Tairen Cavalry units also charged the flanks of the Illianer force as it was static in combat, turning them.

The Tairen commeder tried to hold the Far Madding road route back to the Tairen capital, however the Illianers, now resorted to using their infantry to far more success. The Tairens were forced to take to the forests about a league to the south of the Far Madding road.

The Illianers then began to try and beat the Tairen force back to Tear. However The Tairens somehow managed to reach the Illian road and sneak in minutes before the Illianer force arrived on the Horizon. it became apparent that the Tairen force had force marched through the night, whereas the Illianer lords had been tired and wanted rest.

The Tairen force that layed siege to Mayene though, had been kept prepared to retreat at very short notice. So it was almost two months after they arrived that they received word of a massive Illianer force marching towards Tairen borders. They packed up in the night and reboarded the ships that had carried them across the bay of Romara.

End of Part 1.

[Chris]

Part 2.
With the city of Tear now surrounded by the Illianer force, their only hope was the force that had began the siege of Mayene 2 months previously. That force had just reboarded the ships that had transported them from Godan to the shores of the Mayene peninsula. The troops were expecting a short journey across the bay where they would then march to Tear and attack from the south, which would force the Illianer army away north to regroup. However once the troops had been loaded on in the dead of night, the commander of the Tairen Force, Captain General Carp, ordered the fleet to sail out of the bay and along the Tairen shore. They continued travelling for 3 days, then on the third nigth they landed in between the Tear - Illian border.

They set up camp and sent out scouts to determine where the Illian force had travelled to. When the scouts returned in the morning they received word that the Illianer force was camped half a days march outside the city of Tear. Whereas the Tairen force had a four day march to Tear. The Tairen force however marched day and night to reach their beleaguered captial at dawn on the third day after landing. They looked out upon the city of Tear surrounded by a camp of some 45-50,000 Illianers with another camp of perhaps 10-15,000 camped further East in anticipation of the Tairen march from Godan.

The Tairen force quickly formed up and marched to the banks of the Erinin where they found craft to use to cross the river a league to the north of the Illian siege force. They managed to scramble a force of 10,000 infantry across the river before the Illianers received word of the Tairen gambit and began to muster their forces for a withdrawl. As the main Tairen force continued to bring men and horses across the river the force left to defend Tear and the Stone began small sorties to disrupt the enemy logistics. They were very effective to begin with, but the Illianers learnt to keep their eyes peeled and to fall into formation quickly. Yet the sorties had managed to slow the Illian withdrawl enough that about 10,000 Illianers were still in and around Tear when the main force had finished its crossing at mid-day. The rest of the Illian force could be seen marching off East along the main highway.

The 10,000 Illianers fought a rear guard, however they were outnumbered, outequiped and more importantly not as well lead. The two Tairen forces routed the smaller Illian force within 20 minutes, and the road was clear for them to chase the Illianers. However the Tairens decided to regroup and form one large army, of 15,000 cavalry and 45,000 infantry. They decided to send a force of 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry North to try to deny escape into Hadden Mirk, while the rest of the Army proceeded marching directly towards the Illian force. This main force reached the regrouped Illianers within two hours march, it was drawing towards dusk, however the Taierns could not risk leaving the Illianer force the option of escaping in the night. So with the sun setting behind the distant mountains that made up the Spine of the World, Captain General Carp ordered the full attack of the Tairen force. The army made one long line with two groups of 4,000 cavalry units acting as flanking guards, and the 35,000 infantry making up the centre. The Pikes formed 4 deep with the crossbowmen lined up behind. They marched towards the Illian army of 20,000 cavalry and 25,000 infantry, however this time the Illianers decided to adopt a much more infantry central plan and lined up in similar fashion to the Tairens.

The two forces marched towrds one another, then 400 spans apart, the Tairen force halted and the crossbows rained bolts down onto the enemy. The Illianer force continued their advance and as one, 300 spans apart the Illianer force began to charge. To the north 10,000 Illian cavalry charged the 4,000 Tairen flanking force, with the same happening to the south. The Tairens charged back, however they were outnumbered and both forces were routed. The centre Tairen line held firm against the Illianer infantry charge, and as they began to see the Tairen cavalry route the Tairen infantry flanks bowed back into a crescent. The reserve Tairen cavalry split into two groups and charged after the Illianer men chasing their defeated foes, as the infantry fought on, darkness fell and with that the Illian infantry routed and fled. The Illian cavalry which must have still numbered at least 13,000 were nowhere to be seen. It later became aparent that with no-one to stop their retreat to home soil they had simply fled, chased by the Tairen reserves to the border. The Tairen force to the north managed to capture a number of fleeing nobles to be used for ransom, along with the best part of 1,000 infantry units. The end of campaign statistics look as follows:

Illian:
Invading force of 70,000. Of which 13,000 cavalry units are left. A further 5,000 infantry units assemble in the following weeks. Losses to the standing army of 30,000 men. Of the 25,000 draft units assembled, only 2,000 ever returned. In the following months Illian reassemble a standing army of 20,000 men. However it will be perhaps a year before they have the strength they possessed before the invasion.

Tear:
Siege of Mayene force:
37,500 infantry of which 30,000 survived. 12,500 cavalry of which 7,500 survived. 20 siege weapons, 0 survived. Transport fleet has been scrapped for wood and to return profits.

Defense force:
7,500 infantry, of which 4,500 infantry survived. 5,000 draft units of which 2,500 survived.

Rest of levy army is disbanded, however recruits remain in standing army.