Battle of Jourtlund (yort-land)
The Conflict
Prelude
The mysterious Eastern Isles had by now been solidified and an independent Confederacy had been fully established. The Republic of Cresteria had attempted to intervene mid way through the civil war, but had only rumours to go on. The fleet was repelled by a magically conjured storm, leaving no choice but to play a waiting game.
News reached the Capital in late 16 PR, that the Eastern Civil War, sometimes called the War of Eastern Unification, had ended, and a new nation state was created. It was a Monarchy, or so the rumours claimed, centered around the Isle of Storms. A Confederacy of Pirates was declared. (See Article: United Confederacy of Pirates).
Not wishing to wait to find out the intentions of this new Confederacy, the authorities on Doriath ordered the immediate assembly of a Task Force, including ships that were still under construction, to group up and meet for a strike.
It took five months.
The fleet came together, with the newly launched Ships Aquarius and Indomitable, the fleet set sail East. It was lead by the newly appointed Admiral, Rufivus Rienarnian.
On the 13th of the fourth month, 17 PR, Rienarnian's fleet spotted Stormheart's. Rienarnian organised immediately, ordering the ships-of-the-line into line astern, lead by the 50 guns, and his lighter ships were divided into three formations of vessels, each line astern. The plan was to sail head long into the enemy, pealing the the 50 guns and have them head into the prevailing wind, bating the enemy lead ships to chase. The faster speed would allow them to lead the enemy on a game of cat and mouse. Meanwhile, the heavy ships could turn to follow the 50 gun ships, but only partly. They would then break the line of the enemy, sailing through the turn and crossing it. This manouver would cut the fleet up. The main line could then focus on the main line, and the ships that gave chase could be hounded by the 50 gun ships, supported by the lines of frigates.
The main battle line would again attempt to cut the remaining line in half, allowing the last heavy ships to be divided from its escorts. The isolated ships could be battered until they surrendered or sank. The problem was that the prevailing wind was in a southerly direction, and the fleets were sailing perpendicular to it, meaning any sharp turns would either put the ships into the prevailing wind, or in irons.
Stormheart formed his fleet into line astern. One line consisted of the Galleons, and two other lines of support ships in line abreast. The ketches, armed with medium mortars, were in the center of the lines. Stormheart quickly spotted that his enemy were sailing straight for him in line astern. A quick glance revealed he was outnumbered, and outgunned. He knew the front two ships were smaller than those in the rear, and concluded that he was being baited. His ships were armed for boarding, but getting close to a ship-of-the-line, broadside to broadside, was suicide. The Race-built war galleons were fast, and well armed, but compared to a high quality ship-of-the-line, they were outgunned and lacking in armour. Stormheart, painfully aware of this, decided to take the initiative, and sailed into the prevailing wind, a southerly direction, hoping to use his speed to get some distance, and cut west into the line of the Doriath fleet, cutting it up and boarding the vessels systematically. The Galleons were packed with soldiers equipped for boarding, armed predominantly with boarding pikes, swords, and crude firearms.
He turned into the prevailing wind, and for several minutes, Rienarnian sat indecisively observing the movement of his opponent. Eventually, he was prompted to action when he realised he had yet to give his orders...
They turned into the prevailing wind and the two fleets traveled south parallel to each other, with the Doriath fleet just behind the Pirate. Stormheart had two options. He could either cut in front of the Doriath fleet and cross the T, but be cut in half himself. This would essentially be performing the exact same manouver that Rienarnian was going to pull on him. Rienarnian had quickly spotted the speed advantage the Pirates had, and knew that if he did not disengage, then things were going to get messy. With some ships broadside to broadside, but well out of range, Rienarnian could cut the tail of the enemy fleet off, and let the head run, or keep up the chase. As it happened, Stormheart was no more satisfied with the tactical situation, as his rear was vulnerable. To counter this, he decided to turn to cross the T in front of the enemy lead ship, and wrap around them, sailing North in the opposite direction to the Doriath Battle line. This would put his entire fleet in irons, and so he quickly dropped the plan. Instead, with the iniatiave rapidly running out, Stormheart ordered his fleet turn heading North West, closing the distance and protecting his tail.
Upon observing the turn, Rienarnian did not fancy a long range brawl. He could win, quite easily, but he feared Stormheart was pulling a diversion, and would flank with his lighter vessels. He turned South West, and at full sail, top gallants deployed, he showed his enemy he was disengaging. As Naval chases can last months, Stormheart continued his race North West, the two sides showing no signs of clashing on the first day.
On the 14th, high waves prevent the fleets closing the distance, instead, some ships attempt to maintain site of each other.
For the next three days, the unpredictable weather results in repeats of the 13th.
On the 18th, Rienarnian chases, deciding the weather was not to be as good as this day.
Stormheart flees, and poor viability on the 19th results on Rienarnian losing contact. Stormheart turns off all sources of lights on the night of the 18th to 19th, and breaks contact. Thick fog on the morning of the 19th means that Stormheart fails to realise he has broken contact, and instead, he ends up chasing stragglers of his own fleet. At midday, visibility increases, and the mistake is realised; Stormheart was chasing his own tail.
The ensuing chaos of orders, confusion and uncertainty as to where the enemy are, a friendly fire incident occurs between two 28 gun frigates, one of which catches fire. The inferno rages beyond the crew's control, and the magazine catches. In desperation, the crew jump overboard, and the ship goes up in a spectacular fireball.
At dawn, on the 20th, Rienarnian decides that weather conditions are agreeable enough, and gives chase. Stormheart, running out of supplies and severely demoralized due to the events of the previous day, decides to go on the defence. Rienarnian turns into the prevailing wind, heading North East, and Stormheart moves to intercept and try to cut in front of the enemy by sailing North West.
Deployment
Rienarnian takes the initiative, sailing with the wind, and positions in the following formation:
Primary Squadron/main battle line:
Lead by the two 50 gun ships-of-the-line, Rose and Dragon.
Formed up in line astern, the four 74 gun ships-of-the-line are directly behind them, followed by the 64 gun.
Secondary Squadron:
Line up in Line astern, the 38 gun frigates are placed on the left of the main squadron, hoping to cut off Stormheart's escape and allow the main line smash through the enemy's.
This line numbers 12 ships, and whilst these vessels are less suited to broadside to broadside fighting, their speed and manouverability allows them to repeatedly cross the T of opposing vessels, and rake the decks from the bow or stern, or precisely position themselves to take out the sails of enemy ships and immobilise them.
Tertiary Squadron:
The remaining 15 ships are 32 gun frigates. These vessels are slightly faster than their 38 gun counterparts, but their armour is similar, so toe to toe fighting with even other frigates is potentially dangerous.
Hence, they are deployed in a forward crescent. This creates an enveloping shape, with two prongs forward and a rounded rear. The intention is to close the distance to isolated ships, before each arm of the crescent turns sharply to fire at the enemy's front, creating a constant stream of fire, until the entire crescent has fired. The intention is to maximise firepower whilst taking minimal return fire.
Stormheart races to cross the T, perpendicular to the wind on a North Westerly course.
Primary Squadron:
Though the six war galleons boasted 60 guns, they were race-built, meaning that they were fast for their size, but severely lacking in protection and firepower, as their guns were much lighter on average, with around 32 12 pounder cannons, and 28 18 pounders on the lower deck. They were designed to close the distance, rake the enemy, and board them with overwhelming numbers. Against the Doriath Ships-of-the-line, their crews were outnumbered by at least 50 men, meaning that Stormheart knew his only hope was to de-mast his opponents and rake the decks with grapeshot. For that, it was paramount that he crossed his enemies T and held that advantage. Even if they held the prevailing wind, without masts, the large ships of the line would be sitting ducks, and make good prize money for Her Majesty, and excellent additions to the fleet if ever needed for another engagement. Not to mention the embarrassment it would inflict on the Republic.
Secondary Squadron:
Directly behind the main line of Galleons sit the larger of the brigs. Each with 22-26 guns, these light, low down fast vessels can be deployed in small flotillas and hound and harass enemy light ships. Stormheart knew his enemy had the Frigate advantage, so his brigs would have to overwhelm his enemy.
Tertiary Squadron:
The Brigantines and sloops were positioned at the rear of the fleet, screening it from a flank attack, with the purpose of allowing the main line to escape if everything goes pear shaped.
Other:
The two Bomb Ketches sailed just in front of the lead Galleon on either side of its bow. Equipped with their heavy mortars, they were to act as a explosive spearhead. In the event that the fleet was cut off, the mortars could blast the ships ahead as the distance is closed. The Ketches were also packed with high explosives, so, once close enough, they would be used as suicide bombs, a great moral shock and potential to cause devastating damage to even large vessels, if they can get close. The gap created would allow for a breakthrough if one was needed.
Conditions
The seas were not calm, but they were not particularly rough either. They rocked the lighter vessels and made aiming difficult. This would spell trouble in the battle, as the utilisation of chain shot became almost impossible due to an inability for gunnery crews to aim.
Visibility was poor, but plenty good enough for a close range battle, and both sides knew that this was going to have to be the fighting style. Rienarnian knew about the Bomb Ketches, and thus sitting at range, he risked his larger ships taking a lucky (or unlucky) hit and suffering crippling damage from the mortars.
Stormheart also needed close range to utilise his smaller guns, and be close enough to grapple and board enemy vessels. His primary tactic would have to be "shock and awe", striking quickly and efficiently, as a bogged down close quarters brawl would leave his fleet decimated.
The Engagement
At midday, the two fleets are within range on one another, but rather than turning to engage, both fleets race to cut the other one off. Rienarnian deploys his second squadron to his main line's left, and with the win to their backs, top gallants deployed and at full sail, the frigates overtake the main line. Stormheart has the speen advantage, but needs to get the prevailing wind on his side to fully utilise it. Until he does, Rienarnian has full control over when, where and how the first blows will be exchanged. Stormheart can do nothing but keep sailing, and he watches the enemy frigates emerge from behind his enemies main line. Realising he is about to cut off, Stormheart turns slightly into the wind, gaining more speed and now on a course to cut off the frigates.
Despite the speed of the galleons and Stormheart's light ships, without the wind he has little hope of beating the frigates. He quickly comes to the conclusion that his explosive bomb ketches are the only simple solution to avoiding a clash with his enemy' main line before positioning was favourable. Stormheart desperately needed a manouver battle, if he got blocked or split up, he was done for.
Rienarnian on the other hand, was very much confident as he watched Stormheart sail right into his trap. He knew that if he could stop the enemy in their tracks, he could obliterate them with successive broadside after broadside. The simplest way was to cut off his enemy and open up with chain shot.
After a quarter of an hour, his frigates were on the brink of crossing Stormhearts T, and fireing on him. Stormheart had two options: Sail head long into the frigates, split them up and take them down quickly, potentially having a decisive impact on the battle, or turn with the wind and brawl at long range. The latter would likely just mean another game of cat and mouse, and eventually lead to his fleet being surrounded and fired upon from all sides. So, he gambled. He ordered full sails and dived his ships head long into the frigate line.
As the frigates passed they fired chain shot at Stormheart's lead ship, The Kraken, but at increased range, and choppy seas, it was almost impossible to hit with any reliability. The Bomb Ketches returned fire, and large lead shot rained down on the frigates, mostly missing due to poor accuracy, high wind and high waves rocking the small ketches with impunity.
The frigates swapped to round shot, and bombarded the enemy, with several frigates prioritising the ketches. Despite repeated broadsides as the Frigates crossed in front of the Pirates, limited damage was dealt. This allowed Stormheart to close the distance. With the enemy charging headlong into the side of the frigates, their Captains ordered them to hold fire.
Rienarnian spotted the bomb ketches were charging his frigate line, and was subsequently confused. He had seen the mortars fire, thus he concluded they had run out ammunition. One of the 32 gun frigates, the Bastion, lined up their starboard side with the front of the closest ketch, hoping to dispatch it quickly. The gunners waited as the ship crest a wave, tossing the ship toward its port side, and lifting the starboard side upward. As the ship came back, the starboard cannons pointed right at the ketch, and all 14 18 pounder guns unleashed on the small boat. In a blink of an eye, a jet of purple electrum flame was sent skyward, as masts were shot into the air and sails reduced to ash. The boat became a pool of floating splinters, and two chunks resembling parts of a boat floated momentarily, as the smoke settled and eyes of the crews of the surrounding vessels readjusted from the sudden blinding light. Within seconds, the wooden carcass slipped beneath the waves, and 30 men had completely disappeared, eviscerated by the explosion.
It was unlike any magazine explosion Rienarnian had encountered, they were deadly, certainly, and would instantly kill a ship, but a ketch magazine was not big enough to instantly evaporate the vessel. Then it hit him, harder than any cannon ball, a terrifying realisation; they were packed with explosives, and were heading right for his frigates. Now it made sense why Stormheart was plowing on. Wasting no time, he raced to cabin and prepared a sending stone. The message simply read:
The Pirate Ketch is explosive, they are going to suicide ram. Blow it up.With due haste, the stone arrived on the desk of Frigate line's commander, and he hoisted the signal flags to try and relay the ketch was explosive. Using a form of Cresterian Semaphore, one by one each frigate got the message. One of the 38 gun frigates fired a broadside of shot down the deck of the other ketch. It instantly exploded, just as spectacularly as the last. Unknown to Rienarnian, that was the last of the suicide ships. Now, Stormheart was running out of options. He had to keep going, and try a breakthrough, before the main line reached his. As his Galleons got nearer, the enemy frigates fired chain shot once more. The forward mast of the Kraken was cut down, and the sail fell limply into the water. Stormheart kept going, but the ships behind him would have to reposition to pass him. A 32 gun frigate sailed directly in front of him, cut its sails and dropped its anchor. Stormheart had no room to manouver, and Rienarnian's main line was about to cut his in two. He signaled the other five Galleons to turn and brawel the frigates, in the hope of routing one and creating a gap through which to escape. So far, the battle was going perfectly for Rienarnian. His main line sailed right at the galleons, who desperately fired, their lighter guns mostly bouncing off the hard frontal armour of the leading 50 gun, or causing negligible damage. Sailing behind the third and in front of the fourth, the leading 74 gun cut them off, but held fire with her starboard side, and but obliterated the rear of the Galleon to her port. She cut slightly to starboard, pointing her guns at the weak starboard bow of the Galleon she had cut in front off. In a hail storm of 36 guns, including 12 32 pounder cannons on the bottom gun deck, shot blasted into the fourth galleon, penetrating the nearly rotten wood and sending splinters and lead down the length of its decks. 40 of the 210 crew were killed or wounded, and the lower storage decks were torn apart by the pounders. Water poured in, and the ship began listing. The 74 gun turned to Port, to face the other Galleon, this time from the starboard stern. Behind Rienarnian came another 74 gun, which turned hard to port and sailed along side the third galleon. Firing its full starboard broadside with its foe still reloading, it devastated the enemy crew. Large sections of lower decks were torn open, 10 cannons were instantly destroyed and some of the powder caught fire. As the ship sailed past, the cries of wounded pirates could be heard over the constant drumming of guns. There was a violent explosion, as several powder bags went up, with fire taking hold of the ship. Fiery splinters flew onto the 74 gun, and one of the sails on the main mast caught fire. In desperation, the ship turned hard to port and almost into irons, they cut the majority of the sails and attempted to control the fire. Behind them, a jet of purple flame erupted through the top deck, and the galleon was blown into a fore and aft sections, with sails collapsing in fire and crew jumping into the freezing water, their life boast torn asunder. All of them would eventually drown or freeze to death. The two sections slowly sank, and smoke choked the air and rotten wood disintegrated in the water. Toward the rear of the Galleon line, the two 50 gun ships were heading straight for the fourth and fifth ship. The Rose was leading, and took a broadside from the fourth ship, losing three guns on her port side as they sailed parallel but in an opposite direction. She held fire, sailing on to the fifth. The Dragon unleashed its broadside into the fourth ship, taking out at least 8 cannons, and killing 10 crew outright, with the Galleon unable to respond, and cut off from support, and having just witnessed the destruction of a friendly galleon, she surrendered.
The Rose passed the fifth galleon, catching her unprepared. She was making a starboard turn, trying to move around her surrendered ally and avoid taking a hit. With her rear half exposed, but fore a distance away due to the turn, the Rose fired and did heavy damage in the aft and mid sections, but minimal comparatively in the port bow. 6 cannons were outright destroyed, their crews wounded, with two members killed in the immediate blast. Rose circled to rake the rear, loading grapeshot, in the hope of forcing the ship to surrender. The Galleon, the Cutlass, a rather unimaginative name on the Pirate's part, made full sail and turned hard to starboard, protecting its now wounded side, and facing the Rose with its full starboard side at relatively close range. The Galleon gave a delayed response, its guns ripping into the enemy, destroying five guns, and killing seven crew. The galleon made full sail, with the prevailing wind in its sails, it made its getaway. The 50 gun vessel had finished loading grape shot as its foe made a run for it. She turned so that her port broadside could rake the galleon diagonally, at a range of 110-120 feet, the grape shot obliterated six cannons, and severely injured over 20 crew, including several officers. One of the last shots from the aft of the Doriath ship clipped the magazine of the Cutlass, and the galleon burst into purple flame and splinters, the sails evaporated. The explosion claimed 180 crew either killed or seriously wounded, with all 200 hands drowning eventually.
At the sight of a galleon surrendering and two going up in spectacular explosions, seven of the Confederacy light ships turn around heading due west, with four brigantines and three brigs attempting to disengage as their crews are demoralised.
With two Galleons standing, and one immobalised, Rienarnian turns his attention to his frigate line, whilst ordering two of his 64 guns to chase down the remaining galleon, the second one that had by now passed Stormheart's. The 74 gun ship that had suffered a fire had lost one of its central sails, and was sitting stationary, licking its wounds. Rienarnian gave the order to surround Stormheart's galleon, and prepare to rake the ship with grapeshot. With the sending stones dispatched and flag signals hoisted, he pulled his spyglass from his side and peered to his Frigate line, who by now were heading South East, parallel to the enemy brigs and brigantines, who were heading in the opposing direction. Despite the sheer advantage of the capital fleet, several frigates had taken substantial damage to their starboard sides, which had been presented at the enemy for the entire battle. Now acting under their own initiative, the pirate brigs realised that if they turned with the prevailing wind, they would be sailing right at the enemy frigate line. If they successfully reached it, they could cut through it, and escape in the chaos. The two frontal brigs concentrated their fire on one of the 32 gun frigates, reducing it to just 23 guns in five broadsides between them. Meanwhile, the brigantines and remaining brigs make their turn North East. Due to heavy damage, the 32 gun vessel being concentrated surrenders, and begins to sink, the crew abandoning the ship. Whilst not a clear gap, the resulting back log created as vessels in the rear of the line swerve to avoid their sunken comrade, provides the pirates with momentary respite, and the two leading brigs make their turn for the mad dash north west.
The last remaining mobile galleon joins the route, but the backlog created means that the last three 32 guns frigates decide to change objectives. Rather than follow their line South East, the turn to encircle the fleeing galleon. They fire three chain shot-loaded broadsides in quick succession, ripping the main mast off the ship. The two 64 gun ships catch up and position to rake the aft section with shot. 60 crew are shredded in the blast, and armour is ripped away, revealing much of the remaining insides of the ship. Loading grape shot, the ships-of-the-line prepare to decisively kill the crew and force a surrender. They need not however, as the Galleon promptly displays a white flag. Rienarnian spotted this, and allegedly smiled before turning to a signals officer and saying: "Ah, so these pirates are not so tough after all. Why don't we show them that the Cresterian Republic does not appreciate criminal scum in it's waters. By Peylore, send them to the bottom!"
Two broadsides of 30 guns each, full grape shot, murder a further 100 crew, leaving no more than 50 barely alive. Two of the 32 gun frigates use grappling hooks to board the ship. The marines waste no time securing the vessel, as the wounded pirates are stabbed with boarding pikes and their bodies, sometimes still alive, are tossed overboard. Around 15 pirates decide to stand and fight, charging from down below, chanting incoherent battle cries, challenging their foes resolve. Five are instantly shot, two outright killed, and the outnumbered pirates run straight into presented pikes. Soon, the charging pirates become "pirate kebabs", as the sergeant called, with jeers from his men. A total of 12 pirates surrender. The marine sergeant graciously accepts, before leading them to what appears to be the plank onto the frigate, but, with their hands and legs tied, the marines push them overboard. Those that struggle are thrown to the floor. Five in total avoid being pushed, and so are hung from the main mast by their chests. The frigate detaches after retrieving its crew and sets fire to the galleon, roasting the remaining pirates alive. It is believed that some of the wounded were never found by the marines, and thus suffered a gruesome end.
The surrounded Stormheart looked on with dread at the imposing ships of the line. He sat in his cabin, drinking stale rum, sick in the knowledge of the great catastrophe he had just sailed into. Rather than being honourable, he decides to attempt to flee, and jumps over board. He sneaks away on a makeshift raft, made of spare planks. The raft had been built prior to setting sail, as Stormheart preferred to keep death as avoidable as possible. Rienarnian offers the crew of the Kraken surrender, which they accept. Rienarnian has no intention, however, of taking over 150 men prisoner. Instead, as a sign of the Republic's authority, he orders all of his ships to open fire. The Kraken takes severe damage, with around 100 crew outright killed. With the ship de-masted and the lower deck flooding rapidly, the pirates attempt to abandon ship. The three life boats are sunk as soon as the Doriath gunnery crews gain line of sight.
Those that can swim are either shot by musket fire, murdered by grape shot, or dragged aboard the Doriath ships and hung.
The frigate line however was seeing far less success. Whilst Rienarnian was brutally killing the pirates, the brigs had cut through the frigate line. The ensuing chaos of broken formations resulted in the pirates getting into favourable two on one engagements with Doriath 32 gun frigates. The 38 gun ships were too far away to intervene, as they attempted to turn around and sail back to aid. One of the 38 guns had already been raked along its deck from the aft, and was taking on water.
As second 38 gun was hit by a stray grape shot from a brigantine, igniting a powder keg on exposed on the deck. The explosion killed four crew, and the resulting fire lead to several officers calling to abandon ship. The confused Captain tried to rally his sailors to fight the fire, but a secondary explosion caused a panic. Eventually, the magazine in the hull exploded, leaving none alive, with the ship promptly sinking after splitting into three large sections, which bobbed momentarily.
The Pirate brigs were successfully beating their 32 gun counterparts, using their speed to slightly outmanouver their opponents. This resulted in two 32 guns ships surrendering. One due to heavy flooding, and one due to the outbreak of a fire on the upper deck. Both would later sink.
However, over confident in their ability to combat the larger enemy frigates, the Pirates stopped trying to dash North East, instead stayed to deal with the many enemy frigates, before hoping to get away before the heavier ships could catch up. In doing so, the three 32 guns ships that had pealed off to aid in taking down the last galleon, were now upon them, and rapidly approaching were the 38 gun frigates.
The fight had broken down into random manouvering with no organisation. It was every ship, and every Captain for themselves. Ships tried to stay with the wind, cut in front and behind one another, blasting shot to and fro. Chain shot flew high into the sky, round shot plowed from every angle into wooden armour and rolling waves, grape shot turning flesh to mush. Rienarnian sailed toward the engagement with his main line, but as he approached, he could not work out who was who, and where the battle lines were. He knew that to dive on in would result in certain disaster, and so close to absolute victory, he decided to sit back and watch the spray and smoke of the battle from a distance.
An excruciating wait drove Rienarnian mad, as the sending stones came back and forth from his ship to his frigates, trying to get a hold of the situation. Occasionally, an enemy ship would be identified, and the main line would send a broadside of chain shot its way. Two brigantines were completely immobilised by the fire.
Eventually, the pirate vessels were crippled or sunk, forcing them to surrender. Two ships fought to the bitter end, firing with only four cannons left. The remaining ships, with white flags hoisted, sat with anchors down and what was left of their sails, tied down.
Rienarnian breathed as the water settled, and the smoke dissipated. Victory was his. Now the cleanup began. One by one, the surrendered vessels were boarded, their crews arrested, and the ships looted for prize money. The ships themselves were of poor quality and largely worthless, so were sunk, many with their crews left on board.
The night of the 20th was filled with the cries of pirates at they were thrown overboard for even the slightest misdemeanor. The officers were hung, and the common sailor locked up, due to be executed at the Capital later. Even the youngest pirate powder monkeys, one a boy of 12, were not left alone. They were starved of any decent food, kept in dingey, rat infested sections of the ship.
Rufivus Rienarnian, Admiral of the Cresterian Navy, had decisively defeated the Pirates. The Battle of Jourtland, as it would later be known, was over, and the victors rejoiced from their ships; the pirates left to decay in their watery graves.
Outcome
Gliford Stormheart escaped with his life, rescued by a Confederacy ship a few hours into the night. Upon returning to the Eastern Islands, Stormheart was dragged in front of Her Majesty, where he begged for his life. Under most circumstances, Stormheart would have become the latest decoration to Her Majesty's mantle piece, but she decided to spare him, believing to be useful in the future for certain planned projects. Thus, he was demoted from Commander to Captain, and a new ship was prepared for construction.
Admiral Rufivus Rienarnian was promoted to Grand Admiral, as the supreme commander of all Cresterian Naval forces.
The Pirate Crews were taken to Doriath, where some stood trial. These were just show trials and publicity stunts however, and all ended in guilty verdicts, even condemning pirates who were not presents at time. All of the older pirates were executed by hanging just a week after their arrival to the Capital.
The young poweder monkeys are pirate boys were either put up for adoption, or taken in by certain churches. Some others were recruited into the Cresterian Navy.
Aftermath
The United Confederacy of Pirates were forced to only conduct limited operations, and rely on lone pirates to bring in loot rather than large fleets, Stormheart included. They also began illegal, underground operations. Spy networks were established in the Capital, with smuggling operations and fund gathering all built up and running within months of the battle. However, for a time, Pirates were little more than a nuisance.
To help maintain the new found Naval dominance, the three major Naval powers banded together to form the Grand Maritime Alliance. The founding members were Cresterian Republic itself, The Feydom of Dire, and the Kingdom of Merredale. Grand Admiral Rienarnian was placed in command of the Alliance, as the most experienced and proven commander the three nations had to offer. For several years, the alliance patrolled against smuggling and piracy throughout Cresteria, bringing peace and safety to the seas of the entire world. Trade boomed, and a brief period known as "The Goodwill of the Seas" began. It lasted until the Confederacy returned in early 21 PR.
Upon the Confederacy's return, they shifted doctrine, and decided to utilise more unconventional means of ruling the waves. Going toe to toe with the Grand Maritime Alliance in open battle was never going work, and so they opted for raiding, blockading and looting members and allies of the Republic, beginning with the Blockade and Invasion of Dire in 21 PR. (Sea Article: The Invasion of Dire). They also decided to form a secret alliance with The Technocracy of Kennerheimm, a Dwarven totalitarian state in the far West of Cresteria. Though this new pact was defeated at the Second Battle of The Dragolver sea, they had won the first battle and had jointly blockaded Dire, causing the Grand Maritime Alliance to drastically re-think its strategies. This also placed the Cresterian Republic officially at odds with Kennerheim, and The Righteous began to gain sympathies in Cresterian courts and in the public eye, despite previously being almost synonymous with Terrorism.
To say that The Battle of Jourtland had a lasting impact would be an understatement. It forever changed the face of Cresteria. It showed the world that peaceful oceans were possible, that this mysterious Confederacy were not invincible. It changed the Confederacy's strategies, and gave Her Majesty a metaphorical slap around the face, as she realised it would take more than some magic and loyal criminals to turn the world hers. Gilford Stormheart however, got more of a physical slap, or splinter of wood, as he spent the next few years trying to get revenge on the Republic and prove himself to his peers. He would remain a ferocious Pirate in the East. Her majesty employed the services of the Vampire inhabitants of one of the Eastern Islands, including one Inecea Sufucon, who had fought against the Confederacy in the War of Eastern Unification. He was a tactical genius in many regards, particularly on combined land and sea warfare, and was the undead man who engineered the infamous amphibious invasion tactics of the Confederacy.
Sufucon and Stormheart would become rivals, fighting for the top spot in the Confederacy.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The Battle of Jourtland is forever remembered in the hearts of the free people of Cresteria as the moment they triumphed over evil. Whilst this may be an exaggeration, those under Confederacy Occupation keep the victory in the back of their minds as a sort of reassurance that some day, Victory will come again.
This faithful mindset has been labelled "Pure fantasy and denial-ism" by Confederacy officials in these regions, but to those that hold it, or those with loyalties to Peylore and the Republic, it is known as "The Jourtland Spirit."
Several great poems, songs and Sea Shanties have been written about the battle. The most famous include:
Men of the Waves: A popular Sea Shanty.
The Bastion: A poem about the Frigate Bastion.
The Sea, forever: A song about "The Goodwill of the Sea" era.
In Literature
Apart from the aforementioned songs and poems, there have been multiple books written on the subject. Rienarnian wrote his breakdown on the battle, detailing his orders and observations across a period of seven days, hence why the Battle is said to have lasted from the 13th to the 20th.
Cresterian historians have endlessly disagreed on what won the victory, with Rienarnian himself stating it was superior positioning and firepower, but some have argued it was the weather that played a larger role. Most agree that whichever way it was, Rienarnian deserved the Victory, though some say it could have been cleaner.
As part of all Grand Maritime Alliance officer training courses, Jourtland is a case study ALL officers will look at in depth, and in Cresteria, it is the textbook naval victory.
Technological Advancement
Two of the 74 gun ships-of-the-line had their lower decks outfitted with 32 pounder cannons. The Aquarius and the Indomitable had both sunk a galleon with these experimental guns, and their crews had gathered huge volumes of detailed records on the guns performance. These were handed back to high command.
Included in the list were details such as:
"Powder Bags are too large, heavy for moving and pose explosive threat."
"Unreliable firing; powder pan becomes difficult to reach with diminished electrum. ."
"Barrel wears rapidly under continuous fire, causes inaccuracy."
"Rounds fit tightly, slows reloading. Lubrication needed." And so on and so forth.
The information was passed on to the Cannon foundries in Merredale and Doriath, with the new models entering production in late 17 PR. By 19 PR, the 32 pounders were some of the finest cannons in the world, and most Naval powers who did not have such weapons quickly adopted their own, or bought from Doriath and Merredale, to avoid becoming redundant. Kennerheim, with the monopoly on electrum sales, demanded information on the cannons, and in return, sold huge masses of electrum to Doriath, in continued shipments right up until exports were suddenly cut in the last month of 20 PR. This aroused suspicion, as the shipments were supposed to continue until at least mid 21 PR. Kennerheim had of course signed its pact with the Confederacy in secrecy, but by cutting its shipment in an effort to aid its new allies, it acted as a slight tip off to the Grand Maritime Alliance that Kennerheim was planning something, and when Pirate activity suddenly picked up in early 21 PR, the Alliance was practically expecting the joint Armada, but were unable to sufficiently react to combat them at the First Battle of Dragolver.
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Naval
Start Date
13/04/17 PR
Ending Date
20/04/17
Conflict Result
Doriath Decisive Victory
Belligerents
Strength
25 Ships.
Six War galleons. These vessels were equipped with 60 guns each, but around half were 12 pounders, the rest being 18.
The remaining lighter vessels were mostly square rigged Brigs, with around 28 guns per ship.
There were six smaller brigantines, with 22 to 26 guns. The smallest vessels were two ketches, with only 18 guns.
There were also four sloops, one with 18 guns, two with 26, and one with 25. (A single stern chaser and two bow chasers make up the odd number).
36 Ships
Seven man o'war ships of the line.
(Four 74 gun, and three 64 gun ships.) These guns were mainly 18 pounders, with a few 12 pounders and some experimental 32 pounders on the lower decks. Though, only two of the 74 gun ships had these in any significant numbers. The Aquarius and The Indomitable.
There were two 50 gun ships, with the rest either being 32 to 38.
Casualties
All of the war galleons were destroyed. Almost all of the escort ships and their crew were destroyed or captured, an estimated seven vessels deserted the fleet mid way through the battle after two of the Galleons were blown up in quick succession.
A 64 gun ship-of-the-line was sunk, a 74 gun vessel was abandoned due to heavy flooding.
Six lighter vessels were sunk, including two 38 gun frigates, and four 32 guns ships.
Both 50 guns were heavily damaged, but sufficient repairs to limp back to port.
The remaining heavy ships repaired sufficiently to return to port, and captured prize money paid for the repairs.
Objectives
To Show their strength by destroying a prominent nation's fleet, and gain naval supremacy of the area.
To destroy the pirate threat and attempt to take back the outer Eastern Islands
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