The Occupation of Henathyr

Written by TheNerdyWolf101

The Conflict

Prelude

Following the successful invasions of neighbouring islands, The Confederacy looked to conquer another of the Far Eastern Islands. Henathyr was relatively unknown until a Dayern merchant vessel stumbled across it on route to the Far East in 12 PR; storms had blown the ship, "Impératrice des Vagues", and forced it to beach on the strange isle. The crew, some 25 sailors, were stunned to find fertile and active crop fields, and were even more shocked when greeted by human and elven farmers, speaking in Elvish. With a large community of farmers living in a few villages and one large town.
Diplomatic ties were quickly established, and it became clear that this isle had been attached to the Feydom of Dire before the split, a portion of its once biologically diverse, fertile farming land. Dayern authorities pushed for reunion, but the locals of the island refused, due to having signed profitable deals with both the Republic of Cresteria, the Earldom of Edel, and having a long term trade agreement with the Principality of Zaremovsk. The island possessed no ships, and purchased low quality vessels from Zaremovsk for trading. The island had no formal military, and although incredibly rich due to trade for its relative size, it was vulnerable to attack.
The Confederacy saw this as an easy grab, the rich and fertile plains, full coffers, virtually undefended, the island was too good to be true. The population had no intention of rolling over, and the Confederacy knew that keeping the large population in check would be difficult, but the first priority was to seize the island. In later years, it could act as an excellent jump off point for future campaigns into Dire and beyond.
The Feydom of Dire however, had no intention of letting this historic territory fall to anyone but them. When the High Elven council caught wind of the impending attack, a young Commodore by the name of Agis Valden was sent with a small flotilla to guard the island's waters. On board some of the ships were Dayern militia troops and a group of Paladins. A total of eight vessels were sent, with two brand new 32-gun frigates, the finest ships in the Dayern Navy, and four 26 gun Brigs, of an older class, and two 18 gun sloops.
Heading for Henathyr, was a fleet of twelve warships, including a 40-gun galleon, leading a group of race-built frigates and brigs. Their primary role was intimidation, as resistance was not expected. The presence of the 40 gun vessel, "The Black Wind", was a show of force to any on lookers. In the rear, were six transport ships, filled with poorly trained but eager pirate brigands.

Deployment

Valden boasted a traditional line astern formation, sailing a patrol around the coast, rotating his ships being at sea and in port, to help keep up morale of the people of Henathyr, and his sailors.
The Pirates were in a standard crescent formation, shielding the transports behind them. However, the Pirates had no commander, as no resistance was expected, and experienced captains were needed elsewhere.

Conditions

At Henathyr, conditions were manageable, with some rain and heavy wind, the skilled sailors of the Dayern fleet were pushed to the extents of their skill, but were more than a match.
The Pirates however were hounded by a tremendous storm, loosing two brigs to fires, and scattering the formation completely, leaving "The Black Wind" on its own.

The Engagement

Pirate vessels were sighted by the Dayern Sloops at dusk, and Valden sprung into action, calling up his frigates to the front. With four Pirate brigs in a loose formation ahead of him, it seemed it would be a quick victory. As he wrote in his diary:
"It was almost unbelievable, that the Pirates expected to see such little resistance, if any, that all they brought was a handful of light ships. You would have thought they might have at least have scouted ahead. I conclude therefore, that these Pirates have no proper experience in waging Military campaigns of any kind, let alone naval invasions."
Sailing with the wind, the ships clashed going broadside to broadside. Valden, seeing no other Pirate ships, held his in direct fire with the enemy. Both sides sailed broadside to broadside up wing, the superior quality wood of Dire bouncing some shot from the pirate vessels. Within about half an hour, the first brig had sunk, and another surrendered, with the last two crippled and fleeing. A simple, but great victory for Valden. Or so he thought.
As the smoke settled, it became clear that his ships had taken notable damage, particularly two of his brigs, but his frigates had deflected much of the enemy fire. In the heat of the fight however, Valden had failed to notice a large vessel heading for one of his sloops that he had left behind in reserve. His flank under threat by "The Black Wind", would not have been a huge problem, but then two further brigs were spotted, with the six transport ships in tow. The situation had taken a serious turn against Valden, but, he had one trick up his sleeve. On his flagship, the aptly named Surprise, were the group of Paladins. The militia was ashore, and it appeared that the transport ships were damaged, as several were leaning or had damaged sails. It was impossible to know if this was due to the storm or due to poor construction. Valden wrote:
"At this moment, I was faced with several options. I had to guard my rear, and access to the Henathyr coast, but I had to stop the transports from landing. I signaled the Abasourdie (the other Frigate) to follow me into and attack on the large pirate vessel, whilst the now damaged brigs had to go after the others. I hailed the other sloop to follow them. I admit my shortsightedness and overzealous brawl with the four brigs had me at a slight disadvantage, but it was a blessing from Alf that for some reason, the Pirates did not attack at once."

Valden had yet to show it, but the elf was a naval genius. With his forces split, he was vulnerable, but by delaying the transports with his brigs, he could focus on "The Black Wind". He unloaded chain shot from medium range, ripping the sails to shreds, volley after volley. It took only a few minutes to expend his limited stores of the advanced shot. Obscured by a cloud of purple smoke, the return fire of "The Black Wind" had little effect.
Valden would learn his expertise of the use of the brand new chain shot in this engagement, with the brigs crippling a transport, and panicking the others using it. However, the short supply would call for quick thinking, and Valden was capable of doing so.
With one final chain shot, the main mast of "The Black Wind" was cut loose, crashing into the water admits purple flames. Cheers from the nearby sloop that was desperately running from it, and whooping from the frigates could be heard from the coast of Henathyr. The final job was simple. Valden sailed behind the now slowed pirate ship, the demoralised crew unable to give effective fire, and raked it from the stern. Both frigates gave two broadsides each, sending thick spears of wood and shot down the length of the ship, killing upward of thirty men, and brutally impaling many more. Valden delivered another close range shot as he through hooks up from his starboard side, latching onto the port of the larger vessel. He watched as his Paladins hacked the pirates to pieces, sending them hurtling into the sea and cascading in pools of blood down the stairs to the lower decks. Valden joined the fray, toting his pistol.
Admits the cries of falling pirates and jeering of the Paladins, the whooshing of spells and clanking of Armour, were the shouts and cries of triumph from Valden, as he fired his pistol, and clambered to the helm of his new ship. Drawing his sabre, he cut the pirate flag loose, and it fell to the sea, its slow fall from not-so-much grace was the epitome of the defeat of "The Black Wind", and would forever be immortalised in Dayern naval shanties. When the last 12 men surrendered, including the bewildered and wounded captain, Valden took them aboard the Surprise. Some of the sailors there claimed that when asked what to do with the new ship, Valden said: "Burn it, its made of mould!", before snapping a chunk of wood off the side of the ship. Though, no mention of this in Valden's diary or the official report exists. Though a popular reference in song and poetry, according to Valden, the ship blew up by itself:

"After we had taken the Pirates off, we began to loot the ship for goods and supplies, mostly to sell for money. The ship was rotten and crumbling, made of terrible wood and of terrible quality, so I had no intention of using the vessel. It would of course have been useful to the Admiralty, whom would have paid handsomely, for it to be sold on. Alas, in a last moment of defiance, a pirate has set a barrel of electrum powder alight, and the whole ship went up. Thankfully, my crew and the Paladins were unharmed."

Many have claimed that Valden, not wishing to waste time, scuttled the ship on his own accord, and tried to cover it up to avoid controversy. If that was the case, then he failed, as the Admiralty was less than pleased at losing this vessel.

After the capture and sinking of the 40-gun ship, Valden turned his full attention to the transports. The two escorting brigs had surrendered, and the transports were running for safety, or at least, the opposite direction of their target. After an hour of cat and mouse with the lackluster wind, Valden caught up and shot the transports enough to force a surrender, boarding the last one, which threw up the white flag in terror, after lightning fell from the sky, directed by a Paladin's blade.
The ships were scuttled, and the surrendered brigs were taken to the port on Henathyr, for repairs for a return journey to Dire. The engagement was a Dayern victory, but this was the not the end for Valden nor the people of Henathyr.

Outcome

Six Pirate Brigs, all 24-26 gun vessels, were captured and pressed into Dayern service following refits and improvements. Two were eventually sold to Edel. After the attack, Valden marched straight to the Lord's house on Henathyr, and, by order of the Elven council, made the following decree:

"In light of the invasion attempt by the United Confederacy of Pirates, whose ambitions do threaten the sovereignty of Henathyr and its people, The High Elven Council of Dire doth hereby decree that, until hostilities cease in the region, the Feydom of Dire will occupy the island of Henathyr as an autonomous area. All people of the island are to continue their daily lives, and the local government may continue to operate, but will be subject to the whims of the High Council and the will of his Greatness, our Saviour Alfred.
The decision made hereby, was not taken lightly, but to protect the sovereignty of a friendly territory, of one that is of our blood and culture, thou must violate it's sovereignty when the need arises. Henathyr is now under the Authority and Protection of the Feydom of Dire."

Many saw this as an excuse to take control of the territory which Dire believed to be rightfully theirs, as it was pre-split. The Mayor, the elected official, was outraged, and immediately began denouncing the decree as "Ignoring the will of the people of Henathyr, and a poor attempt to reclaim lost Glory, a failure to move with the times and blatant Imperialism!"
The High Council promptly ordered his removal, and Valden personally arrested the Mayor, one Nasir Valhice. His replacement was Lixiss Torkalyn, an upright women of honourable Henathyr decent, and a pro-unionist with Dire. Most people on Henathyr were indifferent to the Dayern troops, grateful for their protection, but displeased with the occupation. Thankfully, the population did well to mind their own business, which meant the soldiers went about theirs, and apart from some rock throwing and protests, the cultural, lingual, and historical ties kept the peace in the early days. The occupation was both friendly and only temporary, after all.
As for the Pirates, they lost out on Henathyr, and a brand new 40-gun ship, a hugely expensive vessel for the Confederacy at this time. The good news was however, that the Confederacy would now focus its efforts on the Principality of Zaremovsk, and much planning went underway for future operations, so as to not run into unexpected resistance.

Aftermath

When the Eastern War of Unification came to its close, much had been done behind closed doors to move toward ending Henathyr autonomy altogether, and in 17 PR, the "Réunion" occurred, as the Feydom of Dire annexed Henathyr.  However, not much changed for the people.  Instead of the Mayoral election being just for the island, the elected official gained a seat in the council.  Due to the large human population on the island, it was the only council seat that was allowed to be held by a human.  The local infrastructure was invested in, and Dire took direct control of the trade industry, and soon Henathyr became awash with Dayern trading companies.  Yet, Henathyr companies were bought by the larger Dayern counterparts, or could now set up shop in Nythrim on Dire, a far larger center of commerce than Henathyr's harbour.  
Permanent military forces were raised on the Island, who retained the traditional flag emblem, and a Temple was established to re-direct the population back in line with the Order of Alfred.
Valhice, the former Mayor, was sentenced quite simply to "Go home, and keep out of politics for the duration of the Occupation."  He would run in several elections, attempting to fight for greater autonomy and/or representation in the High Council.  He never won these elections, though many, including his opposition shared his sentiments.  He remained a respected elf even in the High Council.
Valden was promoted to Admiral, and would become a decorated war hero.

The Confederacy's change in strategy would be one factor to their victory against Zaremovsk, though crucially, this would spark very loud voices for the destruction of Dire as a state, religion and culture within the Confederacy after the war.

Historical Significance

Legacy

The Battle made Valden famous on Dire and Henathyr, got him promoted and served as an example to the Dayern Navy of how to win when outgunned.  Analysed extensively in books and talked about in Schools, the Action off Henathyr became renowned in Maritime Circles who were opposed to the Confederacy.
Perhaps ironically, the battle became little more than a footnote in Confederate Naval studies and history, despite serving so many lessons to more observant commanders.  One such commander, Inecea Sufucon, would pay close attention to the engagement, and learn Valden's commanding as best he could, which ultimately was crucial in the Battle of the Dragolver Sea.

Every Spring, Henathyr celebrates "Réunion", or Reunion, in which both the battle and Union with the wider Feydom is celebrated.

In Literature

As with many great maritime happenings in Cresteria, poems, songs and especially shanties, were written and composes, known the world over, or at least, Dire over.  Of course, the events are exaggerated most of the time, such is the nature of Legends in literature.

Technological Advancement

Valden proved overwhelmingly the effectiveness of Chain-shot, which was brand-new at the time.  He featured its use heavily in his book War on the Waves: Victory From Defeat, (a book on the theory of Naval Warfare in general) and was instrumental in its later development and iterations.

This was the Flag of Henathyr, as of 2 PR.  The Emblem signified the farming tradition of the region under Dire.  The Flag still flies on the administrative buildings and the emblem exists on Dayern military units from the Island.

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Start Date

4/6/15 PR

Ending Date

17 PR (Territory was fully Annexed)

Conflict Result

Heroic Dayern Victory