The Battle of Rose Pass
Victory or Death
"Later on that fateful day
When the men approached the town
We're forced to call up half an army
To meet them on the ground
Soldiers run to grab their swords
Before battle is met
Stacking supplies 'pon the carts
For the men's blades shall be wet"
Poem written by Commander Avos, recalling the chaos of the initial preparations for battle
OVERVIEW
The Battle of Rose Pass was a pitched battle between a large detachment of footmen, archers, and knights from Westgate, and several sections of pikeman from Northreach. The battle was fought in 1243 AR, in Rose Pass nearby to Winterhold. Contrary to the name, Rose Pass is a wide-open field between two strips of woodland. Westgate routed the forces from Northreach.BUILD-UP
After the Treaty of Westhill was signed with Loria, Westgate was supposed to receive a large swath of land in its northern border. Northreach felt that this treaty was null, because the ceded land belonged to it, not Loria. Nevertheless, Westgate began to occupy the territory. After Westgate troops forcibly put down a revolt in the Uram region of the ceded territory, Northreach was outraged. After a hearing of the tribe elders, it was decided that a large formation of Northreach pikemen would take the region by force of arms, and restore it to its rightful place: among Northreach's territory.BATTLE
Westgate was forewarned of the incoming pikemen by courier raven, and so was able to scramble an undermanned force of footmen, archers, and knights, including the Lancers of Aorn, then known as the Knights of the Crescent Moon. Northreach troops were intercepted while on the march at the Rose Pass, which was actually an open field bordered by woodland. The pikemen were forced to lay down their packs and get into formation without even being able to strap on much of their armor. After an initial bloody but fruitless foot charge, Westgate pulled back to the edge of the woodland. Three separate skirmishes followed as Northreach made repeated assaults on the forest, all of which were inconsequential. The battle was decided when the Lancers of Aorn, tired of the fruitless battle, formed their unit into two slender triangles, and charged the pikemen. The phalanx failed to adequately repel the charge, largely due to poor training, and Westgate footmen took advantage of the breach created to kill off much of the formation. Archers loosed a volley almost immediately, and the pikemen were forced to retreat.OUTCOME
The battle resulted in a major victory for Westgate, vastly increasing the moral and effectiveness of the soldiers. After a number of political string-pulls, the territory was eventually ceded to Northreach anyway, along with a large sum of gold and official apology. Many Westgate nationalists were unsatisfied with this turn of events, and the uproar they caused led to further skirmishes in the region, none of which were fought on a large scale, and all of which were largely fruitless.
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
11th of Roth, 1243
Ending Date
13th of Roth, 1243
Belligerents
Northreach
Strength
Westgate was undermanned in this conflict, numbering only about 1,000 men.
The contingent from Northreach consisted of nearly 3,000 pikemen.
Casualties
About 200.
About 1,000
Objectives
Intercept an oncoming enemy force before it reached its destination.
Retake land that they felt had been stolen from them.
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