First Hadasht Expedition
The Conflict
Prelude
Peresov Nereus and Lotrus managed finally finished their preparations for the invasion of Hadasht to execute the deserter legionnaires. The mere existence of a growing group of legionnaires that had deserted the Republic threatened to undermine its authority in dealing with upstarts and could lead to other colonies of the Republic to rebel. Lotrus would manage the fleets and maintain supply lines while Nereus would take the legions of Vernica and begin assaulting the positions of the deserters which will be from here on out called the Coalition of Hadasht or the Coalition. The fleets of the Republic sailed to the shores of Hadasht and began to prepare a landing, but everywhere they chose the Coalition would appear on the shores to oppose the landing. One of Lotrus’ marines had a brother who had mapped the entire western and northern coast told them of a bay near the northwest point of the island where only a small tribe made residence. Lotrus had the fleet set course there and finally made landing in the bay and quickly dispersed the tribe that lived there and established a forward operating base known as Tarconesis. During this time the Coalition tried to make their way up to the bay, but the Iksina and their allies chose this as their time to strike and attack the Coalition. Unbeknownst to the Republic this gave the fleet enough time to unload their men and set up a camp from which they could resupply the legions and have a safe place to retreat to. Once Nereus heard of the Iksina and their allies he sent an envoy to their tribe to immediately establish an alliance between the Republic and the Iksina. The chieftain Tureno responded that as long as they maintained their autonomy their people who help them in their endeavors. Nereus accepted telling Tureno that the Republic’s legions would leave Hadasht once the Coalition had been defeated and the deserters brought to justice and that the Iksina would become an ally of the Republic. Peresov Nereus already happy with this turn of events immediately began making offerings of safety and gold for any tribe allying with the Republic to kill the Coalition. Many never responded to Nereus’ offer until Nereus began to march his legions south towards his new allies to begin coordinating attacks against the coalition. Some tribes seeing the professional legions these new people could send to an island they didn’t even live on immediately capitulated and joined the Iksina and the other tribes friendly towards the Republic. Other tribes saw that they were caught between two foreign armies saw the forming coalition as the lesser of the two evils as the coalition tried to integrate themselves within the native peoples and picked them. Peresov Nereus sent his legions south with the plan of the professional legions of the Republic smashing through the center while their Hadasht tribal allies would clean up their flanks. Nereus wanted to shock the coalition’s allies into submitting to Republic rule. The coalition realizing it didn’t have superior numbers never entered into a pitched battle with the legions of the Republic and simply harassed the legion and targeted their supply lines. Nereus continued to press further along the island until realizing soon his legions would be completely surrounded by the coalition’s forces and Nereus decided it would be time to pull back. He marched his legions back to Tureno’s armies and began to prepare to slowly destroy the tribes of the coalition. Peresov Nereus began marching on the villages and towns of these tribes and managed to raze five of them to the ground. The coalition now formally led by Gyron of Hadasht as the coalition leader tried to continue his guerrilla tactics, but the Republic had no qualms of razing villages and imprisoning or even killing the denizens of those town. The tribes allied with Gyron began to lose hope and worried that a similar fate would befall them. Gyron decided that a set piece battle would be the only way to get the confidence of his allies back on their side, they had to win an all-out fight or slowly be chipped away until there is nothing left. Gyron’s scouts alerted them that the legion was marching on the town of Chamoria so he gathered his armies and marched out to meet them on the battlefield. After the Battle of Chamoria the legions were slowly pushed back with the tribes taking every inch of land conquered by the invading legions. Peresov Nereus realizing it would not be wise to continue to slowly lose skirmish after skirmish took his legions and marched back to the newly fortified Tarconesis. Peresov Nereus began preparing for a defense of Tarconesis. The coalition slowly began to convince more neutral tribes of joining the coalition. With the combined forces the coaliton marched on the Iksina and they immediately surrendered and promised to no longer take a side in the conflict. With their flanks secure the coalition began to march on Tarconesis and lay siege to Tarconensis.
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