Yoto Sasumi Defeated at Katal'Kutak

Military action

"The land is a barren waste of mud and insects. Do we really need to take this place? The savages can keep it so far as I'm concerned." -Anonymous, Tales from the Second Crusade, Scribe Asai Myamoto

Church forces lead by Yoto Sasumi arrive outside of Katal'Kutak on the 29th of Eldralla.   Sasumi orders her forces to begin building siege engines outside of the city.   On the night of the 29th, Cultic forces march up from the swamps and flank Sasumi's troops. Panicked,, Sasumi orders her forces to retreat. The church forces have a difficult time marching through the mud and swamps, and many are cut down as they make their way away from the city. Church forces lose nearly 2,500 men in the attack.   Yoto Sasumi has her forces regroup 20 miles from the city and makes camp, hoping to bide her time until she can come up with a better plan.   On the 9th of Phos, Cultic forces again ambush the Crucifers. This time, Crucifer forces are able to repel the attack, but still lose a staggering 750 men.   Desperate, Yoto sends a contingent of Not-Seens to Scout out the area. After two weeks, the scouts do not return. Commander Sasumi fears the worst.   On the 25th of Phos, Sasumi marches her remaining forces back to the city walls.   She splits her forces, telling one regiment to remain behind and march in after the main force.   Sasumi hopes that the rear regiment will catch up to Cultists if they attempt another flanking maneuver.   That night, the cultists again launch an ambush on the flank of Sasumi's forces. This time, however, the rear regiment marched in behind the ambush. In the confusion of the dark and mud,however, the Cultists managed to out maneuver the rear regiment and escape. The rear regiment, however, did not realize this, and continued pressing their attack all the way into their own forces.   The rear and forward regiments fought with each other for nearly half an hour before Sasumi realized what had happened and was able to calm the forces and call of their fighting. In the midst of the confusion, Sasmui's forces sustained another loss of 300 men.   With 6,450 men remaining, commander Sasumi ordered yet another retreat.   Once again, her forces fell back to an encampment several miles from the city walls, And, once again, cutlic forces ambushed her troops, this time using a pincer tactic that cut off the Crucifer's escape route.   Sasumi's forces sustained heavy losses, and the commander herself was fatally injured in the attack. The remaining soldiers, only 400 now, marched back west to meet up with the forces under Gorn at Sandesh.