War with the Dwarven Clans

Military action

Answering to attacks on their people the Kingdom of Illargos declare war on the dwarven clans.

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Start of the War

By 1335, the humans had founded their major cities and Illiad was officially named the Capital of the Kingdom of Illargos. Human colonists sought to establish a presence in the seemingly unclaimed lands northeast of The Highpeak Range, but by doing so they had encroached on the territory of Rechtsmarch, the dwarven fort of Clan Steelkeg. Relations were tense between the dwarves of Clan Steelkeg and Clan Stronghammer and the Kingdom of Illargos as the dwarves feared the rapid spread of human territory on the land. Clan Stronghammer established a firm border, whereas Clan Steelkeg sent patrols to attack any groups of Humans who dared to approach without discrimination. The King of Illargos, Haftor Volnarios, was angered by these attacks and retaliated with all-out war.

Combatants

Kingdom of Illargos	Dwarven Clans
King Haftor Volnarios	Clan Chief Baranor Steelkeg
Governor Barnabus Bigbrew	Clan Chief Roran Stronghammer
Blue Stripes Mercenary Company	Clan Chief Kellach Goldbrace (supporting non combatant)

The main groups of combatants are given in the table above, however mercenaries and opportunists of many kinds joined the fighting on both sides as they saw fit. The Kingdom of Illargos used a small number of mercenary companies but their most common choice were the Blue Stripe Mercenary Company, lead by a distant relative of King Haftor Volnarios. The opportunists were people who chose to join the fighting because they wanted to fight, which were often dragonborn seeking to prove their martial might, and half orcs giving their innate rage an outlet in battle. The dwarves of Clan Goldbrace took on more of a supportive role to their brethren in the war, staying out of combat and preferring to send resources as aid and cutting off trade with the humans for a time instead.

Skirmish Combat

The war between the Kingdom and Clans was mainly fought in several small but bloody skirmishes most commonly involving a single battalion of soldiers on each side, but with the odd occasion where one side had reinforcements. The dwarven tactics seemed to be to strike hard when the battles were evenly pitched but retreat to their stone fortresses and go on the defensive with their superior fortifications if they found themselves outnumbered. The dwarves seemed to lack the human affinity for magic so they couldn't afford to fight in long drawn out battles where human soldiers could call in mage support and use their clerics to keep their soldiers standing. Likewise the humans feared attacking a dwarven fortress as they have characteristically strong fortifications and a siege was a non-existent option due to the underground supply lines the dwarves would utilise to keep their people fed during sieges.  

Important Battles

• The Battle for Forskton - In 1390 Forskton was the scene of a brutal skirmish between the humans and dwarves which left the small town decimated. According to speculation and the bardic record of the battle, the dwarves of Clan Steelkeg fought longer than they usually would have while waiting for reinforcements from Clan Stronghammer which didn't arrive. Because of this the humans were able to overwhelm and crush the dwarves which allowed the humans to secure Forskton and use it as a staging post for assaulting Rechtsmarch; the fortress of Clan Steelkeg. During this battle the noblemen in charge of Forskton, Wulfram Forsk and his son Ulfgar both died protecting the town.
• The Conquering of Rechtsmarch - In late 1390 the humans decided on an all out assault on Rechtsmarch in the hopes of crippling the dwarven forces. They set up a barricade on the road between Rechtsmarch and Volun'Kaer to stop the dwarves of Clan Stronghammer from coming to their allies' aid during the battle. The battle ended with major loss of life on both sides. King Haftor Volnarios and two of his sons fell in the battle for the city leaving the king's middle son, prince Tormund Volnarios, to take the throne. Clan Steelkeg evacuated only those dwarves too old or young to fight through the mountain paths to Volun'Kaer before the battle but spared no one else, man or women to hold the city. Under the command of Chief Baranor Steelkeg the dwarves fought to the last man and were wiped out.

Making Peace

Following the heavy losses sustained to both sides the skirmishes between the two remaining combatants dwindled. The humans had wiped out an entire Clan and now held their home fortress of Rechtsmarch, dwarven patrols were no longer able to keep settlers out of their lands so humans began to trickle back up north to the ruined towns and villages left in the wake of the war. In 1392, King Tormund Volnarios sought peace with dwarven Clan Chief Roran Stronghammer and terms were eventually agreed to. The humans were allowed to rebuild the largest settlements unmolested, but they were to spread no further north into dwarven lands in exchange for peace. Clan Stronghammer hesitantly agreed to this truce as they had lost a great many lives to the Illargian forces and needed to recover, despite feeling a bitterness towards the humans after they wiped out Clan Steelkeg. There is currently a tenuous peace between the remaining clans and the Kingdom of Illargos in an effort not to break out into another full scale war.