Battle of the lone Castle
The Battle of the lone Castle was a battle that was fought during the last month of The war of Western expansion and it would be the last major engagement between Dercia and Clifia during the war.
What has made this battle stand out compared to the many other battles fought during the 25 year-long war, was not the size of the armies on both sides of the number of deaths the death toll for the battle was relatively small compared to some of the other battles fought during the war. What did make this battle stand out was more the social, political ramifications of the battle, the battle made it possible for queen Krea Astalles to crown herself empress and form the Empire of Dercia. But also it marked the ending of a war that had raged for 25 years and at least for the last 160 years, there has been a sense of relative peace between the Empire of Dercia and the Principality of Clifia.
This battle marks the ending to an era and the beginning of a new, this battle formed our empire.Empress Krea Astalles 1126
The Conflict
Prelude
Dercian intelligence had gotten some info that Clifia was about to send a major army into Dercia, there were already two legions, the 9th and 14th in the local area but Queen Krea Astalles needed a victory to be able to gather enough prestige to claim the title of empress so she decided to raise two new legions and lead them personally into battle.
Deployment
Both of the queen's legions set up camp 5 kilometres apart and with intelligence gathered from both locals and scouts heard that a clifian army was marching their way.
Queen Krea Astalles was getting impatient and some say a bit nervous so shortly after she ordered the legions to move out.
the 9th and 14th legion who were already in the area was informed by messengers that the queen's legions were marching out to engage the enemy.
Battlefield
The legions were marching along a road that was running between the coast of a lake and a large hill when they were ambushed. The Clifian army had been feeding the Dercian informers with false information and had marched faster to get into a perfect ambush position.
Conditions
The Clifians had chosen the place and time to attack by attacking during the evening just a couple of hours before nightfall. At the same time, a thick fog was rolling in from the lake making the visibility as low as 100 meters.
The Engagement
the queen's legions after they came under the ambush by a Clifian army many times their size, the queen and what was left of the legions made a retreat to an abandoned fortress a few kilometers away but was outnumbered like 5-1 so it was only a matter of time before they would be killed and the queen either killed or captured.
the 9th legion was a full day march away, but legionnaires who had survived the ambush and managed to get away had made contact with scouts from the 9th and within a few hours the whole legion was on the move and with double speed, the 9th legion managed to get to the area and when daylight came, they attacked and managed to drive a wedge into the enemy army so that the survivors and the queen could escape, many legionnaires died during the rescue.
The 14th legion was unlike the 9th not able to mobilise and move at the same speed as the 9th. So when the 9th legion arrived at the area, they were debating whether to engage or wait for the 14th but scouts were reporting that the situation for the besieged queen and legions were becoming desperate and that Clifia was planning to make the final push within the next few hours.
Outcome
When reports of the defeat of the clifian forces reached the Clifian commanders in charge of the war, calls for peace were being brought forth and once the shattered army returned to base and the losses were counted up, the morale that was already after 25 years of war fairly low reached the bottom and the Clifian armies refused to fight any more and stayed at their bases.
This forced the Clifian leaders to sue for peace.
Aftermath
For Clifia the defeat marked the ending of 25 years of Clifian attempts to break into the west. Over the next years, Clifia would face several smaller and larger rebellions.
For Dercia the victory would as well marked the ending of the war and Queen Elenora Astalles was able to gather enough support both from the nobility but most importantly the army claim the title of an empress and announce the formation of the Empire of Dercia
Even if we didnt support her in taking the title of empress, who were going to stop her when she had the support of 10.000 legionaries laying in camp a few kilometers from the capital?unknown senator
Historical Significance
Legacy
the Imperial Guard began to select its members from the 9th Legion who had come to the rescue of the queen and her legions.
In Literature
Songs and plays have been written about the battle and it is one of the most famous battles to recreate in arenas.
Included under Conflict
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
16/5/1125
Ending Date
17/5/1125
Conflict Result
Defeat for Principality of Clifia
Location
Belligerents
Strength
Empire of Dercia: 12.000
Principality of Clifia: 60.000
Casualties
Empire of Dercia: Deaths: 7.644
Principality of Clifia: Deaths: 18.543
Objectives
Clifia wanted to finally break the Dercian defence along the border.
Maps
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Mirateia
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