The Battle for the Blue Cliffs

Some scholars have stated that The Decade of 5 Emperors was the most chaotic and devastating period of the Dercian Empires history, when Cedana Astalles made her claim for the Imperial throne, resulting in the Empire being divided into warring factions.
In 1149, the western provinces, a region with its rich farmland and large goldmines became a crucial theatre of the civil war when Governor Selmar Tiberinus, governor of one of the provinces west of the Verdith River. Declaring himself Emperor and with the support of the other governors in the western provinces, declared that the Verdant Crown were the true protector of the Empire's legacy and with his declaration, Selmar had opened up a third front in the civil war.
The loyalist forces were spread thin already and the only general who were in a position to stop this pretender was General Cassius Altharion and thus began the first stages to what would become known as the Campaign of the Western Break

The Conflict

Prelude

Governor Selmar fortified his position at the Blue Cliffs, a perfect area for defence as the steep terrain and Verdith River acted as natural defences. The governor had under his command nearly 20.000 professional soldiers, most of these were made out of auxiliaries but the core of the rebel army consisted of the 19th Legion, who had sworn loyalty to the governor, to support these the governor had likewise hired mercenaries and conscripts, bringing his total to near 40.000 soldiers according to the surviving sources.
General Cassius on the other hand were commanding a much smaller force, consisting of only 15.000 soldiers, despite the huge difference in numbers, the general were confident as his soldiers were alls legionaries, known for their hard training and discipline, the general were sure that they would defeat the western rebels. Generals Crassius plan were to cross the Verdith River and outflank Selmars forces and securing the Golden Road, the main highway used to transport the gold from the mines to the Capital.

Deployment

Early Aurini morning, Cassius began his campaign by feigning an assault to the south near one of the fords over the river, hoping to draw the attention of Selmar and his forces, meanwhile, Cassius engineers who had previously been constructing a makeshift bridge under the cover of night made the final touches to the bridge before Cassius army could march over it.
Despite the distraction to the south, scouts from Selmars' army spotted the crossing and General Crassius were forced to rush the crossing in an attempt to get his army over the river before the rebels could respond.
The vanguard of Crassius's army met the enemy when roughly a quarter of the army had crossed the bridge and a skirmish erupted just as the sun was about to rise over the horizon, the loyalist vanguard fought hard and at times it looked like they would break but with a constant flow of reinforcements they managed to hold the line and the enemy soon retreated.

With his entire army now on the right side of the river, Crassius began the march towards the Blue Cliffs, scouts had reported that Selmars main force were entrenched atop the cliffs and with the treacherous clifs and narrow parts any direct assault would be costly for the attackers. General Crassius decided to split his forces in two, the main contingent would launch a frontal assault, binding most of Selmars forces while a smaller group of elite soldiers would be scaling the cliffs under the cover of darkness, their task was to either kill or capture Governor Selmar alive and otherwise distract the rebel forces enough so that the main force could break through.

The Engagement

Under the cover of darkness, the small elite force managed to scale the cliffs and reach the top undetected, meanwhile, the main army had engaged Selmar´s forces in several feigned attacks.
With most of the rebel forces distracted by the attacks the small group of soldiers managed to infiltrate the rebel camp, there they split into two smaller groups, one with the task of finding Governor Selmar and the other to cause as much distraction as possible, and soon after smoke began to rise from several tents as the soldiers set fire to them. The other small group found Selmars tent but it was empty and later events would reveal that before General Cassius had even crossed the river, most of the rebel army had moved and it was only a minor force that was left behind.
With smoke and reports of enemy soldiers in their rear, the rebels began to falter, the conscripts began to surrender in large groups and the end it was only the rebel legionaries that fought to the death.

Outcome

The short term effect were that the loyalits were given a breather with the victory and their moral had been improved by it.

Aftermath

The Campaign of the Western Break would continue for another year further stretching the resources of the loyalists.

Historical Significance

Legacy

Songs of the "Silent Climb" and the "Red Cliffs' Fall" were sung in taverns and barracks for generations, immortalizing the loyalist victory in one of the most turbulent decades in Dercian history.

Included under Conflict

The Decade of 5 Emperors

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

3rd of Marana

Ending Date

5th of Marana

Belligerents

Loyalists

Duke Selmar Tiberinus' Army

Strength

15.000

40.000

Casualties

Casualties:

• Killed: ~3,500
• Wounded: ~4,000
• Missing/Captured: ~300

Casualties:

• Killed: ~5,000
• Wounded: ~6,000
• Captured: ~4,000
• Deserted: ~2,000

Objectives