Battle of 'Uihhmeis

General introduction

In the vaning days of the Duiniken Kingdom in present day Tarrabaenia, the Duiniken forces were stretched thin between the invading Messellat Mdûlûn to the South and the uprising Tarrabaenian settlers in the North. While, at least for the moment, the Messellat Mdûlûn were almost beaten into retreat in the early fifth century of the Era of the Earth, they made a last ditch effort to try to beat the equally weakened Duiniken.

In the end the Duiniken defeated the Mdûlûn, but had to leave their already mostly evacuated capital unprotected, which in turn enabled the Tarrabaenians to get hold of the city. The battle of 'Uihhmeis turned into a pyrrhic victory for the Duiniken, which then had to withdraw from their homeland completely.

Partaking parties and preparation

In a strict sense only the last Duiniken army and a coalition of Messellat Mdûlûn states including Kissalinn and Sendar were involved. Kissalinn contributed a number of mounted troops and some auxiliary troops to the fight, while Sendar managed to muster a few hundred foot soldiers as well as some slaves to fill up the ranks. Both still had some ships from earlier coalitions with other city states and decided to use those to enter the Duiniken heartland via the Evoris.

The Duiniken on the other side of the battle had almost completely retreated east towards the Sévo Mountains and had their last standing army close to their capital, so they could protect whatever and whoever still was in the city. Scouts were patrolling the South, to warn against Messellat Mdûlûn armies in case any arrived. But by that time the conflict had taken such a high toll on both sides already, that no big invasion could be expected anymore.

Course of events

In the spring of 427 of the Era of the Earth, the Duiniken scouts reported a landing of a Mdûlûn fleet downstream the Evoris. The fleet as well as the accompanying army were much smaller than any other the Messellat Duiniken had sent before. The then commander of the only Duiniken army left, Hhrouhhdos, made the decision to advance and meet the Duiniken before they could get fully organised.

Reportedly on the next day, though exact dates are unknown, the Duiniken army made up of about one thousand Men reached the landing point of the Mdûlûn and wreaked havoc on most of the Mdûlûn ships to cut off supplies and negate an escape on water. The ships were set on fire and a great panic broke out. Especially the Mdûlûns cavalry was hamstrung by the outbreak of chaos as the horses went wild. On the other hand the attackers themselves were disadvantaged by the smoke, as wind conditions were blowing smoke in their own direction as well. Most of the Mdûlûn were killed, but due to the chaotic circumstances of the battle, the Duiniken returned from the battle with only 700 soldiers.

The slighting of Slaitcár

While caught up with the Mdûlûn, Tarrabaenians approached the capital Slaitcár without issues. As the ciy was almost empty and only a few guards were on the walls, they faced no opposition. Even with their simple means they managed to break the poorly secured gates open. The guards and some commoners had made an escape in time and while the commoners went east to meet up with the other refugees, part of the guards went south to meet up with the army. Scouts sent by the army encountered them half way. As the decimated army saw no chance of recapturing the city, they also went east.

The aftermath

The Battle of 'Uihhmeis, while stopping the Mdûlûn's attacks for three decades also brought about the end of Duiniken settlement in the area, bacause much of the population had already fled the area and the last greater permanent settlement, the capital of the Duiniken fell victim to the Tarrabaenians. They did not conquer and occupy the city, but rather stripped it of the riches and resources that were left. They established their own capital, Savína, further upstream and used Slaitcár as a quarry for their building projects. The Duiniken eventually left modern day Tarrabaenia entirely and most of them reestablished themselves on the eastern shore of Erana.

Conflict Type

Battle