Battle of Turon
The greatest victory of Emperor Arno, was fought against the allied forces of the Hasdinians and Marvingians, led by King Liutolf and King Gundimar respectively. Victory at Turon brought the two Herodi kingdoms into foederati status and the entirety of Areul back under the resurgent empire.
The Conflict
Prelude
It said in detailing of the prelude to the battle Arno, a man born Petrus Maxenius Mathias, saw a great omen of an eagle circling close by his horse the morning of the battle. Arno is the name the emperor was known as to his Herodi allies and comes from the name Aran, meaning "eagle". The great Battle of Turon would be where Arno truly earned his name and where he would showcase the once invincible might of his proud people. Turon was a throwback to an age when the Rasennan army was indomitable in the field and struck fear into the hearts of its foes. Arno had won great victories in the east against all the empire's enemies and many in the empire came to view these victories as well as the reforms and reinstated institutions Arno made as the Imperii Renovatio Rasenna or The Renewal of the Empire of the Rasenna. However, the empire would not be whole without its northern provinces and as such, Arno eyed the Hasdinians of the former Krauling Empire with envy and soon, with provocation, marched west with an invasion force and allies to win back these lands. Prior to the battle being set, the Hasdinians under King Liutolf did not engage with the Rasennan army marching into their lands, no harassments are thought to have taken place and the Hasdinians failed to contest Arno's construction of a fortified encampment near the site of Turon. With his Marvingian allies commanded by King Gundimar, Liutolf opposed the further Rasennan march, and battle was drawn up for the plain near the village of Turon where history would be made.
Deployment
Arno's army was smaller than the enemy that opposed him. The Marvingians and Hasdinians each were said to have fielded an army of around 35,000 while Arno's army was around half that size with estimates being around 36-37,000 men. This meant that the biggest threat to the Rasennan army was an encirclement and as such, Arno planned for the enemy to try to encircle him. Arno arrayed his flanks flared out, with his center echeloned to the left to deny battle to the left of his center. Arno's plan was to lure as much cavalry and infantry to his flanks so the allied center would become exposed and allow him and his cavalry to charge the line and cause the allied kings stationed there to rout. It was a bold plan and required the flanks of his army to feign battle and hold fast under a tremendous amount of force from the feared Marvingian heavy cavalrymen.
The Engagement
To begin the engagement, Arno made a speech to his cavalry which was later to the rest of the army. Arno went up and down the ranks of his force, speaking to men who had been among him since the campaigns of his father. He called many of these men by name and told stories of how they had honored their ancestors in their conduct with him. He harkened back to the conquests of the Rasenna, all the way back to the days of Kotta who won at Turasio, a site that was relatively nearby.
Arno then led his cavalry to ride to the army's right flank in order to draw attention there and the allied force followed, deploying light cavalry and infantry there to counter. When the order of battle was made, the Rasennans were set upon on the sides by aggressive attacks by the allied cavalrymen and their infantrymen. Arno however, was not engaged in the battle yet and as the fighting continued, the allied lines were being stretched and stretched more and more as the flanks of the Rasennan army pulled them further and further from the center. On the left, the Rasennan force was engaging the allied lines and had made a steady pace in further dividing the allied forces from each other but were slowly being beaten back by the numerically superior Marvingians under King Gundimar.
On the left, the cavalry of the Hasdinians there had been drawn away by light Leutrburg riders who gradually left the battlefield. These developments led to Arno finally making the signal and he, his cavalry, and large contingents of his rearguard infantrymen he had hidden behind his initial lines charged the exposed allied center with a fury. The heavy cavalrymen under Arno formed wedges to better utilize their momentum and the trailing infantrymen behind them charged in a similar manner. When the cavalrymen crashed into the allied lines, they blew through the initial line and made their way to the position of King Liutolf himself. The Rasennans led by Arno smashed through until they made it to the royal retinues of the commanding king who, after nearly being killed by several javelins and dozens of arrows, made the fateful decision to retreat with his household guards. With the sight of their king fleeing the battle, the Hasdinians fled the field while the Marvingians continued to fight in small groups before later surrendering.
Arno then led his cavalry to ride to the army's right flank in order to draw attention there and the allied force followed, deploying light cavalry and infantry there to counter. When the order of battle was made, the Rasennans were set upon on the sides by aggressive attacks by the allied cavalrymen and their infantrymen. Arno however, was not engaged in the battle yet and as the fighting continued, the allied lines were being stretched and stretched more and more as the flanks of the Rasennan army pulled them further and further from the center. On the left, the Rasennan force was engaging the allied lines and had made a steady pace in further dividing the allied forces from each other but were slowly being beaten back by the numerically superior Marvingians under King Gundimar.
On the left, the cavalry of the Hasdinians there had been drawn away by light Leutrburg riders who gradually left the battlefield. These developments led to Arno finally making the signal and he, his cavalry, and large contingents of his rearguard infantrymen he had hidden behind his initial lines charged the exposed allied center with a fury. The heavy cavalrymen under Arno formed wedges to better utilize their momentum and the trailing infantrymen behind them charged in a similar manner. When the cavalrymen crashed into the allied lines, they blew through the initial line and made their way to the position of King Liutolf himself. The Rasennans led by Arno smashed through until they made it to the royal retinues of the commanding king who, after nearly being killed by several javelins and dozens of arrows, made the fateful decision to retreat with his household guards. With the sight of their king fleeing the battle, the Hasdinians fled the field while the Marvingians continued to fight in small groups before later surrendering.
Outcome
With a decisive victory against the Hasdinians and the Marvingians, Emperor Arno accepted their surrenders, and the two kingdoms were temporarily granted federate status with plans to later annex their territories and divide the kingdoms into smaller provinces. While this did not come to pass, apparently these territorial divisions would be reflected in the natural division of the Hasdinian and Marvingian domains after the Dykairos.
Aftermath
The defeat at Turon nearly shattered the allied domains, King Liutolf was overthrown for his defeat and replaced with his brother while King Gundimar's fate was to be essentially put under house arrest by his own people. The victory would, for a short time, reinforce the idea of Arno's great reconquests bringing about a new chapter for the empire as it was victorious once more, on paper as united as ever and slowly recovering its economy after decades of inflation and rising prices. With Arno's death, these developments halted, and with the refusal to reelect another emperor they were sealed away to eventually be the ponderings of wishful dreamers and nostalgic future generations.
Historical Significance
Arno's victory at Turon was the last great victory of the Rasennans. After this, Arno would win another skirmish but be assassinated soon after. With Arno's death died the last hope of a reconquest of the former provinces of the empire. The nobles of Lakia chose not to elect a new emperor, instead relying on the Hedbard captain Syarius to defend them. Syarius was a loved and respected leader of Hedbard foederati who served with distinction under Arno during his campaigns. The Hedbard captain was also seen as Arno's avenger for his capture and execution of Arno's chief assassin, Captain Junius Cyrilus. Nevertheless, Syarius himself would also fall, this time against the dreaded Khan Turvil in battle at Maninipoli. Syarius' daughter would become the mother of the Autokrator of Komneia and thus, the legacy of Arno remained strong in the successor of the empire in Komneia.Legacy
With all the world watching and holding their breath, Emperor Arno, Imperator, Dominus, Autocrat of the Rasenna, Faithful Emperor of the People, Lord of all the World, the Pious, the Loyal, and most August under God secured a victory that has echoed throughout the ages. A remarkable victory for a force so outnumbered harkened back to the days when the Rasenna were all-powerful and all-conquering. Arno's victory cemented him as among the greatest battlefield commanders the Rasenna had ever seen and if it had not been for his untimely death, he may have reinstituted the former borders of the empire at its peak.
(The largely Hedbard and Leutrburg left wing of the Rasennan army under fire)
(Hedbard warriors serving in the retinue of mercenary captains like Syarius Harthaius)
(King Gundimar of the Marvingians advances into battle alongside his men)
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
18 B.E
Conflict Result
Decisive Rasennan Victory and the vassalization of the Hasdinians and Marvingians
Belligerents
Strength
~36,500 men
~10,000 cavalry total ~17-18,000 infantry of varied quality ~18,000 foederati and allied Hedbard and Leutrburg troops
~10,000 cavalry total ~17-18,000 infantry of varied quality ~18,000 foederati and allied Hedbard and Leutrburg troops
~70,000 men
~15,000 cavalry total
~28,000 infantry of varied quality
~27,000 conscripted levy troops of poor quality
Casualties
1,000 killed and 6,000 wounded
10,000 dead, wounded or captured
Objectives
Defeat the allied Marvingian and Hasdinian army and retake southern Areul from the enemy
Defeat and throw back Rasennan advancement into their territory
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