Battle of the South Rock
Nearing the end of 540 after a continuous campaign from both parties, a Commander in control of 4 frigates encountered a small fleet in transit towards the newly recaptured coasts. The commander, though sorely outnumbered, made orders for the patrol to engage and alert the local Regional Command. Later referred to as "The Battle of the South Rock", this conflict would spark a turning point in the campaign against the Void Empire.
The Conflict
Prelude
The rough fighting over the past decade to recapture parts of the Bonsu and Panwan Coasts had led to minor changes in the Naval hierarchy, this included giving Commanders far more control over certain aspects of the fleets they were a part of. Instead of leaving fleets in the command of Rear Admirals, they were instead being placed in the hands of newly appointed Commanders with Lieutenant Commanders as their seconds. This was seen as a largely dangerous option, however battles like those of CDR Eado of Bismuth would go on to prove that they were well appointed and well minded.
The Void invaders were on the back step after losing their control over the minor coastal ports along the Panwe and Bonsu waters, and while they had amassed a large quantity of knowledge of the Empires designs and plans, they were still under qualified in the actual construction. This left them with bare bones assembled vessels, and the foolish knowledge that they were well-equipped to fight their opponents on equal footing.
Deployment
On the morning of Frinti the 16th, Lesome 540, CDR Eado of Bismuth was sailing his four patrolling frigates back from a several week station guarding the North Eastern Coasts. The morning was uninteresting and gave them little indication for the dangers just around the corner for that day. Eado, thinking himself in the clear and only a few days out from shore, had decided to host a party aboard each of the ships. They had acted as support for a larger fleet during their time on patrol and had managed to sink a few ships each, bringing each of the captains total for the voyage to a minimum of five per ship. Morale was high and drinks were said to be flowing readily.
By mid-morning, an alert was sent out to each of the ships in the small fleet that a larger congregation of vessels was ahead. This was taken to be a fleet of Imperial Naval Ships heading out to chase off another of the Invaders many attempts at retaking land. Two of the four Captains had ordered that a small celebration was continued into the noon/afternoon hours to welcome and praise the massive ships as they passed. Calling out to their honor and pride as true Imperial forces. Commander Eado was not one of the captains involved, he was busy studying the paths of fleets owned by the Empire that would be sailing the waters. Few ships sailed the waves of the Empires seas without registering at the ports they frequented, and this went doubly so for the naval vessels. Fleet management was an art unto itself and could not be avoided even if one actively tried, like chess it was important to see the whole picture but still split it into manageable pieces. Fleets needed to work in tandem to properly control and protect the waters, and regular reports of locations were one step of that. Unfortunately, there was no fleet designated to be sailing the waters and certainly not one of the size that they were seeing ahead.
This Left Eado with two options, proceed as if nothing were wrong and assume that communication had broken down in certain areas. Something that had happened on more than a few occasions and was likely to continue to happen in the future. Or it was the enemy on a invasion course for the coasts again and had managed to slip through nearly unnoticed, the consequences of which could be disastrous. So Commander Eado made the decision for two of the vessels to approach and engage with the fleet. Hailing them using their Arcanists and hoping to connect with, or get a feeling for, the sailors aboard. Continuing the spree of unfortunate events, one of the vessels was sunk shortly after approaching. The IRV Herchveld , a simple frigate taken from merchant fleet defense, was sent forward alongside the IRV Destitute . The idea being that the Destitute would negate the chance for a threatening encounter given its ability to sink vessels handily.
On Frinti the 16th, Lesome 540 12:03 the IRV Herchveld was fired upon and sunk in a matter of minutes. In response, the IRV Corpse-Beetle , IRV Destitute , and IRV Swalltail each fired upon the front most vessels of the newly appointed enemy fleet. Four blast of arcannons were fired across the crystal waves and managed to slice through a number of the void invaders vessels, however they still outnumbered the fleet 10 to 1. The Destitute took the initiative and made a sharp banking maneuver while the other vessels began their relocation. Over the next four hours, the three remaining vessels under Commander Eados control were harried and regularly fired upon by the lesser armaments of the bare-bones ships that the Void Invaders had constructed. Little damaged was done to the aft of either of the three vessels, however magical combat did leave scars over sections of the quarterdecks and the lower wood structures.
By mid-morning, an alert was sent out to each of the ships in the small fleet that a larger congregation of vessels was ahead. This was taken to be a fleet of Imperial Naval Ships heading out to chase off another of the Invaders many attempts at retaking land. Two of the four Captains had ordered that a small celebration was continued into the noon/afternoon hours to welcome and praise the massive ships as they passed. Calling out to their honor and pride as true Imperial forces. Commander Eado was not one of the captains involved, he was busy studying the paths of fleets owned by the Empire that would be sailing the waters. Few ships sailed the waves of the Empires seas without registering at the ports they frequented, and this went doubly so for the naval vessels. Fleet management was an art unto itself and could not be avoided even if one actively tried, like chess it was important to see the whole picture but still split it into manageable pieces. Fleets needed to work in tandem to properly control and protect the waters, and regular reports of locations were one step of that. Unfortunately, there was no fleet designated to be sailing the waters and certainly not one of the size that they were seeing ahead.
This Left Eado with two options, proceed as if nothing were wrong and assume that communication had broken down in certain areas. Something that had happened on more than a few occasions and was likely to continue to happen in the future. Or it was the enemy on a invasion course for the coasts again and had managed to slip through nearly unnoticed, the consequences of which could be disastrous. So Commander Eado made the decision for two of the vessels to approach and engage with the fleet. Hailing them using their Arcanists and hoping to connect with, or get a feeling for, the sailors aboard. Continuing the spree of unfortunate events, one of the vessels was sunk shortly after approaching. The IRV Herchveld , a simple frigate taken from merchant fleet defense, was sent forward alongside the IRV Destitute . The idea being that the Destitute would negate the chance for a threatening encounter given its ability to sink vessels handily.
On Frinti the 16th, Lesome 540 12:03 the IRV Herchveld was fired upon and sunk in a matter of minutes. In response, the IRV Corpse-Beetle , IRV Destitute , and IRV Swalltail each fired upon the front most vessels of the newly appointed enemy fleet. Four blast of arcannons were fired across the crystal waves and managed to slice through a number of the void invaders vessels, however they still outnumbered the fleet 10 to 1. The Destitute took the initiative and made a sharp banking maneuver while the other vessels began their relocation. Over the next four hours, the three remaining vessels under Commander Eados control were harried and regularly fired upon by the lesser armaments of the bare-bones ships that the Void Invaders had constructed. Little damaged was done to the aft of either of the three vessels, however magical combat did leave scars over sections of the quarterdecks and the lower wood structures.
Conflict Type
Skirmish
Start Date
10/16/540 or Frinti, Lesome 16th, 540 12:00
Ending Date
10/16/540 or Frinti, Lesome 16th, 540 18:00
Belligerents
VI Holy Commander Herappa
Strength
4x Frigates of varying class
17x Frigates of varying class
13x Combat/Transport Flatships.
Casualties
1x Frigate: IRV Herchveld
7x combat frigates
11x combat/transport Flatships.
Objectives
Alert local forces of coming dangers, enemy positions, and survive the confrontation until arriving in safer waters.
Invade local waters and assualt Panwe/Bonsu coasts.
Thanks for this article. I was at first a bit intimidated by all the proper names of the ships, but it turned out that the article was well understandable even without having an exact grasp of each individual vessel. I like how you mentioned the conflict in the background without letting it 'take over' this article. This way you get a scope and some context, but nothing too overwhelming. It seems like - as all the ships are named - they would warrant an article for their own, which you could link to in this article. Keep up the good work!
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