Wt'kroiya Kahweru Woteya: Battle After Marriage
The Conflict
Prelude
The Keyrit Daskalarchy and the Wlitowa Authority were major rivals with regards to trade and economy, each scuffling over the Strait of Uketya and Little Uketya. Economic warfare slowly turned into military warfare as Wlitowa began raiding Keyrit holdings. Keyrit at the time was a much younger and thus much weaker faction, so Keyrit played very defensively. On a diplomatic mission to Tuhra, the Keyrit prince's ship was sunk by the Wlitowan navy, and the prince was forced into hiding. In the most remarkable of coincidences, while in hiding, he and the Wlitowan princess were mutually lovestruck. The two announced their engagement, and with it an end to the bitter rivalry. The Keyrit king was summoned to the marriage ceremony, and, suspecting in part that it might be a trap, brought with him a formidable, highly-experienced guard.
Just a decade prior, the nation of Tuhra experienced a massive flood that took out a majority of the agriculture in its western half. Its people were starving, but no nation was willing enough to lend aid. The Tuhrans became very isolationist, and the governmental measures taken to mitigate the disaster made the nation militarist and authoritative. Once the nation fully recovered, the military wanted to make Tuhra too strong for another disaster like the Flood to faze the nation. For that, it needed new farmland. Wlitowa was rich with arable land, and its monarchy was too distracted by its rivalry with Keyrit to bolster its defenses. The decision to invade was unanimous throughout the generalship, save for one, and Tuhra sent its entire standing army and then some to Ak'tawo to make a clean start, and a clean end, to the war.
Deployment
The marriage was scheduled for the day of the battle, but lookouts alerted the king at sundown the evening prior. The large Ak'tawo garrison was hastily assembled and thrown into formation by the break of dawn. Professional pikemen gathered in the center of the line, while the less experienced town watch and citizenry who could wield a weapon gathered behind and around them. Behind the whole host, the Wlitowan cavalry stood in a single mass.
Legend says that the king of Wlitowa said to the king of Keyrit that this was a Wlitowan war, and that he would not dishonor their newfound friendship by immediately calling Keyrityi forces to fight his battles. The king of Keyrit responded thusly: "We are friends, not as a protectorate would be friends with its overlord, but as allies, as equals. Let us prove to you our equality in battle, that we may prove the rest of our equality in the years to come." Keyrit's royal guard gathered to Wlitowa's right flank and set up formations. The Keyrit battle line alternated between Irregular companies and standard military companies, with its royal karioter on the farthest right.
The Tuhrans for their part had practiced not only the landing but also the formations they were to make once they made it to shore. They did not expect Wlitowa to expect them. If Wlitowa did anticipate an attack, the Tuhrans thought that the defenders would have been challenged them as they tried to reach dry land. Neither of these predictions came to pass; instead, the Tuhrans moved quietly into their army layout: archers in the front, swordsmen in the rear, and cavalry on both of the flanks.
Legend says that the king of Wlitowa said to the king of Keyrit that this was a Wlitowan war, and that he would not dishonor their newfound friendship by immediately calling Keyrityi forces to fight his battles. The king of Keyrit responded thusly: "We are friends, not as a protectorate would be friends with its overlord, but as allies, as equals. Let us prove to you our equality in battle, that we may prove the rest of our equality in the years to come." Keyrit's royal guard gathered to Wlitowa's right flank and set up formations. The Keyrit battle line alternated between Irregular companies and standard military companies, with its royal karioter on the farthest right.
The Tuhrans for their part had practiced not only the landing but also the formations they were to make once they made it to shore. They did not expect Wlitowa to expect them. If Wlitowa did anticipate an attack, the Tuhrans thought that the defenders would have been challenged them as they tried to reach dry land. Neither of these predictions came to pass; instead, the Tuhrans moved quietly into their army layout: archers in the front, swordsmen in the rear, and cavalry on both of the flanks.
Battlefield
Wlitowa, especially the region around Ak'tawo, is especially flat. While the Keyrit infantry were used to fighting in more mountainous terrain, the karioter that the king had brought would find themselves considerably more useful. Behind the Wlitowans were the walls of Ak'tawo, behind which archer had been placed in case things go too sour. No Wlitowan arrow would find its mark over the course of the entire battle; the Tuhrans placed themselves too far away. Behind the Tuhrans was a river (which would later become the Tenghet Canal), and to their side was the Tuhran navy. However, because the larger Wlitowan navy (and a small Keyrityi contingency) had surrounded them, they could not retreat from battle.
Conditions
The grass in Wlitowa was soft but firm enough to tread. Grengu plants raised noxious fumes into the air, perhaps catching the Tuhrans off guard. Grengu of that quantity and density was rare in Tuhra, and in theory it led to a slight morale disadvantage.
The Engagement
The Tuhran left flank of cavalry sallied forth to provoke the Wlitowan cavalry into the range of their archers. They were successful in luring them out but only after the smaller and more densely powerful 16th Karioter Legion of Keyrit intercepted them. The Tuhran cavalry itself blocked their archers from providing support. The archers could not get a good shot before their routing friends broke through their own lines, the joint cavalry in hot pursuit. Those who couldn't retreat were mowed down, and the counterattackers were gone by the time the infantry bolstered the line's defenses.
Even with half its ranged units and cavalry removed from the field, the Tuhrans still held the numerical advantage. The Tuhran horn was sounded, and the men moved forward. Perhaps because of poor communication or poor discipline, the Wlitowan infantry also began to move forward, outside the support range of Ak'tawo's archers. The two sides met halfway between their original lines and engaged in melee combat. Having little response to the Wlitowan pikes, the Tuhran swordsmen tried to flow around the Wlitowan center into the inexperienced sides. Here, however, they were met with the elite Keyrit infantry on Tuhra's left flank, and the more mobile joint cavalry on Tuhra's right flank. Wlitowan pikes made a breakthrough in the center. The remaining Tuhran cavalry tried to plug up the hole, only to remember that cavalry doesn't do well against professional pike formations.
The battle had gone terribly ill for the invaders. They fled to their ships, only to realize that the joint Keyrit and Wlitowan navies had captured the Tuhran vessels. The infantry surrendered in its entirety; by the end of the day, there was nothing left of the Tuhran invasion.
Even with half its ranged units and cavalry removed from the field, the Tuhrans still held the numerical advantage. The Tuhran horn was sounded, and the men moved forward. Perhaps because of poor communication or poor discipline, the Wlitowan infantry also began to move forward, outside the support range of Ak'tawo's archers. The two sides met halfway between their original lines and engaged in melee combat. Having little response to the Wlitowan pikes, the Tuhran swordsmen tried to flow around the Wlitowan center into the inexperienced sides. Here, however, they were met with the elite Keyrit infantry on Tuhra's left flank, and the more mobile joint cavalry on Tuhra's right flank. Wlitowan pikes made a breakthrough in the center. The remaining Tuhran cavalry tried to plug up the hole, only to remember that cavalry doesn't do well against professional pike formations.
The battle had gone terribly ill for the invaders. They fled to their ships, only to realize that the joint Keyrit and Wlitowan navies had captured the Tuhran vessels. The infantry surrendered in its entirety; by the end of the day, there was nothing left of the Tuhran invasion.
Outcome
Tuhra had placed most of its faith and resources into the invasion, thus making itself open to invasion when the army was annihilated. The one naysaying general who stood opposed to the invasion, one Hut Rarei, was charged with making a hasty defense of the homeland. Keyrit and Wlitowa, sensing their newfound enemy's weakness, launched an invasion force of their own, prying at Tuhra's outer defenses and pushing eastward.
Aftermath
While Hut Rarei would establish a formidable defense, even winning a victory in the latter half of the war, Keyrit and Wlitowa were too far ahead in the arms race to be stopped, specifically because of the national catastrophe that befell Tuhra in the Battle After Marriage. Tuhra surrendered about four years after the first battle, leading to the partition of Wouraiya and the formation of the Doyog Pact.
Historical Significance
Legacy
The militarists had humiliated the Tuhran nation, but the isolationists and nationalists still had a place under Wlitowan occupation. Their opinions of their neighbors hadn't changed in their eyes; Wlitowa and Keyrit were still only looking out for their own interests. The militarists simply blundered away their national defense. As a result, future Tuhran uprisings would be significantly more popular and informal in nature. In the rebellion government just as in the provincial government, the military would not be placed on too high of a pedestal.
Conflict Type
Battle
Battlefield Type
Land
Start Date
119
Ending Date
119
Conflict Result
Decisive Victory
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Belligerents
Keyrit Royal Accompaniment and Guard
Led by
Strength
2,800 soldiers: 16th Kariot Legion (500 kariotai), 500 swordsmen, 500 axe/pickmen, 1000 Irregulars (700 Nettites/Pie Throwers, 300 Death Lasses), Misc (Leadership, Logistics)
Casualties
600 soldiers (200 kariotai, 300 swordsmen, 100 axemen, the entire Second Grand Chapter of Pie Throwers (100 pie throwers)
Objectives
Expand borders and protect ally.
Ak'tawo Garrison
Led by
Strength
50,000 soldiers: 20,000 pike infantry in formation, 10,000 sword infantry, 10,000 axe infantry, 10,000 horsemen
Casualties
7,000 soldiers: 5,000 infantry, 2,000 horsemen
Objectives
Defend capital
Tuhran Invasive Force
Led by
Strength
65,000 soldiers: 15,000 archers, 40,000 sword infantry, 10,000 cavalry
Casualties
15,000 killed, 50,000 captured
Objectives
Take Ak'tawo, force quick end to invasion, ultimately acquire farmland
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