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At Sea in Ustyeurt
Waves crashed against the hulls of the Sorenvik/Kreiburg fleet; which still stalwartly blockaded the province of Ustyeurt. The sailors aboard the vessels were content and merry. They understood that this province war wouldn't last long, at least not the naval aspect of it. It was, after all, a war of attrition. The 11 warships, comprised of 3 Sorenvik, 3 Peirgarten, and 5 Kreiburg ships need only wait it out until surrender terms were requested from House Viduggla, as only a week before the blockade had metaphorically cut off the head of the entire Viduggla army by trapping General Ardige Viduggla and Count Garth Viduggla in Ustyeurt itself. Peace was all but assured for the Kreiburg side. Or one would have thought. The bells began to ring from all sides of the blockade as a fleet approached, clearly on the offensive.
Once again, Admiral Abelhard Latimer was joining the fray; boasting his expertise of the sea. At his command were 14 warships -- 9 of his own, 2 Ariamorel ships, a warship owned and captained by Zzolesi Ssalerzyra, a warship owned and captained by Anne-Claire and an additional warship from House Viduggla. Abelhard, assisted with advice from his supporting Admiral Galejin de Pierre, ordered the fleet to form a 'Line of battle' with each warship forming a line from bow to stern. Expertly maneuvering themselves; the ship opens fire, raining hell upon the defending blockade who had little time to form a counter-defensive to Abelhard's masterful tactic as they themselves had no Admiral assisting. The cannonballs brought havoc on the Peirgarten and Kreiburg ships in particular, and Peirgarten would see 2 of her vessels sink in that failed defensive and Kreiburg 1. The naval skirmish lasted less than an hour before the ships blockading the Island were forced to retreat in the face of this better prepared, larger, and well-commanded force, and thus the blockade around Ustyeurt was no more.
Meanwhile in Vlissinghelm
While the shores of the North saw conflict; so did Vlissinghelm once again. The full force of Augustin Reinard's army fell back into a defensive position within the Vlissinghelm region now fully at the command of a new General, General Eddail du Cornouaille; a skilled General in his own right. Digging in, Eddail ensured that as much of their encampment was as prepared as it could be in the time they had for a possible counter-assault with Humaira Reinard and Aeawyn Syllbess as his personal bodyguards. This counter-assault was in fact, swift in coming. Back in Vlissinghelm, the hound lord gave the order for the now reinforced host of 58,000 men to split into groups of two; 29,000 men led by Julius Peirgarten while the other 29,000 men would be led by Hengest Harhold himself.
This assault was to come swift and hard; mimicking the same tactic that Augustin Reinard had used on the Harhold host the week before. The two armies moved in on the Reinard position in a pincer maneuver with Julius's army arriving first. Soldiers on the frontline, such as Oscar Theodard, Rikke av Cain Mar and Exuro Weismann would note the harsh conditions they had to fight in. The Reinard force had dug themselves in well and fought back with gusto at what they knew was only half the army. However, despite this fact, little prepared them for the onslaught of Hengest's own host as it arrived over the hillside. While the army had dug in, these Vlissinghelm screamers knew the terrain and knew it well. They expertly came upon the Reinard force and broke through their lines within a matter of minutes. The Reinard men held their ground well however, adapting but ultimately again being forced to retreat at this now, more equal force.
Despite the battle being a Harhold win ultimately, which pushed the Reinard force back into their own lands much further than it had before; their General saved countless amounts of lives by adapting to the brutal assault the Vlissinghelm natives brought. Without him, it would have surely been a catastrophic defeat. The death toll was practically stalemate, much like most of the war up until now. On both sides, troops wondered what exactly they were still fighting for as Harhold involvement was now gone from Kintyr. Whispers of desertion wandered the camps of both armies as news from around the archipelago reached their ears of much more unnerving and pressing matters, both North and South.
At Sea in Ustyeurt
Waves crashed against the hulls of the Sorenvik/Kreiburg fleet; which still stalwartly blockaded the province of Ustyeurt. The sailors aboard the vessels were content and merry. They understood that this province war wouldn't last long, at least not the naval aspect of it. It was, after all, a war of attrition. The 11 warships, comprised of 3 Sorenvik, 3 Peirgarten, and 5 Kreiburg ships need only wait it out until surrender terms were requested from House Viduggla, as only a week before the blockade had metaphorically cut off the head of the entire Viduggla army by trapping General Ardige Viduggla and Count Garth Viduggla in Ustyeurt itself. Peace was all but assured for the Kreiburg side. Or one would have thought. The bells began to ring from all sides of the blockade as a fleet approached, clearly on the offensive.
Once again, Admiral Abelhard Latimer was joining the fray; boasting his expertise of the sea. At his command were 14 warships -- 9 of his own, 2 Ariamorel ships, a warship owned and captained by Zzolesi Ssalerzyra, a warship owned and captained by Anne-Claire and an additional warship from House Viduggla. Abelhard, assisted with advice from his supporting Admiral Galejin de Pierre, ordered the fleet to form a 'Line of battle' with each warship forming a line from bow to stern. Expertly maneuvering themselves; the ship opens fire, raining hell upon the defending blockade who had little time to form a counter-defensive to Abelhard's masterful tactic as they themselves had no Admiral assisting. The cannonballs brought havoc on the Peirgarten and Kreiburg ships in particular, and Peirgarten would see 2 of her vessels sink in that failed defensive and Kreiburg 1. The naval skirmish lasted less than an hour before the ships blockading the Island were forced to retreat in the face of this better prepared, larger, and well-commanded force, and thus the blockade around Ustyeurt was no more.
Meanwhile in Vlissinghelm
While the shores of the North saw conflict; so did Vlissinghelm once again. The full force of Augustin Reinard's army fell back into a defensive position within the Vlissinghelm region now fully at the command of a new General, General Eddail du Cornouaille; a skilled General in his own right. Digging in, Eddail ensured that as much of their encampment was as prepared as it could be in the time they had for a possible counter-assault with Humaira Reinard and Aeawyn Syllbess as his personal bodyguards. This counter-assault was in fact, swift in coming. Back in Vlissinghelm, the hound lord gave the order for the now reinforced host of 58,000 men to split into groups of two; 29,000 men led by Julius Peirgarten while the other 29,000 men would be led by Hengest Harhold himself.
This assault was to come swift and hard; mimicking the same tactic that Augustin Reinard had used on the Harhold host the week before. The two armies moved in on the Reinard position in a pincer maneuver with Julius's army arriving first. Soldiers on the frontline, such as Oscar Theodard, Rikke av Cain Mar and Exuro Weismann would note the harsh conditions they had to fight in. The Reinard force had dug themselves in well and fought back with gusto at what they knew was only half the army. However, despite this fact, little prepared them for the onslaught of Hengest's own host as it arrived over the hillside. While the army had dug in, these Vlissinghelm screamers knew the terrain and knew it well. They expertly came upon the Reinard force and broke through their lines within a matter of minutes. The Reinard men held their ground well however, adapting but ultimately again being forced to retreat at this now, more equal force.
Despite the battle being a Harhold win ultimately, which pushed the Reinard force back into their own lands much further than it had before; their General saved countless amounts of lives by adapting to the brutal assault the Vlissinghelm natives brought. Without him, it would have surely been a catastrophic defeat. The death toll was practically stalemate, much like most of the war up until now. On both sides, troops wondered what exactly they were still fighting for as Harhold involvement was now gone from Kintyr. Whispers of desertion wandered the camps of both armies as news from around the archipelago reached their ears of much more unnerving and pressing matters, both North and South.
