Invasion of Tar'Thalran and Firhbank

The was a invasion of the Thalranese Marches by the Second Fialta Imperium which launched the Second Coalition War.
== Background ==
The invasion was prompted by the assassination of the Imperial Crown Prince Claudius, which the Imperium blamed on the Thalranese Marches and used as casus belli. Prince Claudius was a senior naval officer who had been selected as Emperor Asterion's heir two years earlier in , which was notable due to his having been of genteel but non-aristocratic birth.
Lord Karenus of the Thalranese Marches received advanced notice of the invasion while the Marches were in the midst of an election for the next Marcher Prince following the resignation of Prince Gunnot. Karenus won the election, and drew on the crippled Thalranese treasury, debt, and personal favors in order to raise private raider fleets to defend against the invasion. Thalranese forces were under-strength in home territories at the time due to many forces performing mercenary service abroad.
== Summary ==
The Imperium's invasion consisted of a simultaneous two-pronged naval invasion.
=== Tar'Thalran ===
One Imperial fleet, using stealth technology, slipped past Semal to engage Thalranese raiders en-route to Tar'Thalran. After a promising start, though, the naval drive toward Tar'Thalran stalled. The Thalranese endured heavy losses, but the effective strength of the Imperial invasion force was blunted.
=== Firhbank ===
A second Imperial fleet stuck deep into Thalranese territory to attack Firhbank, apparently making use of translane navigation. The Imperial navy crushed the Thalranese fleet at Firhbank, but the army failed to gain any ground in their disastrous attempted gate landing. The Imperial ground forces were battered, and the fleet appeared to withdraw.
== Aftermath ==
The battle saw the Imperial invasion repelled on both fronts, though with heavy losses for both sides. Following the invasion, rumors swirled that Imperial naval commanders who failed to press against the Thalranese were executed for cowardice.
The invasion resulted in the Shantine Empire joining the war in solidarity with the Thalranese, followed shortly thereafter by Aeldrum and Alusia.
Category:Battles