Durian Theater

Date 475-479 
Location Dural and Cromium
Result Destruction and Fragmentation of Republic of Dural, Cromium becomes dominant power north of Fentan River, but fails to take over entirety of Durian Remnant states	Date 475-479 
Location Dural and Cromium
Result Destruction and Fragmentation of Republic of Dural, Cromium becomes dominant power north of Fentan River, but fails to take over entirety of Durian Remnant states
Belligerents 	Belligerents
Triplicanum
* Durian Peoples' Alliance
** Dominion of Cromium
** Gergots of Sahmvul
** Gergots of Houweph
* Kingdom of Brell 475-476
* Ysralvyin of Vorkulysok 477-
* Empire of Greater Chausar 478-	Gilted Pact
* Republic of Dural
* Kingdom of Brun
Commanders and Leaders	
Commanders and Leaders
* Lord Protector Horatio Alms
* Marshal Mason Locke
* Marshal Jean Maiuel (PoW)	
* President Denislovich Victrovus
* General Karlei Chendeynoy
* General Vasil
* General Delor Polichev
* General Anton Svitsker
* General Hermus Mexer
* Cromski
* Chief General Anilov Kesha
* Petr Niktovich
* General Yartsin Luka
* General Yushadin Korney	
* King Gavros Kentarr
* Lord Protector Savrek Brownback
* Lord Forza Blackdaw
* Lord Holla Fragas
* Lord Kalim Ironhand
 	
* King Gavros Kentarr
* Lord Protector Savrek Brownback
* Lord Forza Blackdaw
* Lord Holla Fragas
* Lord Kalim Ironhand
 	
* King Gavros Kentarr
* Lord Protector Savrek Brownback
* Lord Forza Blackdaw
* Lord Holla Fragas
* Lord Kalim Ironhand
Strength 	Strength
* ~83,000 DPA (Peak)
* ~21,000 Vorkulysok (Peak)
* ~15,000 Brell (Peak)
* ~15,000 Greater Chausar (Peak)	
* ~70,000 Dural (Peak)
* ~30,000 Brun (Peak)
Casualties and Losses	Casualties and Losses
99,700
* 8,098 Brell
* 1,350 Greater Chausar
* 78,974 Durian Peoples Alliance
* 11,278 Vorkulysok
70-80,000 DPA Civilians	97,720
* 9,252 Brun
* 88,468 Durian
400,000 Durian Civilians
*475
**Triplicanum Forces - ~42k
***25k Crom under Cromski at Gavyvat
***12k DPA under Yushadin Korney in Sahmvul
***10k Brelsh under Marshal Mason Locke at Brelsh beachhead
**Pact Forces - ~50k
***32k Durians under General Karlei Chendeynoy at Dunkeld
***18k Durians under Vasil at Ordova
**Battle of Depelt
***Major engagement; Pact Victory.
**Battle of Mintervin
***Minor engagement; Pact Victory.
**Battle of Strahsvola
***Major engagement; Main Durian (45k) and Crom (40k) armies meet at Strahsvola, Durians under Chendeynoy are easily sweeped aside by Cromski, Cromski sends cavalry under Anilov Kesha to pursue retreating Durians and takes infantry down to join with second Crom army in the south. Canum Victory.
**First Siege of Ordova
***Major engagement; Greatly outnumbered, Vasil fortifies Ordova for siege, Cromski unites his army with Crom forces in south and small number of Brelsh, Cromski attempts mass assault that is repulsed, settles in for siege, hearing reports of main Durian army heading south he attempts a second smaller assault that is similarly repulsed, lifts siege and heads northwest to meet Durian army. Pact Victory.
**Battle of Hulvindelis
***Major engagement; Durian army regroups after Strahsvola, marches southeast to relieve Ordova, Crom army lifts siege of Ordova and meets them at Hulvindelis, Durian forces easily defeated, routs, Denislovich removes Cheydeynoy from command, replaces him with Delor Polichev, Canum forces settle in for winter leaving Ordova unbesieged. Canum Victory.
***During winter, Brun's army musters in Teraholm under command of Savrek Brownback, 17,000 strong, Brunians refuse to fight against Brelsh due to history, so Savrek decides to commit to Durian front
***Durian army reforms thanks to personal intervention of Denislovich, 20k left at crossroads over the winter, orders given to other commanders to raise further regiments in NW Dural, defeat Crom raids, and then if possible, organize counterraids
**Northern Raids
*476
**Triplicanum Forces - ~60k (55k Crom, 5k Brelsh)
***40k DPA under Cromski NE of Ordova
***11k Crom under LT of Cromski S of Gavyvat
***3.5k Crom raiders in N of Dural
***5k Brelsh under ___ at Brelsh beachhead S of Ordova
**Pact Forces: ~68k (51k Durian, 17k Brunian)
***28k Durians under General Delor Polichev at Crossroads S of Strahsvola
***15k Durians under (promoted) General Vasil at Ordova
***8k counter-raiders in N of Dural
***17k Brunians under Lord Protector Savrek Brownback marching to Dunkeld
** Second Siege of Ordova
*** Major Engagement: Cromski moves main Crom army to once again besiege Ordova, moves slowly at first and then several rapid sudden movements pushing back Vasil, begins to completely surround Ordova with Vasil left few options, things look worse for him when Brell reenters the campaign with 9k Brelsh under Marshal Jean Maiuel marching up from the beachhead to reinforce Cromski Pact Victory.
** Battle of Fort Dolka
*** Major Engagement: Rather than relieve Vasil at Ordova, Polichev decides to put pressure on Crom homeland and pushes towards Gavyvat, small garrison at Fort Dolka blocks his path for a good while before succumbing. Pact Victory.
** Annexation of XXX
*** With good amount of pro-Seperatist sentiment in the area, Cromski decides to support annexation of XXX, which quickly falls under his control. Canum Victory.
** Siege of Gavyvat
*** Major Engagement: After success at Dolka, Polichev moves to besiege Gavyvat opposed by an army almost a third his's size under one of Cromski's best lieutenants, Anilov Kesha. He fails to aggressively pursue the siege and Kesha is allowed to effectively stall as long as possible. Canum Victory.
** Battle of Zemthiold
*** Major Engagement: Once again seeing that Ordova refuses to crack, Cromski figures Vasil will be static and gathers 13k men to relieve the siege of Gavyvat, Savrek's Brunian forces of 15k finally arrive at crossroads and local Durians inform them of the Crom army marching north, Savrek pushes his men forward and catches the surprised Crom off guard, shattering the army and sending them flying. Cromski barely manages to flee back to Cromar and abandons his army at Ordova. Pact Victory.
** Savrek's Driving Campaign
*** Major Engagement: After Zemthiold, Savrek and his Brunians supported by some Durian militia engages in a months-long process of pushing back the Crom from Ordova with few battles but several thousand prisoners captured. Pact Victory.
** Battle of First Melt
*** Major Engagement: Upon hearing of the success at Zemthiold through a courier that snuck in through enemy lines, Vasil figures the Crom lines are weaker than they look and prepares to attack, he slams out at the recently arrived Brelsh forces and pushes them back. Pact Victory.
** Battle of Fallen Pines
*** Major Engagement: Following First Melt, Siege of Ordova disintegrates as Crom forces either stay or fall back east and Brelsh flee south, Vasil puts 14k in line and pursues Maiuel who attempts to form defense. Large pocket forms where Maiuel is surrounded with 5k Brelsh and forced to surrender. Pact Victory.
** Brelsh-Durian-Brunian End of Hostilities
*** Utter disintegration and surrender of Brelsh army in Dural causes Lord Protector Alms to decide to cut his losses and end hostilities with Dural. Sending of emissaries commences as Vasil captures the Brelsh beachhead along with its many supplies. Pact Victory. 
***Dural is eager to end the threat of Brell to the south and decides to commit to a white peace agreement. While ostensibly neither side loses nor gains anything in the agreement, it is clear that Brell has lost face in conceding to a weaker opponent. 
***Cromski is infuriated by Brell's abandonment and returns to Cromar to recruit and to reassess options with Brell support out, decides to court Vorkulysok; begins to send emissaries.
*** Meanwhile, Savrek and Vasil continue to push east to reconquer XXX.
** Battle of Fierbizoi Eastern Province
***Minor Engagement: The capstone of Savrek's Driving Campaign, Vasil and Savrek's combined forces easily brush aside a desperately assembled defense of the newly annexed XXX province. Having driven the invaders from Durian territory, Savrek and Vasil take a moment to breathe and reassemble their forces, which were at that point spread throughout the countryside. Pact Victory.
** Battle of Synebyne
***Minor Engagement: Digging deep in his treasury, Cromski summons enough funds to raise a new army of roughly 15k and assesses the situation. Determining the Ordovan campaign to be a lost cause and bitterly blaming Brell's abandonment of their alliance, he moved with his new forces to relieve the siege at Gavyvat. He defeats and annihilates a small Durian force and Polichev meekly lifts the siege and retreats. Combining his force with Gavyvat's exhausted defenders, he quickly pursues the retreating Durian forces. Canum Victory.
** First Battle of Coraneasea
***Major Engagement: Utterly displeased at Polichev's meekness and lack of initiative, Denislovich sends an order relieving Polichev and another to Vasil asking him to take control of the main Durian army. Polichev received the missive at the same time Cromski was pushing him hard, and he suffered a crisis of confidence and both resigned and didn't. The resulting battle was utterly disastrous as there was no central commander of the Durians, even though the Durians outnumbered the Crom 30k to 25k. Cromski attacked extremely aggressively and the lack of cohesion in the Durian ranks caused them to quickly crumble. Cromski rolled up the Durians and dealt nearly 10k casualties at relatively little cost to his own forces. A distraught Polichev committed suicide and the Main Durian Army nearly disintegrated. Responding to this disastrous news, Denislovich orders Northern Counter-Raiders to abandon their aggressive actions and reinforce the central Durian army to prevent collapse; Vasil refused his request for him to take command of the forces, so he suggested that Savrek pull his army back and take command of the central Pact forces; a few days later, Denislovich dies of a heart attack. Canum Victory.
***Per Denislovich's orders, Savrek marches his troops to reinforce the main Durian army to prevent the collapse of the center. He leaves Vasil in command of a diminished force of 15k with orders to put pressure on Cromski's DPA allies and perhaps abandon their alliance with him. Cromski fails to engage the much diminished main Durian army before the arrival of Savrek's reinforcements, and he angrily retreats to catch his breath.
* 477
** Triplicanum Forces - ~51k (51k Crom) 
***22k DPA under Yushadin Korney NE of Ordova
***27k Crom under Cromski SW of Gavyvat
***2k Crom raiders in N of Dural
**Pact Forces: ~60k (47k Durian, 13k Brunian)
***11k Durians under at Crossroads S of Strahsvola
***39k (26k Durians under General Vasil + 13k Brunians under Lord Protector Savrek Brownback) NE of Ordova
***5k counter-raiders in N of Dural
***5k Durians marching SE to Crossroads
** Savrek does a great deal organizing and reformatting the much demoralized Durian forces. He collected many dispersed soldiers and spent the winter reinforcing and recuperating. With the arrival of a final group of Northern counter-raiders, this brought the main Pact force to a whopping 42k by spring, the largest they would ever assemble in this theater. Opposing them was Cromski with 30k.
** Vasil with 15k Durians opposes 12k DPA under Yushadin Korney of Cromski in the Southeast on Dural's borders. Effectively, battle lines were drawn as they were at the start of the war. However, the Pact had the numbers and the initiative, and Savrek wanted to use it. 
** Battle of Krasca
*** Through organized correspondence between Savrek and Vasil, both pact armies moved to engage Canum forces opposing them, Cromski believes he had to win one more major battle to court Vorkulysok, Yushadin, commander of the DPA forces, did not have any confidence he nor his men could beat Vasil, and so he avoided conflict, much to Vasil's disappointment, who was a much more skilled defender and counter-attacker than he was on the offensive. Savrek's goal was to push up northeast and take both Gavyvat and Cromar, maintaining that with that the DPA alliance would fall apart. Cromski attempts to engage with the Savrek's vanguard, which he mistakenly thought was exposed, and Savrek responds by quickly brings up his main force and beating him back. Cromski suffered 3200 casualties to Savrek's 1900, and Savrek continued his advance to Gavyvat. Pact Victory.
** Second Battle of Coraneasea
*** Growing increasingly agitated at his reversal of fortunes, Cromski leaned harder and harder towards authoritarianism, mass conscripting large numbers of peasants. Mustering as large a force as possible, he once again attempts to beat Savrek in a decisive battle, attacking them at Coraneasea where he had so decisively defeated the Durians the year before. The first day ended in stalemate, and he relentlessly continues the engagement and ends up being soundly beaten, with Savrek firmly outgeneraling him, even with Savrek's difficulty commanding a force of mostly foreigners. Cromski furiously withdraws behind the XXX river and leaves Gavyvat to be besieged once more. Pact Victory.
*** After these failures, Cromski refused to let himself be beaten, ordering Yushadin to abandon Province XXX to the Durians and to pull his southern army out to reinforce the center. This left Vasil to secure the Durian southern flank and leaving Sahmvul open for invasion. Yushadin was extremely upset with this decision, but acquiesced to Cromski and marched his troops north to reinforce him.
** Battle of Luesty
*** Meanwhile, Cromski's investment in the Northern Raiders finally pays off when 3.5k Crom raiders led by Yartsin Luka wipe out a relatively large force of 4k under Petr Volt and destroy the town of Luesty, completely shifting the balance of power in the north. Canum Victory.
*** Seizing upon this opportunity, Cromski ordered his emissaries to bombard Vorkulysok with territorial promises, diplomatic dialogues, and an incessant wave of propaganda. To top it off, he ordered Yartsin to raid some Vorkuly villages using captured Durian banners and arms. This false flag operation finally tipped the scales, and Vorkulysok finally decides to enter into the war and join the Triplicanum.
*** The mayor of Gavyvat, the largest city in Cromium, saw his city having to go under siege once again, and decided to spare his city and surrenders to Savrek without a siege,
** Harrassing Campaign
*** Wanting to buy time for potential reinforcements from the south and Vorkulysok, Cromski pulls further back behind the YYY river, sending 5k raiders under Anilov to harrass and harry Savrek's push towards Cromar. Savrek was slow to mount a push back, and the Pact advance was significantly slowed. 
*** Cromski's extremely aggressive and dramatic moves did have their consequences however. Essential abandonment of Sahmvul leads to their anger with Cromski and demand of his support against Vasil's troops, which were entering Sahmvul's borders. He flippantly dismisses their concerns and tells them he has everything under control, organizing a massive force to fight against Savrek. In response, Sahmvul counter-orders all Sahm troops to return to defend their border. Cromski counters by ordering the dissolution of the leading Sahmvul council. Escalating further, they threaten to pull out of the war and join Dural if Cromski continues. Cromski responds again by sending a group of sellswords to kidnap them. He then imprisoned them and effectively annexed Sahmvul. With the Sahm crisis having been solved, Cromski returned to assembling his army. Vasil continued his push deep into Sahmvul pretty much unchecked. Not realizing the territory was effectively annexed, he was quite kind to the locals, who responded in kind and assisted his forces, claiming the tyrant rulers were the ones keeping them in the war allied with Cromski. 
** Battle of Wanswa
*** Savrek finally managed to create a significant cavalry force, utilizing many former counter-raiders from the North, and brushed aside Anilov, eventually reaching the YYY river in June. Cromski has a huge force of 62k, many equipped with weapons and armor of terrible quality and poor supplies. The Pact forces did not have a great supply situation either, their wagon trains having been ravaged by Anilov. News of the Battle of Luesty arrives in the Pact camp and NW Durians quickly respond, wishing to return to defend their homes. Savrek, realizing his advance has stagnated and that it might be impossible to take Cromar now, meets with them and talks about their concerns. He formulates a plan, considering that it may be possible to draw Cromski out and annihilate him if Cromski felt as though Savrek's forces were significantly weakened. He crafted a proposition for 5k men to be sent North, which would leave him with roughly 40k, a reduced number but enough to deliver a possible knockout punch. He sent these campaign plans back to Dunkeld, which were rapidly and flatly refused in favor of continuing his advance against Cromar. Savrek, annoyed, determined it wasn't in his position to deny his allies, who made up the majority of his forces. Cromski, when hearing that Vorkulysok was sending reinforcements to him, gleefully determined now was the time to start his counterattack. He figured that by the time the Vorkuly forces arrived, a force of fresh units would be enough to barrage Savrek into submission. He began attacking Savrek, with a resulting 3-day battle that ends in tactical stalemate. The two forces battled back and forth across the river with heavy casualties on both sides. Savrek was surprised Cromski thought himself strong enough to attack, and was forced to engage in a battle he did not want to fight yet. The Crom suffered the lion's share of the casualties, over 17k, as they dashed themselves against the strong Durian lines. Savrek's counterattacks towards Cromar were heartbreakingly, barely unsuccessful and resulted in large losses as well, totalling 11,000 over the three days. At the end of the third day, both sides were so completely exhausted they could not perpetuate the engagement. The Crom main army was basically shattered and never regains its previous level of strength. Crom units basically dropped out of existence and evaporated and Cromski hemorrhaged soldiers; fortunately for him, he aggressively kept up his policy of recruitment, figuring the longer he kept fighting, the worse it would get for him, so it was best for him to strike now. For his part, Savrek realized he could not replenish his forces effectively, and that if an offensive campaign was difficult before the battle, it was now essentially impossible with his diminished numbers. He reluctantly pulls back to Gavyvat. Stalemate.
** Mardaiwiu
** First Kult
** Battle of Kalin
*** Pressing his perceived advantage, Cromski quickly pursued Savrek with 38k and attacked the retreating army of 26k at Kalin. The Pact forces held the line and Cromski's attack lines dissipated as he tried to get his troops to press forward. Savrek attempted a counterattack which was beaten back by the newly arrived Vorkuly, who then assaulted and were themselves checked. Savrek realized his hopes for drawing out Cromski were now definitively impossible, and he continued the retreat to Gavyvat with Cromski unable to attack further. 
*** Spending the rest of the summer and early fall in Gavyvat, Savrek found he was just losing more men to desertion and demoralization, and decided to pull out of Cromium completely to just defend Dural, effectively ending Pact offensive operations in the Durian theater. Stalemate.
** #3 north
** Battle of Zhyutozna
*** With the few months of respite, Cromski was able to maintain a numerical advantage over the Pact, and Savrek's army hemorrhaged men as he retreats back to Durian territory. Cromski aggressively pursues with his host once more, jockeying for a good time to attack as the year turned to late fall. Towards the end of the year in very late fall, Cromski's army is stretched thin and the vanguard is isolated from main body, Savrek takes 14k of his best troops and smashes into the vanguard of 17k in a nighttime attack. Inflicting heavy casualties, he sends Crom army back in disarray, and was now allowed to retreat unmolested. He settles into winter quarters. Pact Victory
*** Durian Gov, unhappy with the failure of Savrek to capture any amount of territory or end the conflict, recalls him to Dunkeld to answer for his actions. His are stunned by his belief that it must be waged as a defensive war from now, not understanding how their fortunes could have reversed so quickly. They decide to remove him from command and tells him they were better off without him. Savrek, disheartened by the incompetence of Durian Gov and generals, and perhaps feeling personally guilty that he was not able to achieve victory (though he had not been defeated in battle,) acquiesced to their demand and left the army, his Brunian soldiers choosing to follow him. He set up camp on the western side of the Noan, with Anton Svitsker taking command of main Durian army
*
478
* Triplicanum Forces - ~45k (35k Crom, 10k Vork) 
**33k (27k Crom(absorbed DPA) + 6k Vorkulysok) under Cromski SW of Gavyvat
**3k Crom under X at border NE of Ordova
**9k (5k Crom + 4k Vorkulysok) under Yartsin Luka in N of Dural
*Pact Forces: ~61k (50k Durian, 11k Brunian)
**28k Durians under Anton Svitsker at Strahsvola
**14k Durians scattered in N of Dural
**8k Durians under General Vasil at Ordova
**11k Brunians under Savrek Brownback west of Dunkeld
*#4 North
* Center 3
** With the action having shifted almost entirely to the Central and Northern theaters, Ordova, which had been so important at the start of the war, fell almost entirely from the war goals of both sides. As such, Vasil was left pretty much to his own devices, and was forced to send more and more men to the other theaters. At the start of 478, he was down to 8,000. Rather than continue to pursue a campaign against Sahmvul and potentially be caught out, he chose to return to Ordova and fortify it, waiting for the Crom to come to him. Many thousands of Sahm citizens went with him, having grown tired of their authoritarian leaders. Ironically, while Vasil's strategy of benevolence towards the invaded had not really served to do much of anything the previous year, his kindness would have far-reaching consequences in the future.
** At the start of the campaign season in May 478, the main Durian and Crom forces arrayed against each other were of relative parity, with about 30k Durians and Crom under Anton and Cromski respectively. Both sides' troops were exhausted, demoralized, and undersupplied, but the Durians had the advantage of defending their homes. They lacked the strong core of Brunian troops they had had in the previous year's campaign, and many northerners had returned to their homes to fight a disorganized defense. Anton was not incompetent, but he was not particularly skilled. Mostly he was chosen because he was more willing to fight than most Durian generals. He showed this by making the first move, surprising Cromski by striking at his supply line at ___. After sweeping aside tough Crom resistance, victory seemed to be at hand, and the entire Crom army could have just dissolved on the spot if not for the intervention of Anilov Kesha. Anilov rallied the Crom and beat back the Durians, turning a potential Durian victory to defeat. Canum Victory. 
** Though they had achieved victory, Cromski's supplies were in disarray, and he was told he needed to spend much of the summer getting them in order again before he could attack again. Bored by this, he returned to Cromar, leaving Anilov in command of the main force. Anton's defeat made him hesitant, and he, much to the disappointment of the Durian Government, resorted to defensive tactics, handing the initiative back to the Crom.
* #5 North
* Battle of Skrake
** By late July, Anilov had resolved the logistics issues in the central Crom army, and informed Cromski they were ready to go on the offensive once more. Excitedly, the despot arrived and immediately ordered an assault. Anilov, having prepared for this, told Cromski of his battle plans, and Cromski, somewhat surprised at his initiative, gave him the go ahead. He split his troops in half and feinted to the south, leaving Anilov behind in charge of the second half as the jaws of the trap. Anton took the bait, and hoping to make up for the defeat earlier in the year, struck. To Anilov's surprise, he actually attacked not Cromski first but Anilov, presuming it was a skeletal force and detailing 7200 men to wipe it out while marching with the rest of his army to meet Cromski. Unfortunately for him, it was in fact half of the Crom army, 17k men, and Anilov quickly responded, rolling them up and nearly wiping out the entire force. Only 1350 Durians escaped. This would prove disastrous for the coming battle, which would prove to be the decisive one of the central theater. Canum Victory.
* Battle of Favehla Farm
** Finding Cromski's forces at Favehla Farm, Anton deployed his troops and attacked, hoping to buy his troops back at Skrake time to wipe out the skeleton force and catch Cromski out. Cromski was surprised by this, angrily thinking that Anilov had baited him into a trap to take over his Dominion. Anton cut deep into Cromski's lines, inflicting heavy casualties before he realized his error. Too late it was to respond when fleeing soldiers from Skrake arrived in his rear, soon followed by Anilov's victorious troops. The central Durian army was caught between the two forces and shattered, losing 10k of 26k men assembled. Anton was killed in battle, and the ability for Dural to win the war followed with him. The road to Dunkeld was completely open, with over 25k Crom ready to go and end the war. Canum Victory.
* Battle of Scayeolska
* Battle of Chimir
** Desperate after the disaster at Favehla Farm, the Durian Gov turned again to Savrek, still waiting across the river. Seeing the desperation of the situation, Savrek agreed to help, quickly rushing over with 6k Brunians and forming a defensive line outside the capitol of Dunkeld at Chimir. Cromski followed soon after, absolutely ravaging the countryside and slaughtering Durians en masse, soldier and civilian alike. They met at Chimir, Savrek managing to scrape up 10k Durians to defend the city. The battle was over within hours, with the Durian line collapsing quite quickly. The Durians just did not have fight left in them, having been failed by their leaders over and over and over again, and exhausted from 4 years of desperate and brutal conflict. The Brunians held the line but were impossibly outnumbered and outflanked, and soon fled the battle as well. Cromski had inflicted 7600 casualties at the cost of 2900 of his own, and Dunkeld was his for the taking. Canum Victory.
** The Durian government utterly collapsed and chaos reigned in the country. All sense of leadership and order vanished, with officials abandoning their posts, guards turning against the citizenry, and mass riots and slaughters occurring. Seeing the pandemonium, Savrek ordered his troops to maintain the bridge across the Noan as a potential sanctuary. Tens of thousands of citizenry, possibly hundreds of thousands fell within the the following two months, though many thousands escaped across the Noan. Seeing the devastated capitol upon his arrival, Cromski did not even see a need to assault it, simply sending in a small group that threw open the gates for him. Dural was in shambles, and he was the victor. 
** To Cromski's surprise, he found that while much of Dural was in anarchy, his northern command had just been defeated at Scayeolska, and Yartsin Luka was dead. He ordered Anilov to take 10k men to march north and bring it to heel, leaving the remaining troops to occupy Dunkeld. 
* Sacking of Renheim
** Anilov arrived at the city of Renheim and found a defiant command of 2200 under Saul Vorolna who blocked his path. Saul ignored Anilov's demand to step aside, and so the city's fate was sealed. Anilov was not feeling merciful (not as though he ever was) and called Saul's bluff, assaulting the city. Saul fled and the city fell easily. Seeking to send a message to any who would defy Cromski, Anilov put the city to the sword, letting it burn as he marched north. Canum Victory.
*
479
* Triplicanum Forces - ~66k (37k Crom, 14k Vork, 15k GC) 
**27k (24k Crom(absorbed DPA) + 3k Vorkulysok) under Cromski SW of Gavyvat
**5k Crom under X at border NE of Ordova
**19k (8k Crom + 11k Vorkulysok) under Anilov Kesha in N of Dural
**15k GC under Marcus
*Pact Forces: ~50k (42k Durian, 8k Brunian
**15k Durians under Hermus Mexer at Strahsvola
**9k Durians under General Vasil at Ordova
**18k Durians under Mirkus Vinter in N of Dural
**8k Brunians under Savrek Brownback west of Dunkeld
*#8 North
**With Dural effectively no longer existing, the war's victor was decided, and all that was left to settle was how much Cromski would gain. A great deal of organized resistance still stood against him, even divided and scattered as it was. The largest Durian force in the field still fighting was under Mirkus Vinter in the North, who had united various disparate partisan groups, militia, and defeated soldiers into a rough but effective combined force of 18k; however, they were spread disparately throughout the north. Opposing him was Anilov Kesha, who after the destruction of Renheim had marched his 10k men north and was now seeking to unite with the scattered command of the deceased Yartsin Luka. Anilov had mostly Vorkuly under his command, who he did not find to be particularly impressive soldiers
**In Dunkeld, Cromski established a puppet government of sycophants to run the city in his name, and had marched back east in preparation for the retaking of Ordova. Cromski felt particularly vindictive against the city that had denied him twice, and was looking forward to bringing it to heel. Having boosted his ranks with many former Durian citizens, he had amassed an army of 27k, and was hoping to unite it with the small force of 5k that were still stationed on Sahmvul's borders. He was pleasantly surprised to find 15k Greater Chausarians under Marcus in his borders who promptly offered their services to him. Greater Chausar had entered into the war on the side of the Triplicanum the previous year, and since Cromski was still nominally part of that alliance, he now had 15k more fresh, well-equipped troops ready to add to his command.
*Battle of Torbator
**Opposing Cromski was a more unpleasant surprise for him: the remnants of the central Durian army, this time having rallied under the command of Hermus Mexer. It numbered only just over 6k, but still stood blocking passage across the Fentan River. If Cromski ignored it, it could possibly link up with the defenders at Ordova and potentially turn an easy siege into an extremely long affair. Cromski was also beginning to get concerned about the ability for him to maintain his army in the field. He had appeased his soldiers by offering them as much plunder and women as they could take, but his country was entering its fifth year of war now and he could potentially face a revolt if he continued. No, the war would have to be won within the next couple months, and he could not afford to leave Hermus's force unmolested.
**Hermus had an excellent position on the river, and his men were fighting with the desperation of the knowledge that if they failed, their homes, as of yet unharmed by fighting, could fall victim to Cromski's whims. Unfortunately they were still heavily outnumbered and fighting for a country that did not exist, and they shattered after holding the line for a few hours. Most were slaughtered, and it spelled the final death knell for the main Durian army. Canum Victory.
*Third Siege of Ordova
**Carving a bloody path southeast from the Fentan river, Cromski soon arrived at Ordova, the city that remained outside his grasp. With the acquisition of the vanguard of the GC troops, as well as the 5k reinforcements from Sahmvul, he had amassed a force of 31,900; more than that which he had besieged Ordova the first time, and he faced a smaller force under Vasil than before, with the defenders most likely to be disheartened and demoralized by what happened to their country. Vasil for his part had boosted his numbers with significant numbers of levies from refugees, bringing his force up to 11,600. He was outnumbered 3 to 1. Cromski, far too impatient for sieges, hoped to assault Ordova as soon as possible, and hoped to punish the city for its defiance.
**He was shocked to find the city was far better entrenched than ever. Vasil had spent the past year and a half fortifying it beyond all reason. Its walls were thick and defended by soldiers whose morale was quite high, men and women who knew that this was the last line of defense; if they failed, themselves and everyone they knew would perish. Taken aback but not quite fazed, Cromski still prepared for an assault on the city. The battle that followed was utterly disastrous, his troops caught in difficult positions, murder zones, and enfilading lines of fire from the walls. He suffered 1,000 casualties without even causing a single one against the enemy. Pausing to gather himself, he prepared a more complete assault, striking every point at the city to spread the defenses thin. The battle that followed was just as ruinous as the previous.
**After suffering extremely heavy casualties, one of Cromski's lines of attack succeeded, and his men breached the wall only to find themselves fighting against defenders from Sahmvul, the same ones Vasil had brought back with him. The assaulters, themselves Sahm, refused to fight any further and threw down their weapons, stopping the attack in its tracks. The news of this spread like wildfire through the army, and this, along with the heavy casualties with absolutely no gain, resulted in mass desertions and angry rioting. Realizing he might have a full blown revolt on his hands if he did not do something, Cromski pulled away. It was just barely in time, as his army pretty much collapsed soon afterwards. Vasil's troops pursued, and while it was not very fast, it was still heavily destructive. By the time his army arrived at the crossroads south of Strahsvola, he had just 17,000 men, 12,000 of which were the newly arrived Greater Chausarians. Angrily realizing he had pushed his luck too far, Cromski rushed to prevent his newly gained territory from slipping out of his grasp, leaning heavily on the GC troops to put down peasant revolts and intimidate his subjects into submission. Vasil sent him terms: a generous swathe of territory around Ordova was to remain independent from Cromski's influence, effectively making it a city-state under Vasil's control. Cromski had no choice in the matter, and extremely begrudgingly accepted. Pact Victory.
*Battle of Frahs
== Aftermath ==
The Durian-Crom war was hugely destructive for both of the main parties involved. Just under 86,000 soldiers of Cromium, Sahmvul, and Houweph perished, as well as over 97,000 soldiers of Dural. Multiple cities, including Dunkeld, Gavyvat, Kult, and especially Renheim were irrevocably damaged by the fighting and would never again regain their previous populations. Casualties amongst civilians were particularly high, with Dural suffering hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. Of Dural's population of about 4.3 million at the beginning of the war, it's estimated that around half a million of that number perished, with 400,000 of that being civilians. That number represents a loss of about 11.6% of the entire population of Dural. Entire families were wiped out in massive numbers, and survivors suffered not only physical trauma but deep emotional wounds that would last for years. 
Though he had grasped for too much too quickly, Cromski was still the clear victor of the conflict. He had destroyed his main rival in the region, and annexed his partners in the Durian Peoples' Alliance, effectively rendering him the sole power north of the Fentan River. While he had failed to take Ordova and the Northern Territories, they were significantly reduced in power compared to their predecessor; the Northern Kingdom effectively became a tributary state of Brun, and Ordova was forced to rely upon Brell for protection. 
Dural's successor states consisted of three entities: the Northern Territories, which became known as the Free State of Sorodin; the territory around Ordova, which became a city state; and the puppet government Cromski installed in Dunkeld, which controlled just a small amount of territory around the capitol. 
Sorodin was the largest and had the strongest military of the three, and successfully secured a prominent alliance with Brun, who recognized it as Dural's true successor state. However, it suffered from a large, decentralized territory, a low population, and a lack of fertile land. Ordova was the most centralized of the three with the richest land, though it was politically surrounded: in the southwest by the UFR, the southeast by Brell, and the northeast by Cromium. The city of Ordova itself was rather strongly fortified, but the state was utterly dwarfed by its much larger neighbors. The Dunkeld government was extremely weak, ineffectual, and propped up only by Crom influence. 
Vorkulysok, which had entered into the war unprepared for its brutal totality, never recovered from the losses it sustained in the conflict, both in regards to manpower (12,500) and finances. The following years were difficult for the state as it stumbled on, having gained none of the territory Cromski promised and very little wealth. A few years after the war ended, in 483 AT, Cromski backstabbed his former ally and annexed it. 
Brell was barely affected by the war as it was mainly focused on fending off attackers in its own conflict. However, their hasty and shameful breaking of their alliance with Cromium damaged their already weakened diplomatic reputation, and helped add to the decision of the Gilted Pact to perpetuate their war against them as they felt the existing government would not be able to honor its agreements.
Brun, while not the victor on paper, definitely emerged from the war in a stronger state. The elimination of Dural also eliminated their claim on the western bank of the Noan, and Brun used this skillfully in the negotiations at the conclusion of global conflict to claim a huge swath of territory. The northern successor state to Dural also relied heavily upon Brun for its own survival, and effectively allowed Brun to project its power over a much larger region. Brun also lost far fewer soldiers proportional to the other major combatants: only 10,000 of a much greater pool of manpower, and their troops regularly performed much better than any others. Many consider that it might have been possible for Brun to have stopped Cromium's victory in the war if they had committed more resources to the fight, though given how Brun suffered during the Legacy War, it is possible that King Gavros just did not want to commit his country to further suffering. Plus, given the strength of Brun's position at the end of the conflict, it was perhaps a wiser decision, if also a more selfish one. 
*