The Richthoffen Incident

In 321 BGE the Great Kingdom arranged a large military exercise to train the newly established artillery corps in the usage of land-based gunpowder cannons, in particular the new Wunter Mark II field cannon which was intended to revolutionise the kingdom's defensive capabilities. The incident is considered to have heavily contributed to the defeat of the Great Kingdom in the Second Tall Kingdom War two decades later. 
The planned exercises were to centre on the upper and lower plains either side of Fort Richthoffen, to the West of Wasmeinau. Due to the close proximity to the royal capital, king Alphonse III attended the first day of the exercise along with his two eldest sons, Crown Prince Rupert von Käse and Field Marshal Prince Wunter von Käse. 
Before the start of the exercise, which the king and the princes were scheduled to watched, Prince Wunter wanted to personally demonstrate the Wunter Mark II to his father and elder brother. 
According to official military witnesses, as the canon was fired the cannonball became stuck in the barrel of the cannon, causing it to explode. Shrapnel and sparks from the explosions detonated nearby gunpowder barrels killing prince Wunter and King Alphonse III instantly. Prince Rupert succumbed to shrapnel injuries minutes later. Several senior military officers were also hurt or killed in the explosion, along with numerous junior officers.
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