Battle of Riodina

Commanders| **Mennos van Dire****Diarmud Baathúr*** Paul Commodus
* Song Hui
* Lionel Victof †
* Dolduin Aar †

Casualties| 40% casualties* 1530 men

Battle of Riodina was a battle between the forces of the Royal Army of Workhold and the Vangad-Shei of Azrael Waldrach. The battle was fought during the Fortudatum Crusade, and was a Royal Army victory. The Royal Army was led by Mennos van Dire, whilst the Vangad-Shei were led presumably by Saul Decius. The battle allowed the Royal Army forces to advance into Hälfelägel.

## Prelude

At the beginning of the Fortudatum Crusade, it was decided that the Eastern detachment of the Royal Army would secure the Froth Castle and later the Castle of Hälfelägel. The Eastern Army was led by Mennos van Dire and Diarmud Baathúr. Together, they easily captured Froth at the Siege of Froth and marched on to a small city where they rested before advancing into Hälfelägel. At the small city, they received information, that there was an army at Hälfelägel ready to fight the Eastern Army. Mennor and Diarmud decided to take the challenge and a battle was agreed upon. The first pitched battle of the Crusade.

## Planning

The Eastern Army had less troops than the opposing Army of Hälfelägel, but the Eastern Army troops were way superior to their opponents. Mennor, the chief commander of the Eastern Army, knew that the Army of Hälfelägel had more cavalry, so Mennor decided to neutralize the opposing cavalry and then to encircle the enemy army. This was assumed to be very easy, as the cavalry of the Royal Army is incredibly strong. Mennor also had five cannons that he wished to utilize to their fullest extenct.

## Battle

The battle began with a huge cavalry battle at the left flank of the Eastern Army. The Hälfelägel cavarly was surprisingly formidable and didn't bend as easily as Mennor had hoped, but even then, the mighty KOMS of the Royal Army punched through a hole and enveloped the Hälfelägel units.

The Army of Hälfelägel sent infantry to threaten the Eastern Army cavalry, which forced Mennor to begin the infantry assault, even though Mennor had way less troops. Diarmud Baathúr also began a premature attack into the enemy lines which coerced Mennor to send in rest of their men to support Diarmud. The infantry battle was immediately won at the right flank, as Mennor's personal Legio Ardostum punched into the much weaker Glissarians. The centre line of the battle however, was worrying. The men of the Northern Army under the commands of Brigadier Schaeffer and Rennenkampf as well as the Lohensloss Briagde under the command of Diarmud, were quickly dying at the hands of the Glissarian foe.

Just as Mennor had planned and hoped, the cavalry battle was won and the Royal Army cavalry attacked the Glissarians from behind destroying the enemy units completely. Only two brigades of the Glissarian army held strong, almost entirely wiping out the Lohensloss and Tadaheim Brigades. In the end, the battle was won and Mennor had won a significant victory for the Worvians.

## Aftermath

Paul Commodus observed, that some of the men in the Army of Hälfelägel, were in fact men of the 2nd Ceneprian Army of the Empire of Jimrock. This was very perturbing, as the men of the Royal Army realized, that their expedition into the Oblikrom was compromised.