Battle for Courler

The Battle for Courler is the single, decisive battle between Courler and the invading alliance. It is said to be the turning point in history that brought on the Warring Era soon after.

## Prelude

The Battle for Courler occured during the Invasion of Courler, when an alliance formed between Defel, Roshan and Gonarundu. After some months of invading and enslaving, the alliance called for a decisive battle on their way to the capital of Courler, Dieppa. Courler at the time was raising their forces and begun building natural fortifications to help their inferior numbers in the battle.

During the invasions, two large hills were created in order to allow a shield wall to block the enemy. On the hills stood powerful fortresses which were made in such a way that even a small garrison would be able to hold them for months. Courler eventually situated themselves inbetween these hills and prepared for battle.

While the alliance was angry that Courler chose the battlegrounds, it was their best bet to bring the smaller army into the battle where they could wipe them out.

## Formation

### Courler

Courler managed to raise around 86,000 soldiers, though only 75,000 were used for the formation of three armies. The rest were used for the garrisons and ensuring the flanks were secure. The three armies were led by Haku Wilkanson, Shin Li and Ou Ki, all containing 25,000 soldiers. A further detachment of soldiers recruited later under the command of Ba Qi were sent to the camps of the enemy to raid their supplies during the battle.

#### Haku Wilkanson

Haku held the left as one of the newer generals, gaining a satisfactory placement of the better fortress and aided by their archers and artillery.

He held 7,000 spearman, 4,000 infantrymen, 2,000 heavy infantrymen, 4,000 heavy veterans (gifted due to his lacking experience), 5,000 crossbowmen and 2,000 in the artillery regiment made for both using the trebuchet's and reserves if required. He had a personal bodyguard of 1,000 soldiers.

He held a standard formation, placing his heavy veterans on his right flank to bolster the middle. His position on the hill also helped him gain a good view of the battlefield while behind the safety of his troops.

#### Shin Li

Shin Li was a more experienced general and fighter, choosing to place himself closer to the front to keep good morale and cause devastating damage if required.

He held 8,000 spearman, 2,000 infantrymen, 5,000 heavy infantrymen, 3,000 heavy veterans, 5,000 crossbowmen and 1,000 for his artillery regiment and his bodyguard.

He held a large amount of heavy infantrymen due to his position in the centre of the Courler line.

#### Ou Ki

Ou Ki was the most experienced out of all the other generals and even soldiers, fighting in many battles and extensively researching military tactics. He held the right side where the fortress offered little aid to him but still blocked his flank.

He held 11,000 spearman, 3,000 infantrymen, 2,000 heavy infantrymen, 2,000 heavy veterans, 5,000 crossbowmen, an artillery regiment of 1,000 and his own personal bodyguard.

While he held lesser soldiers, they were all experienced and had previously been under his command.

### The Alliance

#### Defel

Defel under the command of King John II committed 79,000 soldiers to the fight, including some hired mercenaries who were offered the chance to reap the rewards. He made the bulk of the alliances forces, though had to commit 21,000 of his soldiers to defending supply lines and labour-extensive jobs.

In his army were 27,000 spearman (peasants), 23,000 swordsmen (semi-professional), 12,000 archers, 8,000 mercenaries, 8,000 heavy cavalry and 1,000 of his personal bodyguard.

#### Gonarundu

Gonarundu commanded 34,000 soldiers, of their original 60,000. Many were being used for the protection and expansion of their new borders, while also losing a significant amount in the siege of Achil. They were led by King Adon II.

Their army held 5,000 spearman, 10,000 pikeman, 4,000 swordsmen, 10,000 archers, and 4,000 horse archers (represented as chariots) with a 1,000 strong personal bodyguard of their elite longbowmen.

The plan was for him to hold and weaken the centre while Defel did damage with their overwhelming army.

#### Roshan

Roshan was a new mainly mercenary built army, hiring many of their experienced people to come fight. Though due to the peaceful nature in Roshan, these soldiers were sub-par when compared to many others. Nonetheless they had a capable commander named Sir Antony.

The army held 12,000 swordsmen, 4,000 heavy swordsmen (represented by two swords and shield), and 4,000 anti-infantry (represented by sword and circle), 4,000 archers and his own bodyguard of experienced veterans.

## Battle

The battle commenced early in the afternoon, as the entire morning had been spent setting up formations for both sides.

### Cavalry Charge

To weaken the enemy, Defel committed the entirety of their heavy cavalry to charge forward and hit the line. In the middle, Gonarundun horse archers also moved forward to attack from range.

The charge from Defel met heavy resistance, rocks hurled from trebuchets slammed into them as they sprinted. Once they got close enough, archers rained down volleys. The nobles of Defel held on though, believing this decisive act will end the battle already.

One more set back occured before they finally hit with lances however. King John had failed to properly assess the battlefield and missed the low land. While no direct losses occured, the land slowed down their sprint and reduced the impact.

When they finally hit the line it was a success, many of the swordsmen held no proper way to hit the heavily armoured riders and they managed to push them back. Research suggests that of the 8,000 Knights that charged, only 6,000 reached the line.

In the middle the Gonarundun horse archers were unsuccessful, many fell from the crossbow volleys and fell back.

### Infantry Advance

While the cavalry charge intially worked, Haku and Shin soon focussed on entrenching the knights and capturing them. Unable to use their full power, the knights quickly began to fall while alone in the battle. King John II didn't wait long, and began advancing most of his army into the battle, hoping to overwhelm his enemy. King Abol and Sir Antony followed through.

As the soldiers marched forward, they were subject to more artillery fire alongside volleys of crossbowmen. Being so packed together, it was a devastating sight.

When the two clashed, there was no room for tactical prowess and it simply came down to the strength of the units.

### Haku's Side

Haku's Side struggled the worse, facing knights from Defel alongside some of their best units caused his first line to begin faultering. Thankfully, the newly appointed commander saw it and charged into the lines with his bodyguard, clearing enough room for some much needed break. He also did an unexpected move, allowing his artillery and crossbowmen to keep firing over the lines, hitting the bunched up reserves committed into the fight.

King John II begun attacking the fortification on the left, hoping to distract them from raining down arrows on his initial troops. He was unaware of the damage he was taking.

### Shin's Middle

In the middle the battle was a bloodfest, the Courlerian soldiers held tight, using steady shield walls to block the enemy. Shin, loving every sight of battle, had also joined the fray, cleaving his own path into the enemy and killing many of the knights who had tried pushing him back.

Defel's best soldiers were falling short but their numbers were still exhausting the outnumbered Courlerians.

On the right side of his army, the Gonarundun's failed to push through and fell into a stalemate. Their archers, the pride and joy of Gonarundu, were useless in the melee.

### Ou Ki and Sir Antony

The Roshlan and Courlerian soldiers clashed against one another, while the Courlerians were much more experienced and battle-hardened the Roshlan soldiers were numerous. Ou Ki had managed to hurt their advance with crossbow volleys and trebuchet's but was beginning to grow in casualities. It was late in the afternoon when he decided to join the fray.

### The Strength of Courler

2 hours had passed since the initial charge from Defel's Knights when the first cracks began to show. Ill-experienced and lightly armoured, the Defel soldiers began to lose morale at an alarming rate. While normally the commander would be able to bring his soldiers together, King John II was too far away to reinforce. Most of the Defel leaders had fallen by this point leaving chaos. Initially only a group of soldiers left, running through the arrow fire just to get to safety, then more followed. Soon, the Defel army was in full rout.

It was unexpected to the royal commanding the force who tried and failed to bring them back together.

In the middle the pressure was taken away and soon Shin and his focus was drawn to Gonarundu. The pikemen tried to retreat in time but were hit hard in the flank. Courler tried chasing their routing troops but had to fall off when they came under Gonarundun fire.

Sir Antony saw his position was about to fall before the Defel rout and managed to tactically withdraw his soldiers taking minor losses from crossbow volleys.

In the end, the Courlerian soldiers toughness and melee prowess allowed them to survive the number advantage, along with some quick movements from General Shin and Haku who targetted the Defel officers during the fray.

### The Camps Destruction

During the battle Ba Qi and around 5,000 soldiers had managed to move behind the enemy and directly attack their camps. It was incredibly well executed and took the camps by surprise, overwhelming many of their defenders and creating a net to avoid any escapes to inform the major force.

Within the 3 hours the battle had lasted, most of the camp had been destroyed and their followers running. When the Alliance soldiers returned it was shattering on their morale, most of their supplies had been stolen and many of their non-combantants had been scared off.

## Aftermath

The losses were great on both sides, though the alliance moreso. With very little resources and a broken supply line, their soldiers were forced to retreat to their respective nations. Though this action was not taken lightly, as Ba Qi and his 5,000 soldiers continued to harass them along the way, raising the death toll.

### Losses

#### Defel

10,500 Killed

14,000 Wounded

4,600 Captured

#### Gonarundu

5,777 Killed

11,101 Wounded

3,000 Captured

#### Roshan

3,000 Killed

5,000 Wounded

1,500 Caputred

#### Courler

14,900 Killed

20,000 Wounded