Siege of Durolipons

The Siege of Durolipons was one of the most significant events during the Arenian Campaign, letting the Nirvans take control of the city away from Arenian hands.

## Background

In **478PR**, Gaius and the Calenus Faction began preparations for expanding the Nirvan border. To help, they drafted a series of legislation to help legalise their cause, having little opposition.

6 legions were then raised under the command of Gaius Calenus, Vibius Calenus and Gallio Aebutus to aid them in their invasion. The commanders took some time getting familiarised with their troops before marching on Aren in **479PR**.

The Nirvans first task was to secure their supply lines, doing so by pacifying the tribes between the Nirvan and Arenian borders.

After pacification of the tribes, they crossed the Arenian border, dealing with minor skirmishes. It didn’t take long for King Eros Scillo to send Prince Aleardo to go and attack them, the young commander using a new style of tactics which hit the enemy hard before retreating.

Eventually, Prince Aleardo fought the Nirvans in the Battle of Palebasso, almost getting wiped out when he was completely surrounded.

Again in the same year he fought the Nirvans at the Battle of Liorni, being forced to withdraw over a stream and cover his retreat with archers.

With two minor defeats, Prince Aleardo had to fall back to Durolipons, fortifying the city and preparing for the upcoming siege.

Soon after the Nirvans followed, surrounding and besieging the city, building fortifications and preparing for a dangerous winter siege.

## Fortifications

As with the Nirvan tradition, Gaius built walls all around the city, surrounding the Arenians completely. When the walls were completed, he built fortifications and outposts in various stretches to not only strengthen his defence but also in response to Prince Aleardo’s previous tactic in the Battle of Palebasso.

On the Arenian side, large walls protected them from the Nirvans, with ballistas on the walls to stop any attackers from getting too close. Since the city was on the water, they still had some access to food, but the winter weather created a natural naval blockade.

## Siege

Near the end of winter, things began to get tougher for the Arenians. The weather was completely unexpected along with the siege, meaning they had barely enough supplies which were further drained by the Areanian army behind their walls.

Tunnels were also out of the picture, as one of the first conflicts of the siege occurred when Nirvans spotted one of the Areanian tunnels, burning them out. Instead, it was the Nirvans who were tunneling under the walls, destroying some of the foundation.

### Initial Assault

With the foundation faltering, the Nirvans assaulted the walls in all manner. Ladders were raised up high in order to get them up, along with two siege towers full of legionnaires. Command was split two ways, the assault of the towers was led by Vibius, who could use his magic to sway it in their favour while the ground assault was led by Gallio.

Both had been ordered by Gaius to retreat when necessary, simply aiming to hit the enemy as hard as they could before falling back. It was also dangerous to fully commit without full knowledge of the enemy defences.

In the late morning, the siege towers hit the wall, sending legionnaires straight across the wall and into the city. The Arenians tried to hold them back, but a series of explosions from Vibius’s magic stopped any attempts to block them. With part of the walls captured, Gaius sent spies into the city, before slowly falling back before the Areanians could make their counter.

The Nirvans were successful in their withdrawal, taking very little losses after the fact. Though they still accumulated a heavy amount on their initial stretch to the wall. The two siege towers were abandoned.

### Final Assault

In the city, the spies continued to gather information where they could, learning about the food situation and where the weak points were to attack. They also began mounting pressure on the Prince, using the weak and hungry civilians to scream for a surrender.

Though one piece of vital information they missed was Prince Aleadro’s escape plan, who had managed to prepare ships to transport his troops away from the city.

After discovering enough, the Nirvans once again attacked the wall. This time committing their entire forces. Command was split with sides of the city, with Gaius overseeing everything from above.

As with before, the siege towers slowly made their way to the walls, while rams hit the city gates. Armenians tried their best to defend, shooting all manner of projectiles, but were quickly overwhelmed. What the Nirvans didn’t realise was the reason it was so easy was they were only fighting the garrison of the city, not the soldiers under the Prince.

When the Nirvans took the walls they saw the deceit, seeing as the Prince and his soldiers sailed away. The ones unable to reach the boats were killed or captured.

With the city won, the raiding and looting was about to begin, though with quick action from Gallio and Gaius, the soldiers were calmed and damage to the city remained minimal.