Battle of Portusburg

The **Battle of Portusburg** took place in and around the town of Portusburg in the Kartek Diarchy on the 8th of October, 2021, between the Kartek Army under the command of Tommo Khan, Tzar Ferro, and Yiex (who commanded a smaller force) and a rebel army under Wrog. The battle ended in a Kartek victory with Portusburg retaken by the Diarchy and all of the defenders killed.

## Background

The Battle of Portusburg was the climax of the Kartek-Portusburg Conflict which began on October 6th when Wrog, the former lord of Portusburg, declared independence from the Kartek Diarchy, against the will of Portusburg citizens. Kartek peacekeepers had occupied the city following Wrog's initial departure from the city, but Wrog returned with loyal followers after the Kartek forces rallied in Buktenbyen. The Kartek soldiers then returned and declared war on Wrog who occupied Portusburg Castle.

## Ferro's Commandos

Before the battle took place, Tzar Ferro organized and led a secret commando force made up of Barend, RGB, Fleefo, and KingdomWatcher. The commandos undertook 3 major operations prior to the battle which most certainly reduced the number of casualties that would have been taken during the battle. In the first operation, they were able to assassinate Wrog and kill several of his soldiers. In the 2nd operation they scouted out the area and discovered several traps that could have killed many of the attackers. In the 3rd operation, they were talking to some Portusburg civilians when some of Wrog's soldiers spotted them and started massacring the civilians. The commandos defended the civilians and withstood wave after wave of attacks, eventually scoring around 20 kills.

## Opposing Forces

The entire Kartek army numbered over 40 soldiers, although due to poor communication, discipline, and pre-battle preparations, much of the army was scattered into smaller forces. Yiex led a smaller group within the Kartek army, although many were not aware that they were a separate group which led to much confusion. Meanwhile, Wrog had 3 loyalists defending the castle and another 2 arrived as reinforcements.

## Prelude to Battle

An ongoing conflict between players AconM4ster and Wrog had been going on for a about a week. This was over Portusburg claiming land that belonged in Buktenbyen, and AconM4ster asking wrog to not claim land across the canal separating the two cities. Wrog claims several chunks anyway, and refuses to unclaim it after AconM4ster asks him to. Wrog wanted to do a small battle for the chunks of land, and AconM4ster agreed to this. The battle was set to be Friday the 8th, at 3:30 PM EST, but as the week went on, several citizens of Portusburg, along with the town guard captain, moved to Buktenbyen because they weren't satisfied with safety and Wrog's rule, and so Buktenbyen was a safe-haven with AconM4ster's warm welcomes making the citizens feel better about this town. Wrog, unsatisfied with his land and mass-recruitment getting out of hand, begins talking of claiming the forest south of Buktenbyen, which was far into AconM4ster's vojvodeship. Acon, hearing this, immediately went to Wrog to ask him not to claim this, and threatened to go to war if Wrog claimed the forest. Wrog, angry and frustrated, responds with a threat of war if Acon were to stop him. Khan Timmy hears of these threats, and immediately takes Acon's side, since the Khan decided the vojvodeship borders and he recognized Wrog's claiming into Acon's land. After being told he could not claim other people's land, Wrog becomes so frustrated with the situation, that he decides to officially leave Kartek as a whole, and encourages any loyal citizens to him to come with him to a safe place. After not much success, Wrog invades Portusburg later that day and takes the castle, offficialy declaring himself independent, and starting the official Kartek-Portusburg Confilct. Shortly after, the renowned Duke of Buktenbyen, AconM4ster, makes an official declaration of war, Buktenbyen vs. Portusburg. Several pre-war skirmishes occur. About an hour before the battle officially began, Kartek forces rallied at Buktenbyen, before moving on to Shwaize Fort. The army then moved to a plateau overlooking Portusburg. However poor communication meant some soldiers didn't meet up with the main army. Meanwhile a small group of defenders stayed at Buktenbyen in case Wrog attempted a counter attack. When the battle began, there was confusion over whether to attack immediately or hold back, however many eventually charged and took one of the bridges. At this point several conflicting messages went out. Some believed the war had not yet begun, Tzar Ferro ordered the army to regroup at Swaize so the rest of the army could arrive, while Khan Tommo, Yiex, and Yiex's men ignored Ferro's order and attacked anyways.

## The Battle

### Storming the Castle of Portusburg

Of the 40+ soldiers in the Kartek army, roughly a dozen, led by Tommo and Yiex, stormed Portusburg Castle. They quickly made their way through the defenses and into the keep before they were engaged by Wrog and 3 other defenders who began using fire arrows against them. Two of the attackers were killed, but all of the defenders were swiftly cut down while Khan Tommo chased Wrog who attempted to barricade himself inside a stone fort. Tommo was able to parkour into the fort and engaged Wrog in single combat. The two leaders dueled until Tommo broke Wrog's chestplate and killed him. After this, Tommo and Yiex's attackers celebrated their victory and secured the castle.

### Fighting in the swamps

While some of the soldiers were storming the castle, many others had not yet reached the main army or had regrouped back at Swaize Fort. Due to this confusion, many soldiers did not know where to go and broke off into smaller groups. The defenses of Portusburg meant that getting in was very difficult as all of the entrances had been blocked and many were unable to reach the castle to assist the attackers. At this point, two defending soldiers arrived and began fighting with the smaller and disorganized Kartek bands. The fighting led to the swamps south of Portusburg, where the Kartek forces took two casualties, but eventually killed Wrog's reinforcements.

## Aftermath

With all of the defenders killed, the attackers were able to regroup inside of the captured Portusburg Castle and celebrate their victory. In total the defenders had 4 kills while the attackers had 20, although some of those killed by the attackers were civilians. It is worth noting that nine deaths were not accounted for, all inflicted upon FungusMan, who was fighting for the Kartek army and was slain by his allies each time. Furthermore, there were reports of some Kartek soldiers looting the city, despite several calls against this behavior by the leaders of the battle. In addition to the 4 dead Kartek soldiers, 1 was temp-banned for 3 days, and 1 was perma-banned after an attempted ban evasion. While the battle was a victory for the Kartek Diarchy, many felt that the battle was handled poorly and was extremely disorganized.