1st Battle of Bulwark

## Overview

The 1st Battle of Bulwark was a watershed moment in the overarching conflict between the Iron Coalition and the Pax-Viribus Theocracy. It was fought on the Third Tetrast, Mark 54, Y4144, in the northern waters of the Cartesian Channel as well as on the beach head below the city of Bulwark. An Iron Coalition expeditionary force under the command of General Rommel Blackstone was defeated by detachments of the Ministry's Navy as well as the military and civil defense forces of the city of Bulwark. This battle exhausted the offensive reserves of the Iron Coalition for years to come, creating a lull in military conflict between the two powers and necessitated a process of concession talks between the two powers on Mullen Island in the Kingdom of Velocitus.

### Preceding Events

After the assassination of Trevor Corsair in Y4140, his daughter Crystal Corsair assumed power of the Iron Coalition and mobilized its forces for war. Upon word of this mobilization reaching the PVT, detachments of the Ministry's Army under the control of Commandant Scionus Pharos cantoned in the city of Ziggurat and the surrounding dunes in the Synovian Desert. On the third Tetrast, Mark 49, Y4144 Pharos's forces attacked the IC's forward operating base CD42-V in the Battle of Solomon Beach. However these forces were repelled by the IC garrison there, routing the PVT into the Synovian Desert. This offensive however was considered a diversionary tactic, as a portion of the IC expeditionary force was diverted to aid the embattled garrison.

### First Contact

The first contact between the expeditionary force and the Ministry's Navy occurred in the northern waters of the Cartesian Channel between elements of the IC's 3rd Titan Division and detachments of the 3rd Impact Detachment, 2nd Fleet. While relatively outnumbered and out-gunned, the PVT's use of "Defense in Depth" tactics as well as the low visibility weather conditions that day allowed the PVT to successfully flank the main column of IC forces. It is of note that the offensive flank was singlehandedly successful due to the heroic action of Wolfram Drenthe, a PVT 1st Gunner serving in the Ministry's Navy.

### Breach of Bulwark

Upon realizing the perimeter of his forces was compromised, Blackstone pushed his forces forward, landing the beach and setting up offensive positions. Previous offshore bombardments of Bulwark's walls created entry points for IC infantry detachments to advance and infiltrate the city. In the early hours of the battle it seemed as though the city was doomed to fall: The PVT's mines that were planted on the beach were negated by the IC's use of C7 Aardwolf Mine Destroyer vehicles. Each IC fireteam was equipped with a man-portable Tempest Mk I Kinetic Rejection Dissipator, an experimental forcefield generator which proved relatively successful in repelling PVT small arms fire. BAI (Breaching and Infiltration) units were tasked with scaling the cliff face and neutralizing enemy hardpoints using UM-4E Icarus PFS (Personal Flight System).

### Iron Coalition Defeat and Retreat

However the tide of the battle turned as the victorious flanks from the Ministry's Navy closed in and cut the IC landing force off from the rest of the column. Slowly but surely the IC forces holed up within the city began to exhaust their resources, and casualties mounted. Three days later, and with a growing PVT naval force strengthening the blockade, the remaining IC forces inside Bulwark surrendered and the rest of the IC expeditionary force had no choice but to retreat back across the Cartesian Channel.

At battle's end:

IC ~ 23,000 killed, 31,000 wounded, 7,000 captured

PVT ~ 18,000 killed, 28,000 wounded, 1,100 captured PVT

### Aftermath

This proved to be another crushing loss for the IC, and many criticized leader Crystal Corsair for rushing into battle before the regime was fully mobilized. There were also long lasting tactical losses, such as the prisoners of war, loss of much of their 3rd Titan Division (including its flagship, Cobalt Everglade) as well as the surprise of novel technology such as the Tempest Mk I Kinetic Rejection Dissipator. The result of the battle put the regime's ruling class in a very tenuous position, destroying the goodwill of the public and reviving positive sentiment for underground elements of the previously defeated political/military group Wian's Wrath.