Battle of Kinshaw

The **Battle of Kinshaw** was the first major battle between Otto Gyldenglove and the Ceolhare Barony during the Earldom's Flynn Raids. The Battle was a quick and decivive victory for Gyldenglove which diminished the Ceolhare Barony's levy and destabilized the region.

## Background

Prior to the battle of Kinshaw. Otto Gyldenglove's raid host attacked and pillaged most of the Ceolhare Barony as well as the Southern Earldom during his raids. The noblility of Flynn were slow to respond to this incursion of raids on their villages which overwhelmed many of the villages militia if they were lucky enough to have one. Baron Adam Dunn, the commander and lord of the Ceolhare Barony at the time of the conflict, raised a lackluster host of depleted town militia, household guards and a few noble knights from Ceolhare's household knights and nobility.

Adam Dunn prior to the battle was quick to elect commanders for his battles, most of whom were unwilling or unprepared for their role in the battle. This decision on his part would lead to some very major issues as the battle commenced. Planning was also an issue for the Ceolhare host as many of the elected commanders for the battle thought the sheer numbers and "quality" of their soldiers would win the battle, severly underestimating the veteran nature of Gyldenglove's force.

## Pre-Battle

The battle was fought within the town of Kinshaw as well as the fields and forests beyond it. The rough terrain made it hard for any tightly packed formations to march across it without becoming severely disordered. Otto's party were well aware of this advantage and forced their raiders to fight in loose formations as to negate any terrain disadvantages.

### Gyldenglove's Raiders

Otto's host were quick at the march, being accustomed to long marches away from main roads laden with loot and armour. Their host were able to gain a terrain advantage even before the Baron's forces were able to form up in battle lines. Otto's host were able to bring around 550 raiders to the battle, with some of his host being bandits and outlaws from the region's many gangs as well as a dozen Milk Snake clan warriors who were recruited with the promise of loot after the battle. The host of great size were veterans of many conflicts and raids for many years with many having the experience and equipment to show off their veterancy.

### Ceolhare Barony

Unlike Gyldenglove's seasoned warriors, the barony's soldiers were quickly raised and barely trained. Although some portions of the army were town militia and retinue soldiers from Ceolhare, most people were unwillingly levied and given poor weapons in order to fill out the ranks. This poor choice of soldiers coupled with the lackluster command structure would severely limit the power of the Barony army. The total number of soldiers brought to the field would number around 480 with a majority of the army consisting of poorly armed levy and town militia's from nearby towns in the Ceolhare Barony as well as some retinue soldiers from the Baron's personal retinue. His army also was accompanied by a dozen or so mounted knights, many of whom were nobles and their household knights.

## Battle

### Opening Conflict

The battle opened up with skirmishes on the flanks made by Otto's flanking units which disordered the Earl's flanks. Arrow fire from nearby concealed positions also disrupted many soldiers and even killed one of the battle commanders, Ser Dylan Little, before the clash begun. Once the skirmishers retreated behind the main lines, both sides marched upon each other.

### The Battle

The Battle begun once the two sides clashed. All battles on the Baron's side were immediately troubled and disordered as the open formation charge by the raiders quickly disrupted the green soldiers, who were quickly bested by the competent and veteran Vestarian Raiders. Charges made by the Baron's knights were swift, but they were eventually reduced to a diminished size once the raiders picked them off by javelins and bow fire. Poor communication between commanders failed to get across as the left flank of the Baron's forces begun to crumble and route due to their unwillingness to fight as well as the loss of Dylan Little before the battle even begun. This route would mark the beginning of the main route which quickly encapsulated the green army, convincing many that these raiders were too strong for them.

### The Route

The route begun a half an hour after the initial battle, with many of the levies retreating before the retinue soldiers and foot knights had a chance to run. As the more experienced soldiers held the lines, they were quickly overwhelmed and forced to fall back as well, fearing that their lives would be lost in the process of covering their army's retreat. Adam Dunn and his bodyguard was forcing soldiers to return back to the fight, with reports calling his men "spineless womenfolk" before succumbing to a raider's axe in a one-on-one. Baron Dunn's body was quickly discarded and looted after his death which marked the full route of the army,

Most soldiers that have fled from the field were quickly hunted down before ever retiring to their homes. As they were fleeing, only under a hundred soldiers and 3 knights ever returned home, with almost everyone else either being caught and killed by the raiders, deserting or being caught and sold into slavery.

## The Aftermath

After losing the battle of Kinshaw in the most terrible way, Baron Dunn left the Barony and the Earldom in disarray. Without a leader, the barony would quickly become disrupted as the continuous raids on villages and towns in the Barony would not be responded to as nobody had the sufficient power to respond to these threats. The loss of a majority of the Baron's fighting force meant that no army from the local region could be raised to that high of a number again, which means that Gyldenglove's army had free reign to raid any area in the Barony that they wanted, Creating massive issues and chaos in the region.