War of 1803

The war is named after the year it took place 1803PE. It was a conflict fought between the Alkar horselords and the Aurian Empire.

## Origins

1767PE: During the War of Ears the Aurians fighting against the elves spilled over into the Alkan Plains. The horselords of Alkan rode south and hit Aurian border settlements all along the Aurian/Alkan border. The Empire suffered great losses and the Emperor Viktor though furious was dissuaded from ordering an invasion of Alkan by his counselors.

1767PE: After a show of force from Alkan and a belligerent bargaining position the Emperor was forced to swallow his pride and agreed to an end of horselord hostilities by agreeing no Imperial military would be allowed on the Alkan side of the border. This forced agreement was hated by Viktor and his descendants. Though his son made no moves against Alkan this resentment over the so called Plains Treaty was seen by scholars as the main origin of the War of 1803PE.

1778PE: Emperor Viktor took ill and his son, Vincent, though supportive of his father's policies started the process of ending the War of Ears.

1779PE: Viktor the Elfslayer died and was succeeded by his son Vincent. Vincent waited two seasons and then repealed the ear bounty officially ending the so-called 'War of Ears'. However it would seem he did this from expediency not because he forgave the elves or the Aklar. It should be noted that Aurakas Milo an influential political figure who argued against the war was, two years later, found guilty of treason on unrelated charges and sentenced to death. It should also be noted that Vincent assigned Senedal Voech, a supporter of the war, as his Imperial Vizier. If the Alkar had paid attention to IMperial politics this could have warned them that Viktor's children would be a bane on them.

1799PE: Vincent's son Nikolay was crowned Emperor after his father's death. Very aware of the legacy of his grandfather's failed wars and the embarrassing Plains Treaty Nikolay was crowned with plans already in mind.

1799-1802PE: Subsidies were offered to imperials who settled north of the border in the Alkan plains. This quickly resulted in a variety of new villages and small towns being created on the Alkan side of the border. Eventually the Alkan became aware and started to interact with settlements. It started with trade, but it quickly descended into frequent raids.

## Events

1803PE: As if the raids had been predicted the Aurian military mobilised and claiming a breach of the Plains Treaty they moved into Alkan in force. Within a season over twenty thousand troops were deployed in and around the settlements. The first to arrive were the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Legions of the Yellow Protectoran. It was these legions that won the decisive ambush that many consider the real start of the war.

Initial Ambush - A large raid by tribes of the Shift of Running Waters was ambushed by the better part of two legions. The horsemen were put to the sword in large numbers and several Manes were lost along with their horses. This could not be ignored and resulted in an immediate and poorly planned revenge strike.

The Revenge Strike - Several hundred horselords attacked the Protectoran camps in southern Alkan. Despite being expected, their initial charge was very effective, though not as devastating as it should have been thanks to the troopers setting up earthworks. The key features of the battle were the earthwork defenses, blocks of Yellow Protectoran spear men and a crucial hidden counterattack by Captain Leval Vanilov. His cohort earned the nickname the Running Shields for their amazing defense of Haberstal town and the incredible mobility they displayed. The Running Shields night run from Haberstal to the Alkar camp and the following attack became the most recounted event of the war.

Shadowmane - With hundreds of dead on both sides Shadowmane was called and the Shifts rode south in force. Yet the Empire had also been busy and Green and Black Protectoran Legions were racing to the battlegrounds along the border at the same time. Fortunately for the imperial war
effort the Alkar argued among themselves and delayed the declaration of Shadowmane. When the attack arrived it brought the victories the horselords had been waiting for. The Empire lost several skirmishes as the sudden increase in war ready horselords with their incomparable mobility made it impossible for the Empire to bring its full numbers to bear. The imperials managed to mitigate their losses by very effectively retreating from losing positions.

Wall Up - Under the Command of the Yellow Protectoran General Evgeni Tarov the Blademarks and Bowmarks were ordered to follow a retreat and wall up strategy. So they took their legions and abandoned some of the indefensible farmsteads and smallest and most open villages. This was very controversial and some citizen homesteaders refused to leave 'their land'. Unfortunately those who chose that route were subsequently killed or carried off in Alkar raids. The Alkar however had no concept of siege warfare so though they could have simply waited out the legions packed into the now overcrowded walled towns and raided all the reinforcement lines. Yet they were unable to do this as such a combat strategy was foreign to anything they have ever engaged in. Many of their attacks broke against fortified positions and heavily entrenched troops.

Reinforcements and Retreat - Months into the conflict Green Protectoran Units were already in place as were the core Yellow legions. A dramatic battle was won when the Black Protectoran Legions 6 through 11 arrived bringing over 5 thousand cavalry to rescue the walled town of Hunger Hill. This attack cut through the Alkar rear lines trapping them against the walls. The garrisons inside the overcrowded town burst out and the horselords were stuck. Maneuvers such as the Lancers encirclement at Hunger Hill forced the horselords to pullback from their incredibly aggressive stance. The overwhelming numbers the Empire were now bringing to bear along with the fact they were not pushing into Alkan or attacking any of the Shift's camps took the fire out of the Shadowmane and several of the less warlike Shifts especially those who had been reluctant in the first place, the Shift of Stones and the Shift of Souls, started to increase pressure to stop a profitless and increasingly unjustifiable and unsustainable war.

## End and Aftermath

Eventually mediators were sent from the Shift of Souls and terms were agreed. These terms were supposedly a ratification of the already existing Plains Treaty which determined that no Aurian military would operate beyond the Alkar border, but due to what had occurred the Aurians insisted on the border being officially redrawn several leagues further north than it had previously been. This then covered the border towns and allowed them to be protected by Aurian forces.

The Alkar do not even use maps and so agreeing to this concession, though humiliating, did little to change the reality of where the Alkar would take their herds. So the Empire was expended northwards. So it was the war of 1803 came to an end.