Fort Lengraf

**Fort Lengraf** is an abandoned Union Army fortification located at the eastern end of the Choking Pass. It sits on the eastern border of the Nagadan.

The fort was the westernmost permanent fortification established by the Union during the Pixite War. It was also the site of the last major for the Union during the war, occurring in late summer 2428.

## Battle of Fort Lengraf

* A, B & D Battery, 3rd Artillery Regiment
* B Company, 6th Engineer Regiment
* Elements of the 4th Army Brigade
* Brig. Oswin Larroton
* Col. N D Pyle ✝
* Salar Esh-Kesteva
* Gerenz Iren Garmora

Thurshald:
4,300 Orcs
Orcs: 2,104 killed
**Total:** Approx. 2,300 killed, 1,500 wounded

### Background

During the spring of 2428, the Union Army had been pushed out of Alevarian territory after Brigadier Larroton's Winter Campaign ended with the sacking of the Firbolg city of Desh. In Sescray of 2428, Larroton and his forces (the 4th Army Brigade) were soundly defeated at the Battle of Thunder Fork. This was followed by Larroton's retreat through the Choking Pass (where they encountered small, but often effective, ambushed which damaged morale).

After emerging from the Choking Pass in early Hyran, Larroton rendezvoused with Colonel Northam Duggan "N D" Pyle, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Artillery Regiment. Knowing that they would be followed by the forces under the command of Salar Esh-Kesteva, Larroton made the decision to leave the bulk of his army to retreat across the Long River (now known as the Whiskey River) under the command of his subordinate, Colonel Reckart Reel.

Larroton stayed behind with the 21st Infantry Regiment (his original command before promotion to Brigadier), Pyle's 3rd Artillery Regiment, B Company of the 6th Engineers (the original stationed unit in the fort), as well as around 300 volunteers from other elements of the 4th Army Brigade.

### The Battle

#### Union Preparations

With the foothills of Mount Chenoya creating a near-impassable defense to their north and east, Larroton's forces hunkered in the fort after taking a few days to create trench fortifications outside of the small fort's walls. Around a quarter of the garrison were stationed in these trenches. Due to Esh-Kesteva's reliance on cavalry, the hope was that his mounted troops would be unable to near the fort.

#### Alevarian Preparations

In fact, most of the mounted forces of the approaching Alevarian army was unable to pass through the Choking Pass, and was rerouted through the Nagadan. This proved disastrous as they would be late to the battle and therefore did not participate. The Alevarian army lost around a third of its fighting force to this decision.

#### First Offensive

Around midday on the 21st, the first Orc Warriors exited the Choking Pass, a little over half a mile away from the fort. During the evening Vek Gados, the warchief of the Orc forces, made a raid attempt on the fort. However a volley of artillery fire from the 3-inch cannons of the 3rd Artillery swiftly ended the attack - decimating the orc forces.

#### Barrage Tactics

After the arrival of the majority of the Elvish forces on the 23rd Hyran, the battle was soon underway. Due to the low morale of the Union forces, it was the hope of Esh-Kesteva that the constant assault upon the fort, as well as the use of warmages, would cause their enemy to rout.

A constant barrage of fire rained down on the fort, as the warmages of House Kesteva and the captured cannons used by the orcs kept the Union soldiers hunkered down. The trenches suffered many casualties, but the mobility of the troops within mitigated some of the human cost. In terms of firepower, the Alevarian forces dominated the battle until the morning of the 26th.

#### Counteroffensive

Whilst this suppression of Union firepower allowed the Alevarian forces to move into a surrounding position, it caused breaks in their line. These breaks were used to the advantage of the Union Army when the warmages were spent. The orcs were slow with the artillery than the experienced Union soldiers who could double their shots per minute per cannon. With the use of pixite-infused explosive ordnance, the lines were broken enough for a spiritied push forward by the entrenched troops to close in on the physically weaker elves and lay down volley-fire with the faster reloading Thoxton Rifle. Around three quarters of the warmages present were killed during the counteroffensive and soon the chain of command collapsed, and the formations of the Alevarian forces broke.

#### Final Day

With the lines broken, cannon were brought out of the fort to emplacements in the trench lines. During this new assault, Vek Gados, the Orc warchief, was killed (rumoured to have been decapitated by a cannonball).

The battle seemed all but won for the Union as Esh-Kesteva retreated and his orc commander lay dead. But the orc forces were able to rally once more and pushed into the trenches to engage in hand-to-hand fighting. Most of the Union forces were able to retreat into the fort's walls but Colonel Pyle stayed out to command the remnants and was cut down and killed.

However, this final assault by the orc forces was not enough to turn the tide of battle and eventually the remnant attackers were killed by rifle fire from the fort walls.

### Aftermath

At the end of the day, almost half of the Alevarian forces lay dead. Larroton was victorious and was relieved of the command of the fort the following week, with the arrival of Brigadier Barron Hooper Quince's 2nd Army Brigade.

The fort became the short-lived headquarters of the 2nd Army Brigade until the Treaty of Midpeak was signed at the end of the year.

Brigadier Larroton was awarded the Medal of Valour. Colonel Pyle was posthumously given the Union Star, which was presented to his widow by Chancellor Northam Lees in mid-2429. A total of 116 other Medals of Valour were bestowed on various officers and soldiers present, as well as 312 Crosses of Merit, the most given in a single battle. Those who had fought in the battle were also given the special "Lengraf" battle clasp for the Buff Campaign Medal.