The Farradorian War

The Farradorian War was an armed conflict centered around the former Grevian Colony of Farrador in the newly colonised Farrador System. The conflict started when Farrador broke away ties with the Grevian Empire and began worshipping their self-appointed messiah that would supposedly lead them to victory. The war would conclude during the bloody Siege of Lyonhall that ended when Friador, their messiah, is killed.

### Background

Farrador is located in the Grevian Empire’s frontier area. Colonized under the 45 IE Colonization Charter, Farrador hosted a multitude of rare materials that almost challenged the Fortress Planet of Rhodon in the interior area. After the establishment of the colony, the Empire stationed the Legio XLV Stella to guard the planet and to maintain order, though only stationing one Legion did have some disadvantages as the XLV was thinly spread out across the world and therefore did not prepare for any insurrection.

In 50 IE, an Imperial Priest named Friador arrived on the planet under the pretense of converting the local colonists of the Imperial Faith, he brought with him a contingent of battlemonks under Chief Monk Uturi. For 2 years, Friador went with his plan on converting the populace, but all that changed when it is revealed by Uturi that Friador commanded the masses, summoning religious fanatics that praised Friador as a messiah.

### Prelude

After gathering enough support, Friador with his host of followers, just numbering 400.000, stormed Lyonfall Fortress, capturing it and the armory of weapons of the XLV Legion. Encouraged by his victory, desperate bands of fanatics soon began to systematically destroy the XLV Stella by taking over outposts and the few castles that possessed armories for them to equip their numbers.

By 52 IE, the XLV Stella was virtually destroyed with many of its legionnaires hiding in the mountains for fear of being burned alive by the populace. The Battlemonks, fearing that they may be burned alive for being part of the military, mounted a last stand alongside several regiments of released legionnaires in Lyonfall Citadel, taking with them massive amounts of fanatics for their lives. With the Battlemonks gone, Friador proclaimed the Kingdom of Farrador and was hailed as the first and only God of Farrador.

### Grevian and Farradorian Battle Plans

#### Grevian Plans

By 52 IE, the Grevian Armed Forces was a defunct army, plagued with seeing no wars for over a century. Its enlisted was inexperienced and their officers barely able to control the masses of men. After the takeover of Farrador, the Grevian Senate acted cautiously and sent delegation after delegation to discuss the handover of Friador and his lieutenants for their part of causing unrest and rebellion amongst the populace. With all these calls going unanswered and with the Emperor impatient for results, the army gave orders to raise a new army to besiege Farrador, with the army being given specifications on expertise for siege and trench warfare.

Soon, calls began to rang out from across the empire of legions volunteering themselves for the job, among these include Legio XIV, Legio XXVII, and Legio XXVIII. These legions were eventually recruited for the task alongside independent cohorts of artillery, grenadiers, and airborne troops.

The War Plans of the Grevian Empire involve landing the army from a safe distance and slowly advancing towards Lyonfall, trapping any Farradorian units if they refuse to move. After they have reached Lyonfall, they would start to dig up trenches and slowly advance to minimize casualties. The Senate hopes that the siege would last only 9 months, a very optimistic timetable.

#### Farradorian Plans

After their victory and takeover of Farrador in 52 IE, the Farradorians had significant amounts of weaponry and more being produced in the factories of Lyonfall by the hour. Friador’s host was mostly made up of rural militia that had very little experience and equipment, however these were made up by traitorous legionnaires and officers of the XLV Stella. Though their numbers may be small, they still pose a threat towards the invading armies of Grevia which would meet hell upon Lyonfall and its defences.

Lyonfall was a fortress city, whereby the surrounding landscape was made into fortifications and trenches that stretched miles on end. Lyonfall had two of these lines of trenches that encircled the city with energy shields encircling the whole city to protect it from airstrikes and aerial bombardments. Farradorian Battle Plans said that Farradorian units would meet the enemy if their numbers were made an advantage over them, because of that Farradorian units are only expected to give battle if they have numbers or if they are ordered to hold a position.

### The Landing Phase

After all the necessary materials and men were loaded in for embarkation on Rhodon, the army, named the 54th Eagle Army, embarked on September 52 IE with the 7th Fleet escorting them to their destination. The journey was long and it took 2 months for the army to reach the Farrador System and only then did they encounter no ships whatsoever challenging them. After much planning, the 28th Legion landed south of Lyonfall, meeting only minor skirmishing by the Farradorian units stationed there. There in the landing zone did they established a base of operations while reinforcements and equipment poured in every day.

After all the equipment had been landed, the 54th Army dispatched the 28th and 27th alongside several cohorts of armor and artillery to move northeast with the aim of encircling Lyonfall from the east while the 14th would move westwards with the remaining armor and artillery. Special units like the grenadier guard cohorts and the mobile infantry contingent would remain in the FOB to act as a special reserve in case of emergency.

### The Encircling Phase

Following orders, the 54th advanced in their respective directions, meeting only minimal opposition until the vanguard of the 14th met battle with parts of the retreating Farradorian Army trying to reach the first line of defence. This rearguard action involving mostly the Farradorian 42nd Corps left the 14th Legion delayed for 10 days. Capturing any Farradorian units left behind, the 27th and 28th Legions besieged the city of Taunting, bypassing it only after the populace gave a stout resistance towards the Legions. Moving faster than ever, the 27th and 28th moved so fast that the Farradorians activated their cavalry reserve to perform a rearguard action. Only this time did the 54th Army prepared and the cavalry met the oncoming 27th tank vanguard and was annihilated, losing two entire regiments of cavalry in the confused melee.

After being delayed for more than a week, the 14th Legion finally reached the fortress city of Kordia where the first line of defence stretched through half the city. Awaiting orders to attack, the 14th relaxed themselves by building trenches and constructing artillery positions while the Farradorians prepared themselves for the upcoming attack. The 27th and 28th also started digging up when they themselves reached the city of Reti, marking the first line of defence for the east.

### The Siege of Lyonfall

53 IE New Year’s Day marked the commencement of the siege of Lyonfall when a 3-hour long artillery raged across no man’s land before legionnaires of the 14th crossed the top of their trenches and launched themselves across no man’s land, making five continuous charges before they are ordered to stand down. In the end, the Grevians were simply testing the defences of Lyonfall by sacrificing part of their army and they were suprised that only minimal damage was done to the infrastructure of the fortifications as the Farradorians simply ran to their underground bunkers and hid from the artillery barrage, only going out when the 54th officers signalled for the charge.

Even as months raged over the trenches, the 54th Eagle Army High Command were keen on ending the stalemate if they were offered the chance, and that chance they would be given by the Farradorians themselves accidentally. With Farradorian casualties mounting by the thousands, it is expected by High Command for them to thin out their reserves but unexpectedly maybe by error of command a part of the trenchline near the 28th’s position was abandoned and thus High Command sent in their elite mobile infantry reserves to prepare for an air assault across no man’s land supported by the 28th charging across it.

In the 12 of March, a cohort of around 4.500 mobile infantry was sent in via helicopter insertion towards their objective, the abandoned enemy trenchline. When they were halfway through no man’s land, the suprised Farradorian anti-air gunners finally opened fire towards the incoming helicopters. Battling through several hundred Farradorian personnel guarding the trenchline, the cohort successfully captured it for a while until enemy reinforcements started to show up from the underground bunkers and they were temporarily driven out of the trenchline. In the nick of time, the mobile infantry was saved when 28th Legion armor finally arrived to save the day alongside several reserves of grenadier guards. Even as victory was achieved the cost was enormous, out of the 4.500 that went in only 600 were left in fighting condition during the 5 day battle.

By the end of the 5th day, the 28th and 27th had penetrated the first defence with the 14th still fighting over control of the first trenchline supported by artillery and armor. It would take two more months for the 54th Eagle Army to clear out the underground complexes of the first trenchline.

On the reason that another assault would be met by a more ready response, the 54th Army made only small amounts of assaults save for infiltration and artillery duels over the course of three years. By 56 IE, most of the Farradorian army was destroyed by disease and starvation with only a small amount of elite units ready to meet the expected 54th Army attack. The assault on the second trenchline did came after High Command judged that the enemy was sufficiently knocked out for the 14th 27th and 28th to advance with minimal casualties.

With mobile infantry being inserted from above and elite grenadier guards charging over no man’s land, the Farradorian situation on the second trenchline was hopeless to say the least, with most of the Farradorian units holding the trenchline destroyed by the artillery before they even opened fire towards the oncoming mobile infantry and grenadier guards. The fighting was brutal and quick, with the remaining Farradorian units mounting last ditch defences on the undergorund complexes of the second trenchline before withdrawing towards the Lyonfall Citadel.

There Friador and the remnants of what was the Farradorian Army prepared to make a last stand that would surely doom them but would take with them many legionnaires. Then in the final month of the siege, the Citadel Shield was finally put down and swarms of helicopters carrying mobile infantry were inserted into the Citadel Courtyard where they met with elite Farradorian traitor legionnaires that were put to the sword. Friador alongside his council, sensing of what would the empire do to him, launched a suicide attack with the remaining Farradorian men that he could muster. There he was shot up and brutally mauled during the fighting, dying only days later in a 54th Army hospital for the wounded and sick.

After his death was spread across Farrador, several cities besieged by the 54th surrendered unconditionally and thus were given medical care and food. Those that did not surrender however, were sacked and burnt to the ground with no quarter given to the surrendering Farradorian soldiers.

### Aftermath

The Farradorian War marked a clear warning towards other far-flung colonies that the Grevian Empire does not consider lightly of rebelling planets and would even dare to burn some cities to the ground if they hadn’t surrendered by the according timetable. The losses taken up by the 54th Army was enormous that many in the Senate were simply shocked and demanded a reform as fast as possible by the Emperor.

Farrador was rocked with so many shells and bombs that many of it surfaces would only recover in decades following the end of the war. By the end of the war, 80% of Lyonfall had been turned into rubble by the destructive artillery barrages that rocked the city from all directions.