Battle of Brindicci

The Battle of Brindicci was the last major battle during the Arenian Campaign, inspired by the death of Gaius Calenus. It is the first battle where Vibius Calenus was the true commander, without his father to advise him in his decisions.

## Background

In **478PR**, Gaius and the Calenus Faction began preparations for expanding the Nirvan border. To help, they drafted a series of legislation to help legalise their cause, having little opposition.

6 legions were then raised under the command of Gaius Calenus, Vibius Calenus and Gallio Aebutus to aid them in their invasion. The commanders took some time getting familiarised with their troops before marching on Aren in **479PR**.

The Nirvans first task was to secure their supply lines, doing so by pacifying the tribes between the Nirvan and Arenian borders.

After pacification of the tribes, they crossed the Arenian border, dealing with minor skirmishes. It didn’t take long for King Eros Scillo to send Prince Aleardo to go and attack them, the young commander using a new style of tactics which hit the enemy hard before retreating.

Eventually, Prince Aleardo fought the Nirvans in the Battle of Palebasso, almost getting wiped out when he was completely surrounded.

Again in the same year he fought the Nirvans at the Battle of Liorni, being forced to withdraw over a stream and cover his retreat with archers.

With two minor defeats, Prince Aleardo had to fall back to Durolipons, fortifying the city and was quickly besieged by the Nirvans.

The Siege of Durolipons was a costly success for the Nirvans, being able to take the city by force but unable to both defeat the Arenian army, or capture them. While their losses were quite small for a siege, they now lost their numbers advantage.

Needing a victory and enacting a scorched earth tactic, Prince Aleardo had the fates on his side when he accidentally ran into the Nirvan army with his forces at the Battle of Acela. Which he subsequently won.

Now that the momentum of the war had changed, the Nirvans were on the defence. To deal with this, in **481PR**, Gaius gave command to Vibius while taking a regiment of soldiers under him. The regiments task was to follow the Arenians and appear whenever they attacked, outnumbering and surrounding the enemy. It worked wonders and soon the momentum of the Campaign was back in Nirvan hands.

Suddenly in Asunak 1, Gaius died from illness. Sending the Nirvans into a rage, they marched straight to the Arenian army, leaving no time for either to find a suitable battle location.

## Battle

The battle was quickly started with the Nirvans pushing forward. During the chaos of the armies appearing, both commanders were able to successfully gather their troops in formation before pushing out. Believing themselves tougher due to the last major battle, the Arenians approached with a normal formation, with their heavy infantry on the wings, their cavalry on the flanks and a strong centre.

The Nirvans went with an arrowhead approach, throwing their javelins the moment they could. When the two sides hit, ferocious fighting occurred. Abnormal behaviour came from the Nirvans, who rather than fight like a disciplined force, fought angrily, taking unnecessary risks but making up for it with their superior training.

In order to stop the Nirvan momentum, Prince Aleardo sent in his reserves to push the enemy back. While it worked, it meant that his centre was now weak if the enemy were to break through, now putting a focus on his wings being successful. He did not notice the Nirvan Equite moving to the flank.

### The Cavalry Flank

Distracted by battle, Prince Aleardo continued to push his wings ahead, trying to get the advantage where he could, even if it came at a cost. But every attempt they made was blocked by Gallio, who kept a strong defence on both sides, with the triarii nearby if they needed to deal with enemy cavalry.

At the same time, led by Vibius, a detachment of Nirvan Equites moved around the enemy. Using the close nature of their left wing, their own soldiers were able to block the view, keeping the surprise until the final moment.

When the charge was called, the Arenians were hit hard on the side, using an angled approach in order to avoid getting caught in melee fighting. After the first pass, the Arenian right side began to crumble. It only took another charge under Vibius to force them to retreat.

Knowing the battle was in his favour, and that they still had the triarii to block, Vibius chased off the retreating enemy, killing many more.

With his right wing falling, Prince Aleardo joined the fray. Using what was left of his reserves to stop the enemy from completely surrounding him. Though it was to no avail, soon the centre began to crack and then, a full scale rout.

## Aftermath

Immediately after the battle is when the Nirvans got most of their kills, using their cavalry to hit the retreating enemy every chance they got. It didn’t take long for Aleardo’s officers to fall and get captured, leaving only the Prince to successfully escape.

By the time Prince Aleardo reorganised his army, most of them were dead, injured or missing. This changed his tactic back to the hit-and-run, though with a much safer and less effective approach.

Vibius, Gallio and the Nirvans celebrated their much-needed victory. While Gaius had died only days before, Vibius was able to gain a decisive victory and pretty much bring the campaign to its end, honoring his father. It didn’t take long for the two commanders to be hailed as imperator by their soldiers, giving them the right to request triumph from the Senate, which was accepted.