Battle of the Regents

## Belligerents

Iron Throne* House Lannister

House Tyrell

## Commanders and Leaders

**Aegon VI Targaryen** (not physically present at battle)Tytos II Lannister

**Janna Targaryen** (not physically present at battle)Mace II Tyrell

## Strength

40,000* 25,000 infantrymen, including knights
* 8,000 archers
* 7,000 other mounted soldiers

35,000* 17,000 infantrymen, including knights
* 9,000 archers
* 8,000 other mounted soldiers

## Casualties

~6,000* ~3,300 infantrymen
* ~2,000 archers
* ~700 other mounted soldiers

~10,000* ~7,300 infantrymen
* ~2,000 archers
* ~700 other mounted soldiers

The **Battle of Tumbleton**, sometimes known as the **Battle of the Regents**, is noted in Westeros as the first and only military confrontation of the Tyrell Uprising. The Lannister forces led by Tytos II Lannister, the to-be Regent, defeated a Tyrell army led by Mace II Tyrell, the father of the Queen-Mother, near the castle-town of Tumbleton in the Reach.

The Lannister victory was largely attributed to their use of a style of the oblique order. Though the battle resulted in a victory for the Lannisters, it came at a heavy cost, one which was speculated to be unrepeatable, prompting the two sides to negotiate a peace treaty. This treaty formally appointed Tytos II Lannister as the sole Regent of Westeros while also allowing the House Tyrell to return to court in King's Landing.

## Prelude

Following the death of Jaehaerys II Targaryen, his heir, Aegon, Prince of Dragonstone, succeeded him to the Iron Throne as Aegon VI. At the tender age of 8, Aegon was definitely unfit to rule in his own right, and thus, the Queen-Mother, Janna Tyrell, moved to secure her position as Regent for the minority reign of her son.

This wasn't met with friendly agreement, though, and a majority of the dissenters were seated upon the Small Council, the main advisory body of the Seven Kingdoms and the self-appointed Regency council in the event that a king is indisposed, too young to rule, or there is an interregnum. Among the councillors were Janna Tyrell (who had an honourary seat by Jaehaerys II's will during his reign), Tytos II Lannister, who served as the master of law, (name), who served as master of coin, (name), who served as master of ships, (name) who served as Lord-Commander of the Kingsguard, (name) who served as master of whisperers, (name) who served as Grand Maester, and, lastly, the head of the council, (name), who served as Hand of the King to Jaehaerys II.

From the councillors, there seemed to be a general consensus for whom would take up the office of Regent for the new King, but it wasn't the Queen-Mother; rather, it was Tytos II Lannister, chosen for his knowledge of the law of the Seven Kingdoms, steadfast and determined disposition, and utmost loyalty to the Iron Throne above all else. Despite seeming like the obvious choice, many were upset by this decision, most notably the Queen-Mother, who fled the capital to Highgarden, her family's ancestral seat in the Reach.

By the time the Queen-Mother reached Highgarden, word had already traveled to her destination of her imminent arrival (and the reasons for it). It is recorded by several members of Janna's travel entourage that the welcome they received by the rallied Tyrell armies was no more fearsome than it was inspiring. She was personally greeted by her father, Mace II Tyrell, who would then order for the armies to prepare to march upon the capital.

Word doesn't take long to travel in Westeros, however, especially not when it involves the movement of entire armies that have the intent of out-and-out invasion. A crime in itself for disturbing the King's Peace, of which the punishment is war and eventual death, the newly-appointed Regent ordered the armies under his command, both *ex officio* and from his homelands, the armies of House Lannister, to mobilize in defense of King's Landing - because if they weren't prepared for it, surely a sack of King's Landing was imminent.

In the capital, sometime during the night of the army's departure, supporters of the Queen-Mother's regency took the King and transported him to Highgarden on the orders of the Queen-Mother herself, whom was worried for the safety of her child, knowing that a sacking of King's Landing wouldn't do well on a child. Ironically, nobody reported his apparent kidnapping to the Regent until the next day, the day before the battle itself would occur.

After two days' march, the armies of the Iron Throne met with those of House Tyrell in the village of Tumbleton.

## Battle

The Battle of Tumbleton opened with the Tyrell armies making the first offensive move, deploying their archers to the front lines against the Lannister and Targaryen militia troops (which were traditionally regarded as hardly significant to a fighting force, given their lack of professional training and poor equipment). Low morale from the experience-lacking militiamen was a driving factor in the high morale of the Tyrell forces earlier on in the battle. Seeing as the Crown's militia was close to breaking, the Tyrell commanders committed a force of knights-on-foot to advance upon them, hopefully to drive them from the field, but the plan failed, instead driving them into the main ranks of the forces of the Crown, thus making the Lannister-Targaryen fighting forces stronger. While the Tyrell knights and footsoldiers were able to be engaged in closer combat, Tytos ordered a cavalry charge to drive them off the field.

Commanders would traditionally place their most experienced soldiers on the right, as was the place of honour on the battlefield. For Tumbleton, however, Tytos placed a large mass of troops on the left side of the columns, thus giving way to the oblique order that was used to give him the victory. Oblique order is used to break down the flank of an opposing force through sheer numbers and fighting experience, while the deadly and well-equipped right flank (the place of honour) holds back the opposite side of the enemy lines.

Mace made an attempt to flank the Lannister right column, which held House Lannister's most experienced troops: the household guard. However, by the time the cavalry reached the flank, the Tyrell infantry was sent into disarray by a barrage of arrows and the usage of large battlefield engines such as the catapult, which was used to hurl flaming projectiles at the enemy lines. Initially, the Tyrell infantry held their own until they were put under attack by Lannister fire arrows to go along with the catapult barrages. The battle seemed bleak by this point, but Mace was adamant in his fight against the injustice his house had been dealt.

By tradition, the Tyrells also had a standard battleplan of deploying their most heavily-armed infantry in a solid column, most of the time eight to twelve men deep. It allowed for both depth and width to come into play when advancing upon an enemy. They all advanced together to avoid giving the enemy a chance to find a straggling unit in the field by itself in the midst of the battle, because they'd surely meet their doom if that were the case. This formation had a setback, however; it was known to have a large drift to the right. To solve this, the Tyrell commanders placed their most experienced, highly regarded and, generally, deadliest troops on the right wing, much like how the Lannisters did. On the opposite end of the column, their troops that lacked the most morale, were the shakiest, or lacked any real influence in a battle would be placed on the left wing. Surely by this formula, the Tyrell soldiers would be organized with the household guard and the Lord of Highgarden's personal battle troupe on the right wing, with armed citizenry and militiamen on the left, and footsoldiers and knights-on-foot in the centre.

To avoid the chance for the Tyrell right to advance upon the Lannister left (since they were largely formed of militiamen and armed citizenry), Tytos broke tradition and sent forth his cavalry and a large number of highly-skilled infantry to the Tyrell right. Seeing annihilation in the near future, Mace began to pull his forces back from the field, leaving his rear-guard as his household guard and a main bulk of his army's mounted knights.

Tytos sent his army on the chase, hopefully to remove his opponent from the field entirely, when, by proxy, Mace sent one of his retainers, a young knight from his household, to deliver a truce. They met in a tavern, which was then cordially named as *The Regent*, to discuss the matters of a peace treaty. Mace II Tyrell, Tytos II Lannister, Janna Targaryen, and, later on, the eight-year-old Aegon VI Targaryen, were brought to the tavern for the terms.

## Aftermath

As an immediate result of the Battle of the Regents, a treaty was proposed the same day the battle itself took place in the tavern the warring parties met. Included within this treaty were the following articles;

* Tytos II is appointed as Lord-Regent of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm
* Janna Tyrell and the other members of the House Tyrell are permitted to return to King's Landing without facing ramifications.
* Aegon VI is under the direction of the Lord-Regent until the King reaches majority.
* The Small Council is under the direction of the Lord-Regent until the King reaches majority.