Battle of Rietavas

## Aftermath

After leaving the Astyrian coast on December 1st, Admiral Adomaitis led the Liotainian fleet back south, returning to the Gulf of Liotain.  In doing so, he passed Anclados, who had hunted fruitlessly for the Liotainians through the month of October, before receiving orders to convoy a fleet of supplies and troop reinforcements to Svyturys, which occupied him for most of November.  Having finally heard news of the Liotainians cruising off Astyria, Anclados headed north with every ship he could muster, sailing from Isla Balagua on 2nd December.

The two fleets passed without contact, as Adomaitis steered a southerly course, arriving at the Syrellian port of Zarautz, where he purchased fresh fruit and naval stores, and tried to find word of Anclados' movements.  Having no intelligence about Firoccan movements and fearing being blockaded in a Syrellian port, Adomaitis quickly sailed for the Liotainian coast, arriving off Svyturys on December 24th, to the great dismay of its inhabitants.

### Blockade of Svyturys and Storms

Heading north, Anclados encountered the same storm which wrecked the homeward-bound Oriental convoy.  Unlike the storm earlier in September, the Firoccan fleet was scattered, and slowly forced to make its way back to various different anchorages for repairs.  Anclados' own flagship, the first rate *Devastadora*, suffered badly in the storm, losing all of her topmasts and sixteen crewmen overboard.  Two of the fleet's supply vessels were driven onto the Astyrian or Syrellian coast.  Returning to Firocco to regroup and repair cost Anclados time, and his fleet would not be fit to sail again until the end of February 1707.

Adomaitis maintained his blockade of Svyturys through January and February, using the port of Rietavas, seventy miles up the coast, as his base of operations.  While the landward defenses of Svyturys were formidable and had prevented outright Liotainian attacks since 1701, the seaward defenses were much less developed.  Even these defenses, however, proved formidable.  On January 22nd, Prince Llyras attempted to bombard shipping trapped in Svyturys harbour, but was eventually driven off by guns mounted on the fortified mole and the ancient harbour castle which protected the anchorage.  This problem, however, was solved by subterfuge.  Prince Llyras arranged for several soldiers in the garrison to be bribed, allowing a Liotainian landing party to take control of the harbour castle in the early hours of 7th February.

Anclados managed to reform his fleet in February 1707.  In spite of the necessity of relieving the blockade of Svyturys, he had to fight a lengthy political battle with other Firoccan admirals, notably Fernando Coraza, who tried to strip the fleet for his planned invasion and conquest of Breizh.  Admiral Mario Concepcion de Gracia also needed ships in order to escort the next outbound Oriental convoy out to Denishu and Dengfeng.  Anclados was forced to appeal directly to King Emmanuel and Count Carlos, who now served as naval minister.

With the Liotainian fleet now operating on the Encircled Sea, Admiral Coraza argued that the moment was ripe for the seizure of Breizh from the Liotainians.  Coraza believed that the loss of this prized possession would force the Liotainians to either recall their fleet or sue for peace.  This idea was particularly attractive to King Emmanuel, who liked the idea of adding Breizh to Firocco's dominions.

Count Carlos, on the other hand, accepted Anclados' arguments, but was still forced to balance between his three ranking admirals.  While the Liotainians received favorable loans from Celtica and Antargentina, the Firoccan treasury suffered the longer the war dragged on, and King Emmanuel feared that any Liotainian victory could result in the complete loss of Firocco's treaty ports elsewhere in the world.

Firocco's available coinage reserves were seriously drained by paying for Syrellian and Astyrian mercenaries to help bolster the garrisons of Svyturys and other treaty ports around the Encircled Sea.  Count Carlos correctly estimated that the government only had enough silver to pay the mercenaries for another six months.  The mercenaries had also proven to be somewhat of a liability, as they'd earned a reputation for looting and raping (sometimes even in friendly territory).  The Liotainians, in turn, promised to castrate captured soldiers, which severely limited the initiative of any mercenary soldiers operating in the proximity of the Liotainian Army.

Admiral de Gracia argued strongly for an increased naval squadron to escort the Oriental trading fleet to Denishu, Minfeng, and Dengfeng.  After the disaster of the 1706 fleet, de Gracia argued that a strong statement needed to be made abroad, where ripples from the war started to have their effect.  Although the Astyrian and Pictfearrian coasts were hotbeds for Liotainian privateers, some enterprising captains such as Katarin Pereire had sailed as far as Valduchac, where they caused havoc with poorly-guarded Firoccan merchants.  Local authorities turned a blind eye, or worse, actively abetted the privateers in exchange for a bribe.

Ultimately, Count Carlos attempted to balance all of these factors.  The powerful ninety-gun *Santo Henrique*, a longtime flagship, was reassigned to Admiral Coraza as his flagship, with Coraza in turn giving up two vessels, the *Errante* (64) and *Guerrero* (62) to bolster Anclados' fleet.  These two old battleships had participated in the Five Days Battle in 1701, but they had been placed in reserve afterward, and reactivated with less-experienced crews in 1706.  Anclados also lost one of his frigates and several of his light xebecs, receiving only the fifty-gun armed merchant ship *Levanto* (converted from a merchant galleon) as compensation.  Overall, this brought Anclados' fleet up to ten ships-of-the-line (with 664 guns), ten armed merchant galleons (428 guns), two frigates (of 32 and 28 guns each), and four light craft (48 guns total).

Count Carlos deemed this fleet sufficiently strong to fight the Liotainians, although Admiral Anclados continued to express concern about the coming battle.  He opined in a March letter to an acquaintance, "I lost my opportunity [for victory] in September; Fortune may not smile on us twice."

On 3rd March, the Firoccan fleet finished its repairs and once again went to sea.  Anclados was displeased by the performance of his newest battleships, as both *Errante* and *Guerrero* both managed to lose their place in line multiple times in the first two days at sea.  In order to help re-acclimate them to service, Anclados cruised half-heartedly off Isla Canardia for eight days, after which he turned south and headed for Svyturys.  He arrived off the port on the 18th of March, finding only the Liotainian frigates *Drakonas* and *Liutas*, which retreated to report to Admiral Adomaitis at Rietavas, where the Liotainians had been stocking up on their water supplies.  Adomaitis sailed on the 19th, and cruised off Svyturys on the morning of the 21st, challenging the Firoccans to come out for battle.  Anclados declined to sail, since his fleet would almost certainly be overwhelmed in detail as they left harbour.

Adomaitis cruised off Svyturys for most of a week while Anclados remained at anchor, resisting demands by his own captains that they sail in order to give battle.  In the meanwhile, the Liotainian Army began its carefully-orchestrated siege that would ultimately result in the Battle of Zarasai.  The mood among the fleet's sailors - and the Firoccan occupants of the city - turned decidedly bleak.  The surrender of the harbour castle - which had been captured less than two months earlier by Prince Llyras - did little to lighten the mood.

A *khamsin* on the morning of 30th March drove the Liotainian fleet further offshore, and Anclados finally saw the opportunity he'd looked for; he ordered all ships to sail.  Adomaitis attempted to beat back upwind in order to engage, but eventually steered northeast toward the open sea.  Anclados gave chase, and the Firoccans were heartened to see the entire Liotainian line turn to avoid action.

For his part, Adomaitis felt fairly confident in his ability to defeat the Firoccan fleet, but wished to avoid action for the moment in the hopes that the Army's siege would be advanced by the departure of the Firoccan fleet.  Army commanders had expressed a number of reservations about the possibility of several thousand Firoccan seamen joining the battle-lines, or moving their ship-mounted artillery into the defensive works; so Adomaitis was content to lead Anclados away from shore.

The two fleets remained in sight of each other on both the 1st and 2nd of April, jockeying for a superior position in light of constantly shifting winds.  At night, they tracked each other's progress by watching the stern lanterns, which illuminated all of the ships for view.  On the afternoon of the 2nd, the frigate HLMS *Trigaila* briefly dueled with the Firoccan *Pollex* in full sight of both fleets, with both ships separating after fifteen minutes of indecisive action.

Over the evening of the 2nd to 3rd of April, rain squalls blocked sight of the stern lanterns on both fleets, and they slowly separated on slightly divergent courses.  In the morning, Anclados turned back south, fearing that the Liotainians had attempted to get between him and the harbour of Svyturys.  Adomaitis turned northwest and started searching for the enemy.  Upon his arrival at Svyturys on the 6th of April, Anclados realized he had made a mistake, and decided to sweep back out to sea in order to find them again.  Without enough frigates to make a proper reconnaissance, Anclados missed the Liotainians on the afternoon of the 8th, although HLMS *Erelis* spotted the enemy and reported its position to Adomaitis.

### Brought to Action

Late on the afternoon of the 9th, however, Anclados passed to the northeast of the Liotainians, spotting them an hour before sunset.  The wind died shortly afterward, and the two fleets spent the night less than ten miles apart, waiting to see which direction the morning breeze would blow.  Adomaitis feared he'd been backed into the curve of the coast, without room to maneuver, and spent much of the night moving his ships into shallow waters approximately five miles east of Rietavas, and laying spring anchors for his ships.

These preparations paid off as the morning dawned and a gentle northeast wind allowed the Firoccan fleet to move toward the Liotainians.  Anclados felt the conditions were about the best possible for a general engagement, as the Liotainians had a lee shore behind them, preventing any possibility of retreat.  He did opine to his flag-captain, Alvaro de Barza, that he'd wish for several fire-ships as Count Carlos had used to good effect six years prior.

*Adm. Vincentas Adomaitis*
*Adm. Prince Llyras Vitkus*
*Adm. Bartolome Anclados*
 **Ships-of-the-line**:
*Karaliskas* (80) - flagship
*Rudeksna* (60)
*Perkunas* (60)
*Kerstas* (60)
*Solhynian* (60)
*Pergalingas* (60)
*Rekyva* (60)
*Sventoji* (60)
*Eletrenai* (60)
*Dvylika Apastalu* (44)
*Arkangelas Urielis* (44)
*Sv. Linas Misionierius* (44)
*Saltielis ir Reicele* (44)
*Desimt Isakymu* (44)
*Sv. Eusebius Apologetas* (44)
*Sv. Jonas Kankinys* (44)
*Arkangelas Remielis* (44)
*Sv. Matas Evangelistas* (44)
**Frigates**:
*Erelis* (32)
*Drakonas* (32)
*Trigaila* (32)
*Deimantas* (32)
*Saulys* (32)
*Liutas* (32)
*Vydas* (32)
**Light Ships**:
*Birzai* (18)
*Vadgirys* (16)
*Vilkas* (12)
*Devastadora* (110)
*Argentium* (70)
*Infante Montana* (70)
*Tribunal* (64)
*Errante* (64)
*Guerrero* (62)
*Príncipe Armando* (56)
*Conquistador* (56)
*Leyenda Negra* (56)
*Asedio* (56)
**Armed Merchant Galleons**:
*Levanto* (50)
*Aldina* (44)
*Kastor* (44)
*Santo Casimiro* (42)
*Destruidora* (42)
*Fúria* (42)
*Arcas* (42)
*Eneida* (42)
*Dulce* (40)
*Enyo* (40)
**Frigates**:
*Pollex* (32)
*Santa Clara* (28)
**Light Ships**:
*Dançarina* (16)
*Avanti* (14)
*Sabina* (10)
*Pimenta* (8)

The Liotainian fleet waited for the Firoccan line, led by the *Devastadora*, to approach, holding their fire until the two fleets were quite close.  At 7:15, they opened fire with a heavy barrage, largely aiming at the leading Firoccan ships, which could not immediately respond as they approached.

*Devastadora* received fire from Liotainian flagship *Karaliskas* and at least three other Liotainian ships-of-the-line, causing heavy casualties and damage, including the ship's rudder shot away.  The two flagships collided, and the Firoccan crews attempted to board *Karaliskas*, only to fall back by the ferocious defense of her crew.  Admiral Anclados was lightly wounded at around 7:20, but remained on deck, supervising the battle.

The Firoccan captains made every effort to seek out their opposite numbers in the Liotainian battle-line, which pummeled them with heavy fire as they approached.  However, the light winds did not allow the Firoccans to approach as quickly as Anclados wanted, and the Liotainian sixty-gun ships used the powerful cannon on their lower gundecks to deadly effect.

### The Frigates Join Battle

By 8:15, the two fleets were fully engaged.  The seven Liotainian frigates which remained unengaged at the rear of the Liotainian line, led by *Erelis* and *Drakonas*, took this opportunity to break out their sweeps and row to an upwind position of the Firoccan armed merchants.  The ten galleons had been among the last ships to engage, being slowest and posted at the rear of the Firoccan fleet.  The *Santo Casimiro*, in a spirited duel with the *Sv. Jonas Kankinys*, was the first ship to fall victim to this maneuver.  *Erelis* took up a raking position and *Drakonis* attacked the ship's unengaged starboard side, forcing her to strike her colours at 8:30.

*Fúria*, which had engaged *Saltielis ir Reicele*, struck her colors at 8:35, but shortly thereafter, the galleon was seen to be aflame; it exploded several minutes later, showering the ships of both fleets with debris.  *Saltielis ir Reicele* also caught fire, but quick action by her crew saved the ship.

The Liotainian frigates continued to slowly row their way up the battle-line, aiding the larger Liotainian ships-of-the-line in their respective duels.  This in turn freed larger ships, including *Sv. Jonas Kankinys*, to join in the fighting further up the line.  *Sv. Jonas Kankinys* moved forward and, in conjunction with HLMS *Perkunas*, forced the *Tribunal* to strike her colours.  The two ships then turned their guns on *Errante*, which had been dismasted during the battle with Prince Llyras and the *Rekyva*.

By 9:15, the result was no longer in question, as Liotainian ships, having dealt with the less-powerful Firoccan armed merchants, moved forward to bring overwhelming firepower to bear against the best Firoccan warships.  Aboard *Devastadora*, Admiral Anclados was unable to see much of the action astern due to thick smoke, and was largely ignorant of what was happening until HLMS *Sventoji* - towed by her longboats in the light breeze - began firing into her unengaged starboard side.  Anclados, having been wounded a second time shortly beforehand, gave the order to surrender at 9:30.

The Firoccan frigates and light craft, which remained upwind for much of the battle, fled when it became clear that the Liotainians proved victorious.  The *Avanti*, one of the Firoccan xebecs, took news of the defeat to Svyrutys, while the remaining ships sailed for Firocco itself. Both fleets suffered heavy casualties due to the ferocity of the fighting.  The Liotainian flagship *Karaliskas* was in danger of foundering, having spent nearly two hours fighting the much larger three-decker *Devastadora*.  *Rekyva* and *Kerstas* had taken heavy casualties, and *Arkangelas Urielis* had been dismasted during her fight with the *Levanto*.  Altogether, the Liotainians counted about six hundred dead, with roughly twice as many wounded, Admiral Adomaitis among them.

The Firoccans eventually counted sixteen hundred dead, including the entire crew of *Fúria*, which numbered nearly three hundred men; wounded numbered fifteen hundred.  In his official report to King Emmanuel and Count Carlos, Admiral Anclados wrote that "at no time did any man or woman shirk their duty or fail to give their utmost."  Adomaitis echoed the statement, noting "the Firoccan fleet fought like heroes and only yielded to superior force."

Upon his return to Firocco, Anclados faced censure for the defeat, and he would never again command a ship or fleet.  King Emmanuel refused to receive his report in person, and the admiral retired to his country estate, rarely discussing the matter even among close friends.  However, in correspondence to his brother, he privately opined "Count Carlos did not give me enough proper ships to do the job, and wasted them on that greedy fool Coraza, who I hold ultimately responsible."

Most of the captured Firoccan ships were towed into the port of Rietavas, only a few miles away.  The population of the city had been able to watch the battle from the city walls, and welcomed the victors with joyous cheers and trumpets.  The Liotainians gave significant thought to repairing the Firoccan ships and incorporating them into their own fleet, but only *Infante Montana* - rechristened *Rietavas* - would be repaired and used by the Liotainian Navy.  *Devastadora* had too great a draft to enter the harbour at Rietavas, and could only enter port after her guns and stores had been unloaded.