The Siege of Dunningham Castle

The Siege of Dunningham Castle, also known as the Battle of Dunningham Castle or sometimes as the Battle of the Chorus River, was one of the final battles of the Unification War. It was the largest and bloodiest engagement of the Isarian final offensive, and ultimately led to the capitulation of the Brier Commonwealth and the formal end of the Unification War.

## Prelude

With the recent implementation of tanks, radio communication and radar scanning technologies by the Isarian Military, the situation for the Brier Commonwealth and its remaining allies had deteriorated rapidly. In addition to their improved arsenal, Isarian units possessed a new level of coordination that the Allies simply could not match. The entire allied frontline collapsed under the pressure, and the leadership of the Brier Commonwealth came to the conclusion that the war was all but lost. Knowing that they could not defeat the Isarian Empire, the General Staff of the Brier Military placed its last hopes in the natural defensive line provided by the great Chorus River. Running the length of their entire border with Ulgira and Moaria, and nearly reaching the sea along the border with Sanua, It had served time and again as the Commonwealth’s first line of defense. This time, it would also be their last.

As the remaining Moarian and Ulgirian forces enacted a fighting retreat, the Commonwealth withdrew all of its forces to the riverline and hastily began constructing fortifications at every single crossing point. One such location was the ancient and formidable stronghold situated on Dunningham Island on the Moarian border. Built over three centuries before the Unification War began, Dunningham Castle had a long history of withstanding even the longest sieges and had since become something of a historical site for the Briers. Nevertheless, the severity of the situation and the crossing provided by the fortress overruled any objections to preserve the site, and preparations were made to incorporate it into the Chorus Line. The 7th Fusilier Division under the command of Colonel Pierson Hale, and numbering at a mere 5000 men, was deployed to the Castle, along with surviving elements of the 3rd Field Gunnery Company. In addition, several mixed units composed of surviving troops from various allied nations--most notably Dren, Moarian, Ulgirian, Vitelan, and Solernan--were organized and deployed to assist the Briers, numbering an additional 350.

## The Battle

The first minutes of the siege were marked by the screams of dive bomber engines as they delivered their payloads into the castle’s stone walls. The Isarians launched several waves of bombers, creating holes for their troops to enter through as Brier machine guns offered what little resistance they could. Following the bombing raids, Isarian infantry, armoured cars and tanks of the 56th and 58th mechanized alongside the 12th Kirenan Elite Riflemen, 22000 men in total lead by Lt General Grigory Antonoff, launched a full frontal assault against the Northern section of the Castle, aiming to overwhelm the beleaguered defenders. The first shots were fired by Brier field guns, which scored multiple kills against the more lightly-armoured vehicles in the Isarian formations. Isarian T-26 and T-60 tanks quickly returned fire, inflicting moderate casualties. Though the Isarian forces possessed numerical and technological superiority, the limited entrances to the interior of the Castle allowed Brier defenders to bottleneck the Isarian advance, and additional field gun positions and machine gun nests situated on the edge of the river outside the walls inflicted additional losses on the invading troops, including multiple infantry squads and even several tank kills.

With their first assault wavering, Isarian tanks refocused their fire, swiftly eliminating the majority of Brier defenses placed outside the fortress. Colonel Hale made use of the distraction, repositioning his field guns and infantry inside the Castle in the hopes of luring the Isarian forces into close quarters combat and depriving them the use of their artillery, lest they fire on their own men in the crossfire. Antonoff took the bait, anxious to gain whatever ground he could, and Isarian infantry and tanks marched directly into the Brier ambush, costing the lives of dozens of soldiers--mainly Kirenan--as well as several armour cars and tanks, before a foothold could be secured. The Isarian push into the fortress was slow and bloody, resulting in heavy losses on both sides as infantry elements fought in and among the smattering of homesteads and other structures within the bounds of the Castle walls.

To the relief of Hale and his men, Antonoff ordered his artillery to hold fire and instead pressed his attack into the fortress. Additional Isarian troops and tanks poured in through the openings, many of them falling victim to volleys from well-placed field guns and machine gun positions. Intense fighting persisted well into the afternoon, thanks in large part to the expertise and guile of Colonel Hale as well as the stubbornness of General Antonoff, who on multiple occasions rejected the recommendations of his advisors to retreat from the Castle and bombard it with their artillery guns. After several hours of fighting however, the Brier numbers had begun to dwindle. In spite of the ineffectiveness of Antonoff’s head-on tactics, The Isarian General had more than enough troops and assets to replace his losses while the Briers could not. Wave after wave of Isarian forces whittled away at the increasingly desperate Brier defenses, and soon the Isarian had secured both of the Castle’s interior bridges.

With over three quarters of his men either dead or incapacitated, Colonel Hale enacted a final stand just outside the center of the fortress, mustering what few machine guns and field guns remained. The Brier troops, with the fate of their country hanging in the balance, fought ferociously and without thought of surrender, but were quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught of Isarian troops. Colonel Hale himself was injured by the explosion of an Isarian tank shell that cost him the use of his left arm, but continued to fight with his pistol until he was shot and killed, and the majority of the 7th Fusiliers met similar fates. With enemy resistance crushed, Antonoff deployed his remaining forces to root out any stragglers and clear the many wrecked tanks and vehicles so that additional Isarian army units would be able to cross the river without incident.

## Aftermath

When the smoke had cleared, Antonoff’s forces had suffered 11457 casualties, over half his combined strength, along with numerous support trucks, armoured cars, and tanks rendered inoperable and beyond repair. By contrast, the defending force had sustained near-total losses, with only 27 survivors accounted for.

Though the Siege of Dunningham Castle had only lasted six hours, it was still the longest battle of the Isarian final offensive, and by far the most costly. Nevertheless, it served as the final nail in the coffin for the Brier war effort, prompting the Brier Commonwealth to issue a universal cease-fire and unconditional surrender.