Battle of Seygrid

"Tamaseb's lines near Seygrid", by Theo Loub, 2002

## Combatants

 Kingdom of Liv
 Hendwil Realm

## Commanders

 King Crovis I †
 Princess Tatiana Liv †
 Somo Einamo
 Prince Karl

 Groch
Hendwil †
 Tamaseb †
 Atash †

## Strength

2,000 men100 cannon

2,700 men164 cannon

## Casualties

1,500-1,600 killed400 wounded

1,300 killed500 wounded
200 captured

**The Battle of Seygrid** (16th September 2002) was a decisive engagement between the Priomic forces under King Crovis Liv and the Realmic forces under Dictator Groch Hendwil. The battle was a result of rising tensions between the Hendwil Realm and the new and powerful city-state of Priom'h.

The battle is considered to be one of the most important in Imperial history, as the annexation of the Hendwil Realm led to the founding of the Empire by General Liv's second-in-command, General Somo. General Liv would not live to see the founding, as he died of wounds from the battle not long after the battle ended.

## Prelude

The city-state of Priom'h and its rising power led to Hendwil building fortifications at the border and keeping a close eye on the city, raising tensions at the border. Hendwil had been planning an invasion for several months beforehand, and considered the city's leadership as incompetent and inexperienced. He finally sent an ultimatum to General Liv on the 14th of September, calling his rise to power and the holding of an army as a violation of the Realm's hold of the region, and ordered him to step down, or face war. He rejected the ultimatum, and war was declared.

Due to how close both Priom'h and the Realmic capital of Seygrid were, it was clear a single decisive battle in the middle would decide the victor of the campaign. As such, the next day, both armies set out to meet one another. Both lines met at the night of the 15th, and had set into quarters for the night, for a battle that would take place the next day.

## Battle

Not long after the sun rose on the 16th, Hendwil ordered his artillery regiment to barrage the Priomic lines. It was soon clear to Liv that Hendwil outnumbered him, and that he had far more cannon than he did. It was also known that Hendwil had regiments of fearless war veterans who would throw themselves into the battle without hesitation. However, the regular regimental soldiers were inexperienced, and afraid of battle, especially because they did not want to fight for their Dictator, who was becoming very unpopular with his citizens.

As a result of the barrage, Liv ordered the soldiers to pull back, but ordered his left and right wing to slowly move forward, creating a wedge or V formation. The left wing was the cavalry regiment, commanded by Princess Tatiana, while the right wing was mainly artillery and special light infantrymen, commanded by General Somo. Liv then ordered Somo to send his light infantry to the right wing of Hendwil's army. The resulting skirmish forced the fearful Realmic soldiers to pull back. This allowed Somo to advance the artillery forward, and it opened a barrage at the enemy. Hendwil responded by charging his cavalry forward, however the cavalry was repelled by Liv's infantry squares, though the artillery regiment suffered numerous losses.

At this point, it was near mid-day, and Liv, frustrated at having to continuously defend attacks, decided to launch a counterattack. He led his infantry center forward, which was kept protected from flanking by Princess Tatiana's cavalry. Both lines met, and engaged in heavy firing. Liv ordered his men to keep moving, and the dithered Realmic soldiers, afraid of engaging in bayonet combat, were forced to retreat. With the Realmic center in disarray, the whole line was pushed back, and the soldiers retreated back to Seygrid. Hendwil retreated to his castle, and ordered the soldiers to keep Seygrid protected, hoping to force Liv to engage in a siege. Princess Tatiana ordered the cavalry to chase down the retreating soldiers, and many of them were sabered down. During the charge, the Princess was shot in the abdomen by one of the retreating soldiers. She fell from her horse, and her aides quickly took her back to the city. Her father, Liv, would also be severely wounded in a sword fight during the assault. General Somo had to take command of the army as Liv was also carried back to the city.

Upon surrounding Seygrid, the soldiers stormed the walls of the city, and engaged in heavy fighting with the garrison, and had suffered very high losses. The artillery was brought forward, with far more cannon now, as many were captured from Hendwil's batteries as his army retreated. General Somo ordered a brutal cannonade, and the resulting barrage completely destroyed the city walls, and many of the city's buildings were destroyed. Both sides suffered disastrous casualties, but by the evening, all of Hendwil's men, due to the continuous artillery attack, had either been killed or had surrendered. General Somo had only 500 fighting men remaining, with Hendwil's elite regiments having dealt severe casualties during the city fight. General Somo, from outside Hendwil's castle, ordered him to come out and formally surrender, and that if he didn't comply, the castle and city would be "blown to the high stars". Hendwil responded by sending his aides of around 20 men with muskets out to shoot and kill General Somo. They came out, pretended to negotiate, and quickly fired at the general. They failed to hit him, and the aides were subsequently captured alive, and brutally punished by the Priomic soldiers. General Somo then gave the final order to deliver a barrage of cannon, and ordered them not to stop until all of the remaining cannon ammunition had been depleted, The soldiers then barricaded the castle doors, and evacuated any remaining citizens from the city.

## Aftermath

General Somo left the army to return to Priom'h to check on General Liv. From there, he could hear a deafening cannonade that reduced the city of Seygrid to a size of around 3 or 4 intact buildings, and a massive pile of rubble. The army staff, now headed by Colonel Teek, found Hendwil's body, which was then stripped and left on the pile of rubble. Teek then ordered the soldiers to arrange for the Priomic casualties, and to gather the wounded. By midnight, the work was done, and the weary troops returned to the city, of whom only around 500 were left completely intact. The battle left 1,500 soldiers dead, and around 2,000 wounded, with around 700 in critical condition. Among the casualites were Princess Tatiana and General Liv himself, both of whom would die of wounds from the battle.

## Legacy

The battle is widely remembered in the Empire as a pivotal step to the creation of the Empire, and is widely celebrated in Imperial culture. Most historians and military officers today remember the battle as a very hard fought victory, with many citing it as a Pyrrhic victory. Both armies were decimated after the battle. One in six men of the Priomic Army either died or was wounded in the battle. General Somo later said of the battle to his aides "We were so sure we would be crushed. We were outnumbered, and Hendwil's household troops were unbeatable. Yet Hendwil himself managed to make every mistake imaginable, retreating when he should advance, and advancing when he should retreat. He truly deserved that loss, and died a coward, in his castle, terrified as he was blown to bits."

The battlefield today is completely changed, with many parts of it now converted to become part of Priom'h City's expansion. Some areas, such as Hendwil's Castle's remains, and a few buildings of old Seygrid, are left untouched, and are kept as artifacts of the pivotal battle.