Battle of Karel Brod

The Battle of Karel Brod was an important skirmish during the Farar's Crusade, between a Tomasite militia and a small host of Grishing's Crusaders. The battle was a victory for Grishing's forces, though they lost many more than the Tomasites.

## Background

A Farar in Buorna, called Tomas of Buorna, began preaching that the faith was corrupt, and should be reformed from a military organisation to a peaceful one, claiming that the bishops held far too much power over the people, and that the faithful could live peacefully with those who worshipped the other gods. Karl IV, Bishop Supreme, declared Tomas a heretic and a traitor to the faith, and all his followers corrupted by the influences of dark gods. A crusade was organised, and forces from across Juhnvechteya set out toward Buorna.

## Lead Up

As the army of the faithful crossed into Joraje, they began to pillage the land, heading toward Buorna. When they came to a village, if there were any signs of Tomasite leanings, they would slaughter the inhabitants and burn the town. Those that resisted were killed, though those towns which presented the Tomasites of their villages to the crusaders might be spared.

Following the refusal of their pleas to Johazlos Taepe, Duke of Joraje, the Tomasites began to rally into militias to defend their homes and their families. Ill equipped, the Tomasites used any weapons they could find, such as old swords, large agricultural flails, woodcutting hatchets and hunting bows. These militias, using their knowledge of the land and local terrain, proved adept at laying ambushes against the faithful, dealing heavy casualties to the knights before melting back into the woods, with little casualties of their own. They would avoid engaging the crusaders in the open field.

Their lack of bladed weaponry proved to be somewhat of a boon to the militias, as their two handed flails, mauls, and maces could smash through the armor of the faithful, while a sword or an axe would have been deflected, and did not require much training to deal a devastating blow.

Several small skirmishes would occur as the army advanced nearer toward Buorna. In a bid to slow or even stop the crusaders, a large force of Tomasites gathered at the ford of Karel Brod, near the town of Karlehof. The ford was located in a shallow gorge, amidst a forest, and was the only crossing for 10 miles.

## The Battle

Grishing's force arrived at the ford in the mid morining, and saw before them a force of about 100 Tomasite militamen, formed into a single battle, on the other side of the ford. Eager at the prospect of a fair fight, thirsty for revenge for their fallen comrades, and ignoring the orders of their captains, many of the men-at-arms of the faithful mounted an unorganised charge across the knee deep water.

As the charging cavalry reached the midpoint of the steam, from the higher, wooded bank, more Tomasites emerged from the undergrowth, and began loosing arrows into the knights. At the same time as this devastating volley flew, the Tomasites in the road retreated and reformed a few feet behind, exposing stakes they had planted amidst their ranks. The first horses to reach the shore impaled themselves on the sharpened wooden poles, and yet more shied away from them, throwing their riders. The Tomasites set upon the unhorsed crusaders with their blunt weapons, killing many.

The arrows from the archers on the cliffs had caused many of the horses to throw their riders in the ford, causing many more of the heavy cavalry to drown, unable to get up in their armor. Soon, they focused their efforts onto the confused mass of man on the other side of the stream. Volley after volley poured into the faithful, causing many casualties. Count Jens ven Erleous, commander of this contingent of the army, was struck down by an arrow which pierced his mouth.

The Tomasite infantry on the ground, who had by now finished killing the cavalrymen who had made it to their side of the river, began a general retreat. Seeing the infantry flee, the crusaders took heart, and charged across the river. Holding their shields to their right in an attempt to take some of the arrows, the faithful began to cross the stream, only to be ambushed by another company of archers from the left, causing yet more casualties. However, undeterred by this turn of events, the crusaders continued their charge forward.

Once they reached the side of the shore held by the Tomasites, they began to charge up the road and try to scramble up the cliffs. At this point, the Tomasites unleashed their final trick, with the infanty, by now at the top of the gorge, set a wagon filled with pitch and tar aflame, and heaved it down the steep path, where it crushed many crusaders, sending panic through the ranks. The crusaders retreated back across the river a final time, and out of ammunition, the Tomasite archers retreated, melting away into the woods.

## Aftermath

Following the battle, the crusaders were devastated. More than three hundred of the faithful were killed, and their advance was delayed by a few days. During this time, the Tomasite militias would gather more strength, and Buorna would be able to finish the last of their defenses.

Seeking revenge for their defeat and embarrassment at this band of peasants, the faithful proceeded to the town of Karlehof, where they demanded the town throw open its gates. When the burghers complied, the crusaders charged in, and slaughtered the entire population, whether they were followers of Tomas or not. The heads of the townsfolk were mounted on stakes, an were lined upon the road from the Karlehof to the ford.

Following this battle, the crusaders would become even more ruthless, and would have no more mercy on the Tomasites they captured. The Tomasites, hearing word that the crusaders could be defeated in a fair fight, took heart, and began to hold out even more desperately.

By the ford today lay a monument, a cairn of stacked stones, upon which is a sharpened wooden stake, a sword, and a great helm. Nearby is a large burial mound, holding the bodies of each of the knights who fell.