Siege of Roseminster Fortress

## Of Masonry and Men

The Siege of Roseminster Fortress was the single largest landing operation of the War of Vile Men, conducted under the orders of Kodian Field Marshal Henry Weinbacher, with the intentions of taking or destroying the massive military complex known as Roseminster Fortress. The siege would last for a number of months, and naval combat will take place, almost nonstop, for the entire duration.

## Forces:

### Kodian Empire:

1. 68th Reconnaisance Battalion- 1,200 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~110 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~30 light artillery pieces.
2. 34th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~200 motorized transportation vehicles, extended medical corps.
3. 35th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~300 motorized transportation vehicles, extended siege corps.
4. 36th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~200 mechanized transportation vehicles, fortification supplies, maintanence corps.
5. 37th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~150 motorized transportation vehicles, ~70 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~40 antitank cannons.
6. 38th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~200 motorized transportation vehicles, extended logistical corps.
7. 39th Assault Division- 10,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~300 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~500 heavy artillery guns.
8. 40th Command Division- 40,000 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~2,000 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~400 light mechs, ~3,000 motorized transportation vehicles, extended command staff.
9. 46th Armored Division- 400 assorted armored elements (light to medium tanks), support vehicles, support infantry.
10. 57th Artillery Battalion- 50,000 assorted artillery pieces, 13,000 antitank cannons, 11,000 antiaircraft guns, support vehicles, support infantry.
11. 76th Airborne Battalion- 1,200 paratroopers, assorted equipment, 120 transport planes.
12. 26th Reiniger Division- 10,000 troops, assorted equipment, transportation vehicles.
13. 97th Naval Blockade- ~2,500 assorted naval vessels, support vessels.

### Union of Birmingham:

1. Roseminster Fortress Garrison Force: 1,000,000+ soldiers, assorted equipment, 25,000 assorted armored elements (light, medium, and heavy), centuries of defensive positions, self-sufficient agriculture and industrial backbone, ~40,000 antitank cannons, ~15,000 antiaircraft guns.

### Kodian Empire:

1. 68th Reconnaisance Battalion- 1,200 infantrymen, assorted equipment, ~110 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~30 light artillery pieces.
2. 34th Assault Division- 13,000 infantrymen, ~500 motorized transportation vehicles.
3. 35th Assault Division- 15,000 infantrymen, ~280 motorized transportation vehicles.
4. 36th Assault Division- 12,000 infantrymen, ~500 mechanized transportation vehicles.
5. 37th Assault Division- 18,000 infantrymen, ~240 motorized transportation vehicles, ~170 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~60 antitank cannons.
6. 38th Assault Division- 17,000 infantrymen, ~320 motorized transportation vehicles.
7. 39th Assault Division- 20,000 infantrymen, ~480 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~100 heavy artillery guns.
8. 40th Command Division- 80,000 infantrymen, ~3,590 mechanized transportation vehicles, ~240 light mechs, ~5,690 motorized transportation vehicles.
9. 46th Armored Division- 3,000 assorted armored elements (light to medium tanks).
10. 57th Artillery Battalion- 3,000 assorted artillery pieces, 5,000 antitank cannons, 400 antiaircraft guns, support vehicles, support infantry.
11. 76th Airborne Battalion- 1,200 paratroopers, assorted equipment, 90 transport planes.
12. 26th Reiniger Division- 4,000 troops.
13. 97th Naval Blockade- ~1,780 assorted naval vessels.

### Union of Birmingham:

1. Roseminster Fortress Garrison Force: 1,000,000+ soldiers, assorted equipment, 25,000 assorted armored elements (light, medium, and heavy), ~40,000 antitank cannons, ~15,000 antiaircraft guns.
2. Roseminster Fortress: ~1,347,907 civilians.

## Timeline:

1. Roseminster Fortress was identified early on in the war as a major point of resistance. It was determined by Kodian High Command that it would take years of fighting to take the island. It was the largest uniform military complex in the world, housing almost 10 million people in total, and was about 120 miles ling by 100 miles wide. The fortress had been founded several centuries before the war's beginning, resulting in enough fortifications to hold off an attack of any size. When the war began, no Kodian general wanted to take the fortress on, but the Kaiser demanded that the fort be handled.
2. Identified as the primary defensive position fof Freaach's entire coastline, holding the only garrison of true Union troops (the rest being colonial volunteers or conscripts), it was determined that the fortress had to be taken in order to secure Freaach. To do so, an army of over 100,000 Kodian men were enlisted to take part in the initial siege, although this number would grow dramatically as the casualties increased.
3. The fortress's unique geography, which consisted of craggy sheer cliffs and short sandy beaches, forced Kodian troops to land in these specific areas, which were covered in fortifications and heavily entrenched. Kodian forces landed on the beaches, using low-tide and the very shallow water to allow for tanks to drive up the beaches with the troops. The first 3 months of fighting would take place on the beaches, as wave after wave of Kodian troops landed and died to the interlocking fields of fire, artillery, mortars, tank positions, and bunker systems. Naval bombardment was constant, and air raids occurred every few days.
4. Unable to breach the initial beaches after over 4 months of continued attempts, paratroopers were deployed over the island, hoping to disrupt enemy troop movements and sabotage infrastructure. Only about 25% of the deployed paratroopers made it to the ground, as the island's thousands of antiaircraft flak cannons blew a massive majority of the planes out of the sky before they were ever even able to deploy their troops. Those paratroopers that did land were quickly killed off or captured.
5. After another failure, it was determined that the island would need to be taken using other means. What followed was 2 more months of daily air raids and constant naval bombardment, this time aiming for civilian targets. By the end, the infrastructure had been damaged to the point of minimum functionality, and any major storage depots had been destroyed. All that remained were minor depots, the underground bunkers, and the military bases that were covered in too much AA.
6. Another month of Kodian landings eventually met success, with several beachheads being scrounged after 6 months of fighting. These holdings came as a result of Kodian ambushed and night raids, where troops would scale the massive cliffs and assault or sabotage the established defenses before retreating back down the cliffs and back to the waiting boats.
7. The island's defenders fought with scary fervor and enthusiasm, defending their home to the death. As the Kodian forces had predicted, the Union dogs were cornered and acting like true animals, lashing out wildly at the encroaching enemy. It was determined that the civilian population would need to be culled and heavily punished for their acts of war against the occupying forces. As such, Kodian Reiniger Squads were deployed to follow behind the main frontline and police the civilian elements that the Kodians came across, eventually wiping a swathe of death across the island's outer regions and slowly working their way inwards. Following the battle's conclusion, the Reiniger Squads were reassigned and all "liquidated inhabitants" were swiftly replaced by Kodian soldiers and their families, who were tasked with colonizing and policing the island dueing its occupation.
8. On the dawn of the first day of the 8th month of continued fighting, Kodian Field Marshal Henry Weinbacher laid eyes on the island's last remaining stronghold. Castle Colchurch stared back at the Field Marshal, taunting him with each passing day. The siege of this final complex would begin later that morning.
9. Castle Colchurch would fall just 2 weeks later, following a massive bombardment and waves of Kodian troops. The Siege of Roseminster Fortress would take close to 9 months of continuous fighting and planning, but it would result in far more benefits than had previously been expected.

## Aftermath:

With the fall of Roseminster Fortress, the Union of Birmingham was no longer able to aid Freaach via sea routes, forcing the supplies to take the several week's journey across the Erdic Ocean. This new delay would prove fatal for the defending forces, as they quickly became undersupplied and outnumbered. Roseminster Fortress also struck a crippling blow to the morale of the Union of Birmingham, who had operated under the assumption that the island was all but uncrackable. With Kodian genius military strategists now confident in their abilities to take on the Union of Birmingham, Field Marshal Henry Weinbacher would secretly be assigned to begin working on plans to invade the Republic of Truseau, having provided a sufficient show of force to the other nations of the world.