Topic of the Month: The Battle of Richland, a Tactical Analysis
[Battlefield correspondent: Jacques Montpellier. Ed.]
Forces Involved
Zuyevo: 9,800 troops. Commander: Prince Yuri
Brusilov.
The 3rd and 9th Imperial Shock Troop Battalions (1,500).
The 7th Imperial Fleet (1,800).
The 1st Imperial Hussars (2,500).
The 11th Imperial Zuyevan Infantry Division (4,000).
Richland: 3,400 troops. Commander: Sheriff EJ
Wilson.
Richland City Guard (500).
Richland Militia (1,500).
Cimarron Colonial Marines (500).
Iron Claw Defenders [an elite mercenary unit. Ed.]
(300).
Texeiran Privateers (600).
Background
In the last 20 years or so, Richland has grown from a small
Cimarron trading colony to a large city of 12,000 people,
administering a dominion of 38,000 souls. The catalyst for this
extraordinary growth has been the opening of new trade routes from
Richland to the Empire of Zuyevo, which had finally managed to
establish itself on the Yalu Bay in AC 998 with the founding of the
port of Kishinev. Most of the trade is conducted by the LB Trading
Company of Cimarron and its Texeiran allies who protect the
shipments of trade goods (mainly furs and gold) to the Savage
Coast. Given the Texeiran presence at Porto Maldição
and Porto Escorpião, they have been able to choke Yalu Bay
in their iron grip denying passage to all other trade vessels in an
attempt to corner the trading routes with the Empire of Zuyevo and
also the Yezchamenid Empire. This is where the interests of the
Royaume de Renardie intervene. For it is we who established the
first trade contacts with the mighty Zuyevan Empire. I, Jacques
Montpellier, military attaché to Renardie's diplomatic
mission in Kishinev have been instrumental in convincing the
Zuyevans that Renardie would be a far better carrier of their
trade. Unlike the greedy Texeirans we would only levy a moderate
sum to export Zuyevo's produce to the wider world. The first step
in restoring Renardois dominance of the Yalu Bay trade routes would
be to expunge the Cimarron and Texeiran presence from Richland and
then hopefully from the two Texeiran ports that have a chokehold on
the bay.
Timeline [from the Diary of Monsieur Montpellier,
military attaché to the Renardois diplomatic mission at
Kishinev, Kishinev Oblast, Empire of Zuyevo. Ed.]
Felmont 1, AC 1016: Over winter, the Zuyevan
authorities have been putting together an expeditionary force with
which to conquer the LB Trading Company port of Richland. Today the
Zuyevan expeditionary force sets off for Richland from the town of
Zablin in the occupied province of Drazde. The land force comprises
4,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry with a large supply train, and is
closely shadowed by the 3,300 strong naval forces on its journey.
The expedition is led by Prince Brusilov, renowned as one of the
better tacticians in the Zuyevan military and a veteran commander
of the Bylot Hills actions against Hule of AC 1012-1013. No
military resistance from Richland is expected for at least two
weeks, although we suspect that the Texeirans may at least know of
our movements-a Texeiran spy-ring was rooted out in Kishinev last
month, but I suspect that a few spies may still be active.
Felmont 18, AC 1016: The expeditionary force has been
making good time along the seaboard known as the Grass Coast for
more than two weeks now. This morning, the Zuyevan vanguard came
across the first outlying settlement that is claimed by Richland. A
small hamlet of no more than a handful of farms, the Zuyevans
surrounded the area as if it might hold an enemy army. Within
minutes they had set fire to all the buildings they could find
looting what they could before the farms were completely razed. I
found this undisciplined activity quite disturbing, and it appeared
to me that the Zuyevan officers were even condoning the wanton
destruction. Prince Brusilov's aide de camp, Viscount Machetov,
explained that the troops were merely a little overzealous and that
he would convey my concerns to the prince and would ensure that
such activity did not occur again.
Felmont 19, AC 1016: Our naval escort left us at dawn
to make an end run around Green Cape and blockade Richland before
the army arrives there in two days or so. For the remainder of the
day the Zuyevan army continued along the coast toward Richland. The
rough grasslands were quickly giving way to rolling pasture land. I
noted that the troops seemed a bit more restrained today and no
farms were ransacked.
Felmont 20, AC 1016: In the early morning the
expeditionary force arrived near the village of Wainford which is
located on the western bank of the Great Northway River. The
Richland garrison at Wainford we knew would be jealously guarding
the ford over the river that broached the western bank only 3 miles
north of Richland. In fact we could see that town in the distance
from our position perched on a low ridge outside of Wainford. From
our vantage point we could see frenzied activity in Wainford, as
Richland troops scurried about hastily putting together last minute
defences-clearly they had not had as much warning of our approach
as I had previously thought they might.
Prince Brusilov ordered elements of the 1st Imperial Hussars to
test the defences of the village. Soon the elite Zuyevan cavalry,
about 300 of them in all, charged down from our position to the
outskirts of Wainford. They penetrated deep into the village before
skirmishing with some Richland city guards and some rural militia.
However, it was soon apparent that the tide of battle was turning
against the hussars, and they began to flee headlong from the
village. At first I was shocked, surely the elite mounted troops of
Zuyevo could take on a bunch of farmers and lazy colonial troops.
But then I realised the full brilliance of Prince Brusilov's
strategy. As the hussars fled the skirmish, the undisciplined
Richland militia pursued them away from the safety of the village.
Seven hundred hussars sprang from their hiding places behind the
ridge outflanking and then enveloping the militia. The slaughter
was mercifully short. That night I was in Prince Brusilov's new
headquarters in Wainford when the final casualty lists were brought
in from the day's fighting. Twenty-three hussars were dead along
with a further 46 wounded, while the bodies of almost 300 militia
and 75 Richland city guards were counted. The remainder of the
Richland troops had fled the village and had regrouped on the other
side of the ford with reinforcements from Richland. There was going
to be a mighty battle tomorrow.
Felmont 21, AC1016: Battle of Richland Harbour. This
morning I awoke expecting Brusilov to be preparing to attack the
ford where more than 1,800 Richland troops had drawn up. Instead
Machetov explained that the Zuyevan commander was awaiting
developments at sea first. Zuyevan forward scouts had reported the
approach of 12 Texeiran warships toward Richland where the 7th
Fleet and 3rd and 9th Shock Troops had set up a blockade of
Richland harbour. Sure enough, I could soon spot the masts of the
Texeiran ships on the horizon. I rode with Machetov and a small
cavalry detachment to the mouth of the Great Northway River, a
little more than 2 miles south of Wainford from where we could
better view the unfolding battle. The Zuyevan 7th Fleet was a much
larger formation of ships however, including 10 galleys, 24 sailed
warships, and the mighty flagship of Admiral Nikolaev which was
called the Noit Angelsk-I think it loosely translates as the
Dark Angel. The 7th Fleet adopted a standard battle pattern with
the galleys moving up to ramming speed in the middle, and the
warships turning broadside to unleash a hail of ballista bolts and
catapult stones.
The Texeiran warships predictably turned broadside themselves which
seemed surprisingly stupid as it would make them perfect targets
for the charging galleys. However, soon huge puffs of smoke could
be seen rising from the broadsides of the Texeiran warships. This
was soon followed by a rumble-like thunder that rolled across the
waters to our position. To our surprise, the bow of the lead
Zuyevan galley exploded in a cloud of splinters, and the ship
skewed sideways, broke up and sunk. The same fate befell three of
the other galleys. It appeared from our distant position that the
Texeiran ships were firing some kind of solid round projectiles on
flat trajectories straight into the Zuyevan ships. As each
projectile fired a large puff of smoke appeared from the location
of the shot. We were mystified as to what this weapon could be-the
only thing I could think that it looked like was a wheellock pistol
firing, but on a much larger scale... surely not!
As it appeared that all was lost for the Zuyevan fleet, with five
ships sunk, three listing badly and at least four others on fire,
one of the Texeiran ships exploded in the most magnificent
fashion-as if the whole ship was full of smoke powder to
which someone had carelessly applied a lighted match. At this, the
other Texeiran ships seemed to take fright, and they quickly let
out their sails to flee the battle. Admiral Nikolaev saw his
opportunity and ordered the remaining galleys to ram the fleeing
ships. Two were sunk in this fashion, before they could get fully
under sail. The Dark Angel itself tangled with one of the fleeing
ships, even from our vantage point we could see Zuyevan marines
leaping onto the deck of the Texeiran ship. After ten minutes of
fierce fighting on the deck of the ship, the Zuyevan naval flag was
hoisted from the Texeiran warship's stern-indicating that she had
been captured. Now we would find out what this secret Texeiran
weapon was all about!
The eight remaining Texeiran ships soon fled southeast from
Richland as the 7th Fleet limped back to its position at the
blockade. Word came from Admiral Nikolaev that he was sending some
ships on a long-range patrol to make sure that he had plenty
forewarning of any future Texeiran attack. However, I suspected
that the Texeirans had conceded Richland, confident they could
still control naval access to the Yalu Bay from their colonies on
the Yalu Strait. In the meantime Admiral Nikolaev requested that
Prince Brusilov please hurry up and take Richland, so that he could
park his damaged vessels in dry-dock.
Even though it was late afternoon, Brusilov, realising that a
number of Zuyevan ships would be lost from the damage sustained in
the battle if they remained at sea, ordered a full frontal assault
by the 11th Division on the ford. In typical Zuyevan fashion,
Brusilov was clearly happy to sacrifice his infantry in a bloody
assault of the highly defensible Richlandian position. The
unfortunate nature of this decision soon became apparent as the
superiority that the 11th had in numbers was eliminated by
channelling the troops over the narrow ford. Wave after wave of
infantry rushed across the ford, leaping out of the knee-deep water
only to be impaled on the pikes and swords of the Richland troops.
Even though the light was fading, it was apparent that the river
was turning red from the blood of all the soldiers cut down on the
ford. Eventually as night fell, Brusilov conceded defeat and
withdrew the shattered remnants of the 11th Division from the
bloodbath. Casualties were high, but the true number would not be
known until the morning.
Felmont 22, AC 1016: Impasse. Clerics of the Zuyevan
Orthodox Church did their best for the wounded and dying that were
recovered from yesterday's morass. Machetov estimated the Zuyevan
losses at 1,400 killed or drowned, and perhaps 350 wounded. It was
difficult to tell how many of the Richland forces had been cut
down, but from our position in Wainford it was evident that they
have suffered heavily as well. The rest of the day was spent
tending to the injured. In Richland harbour, two of the badly
damaged warships of the Zuyevan squadron gave up their fight to
stay afloat and sank.
Felmont 23, AC 1016: The Battle of Richland. Today at
dawn, from our observation posts, word came that the Richlanders
had strengthened their positions at the ford-digging in to
defensive positions on the eastern bank of the Great Northway River
and supported by reinforcements sent from Richland. In all, Zuyevan
spotters estimated that there were perhaps 1,200 Richland troops
entrenched on the other side of the ford. Now, Brusilov put Plan B
into effect. The artillery on the decks of the ships of the 7th
Fleet began bombarding Richland to keep the defenders' heads down,
so that by the time they realised what the Zuyevans were doing it
would be far too late. The two battalions of shock troops that had
been waiting offshore in their galleys surged forward landing just
north of Richland, in between the town and the ford. Leaving their
galleys protected by a small cadre of troops, they launched
themselves at the unprepared rear of the Richlandian defences at
the ford. As the Richlanders turned to face this new menace the 1st
Imperial Hussars charged across the ford catching the Richlanders
in a pincer movement. The ensuing battle was fierce as the
Richlanders tried to defend themselves from this onslaught, but
they were never going to win. While the Richlanders fought
valiantly, and the Iron Claw Defenders in particular, within an
hour they had surrendered. Over 700 troops were captured. The way
to Richland was now open wide.
Felmont 28, AC1016: The town of Richland is a
reasonably defensible fortress, ringed as it is by six foot thick
stone walls that rise to a height of thirty feet. However, from the
sea it is not well defended-on the insistence of the Texeirans who
wanted to make sure that the Richlanders didn't get any ideas about
trying to usurp Texeiran dominance of the region. Another problem
for Richland is that it does not have anywhere near an adequate
water supply within the walls of the city to sustain the garrison
and the population. This is more a consequence of the quick growth
of the city than anything else-but now it was clearly a significant
problem given that the city had been surrounded on all sides for
five days.
Seeing that the Texeirans had abandoned the Richland garrison,
Sheriff EJ Wilson, the Cimarron commander of Richland decided to
parley with the Zuyevans. His envoy arrived in our camp this
morning and negotiated with Brusilov for more than an hour before
terms were finally agreed to. The Cimmarons would surrender the
city to Zuyevo in return for free passage for the sheriff and his
staff on a ship. So, in the early afternoon, the Zuyevan forces
entered the town triumphantly and the Cimarron governors left on a
merchant ship tied up in the harbour.
While Zuyevan losses were relatively heavy that did not seem to
bother Prince Brusilov. As Machetov explained to me the losses were
mainly amongst the sailors of the fleet and the infantry-and they
were mainly made up of serf-soldiers and there were plenty more
where they came from. This best sums up the Zuyevan military
machine I think. The country is large, the population is large, the
army is large... and its officers (mostly of the nation's nobility)
are happy to sacrifice troops for territorial gains. This is the
Empire of Zuyevo's first foray this far south, but I think that
they might pose a significant threat to the Savage Coast in coming
years. Although, this new weapon of the Texeirans was
mystifying-even now it was being examined by the Zuyevan armourers.
Perhaps this weapon will help to tip the balance of the military
equation in Texeiras' favour. Either way, I can see the Yalu Bay
region descending into bloody conflict in the near future.