Battle of Cape Bronson
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The Battle of Cape Bronson was a naval battle during the Eighteen Years' War between the Urguanite navy and the Imperial navy of John I, Holy Orenian Emperor and his generals Josef Vladov and Archduke Augustus. The dwarven ships were commanded by Grand Marshal Jorik Grandaxe, alongside Richard Revlis, who commanded the Dunamian presence in the navy. The battle marked the opening of the Avarian front by the Empire during the Eighteen Years' War.
Prelude
The defeat at Khro'Nogaak had deterred Imperial advances in the Valley of Flowers, halting Emperor John's campaign in the Urguanian heartlands for a year. At the behest of Joseph, Baron of Franzenberg, the Imperial fleet was mobilized, gathering in Dogger Bay. After months of preparation, the fleet set off for the island of Avar, hoping to take the dwarven holdings there. On their way there, they were beset by the dwarven fleet, who had heard of their plans to invade Avar. Ireheart dropped anchor in the path of the Imperials' way, forcing a naval skirmish.
Battle
Vladov had not expected Jorik to face him on open seas, and the sudden attack came as a surprise. A storm appeared to be arriving, and to fight during the storm would cause innumerable casualties to both the dwarfs and the Imperials. The Imperial force was outnumbered, and caught off guard by the dwarven navy. Vladov immediately ordered his ballistae to begin firing on the dwarven vessels. While doing some damage to the dwarven transport vessels, they were unable to cause Jorik to call off his attack, as Vladov had been hoping. In retaliation, dwarven ballistae returned fire, striking Imperial transports. Just then, the winds picked up, pushing dwarven vessels out of their previous positions.
Ceasing this opportunity, Vladov ordered his archer and infantry ships to begin sailing forward towards the dwarven fleet. As his archers passed alongside the dwarven vessels, they would open fire, their longbows unleashing a hail of arrows on the dwarven infantry. Following the initial skirmishing, men-at-arms would proceed to board the dwarven vessels, cutting down the dwarven infantry and capturing their boats. Jorik saw that his fleet was falling apart at a rapid pace, and the battle was quickly turning into a land battle aboard ships. His dwarven crossbowmen were unable to counter the Imperial archers, and his weakened dwarven infantry lacked the strength to combat the Imperial infantry. The situation quickly fell out of his hand, and Jorik ordered a withdrawal back to Avar. Seeing this, Vladov would order his fleet forward, making haste to land on Avar as soon as possible to assault the next dwarven citadel.
Aftermath
The victory reinvigorated Emperor John's campaign against the Grand Kingdom, and recruitment was high. More importantly however, the battle had shown that the Empire maintained naval superiority over the other nations. Josef Vladov's reputation in Oren and in Urguan rose, with many coming to admire his skills as a battlefield commander. After victory celebration, Vladov would order the boats to dock the transports near Hoar Hill, while the siege ships proceeded to begin bombarding the citadel. Fieldmarshal Henry Rothesay would soon come to take command of the army, on the emperor's orders.
