Battle of Rolly's Hill
| Battle of Rolly's Hill | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Part of Heinrik's Rebellion | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Battle of Rolly's Hill was an open field fought on the 6th of the Sun's Smile, 121 S.A. between the United Kingdom of Aaun and the Duchy of Adria amidst the Adrian Rebellion. At the time, Rolly's Hill marked the largest battle of the war - only to be later dwarfed by the Battle of Two Churches. Ultimately the conflict ended in a decisive Adrian Victory with the majority of the Aaunic host being slain.
Prelude
After the Battle of Velec fought a year prior, members of the Adrian War Council began drafting plans for a full-scale military invasion of the Lower Petra region. Concurrently members of the Aaunic hegemony expected such an attack to be carried out by the Adrian forces and began blockading several key chokepoints along the King's Road that stretched throughout Lower Petra. Checkpoints and gates were constructed by the Aaunic forces. However, due to the Adrian's road superiority, many checkpoints found themselves removed before the fight; most notably, the Aaunic Fort Felder was sacked and burned in preparation for the Adrian advance. With the King's Road emptied, Adrian forces sallied out of their capital while their combatants awaited their arrival in front of the Minitz bridge.
Battle
As battle horns blew across the Petran plains, the Adrian Host led by Leonid Vilac, Valentin van Aert, and Joseph Vasile quickly took the offensive; marching their army north, up the King's Road while scouting parties of Blackvale Calvarymen scouted the area for the Aaunic host. Upon the Adrians reaching the Brother's War Victory Arch, the scouting parties had located the Aaunic lines. From there, Adrian forces filed into three distinct divisions - the largest, the center consisting of primary infantrymen was led by Leonid while Valentin and Joseph each commanded a flank made up of calvary and ranged units.
On the other side of the field, the Aaunic Combined Army continued to entrench their position on the east side of the Reden River. Their military remained together as one division with the Aaunic King, Charles I, and a select few advisors - primarily Barclays - leading them. With the Aaunic host entrenching themselves, the Adrian Host continued their advance. The belligerents finally clashed on the 6th of the Sun's Smile with the Adrian army spreading out and encircling the Aaunic lines. Projectiles were exchanged between the two sides as the Adrian lines drew closer. Surprisingly, it was the Aaunish that eventually gave charge into the opposing lines, starting a melee mosh pit.
The fighting began to draw to an unamusing stalemate and uninterested in the result, the Adrian Commander, Leonid called for a false retreat of his ranks. Adrian lines quickly turned, fleeing eastwards. Aaunic forces gave chase and it was then the Adrians turned, launching volleys of arrows into their enemy's lines while they still held onto their swords. This tactic severally shattered the Aaunic lines, allowing Leonid's center to exploit a gap within the Aaunic ranks which ended in their complete encirclement. Precious few Aaunic soldiers managed to survive this encounter though, according to Adrian accounts, the King of Aaun along with his councilors and top noblemen were able to flee across the Minitz bridge and back into the walls of Neu Brandthof.
Aftermath
The slaughter that was the Battle of Rolly's Hill left a devastating taste in the mouths of the Aaunic Army while the Adrians returned to their capital of Velec to celebrate their victory. In the end, only one hundred of the Royal forces remained unscathed from the battle while the Adrians only lost a fifth of their initial rally. In the following weeks, Charles I and Duke Heinrik signed a peace armistice, which ceded the lands of Lower and Upper Petra to the Duchy of Adria along with promising that Aaun would petition the Canonist Church and the other Canonist States not to pursue the matter further. The ladder of which terms were broken not even a year later by the Kingdom of Aaun during the Massascare of Karosgrad.
