Siege of Rhewengrad

Siege of Rhewengrad Part of the Eighteen Years' War General Henry Rothesay Date: 1536-1537 Location: Cascadia, Grand Kingdom of Urguan Result: Orenian Victory Preceded by: Battle of White Mountain Followed by: Siege of the Iron Mountain Belligerents Holy Orenian Empire and Allies: Holy Orenian Empire Principality of Laureh'lin Ubba'Gorkil's host The Grand Kingdom of Urguan and Allies: Grand Kingdom of Urguan Dunamis mercenaries Commanders and leaders Holy Orenian Empire and Allies: John I, Holy Orenian Emperor Josef Vladov Henry Rothesay Athirius Roke † Grand Kingdom of Urguan and Allies: Belegar Ireheart Richard Revlis Strength Holy Orenian Empire and Allies: 23,000 men and elves Grand Kingdom of Urguan and Allies: 20,000 men and dwarves, around 5,000 garrisoned Casualties Holy Orenian Empire and Allies: ~3000 dead Athirius Roke † Grand Kingdom of Urguan and Allies: ~6000 dead

The Siege of Rhewengrad (Dwarven: Krazdan eron Kal'Rhewen) was a four month long siege during the Eighteen Years' War of the Urguanite fortress of Rhewengrad by the Imperial forces of John I, Holy Orenian Emperor and his generals Josef Vladov and Henry Rothesay. The dwarven forces were commanded by Lord Marshal Belegar Ireheart, with the notable Dunamis presence led by Richard Revlis. The fortress of Rhewengrad was a key fortification for both the Empire and Urguan, having been constructed on order of Grand King Rhewen Frostbeard near the beginning of the war.

Prelude

Emperor John's campaign against the Grand Kingdom of Urguan had proven to be successful thus far. The decisive victory at White Mountain had routed the remaining majority of the Urguanite forces, pushing them back into the fortress of Rhewengrad, one of two forts preventing any foreign invaders from attacking the capital of Kal'Akash. Josef Vladov and Henry Rothesay pursued the routing dwarves, setting up camp on a hill overlooking the fortress. On their part, the dwarves under the command of Belegar Ireheart attempted to create a defensive position in the fort. However, conflicting orders from the Urguanite government hindered their efforts, with no progress achieved.

In the Empire, Emperor John had created a blood pact with Rex Ubba'Gorkil. On the eve of the assault on the fortress, Ubba'Gorkil's host arrived at the camp, much to the dismay of the dwarven forces. The next day, Rothesay ordered an attack on the fortress.

Battle

The dwarves, believing a victory was confirmed due to their larger numbers, slept peacefully the night before. Belegar Ireheart felt it appropriate that his men enjoy a proper night's sleep on the eve of their guaranteed victory. The Imperial forces, however, arose much earlier in the morning. At Field Marshal Rothesay's orders, the men pushed their catapults to the rear of the fortress. Once set up, Rothesay ordered the bombardment to begin. The attack came as a surprise to the Urguanian force, who expected the attack to come from the front, and at a much later point in the day. Belegar quickly attempted to rally his forces to begin firing the fortress' ballistas towards the Imperial siege weapons.

The bombardment would continue for several days, with Orenian siege engineers forming a breach through Rhewengrad's walls. As the Imperial lines formed up, preparing to enter the fortress, Dunamian cavalry, led by Richard Revlis, poured out of the keep, heading directly towards Imperial men. Athirius Roke, seeing the threat that these horsemen posed towards the assault of the fortress, took command of a small detachment of Imperial cavalry, and counter charged the Dunamian horsemen. His attempt proved fruitful, successfully repelling the attack, at the cost of Roke's life.