War:Petran Civil War

Petran Civil War
Date: 112 S.A. - 113 S.A Place: Commonwealth of the Petra Result: Exile of Constanz, Reassertion of the Archduchess Renilde I's ownership of Valfleur and its surrounding vassals Belligerents Loyalists & Allies: Petran Loyalist Partisans Rebels & Allies: Petran Rebels Commanders Renilde I, Archduchess of the Petra Constanz I, Archduke of the Petra, Consort of Renilde

The Petran Civil War was an internal conflict waged between Archduchess Renilde Temesch et Moere and her husband the Archduke-Consort Constanz Novellen. The conflict began after the Archduchess Renilde was accused of having an affair with Prince Marius Audemar of Haense, and her husband Constanz who leveraged popular support from the citizens and nobility sought to attempt and depose her in a coup d'état while she was visiting the Kingdom of Hanseti-Ruska for diplomacy. While the Archduchess was in Haense, she issued private letters to summon back her loyal exiled knights Sir Paul Montalt and Valentin Mareno. While she was away, Constanz seized the town of Valfleur using the Sons of Petra. Over the course of five months, the Commonwealth of the Petra broke down into two opposing factions, the Loyalist Partisans who pledged fealty to Archduchess Renilde I, and the Sons of Petra Resistance Movement who pledged loyalty to Constanz.

Skirmishes, Battles, and Sieges

• 6th of the Sun's Smile, 113 S.A. - Battle of the Commonwealth - Loyalist Partisan Victory

Timeline

• 112th of the Second Age
  • The Archduke-Consort Constanz Novellen accuses Archduchess Renilde I of having an affair with Prince Marius Audemar of Haense.
  • Soldiers under the command of Constanz seize Valefleur while Archduchess Renilde I is away convening with Sir Paul Montalt and Sir Valentin Mareno, as well as the King of Hanseti-Ruska Georg I. Sir Paul Montalt hires the Ferrymen for 2.5k minas for raid time operations.
  • Sir Paul Montalt assumes control of the counter-coup and leads a combined force of Petran Republican Forces (PRF), the Brotherhood of St. Karl spearheaded by Georg I and Prince Marius Audemar Barbanov-Bihar, and the Ferrymen. The forces erupt through Valfleur and then briefly pester the Sons of Petra and their allies in the Courteis Hale, the Archduchesss' court and castle. Mysteriously, both forces are compelled to de-rally and de-escalate tensions, and fighting resumes the following month.

• 113th of the Second Age
  • In response to the attempted coup, Archduchess Renilde I releases a denunciation on her husband and accuses him of overreaching past his station as consort. She accuses Constanz of violating the Petran Constitution and attempting to usurp the lawful ruler of the Commonwealth.
  • Archduke-Consort Constanz issues an official declaration of war on Renilde, intending to seize Petra due to her alleged affair.
  • The Knights Council of Petra in service to Constanz calls for Archduchess Renilde to face trial for charges of adultery.
  • As the Knights Council of Petra holds a trial for Archduchess Renilde despite her absence, a raiding party of Ferrymen and Petran Republican Forces attacks the proceedings and captures Archduke-Consort Constanz. The Knight Paramount Arthur de Lyons is slain defending the Archduke-consort. Constanz detained in Valfleur and brought to the Courteis Hale, which Renilde's army has also taken, where peace negotiations are held at sword point. Talks eventually break down after hours of discussion, and an altercation begins between the captured Petran Rebels and Sir Paul Montalt's retinue. In a rage, Sir Paul Montalt moved to kill one of Constanz's soldiers and then Dame Catherine of Furnestock attempted to leap in front of his blade. Sir Paul knocked her aside, crippling her, and is said to have spared Constanz and his rebels out of remorse, opting instead to gouge out one of the Prince of Balian's eyes and releasing him and his men from custody.
  • The Capital of Valfleur remains heavily contested as both sides wage war over the course of a few months. A third altercation between the Ferrymen and the Petran Republican Forces on one axis and the Petran rebels on another culminates in the capture of Constanz's soldiers and their summary executions in Castle Moere. The Petran Loyalist Partisans continue to operate out of Castle Moere and periodically sally out to do war with the Petran rebels in the streets of Valfleur, even going so far as to seize the city in a raid and turning a massive arbalest on the gate, destroying it with the siege equipment before lighting it on fire and returning to Castle Moere.
  • The Petran Loyalist Partisans sally out of Castle Moere to meet the Petran Rebels in battle. The two armies meet in the center of Valfleur City Square, sparking the Battle of the Commonwealth. The Loyalists numbered 1900 soldiers, and the Rebels numbered around 2400 soldiers. Sir Paul Montalt and Sir Valentin Mareno lead the charge and begin first by launching volleys of arrows into the city, raining a parade of missiles down into the ranks of the rebel soldiers. A hundred men charged too early and were slain by a counter-push of Sir Paul Montalt's partisans, while the rear-guard led by Prince Marius Barbanov-Bihar fatally wounded the enemy flank squad commander Gregor Malinov and killed 99 of his soldiers. As Gregor Malinov was dragged off the field wounded, the rebels' commander Sir Edmond of the Blackwald issued the orders for a charge alongside Prince Constanz Novellen, the rebel forces clashing with the ranks of Montalt's Petran Partisans and resulting in a fierce mele. At the end, Sir Paul Montalt and Sir Valentin Mareno were injured, and Constanz and his own field commanders were carried off the field as their forces broke down around them. At the end of the battle, 1,100 Petran Partisans still stood, as the enemy soldiers fled and were captured or executed.