Prologue: The Duke's Tale [2]

The reason I recalled that particular tête-à-tête of ours was that my current predicament shared a resemblance to that of nine years prior. Once again, my soldiers and I were encamped to accomplish yet another military campaign in order to vanquish the same enemies as back then. Today, we would battle to defend Kurlon, a border territory near the province of Ruggleford, dominion of Marquis Quillton, a vassal of mine and the nobleman who discovered the land of rich resources and great strategic importance.

Several hours earlier this afternoon, a war council was convened comprising of the division commanders of the Regalian Standing Army with myself at its head. We were joined by a bannerette who was a representative of the King. Since summer– the season when goblin forays were at its peak– was looming some weeks away, the provincial lords of Estveine and the minor lords of Regalia were occupied at preparing the defenses of their own territories and fiefs, thus try as I might I cannot acquire their whole commitment and support upon the subjugation of the tribesmen. Not to mention, upon consideration that not all nobles owned a standing army like an aristocrat of my stature, most of them were reliant upon peasant levies to make up the bulk of their troops. And since the planting season of spring had yet to be accomplished, it was not feasible to muster men at the expense of taking them away from their fields. Such actions would result to graver implications such as starvation and the constraint upon the land's economy. Therefore, I was impelled to write a letter to the King pleading for his support, and, upon the advise of Fenric and with Balmeister's acquiescence, to commission mercenaries to enlarge the size of the war host.

On the afternoon of this day, I was sat at the head of an elaborate table with my commanders to await the inception of the war council, when an abrupt visitor made his appearance.

"My humblest greetings, Duke Walruse!" the bannerette saluted upon setting foot on the threshold of our tent, his fist balled upon his chest. "In the name of our generous monarch, King Garrett Siegmund Durhamfortt, Thirteenth of His Name, the Royal Army sends its aid towards the Duchy of Regalia upon the defense of the realm against the aggressors from Norsmund. I, Sir Archibald Rofler, first bannerette of the Third Banner, is tasked by His Majesty to provide reinforcements for your army. I have arrived with four thousand men-at-arms and two hundred fifty knights from the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Banner of the Royal Army. An additional quarter of a thousand knights from the Crown Guard have joined your cause as well. And so me and I are at your command, Your Grace. Together, we shall repel those barbaric vermin out of your lands."

"I am forever indebted with gratitude to the King," I replied. "When you do come back to the Royal Capital, Sir Archibald, Tell His Majesty that I appreciate your partaking in this war personally as well. Please, draw a seat and join us upon this conclave. We are about to discuss our strategy for the upcoming battle."

"I am honored, Your Grace," the knight replied, installing himself at the seat opposite to mine.

"Lord General, let us commence."

"At once, my liege," Balmeister stood, addressing the twelve commanders, the Royal bannerette and myself. "Gentlemen, as you are all aware, each of you were summoned here from your posts to aid in the defense of the Duchy against the invading barbarians. Three weeks prior, a band of warriors from a Norsmundi tribe has crossed the border and raided the settlement working upon the mines of Kurlon. More than a hundred of our workers and soldiers were killed during the encounter before soldiers from Ruggleford reached the scene to help. Following the series of events, the chief-thane of the tribe that instigated the attack, Dariun Drunzelle of the Shiradonii tribe, didn't halt his hostilities after that raid. It is reported by our troops patrolling the border, along with the confirmation from Marquis Quillton's lieutenant, that the chief-thane's men had gone their way to plunder other frontier villages in the northeast of Estveine. To cut the long story short, due to those circumstances, a war between Regalia and Norsmund is about to ensue.

"The enemies are gathered on the base of a mountain close to the border, an advantageous terrain some four days' march from our camp. According to the scout report of Lord Theo's unit, the chief-thane has gathered an estimated contingent of twenty-three thousand men. Banners from other lesser tribes were spotted at their encampment, so it is safe to assume that we are not only to encounter one tribe alone. As of yesterday, however, no movements have been taken by them."

"What of our own forces' numbers?" the bannerette asked.

"From the First to the Twelfth Division of the Standing Army totals to more or less than eight thousand soldiers, including the fresh recruits the captains have enlisted from the city. Summing up the token forces of two thousand men from the other provincial lords, and the addition of the Royal Army's reinforcements makes our army grow to fourteen thousand and five hundred troops. Furthermore, we are expected to receive fifteen hundred sellswords from the Lost Oath Brethren and two thousand more from other mercenary companies from the Royal Capital. They are due to arrive today as a matter of fact."

"Each army's composition, I want a detailed report," announced I in a commanding demeanor.

"Certainly, my liege," Balmeister said, plucking a parchment from his garb. "A chiliad of our army comprises the cavalry. Archers from each divisions of the Standing Army make up a one–sixth portion, while the bulk of our main forces that consisted of halberdiers, pikemen and levied spearmen from our own infantrymen and the provincial lords' reinforcements number more or less half of the army, and the remainder are mercenary foot soldiers. As for the enemy forces, there is an estimated group of a hundred and fifty horsemen among them. Aside from that, there appears to be no apparent cavalry unit whatsoever. I have reason to believe that they may have been concealing their other mounted troops, as we know for a fact that the Shiradonii are known for their war chariots. But, worry not, Your Grace. Albeit there is an immense multitude of warriors in store against us, nearly all of them wield crude weapons and possess little to no armor at all. They may have outnumbered us, but we do have superior equipment and training. Not to mention, we have a mage squadron of twenty magic casters upon our side strong as a hundred times their number!"

"Overconfidence can lead to your death, old man," a woman suddenly interjected in an insulting tone. She was one of the commanders of the army, leader of the First Division comprised of the most elite veterans in the entire Regalian military. The commander's name was Eleanor Hilith. She was a hot-headed yet competent officer who was always at odds with the general. My first thought when I heard her was to step in quickly lest they escalate their argument that can lead to discord and chaos among the meeting.

At that moment, I already saw the bald head and cheeks of Balmeister fuming red with anger. Immediately, I uttered, "Please, Commander Hilith does have a point. I also advise you to not be too hasty to decide the outcome of the battle before it even began, lest we suffer defeat underestimating our foes. We should be guided by wisdom when planning, not arrogance, General Balmeister." As I said it, however, I immediately came to regret it when I saw a slight smirk in the commander's face and displeasure evident upon the general's, yet the latter forced himself to calm down soon after.

"I understand, Your Grace. Forgive my ignorance." He said humbly, yet I noticed him rolling his eyes from Commander Hilith.

"Have we decided on a strategy, then?"

"Quite so, my liege. The commanders and I plan to face the enemy in a field battle, employing a double envelopment tactic."

"A field battle, say you? That is risky, considering we are outnumbered by some five thousand."

"I am aware of what concerns you, Your Grace. But there are no castles or forts in Kurlon that we can possibly use. Kurlon was unoccupied territory before not too long ago. Our border fortresses are due south and the nearest stronghold we can get is the castle town of Gredthalt on the east boundary of Ruggleford. If we retreated there, the barbarians might gain a foothold in the region and conquer Kurlon altogether, the very land we are trying to defend."

"I see… then field battle is inevitable. However, if that is the situation presented upon us, we should at least dwindle their numbers to increase the odds of our victory. Delay the main battle as much as possible as they come to us. I want you all to organize skirmishing parties and pin point locations suited for ambuscades. I think that should be a good compromise for an advantage."

"It shall be done."

"And what of the battle tactics we would employ upon the day of the battle?"

"The same with standard formations, the army will be sundered into three flanks: the left, right and the center. The idea of our double envelopment is to place our infantry in the three flanks to form a wide column to prevent our numerically superior adversaries on encircling us, and before so the enemy would charge, archers and mages are to be put up front to break the enemy formation, if they have so to speak that is, whilst our enemies close the distance. Once the initial volleys are done, they are to retreat to the rear as reserves and let the men-at-arms do melee combat. We would then position our cavalrymen on both wings of our vanguard to deter attacks against our own flanks, and sooner to perform charge to break through the enemy lines, routing them from both sides, thus completing the double envelopment. Unlike our army, those barbarians are seemingly incapable of executing any military formations of tactical value whatsoever, as proven by past encounters, appearing to be no more than a disorganized mob, so we would use the lack of tactics in their army to gain an advantage and penetrate their ranks through a disciplined and coordinated attack. After we have outflanked them, we would of course surround them into submission, with our cavalry proceeding at their rearguard and our infantry to follow suit. With this tactic, we expect that we can make up the difference in numbers if we attack simultaneously in two separate directions, ensnaring them into a trap."

"Our cavalry stands only a thousand strong, hence dividing them in either flanks would render their impact less destructive. Not to mention, the risks for their failure might dictate the tide of battle going to the enemy's favor. I personally think that is unwise. On top of that, it would probably serve us well not to expose our cavalry in the flanks too early, considering that their cavalry is not sizeable enough to flank us. That being said, we should await for the most opportune moment to strike and keep them at our flanks, but deep in reserve. And using our infantry to also perform the routing maneuver would inevitably thin out our lines, would it not? Our formation has no guarantee of not breaking either. A loose formation can lead to our downfall, surely. Too much of a risk are at stake so I might not allow it. As such, I presume that a simple flanking maneuver would grant the cavalrymen a greater potential in contrast with double envelopment, would you not say so yourself?"

"My liege, I beg to differ. Our esteemed cavalry are mounted knights; elite and noble warriors! Their supremacy in battle is unquestionable. I would dare to say that it would suffice flanking the enemies with half their force whilst ensuring that those barbarians are encircled to cut their route of escape. It is of the essence that we completely annihilate them for their insolence of seizing our lands!"

"Such rigid and old belief," Commander Hilith again voiced out. "Knights are not invincible. And double envelopment? Do not imitate the tactics of antiquity when you are not as competent as you think you are. That tactic only works when you are certain the center can withstand relentless attacks! Do not underestimate the Norsmundi. We should be digging up earthworks and fortifying our camp instead of relying on offensive maneuvers. We are the defenders here, you know. We should be pushing our advantage as defenders, you arrogant, half-witted fool!"

"Shut your mouth, you lowly wench! I already told you, we have no time, manpower, nor equipment to create ditches. Our soldiers are for fighting, not working in the fields!" Balmeister rebutted.

"You really are a fool!"

"Enough, you two!" I exclaimed, halting their arguments. "While I do acknowledge your sentiments, General Balmeister, it is not our objective to obliterate them amid sacrificing many of our own. Completely cornering a desperate enemy must be avoided, lest they fight till death and we garner greater casualties. 'A wild beast is at its most dangerous state when driven into a corner,' or so what my old mentor, the great Royal strategist Lord Pinchlein, used to say. And those tribesmen are not exactly known for their peaceful surrenders. After all, our goal is not to kill, but to drive them away from our lands. As for your suggestion Commander Hilith, we are indeed lacking in equipment to accomplish such tasks."

Reluctantly, the female commander nodded. However, Balmeister was the opposite as he uttered the words, "But, my liege…"

"I concur with Duke Gaverone!" the bannerette abruptly said, rising from his feet. "Indeed, the single envelopment will not pose so great of a risk to our army compared to a pincer movement, especially if we are bested in numbers. We must also eliminate the risk of having an attenuated battle line, and using our infantry for offense might just do what we are trying to avoid. Furthermore, I do have a proposal for this war council to strengthen our formation. I am of no doubt that our enemies would position their best men upon the center vanguard. Our own intelligence report suggests that Chief-thane Dariun is a warrior particular on leading at the front himself, usually on horseback with his mounted retinue. As the general observed earlier, the enemy might have been hiding their horsemen somewhere, and if that is truly the case, I shall counsel you to place the Royal pikemen in the center flank. I guarantee the reach of the pikes can be formidable with its reach alone; a truly effective weapon to stop a charging cavalry. And if the lengthy weapons are combined with a tight formation, an impregnable defensive line can be constructed to secure the vanguard and the rear as well. And I will have you know, Your Grace, the men-at-arms I have brought with me were thoroughly handpicked and all veterans. So I humbly ask of you to let my unit take the brunt force of the barbarians' charge!"

"Not a bad proposition. That is mostly acceptable, Sir Archibald! I can see myself agreeing with that," Balmeister accorded. "Would not you have agreed yourself, my liege?

Pondering thoughts of approval, I replied. "Yes, I would expect no less from a commander of the Royal Army. Very well, it is has been decided, then. We shall deploy the Royal men-at-arms at our center flank supported by ranged troops from the rear. Have our cavalry charge to route the forces at an enemy flank but before that they should await orders and be kept in reserve until the time is ripe, and the rest of the infantry be distributed in the right and left wing assuming a defensive array. Is that well understood?"

"Aye, sir!" were the commanders' reply in unison.

"Glory to us all, for we fight for honor. Stay on your toes men, for victory shall be ours!"