Battle of Illusk

"The gate's been breached; more men to the gates!"
- Illuskan Captain
Illusk was a human port city located at the mouth of the River Mirar. The city served as a trade hub and accepted activity from as far as Netheril. During the early months of 1767 NY a warband of orcs, lead by a sizeable giant contigent swept through the Illusk country side and eventually came upon the city of Illusk itself. A Netherese relief force organised by Jeriah Chronos was sent to try and lift the siege however their arrival failed to save the city and was ultimately forced to escort those who could flee the city to safety.

Battle of Illusk
Ogre's raiding the Illuskan border fort.
Date: 1756 NY Location: Illusk Result: Illusk destroyed; Giant Victory - Illuskian Refugees depart - Warband incursion halted
Factions:
Illuskan Army Netherese Relief Force	Orc Warband Giant Warband
Commanders:
(Illuskan Army) Jeriah Chronos	(Giant Warband) Vrush'Mor
Strength:
(Illuskan Army) ~5,000 Footmen ~2,500 Marksmen	(Orc Warband) ~6,000 Orc Footmen ~3,000 Orc Marksmen (Giant Warband) ~500 Ogres ~100 Hill Giants ~50 Frost Giants
Reinforcements:
(Netherese Relief Force) ~3,000 Footmen ~100 Mages	None.
Casualties:
(Illuskan Army) ~4,000 (Netherese Relief Force) ~2,000	(Orc Warband) ~5,000 (Giant Warband) ~300

Background

Within the Spine Of The World the Frost Giant Vrush'Mor had spent a number of years previous conquering the local tribes of hill giants and ogres, alongside a number of the tribal orc clans. What inspired Vrush'Mor's greed south towards Illusk is unknown, however in the early months of 1767 NY he gathered his forces and descended down the mountains and into the lands of Illusk with over six-thousand troops; a mixture of orcs and giant-kin.

Pre-Battle

Marching towards Illusk the city, Vrush'Mor's forces initially came upon the garrison of the Illuskan northern border fort. Caught by surprise and against such a sizable number were swiftly crushed. With the border fort behind them, the monstrous band swept through the northern countrysides, raiding and plundering the local farmlands as they went.

As new of the fort's destruction reached Illusk word was sent to the Netherese requesting aid, which when received lead to Jeriah Chronos organising a relief force and marching to Illusk.

Battle

Six days following the destruction of Illusk's northern border fort, Vrush'Mor and his army arrived at Illusk's walls, laying siege and continuing their raids of the surrounding farmlands. The next two days involved a number of failed offensives against the walls by the warband, however the Illuskans effectively drove back the invaders and held the walls. On the third day a renewed offensive was attempted, with the focus against the city's main-gate, resulting in it being effectively breached and a desperate defense thrown together to hold the gap.

A few hours after the initial breach, the cohesion of the defenders began to fragment and wavering soon broke into a mass route with the populace and soldiers flooding out of the nearby gates. Their fleeing columns were met by the arriving Netherese relief force under Jeriah Chronos. Committing their forces to the fray, the Netherese arcanists thundered into fray with explosive spells while their footmen surged into the gaps torn apart by the spells. Jeriah Chronos moved among the Illusk banners, re-organizing their routed lines to join in the renewed counterattack, resulting in a re-surged counter-charge against their prior-pursuers.

The fighting between the Illusk-Netherese coalition and Vrush'Mor's Warband continued on for the next half-a-day before resulting in a stalemate. On account of the casualties incurred the coalition were unable to unseat the giants and their warband, opting instead to safely escort the survivors back away from the ruins of Illusk.

Aftermath

Illusk was abandoned as a result of the failure to unseat Vrush'Mor's forces, however on account of the losses Vrush'Mor was unable to continue his incursion to the south and a week or so later withdrew back to the Spine Of The World, with the spoils of Illusk in tow.