Battle of Contwaraburg (1597)

Battle of Contwaraburg
File:Contwaraburgbarricade.jpg Hold the barricades - Oil on canvas, 1605
Date 14th January, 1597 Location Contwaraburg, Brytene Result Ceasefire Drumhead Treaty signed
Belligerents
Template:Country data Castarcia Empire of Castarcia	Brytene
Commanders and leaders
Template:Country data Castarcia Empress Caroline	Queen Leila Ealdorman Torygg of Caldera
Strength
14,500	9,500 Of which 5,000 militia
Casualties and losses
300 killed, 700 wounded approx TOTAL: 1,000	150 killed, 300 wounded, 100 captured approx. TOTAL: 550

The Battle of Contwaraburg was the final battle of the Whaler's War between the Empire of Castarcia and the Kingdom of Brytene. Taking place on the western edges of the city of Contwaraburg, the battle was notable for the resistance of Brytisc militia members and the simultaneous wounding of both Empress Caroline and Queen Leila, the two opposing leaders of the battle.

The battle resulted in a ceasefire and the signing of the Drumhead Treaty, which ended the conflict between the two nations.

Background

In 1595, a Brytisc frigate had sunk a Castarcian whaler following territorial disputes. The Empire of Castarcia had responded by making war upon Brytisc assets in the area, evicting Brytisc merchants and attacking Brytisc properties over the course of 1595 until the Battle of Port Aspen on the 28th November, 1595.

The battle was a catastrophe for the Brytisc fleet, which lost almost 40% of its entire navy in one blow, and put an end to the colonial ambitions of the country. It took the Castarcians a year to organise their invasion, but by autumn 1596 they had set sail, and they landed shortly after Yule, marching uncontested to the large city of Contwaraburg.

Battle

Order of Battle

Brytene

The Brytisc army was not inconsiderable, and a force of 4,000, primarily infantry, was mustered to defend the city. Around 5,000 citizens also took up arms, ranging from hunting guns to spears and wooden axes. Queen Leila arrived with a unit of around a hundred Lantern Guards.

The defenders decided to barricade the main road to the city and the streets around it, piling wood and debris to form high bulwarks, complete with makeshift ramparts. Equipped with pike, musket, and halberd, the defenders also mounted several larger cannons in nearby houses.

The Castarcian Empire

The Castarcians had reckoned on a pitched battle, knowing that Contwaraburg had no walls or engineered defenses, and were surprised to find the Brytisc fortifications.

Preliminary moves

The Castarcians decided to dig in, throwing up earthworks and attempting to dismount the Brytisc cannon. Simultaneously, the Castarcian cavalry took advantage of the situation to ride around the northern edge of the city, surprising and capturing a wagon convoy bringing arms and supplies to the city and taking almost a hundred prisoners.

The assault

After almost a week of siege, with several scouting attempts forcibly repulsed, food was running low and the winter snows were beginning to worsen. The decision was made to attempt a full-frontal attack, and so the Castarcians formed up with Empress Caroline at their head and, under cover of cannonfire, moved up to the primary barricade. The Brytisc fire took its toll on the exposed column as it approached, but it was not enough to halt the attack and the Castarcians made it to the barricade.

The fighting was fierce and brutal, lasting for the better part of an hour as the two sides fought back and forth over the barricade, with fighting occasionally spilling into the buildings either side, which were quickly clogged and settled into a similar stalemate.

The duel

Empress Caroline mustered a volley of muskets and used them as cover to charge the barricade, at the same time as Queen Leila led her Lantern Guard in an attempt to sweep the exhausted attackers away.

The Empress and the Queen fought atop the barricade, with combat around them slowly coming to a halt as the tired soldiers watched their leaders duel. The two warriors were evenly matched, until Empress Caroline managed to deliver a crippling blow to Queen Leila's sword arm. The Bryton responded by drawing her seax and stabbing the Empress in the side, and both fighters collapsed, seemingly dead.

Ealdorman Torygg of Brytene and Leifteanant Bronwen, of the Empress's Sentinels, from Castarcia were instrumental in preventing further bloodshed, arranging a truce as both sides gathered their dead and wounded and tended to their injured leaders, hammering out a ceasefire over a broken drum.

Aftermath

See also: The Whaler's War

The Empress and Queen regained conciousness the following day and, though weakened, agreed to meet to discuss the future of the two nations.

The Drumhead Treaty, named after the original ceasefire arranged over the broken drum, established friendly relations between the two nations, as well as giving Brytisc merchantmen access to Castarcian ports and protection from the Castarcian navy, in exchange for a tax on goods moved and sold in Castarcian territory.