First Battle of Portus Regalis

First Battle of Portus Regalis
Part of the War of the Magpie and the Dragon
Anitosi's 1619 painting The Port is Stormed
Date 5 May, 1614 Location Portus Regalis, Scottopian Isles Result Cadenzan victory Cadenzan forces occupy the town
Belligerents
Cadenza	Empire of Exponent
Commanders and leaders
Teodos Molatiri	Marius Brucellus
Strength
2,800+ 80 ships	2,700 regulars 400 marines 300 militia 6 ships of the line and numerous smaller vessels
Casualties and losses
241 dead and 398 wounded	174 dead and 302 wounded 1 sloop sunk 6 ships of the line captured

The First Battle of Portus Regalis was a 1614 battle between a Cadenzan naval force aiming to capture the settlement of Portus Regalis in the Scottopian Isles from its Imperial Exponential defenders. It was the opening battle of the War of the Magpie and the Dragon, and is heralded in the Scottopian Isles as the beginning of Scottopian nationalism.

Background

The settlement of Portus Regalis was the Imperial capital of their holdings in the Scottopian Isles. Cadenzan explorers had identified it as the key to controlling trade in the isles and the southern Mare Ferum, and their privateers increasingly harassed Exponential shipping out of the port in the early 1600s. Under his own initiative, earl Teodos Molatiri led the navy of Canve via Torim Viqalka to seize Portus Regalis, believing he could take it and decisively hold the town against any attempt to retake it. His personal fleet was among the largest in the duchy, and he brought eighty warships with him - many times more than the Exponential naval garrison.

Battle

Molatiri's force appeared off Portus Regalis at night, under a waxing moon, on 5 May 1614. The Imperial garrison was caught unprepared and some began to flee their posts in the harbour forts after being fired upon by the large Canvian fleet. Following this, Molatiri ordered several landing parties to be sent ashore, and his troops began scaling the walls of the remaining forts. One by one, the Imperial colours were struck and Cadenzan colours were run up.

Once the preliminary forts were seized, the Earl of Canve shifted his ships against the tiny Imperial fleet mustering in the harbour, sinking a sloop and causing damage to the other vessels as well as port facilities. By dawn on the following morning, the Imperial governor, Marius Brucellus, requested terms, and the city was surrendered by the afternoon.

Legacy

The capture of Portus Regalis kicked off a far larger campaign, and was followed up by a raid on Monsa and a Cadenzan invasion in Imperial Kamalbia. Immediately after the fall of the city, local Imperial forces appealed to the Scottopian Kingdom and their native allies for assistance, and within weeks they arrived in force to wage the Second Battle of Portus Regalis, in which Scottopian forces reclaimed the city. Unfortunately, the victory was short lived, as Cadenzan forces burned the city as they withdrew, causing significant damage from which the city would take years to recover.