Battle of Sancte Ligorious

Battle of Sancte Ligorious
Part of the Kamalbian War (1550-54)
File:Gaulkammission.jpg Victorious Beriquois forces enter the walled mission
Date October 15-23, 1550 Location Near Present-day Loirette, Kamalbia Result Beriquois victory
Belligerents
Berique	Empire of Exponent
Commanders and leaders
Antoine Escalin des Aimars	Septimus Paradisus
Strength
500	200
Casualties and losses
12 dead Several wounded	56 dead 15 Kamalbians executed after the battle

The Battle of Sancte Ligorious was the opening battle in the Kamalbian War. The Beriquois victory here kicked off four years of warfare that ended with the Treaty of Marqueville, securing the southern part of Kamalbia for nearly half a century.

Background

After a series of devastating uprisings in Berique, King Jean VIII ascended the throne in 1549, intent on solidifying his hold on both the metropolitan territory as well as the overseas colonies. In order to accomplish this goal, one of his first edicts ordered all foreign subjects off of Beriquois soil. A number of Exponential missions and trade posts, however, rejected the edict, and many chose to arm themselves to actively resist any attempts at eviction.

On October 11, 1550, the Beriquois Kamalbian governor, Antoine Escalin des Aimars, gathered a force of nearly five hundred men and prepared to remove the Exponential presence by force.As the body of soldiers began marching south from Marqueville, however, they were spotted by natives with loyalties to the Exponential mission of Sancte Ligorious, and alerted officials there. Quickly, the Exponential settlers organized a defense and ordered the native Kamalbians within the mission to flee into the countryside. A number, however, decided to remain behind and support the Exponential settlers in the coming battle.

Battle

On October 15, 1550, the Beriquois forces arrived at the mission and sent an order to the garrison to surrender. The Exponential defenders responded with cannon fire, initiating the siege. Sporadic fire was traded back and forth over the next several days as the defenders began to wear down both their stocks of ammunition as well as food.

On October 22, des Aimars finally decided to make a decisive strike and moved his troops within easy musket range of the fort. The commander of the Exponential garrison, Septimus Paradisus, knew he had to dislodge the Beriquois from that position, so he ordered an assault with his entire force across the open field. Seeing the Exponential movements, des Aimars ordered his soldiers to charge directly at Paradisus's line. Paradisus ordered the men to hold their ground and fire a volley. The regulars obeyed the command, and supported by two swivel cannons, they inflicted several casualties on the oncoming Beriquois. A number of settlers, however, fled back to the mission, leaving Paradisus and the regulars greatly outnumbered. He subsequently ordered the rest of his force to retreat to the fort as well.

des Aimars reformed his troops and kept up heavy fire on Sancte Ligorious. Paradisus ordered his troops to return fire, but they aimed too high, inflicting few casualties, and the swivel cannon fared no better. To add to the garrison's troubles, heavy rain began to fall that afternoon, and the defending troops were unable to continue the firefight because their gunpowder was wet.

As night began to fall, des Aimars again sent an emissary under a white flag to negotiate. Paradisus did not allow the Beriquois into or near the mission, but sent two of his own men, to negotiate. As negotiations began, the settlers, against Paradisus's orders, broke into the liquor supply and became intoxicated. des Aimars explained that all he wanted was the surrender of the garrison, and the settlers could go back to Hesperidesia. He warned, however, that if they did not surrender now, they faced the potential of a massacre.

Paradisus received the terms from his men, and realizing the dire situation agreed that the mission would need to be surrendered. On the morning of October 23, the garrison marched out with drums beating and flags flying, and Paradisus handed his sword to des Aimars.

Aftermath

After the garrison marched out, the Beriquois forces separated Exponentials and Kamalbians, and brought the Kamalbians off to one side for questioning. The natives were then separately each asked to recite the Lord's Prayer, and those who could not were summarily executed before their comrades as the appalled Exponential regulars were marched off as prisoners. True to their word, however, des Aimars allowed the clergy and other armed civilians to surrender their arms and return to Hesperidesia.