Siege of St. Barthélemy

Siege of St. Barthélemy
Part of the Exponential Occupation of Hifax
"The End of the Great Siege" (Matthius Alaricus)
Date 1659 – 1661 Location St. Barthélemy Result Imperial-Hifaxian Treaty of 1661
Belligerents
Empire of Exponent	Sovereign Military Order of Montesa-Hifax Cadenzan ratafran
Commanders and leaders
Septimus Barbo Gaius Asparius Marcellus Tagnarius	Prince Lucas Deer I Sebastian Boodsen Vesrik Taipor
Strength
1,200	150 knights 200 armed civilians 46 Cadenzan ratafran

The siege of St. Barthélemy was a two year blockade of the island of St. Barthélemy by the Imperial Exponential navy. During that time, Exponential forces twice attempted to force their way on land, but were repulsed in each instance. The siege was finally brought to a close with the signing of the Imperial-Hifaxian Treaty of 1661, which promised the Princess of Hifax, Diana Charlotte, to the future Emperor of Exponent and granted Imperial vessels rights within the port of Princetown.

Background

Conquest of Princetown

The main force of Hifaxian militia and knights were defeated at the Battle of Monte Carlo, after which sporadic urban combat continued for two days before Imperial troops secured the city.

The defenders of Princetown and the knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Montesa-Hifax had been aware of the likelihood of an Exponential attack for weeks, and had taken significant preparations to defend Princetown against the coming invasion. Despite the preparations, however, the relatively small force of knights and militia were woefully outnumbered by the Imperial Army, and were quickly brushed aside during an open battle at the Battle of Montecarlo. Smaller resistance continued throughout the city as the knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Montesa-Hifax attempting to defend strongpoints around the city, especially the Prince's Palace, but their resistance was typically shortlived. Within two days of the initial landing, Imperial forces had decisively secured Princetown and eradicated any meaningful forms of resistance.

Retreat to St. Barthélemy

With the situation dire in Princetown, Prince Lucas Deer I and his family fled to the port and gathered the Hifaxian navy, which had yet to sail against the far larger Imperial navy. Deer and his commanders, realizing that they would have no hope of making it to the open sea, opted instead to flee to nearby St. Barthélemy, where they might be able to make a final stand or negotiate a peace treaty with the Imperial forces.

Gathering his small force of four vessels, Prince Lucas and his officers launched a desperate breakout against the Imperial vessels, defeating a much larger Exponential force during the Battle of Princetown Bay. The Hifaxians, however, lost one vessel and several of the prince's advisor, but the remaining three were able to continue on to St. Barthélemy.

Pursuit

Noticing the three vessels attempting to make a break from the harbor, Admiral Septimus Barbo ordered his fleet in full pursuit. Over a dozen ships soon after set their sights on the fledgling Hifaxian fleet as it raced for the safety of St. Barthélemy, and as luck would have it the Hifaxian managed to reach the safety of St. Barthélemy's harbor before they could be overtaken by the much more powerful Imperial warships. Defenders on St. Barthélemy then loosed several volleys from the forts dotting the shoreline to dissuade the invaders from pressing too close to shore.

Realizing that the Hifaxians were escaping to St. Barthélemy, Barbo ordered two vessels - Canis and Immanitas - to patrol between Princetown and St. Barthélemy with orders to sink any vessel not flying the Imperial banner.

Siege

Blockade of St. Barthélemy

With Princetown in Exponential hands, the capture of St. Barthélemy became of a secondary concern. Exponential commanders spent several days celebrating their victory, allowing much of the Hifaxian royal family and their guards to slip away and bolster St. Barthélemy's defenses. After about a week of celebration, Septimus Barbo finally ordered his fleet to commence a full encirclement of St. Barthélemy, which was only being picketed by a pair of smaller vessels previously. The Imperial fleet swiftly moved to surround the island, bombarding the port facilities in an attempt to force the defenders into capitulation.

St. Barthélemy's defenders, led primarily by the knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Montesa-Hifax, had been well prepared for the blockade, and stockpiled enough supplies to last for some time. In addition, farms and livestock on the island meant that the defenders would be able to resupply themselves, and ample, clean wells promised sufficient water supplies to carry on indefinitely. It soon then became clear that the Imperial forces would need to force a landing against St. Barthélemy, or at least find some way to destroy the farms, if they wished to capture the island and the Hifaxian royals.

First Assault

The defenders of St. Barthélemy had been nearly overwhelmed during the second Imperial landing, and the survivors were left battered and bruised, unsure as to how they might survive a third assault.

On Septemeber 8th, 1659, Barbo ordered a double attack against Punta de la Cruz. He ordered 50 small vessels to launch a sea attack against the promontory using about 400 Imperial soldiers, while a diversionary attack was carried out against Fort James on the opposite side of the island. Luckily for the Hifaxians, a defector warned Boodsen about the coming assault and the Grand Master had time to construct a palisade along the Punta de la Cruz promontory, which successfully helped to deflect the attack. Despite the defensive works, however, the Imperial force suffered the most casualties after coming into point-blank range (less than 200 yards) of a sea-level battery at the base of Fort Cruz. That five cannon battery there had been hastily constructed by militia commander Juan Ignacio Boron with the sole purpose of stopping such an amphibious attack, and Boron's foresight paid dividends: Just two salvos sank all but one of the invading vessels, killing or drowning over 200 of the attackers. The diversionary attack failed simultaneously when relief forces were able to cross to Ft. James across a floating bridge, with the result that St. Barthélemy was saved for the day.

Second Assault

After nearly two years of siege, the Imperial fleet had managed to ring the tiny island with some 65 warships, and subjected the defenders to a tremendous barrage each morning and afternoon. With constant attacks having largely destroyed one of the town's crucial bastions, Barbo ordered another double assault to take place on May 17th, 1661, this time against Fort James and the town of Cruz Bay itself. On this occasion, the Imperial forces breached the town walls and it seemed that the siege was over, but unexpectedly the invaders retreated. As it happened, the cavalry commander Captain Marcos Fernandez, had attacked the unprotected Exponential baggage train, overwhelming the guards on the shore and sowing chaos into the invading ranks. The Imperial forces, thinking that a relief force had arrived in their rear, broke off their assault and retreated back to the sea.

Aftermath

With the failure of the second assault on St. Barthélemy and the growing need to redeploy the Imperial Navy elsewhere, the Empire began searching for a more diplomatic solution. Imperial envoys arrived on St. Barthélemy on May 21st and began negotiations with the Hifaxian Prince Lucas Deer I to find a mutually beneficial end to the siege.

After three days of negotiation, the delegation agreed that the Countess of Monte Carlo, Diana Charlotte, would be sent to Paradisa to marry the Crown Prince of the Exponential Empire. Additionally, Imperial ships would be free to use the port of Princetown without issue, and the Hifaxian crown pledged to continue developing a relation of friendship with the Empire. The Hifaxians, for their part, were allowed to return to Princetown - thus ending the two-year-long occupation of the country.