Defence of Port Hope
| Defence of Port Hope | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Asterian Theatre of the The Great War | |||||||||
 Estmerish troops, 1928 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Estmere •  Dominion of Satavia |
 Nuvania | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Edgar William Rose † Jonty Evans-Scott (POW) Oscar Harrison (POW) Richard de Vit † |
TBD | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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11,422 troops 1 cruiser 3 destroyers |
26,100 troops 66 planes 1 battleship 1 cruiser 4 destroyers 2 torpedo boats 1 minelayer 2 submarines | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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9,281 killed or missing 1,22 wounded 2,141 captured 1 cruiser sunk 1 destroyer sunk |
3,882 killed or missing 7,599 wounded | ||||||||
|
~3,500 Civilians Killed 6,000 wounded | |||||||||
The Defence of Port Hope, also known as the Fall of Port Hope and in Satavia as the Last Stand, was a week-long military engagement that took place in April 1928. The battle began on the morning of the 3rd February, when a primarily Nuvanian force of Entente troops landed unopposed three miles north of Port Hope. Satavia was the last major Grand Alliance military base and the last major Estmerish colony in the Asterias, and, despite this, was poorly defended. The Estmerish Navy had transfered the Satavian Division to the Royal Satavian Navy, which was lead by relatively inexperienced commanders, and much of the Estmerish Port Hope Garrison had also left to defend Estmere in Euclea.
The remaining garrison consisted of a small contingent of Estmerish Troops and Satavian Forces, along with a cruiser and three destroyers (much of the Royal Satavian Navy were stationed further north, at Port Arthur), and no air support.
Satavian and Estmerish forces were numerically outnumbered, and stood little chance against the larger and better equiped Entente force, and resisted for a week untill they were over-run and surrendered.
The fall of Port Hope also lead to the fall of the Satavian Government, and was the last military engagement on the island of Satavia untill the Liberation in 1934. The loss of Satavia was a significant propaganda victory for the Entente, who portrayed it as the "beginning of the end" for the Estmerish colonial empire.
The battle is often cited as an example of a last stand in the face of enormous odds, which resulted in the annihilation of almost all Satavian and Estmerish forces during the battle.
Background
Upon the outbreak of war in February, 1927, the Dominion joined Estmere in declaring war on the Entente Powers. Following Nuvania's entry in to the Great War, and the defeat of Aucuria, Nuvanian forces were in a strong position to land and occupy Satavia. Despite this obvious threat, Estmerish High Command made the decision to withdraw the bulk of Estmerish Forces in Satavia, only leaving a contingent of around 800 Estmerish Soldiers, with the remaineder of the garrison consisting of the poorly trained Satavian Army.
Estmere's contingent of around 800 troops was lead by Colonel Edgar William Rose, who was killed on the first day of the fighting. Rose was an inexperienced commander, and had been appointed as a temporary commander, whilst a "suitable replacement" was found.
Nuvanian Forces were better trained and had better equipment than the Satavian Force, and were also more experienced, many having just returned from the front in Aucuria.