Battle of Redmalden

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Battle of Redmalden
Part of Riverlandian Conquest of Grythshead
King Malcom's War
Date20-24th January 1750
Location
Redmalden, Kingdom of Grythshead
Result Grythsheader Victory
Belligerents

Kingdom of the Riverland

Kingdom of Ballaeter		 Kingdom of Grythshead
Commanders and leaders

Earl of Tarringway

Lady Taewen		 Osgood Stanley
Strength

37,000

50 guns

30,000

62 guns

The Battle of Redmalden was an engagement of King Malcom's War fought on 24th January 1750. The Riverlander army of the Earl of Tarringway, following a minor defeat at Northburn, was engaged by the Grythsheader army of Osgood Stanley, while attempting to cross the River Lochen at the town of Redmalden.

Background

Helderny

Main Article: Battle of Helderny

As the armies which had been fighting in Ballaeter in 1749 settled into winter quarters, the Grythsheader Western Army under Sir Eustace Salter used the opportunity to reinforce his forces at Helderny and plan a grand offensive north into Ballaeter. Informed of this by spies in the Grythsheader camp, the new commander of the Riverlander Army of Ballaeter, the Earl of Tarringway, marched his army south to disrupt Salter's plans. At the Battle of Helderny on 8th January 1750, Tarringway shocked the world by defeating the battle-hardened and entrenched Grythsheaders with his newly-formed and inexperienced troops. The battle was a disaster for the Grythsheaders, who sustained 8,000 casualties (half of those captured) and lost 24 guns, 15 standards, and four generals including Salter.

Northburn

Main Article: Battle of Northburn

Under the command of Osgood Stanley, the remnants of the Grythsheader army retreated from Helderny, taking artillery, military stores, militia and refugees with them. This force encamped at the village of Northburn on the far side of a bridge over the River Lochen. At Northburn, Stanley met up with the Grythsheader 5th Division and Sir Jarred Knowton's 1st Foot Guards. Tarringway rested his army for a few days at Helderny and, reinforced by the Ballaetan cavalry brigade of Lady Taewen, he marched on Northburn. Suitably reinforced and posessing a large amount of artillery, Stanley chose to fight at Northburn to prevent Tarringway's advance further into Grythshead. The battle took place on 15th January and ended in a Grythsheader victory. After a costly clash to seize control of the bridge over the Lochen, the Riverlanders found themselves unable to advance on Stanley's main force under a hail of artillery fire.

Having sustained 1,200 casualties, Tarringway's army retreated to Helderny. Heavy rainfall on the 16th and 17th kept the Riverlanders in Helderny and the arrival of 2,000 replacements on the 19th brought Tarringway's divisions up to strength. On the 20th, cavalry scouts reported a crossing point at the market town of Redmalden. Lady Taewen's brigade rode ahead of the main army to secure Redmalden and Tarringway marched out later that day. At Northburn, Stanley recieved significant reinforcements from the Guards Lancers Regiment and the Grythsheader 6th Division, along with a large force of militia levied from across the county. Orders from King James forced Stanley to march out from Northburn and engage Tarringway. This occured on the 24th at the town of Redmalden.

Opposing Forces

Grythsheader

General Stanley's army at Redmalden was significantly reinforced since the disaster at Helderny. Though a significant portion of the infantry (about 30%) were militia, the majority were regular troops. The infantry numbered 23,600 in total. The army as a whole was 30,000 men strong, including gunners and rear echelon troops. The Grythsheader artillery numbered sixty-two pieces, though many were light, having been taken from the fortifications at Helderny.

Four regular infantry divisions made up the core of Stanley's force. These were the 1st (3,800) under Seyward Tillett, the 2nd (3,900) under Stanley himself, the 5th (3,900) under the temporary command of Sir Jarred Knowton, and the 6th (4,000) under Sir William Atkinson. The infantry was augmented by Knowton's elite 1st Foot Guards (500) and two divisions of militia. One division of militia (1,500) came under Colonel Matthew Schimmer, and the other (6,000) was led by the Bishop of Evanburgh. Stanley's cavalry consisted of the Royal Brigade of Dragoons (1,400) under Geoffrey Crispe and the Guards Lancers under Lord Amcotte. The artillery was split into six batteries and consisted mostly of six-pounder cannons from the Helderny fortifications.

A detailed breakdown is as follows:
Commander-in-Chief: General Osgood Stanley

  • Artillery - 56 guns
    • 1st Battery - 8 guns (6pdr)
    • 2nd Battery - 8 guns (6pdr)
    • 3rd Battery - 8 guns (6pdr)
    • 4th Battery - 8 guns (6pdr)
    • 5th Battery - 10 guns (8pdr)
    • 6th Battery - 10 guns (12pdr)

Riverlander

Though he had not recieved additional infantry or cavalry reinforcements, Tarringway's army had been brought up to strength by replacements from the Riverland. Tarringway also celebrated the arrival of seasoned gunners, many of them mercenaries from Wolfswood, who were assigned to new batteries made up of the Grythsheader guns captured at Helderny. This represented a significant addition to the strength of the Riverlander artillery corps, which could now field 24 additional guns.

As at Helderny and Northburn, the main component of Tarringway's army was the eight infantry divisions and the ad-hoc light and grenadier brigades. The cavalry came under the supervision of General Sarah Fitz-York and the army had sixty-eight pieces of artillery. The infantry divisions were Alexander Dunham's 1st (4,200), Harold Audley's 2nd (4,200), the 3rd (3,600) commanded by Sir Roger Parker who had recovered from his wound at Helderny, Lady Euphemia Sparrow's 4th (3,600), Sewell Cotton's 5th (3,000), Sir Percival Kent's 6th (3,000), Lord Bedingfeld's 7th (3,600), and Nicholas Yden's 8th (3,600). Also the Grenadier Brigade (800) was led by Colonel Higden and the Light Brigade (800) by the Baronetess Estone. The cavalry were the Brigade of Life Guards (700) commanded by Lord Chernocke, Dennis Beresford's 1st Cavalry Brigade (900), Robert Pen's 2nd Cavalry Brigade (750), and the brigade of lancers (500) led by Major Cambet. Also part of the cavalry was Lady Taewen's brigade (2,500), a strong brigade of irregular light cavalry from Ballaeter. This created a total of 30,450 infantry and 5,350 cavalry.

A detailed breakdown is as follows: Commander-in-Chief: General Lord Michael Fowler, 5th Earl of Tarringway

  • Artillery - 56 guns
    • 1st Field Battery - 8 guns (12pdr)
    • 2nd Field Battery - 8 guns (12pdr)
    • 3rd (Wolfswood) Field Battery - 12 guns (12pdr)
    • 4th (Wolfswood) Field Battery - 8 guns (8pdr)
    • 1st Siege Battery - 6 guns (24pdr)
    • 2nd Siege Battery - 6 guns (6pdr howtizer)
    • 3rd (Wolfswood) Siege Battery - 6 guns (18pdr)
    • Mortar Battery - 4 guns (12pdr mortars)

Battle

March to Redmalden

The Earl of Tarringway had considered the possibility of crossing the River Lochen at Redmalden since the start of his campaign, but was convinced by his staff that the market town had no bridges which would support his heavy siege guns. On 20th January, five days after the Riverlanders' costly failure to cross the Lochen at Northburn, Tarringway's scouts reported that the main bridge at Redmalden was, in fact, much stronger and wider than previously assumed - making it a fit crossing-point for the Riverlander army. Tarringway was elated and immediately dispatched Lady Taewen's Ballaetan light cavalry to take Redmalden, planning to follow with the main force of his army the following day. This was a godsend for Tarringway, General Stanley's position at Northburn was unassailable due to his well-sited artillery on high ground and, having now had a few days to settle in, the Grythsheaders would only increase in strength - receiving fresh supplies and troops by the day. Tarringway's hard-fought and seemingly decisive victory at Helderny was looking less decisive by the day. Though Sir Eustace Salter's army had been broken on the field, the Grythsheaders had plenty of forces in reserve, safe in winter quarters across the country, and Tarringway had heard no word of reinforcements beyond those he had already received. For once, the young general and his staff were in total agreement - Redmalden's bridge had to be taken and the Lochen crossed if the campaign was to continue.

On the morning of 21st January, Lady Taewen's brigade reached Redmalden. The town was defended, on paper, by a local militia of 500 volunteers along with two companies of the Grythsheader 50th Rangers and a potential reserve levy of almost 800 militia - when Taewen's advance riders arrived at the town, however, only a token force of disorganised militia were there to meet them. This militia numbered only 120 and had no professional leadership - after firing a ragged volley, which caused no casualties, they were compelled to lay down their arms are were allowed to return to their homes. Redmalden fell into the hands of Lady Taewen's brigade without a single casualty. The town's arsenal and treasury were found to be almost empty and, upon investigation, much of the standing militia were also found to be missing. Interrogated locals, including the town's chamberlain, told Ballaetan troops that the town had been stripped of its defenses and defenders by the Bishop of Evanburgh, who had marched through the previous day with a large force of militia.

Aftermath

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