New Atlieum Campaign
| New Atlieum Campaign | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Aquitaynian War of Independence | |||||||
| File:NewAtlieumCapmaign.jpg Aswickan soldiers prepare to defend their positions at Alden's Hills | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Aswick |
 Empire of Exponent | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Alexander Jones | Lucius Vetus | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| TBD | TBD | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| TBD | TBD | ||||||
The New Atlieum campaign was the opening campaign of the Aswickan theater of the Aquitaynian war of Independence, taking place primarily in the area around the provincial capital of New Atlieum. The campaign began with local Aswickan militias interdicting a government attempt to seize military stores and leaders in a small town outside the capital. The entire Imperial expedition suffered significant casualties during a running battle back to the city against an ever-growing number of militia.
Subsequently, accumulated militia forces surrounded the city of New Atlieum, beginning the Siege of New Atlieum. The main action during the siege, the Battle of Alden's Hills, was one of the bloodiest encounters of the war, an resulted in a Pyrrhic Imperial victory. There were also numerous skirmishes near New Atlieum and the coastal areas of New Atlieum, resulting in loss of life, military supplies, or both.
In July 1735, Alexander Stonebridge took command of the assembled militia and transformed them into a more coherent army. Within a few months the local army fortified Wonder Heights with cannon capable of reaching New Atlieum and Imperial ships in the harbor. The siege (and the campaign) ended on March 17, 1736, with the permanent withdrawal of Imperial forces from New Atlieum. To this day, New Atlieum celebrates March 17 as Evacuation Day.
Background
In late September and early October of 1734, the Aquitaynian Reichist Ser Vaer Lothreg began what many would consider to be the first campaigns in the Aquitaynian War of Independence, killing numerous Imperial officials and bringing his army right to the gates of Telora. The success of his actions caused Imperial officials elsewhere to issue a crackdown on rebellious activity, and Imperial forces around the globe began confiscating the arsenals of local militia groups.
War Begins
On November 26, 1734, partially in response to hearing of the defeat at the Battle of Crucifix Hill, Imperial soldiers removed gunpowder and other military supplies in a surprise raid on a powder magazine near New Atlieum. This expedition alarmed the countryside, and thousands of Aswickan militia sprang into action, amid rumors that war was at hand. Although it proved to be a false alarm, this event caused all concerned to proceed more carefully in the days ahead, and essentially provided a "dress rehearsal" for events a few months later. In response to this action, the Aswickans carried off military supplies from several forts in the area and distributed them among the local militias,
On the night of April 18, 1735, Legate Lucius Vetus sent 700 men to seize munitions stored by the local militia. Several riders alerted the countryside, and when the Imperial troops entered the town on the morning of April 19, they found 77 militiamen formed up on the village common. Shots were fired, resulting in eight militiamen being killed, the outnumbered local militia dispersed, and the Imperial troops moved on to their destination. Once there, the troops searched for military supplies, but found relatively little, as the locals, having received warnings that such an expedition might happen, had taken steps to hide many of the supplies. During the search, there was a second confrontation, this time at the North Bridge. A small company of Imperial troops fired on a much larger column of local militia, which returned fire, and eventually routed those troops, which returned to the village center and rejoined the other troops there. By the time the Imperial forces began the return march to New Atlieum, several thousand militiamen had gathered along the road. A running fight ensued, and the Imperial detachment suffered heavily before reaching the capital.