Battle of Agenais

The Battle of Agenais was a critical battle during the Six Years' War and was a turning point in the conflict. Following a series of painful defeats for the Almeronian army, a Stahlheimian host under the command of Grand Marshal Frederic Richter marched for the city of Agenais to open a path to the Almeronian capital. The city's defenders, aided by the Knights of the Dragon, managed to hold on until the arrival of reinforcements. The battle resulted in the Imperial forces being forced to withdraw from the Kingdom due to heavy losses and turned the war on its head.

Background
After the fall of the twin castles of Lundes and Forges, a force nearly 50,000 strong under the command of the Grand Marshal marched for Agenais. It was the last bastion in the way of the walls of the Almeronian capital, and its fall would all but assure Stahlheimian victory in the war. Richter led his force on a forced march towards the city, pushing his men hard in order to reach it within a week's time.

King Charles understood the stakes of the battle to come, and knowing that Agenais was under-defended after years of prolonged warfare prepared to defend it. He immediately set about gathering all of the knights and soldiers that could be spared, assembling a host of eager fighters. He sent a vanguard of 100 knights from the Order of the Dragon to reach the city first, an unheard of number to gather together justified only by necessity. The King rallied as many good men as he could, knowing all too well that if he failed he would be forced to defend his capital with levies and coerced sailors.

The Dragon Knights(led by Sir Jacques the Valiant) arrived three days prior to the Grand Marshal's army and set about making the city as defensible as it could possibly be. They destroyed any wood or farmland outside the city walls that might have aided their assailants, armed and gave basic training to almost the entire citizenry, and set several rally points at defensive structures to fall back to. Under their leadership the city became far more defensible than it otherwise would have been. Aside from the 3,000 guardsmen able to aid in the city's defense, 10,000 citizens took up arms and were held in reserve to fill in gaps where they were needed. Wounded soldiers and knights from Agenais' hospital were selectively chosen to man the defenses of the battlements, numbering some 500 in all. Perhaps most strangely, a group of travelling Lleidan cruzados vowed to defend the city's Cathedral should the invaders reach it.

The Grand Marshal's army reached the city as last minute additions to the city's defenses were being set up. He approached the city's wall with naught but his personal advisers, wisely buying time for his men to rest by parlaying. He was met by Sir Jacques, the Dragon Knight an imposing sight even alone and vastly outnumbered. The two men spoke for a brief time, one discussing the inevitability of surrender and the other refusing it utterly. Sir Jacques offered to face the Grand Marshal in a duel for the city's fate, but was denied. Having reached no compromise, the two parties returned to their sides and the assault was soon to begin.

Course of the Battle
The gates of Agenais were not strong enough to withstand heavy cannon fire, Richter knew, a fact that he hoped would allow for a swift victory. The Grand Marshal reasoned to his advisers that only the walls were heavily defended, and once the gates fell chaos would allow the city to fall without vicious fighting. After finalizing a plan with his advisers, the Grand Marshal divided his soldiers into three groups. The first was composed mostly of shock troopers and artillery, and their responsibility was to destroy the gates and any weak points in the walls utterly before assaulting the city. The second group was composed largely of infantry and marksmen, their objective to contain any break out attempts from the city and to break in from the rear gates of the city. The third group was largely composed of light cavalry, held in reserve under the command of the Grand Marshal. They would go to any weak points of the battle and reinforce them.

The defenders prepared themselves as the volleys began. Cannon balls crashed against the reinforced oaken gates of Agenais, wood splintering and crossbow bolts flying as the garrison attempted to kill the cannoneers. The city had little defense to stop the artillery barrage, Sir Jacques taking some of the guardsmen not defending the walls and moving them to the gate. If it were to fall, they would be the first and most vital line of defense for the rest of the city. The Dragon Knight gathered forty of his brothers, understanding that the artillery fire would bring the city to ruin before reinforcements could ride. His expeditionary force grabbed their warhorses and made for an as-of-yet undiscovered postern gate. The party sallied forth and rode hard, going around the city walls and waiting for the cannons to fire before charging.

The Dragon Knights charged expertly, making for the artillery before any of those assigned to defend them could take notice. They couched their lances and collided with impact, throttling the crewmen of the artillery and slaying dozens of them. The Grand Marshal rallied his reserves of light cavalry to surround them and take care of the threat, but before the knights could be reached they had broken through the mass of bodies and ridden back to where they had come from, returning to the city's boundaries. Not one had fallen. Furious, Richter dedicated a force of halberdiers to watching the postern gate to prevent further sallying forces. Well over half his artillery crewmen had perished, slowing the rate of volleys considerably as well as the quantity of shot when they did fire. Meanwhile, the soldiers defending the gate were barricading it with whatever they could find, pushing rocks, rubble, carts, even discarded lumber against it to provide as further protection as it was slowly battered down.

Hours passed with little progress, any attacks by the Imperial forces repulsed and any attempts to repair the gate fruitless. After a near constant barrage, the formerly strong gates were nothing but a pile of refuse. The Grand Marshal ordered the first army group forward, shock troopers making their way to the gates to climb through the rubble and take the city. The second army group was pressuring the city's south entrance even harder, hastily built ladders and siege engines rebuilt from the Siege of Forges bringing the defenders to the limit. The fighting grew thick and desperate, the sight of Imperial troops flooding inside the city boosting the morale of Richter's men greatly. The footmen just within the gate were able to hold for some time, though it was the leadership and support of the Dragon Knights that persevered the defense. They moved from melee to melee, roaring encouragement and jumping into the fray in equal parts.

Two more hours passed before the force holding the remains of the front gate were forced to retreat to secondary defenses. The soldiers atop the wall suddenly found themselves locked in tight combat with trained Stahlheimian infantry, losing ground and facing the inevitability of either retreating or dying. Most chose the former if they were able, though those closest t the fighting bled and died for their bravery. The defense of the south entrance was faring slightly better, if barely. The walls and gate had yet to fall but those garrisoning them became fewer and fewer in number.

As the front gate had fallen, Sir Jacques had his soldiers fall back t three separate rally points that provided tenable defenses and pulled forth all his reserves to hold them. The fighting grew increasingly desperate, and although the Imperial force already in the city was a small one, it was elite and bloodthirsty. The defenders were pushed back further and further, only barely managing to hold their few remaining choke points due to the presence of the Dragon Knights. The south side of the city was nearly taken, defenders dying or fleeing in droves as siege engines overtook the walls and triumphant soldiers prepared to surround the defenders.

Agenais was saved only by what many consider an absolute miracle. Being enveloped by the jaws of defeat, the trumpet calls of the King's own host could be heard in the distance. King Charles had rushed to the city with a relief force of vengeful knights and men-at-arms 30,000 strong. The heart of Almeronian nobility and most of the nation's reserves had come, and they made their presence felt immediately. The King led his vanguard of knights directly into the rear of the force at the south of the city, crushing those not yet on the walls with couched lances and horseflesh. The few garrisoned troops not yet slain heroically opened the gate for the relief force, and the Almeronian infantry rushed in to save the city.

The Grand Marshal was forced to react swiftly to such a turn of events. Though he was yet numerically superior, the majority of his infantry was already disorganized and within the city. Those not pillaging were engaged in terse combat with the stubborn defenders, and the majority of his reserves were only light cavalry. None the less, he refused to forsake the siege for the sake of his honor and his Emperor. He bravely took a final gamble at victory, directing all of his light cavalry to meet the swiftly approaching Almeronian vanguard and keep the knights away from the city. He rallied the men that yet remained outside the walls together, forming a small yet sufficient bulwark. "Do not forsake your Emperor's call!", he famously roared. He galvanized his men as best he could, yet it did not suffice.

The Stahlheimian light cavalry was fought viciously, the Captain in charge of them fleeing from the King and his knights once it was clear that they had no chance of holding them for long. Inside the walls the choke points were suddenly reinforced by thousands of eager, well-armed soldiers. It was less than an hour before the Imperial forces had been pushed back, any hope of taking the city extinguished as the Grand Marshal's forces failed him. Reluctantly and furiously, he called for a full retreat. He had a rear guard fend off the vengeful Almeronian cavalry to allow as many as possible to flee and regroup. It was a foul day for the Empire, and Richter was forced to take the remnants of his forces and retreat with the Almeronian King in tow.

Aftermath
Though Agenais was saved, the siege harmed the city greatly. More than half of it's guards had been slain in the defense, several houses and businesses had been utterly destroyed, citizens who took up arms were cut down, and the gate was irreversibly damaged. It did not fall, however, and more than enough of the citizenry survived to rebuild what was lost. The death of 26 Dragon Knights was a shocking loss to the Kingdom, the bravest and most valiant of souls being robbed of life a foul crime. Their sacrifice allowed the city to stand, however, and 70 of those that remained rode with the King to drive the enemy out. The rest stayed to rebuild the city.

The defeat was an utter disaster for Stahlheim. Of the 50,000 men who had assaulted the city, less than 20,000 managed to escape with the Grand Marshal. The rest were slain, captured, or simply couldn't keep up with the rapid retreat. Richter was forced to retreat almost constantly, the vengeful army of King Charles never far behind and constantly harassing him. This eventually forced the Imperial forces back to their own border, turning a war that had been well in their favor from an invasion to a defense rapidly. This battle ultimately proved to be the turning point of the war, giving the people of Almeron time to recover and rebuild while the King led an army that had once been his last hope to victory.