First Battle of St Albans


Anuire » Heartlands » Ghieste (duchy) » First Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans was a battle between the Duchy of Ghieste and the Barony of Ghoere.
In 408 MR, the youngest brother and heir presumptive, Trevan Ghieste, of Duke Rhegor Ghieste of Ghieste died. Under traditional law, it was unclear whether Regien Tael, heir to the Barony of Ghoere or Carilon Bhalaene Duke of Bhalaene and descendant of Caerellyn Ghieste was the proper heir. Duke Rhegor decided that he could not afford to anoint Regien of Ghoere and forced him out of court. Rhegor built up an alliance against Regien and conspired with other nobles to reduce his influence. An increasingly thwarted Regien began to fear arrest and trumped up charges of treason. Backed into a corner, he finally resorted to armed hostilities in 410 at the First Battle of St Albans.
Baron Regien led a small force toward Ghieste and was met by Duke Rhegor forces at St Albans, south of Ghieste. The relatively small First Battle of St Albans was the first open conflict over the issue of succession. Regien's aim was ostensibly to remove "poor advisors" from Rhegor's court. Advisers who had divided Ghieste between Haelynites and Sarimites, who had seen foreign powers for a league against their guilds, and who had excluded him from court.
The Ghiestean army of 800 troops arrived at St Albans first, and proceeded to defend it by placing troops along the a ditch in the town itself. The 600 strong Ghoeren army arrived and camped in Keyfield to the east. Lengthy negotiations ensued with heralds moving back and forth between the rival commanders. After several hours, Regien, despairing of a peaceful solution, decided to attack. The bulk of Rhegor's forces were surprised by the speed of Regien's attack; most of the army was expecting a peaceful resolution. However, two mounted assaults down the narrow streets against the barricades made no headway and resulted in heavy casualties for the Yorkists.
Marc Tuor took his company of Ghoerean troops through an unguarded part of the town's defenses, through back lanes and gardens. Suddenly, Captain Marc appeared in the market square where the main body of Rhegor's troops were talking and resting. There is evidence they were not yet expecting to be involved in the fighting, as many were not even wearing their helmets. Marc charged instantly with his force, routing the Ghiesteans and killing the Lord of Nottsvale, Gerald Nottsvale.
Marc then ordered his archers to shoot at the men around the Duke, killing several and injuring the Duke and the Count of Bheline. The Ghiesteans manning the barricades realized the Ghoereans had ouflanked them, and fearing an attack from behind, abandoned their positions and fled the town.
The First Battle of St Albans was relatively minor in military terms, but politically was a complete victory for Ghoere: he had captured the Duke and returned himself to complete power; the Chancellor, Nottsvale, was dead; and the troops available to Ghoere were revealed to be superior in quality.
Ghoere and his allies regained their position of influence, and for a while both sides seemed shocked that an actual battle had been fought and did their best to reconcile their differences. With the Duke humiliated, Ghoere was again appointed chief adviser.
After the first Battle of St Albans, the compromise of 410 enjoyed some success, with Regien remaining the dominant voice on the Council for some time. The problems which had caused conflict soon re-emerged, particularly the issue of whether the Regien Tael, or Carilon Bhalaene, would succeed to the throne if no child reached maturity before Rhegor died. Rhegor refused to accept any solution that threatened to risk disinheriting any son he might someday have, and it became clear that he would only tolerate the situation for as long as the Baron of Ghoere and his allies retained the military ascendancy.

Tags for this Page

Similar Pages

  1. The Battle Fens
    By Rey in forum Main
    Comments: 0
    Last Post: 08-14-2008, 02:46 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

Posting Permissions
  • You may not create new articles
  • You may not edit articles
  • You may not protect articles
  • You may not post comments
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your comments
BIRTHRIGHT, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, the BIRTHRIGHT logo, and the D&D logo are trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., and are used by permission. ©2002-2010 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.