User:SolaceEaSw/Atouman-Helburg War

The Atouman-Helburg War was a military campaign, led by Azarkh Tayyeb I of the Atouman Empire against King Ivan III Thoridon of Helburg. The campaign, while originally expected to end within a year, the Atouman-Helburg War would draw out into a three-year war that lasted from early 1495 to late 1498, with the Helburg Kingdom being supported by Vedena.

Making up for his promise to his grandfather Iskendir II, Azarkh Tayyeb would muster up the national armies once more, and deciding to raise a military campaign against the Kingdom of Helburg. In total, nearly 100,000 troops had been conscripted, led by Azarkh Tayyeb, General Turkekul Drakon, Grand Vizier Suleyman II abd-Muttari, and Major Atakan abd-Fahri. Under General Turkekul Drakon, the first legion of 20,000 men would campaign along the Black Sea coast, pillaging the various settlements and looting it for what it was worth. As is policy of the Drakonids, on the day that a village was captured, General Turkekul Drakon would summarily execute or enslave the local's male population, and then allowing the soldiers to do as they wished until the following morning. Meanwhile, under Major Atakan abd-Fahri, the second legion of 15,000 would be sent forward as the lead army, and with quick ease would capture the minor villages and towns outside of the capital.

In May, the siege weapons constructed in the prior decade would be dusted off and used to engulf the capital of Helbork. Using their advanced gunpowder technology, with the artillery corps served a special role in shattering the walls and defenses of the city, leaving armies and citizens alike petrified at the fear of the Atouman Empire, the army of Major Atakan abd-Fahri would storm the city's defenses, with the forces of Grand Vizier Suleyman II abd-Muttari migrating and arriving at the eastern gates of the city in an effort to flank the Helburgian forces.

In early 1496, the city of Helbork would fall under the strangulation of the Atouman Empire's iron grip, but much to the dismay of Azarkh Tayyeb once he arrived from the hillside, would see that King TBD, along with much of his Court, had fled the city once they saw it was a lost cause. This led to Azarkh Tayyeb proclaiming to the Helburgian soldiers that surrendered, that they had basically been fighting for nothing, that they are meaningless to their incompetant leader, and for their meaninglessness, must be punished. After Azarkh Tayyeb finished his speech, all of the remaining Helburgian soldiers, that just so happened to fail in their retreat, would be impaled. Now while this was usual in most medieval Atouman conquests, the policy of killing captured troops and P.O.W.'s via impalement had not been formally used since the reign of Iskendir II, so while Tayyeb had promised his grandfather that he would restore the power projection of the Empire, this had only proved that the Atouman state had returned in full effect. While this was a moment of clarity for the Atouman Empire, Azarkh Tayyeb would be encountered by the Grand Vizier, Suleyman II abd-Muttari, and asked if they had plans in case the neighboring states decide to intervene, and while Azarkh Tayyeb says that he does, he would also state that if the King had fled into Vedena, that there may be more problems coming their way than originally expected.

Following their conquest of Helbork, Azarkh Tayyeb would proclaim himself "King of Helburg and Moldavia", and would continue onward to Jotunnholt. After fighting a band of remnant Helburgian forces near the Lacul Danceni, Azarkh Tayyeb would lead forces to the lake's front, and from across the lake would see General Aleksy Suchecki of Vedena. Through their position on the water preventing communication, Azarkh Tayyeb would use his messenger pigeon to send a message to General Aleksy Suchecki, which simply stated that he could simply surrender and flee or that Suchecki and any forces he had mustered will face dire consequences. From the Polish perspective, Suchecki had always dreamt of this moment, ever since his father returned from fighting against the Atoumans and asserting the independence of Helburg and Vedena. So while this message was frightening, Aleksy would take it as the final obstacle blocking his way from becoming a "great" General. Suchecki would return the pigeon with a message to Azarkh Tayyeb, asking the same question rhetorically. Due to the lake being a stopping point for the Atouman forces, Azarkh Tayyeb prepared his forces to simply go around the lake, and while initially under the impression that the battle would commence outside the walls of Jotunnholt, would come across Suchecki and his forces in the woodland area.

Although the Atoumans outnumbered the forces of Vedena and Helburg almost 2:1, the Atoumans were forced to retreat south of the Lake. The next two years would see failed Atouman expansion into northern Helburg, being consecutively stopped near Lacul Danceni. However, after a harsh winter in 1497, scouts would report to Azarkh Tayyeb that Suchecki had fallen deadly ill, and that the opportunity for an Atouman victory had finally shown itself. The Siege of Jotunnholt, canonically referred to in the Vedanen and Helburgian canon as "The Red Apocalypse", would see a seasoned Atouman army slaughtering the morally inept Vedenan and Helburgian armies, with the King of Helburg fleeing into Vedena proper as the city fell under Atouman occupation, with the territory transitioning into the Amirate of Moldovia.