1771 The Breach, the Wall is Shattered
On the 25th of Canolyd, for the first time in nearly 1000 years, a gate of the Wall fell. The breach of Gate 18 was quickly followed by breaches at gates 16, 17 and 19. Within a month a 200 mile stretch of the wall was in Crusader hands. Some of the largest battles of the Crusade took place in late 1771 as Coftyr threw everything she had at the invading armies in total desperation. There was no help to be had; all of Coftyr’s allies, including the stalwarts of Fidwog, had troubles of their own.
Through sheer will power and determination the Crusader foothold was held to within a few dozen miles of the Wall. The Crymuster’s Mechanical Corps and Air Corps, through great acts of courage and bravery, ground themselves into oblivion to stop the Crusaders in their tracks.
The breach of the Wall was a major blow to Coftyran morale both military and civilian. Few nations on Alwyd may brag of never having been touched by a conquering army and now the heart of Coftyr, long protected by the Wall, was imperiled.
1772 Cythwyn Saves
By Late 1772 Crusader forces had breached the Wall through a half dozen more gates. Fierce fighting continued to take place between the Crymuster and her enemies throughout summer and well into the fall. Precautions were taken in Cryn’nt with plans to evacuate the royal family and its retainers to Fidwog. Massive, but hasty, trench works were being constructed along a new line of defense just outside the capital city. Most other Coftyran forces were scattered about the countryside, or hiding in the mountains or lining the new defensive works.
However, as winter approached the Crusader onslaught faltered and then dug-in in place. Unbeknownst to Coftyr’s spies and intelligence networks the supply lines to the entire Crusader Western Theatre had slowed to a trickle. The serendipitous Kryster revolt and the civil war in Shralm had indirectly done what ten years of direct royalist action had not: stopped the Crusade cold.
As fall turned into winter Cythwyn came early and stayed late. The Cythwyn of 1772/1773 is still talked about as the worst any quar had seen in generations. Lake Morandi nearly froze over. Even Kryst and the Inischol saw snowfall. The airstreams burst and storms blanketed all of Alwyd for more than three months.
1773 Destitute Enemy
As Alwyd recovered from the winter of 1772 several large scale rebellions and insurrections bloomed in Crusader held states. No help was forthcoming and the hard won breach of The Wall was squandered and the Crusader forces within Coftyr were largely abandoned to their fate. A slow trickle of supplies came south across the border from Maer Braech, but petrol and ammunition, especially for the artillery, was almost nonexistent. The Crusade withdrew all of its forces south of The Wall and began to use the fortification itself as the line where they would make their final defense.
1774 Wasteland
Crusader Campryg Lycasta, lacking resources and recruits to hold, ordered the withdrawal of all Crusader forces from within Coftyr. Already low Crusader morale was further devastated. They were the first to penetrate The Wall in generations but they could not hold it. As a final farewell to their rivals of Coftyr, large sections of the wall were detonated and destroyed as the Crusader army withdrew and miles and miles of the ancient wall were left in rubble.
After three long years of the most intense warfare seen anywhere in Alwyd over the last decade, Coftyr was no longer in harm’s way. The country was physically and economically devastated. King Myrvvn IV disrupted three coups before the year ended and only managed to maintain leadership of his country through will and political acumen.
1775 The Bank of Gwynt
In the wake of the Crusade’s withdrawal, as coup after failed coup destabilized Coftyr from within, a beleaguered king Chyyldryc mir Myrvvn IV faced the prospect of rebuilding a shattered nation and broken army with coffers emptied from a decade-long defense. With no other recourse, fearing of the oldest monarchy in Alwyd appearing weak at this critical moment of its history, and his mistrusting of a shrinking circle of advisors, Myrvvn the IVth sent his nephew, Syrnol Aelryb, as diplomatic envoy to treat with the Principality of Gwynt.
Gwynt, a prosperous and semi-autonomous principality within Coftyr’s borders had survived the Crusade’s invasion full of gold and relatively unscathed. Aelryb, instructed not to return without a commitment from Gwynt, accepted Gwynt’s terms without hesitation and little consideration. As the gold, petrol, and munitions poured across the border into Coftyr, Syrnol Aelryb was hailed as the savior of Coftyr, much to his uncle’s dislike.
At year’s end, with the arrival of a Gwyntish envoy to receive their first repayment, the terms and debt proved too steep for the struggling economy to cover and Gwynt threatened to pull any future aid. This, however, was by Gwyntish scheme and design. The envoy then approached and offered alternative terms directly to, now Caenerol, Aelryb. Aelryb fearing loss of his newfound station within the family readily agreed, again, to Gwynt’s new terms. Aelryb used his influence to bring these new terms to the King’s ear; to lend the future might of the Crymuster to support Gwynt’s expansionism into the western territories of Toulmore. Through their puppet who had Chyyldryc mir Myrvvn IV’s ear, Gwynt would see the Crymuster rebuilt and deployed to pursue their own ends.
1777 Rebuilding
Throughout 1777 as the economy recovered the ranks of the Crymuster began to swell with new recruits. A large portion of these new recruits were refugees, many of these refugees were also retired military veterans from neighboring states. These green and infirm troops were quickly deployed to the remains of The Wall and along the
Toulmorese border. These hastily gathered troops were intended to defend the massive engineering effort required to strengthen and patch The Wall as new divisions of Coftyran troops were raised, equipped and trained by the remaining Coftyran veterans. During this refounding of the Crymuster and the years following many tactics learned from the Crusade and from fighting them were adapted and adopted by the Crymuster.
These changes were primarily in doctrine and logistical organization within the Crymuster. However, many veteran NCOs were teaching their sections and squads unofficial small unit tactics and doctrine learned from half a decade of hard fighting against the Crusader war machine.
1781 Arnyaran Invasion and the Attack on Toulmore
On the 20th of Dael The Alliance Army, the combined forces of Gwynt and several divisions of Crymuster troops, assaulted the defenses along the Toulmorese border. By the end of Dael the Coftyran army was fully committed to the assault into Toulmore.
On the 1st of Haelwyn Western Arnyaran land trains crossed into Coftyr taking the Crymuster by complete surprise. The attack was so unexpected that the Crymuster response was scattered and late and piecemeal. All focus had been on the newly opened offensive against Toulmore. Brythdyr fell in the first week and two weeks later The Wall was breached for the second time in a decade.
As the fighting moved south of Alv the 3rd Western Fencibles Division, Caenerol Ragynys commanding, met the brunt of the Arnyaran invasion. The 3rd WF had spent the preceding two weeks building makeshift defensive works across the river and digging in as well as they could even as countless Crymuster units retreated through their lines. The fighting was fierce and after three days of intense fighting the entire Arnyaran attack into Coftyr was brought to a halt. The 3rd WF suffered nearly 80% losses but had inflicted massive casualties on the Arnyarans. The battle of Alv bought the Crymuster time to bring forward enough units to start to build a proper defense. The destruction of 3rd WF shed light on the flaw of Arnyaran military doctrine. Stop their momentum and their movement, and they are not equipped strategically or tactically for a protracted and traditional engagement.
Now
Like Fidwog to the east, Coftyr has seen a large boost to her population from refugees and foreign fighters fleeing from the Crusaders. Unlike Fidwog, Coftyr has needed every single quar that has arrived there, and more besides. The Breach and subsequent invasion, short-lived though it may have been, cost the kingdom tremendously. Some royal advisors have counseled that it may take Coftyr two generations or more to fully recover from the Crusade Years, yet as much as the Coftyrans might desire a lasting peace to rebuild both their population and their stockpiles, the Arnyarans have other desires, and so Coftyr finds itself invaded for the second time. The Wall, after two breaches in a decade, is more symbolic than defensive, and the symbolism in its current state is not lost on Coftyr’s population.
Held hostage by the immense debt owed the bankers of Gwynt in a joint operation with the powerful city-state the Crymuster in early 1781 took the port of Raegia in Toulmore, its first objective, and had established a toe-hold in Toulmore when the Western Arnyaran land trains crossed into Coftyr and brought all material support to the Alliance to a screeching halt. A withdrawal from Toulmore to deal with the Arnyaran threat was deemed too costly in money, material and lives. In a situation akin to the wars of the previous generations both sides are constructing massive trench works and defenses.
To forestall further depredations against her sovereign territory and subjects, Coftyr has also revived the RCEF, after a fashion, and placed a heavy tariff on city-states and lesser fealties within her borders, such as Allaenbach and the Gloam Hyyn. These small territories, usually afforded extra privileges and exemptions from the King’s levy, now find themselves bankrolling much of Coftyr’s defense, with both coin and kit. The Royal Coftyran Expeditionary Force again roams Creevin and the borderlands of Arnyara, but it is wholly volunteers this time around. Discharged Crymuster soldiers, foreign fighters, even Inischoli and Achonian mercenaries fill the RCEF’s roster. Watching from afar, Chyyldryc mir Myrvvn the Fourth, in the twenty-fifth year of His Reign, can only wonder if the kingdom will weather these storms or if he will be the last king of Coftyr…
