Siege of New Dorasterrock

Not to be confused with the Battle of New Dorasterrock, which took place in July 2021.

The Siege of New Dorasterrock, also known as the Second Battle of New Dorasterrock, was a battle during the Second West March War & the 990 UCS Counteroffensive in the historical former Bardonian capital of New Dorasterrock between the forces of the United Crowns of Syltor & its allies (more commonly associated to as the Western Commonwealth or the WLA) & Bardonia. The battle was the first time that Bardonia had been defeated on its own soil since the original Battle of New Dorasterrock during the Allium-Coalition War, and is revered in the UCS as a monumental turn in Syltoren politics & a demonstration of the weakness of modern Bardonia compared to its predecessors during March-July 2021.

Prelude & Preparations
Following the Siege of Tossagrad, Bardonia underwent an unstable period in leadership, in which the second assault on Tossagrad was called off & Howertt was deposed in favour of Yazov as Autarch, with the new duo later being replaced by Uni 'the Chancellor' & Crezyman. The new leadership wished to continue the war with the UCS, however they would have to go on the defensive in New Dorasterrock instead of the second assault on Tossagrad. The date for the battle was agreed to be October 23rd shortly afterwards.

Bardonian preparations for the siege were great, resembling the preparations done by the UCS prior to the Siege of Tossagrad, however ultimately failed to be utilised to the same effect. A chunk-wide trench was dug around the edge of the city, as well as multiple 'death pits' & 'gank zones' surrounding the capture point. Barbed wire (berry bushes) were also placed sporadically around the city's edge & the capture point. A wall around the inner edge of the trench would later be built, as well as a wall surrounding the capture point. The Bardonians also employed a tactic of placing large cobblestone structures over their buildings to minimise damage & make it harder for the enemy to infiltrate certain areas following an assault through the dome of the Senate building during the first battle. Logistics were incredibly poor throughout the siege, from communications to resupplying, however they did not suffer any issues with lack of supplies in itself, rather their ability to deliver it at a speed where soldiers could quickly return to the front.

The UCS & their allies had to prepare a lot less for the siege, as they already had defences in place which were easily fixable in the event of a counterattack. An unknown total of armour & weapons were produced, so it is still unknown if they were underfunded for the battle. Scouting missions were also conducted prior to both assaults during the siege to pinpoint good places to attack through. They instead focused on their logistics & planning for the assault to ensure no room for failure. Nonetheless, the UCS & their allies were caught off guard by certain moves such as the vassalisation of Bardonia by Velerin, giving Bardonia priority over the UCS when it came to Shirokaneza.

First Assault - October 23rd
Bardonian forces, headed by Uni, hunkered down in the interior of the city & awaited the UCS mercenary force, which attacked the outskirts of New Dorasterrock, inflicting losses on the Bardonian defenders, and avoiding death themselves using giant bread. The main body of the UCS army was stationed at Tossagrad, as a counter-attack from Bardonian forces was expected, although none came save for a few people using invisibility pots. Mercenary forces continue to launch probing attacks into ND, using Turkish delight and giant bread to drop down on enemy forces, get a few kills, then escape when they start getting overwhelmed.

Shirokanezan mercenaries use the open land spawn of New Dorasterrock to ambush the Bardonian army hunkered down in the plaza, using large amounts of TNT to blow up groups of Bardonian defenders. In the last 10 minutes of the battle, the defenders of Tossagrad join the attack, breaching the city and inflicting some losses before the battle ended. Following a 22-hour discussion between the war administration team & the leaders of each side, it was decreed that the first assault was a UCS victory.

Second Assault - October 30th
Bardonian soldiers followed a similar plan to the first assault, hunkering down in the interior of the city. However, they changed their resupply route to Angel's Peak, a de jure Bardonian outpost. Once a soldier had died, they could teleport to the fort, receive gear & return to the battle within the span of a minute. Early on, Paragon, Drackar and Osseus forces launched a full scale attack on the Senate building and the Plaza, which was initially unsuccessful, with them taking heavy losses.

A small group of UCS soldiers landed on the roof of the Senate building, blowing into a staircase and holding it, causing a great many of the defenders to leave the main fight to deal with them. The mercenaries then attacked again, gaining some ground but again being forced to retreat. The mercenaries requested reinforcements from the Tossagrad garrison, and the ~20 defenders of Tossagrad move to Carthya to group up with the mercenaries.

The combined UCS forces then attacked the east side of New Dorasterrock, catching the defenders off guard with their numbers and pushing them all the way back to the Central Plaza. Heavy fighting ensued in the Plaza, allowing many UCS soldiers to storm the Senate building, pushing most of the defenders out and securing it with a majority before the battle ended.

Aftermath
To read about the aftermath of the war as a whole, read the Second West March War article on the matter.

Following another day of discussion between the war administration team & the leaders of each side, a compromise was forced. The UCS were to be given the siege victory, however in spite of the normal circumstances where the attacking force would receive the city after 2 victories in a row, New Dorasterrock was to remain under Bardonian possession, with the reasoning provided stating that losing the city would be 'unfair to Crezy'. This decision received a massive amount of backlash from the Rathnir community at large, with some claiming that it was a clear example of administrative bias towards Bardonia.