HADRIAN EMPIRE DEFEATS RAEVENDRECHT, LANDING AT DER FLUSS, NEW WAKKERDAM WITHOUT DEFENSE.
Earlier today a battle took place near Norburen, pitting the Hadrian Legion against the forces of Raevendrecht. In short, the two forces had passed by eachother while on the march, with both forces being on the opponents side of the river when it started. After a brief skirmish, the Hadrian Legion landed near the Raevendrecht forces camp, and managed to take them by surprise in the forests, leading to a route of their forces.
Especially noted for their contributions were -
- A group of mercenaries referred to as the 'Order of Lazarus', who's small detachment suffered heavy casualties skirmishing with Raevendrecht forces to keep them distracted, inflicting a heavy toll on them in the process. Such was their success that the Chancellor, Sine Verrador, described them as 'vital' in victory, and this newspaper would concur - without them, it is unlikely the Hadrian Legion would've succeeded as they were badly outnumbered at the start of the battle. One of their rank requested that the members Aethelfrith and the Librarian be especially recognized for their excellence in battle.
- Mordrael Morosov, who took charge in organizing and executing the river landing.
- Otheyn Alahaim, who slew Krisa, leader of the Faulskins, in single combat.
- The Lord Commander, Siegfried od Albion, who commanded the Legion during the battle.
- Chancellor Sine Verrador, who proved both competent during the battle and is the only leadership figure exempt from the criticism levied below
Despite this victory, heavy criticism ought to be leveled at the Hadrian leadership - especially the Kaiser - for failings during and after the battle. Chief amongst these is the poor treatment of Hadrian Soldiery. One will recall the Squire Aleksandra Salier, one of the most vigorous lieutenants of the Legion, who has signed several of their declarations and remained one of it's most recognized leaders. Squire Salier along with a good number of the legion, broke from Hadria, significantly sapping it's strength, as a result of extensive misconduct on the part of Hadrian leadership. For example, the Hadrian Government extensively refused to pay it's soldiers, with Squire Salier having to personally offer to compensate those in the legion. These men fight and die for our Empire, yet their only compensation would seem to be the praises of their leaders. Even this is not present, as praise is instead mostly shared between high ranking members of the government - After the battle, the Kaiser and other Hadrian Leadership spoke in the streets. One present would find no end of kind words for the Prince, or Siegfried, or those close to Hadrian Leadership, yet not a single word would be uttered to acknowledge those below them. A sole exception is found with the Chancellor Sine Verrador, who is exempt from such criticism and proved capable in leadership both before and after the battle.
In brief, the treatment of Hadrian Soldiery is so poor that it has lead to one of their most capable leaders and those Soldiers loyal to them abandoning the Legion before a critical battle. As a direct result of this was that the Legion was outnumbered during a critical battle. No matter how much it will likely denied by the Duma and others in Hadrian leadership, the general feeling of being unpaid and unacknowledged by their leadership has already made itself manifest, greatly damaging to the Legion, and if the Hadrians are to claim victory in this war, this MUST be addressed.
Attached is a quote from Squire Salier regarding the situation -
"I feel as if Alder has guided me to leave due to the denial of pay for the Imperial Hadriana Legion alongside the constant annoyances with the Duma. It seems as if the common soldier is not respected to the point they should be. Instead, the Hadrian Empire focuses on the payment of mercenaries and war as a whole. Even my economic policies were ignored and thrown out the window during my tenure in the Duma due to them wishing to end early. I only pray that Alder may guide them to focus on the citizens, as it seems their focus is elsewhere."
Other errors during the battle include the positioning of the Legion at the start of the battle on the wrong side of the river, forcing them to cross back into Hadria's own territory in a dangerous river landing in order to engage the enemy. This is the fault of the Kaiser who mispositioned the army. Even if the battle was still won, this was a critical blunder that put the Legion at great risk. More minorly, the Lord Commander, Siegfried od Albion, proved indecisive in ordering the river crossing, with Mordrael to take charge and conduct the landing, though it bears mentioning that otherwise the Lord Commander proved capable during the battle.
AN ARTISTS DEPICTION OF THE HADRIAN LEGION RETURNING AFTER THE BATTLE
LUMINION VOLUNTEERS KILLED IN BATTLE WITH HADRIAN LEGION DESPITE 'NEUTRALITY'
Despite the Luminion government's claims of impartiality, an extensive number of 'volunteers' from their nation were identified during the battle, all of whom were casualties. It would seem that large amounts aid in both manpower and material have been provided to Raevendrecht, though it is unclear if this is on behalf of the Luminion government or only it's individual citizens. Regardless of their government's official stance, their citizens are present in large numbers doing battle with the Hadrian Legion, in a way that calls into question their official neutrality.
WAR-TIME DUMA SCHEDULED FOR TOMMOROW
Following Hadrian victory in the field, the Duma is expected to meet discussing the results. While it's beyond the scope of this paper to speculate, it will likely be there that they decide how to move forwards with the war with the Legion seeming to have seized the initiative in the field.
SQUIRE ALEKSANDRA SALIER BREAKS WITH HADRIA, LEAVES EMPIRE
As was mentioned previously in this article, Squire Aleksandra Salier, one of Hadria's most well recognized lieutenants and a confident member of the Hadrian legion, has completely split with the Empire following disputes with the Duma, especially over poor treatment of the Legion. We would like to wish her luck on her journies.
DUE TO THE WAR AND EXTENSIVE COVERAGE OF IT, THE CLASSIFIEDS AND EVENTS SECTION WILL BE EXEMPTED UNTIL PEACE IS ACHIEVED.
ALDER BLESS US ALL.
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