Battle of Vlissingward

The Battle of Vlissingward was fought on July 12th 1445 near Vlissingward, and was the largest military defeat in the 25 Years War against the Sarrisen Kingdom. In the first 15 years prior to the battle of Vlissingward Renesia had a significant advantage, although after this battle the Sarrisen Kingdom was able to take control of the war and contributed to prolonging the conflict until the Battle of Arrary and the Battle of Kitzzing in 1454. The Renesian army was led by Luitger Muller and Wenzeslaus Gwerder accompanied by Ecoralian mercenaries lead by Tjeerd Gideon. Meanwhile, Sarrisen forces were led by King Gerold Schilden accompanied by Diethelm Sauer and Levin Arbeit and were significantly a much smaller force compared to Renesian. Historians consider the Battle of Vlissingward as the start of the second phase of the 25 Years War.

Upon successive defeats in the southern frontier and constant stalemate in the northern frontier, King Gerold Schilden ordered his Royal army to assist the southern frontier while he leads the local noble's armies and various groups to hold off against the northern Renesian army. [ Velorenkya Region]'s Arquebuses arrived prior to battle and was the first battle to use Arquebus in the 25 Years war.

Prelude
With the constant defeats in the southern Sarrisen Kingdom by 'Azure Commander' Siegbert, it drained the Kingdom's manpower and denied them supplies from occupied areas. Meanwhile, the incessant stalemate between King Gerold and Adalbert Lohrenz delayed King Gerold's plan to quickly overrun northern Renesia and spearhead to Renes in order to force 'Azure Commander' Siegbert to turn back and defend the Renesian capital.

Although, with the death of Adalbert Lohrenz from his injuries after the [BATTLE], King Gerold changed strategies and ordered his second-in-command [NAME] to take the Royal army which consisted of 30,000 men to go and support [NAME] in the south and overwhelm 'Azure Commander' Siegbert.

Luitger Muller, the new army commander after Adalbert Lohrenz, noticed the Sarrisen army movements and took a more aggressive stance to eliminate them. Levin Arbeit managed to arrive and join King Gerold with the newly trained 2,000, a few days before Luitger Muller decided to engage the Sarrisen army.

Armies
There is an obvious disparity in numbers between the Sarrisen and Renesian armies. The Sarrisen army have Arquebuses while the Renesian army mostly focused on heavy Cavalry.

Sarrisen army
The Sarrisen army consisted of 15,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalries. Of the 15,000 infantry, 1,000 were the Royal guards, 2,000 were arquebusiers brought by Levin Arbeit, another 2,000 were brought by various local nobles and led by Diethelm Sauer and 10,000 were various militia groups. Cavalry was split between 2,000 light cavalries and 1,000 heavy cavalries.

Renesian army
On the opposite side, the Renesian army consisted of 35,500 infantry and 7,500 cavalries. The infantry consisted of 10,000 heavy infantry, 5,500 Ecoralian mercenaries, and 20,000 were a mix of light infantry and armed peasantry. While the cavalry was all heavy cavalry. The Renesian army was considered to be more professional and better trained compared to its counterpart.

Preparation
As Luitger Muller's army was marching from the north toward Vlissingward King Gerold set up his army between Luitger and Vlissingward by the river [River], building three layers of fortifications, one was around [Hill], another at the top of if, and lastly at the entrances of the bridge. King Gerold ordered Diethelm Sauer to take 1,000 light cavalries and 500 heavy cavalries and hid them in [Forest] forest. Diethelm Sauer was tasked to wait for the most opportune time before striking the enemy's rear, aiming for a tactic. Meanwhile, Levin Arbeit was ordered to hold the bridge and prepare various traps for the enemy, placing gunpowder and flammable materials. Levin Arbeit's main task was to exhaust the Renesian army as much as possible before retreating to the fortifications on the hill.

Battle for the bridge
The attack on the bridge by the Renesian army met with heavy casualties, with the constant barrage of the arquebusiers killing many of the heavy infantry. Although, thanks to Tjeerd Gideon and his mercenaries they finally managed to breakthrough the fortifications. As the Renesian army crossed halfway through the bridge, Levin Arbeit ordered to burn it by shooting flaming arrows on it, causing the gunpowder set to explode and rendering the bridge unuseable. Half of the Renesian army were stranded across the otherside of the river, luckly, Wenzeslaus Gwerder built an improvised bridge beforehand and managed to get the rest of the army across to support the stranded Renesians. Wenzeslaus Gwerder set a significant portion of the army to protect the improvised bridge as it is now the only way to retreat.

Attack on the hill
Luitger Muller ordered the attack on the first layer of fortifications on the hill after regrouping with the rest of the army. The fortifications decreased the significance of the Renesian cavalry while the constant arquebusiers barrage halted any charge in its place. Many Renesian soldiers died before getting to the fortification. As the Renesian army attempts to surround the hill Diethelm Sauer revealed his force and charged the Renesian rear, sending the Renesian army into panic and disarray. At that moment, King Gerold ordered an all-out assault and charged with his men.

Renesian disintegration
The Renesian army collapsed from confusion as soldiers are abandoning their formation. Seeing this, Luitger Muller ordered a general retreat and ordered Wenzeslaus Gwerder to command the rearguard assigning him the available cavalry. As the Renesian army retreated through the improvised bridge they were constantly being shot at by arquebusiers leaving little room for manoeuvres and sending the army into further unorganized panic. Wenzeslaus Gwerder managed to retreat as well, but not before losing most of the cavalry protecting the retreating Renesian army.

Aftermath
King Gerold managed to equalize the northern frontier by causing heavy casualties to the Renesian army, and as reinforcement, stream in, King Gerold would finally have the numbers advantage in the northern frontier in the 25 Years war. Luitger Muller would seek reinforcement from the Prince, but he would be denied in favour of sending reinforcement to the southern frontier and was ordered to make with what he had.

Historical importance
After seeing the effectiveness of the arquebusiers on the battlefield Renesia invested heavily in them going forward. Although, Renesia did not rid itself of its superior heavy infantry they did decrease investment in them and opted for a mixture between superior range and armour until the 1700s.

Legacy
In honour of King Gerold Schilden and to oppose Renesian rule the people of Vlissingward built a statue of King Gerold in Vlissingward and on the field of battle after the conclusion of the 25 Years war. From that point and onwards Vlissingward became a symbol of resistance against the Principality until the fall of the Sarrisen Kingdom in 1598.