Battle of Heijon Camp

The Battle of Heijon Camp is a major engagement in the War of the Weary. It occurs in late 0 AD. The volunteer forces of the Chinese Empire, under the command of Russius Commander Zukov, leads a daring assault to a garrison encampment along the Singing River. The attacking force captured the encampment, but at a high cost.

Prelude
Although initially attempting diplomatic efforts with the aggressive expansion of the Setupit Empire, civil unrest and poor communications led to the Russius Empire declaring war on the Setupit Empire. The Suna Empire also declared war on the Setupit Empire, as it was a strong ally of Russius. The Chinese Empire, though officially neutral, provided support to Russius since it was an ally of the Suna Empire (thus an indirect ally of Russius) and was unpleased at the fact that the Setupit Emperor Mahertian II refused to pay tribute to the Chinese Emperor.

The Russius Empire and the Suna Empire required much time to mobilize their force, since their armies were spread throughout the region following the Suna-Russius wars of expansion. Chinese forces, on the other hand, was far more prepared and so a volunteer force of more than 10,000 men marched to the war. Most of these men were cavalry units.

Battle
Empress Braina demands for a swift and sudden attack exactly as done by the Setupit Empire in the Invasion of Dunay Bay. Commander Zukov volunteered to arrange and lead a cavalry charge made up of the newly arrived Chinese Volunteer Force. He and his stealthily crossed the river at dawn, along with archers to clear out nearby scouts.

What came to the fortune of the garrison troop was a villager that was wandering the area. Upon seeing an enormous number of horsemen with Chinese war banners, he alerted other villagers, thinking that an army of Chinese horsemen was going to pillage their homes and farms. Hundreds of villagers fled to find shelter, alerting the garrison and allowed them to prepare for a defense. The charging force did not achieve surprise.

Aftermath
Nevertheless, the larger attacking force eventually overran the encamped garrison, with most foot soldiers and mage killed or captured. Few escaped the onslaught. However the defenders made devastating losses on the attacking force, with around 4,000 men dead or wounded on the battlefield. Commander Zukov, who led the cavalry charge was wounded in the early phase of the battle.

The tactical defeat was not well accepted by the Chinese Emperor, who would later recall those troops, severing relations of Russius and China. The rest of the Setupit army begin to dig in, creating improvised fortifications replacing the usual encampment, which would only slow the war into a war of stalemate and deterrence.