Great Khuzar War

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Background
In the 1030s A.T. the Second Surovian Empire was in a state of decay. The Emperor, Gormov, was incredibly incompetent and focused more on his own pleasure than governing Surovia. This inattention compounded the decades of decline Surovia had experienced under several previous rulers, and left Surovia vulnerable to attack due to its weakened military and unskilled leadership. The loss of the rich western provinces of Surovia several decades earlier during the Feldic Revolt had also contributed to the weakness of Surovia. Despite these weaknesses, however, the Surovians still maintained a large army and had a vast population that could be called upon to fight if necessary.

In the vast expanses of the Khalkhan Steppe, the Khuzars, a nomadic tribe that relied on grazing and herding to survive, were experiencing a similar degree of trouble. For much of the 1030s, the Khalkhan Steppe experienced a brutal drought that led to the deaths of many of the Khuzar herd animals, and eventually spurred an enormous migration westwards, into Surovia. Led by their chieftain, Khongtaghar, a Khuzar horde of several hundred thousand men, women, and children began to migrate Westward. In the late winter of 1044, the Khuzars finally reached the lands of the Second Surovian Empire.

Invasion
In January of 1044 A.T. a Khuzar army crossed over the Surovian border and entered the empire. The force consisted of 5,000 horsemen, and their families. The Khuzar started their invasion with raids of undefended villages in the countryside, avoiding the large well-defended cities of the Vintra and the Tunrog mountain range. In response to this incursion, local prefects demanded the submission of the Khuzars in order to secure rights to live on the land. The Khuzars refused this demand and soon assaulted the city of Arseznoy. The battle of Arseznoy was quick, with the local garrison being defeated quickly with a following sack of the city.

Battle of the Grokhov plains
Main article: Battle of the Grokhov Plains

In March of 1044 A.T. Khongtaghars main army of 75,000 horsemen crossed the border near the plains of Grokhov, provoking a response by the Prefect of the East Vintra Territories, Tsvetkov Vassili. Vassili managed to assemble an army of 40000 soldiers in total, with little backing received from Emperor Gormov. Vassili stayed in his fortress of Grokhov for over three weeks, before scouts reported the sighting of a Khuzar army of 20,000 soldiers. It was later revealed to Vassili that Khongtaghar himself commanded the force, and after three days of cat and mouse between the two armies, they met on the great Grokhov plain. The fog of that morning was instrumental to the Khuzars' advantage in positioning over the Surovians. As the battle started the cavalry of Surovia charged forwards meeting an incoming Khuzar charge, the Khuzars feigned a retreat luring the Magdas away from the mainline. The rest of the Surovian army quickly attempted assaults to avenge the loss of the Magdas. The Surovia line however quickly fell into disarray, as Khuzar forces used feigned retreats to isolate small units and destroy them. A second army led by the Khuzar general Argat hit Vassilis army from the rear. After more than five hours of fighting the Surovian army had been completely surrounded and slaughtered by the Khuzar army. In the final hour of the battle Vassili was found dead, it is disputed whether he was killed in battle or committed suicide. An estimated 90% of the Surovian army died on the battlefield or of wounds days later, with the city of Grokhov sacked following a monthlong siege.

Battle of Anarsk
Main Article: Battle of Anarsk

Following the fall of Grokhov to the Khuzar army, the east of Surovia quickly fell into chaos. Mass migration from the east swept through the cities of the Vintra as Surovians fled the attack of the Khuzar armies. The Khuzar army moved south east from Grokhov, making a quick pace towards the Vintra river. In April of 1044, a large Khuzar force was seen near the city of Anarsk, an important fortress situated along the Vintra. 55,000 Surovians under the leadership of Yakubovich Ilarion were sent to the city to guard against a potential attack from the Khuzar army, encamping outside the city for two weeks before the Khuzar force reappeared outside the city. The Surovian army soon marched south to meet the Khuzar in battle, and the Magdas took off to chase the retreating Khuzar cavalry. The Surovian army was dragged out along the length of the river in pursuit of the Khuzar army, with their backs facing the Vintra. The main Khuzar force, numbering 40,000 soon crashed upon the unprepared Surovian flank, with horse archers and lancers killing thousands of Surovians. The morale of the Army began to waiver, and Ilarion fled the battle as his forces attempted to flee across the river, with thousands drowing as a result. The battle resulted in a decisive Khuzar victory, completely wiping out the Surovian army. Ilarion would be executed upon his return to Novomorkuta by Gormov, citing his fleeing of the battle as traitorous. Anarsk was spared from siege as Khuzar forces decided to move south following the battle.

Khuzar Southern Vintra Expedition
Main article: Sack of Southern Vintran Cities

After the defeat of the Surovian army at Anarsk, two Khuzar hosts, each numbering near 40,000 men marched south along the Vintra towards the city of Nogininsk. Khongtaghar's army laid siege to the city of Nogininsk, while Argat cross the Vintra just north of the city, and began a siege of Vlyria. The siege of Nogininsk lasted two short months, with the local garrision surrendering as supplies dwindled in the city. Vlyria held out for a further two months, with the city falling by Argat leading a assault up the walls and siezing a gatehouse, opening the city for his army to plunder. Vlyria was razed to the ground, with the walls of the city being torn down and only a smoldering ruin left in the city itself. The entire population of the city was taken prisoner or killed in the siege. Following the destruction of these two great cities of the Vintra, the army of the Khuzars moved north once more, laying seige and sacking the cities of Miaysk, Lyvo, and Zhukotkinsk after short sieges. Once more the city of Anarsk was put under siege by Khongtaghar host, with a smaller army of 35,000 laying siege to the city. The siege was broken off in early November, as the Surovian Imperial fleet, which sailed down the Ruthia river and transported overland to the Vintra, was spotted upriver from the Khuzar camp, forcing Khongtaghar to abandon the siege. Khongtaghar and his armies retreated back to the steppe for the winter, leaving the Surovians to tend to their wounds and attempt to devise a plan to fight back against the Khuzar armies.

Effects of the First Year
The first year of the Invasion was one of the hardest years in Surovian history. The armies of Surovia were left desolate following the battles of Grokhov and Anarsk, sapping the empire of vital manpower. The remaning cities of the Vintra and west were soon overcrowded as populations fled the advance of the Khuzars. The overpopulation of the cities led to a large scale disease outbreak, killing thousands and causing Gormov to temporarily flee the capital. Famine hit the Surovian east hard, as the remaining cities had little food to cover what was demanded of the large population, causing thousands to starve in the streets of Novomorkuta and other cities of Surovia.

Surovian Counterattack
Following the brief respite the Surovians enjoyed during the winter of 1044-1045, they began a counterattack during the spring of 1045. An army of sixty thousand men was raised, under the command of an unknown general, in an attempt to win a decisive victory against the Khuzars. This army was crushed in an engagement with a Khuzar force led by Senggum at the Battle of Tunrog, with a large portion of the Surovian army dying in the battle.

Battle of Svoya
Main Article: Battle of Svoya

Following this attempt, another army was raised, presumably utilizing the survivors of the previous battle as well as fresh recruits, and was placed under the command of Dashnov Gennadiyevich. Gennadiyevich was a veteran of the Kirschlandish Revolt, and had proved himself during the conflict. Gennadiyevich attempted to trap a Khuzar force within a hilly region near the Vintra River, in which he had constructed many forts. The incompetence of Gennadiyevich’s officers allowed a Khuzar relief force to bypass the forts unnoticed while Gennadiyevich himself was engaged with the Khuzars, and his army was routed after being encircled by the Khuzars. The Battle of Svoya was another crushing defeat for the Surovians, not only due to the loss of many of the soldiers who fought in the battle, but also due to the death of Gennadiyevich himself, who was one of Surovia’s greatest generals.

Second Battle of Anarsk
Main Article: Second Battle of Anarsk

Following this defeat, Gormov finally began to muster a personal army to fight the Khuzars. The shattered remnants of the defeated Surovian armies were bolstered by fresh recruits, mostly from Novamorkuta and the surrounding area, which depopulated the Surovian capital. The army Gormov raised was the largest of the war, numbering nearly 100,000 men. Gormov was confident in his numerical superiority, and marched quickly from Novamorkuta to face Khongtaghar. The Khuzar had assembled his host all together once more, and his own army was only about 50,000 men. When Gormov reached the Khuzar camp, a battle ensued, lasting for many hours inconclusively before Gormov called for a withdrawal as the sun was setting. This proved disastrous, as during the withdrawal, panic ensued and the Surovians, mostly untrained conscripts, began to flee back to their camp. Gormov was caught by the Khuzars during the hasty retreat, and was killed in single combat with Khongtaghar himself. The death of the Emperor sapped what morale the Surovians had left, and, following the departure of the Khuzars, the remaining Surovian army of roughly 50,000 evaporated from desertion.

Sack of Novamorkuta
Main Article: Fall of Novamorkuta

Had Khongtaghar attacked the camp of the beaten Surovian army, they surely would’ve been overcome eventually. But Khongtaghar decided that attacking the camp of a large army was not worth the casualties he would incur in such an assault. Opting instead to leave the Surovians, the Khuzars rode towards Novamorkuta, now entirely unprotected except for a small garrison. Novamorkuta was besieged, and despite the nearby presence of several smaller armies under the command of the nephew of Gormov and a western general, Osvyn Suverov, the Surovians did not have sufficient strength to break the siege.

Novamorkuta withstood the siege for four months, at which point the walls were breached and the Khuzars flooded into the city. The remaining population of the city, already greatly decreased by famine and conscription, was almost entirely massacred. Everything of value that could be taken was hauled off by the Khuzars, and the capital was completely razed. The fall of Novamorkuta represented the nadir of the war for the Surovians, and the complete triumph of Khongtaghar over the Surovian Empire.