Commentaries on the Fourth War, Chapter 5

This is Chapter 5 of Sir Edrington W. Grunwald's book, the Commentaries on the Fourth War.

Chapter 5: Retaliation
With war now officially declared, midsummer passed, and August came. The World Tree burned, the memory of the massacre still fresh on the minds of the Alliance’s marshaling armies. To the soldiers and leaders of the Alliance, Queen Sylvanas’ actions went beyond just simple Horde revanchism for past misdeeds – it was evident now that Sylvanas had mobilized past Horde grievances with the Alliance and used them to meet her own needs. Her casus belli, as weakly justified as it was, fell by the wayside when compared to the Alliance’s now legitimate response to the Burning. For the nations of the east, this was now a defensive war, morally justified by the atrocities committed at Teldrassil, aimed at curbing the Horde’s aggression. One can only speculate how the Banshee Queen justified the Alliance’s response, for it would be nigh impossible to portray the Horde’s atrocities as defensive or preemptive in nature. This, for all intents and purposes, was an excess of violence – an excess that would compel the Grand Alliance to act in kind by returning the favor for the loss of the World Tree. As King Anduin had declared, many leaders in the Alliance saw Queen Sylvanas’ downfall as the only path towards peace, with many more advocating for the Horde’s complete and utter destruction.

However, while dreams of future counter-offensives were in the making, a more immediate reprisal was demanded. For as the World Tree burned, the Alliance’s response was well underway. In the elven northlands of Kalimdor, a Horde occupation fleet was making its way from Orgrimmar to reinforce and resupply the armies that had marched overland. Unbeknownst to the Alliance at the time, a similarly sized fleet, comprised of a battleship, three frigates, two galleons, three elven galleys, and a lone gunship of smaller size and make made its way up the western coasts towards Darkshore. I joined this expeditionary fleet upon my return to Stormwind City from Teldrassil, taking up arms alongside my old ally, Sir Markus Stonewall, and his company of patriots. More considerable detachments, predominantly from the Stormwind Royal Army and Navy, boarded these vessels and crewed them in preparation for battle. Among their number were elements of the Stormwind Guard, conscripted into battle and sent as reinforcements to the War of the Thorns. Regular army troops, led by the First Regiment of Westridge, were quickly mobilized. Other volunteer regiments, some flying colors from the other human kingdoms or elven cohorts located elsewhere in the east, joined in the voyage. Upon their arrival at the coast of Darkshore, the burning tree came into view on the horizon. The general mood of the fleet was one of horror, for none, except the elven contingent, had seen Teldrassil in the wake of the Horde assault. Grief had to wait, however, as the Horde fleet arrived as well and, as a result, a chance encounter developed. The Horde’s order of battle consisted of some five orcish warships, two battleships, and two flying zeppelins.

Numerically, the Alliance sported a significant advantage in naval vessels, but the Horde clearly dominated the skies at the beginning of the battle. I participated in the encounter as captain of the lone gunship, The Interceptor, capable of crewing a small contingent of ten or so crewmen. As the battle begins, the ship at the head of the Alliance fleet, the HMS Fist of Wrynn, steamed ahead and prepared to cut a path right down the middle of the Horde forces. This was followed by two detachments of the Alliance ships, circling west and east to entrap the Horde into two small sectors. A few of the Horde’s ships had countered the cut through their middle, now mixed up with the rest of the Alliance’s flanks. Meanwhile, while the battle was joined, the Horde zeppelins hovered over the fleet battle and prepared to engage the ships below, namely the kaldorei’s galleys. I moved The Interceptor to begin an attack, screening the elven vessels as they joined the fight in earnest. Inaccurate fire was exchanged, with the Horde choosing to move forward quickly and board the Alliance ships. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued, with marines from both sides rushing to hold their decks and claim the other’s ships. After some hours of fighting, the Alliance marines gained the upper hand, while the remainder of the navy forced the Horde ships to retreat or scuttle their vessels. In all, three Horde ships were sunk during the engagement, with the Alliance sailing through the Horde lines and forming a new front against their foe. The remaining Horde ships, now low on crewmen and damaged during the fight, limp away back to the northern coasts. The Alliance chose not too to pursue, both due to the condition of their navy and the need to disembark on the beaches of Darkshore to begin the counter-attack against the Horde army inland.

The Alliance expeditionary force contacted the kaldorei remnant on the shoreline, whose disposition could only be described as vengeful. The elven defenders that had survived the Horde’s push had reorganized, however haphazardly, to find survivors and then strike back at the Horde utilizing irregular warfare. For some days, the forces that made landfall to assist the night elves held their ground with astonishing success. Perhaps it was the Horde’s inability to keep up with the momentum of their assault or the inevitable exhaustion that must have overwhelmed an army of that size marching and fighting for so long, but the Alliance’s expeditionary force, numbering no more than 8,000 soldiers, fought back the Horde’s vanguard at Lor’danel, which numbered at a staggering 15,000 or so. Yet, for all their efforts, the Alliance’s armies found few successes on the outskirts of Lor’danel. Outside the provincial capital, the Horde forces regrouped, mustering a much larger force of 25,000, leaving thousands more in reserve to consolidate their gains. Here, the Alliance vanguard was pushed back, with their raids and incursions into newly-acquired Horde territory bloodily repulsed at each turn. The Alliance regiments regrouped at Lor’danel, making a final stand as they covered the second wave of evacuations following the Burning. Many more lives, some trapped civilians or prisoners of the Horde, were saved. However, by the end of the incursion, some 3,000 casualties were accounted for among the Alliance’s original 8,000 soldiers.

In one sense, the vanguard expedition to Darkshore was successful: it aided in the continuing evacuation of trapped Darnassian citizens and kaldorei troops that would have otherwise been put to the sword or taken into Horde bondage. However, all in all, it failed to make considerable gains against the Horde’s occupation of Darkshore and Ashenvale. Although the town of Lor’danel did change hands, its capture only served to provide a temporary embarkation point for the Alliance’s navy to take survivors off the mainland and out into the Great Sea. No considerable defenses were mustered, or battle lines held. In the end, the situation remained much the same: Queen Sylvanas’ armies held the elven homelands under her boot heel, holding back against these small incursions and expeditions with relative ease. To note, Stormwind’s vanguard was not, by any means, the only immediate retaliation against the Horde’s invasion. To be sure, many more punitive offensives were launched in Ashenvale and Darkshore, one of which I took part in.

This was shortly after my return to Stormwind City, where, after having delivered my messages to concerned parties, I then proceeded to gather my belongings, much to the anger and sadness of my family, and return to the northlands front by way of an arcane portal. Verily, there were many lines to the west, especially magical ones, that allowed for small parties to establish points of control in the newly captured Horde territories. On one such occasion, my allies in Kalimdor arranged for a connection with a threshold in Stormwind City, allowing me to cross over and join them for the time being. Although I had laid down my weapons, this cause I found too great to shirk away from. If nothing else, I thought, I could lend my quill to writing down the plight of the night elves and their continuing struggle for their embattled homelands. So it was that I joined alongside not only the kaldorei, but Alliance races of all creeds and sizes – humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes, draenei, pandaren, and more all joined in the fight. In those moments, I forgot about the violent prejudices and passions that governed our people in the past on Argus and Ashenvale.

But let us not linger on these local personal experiences, for greater machinations were at play shortly before and, most assuredly, after the Burning of Teldrassil. For as the kaldorei lands were besieged, their populations fleeing to the Eastern Kingdoms, the commanders and leaders of the Alliance gathered together and began planning their next move. Of great importance was the ongoing intrigue at the capital, particularly about prioritizing fronts for the Alliance’s upcoming war effort. King Genn, the ruler in exile of Gilneas, was considered a strong supporter for the war, contingent on the promise that his fallen kingdom would be returned to its people. The Kingdom of Gilneas, having been lost to the Banshee Queen’s invasion during the Great Cataclysm, had formed the majority of so-called ‘warhawks’ in the Alliance’s council since its destruction. Aligning with conservative elements in Stormwind’s parliament, the idea of redirecting Alliance forces to aide in the reclamation of Teldrassil worried many. There was the possibility that, if greatly offended by this turn of events, King Genn would withdraw his support and venture out to fight for his homeland alone. However, there was the equally precarious position of the night elves, for the kaldorei had just lost their homeland and would no doubt be greatly offended in the Alliance war effort deemed it appropriate to travel north while seeming to ignore the fighting in the west. Therefore, a great meeting was announced by His Majesty, King Anduin of Stormwind, to discover what sentiments lingered among the Alliance’s rulers.

The details of this meeting are a mixture of cataloged fact and unexplained mystery, for quiet words were had to avoid outcry. Yet, with some certainty, I argue that when King Anduin pressed King Genn for a conclusive answer regarding his sentiment on aiding the kaldorei remnant, the Gilnean monarch gave his support to the young king of Stormwind and the remainder of the Alliance. In this way, Queen Sylvanas’ stratagem of weakening the Grand Alliance by striking at one of its strongest allies in Kalimdor, thereby dividing the Alliance’s attention on multiple fronts and threatening disunion and anarchy among its ranks, failed. I argue that she deeply underestimated the Alliance’s resolve, perhaps incorrectly judging that the precarious position she found herself in with the Horde after the War on Argus would be mirrored among the races of the Alliance. Instead, only a small minority of conservative warmongers and ‘crusaders,’ eager to reclaim the northlands regardless of any other strategic consideration, protested the choice to assist in reclaiming the kaldorei’s lands. Reassured that his closest advisor stood by him in that darkest hour, King Anduin marshaled his forces and prepared to make the Alliance’s first move against the Horde in the wake of the Burning. No more punitive raids and expeditions were to be sent to die in vain across the Great Sea – indeed, a formal and bloody response awaited Queen Sylvanas’ Horde.

A portion of the Alliance’s grand army was kept in reserve, meant to guard the homelands of the Eastern Kingdoms from any further Horde attacks. Other troops were sent west, more carefully supplied to adequately support the kaldorei remnant in Darkshore. The bulk of the army rallied in Stormwind City under the command of His Majesty, King Anduin, to sail north towards Lordaeron and reclaim the lost kingdom. Just as Teldrassil burned, the Alliance would seek retribution on the Banshee Queen by laying siege to her home capital. The first forces to make landfall in Tirisfal, the homelands of the undead folk, were vanguard troops sent ahead to secure a beachhead for the primary invasion force, composed of some 60,000 soldiers under arms and the entirety of the Royal Navy’s Third Fleet. The vanguard numbered approximately 10,000 or so, made up of a wide variety of forces. I was among their number, joining the Stormwind Royal Army on the ground alongside a company of comrades under the command of Sir Markus, attached formally to the 7th Legion. We landed somewhere north of Lordaeron City, scouting paths inland and establishing a small camp out of sight of enemy patrols. When confrontation became inevitable, Alliance commanders there saw it suitable to claim a more suitable defensive position. The nearby Scarlet Monastery, having been somewhat abandoned by the former Scarlet Crusade for some years, was quickly overtaken as the small resistance there could not have expected such a brutal assault upon their fortifications. With the remaining militants imprisoned or slain on the field, the Alliance vanguard took up positions and planned their next move. Raids were to be conducted throughout the surrounding countryside, weakening the Horde’s supply lines and instilling terror in the hearts of the defenders. Regarding these attacks, little can be said on the number of Horde forces prowling the Glades. Estimates are unreliable, for their garrisons changed dramatically over the course of the following weeks as troops were funneled from Kalimdor and Silvermoon towards Lordaeron. In all, I surmise the Horde’s numbers escalated from a low of 6,000, these being the local garrisons of the Forsaken, to the tens of thousands upon word reaching the Banshee Queen that the Alliance had launched an invasion into the northlands.

The fighting that ensued was meant to be a delaying tactic as much as a reconnaissance in force, as information regarding the Horde’s defenses were funneled back to Alliance commanders at the Monastery and Stormwind City. The first strikes were aimed at the eastern reaches of the province, where Alliance forces attacked Horde garrisons near the Forsaken’s ‘Bulwark’ – a large fortification guarding the south-eastern borders with Silverpine. Farmsteads, long since abandoned and now used as depots for Horde reinforcements marching from Quel’thalas and Andorhal, were fought over for days. Local commanders, such as Commander Kerdic Lothinil, a Lordaeronian native, failed to push back the Horde from these farmsteads, allowing them to rally and utilize the abandoned farmlands as outposts to protect invaluable resupply routes. Others, such as General Leilla Fernfeather, a kaldorei commander, cut a path through the Tirisfal wildlands and destroyed the Horde’s flank. Back at the Scarlet Monastery, the Lord Marshal Maxen Montclair, Duke of Westridge, rallied the defenders of the Alliance’s forward base and withstood attacks from both the Scarlet remnant and Forsaken outriders poised to dislodge the vanguard.

These incursions bore fruit, as the Horde began giving ground as it was deemed strategically disadvantageous to do so. Instead, this fighting withdrawal was no doubt meant to delay the Alliance vanguard, as more and more reinforcements poured into Lordaeron City with each day. Needing to secure a more direct path to the Forsaken capital, Alliance commanders reconsidered their approach and made plans to assault down the central highway cutting through Brill and, ultimately, the capital city. Intense fighting broke out along the northern foothills and plains, near an old village known as Garren’s Haunt. The Alliance swung west and south, firmly securing the north beaches and now marching south towards the town of Brill. Following these engagements, many prisoners were taken from the wounded on both sides. These prisoners were held in numerous locations along Horde and Alliance outposts, with rumors abound that many were tortured on both sides. ‘Twould be during the penultimate assaults on the outlying territories, namely near the Agamand Mills in the west and the lands of the former Calston Estate, that a great number of these captives were freed from their bonds and returned to their respective sides. While in camp, I witnessed many of these former prisoners broken and battered, their bodies bloodied and spirits injured by untold atrocities. Alliance commanders decreed no mercy for the Horde, declaring that no quarter be given to the foe. Furthermore, many more decrees were made as violence escalated on the fields of battle, including ones forbidding ill talk among the troops that could encourage dissent. I took great care to watch my tongue and actions, for personal interviews and note-taking risked me being taken into chains by my own kinsmen. Undeterred, I continued to take up my pen as these events transpired.

Following this rise in hostilities, many could feel that the final confrontation was fast approaching. Concerns on how my comrades would view my studies in mind, I nonetheless spoke to as many as were willing about their experiences and thoughts on the eve of the offensive. A great deal of them hesitated and some were outright unapproachable, but this was to be expected by nervous soldiers and skeptical commanders. I took no offense when I was rebuffed again and again, for I too was once an army officer well versed in the laws and conduct expected of soldiers at the front. For those of you unaware of these, there is a great deal of ‘common sense’ care practiced when discussing upcoming actions; little is said or traded among comrades, especially between those who have intimate knowledge of the plans for battle. Therefore, I sought out the ordinary infantry, who were more willing to share and divulge their own thoughts. However, let us remember that many were still shaken and nervous of then-recent decrees governing what could and could not be discussed, especially if it could be interpreted as defeatist in character. Nevertheless, I made my way through the camp with fellow scholar and scribe Mister Har’kel Stonehaven, an elf who had joined our company at the vanguard camp.

Overall, a great deal of the forces in Lordaeron, at least those among the vanguard, were optimistic of their chances in the upcoming assault. Furthermore, many felt justified in their presence there, feeling that this response to the Banshee Queen’s attack on Teldrassil was the morally righteous thing to do. Specifically, I spoke with some of the suppliers of the Alliance forces at the Monastery, such as pandaren merchant Wey-Chung Brokenarrow of the Iron Oxen Trading Company. He informed me that although the cost of supplying the troops was considerably high, the Alliance had provided a great deal of coin to bolster their stores. However, he made it known to me that he, like many other unnamed soldiers at the front, felt a great deal of remorse regarding the direction of the war. Vocal and extreme minorities had driven their respective factions to these crossroads, and it would be up to individuals to make the right choices to avoid greater catastrophe. This sort of disdain towards the armed response in the wake of Teldrassil was not shared by many, although a great deal did express concern on the rising brutality of the war – a sort of destructive spirit not seen since the first Great Wars. Others, like Mister William Silverwood, a footman of Gilneas, expressed extreme sentiments over the burning of Teldrassil. This is unsurprising, as the Gilneas are some of the kaldorei’s closest allies following the fall of the kingdom during the Great Cataclysm. William argued for the moral justifications of the war, stating that the attack on Tirisfal and Lordaeron was justified to curb Horde aggression against the Grand Alliance.

Moral justifications aside, I also inquired on the matter of Azerite, the newly discovered mineral that seemed to contribute towards the reasons for war as much as anything else. I return to William, declaring he knew little about the substance but suspected it would be invaluable in the war to come. This vague understanding of Azerite was also shared by others, such as one Lord Joel Bexleigh, Duke of High Cairn. His Grace also professed to a relative lack of understanding about Azerite but knew all too well that it would make a great prize in this conflict. Indeed, although Azerite was perceived as a worthy objective, the common soldiery professed to know little. As I had written in earlier chapters, I too also lack the necessary qualifications to comment in any meaningful way on the mineral besides echoing the sentiment that it is undeniably powerful. During my time in Lordaeron, I did not see any notable veins of Azerite in the area like those I witnessed sprouting up from the earth in Darkshore. This is an interesting contrast to note, for the Horde’s motivations to assault Teldrassil may have also been motivated by a desire to seize upon new veins of the mineral, while the Alliance sought to attack the Forsaken capital as an act of morally justified and long overdue retribution.

Finally, my last questions to those I interviewed revolved around these said moral justifications for war – in other words, the casus belli of both the Horde and the Alliance. As I had mentioned before, many troops in the vanguard voiced support for the Alliance’s actions, such as the troops and officers of Stormwind’s Royal Army. Namely, I spoke to some of my old comrades among the First Regiment of Westridge such as Sir Ismond Laldere and Dames Theodora de Vries and Clarissa Greystone. Although blindingly resolute, I could sense past the formal and practiced responses reserved for questioning scholars like myself that many had been waiting for this sort of offensive for years. Since the fall of Lordaeron during the Third War, many sons and daughters of the north, including many human conservatives, had petitioned for an attack on Lordaeron. At last, here was their chance. Others, such as Lord Joel and his lieutenants, Eugene Lenormand and Rhialynne Morales, expressed a desire to reclaim not just Lordaeron but the whole of the northlands. Specifically, His Grace stated the fallen kingdom of Stromgarde could be used as a staging point and failing to seize upon this opportunity would be foolish on the part of Alliance strategists. In short, many of the human forces among the vanguard declared a shared sentiment: this was not solely about Lordaeron, but about humanity. Reclaiming Lordaeron was but one step towards taking back Stromgarde, Alterac, and Gilneas, reuniting the kingdoms and strengthening the Alliance’s hold over the Eastern Kingdoms. The reclamation of the northlands, along with avenging the loss of life in Teldrassil, composed the core of the Alliance’s reason for war. I see little reason to disagree.

Yet, I confess to personal fears. As the sun rose on the 4th of August, the day the Alliance marched forward to press the penultimate attack upon the walls of Lordaeron, I worried about how far our own civility would be tested. The Horde’s barbarous act at Teldrassil could just as quickly be repeated here, as vengeful spirits among the Alliance no doubt saw the city of Lordaeron as a suitable place, long tainted by blight of the undead, to inflict similar atrocities upon the living races of the Horde. Before we made for the field towards the town of Brill and the outer perimeter of the capital, I quote now the words of His Grace Duke Berenal Grayblade, Commander in the remnants of Gilneas’ armies. In his speech to the marshaled forces of the Alliance, he had this to say:

“Brill is isolated, and the Horde is vulnerable. That town is the last thing that stands between us and the Gates of Lordaeron, between us and retribution! Brave sons and daughters of the Lion, tonight we redeem a decade of cruelty and torture. A decade of murder and deceit. We avenge the souls of thousands. We return the idea that the Menethils placed into this land when they took up the mantle of King. We are Darnassus. We are Stormwind. We are Gilneas. We are the Exodar. We are Gnomeregan. We are Ironforge. We are the Ren’dorei, the Pandaren, the Lightforged. We are every faction of one thing. And that one is thus: We are the Alliance! And we have come for vengeance! For Lordaeron! For every man, woman, and child the Horde has slain! Just as Lothar had, we will make them regret setting foot on our world. On our land! For the Alliance!”

A sentiment of unity, but one laced with the potential for a great atrocity. Retribution, my reader, is one thing. To bring one’s foes to justice through moral virtue is genuinely righteous – but let me not preach as a priest would. I speak only of my feeling, for that may be worth. For as I stood on that field, my heart grieved for those lost and, in turn, the countless more that would follow. Those fears slowly crawled deeper into my soul, as the words of General Leilla Fernfeather attested to those concerns. I quote now:

“Darnassus will see its vengeance on this day! The kaldorei people have been hungry for the blood of the Horde, and with the aide of the Alliance, our thirst will be quenched. On this night, we teach the Horde once more to fear the Night. They will learn they made the greatest mistake when they set our World Tree alight.” She pauses, “A sleeping dragon has been awoken, and will never settle until we have the Banshee Queen’s life. We do this not just for Darnassus, kaldorei, but to aide our human allies in returning to their homeland. We must not forget those who helped us in our darkest hour. Our children have been murdered, our lives have been forever altered, but we will not falter. We will raise our bows and swords to the sky and have our voices heard once more. Ana’duna thera (Revenge will be ours)! Thor falah nor dora (Fight for justice)!”

Justice and revenge met only with blood. However, whose blood? In that moment, would that price be paid by the Banshee Queen, warmonger and bringer of chaos to this realm, or the people under her bootheel – many of which, although complacent and their hands stained with the blood of innocents, had little to do with initiating the atrocities carried out on the shores of Darkshore and the World Tree? Perhaps I am unable to see through the eyes of the suffering kaldorei and the grieving northlanders, who I believe are justified in their crusade to acquire justice for the wrongful acts done against them. Yet, I saw only a long road to further suffering, not the swift end many suggested would come with the end of Queen Sylvanas’ reign. After all, there was a precedent for this sort of wild and barbaric nature – this sort of disunity which I feel will only bring about the moral downfall of our peoples. The attitudes on Argus repeated themselves before me, but now there was no great evil standing between the Horde and us. The raging hellfire that burned in the hearts of every man and woman on that marshaling field, on that fateful march to Lordaeron, stoked the coming violence.

The vanguard forces rallied just outside of Brill. Word reached the troops that King Anduin and the main Alliance force were to arrive in a few days, meaning that a path was to be cleared all the way to the Forsaken capital. For weeks now, the Alliance had been carving a path through Tirisfal heartland. Weeks of bloody fighting had reduced much of the land to ashen wastes, with trees cut down in the process by the vanguard’s sappers and engineers to level the field should the Horde sally forth and engage the Alliance in a pitched battle. Now, all that remained was Brill itself. The defenders there stood little chance, as the full might of the vanguard was thrust upon the town’s walls. Within a matter of hours, the gates were opened, and the Alliance rushed inside. A scene of cataclysmic fighting unfolded, as Alliance cavalry rode down stragglers and engineers ran to each building with torches and explosives. Setting the whole of the settlement alight, the army marched on and proceeded to begin siege works while a perimeter was established to protect the diggers and miners. Mages and flying machines, both wielding volatile alchemist’s fire, scorched the dead grasses of Tirisfal and made way for new forward camps. To further delay and stall any attempts by the Horde to leave their defenses, raids were launched on the defenders. Dissuaded by these actions, the Horde chose to dig in and hold the walls until they either ran out of supplies or were taken from them by force. The lines were drawn, as the Alliance quickly assembled a siege camp and began the construction of towers and rams in preparation for His Majesty’s arrival.

On the morning of the 7th of August, His Majesty, joined by his commanders and allies, marched south of the landing beaches and made his way towards the Alliance camp. Siege towers, roughly ten or so, had been assembled with the help of master engineers and skilled artificers. Cannons and catapults lined the perimeter of the city, surrounding it in a crescent shape with the ocean to its back. The smell of burning wood and powder filled the air, as the Alliance’s 70,000 strong siege army stood in opposition to the Horde’s 40,000, outnumbering greatly. Much of the Banshee Queen’s troops remained in Darkshore, caught up in that province’s occupation. Deprived of much-needed reinforcement by the quick actions of the siege army, both sides waited for the signal to begin the attack. The same day His Majesty arrived at the camp ‘twas to be the climax of the siege, as the banners were raised, and trumpets blared. Regiments of infantry, supported by elven and dwarven marksmen on the ground and gnomish pilots in the air, kept good order as they advanced to the walls under the command of their respective marshals. King Genn personally lead the charge down the middle of the highway, making a path right towards the city gates. The Horde response was swift, as archers and gunners rained down fire from the city walls and warriors rushed through many portcullises located on the flanks of the main gate. Battle was met along the outer tracks of the city’s defenses.

During the initial hour of fighting, of the ten siege towers brought forward by the Alliance, four were selected to make the initial advance. Two had been already destroyed by concentrated artillery fire from the walls, with a further four remaining in reserve. Each tower was some 100 feet tall, manned by hundreds of engineers and infantry on the ground. Armored to the front and coated in hides or metal to prevent flaming ammunition from setting them alight, they trundled forward towards the walls of Lordaeron City. Massive cannons, protected by brass and steel shielding, opened fire on the defenders below. Walls cracked and crumbled but failed to give way, a testament to Lordaeronian engineering. When the Horde forces that had sallied forth were finally defeated, Alliance soldiers rallied around the towers and prepared to climb. However, it was in that moment that a great war-machine emerged from a secondary gate along the West Wall, rolling forward towards the Alliance’s lines. The machine, which I can only describe as monstrous in appearance, was much larger than any siege tank in the Alliance’s arsenal. It crashed through armor and fortification alike, rendering man asunder underneath its massive wheels and goring others on the horns of its battering ram. All forces then concentrated on the behemoth, resulting in many of the Alliance’s infantry formations becoming so tightly packed that they became easy targets for the defenders on the walls above. Soldiers attempted to stave off the mechanical beast with polearms, resulting only in failure when the Horde tank blasted its ram forward or shot out explosive munitions from a top mounted cannon. It was only when King Anduin, having dismounted and joined the fray personally, boarded the vehicle with a contingent of his royal guard that they managed to crack open its armor and slay the crew inside. Evidence at the site, such as a particularly powerful blueish flame, suggested the weapon was not powered by ordinary steam or oil, but rather Azerite. With the Horde’s mighty tank destroyed, the remnants of the Alliance siege forces rallied to the King and his banner, preparing to begin the final push.

However, upon seeing that the four advancing siege towers had been destroyed in the ensuing combat, King Anduin chose to stand his ground and bide his time. Ordering the remaining towers forward, he arrayed his troops in good order and waited for the next wave. Seeing that the human king held a considerable advantage over her, and not above any sort of depravity or dishonor, Queen Sylvanas ordered that the Blight, that devilish concoction known to bring only plague and misery to all who touch it, be deployed on to the field. As the troops turned their gaze skyward, barrels hurtled towards their lines, filled to the brim with the foul greenish liquid. Cracking open and staining the ashen earth below, countless fell on both sides within moments. Horde and Alliance, in a moment seemingly reliving the horrors reported at the Wrathgate during the War against the Lich King, were consumed and, shortly after that, raised by foul necromantic magic. The Banshee Queen now commanded an army of the fallen, as undead warriors, former brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, lovers and friends, charged the Alliance lines. Weakened by plague and battle, Kings Anduin and Genn ordered a fighting withdrawal back towards the Alliance camp. During this, Horde riders engaged the Alliance’s own fighters in the skies above Lordaeron, swooping down past them and setting the last remaining towers alight. With all the towers now destroyed and many infantry, cavalry, and engines lost in the fray, hope seemed lost. Estimates of the initial casualties sustained during the plague bombardment and following raising of the undead numbered in the thousands, crippling the charge and risking a complete rout.

Then, the heavens thundered, and clouds split open. From the smoke ridden skies above, a mighty vessel bearing the crest of Kul Tiras flew across the sky on an arcane cloud. Although I, recovering from wounds sustained during the fighting, could not see what or who powered this ship, a shout was carried across the field that bore a name – Jaina Proudmoore, master sorceress and daughter of Daelin Proudmoore, former Lord Admiral of the Isles. By some arcane means, she had managed to bring an entire Kul Tirasian man o’ war to the field, casting a mighty blizzard that froze over the battlefield and swept away the clouds of Blight that lingered in the aftermath of the Horde counter-attack. A thundering barrage from the vessel brought down a section of the city’s walls, opening a path for the remnants of the Alliance army. Unable to join the assault, I rely heavily from here onward on reports given to me by those who told me of their experiences after the battle’s conclusion. According to these sources, King Anduin rallied the attackers and made quickly through the breach. Once inside, a contingent of the Alliance’s army remained behind to guard the rear to protect from a flanking attack. The remainder pushed on, heading to the heart of the Undercity.

What transpired within the walls of the ruined city can only be described as a flurry of action and vicious hand-to-hand fighting. Stormwind, Gilnean, Lordaeronian, and Stromgardian infantry, in scenes reminiscent of the Second War, formed ranks and created shield walls in the middle of the city’s vast courtyards. Kaldorei and ren’dorei archers readied their bows, unleashing a volley of arrows that darkened the already blackened skies over the citadel. Dwarven and gnomish siege smiths and gunners organized devastating volleys of concentrated rifle fire, followed by explosive salvos from hand-cannons and bundles of grenades. Draenei, empowered by their faith, maintained divine shields over the formations of infantry. Pandaren menders hauled the wounded to safety, tending to those they could before joining they fight themselves. Any disunity the Banshee Queen had hoped to exploit was nonexistent on that battlefield, and that reality must have stung her deeply. Seeing no alternative, she ordered a retreat from the streets and plazas of the former Lordaeronian capital, falling back to the inner sanctum of the city. It was there that the last bastion of resistance rallied under Varok Saurfang, Overlord of the orcish legions and marshal of the Horde. Making a stand before the entrance into the Undercity, a final engagement followed. Overwhelmed, the Overlord sank to his knees in defeat, reportedly asking for a warrior’s death. From the pieces of evidence I have gathered from soldiers who joined His Majesty, I quote the following as equal parts second-hand accounts and conjecture:

As the Overlord was struck and wounded, staggering back towards the gates to the Undercity, his own guards defeated and slain, he prepared to make his final stand. However, at the behest of His Majesty King Anduin Wrynn, the forces of the Alliance held their ground and waited. “No!” shouted the Overlord, attempting to stand and resist, “I will not be denied a warrior’s death! Strike me – and let me die with honor!” Upon declaring this, King Anduin stepped forward with a sheathed blade, speaking in low tones. Engaging the defeated orc in parley, he stated, “You speak of honor, Saurfang, but I declare the opposite. This whole war is stained with dishonor, a price you know all too well. Have you forgotten the barbarity of the Burning? Have you blinded yourself to the treachery done here at this battle, as your Warchief chose to use the damned Blight on even her own troops?”

“No,” concluded His Majesty, “I do not think you so blind. You and I see it clearly: there is no honor in this. I make you my prisoner, for when I return victorious from this battle here, we shall see to it that some honor is maintained. For if there is anything to fight for now, it is the dignity of our peoples.” And so, as the Overlord was taken into custody, His Majesty pressed onward along his allies and guard, entering the bowels of the Undercity. Passing through the halls that the great Menethils once did, he arrived to meet with the Banshee Queen of the Forsaken, Queen Sylvanas herself. King Anduin took only his closest advisers, leaving a rear guard of troops to protect the entryway. King Genn of Gilneas, Lady Alleria Windrunner, and Jaina Proudmoore joined His Majesty at the Queen’s own throne room, surrounding her with all due haste.

“We have you here,” shouted King Genn, eagerly awaiting the chance to avenge the fall of his own kingdom, “Your armies are beaten and routed – your capital, homeland of Lordaeron, is now in our hands!” The Queen scoffed, as King Anduin stepped forward and confronted her directly. Ruler to ruler. “You have nothing – you have won nothing,” shouted the Banshee Queen towards her adversaries. “All you have accomplished here is delay the coming darkness that will envelop this world, for the Horde shall rally once more and live to fight another day. Verily, you have only hastened your doom.”

“I do not think you are in a position to threaten such, Banshee Queen. Look around you: you have lost! We have captured your marshal, broken down your walls, and destroyed your forces. Your actions and your actions alone have led us to this sad pass, for it is only you who wanted this war. Come then and answer for your crimes, surrender or die.”

What occurred then is only a mystery, for a great retreat was called for. The earth quaked fiercely, the city’s walls shook and fell, and suddenly every gate filled with rivers of Blight. Ghostly clouds of the substance filled the air, as the vanguard inside the walls were swiftly teleported about by the sorceress Jaina, with any lingering within falling quickly to the Banshee Queen’s barbarous action. Instead of yielding with some measure of dignity, Queen Sylvanas elected to forsake any living soul inside the walls of the capital city, Alliance or Horde, to the afterlife. When all was said and done, His Majesty and his small contingent were evacuated safely, allowing the Banshee Queen and her war-host to escape safely from the battlefield. As the smoke settled and passions died, the truth revealed itself: Lordaeron City and the whole of Tirisfal had been reduced to a wasteland. The capital was destroyed.

In the following days, the grim task of recovering bodies and equipment began. Estimates on Alliance losses are staggering: of the 70,000 soldiers that joined the siege, some estimate 20,000 casualties, including dead and wounded, were suffered. The great majority of these fell during the deployment of Blight by the Forsaken garrison, with their bodies brought back to life by the dark wizardry of the Banshee Queen. The Horde’s losses were equally high, with their estimated garrison of 40,000 suffering 15,000 to 20,000 casualties, half of their forces slain or wounded on the battlefield. Again, many of these troops were killed or injured using Blight, as Horde forces were cut off and succumbed to the vile plague concoction. Countless untold more were taken during the destruction of the city. There was also the massive loss of siege equipment and war machines on both sides, costing the Alliance and the Horde thousands of gold in damages. The Siege of Lordaeron was a costly battle in both lives and resources and with the Alliance unable to maintain a foothold on the territory following the invasion it is difficult to call this a decisive victory. Instead, this pyrrhic victory accomplished only so much; it weakened the Horde’s armies, destroyed a crucial capital in the east, and resulted in the capture of a valuable Horde general.

What it failed to do is much more significant, for the siege did not end with the capture of Lordaeron City and the creation of a new staging point in the northlands. Instead, whether Alliance commanders intended to raze the city given a chance, the city was destroyed by the enemy – not the conquerors. This is, at best, a symbolic slight against the Alliance, demonstrating that the Horde is willing to pay the ultimate price to achieve victory in this war. At worst, it denied the Alliance a rallying site for armies on the way to Quel’thalas and Silvermoon City in the north, should the Alliance choose to pursue such a path. As I mentioned before, the siege was also incredibly costly, as is typical of a city assault. While waiting for the defenders to surrender, for the undead do not need to eat to survive, was out of the question, the inability for the Alliance to mass the necessary amount of firepower to bring down the city’s walls speaks to the rushed nature of the attack. Even with a vanguard force having been deployed, it is evident that passion and a blinding desire for vengeance may have gotten the better of the Alliance’s commanders. Finally, it is important to note one key distinction between the invasion of Darkshore and that of Tirisfal: The Horde managed to maintain an occupation force in kaldorei lands, the Alliance did not. Again, whether this was the aim of the Alliance or not – that being the annexation of Tirisfal – is unknown to me, but I argue that this is a failure of the invasion. Although only shattered remnants of the Forsaken wander those lands now, it is still land lost that could have been reclaimed. Land that may have provided a much-needed buffer against the sin’dorei in the north and the Horde across the sea. If nothing else, while the loss of Lordaeron may embolden its sons and daughters to take up arms, there are practical realities that must be observed in any war.

Lordaeron did not tip the tide in the Alliance’s favor. It only balanced the odds and started the war in earnest – a war that will become a grinding stalemate, as it always has been. For either side to achieve victory, brute force must be out of the question. Such antiquated thinking will only doom us all.