Siege of Tirisfal

Siege of Tirisfal
Previous: Burning of Teldrassil
Next: Siege of Lordaeron
Conflict: Blood War
Date: c. August, 38 L.C.
Place: Tirisfal Glades
Outcome: Alliance victory. Remnants of the Scarlet Crusade evicted from the Monastery and the surrounding area; stragglers are captured, converted, or killed by the Alliance. Balnir Farmstead salted and burned by the Horde. Alliance claims dominion over the North Coast. Horde maintains an outpost in Agamand Mills. Horde outposts in western and eastern Tirisfal are sacked. Brill is destroyed. Beginning of the Siege of Lordaeron.
Belligerents:
Grand Alliance Kingdom of Gilneas Kingdom of Stormwind Kingdom of Lordaeron Darnassus Kingdom of Ironforge Kingdom of Alterac Kingdom of Stromgarde Gnomeregan	New Horde Kingdom of Quel'thalas Forsaken Durotar	Scarlet Remnant
Commanders and Leaders:
Berenal Grayblade Aleyina Grayblade Maxen Montclair Kerdic Lothinil Harris Caryle Leilla Fernfeather Wisp Ivymoon	Seleste Felsorrow Ivan Sibelius Felsorrow Telchis Truefeather Erilihn Autumnsong Surtruk Firehands Thandiel Highdawn Vaknosh Blackwolf	Chandan Ostrick Mara Ardentlocke Isambard Trask Altrek Redblade
Strength:
Blades of Greymane The First Regiment The Eastwatch The Stormwind Guard Stormwind Royal Guard League of Lordaeron Remnant of Lordaeron Dwarven Vanguard Citrine Eagle Alliance of Arathor The Crescent Glaive Song of Nightfall Gnomeregan Forward Advance Pride of Gnomeregan Ashborne Accord The Sacred Rite The Unbroken Pact Phantom Legion Order of the Beast Hellstriders Scarlet Defectors	The Sunguard Dominion of the Sun The Sunsworn Ashes of Al'ar Hand of Vengeance Kor'kron Legion The Unseen The Howling Void Thunderroar Warband	Army of the Truthful Scarlet Brigade
Casualties and Losses:
Heavy. Rilennia Rimeshard (later raised into undeath)	Heavy.	Heavy.

The Siege of Tirisfal was the beginning of an all-out invasion of the Tirisfal Glades by forces of the Alliance to evict the Horde from Lordaeron in response to the Burning of Teldrassil.

Day 1 - Gathering

Following the destruction of Teldrassil, the Alliance fleet sailed north to Tirisfal, landing on the North Coast where they established a perimeter. From their landing area, they claimed the Scarlet Monastery for use as their base of operations, which was nearly abandoned after the majority of the Scarlets were butchered by the Order of the Ebon Blade during the Legion invasion. The few remaining Scarlets that held the Monastery and the Scarlet Watch Post overlooking the coastline were killed or captured, with the Watch Post being re-purposed into a prisoner camp where they kept the captured Scarlets.

The arriving Horde forces, many streaming up from Silverpine’s docks, rallied to the throne room in the ruins of Lordaeron, where the Crimson Vanguard prepared to defend Tirisfal and the Undercity.

Day 2 - Eastern Tirisfal

The Alliance and Horde faced off over the eastern reaches of Tirisfal, primarily the Bulwark and Balnir Farmstead; with the Alliance attempting to choke off reinforcements from Quel'thalas and Andorhal while the Horde attempted to keep the pass open for supply and aide.

Under Kerdic Lothinil, the Alliance was unable to successfully rout the Horde from Balnir Farmstead, forcing the Alliance to fall back from the position after a series of back and forth matches. As a result, the Horde, led by Sibelius Felsorrow, was capable of holding the farmstead and prevented it from being garrisoned by Alliance forces as a forward command post.

General Fernfeather fared better in Venomweb Vale, facing off against the forces of Erilihn Autumnsong, where the Horde was defeated and forced to retreat away from the flank of the monastery.

At the same time, Lord-Marshal Montclair and his forces were able to successfully defend the monastery from both Scarlet insurgency as well as an aerial bombardment by the Forsaken; thus leading to the solidification of the Alliance position within the foothills of Lordaeron. However, the Truthful insurgents still managed to steal a number of Alliance supplies during the attack.

Wisp Ivymoon, Owaeran Isernwyrhta and Wey-Chung Brokenarrow led a strike team to prevent Horde from flanking the forces assailing the Bulwark, successfully repelling the Forsaken and laying waste to the Death's Watch Waystation.

Finally, the Bulwark was ransacked by an Alliance force led by Berenal Grayblade, repelling the forces of Vaknosh Blackwolf, going as far as to capture the Horde commander as well. Without the Bulwark, the eastern pass has been choked and the Horde cannot send aid from Andorhal.

Ultimately, the Horde, despite claiming victory over Balnir Farmstead, declared the position strategically disadvantageous to continue holding. Under Felsorrow's orders, the area was salted and completely destroyed, everything put to the torch. As the Alliance had been hoping to use the position defensively and potentially strategically, this was a blow to the potential of the Alliance's victory in the east.

Both sides took several prisoners, and in the wake of Teldrassil, conduct towards them had mostly been discarded in favor of tactics of total war; thus leading further on the conflict ridden path of the Horde and the Alliance.

Map by Cartres.

Day 3 - Battle of Garren's Haunt

Following the battles in eastern Tirisfal, both factions vied for control over the coastline, with fighting breaking out primarily over the region of Garren's Haunt.

By the end of the battle, the Alliance claimed dominion over the North Coast, taking control of Garren's Haunt and destroying the plague factories. With this, the Alliance now had a powerful choke hold over Tirisfal.

Multiple groups flanked along the roads and woods, preventing major Horde excursion, though the Horde was still able to bleed the Alliance troupe that faced off in the Haunt. In particular, a Huojin Pandaren named Gulong Sunpaw managed to stave off waves of Alliance defenders before finally being defeated, marking the Horde's final stand in the area.

More prisoners were taken on both sides, however, tensions rose further and further as both set their sights on the more advantageous positions in the Glades. With that night, however, the Alliance had solidified a dangerous foothold, no longer secluded to their mountain citadel.

Map by Cartres.

Day 4 - Skirmish in Agamand Mills

With most of the north coastline secured, the Alliance forces, bolstered by the momentum of their recent victories, looked to the nearby Agamand Mills, a strategic position overlooking the recently-conquered Garren's Haunt that was held by the Horde.

Believing it to be an easy target, Leah Beaumont rallied the Alliance to raid the Mills, mustering a small party to break through the outer defenses. Despite protest from various Alliance members criticizing the impromptu attack, many answered Beaumont's call and rode to the northern end of the Mills, where the Horde was still preparing for the Alliance. Despite heavy Horde resistance and a trap laid just beyond the outer perimeter that collapsed their pathway out, the Alliance force was able to defeat the Horde's vanguard and steal a number of supplies as well as securing three Plague carts for disposal, and the efforts of members of the Pride of Gnomeregan saw the collapsed pathway be cleared in time for their retreat, all with minimal casualties.

Following the departure of Beaumont's war party, Captain Cartres Portiave rallied some of the remaining Alliance forces who didn't follow her in order to plan a strategic strike on the Horde instead. Using daring tactics, they teleported themselves onto a zeppelin carrying elite Kor'kron troops, planted explosives and destroyed it. Though they weren't able to escape in time, recovery teams lying in wait managed to find the Alliance troops, and the strike culminated in the destruction of the zeppelin and the Forsaken forces that investigated the "accidental crash", with minimal Alliance casualties.

Meanwhile, during the night an unauthorized attempted prison escape when awry when Rilennia Rimeshard, a member of the Alliance-aligned Silver Covenant disregarded the Kirin Tor's neutrality in favor of her loyalties to Zaria Blackmoore, who had been taken captive by the Horde. Disguising herself as the Hand of Vengeance's Head Apothecary Seleste Felsorrow. Though she was able to save a handful of prisoners - namely Zaria herself, Illithyl Harkon, Janewell Broadbent, Alyserah Helstrom, and Cedric Elengarde - she was discovered by Seleste's husband, and subsequently killed and raised as an undead.

The Forsaken citizens from the Lordaeronian countryside were evacuated into the ruins of Lordaeron, where the Kor'kron Legion helped portal out a portion of them in order to make more space.

Ultimately, the Alliance claimed minor victories and disrupted Horde movements, but there were no important territorial changes.

Day 5 - Battle of Stillwater

The Alliance sacked along the western half of Tirisfal, laying waste to a vast swath of Forsaken territory as well as claiming several key locations. Most notably among these was the sacking of the Calston Estate, claiming the bridge that leads to Brill by way of a small post in Cold Hearth Manor, ultimately choking Brill off from western support.

The Alliance and Horde clashed over the southern half of Agamand Mills, and despite both sides having a strong showing, the Horde managed to claim victory. Establishing a watchpost, the Horde retained a force within the mills, prepared to ride out along the western half of Tirisfal should the Alliance over extend themselves past the Calston Estate.

Following these battles, both the Horde and Alliance managed to break the majority of their respective prisoners free, and both sides took up the narrative of no quarter, thus meaning that prisoners would no longer be taken for the remaining duration of the siege.

With the sacking of the Calson Estate and Cold Hearth Manor, Brill was now isolated, and Kings Anduin Wrynn and Genn Greymane were expected to arrive any day now. The Alliance mustered the next night to lay siege to Brill, to destroy the town and pave a clear path towards the Undercity, and Lordaeron Keep.

Day 6 - Battle of Brill

With Brill completely cut off from all reinforcements, the Alliance mustered its forces to lay siege to it with the intention of razing it to the ground. The Alliance was able to secure two of the three gates leading into Brill, but as the Horde routed the Alliance forces attacking the western gate they realized that the town had been taken by the Alliance. Escaping through the western path out of Brill that had been able to secure, they fell back to Lordaeron Keep to force the Alliance armies to meet them at the walls.

With nothing to stand in the way of the oncoming Alliance Army, the remaining forces were given leave to wreak havoc across Tirisfal to weaken the defenses of the Horde in preparation for the reclamation of Lordaeron.

In preparation for the siege, the Horde collapsed the sewer tunnels with a mix of explosives and shamanistic magic. Furthermore, in an act of desperation the Orb of Translocation connecting Lordaeron and Quel'thalas as two allied nations had been shattered, its energy dispersed and consumed by a team of Sin'dorei and a lone Forsaken ally.

Day 7 - Sacking of Lordaeron

With the coastline secured and Brill put to the flame, Alliance war parties roamed across the fields of Tirisfal, and multiple skirmishes took place as they sacked the Horde's remaining holdings, routing them towards Lordaeron Keep.

As the siege of Tirisfal came to a close, High King Anduin and King Genn's flagships landed, command was exchanged and the Alliance began to solidify the choke on Lordaeron that has been established. In response, Horde leaders such as Saurfang, Baine, Lor'themar and Nathanos rallied to Sylvanas to defend the Undercity. The siege of Lordaeron Keep began.