Like many others countries in the Northern Realms, the kingdom of Kaedwen maintained a large and well-trained royal army, full of valorous commanders and brave soldiers able to tolerate the terribly cold weather of the terrain.
Although the Kaedwenian soldiers were not the best swordsman of the north, they were without a doubt the best in the use of siege weapons and cavalry units.
The "crème de la crème" of the Kaedwenian Army was the Dun Banner, a cavalry unit characterized by soldiers wearing beaver cloaks and caps. When the Nilfgaardian Army invaded the kingdom of Aedirn, the unit came to help their neighbors, succeeding in freeing the Lormark. Although King Henselt of Ard Carraigh considered his soldiers as "liberators", it was attested that the treatment reserved by the Kaedwenians to the inhabits of the Lormark was even worse than that of the Nilfgaardians.[1] Later then, during the Peace of Cintra, the Lormark was returned to King Demavend III of Aedirn.[2]
History[]
First Northern War[]
In 1263, during the First Northern War, the Kaedwenian Army, along with the forces of Aedirn, Redania, and Temeria, faced the invading Nilfgaardian Army in Lower Sodden, during the Battle of Sodden Hill. The northern armies were under the united leadership of King Vizimir II of Redania, and were successful in halting the Nilfgaardian invasion. While many were lost in the battle, in the next couple of years, the defending soldiers left in Kaedwen were frequently attacked by Scoia'tael forces, and lost significant numbers, as well as Kaedwenian fortresses the army protected.[3]
Second Northern War[]
In July 1267, after the fall of Aedirn in the Second Northern War, Henselt signed a peace treaty of protection with Nilfgaard. In return, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis granted the disputed Aedirnian land of the Lormark to the Kaedwenians, and so the army marched southeast and occupied the area.[1]
The Dun Banner also took part in the Battle of Brenna in 1268 where they destroyed the Nilfgaardians soldiers under their hooves.[2]
In the same year, King Henselt and Vandergrift marched again to the Lormark and camped his army in the surroundings of the city of Vergen, which he later started besieging. This was the beginning of a bloody conflict that would last over three years.[4]
Gallery[]
.png "12230900 - Kaedweni Siege Support (0.8.13).png (1.12 MB)")
