Battle of Bepono

The Battle of Bepono was a battle during the Doge Landian Revolution fought on June 10th, 573 in Bepono and the surrounding Shibe Forest. It was fought between Doge Landian forces led by Stm Wrmdss and Inquisitor forces led by Jason Blue, who was later killed during the battle. The battle was a decisive victory for the Doge Landians, and was a turning point in the war, which was previously dominated by Pyrrhic Doge Landian victories and Inquisitor victories.

Blue's forces were able to push through the weak walls of Bepono and raze the city before Doge Landian forces encircled the city and forced Blue's forces out before they could do too much damage. Blue's forces ran into Shibe Forest, where Doge Landian forces, using guerrilla warfare, were able to kill thousands of Inquisitor forces, as well as Lieutenant Jason Blue, the commander of the Inquisitor forces. After Blue's death, his forces scattered, and an estimated 2,000 people were wounded on both sides during the panic.

The battle turned the tide of the war and just 3 months later, on September 30th, the Inquisitor forces surrendered at the Siege of Mountainton and left Doge Land. It collapsed just 100 years later.

Background
At around the end of 572, after a long string of defeats had crippled the Doge Landian militias, and the Battle of Angery had resulted in thousands of Doge Landian deaths, the remaining parts of the militias fell back to Bepono, as that is where they had believed the Inquisitors were going to go next. They had built a makeshift training camp where the inexperienced militia men could train and learn how to fight back the Inquisitors. Luckily, Bepono was in the forest, where Doge Landians had the advantage since the Inquisitors were not used to navigating deep forests like the Doge Landians were. Due to the large amount of forests separating the Inquisitor forces and Doge Landian forces, there were months until the Inquisitor forces finally arrived at Bepono.

The Doge Landian militia had to appoint a new general to lead them into battle, so they chose one of their best strategic planners, Stm Wrmdss. Wrmdss knew how to navigate the forests and had been studying military strategy for years at that point.

The Inquisitor military, 20,000 strong with trained soldiers and some Marlandorian conscripts, was ready to march on into the forests of West Shibe. They had 17,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. The winter of 572 and early 573 was harsh and many infantry died on the way. The majority of their cavalry was unable to make it through the lush forests. It is unknown how many died on the march to Bepono, however it is known that they only had 14,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry when they got to Bepono.

The Inquisitor commander, Jason Blue, was an extremely skilled military tactician that had brought a dozen defeats to the Doge Landians before, and he was confident he could do it again here. Blue knew the layout of Bepono, however what he did not know was that there was a forest surrounding Bepono.

On their way to Bepono, the Inquisitor military razed villages they crossed and burned a part of the Bepis Forest.

Wrmdss's Plan
Wrmdss's plan was to hide just outside of Bepono, in the forest, and to wait for Inquisitor forces to enter the city. Then, their forces would encircle the Inquisitor forces and force them to retreat outside of the city into the forest. Then, using guerrilla warfare, the Inquisitors would be slowly killed off until their eventual retreat from the area. Where possible, the Inquisitor commander should also be killed.

Wrmdss knew that if this battle was lost, there was no hope for Doge Land, and a united Shibe would never exist. He thought that there would be at least 25,000 Inquisitor soldiers coming through, so he positioned a few archers in towers all placed within 10 miles of the city to notify the militia when the Inquisitors have arrived and to try to kill a few of the Inquisitors before they can wreak havoc in Bepono.

Blue's Approach
At 9 am, on June 9th, 573, Blue's army was approximately 20 miles from Bepono. His soldiers were exhausted and starving but he insisted on continuing the approach, citing that they were only a few miles away now. His soldiers did not listen to him and began to setup a small camp to be able to rest and eat, as they had been walking non-stop for 36 hours at that point.

While Blue's army was resting, some scouts from the Doge Landian army were able to find their camp. They went back to tell Wrmdss that the Inquisitors were close, and that they should start getting ready. The city was evacuated to avoid any unnecessary civilian deaths and the Doge Landian soldiers hid in the forest, waiting to strike. Blue's army was still resting by the time everyone had left the city. Wrmdss expected the army to arrive that afternoon.

At around 9 pm, Blue's army finally was ready to go march again. Blue was worried that someone may have founded their camp and alerted the Doge Landians to their presence, however they believed their camp was adequately hidden. Once they got back into a general formation, they were able to continue marching.

At about 11 pm, the archer's horns went off. The Inquisitor soldiers were confused, and they stopped in their tracks, wondering where the noise had come from in the pitch dark. For Blue, he had believed his fears were confirmed; that the Doge Landians had seen their camp. The soldiers stood there, looking for the place the sound came from, when an arrow had shot down from the sky and killed a soldier. Then more arrows came. Accounts from the archers state that the soldiers were running around, trying to avoid the arrows. Blue was able to move them into the forests, where they were mostly safe from the archers' fire.

After a couple hours of walking through the forest, at 2 am on June 10th, 573, Blue saw some lights and the walls of Bepono. He knew they were there, and they knocked down the walls of Bepono and marched into the city.

Battle
When the Inquisitor forces began burning Bepono, Wrmdss's forces quietly encircled the city while Blue's forces were celebrating that they had finally gotten rid of the Doge Landians, and that this would be their final battle of the war. They were confused at first about why there was no resistance, but they didn't think about it too long. Blue was concerned that the city was a trap however, and he saw something out of the corner of his eye; an arrow. He knew they were trapped in there, and inside of that city, it was told that a thousand Inquisitor soldiers died. The Inquisitor forces ran into the Shibe Forest as fast as they could to get out of the encirclement.

Inside of the forest, the confused Inquisitor forces were out of formation and were being killed off slowly by the Doge Landian forces. The biggest blow to the Inquisitor forces during the battle was when their commander, Jason Blue, was killed. When they realized what had happened, they tried to get out of there as fast as they could, with one soldier lighting a fire in the forest to stop the Doge Landian's advancement.

In the Inquisitor's retreat, the Doge Landians followed them, and eventually, they surrendered at 11 am on June 10th, 573.

Aftermath
The Battle of Bepono marked a turning point in the war that nobody thought the Doge Landians were going to be able to win. The Inquisitor forces were crippled and with this victory by the rebel Doge Landians, other natives that were oppressed by the Inquisitors decided to rise up against the Inquisitors. This also took a blow against the morale of the Inquisitor people. The Doge Landians had a huge morale boost from this and many people took up arms to join the Doge Landian militias, as they believed that there was still hope for the Doge Landian people and they wanted to make sure of it.

The Inquisitors were defeated at the Siege of Mountainton by Doge Landian forces, which ended the Doge Landian Revolution. The Inquisitors collapsed just ten years later.

It is estimated that 3,000 Inquisitor soldiers died at Bepono, 8,000 were injured, and 500 were captured or missing. It is estimated that 500 Doge Landian soldiers died at Bepono, and 2,000 were injured. With the loss of Inquisitor commander Jason Blue, the Inquisitors weren't able to find anyone else who could navigate the Doge Landian forests as well as him, and the Inquisitors struggled to win any more battles.

The forest fire set during the battle was eventually put out, but it burnt down about 2000 acres of forest before it finally got controlled.

Memorials

 * The site of the battle outside of Bepono is preserved in the Bepono National Battlefield.
 * There is a statue dedicated to General Stm Wrmdss in central Gooseville.
 * Three ships in the Doge Landian (and later Weccandian) navy are named SBS Bepono in honor of the battle.
 * In South Shibona, the Shibe Forest National Monument is dedicated to the forest fire that took place during and after the battle of Bepono.