Part III
Chapter 2 - Blood and Thunder
"What is the strongest weapon of the Night Elves? The Druids of Malfurion? No! The Sentinels? No! The Glaive? The Bow? The Blade? Not at all! Courage and courage alone stands above them all!"
Famous as it is as it it is timeless, this cry was uttered by Sentinel Warlord Su'ura Swiftarrow on the eve of the Orcish assault into Darkshore. And in a way, she was right. For not only was Night Elven courage the strongest weapon, it remained in some ways, the only weapon, the only force multiplier they had at that present moment against the massive Horde forces arrayed against them. For the Night Elven frontline, at the even of the KO assault at the beginning of the Third Week of the War, was arrayed against some 10,000 Orc, Tauren and Troll troops, with some 350 Warsong Outriders as a Cavalry force. In sharp contrast, the Night Elves had barely some 1,500 soldiers, most of them ranged fighters, and some 20 Glaive Throwers, the remnants of the Maestra's Post forces. They formed no bulwark, but kept falling back, past the Master's Glaive and eventually halting in a defensive blockade near the Grove of the Ancients.
To say the situation was perilous is to understate the facts. Most of the Night Elves were already tired from the continuous fighting, many were wounded, but stubbornly holding out, knowing that no fighter could be spared. The Druids, the few that were available at that moment (just about a hundred - a massive disproportion) were exhausted and strung out. The situation was grave, but at least, near the Grove, they seemed to think they had a chance of holding out against the assault. The only outside help at that moment was the Weather, which was quite harsh, with continual rainfall and stormy squalls. The rough seas prevented reinforcement by the Horde Navy, and Goblin Zeppelins dared not venture out into Darkshore, already harassed by Stormcrow-form Druids in Ashenvale, and unwilling to expose their unpredictable machines to the fury of Darkshore's skies.
The Draenei were already enroute - their ships in visual range of Darkshore, as were Shandris Feathermoon's troops from Feralas - their ships were near the coast between Stonetalon and Asehnvale. Much of the Night Elven Navy was around the coast of Teldrassil and the northern coasts of Kalimdor. All these forces would arrive by the end of that very week in Darkshore. Which meant that the Night Elf blockade - which had been reorganised as Force Silverwind under the command of Archdruid Stormrage, General Feathermoon and Vindicator Kuros, had to hold till then. Fortunately, the fates itself seemed to to conspire in their favour, giving them some time to reorganise themselves, tend to their wounded, and prepare for the onslaught.
Fortunately for them, the frontline commander, Sentinel Warlord Swiftarrow, was highly intelligent, highly experienced and of a great spirit. She would not surrender so easily. And she was already formulating her plans of assault against the Horde, mad though it seemed at the moment. But that kind of insanity, as some Night Elven veterans have remarked wryly, was just what was needed to inspire the force at that moment. A precursor to the feral rage all Night Elves had, and which time itself had never succeeded in effacing even slightly.
The Horde had quite the advantage. And most of the troops were relieved to be out of Ashenvale, which had bitter associations for them. Morale was high, but the men were somewhat concerned at the intensity of the climate they were in. Supplies were, however, becoming erratic due to continual raids on their Kodo and Machine-Trains by Night Elven rogues and Druids, who proved extremely diffcult to track and pursue. Added to this was the appearance of Worgen fighters, many of whom had made Darnassus their home - all of it ensured that the KO lost it's momentum. This wasn't that much of an issue for Saurfang and his Officers, who felt confident that a slow trawl across Night Elven territories would be just as effective, and which they privately considered an inescapable fact due to their forces being purely infantry, and little by way of Armoured formations. Gorlach's Seige Division had entrenched itself in Astranaar (renamed New Grommash by the Horde), and in all likelihood would remain there for a while.
Had the High Command thought to consult their Shamans, they would not have been so lax in their assessment of the Night Elven threat. For the steady worsening of the weather was only partly natural. In reality, several Druids under Archdruid Stormrage had entrenched themselves in a depression in the centre of Darkshore (where the Eye of the Vortex used to exist), and were invoking their already considerable powers of the Natural world around them, causing unnatural storms, making the forest grow poisonous under the Orcs, defiling the few lakes they could harness the water from, and the like. Moreover, the Draenei had sent Farseer Nobundo and a small force of Spiritwalkers (the Draenei term for Shamans) into Darkshore as an advance force to their own Army, and these men and women were also meddling with the Climate, raising barriers of Earth, Water and Wind to harass the advancing Horde forces. However, much of the Horde military seemed oblivious to the erratic nature of the Natural Obstacles they were facing, and simply dismissed it as the Aftermath of the Cataclysm, which had still not faded from the land or from the collective memory of all Kalimdor.
The result of this ignorance was that the KO advanced very slowly into Darkshore, reaching the Night Elven frontline only around the third day of the advance. And even then, they did not attack immediately. While various reasons have been given for this inexplicable delay in attacking an already weakened Night Elven Army, the prime reason glares out without even the faintest shred of diguise - Arrogance. By that time, the complete and utter lack of resistance, as well as the scenes of desolation that advancing Horde troops had seen bred a insolence and arrogance within them, fueled further by the prevalent myth of Orcish invincibility, leading to a complacent overconfidence amongst not only the Sub-Commanders, but also Line troops, who felt victory was already theirs. It did not occur to them that there could be something amiss, that there could be some unforeseen event which could alter this rather advantageous prospect they were in.
Once the crises blew up the errors would multiply. And contrary to their belief, the first crisis was already brewing - straight from the empty wastes of Desolace.
Just a day after the KO had ensconced itself near the Grove of the Ancients, the Horde Front-line in Stonetalon mountains crumbled completely after a massive assault on their rearguard. Initial reports were contradictory and muddled, but by the end of that day, the situation became alarmingly clear. The assaulting force was not an Alliance force - it was comprised entirely of Centaurs. These ferocious humanoids had long inhabited Desolace, and of late had grown in numbers, due in no small part to the Gelkis Clan taking over the ancient origination region of Maraudon from their rivals and feral Centaurs. Coalescing and growing in strength for some years, their numbers had swelled to the point where the Centaurs declared a Great Ride - a unyielding mass of Centaurs hell-bent on ensuring the destruction of all who stood in their way - most notably, their ancient enemies, the Tauren.
Within two days, the Great Ride had completely overrun Stonetalon, and were assaulting the Stonetalon Pass - which had been enlarged by the Tauren during their battles with the Grimtotem, and which now offered a shorter route into the Stonetalon Mountains. It became fairly obvious to the alarmed Tauren forces that, unless they were reinforced, that Mulgore would soon be overrun as well. As such, Chieftain Baine Bloodhoof sent a desperate request to High Overlord Saurfang for troops. The request was flatly denied by the Orc commander - he needed the troops, particularly the Druids, for the next phase of his assault into Dustwallow Marsh and Darkshore. The Tauren Chieftain then appealed directly to Warchief Hellscream, again to no avail.
Realising that he would receive no help from the Horde armies officially - and incensed by the lack of concern over the threat to his homeland, the Chieftain took a rash decision - he sent out swift Windriders to all Tauren Military units in Kalimdor, ordering EVERY Tauren soldier, no matter where they were or their duties, to return forthwith to Thunder Bluff so that they could defend their beloved Mulgore from the Centaur Ride. And nearly every Tauren responded, the threat of Mulgore's fall being too much for them to contemplate. With the result that within just two days, the KO lost nearly 3,000 soldiers, most of them from the Night Elven frontline, as the panicked Tauren forces fell back to Mulgore to halt the Centaur tide.
Saurfang, enraged by what he felt was gross insubordination, furiously reported the incident to Warchief Hellscream. The reaction was, as some Orcs have put it mildly, extremely harsh. The Warchief sent an emissary to Thunder Bluff, with a letter that threatened, in no uncertain terms, of the charge of Treason against the Tauren. The Chieftain paid no heed, and brusqely responded that the control of Mulgore was far more important than any objective the Warchief might have. Further insults followed, and it finally resulted in the annoyed Tauren Chieftain severing all contact with Orgrimmar, and ignoring all missives until the Centaur threat was dealt with - a move which was almost equal to outright defiance and desertion from the Horde.
Barely had the first crisis started than the second crisis erupted, this time on the coast of Ashenvale. The advancing Night Elven Navy, carrying General Feathermoon's troops, encountered the Horde Navy, which was still anchored on the edges of the Zoram Strand. A bitter naval engagement broke out, with the Horde Navy at a massive disadavantage - they were pinned by a rocky reef, beyond which they could advance no further, and the Night Elves had the advantage of not just surprise, but also faster and better protected and armed ships.
The entire Horde Flotilla was either sunk or captured by Night Elven boarding troops, resulting in three captured ships and seven sunk. The three taken ships blockaded the Zoram'Gar Post, harassing them with arrow, ballistae and flame-bolts - perhaps the only major Naval bombardment in the entire war. The remaining Night Elven ships - without a single loss - continued on, dropping the troops at the strand near the Ruins of Auberdine, from where they marched on to the Grove of the Ancients, arriving in the evening of the last day of the week. At roughly the same time, the Draenei Troopships - four of them - received fresh orders from General Feathermoon, and rerouted their destination to Zoram'Gar, intending to carry out an amphibious assault on the post.
The reason for this order was a superb tactical victory scored by Sentinel Warlord Swiftarrow's actions. The wily Sentinel knew only too well that any sort of frontal assault on the Horde lines was tantamount to suicide, hence she devised a crazy, but very ambitious plan. And the fact that the Horde forces were delaying foolishly gave her the perfect oppurtunity. From the 1,500 soldiers under her command, she picked out all the ones who were exceptional for stealth and reconnaisance, especially Rogues, Druids and some very talented Huntresses. These few - some 180 troops, advanced by night, slowly skirting the ridges of Darkshore's western cliffs, until they went past the Horde lines, and prepared their surprise assault on their rear. And even this was unique in it's regard, though many called it insane and impossible.
On the sixth night of that week, the Horde troops were celebrating the Brew Festival, which had just arrived on that calendar date. Theoretically, it was a time of no hostile activity - but the Horde was confident there would be no threat. The Sentinels coldly disregarded the custom and prepared to assault that very night. There was also no moon, which greatly helped. Around midnight, much of the Horde frontline was asleep, with only a few sentries, mostly drunk from revelry, keeping vigil. Slowly and softly, the small force under Swiftarrow moved through the Horde Lines, killing many Horde Officers and troop-leaders in their sleep or half-awake. Among those to die under the blade that treacherous night was the Warsong Outrider Commander Kelm Hargunth. However, some Trolls, who were less stoned, rose and saw the bleeding corpses of their men, and raised the alarm. Upon hearing this, the small force quickly retreated, but in the process sabotaged some of the Siege Engines and set fires in several parts of the front-line, to add to the confusion and mask their escape. Save for twelve Rogues who were detected and killed, the entire force escaped with no other casualties, and by morning was back in it's own lines near the Grove of the Ancients. The Horde had lost some 670 men, nearly all of them Officers, which greatly sapped their morale and led to considerable indiscipline.
They immediately prepared for an assault, but uncoordinated as they were without the bulk of their Officers, it was ill-conceived. Added to this was that they no longer had the Tauren troops they had been promised, as all were retreating to Mulgore. Making the matter worse was the fact that on the very next day, General Shandris Feathermoon's forces arrived to reinforce the front, making the Night Elven strength swell up to some 12,000 troops. As such, when the Horde assault was launched on the morning of the First Day of the Fourth Week, it was uncoordinated, indisciplined and ill-planned. Pitted as they were against the brilliant, calculating and ruthless Shandris Feathermoon and Nu'ura Swiftarrow, it became a massacre for the KO. The Horde lost some 4,000 soldiers - among them nearly all their Warsong Outriders - in the assault, which simply broke over the whine of arrows, Glaives fromm the newly-arrived troops, and clouds of pestilent flies and locusts unleashed on them by the Druids under Malfurion Stormrage, who had moved up to the frontline to provide support.
The Battle for Darkshore raged for three days, and before the third day was over, most of the KO forces were fleeing in disorder towards Maestra's Post, where they hoped to regroup and await reinforcements. And at this moment the Third Crisis broke out - in Dustwallow Marsh.
Hitherto, Saurfang's forces in the southern front had not encountered much in terms of resistance. Most of the Alliance forces were quite exhausted with months of fighting in unfamiliar terrain, and in adverse weather. However, the Theramore Armies were not subject to this strain. Their task, in contrast to the Alliance Expeditionary Forces, had beenr elatively easy - of clearing out Grimtotem Encampments and destroying Ogre Mounds. This had been concluded to satisfaction, and for the most part, the Forces of Theramore were in relatively good shape, high morale, and rested. Most importantly, many of them had spent the past Ten Years in Kalimdor, and were hardened to the land, in addition to pssessing a considerbale knowledge of the lay of the land as well as a heavily fortified stronghold in Dustwallow Marsh.
As such, the threat to the Horde militaries was quite significant. However, at the time of their assault into the Marsh, they were merely dealing with the rearguard of the shattered remnants of the Alliance forces fleeing the Southern Barrens. This led to a mistaken conviction that the remainder of the assault on Theramore would be relatively easy, and that they would probably be in Theramore by the end of the week. Nothing could be further from the truth.
For the Theramore Garrison comprised four Fresh Infantry Divisions, and one fully upgraded Armored Division that had been sent by King Wrynn in the initial stages of the invasion of Kalimdor the previous year. In addition, nearly 250 Flying War machines, mostly Gyrocopters, were also present. Added to this was the 5th Sentinels from Northwatch Hold, which had remarkably escaped destruction, and the remnants of the Alliance forces, totalling almost one full division of mixed units, though this was kept in reserve, and would remain so until the end of the war.
The Horde had deployed four Infantry divisions into Dustwallow Marsh, as a result of faulty intelligence estimates. Three were retained in the Southern Barrens to pacify the region, and rebuild on the ruins of Alliance outposts. The four divisions also had the Kor"Kron Elite Corps attached to them, as the point of the spear. However, they had virtually no air cover, the most being a few Blood Elven reconnaisance Dragonhawks.
The offensive opened up at roughly the same time the Tauren Recall Order went out. Initially, they met with success, with virtually no resistance. The Horde advance followed the Theramore Highway, and had a relatively easy march, reacing Theramore by nightfall of the day they began. The next day, a frontal assault was launched upon Theramore, with the impression being that there would be little resistance. They were surprised when they were met with a barrage of Cannon fire, far greater than what they were expecting. This was followed by steady hammering of their troop-lines by waves of Gyrocopters dropping bombs upon the surprised Orcs. The Kor'Kron made little headway, their advance blunted by Repeater-Rifle fire from the Alliance Air units. This situation persisted right until nightfall, when the Horde assault finally broke off and they retreated behind the causeway leading to Theramore.
In effect, the narrow bridge to the island fortress had become a kill-zone. All the Harbour Cannons had been weeded out and positioned on the walls facing the causeway. Bow and Gun footmen manned the walls, picking off the Orcs as they rushed the gates. Also, the Gyocopters made it worse with their continual bombing runs and Repeater-Rifle fire, which further impeded the assault. Hence, within just one day, the abortive assault had cost the Horde nearly 1,200 men, whose corpses lay upon the causeway, some hanging from it, some having fallen off it and floating in the water below. Nearly half of the Kor'Kron Corps had also been lost, which was a bitter pill for Saurfang to swallow - he had trained many of them personally.
Unable to take the front by storm, the Orcs attempted to flank the island fortress and assault from the second causeway. This too ended with ill-result. While the second causeway was not as heavily reinforced - there being no cannons on that side - the Horde suffered casualties by what their soldiers described as "Large Disks that burrowed out from underground when we stepped on them and exploded." The Land-Mine had made it's appearance in Azeroth's Warfare. Pinned by mines, the troops struggled to get around them, while Dwarven sharpshooters on the walls calmly picked them off.
After four days of continuous fighting, it became obvious this was a very one-sided fight. Theramore was simply too strong to take by an over-land assault. And the very obvious way in which the Horde had attacked helped little, for it warned the defenders and their fight was all the more spirited. The attack also lacked imagination, an unsual trait when one considered who was leading them. Horde casualties were severe - they had come into the Marsh with 10,000 men, and they had been whittled down to a little over 5,000 in just four days. A call was sent out to the remaining three divisions in the Southern Barrens to reinforce Saurfang's belagured forces, with the reply being that it would take them the better part of three days to reach there. Barely had this reply been received when the Alliance landed their blow.
The Horde offensive was now centred purely toward the Highway-Gates of Theramore. The abortive assault towards the north had been called off after the reports of Land-Mines. This proved to be a fatal error. On the fifth night of the attack, the Horde encampment rose from a fitful slumber to the roar of Cannonnade, followed by a clash of arms at their rear. A strike force of two Infantry Divisions, led by Lady Proudmoore herself, had swung around from the secondary causeway, traveled through the Marsh for two days, and had patiently ensconced themselves on the Highway leading to the barrens, effectively surrounding the Horde forces, who had encamped on the Highway itself. At night, they had struck, launching red flares, which was the signal to the Theramore garrison to unleash the Armored forces on the Horde Lines.
The strike force acted as the anvil, while the Armor was appropriately called Task Force Hammer and pushed the beleaguered Orcs into a meatgrinder. The Horde resisted desperately, but all they did was delay until the morning, where a third dimension of assault broke upon them - the Gyrocopters. These assault-machines roared over them on the first light of the morning, and further harassed the already fitful Orcs. By the time midday rose, the Horde had suffered enormous losses, totalling almost 3,500 troops. The rest of the Horde force, just over 1,500 men - about three-fourths of a Division, somehow extricated itself from the trap and fled back to the entrance of the Southern Barrens, where they halted, more out of sheer exhaustion than any other reason. Saurfang had been wounded in the assault, but had managed to extract his men relatively successfully, even though he had suffered massive reverses.
This marked the Third Crisis, and in culmination, the KO found itself suddenly and completely on the back-foot. After having enjoyed an almost unstoppable march, they had been brutally pushed back on all fronts, and the Alliance was now prepared to strike back hard at them. It was probably the most unexpected set of reversals suffered in recent history, and even today there is considerable debate on whether it was a planned move on the part of the Alliance, or simply a a matter of blind luck.
But while such rhetorical questions are passed out, let us add one more. Did the Horde truly know of the costs of pushing the Alliance into a corner? Were they aware of what might happen should they fail, unthinkable though it seemed? For the reaping of their deeds was already on the Horizon, and it was destined to be more terrible than any action ever encountered, even by comparison of the First, Second and Third Wars.
