(Disclaimer: I do not own A Song of Ice and Fire nor its characters. Those all belong to George R. R. Martin, aside from my OC.)
(Battle of Coldmoat)
The first battle in what many would call the 'Conquest of the Reach' occurred between House Webber and House Osgrey.
Many would argue that it couldn't be considered a 'true' battle due to its minor size and impact on the conquest. There could be no denying that it laid the foundations that would see the rise of House Osgrey.
The feud between both Houses could be traced back to the latter years of King Daeron II's reign when the reigning Lord Rowan supported a Son of Wendell Webber to oust his cousin the Son of Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne.
This would culminate in a blood feud between both Houses, with many battles occurring between them, lasting nearly a century and a half. House Osgrey despite finding much success in curtailing Webber influence, would always be forced to retreat largely due to the support the Rowans provided to the Webbers.
Instead of remaining on the defensive and fortifying within Coldmoat, Lord Webber chose to sally his forces to meet House Osgreys army in open battle.
Historians widely debate the cause of this, a common assumption was that he was urged to do so by his hot-headed brother, a well know philandrist and glory seeker. Whilst some claim it was on the advice of his wife, who would later remarry his foe at the end of the war.
Regardless of his reasoning, Lord Webber would meet up with Ser Desmond Osgrey in parlay, in hopes of a peaceful conciliation. This was partly due to the fact that many would come to find out that Lord Mathis Rowan had declared his allegiance towards Lord Erlend Mudd only a few hours ago.
It's well known that during the parlay a heated exchange occurred between the two Lords, not helped by Lord Webber's brother who only served to inflame both tempers by bringing up the Late Ser Osgrey's infamous failed contracts with the Iron Bank that nearly bankrupted the Osgrey's.
On the field, the two forces would meet where it became clear that the Webber men outnumbered those mustered by the chequy lion.
Knowing that this would be a likely issue, Ser Desmond placed his best men at the centre. Whilst spreading out the rest of the levies on both sides, keeping the Webber forces at bay.
These empowered men led by none other than Ser Desmond would end up penetrating the Webber lines. Subsequently attacking the vulnerable Webber flanks and forcing them to flee.
Lord Webber and his Brother were both reportedly killed by Ser Desmond and his trusted master-at-arms, leading to the end of the Webber line.
Due to a miscarriage, Lord Webber's only child had passed away with his wife only barely surviving.
His men would continue to chase down the retreating Webber forces, many would end up surrendering, while a few stubbornly held out and ended in their demise.
Shortly after the end of the Battle, Ser Desmond would be welcomed into Coldmoat by the then-widowed Lady Webber who surrendered the castle, on the promise that its inhabitants be spared and treated with respect.
…
(Battle of Longtable)
Since Osgrey's victory over House Webber, House Mudd supporters would see significant gains in the Northmarch.
Lord Mathis Rowan to show sincerity to Lord Erlend would rally the Mudd Supporters within the north which included House Graceford, Vryrnel, and Osgrey to besiege and capture Red Lake and Old Oak.
These victories and successful captures would demotivate the Florent loyalists significantly and would be a key reason why they chose to meet the Banners in open battle. An echo of the Battle of Coldmoat many would say after the war.
Lord Erlend himself wasn't idle, the seats of House Meadows and Caswel, Grassfield Keep and Bitterbridge respectively promptly surrendered after word of their Lords captures became known.
Lord Alyn Ashford would soon thereafter declare his support for the Mudd cause, linking up with the Banners. While some of the minor Lords and knightly Houses chose to resist and were promptly defeated with some being wiped out, most chose to submit to Lord Mudd with many either being assimilated or left alone.
The Florents in a bid to end the tidal wave of victories that the Mudds had been enjoying chose to attack the Banners head-on. No doubt egged on by the furious Lord Armen Oakheart and Lord Ellard Crane who both lost their seats to Mathis Rowan and Desmond Osgrey.
Anticipating the attack, Lord Erlend's Banners built a series of field obstacles that denied the reach knights a chance to charge.
The Florent vanguard led by Axell Florent and Ellard Crane was destroyed by the prepared Banners. The fox's flanks didn't fare any better as Lord Lorimas Mudd and Duncan Strong would successfully push back both sides in a devastating charge.
With Moral at an all-time low, Lord Alester Florent would signal for a retreat in an attempt to salvage the situation, much of the centre of the Florent forces would successfully retreat into Longtable.
The flanks on the other hand would be unable to do so and would either be killed or surrender to the Banners.
Among those captured would be Lord Armen Oakheart, Lord Ellard Crane, Ser Hosman Norcross, Ser Colin Florent, and Ser Axell Florent.
Ser Colin and Axell would be placed under household arrest within Tumbleton alongside the rest of the Florents there due to the pleas of Ser Colin's son-in-law Duncan Strong. Whilst the rest of the Lords were moved to Grassfield Keep, a previously Tyrell loyalist keep.
It's interesting to note that Ser Hosman's presence greatly amused Lord Erlend, especially when he and Lt. General Duncan Strong were in the same room. Though Lord Erlend had never given a reason as to why he did so.
…
(Siege of Longtable)
Only days after his victory over the Florent forces in the 'Battle of Longtable'. Lord Erlend would begin besieging Merrywheathers seat of Longtable where a significant portion of the leaders of the Florent faction could be found, chief among them was Lord Alester Florent himself.
The first assault by Lord Erlend was met with failure as Lord Merrywheather was able to convince a small portion of the remaining knights to lead a sneak attack at the hour of the wolf and would burn down the catapults and trebuchets that had been set up.
The knights would end up paying for this with their lives, as Lord Lorimas who had been placed in charge of the night shift, had them impaled and their bodies put on display in front of the keep for its defenders to see.
New siege engines would eventually be rebuilt and the assaults would finally be able to begin. Siege towers, rams, and siege ladders would be put to use in the assaults, whilst catapults would send large boulders down on the walls and towers of the keep.
Archers would send arrows raining down on the defenders, giving the attackers room to climb up the walls using the towers and ladders. Eventually, one of the catapults would successfully end up creating a breach large enough for the Banners to move through.
The consistent flood of men, arrows, and bombardments quickly forced the Florent forces to surrender, though Lord Alester Florent would end up killed in the siege. Due to conflicting claims between various parties, It remains a mystery who exactly succeeded in killing the fox lord.
With the death of Lord Alester and the capture of a significant portion of its high command. The Florent faction quickly submitted itself to House Mudd, while there were a few scatterings of resistant cells, most of them would end up being beaten by either the Banners or the Tyrells soon after.
Lord Erlend for his part changed his focus to the pressing issue that was the Tyrells as word would soon come of the capture of Brightwater keep.
…
(Siege of Brightwater Keep)
Since the beginning of the civil war between House Florent and Tyrell, Lord Mace Tyrell rallied his men to put his foe's ancestral seat on siege.
Wisely, House Florent had chosen to move all its main branch members northwards where most of their supporters could be found. This move ensured that House Tyrell's inability to put a swift end to the war was due to the lack of credible hostages that could've been used and Mace Tyrell's insistence on starving them out.
The siege would last only a few weeks, but those weeks gave Lord Erlend Mudd's forces enough time to vanquish a significant portion of Tyrell's loyalists and Florent faction within the Northmarch, either through diplomacy or force.
Lord Mace's refusal to end the siege and march northwards to meet this new hostile army would destroy much of his credibility among his supporters. It did not help that he chose to do nothing when a Dornish Incursion spearheaded by House Manwoody began.
While the fears of the Reachmen subsided due to Randyll Tarly's decisive victory over the Dornish and the execution of its Leaders, the Tyrell Lord would find his forces diminished as some of his Lord chose to abandon his cause and return to their keeps.
The most prominent of these Houses that retracted their support would be Costayne and Fossoway. Both branches of the Fossoway's would end up pulling back their support. Their Vassals as well as neighbouring minor Lords and Knightly houses would quickly follow suit.
Despite the decrease in size, the Tyrell Forces still gravely outnumbered the garrison within Brightwater Keep. Perhaps to rectify his already tarnished reputation, both due to the Dornish Incursion and his failure to take Storm's End, Lord Tyrell could no longer stand outside Brightwater and hope to starve its garrison out.
Instead, the Tyrell forces were divided into three separate armies, each approaching the keep in a separate direction.
Lord Mace would lead from the south, his brother-in-law Ser Baelor 'Brightsmile' would lead from the west, and Lord Jon Bulwer from the east.
With the keep surrounded, the Tyrell forces would entrench themselves around the keep.
Once secure, Catapults began to pound the walls, while Tyrell's men advanced under wooden covers, with archers sending arrows over the walls.
This continuous bombardment and waves of Tyrell men throwing themselves at the walls of the ancient keep would last for weeks, inevitably leading to the collapse of its walls and towers.
Once the Tyrell men managed to get over the walls, the Garrison commander, a distant cousin to Lord Alester chose to surrender to Lord Mace Tyrell.
He and the rest of the distant members of House Florent were put under House Arrest, whilst the keep was placed under the command of a trusted Tyrell.
This would be the first major victory attained by House Tyrell since the beginning of the civil war. Unfortunately for them, House Florent would not fall to them, but rather to the Lord who the Tyrells unintentionally provoked thanks to the actions of their matriarch.
[Note: These aren't the only battles that have occurred in the war, they are just the most important ones, there are countless other battles and sieges that have occurred, but writing them will only drag out this arc and become somewhat repetitive.]