Like I said I did not think I did, but wanted to be sure. Last thing I want is to piss off the internet peopleNo worries on my account, you didn't say anything offensive at all!
Alyska. A kingdom of ice and Iron.
- Thread starter Count of Crisco
- Start date
Chapter six, part three
Ignorance.
As the Japanese-Tlingit alliance gained momentum, soldiers and equipment daily the European settlements remained largely clueless as to what was coming. Little in the way of contact existed between the two groups aside from trade via to the fort on the island of Kabenoshima. Which is spotty at best. Some trappers do make reports of large Japanese and Tlingit armies being spotted training outside the larger cities but the commonly held belief is that these forces are intended for use against other Japanese and native cities and not European settlements. In Port Mary officials decide to order a large amount of muskets, artillery and cannon with the intention of selling these weapons once the fighting breaks out into the open.
In Posadka some note is made of the increase in Tlingit raids against their outlying settlements. But the thought is that these raiders are looking only for loot and captives. The Governor, Aleski Sokolov wrote a report to Moscow which mentioned the increase in raids and requested additional troops and weapons to defend the settlements along the Tlingit border. However nothing ever came of this as Catherine II, Empress at the time, was more concerned about internal revolt than defending a few thousand settlers in some far distant land. She did however agree to send a twenty eight gun frigate, the Akula (shark) loaded with muskets and some gunpowder. The Akula would arrive in Posadka sometime late in 1773.
Line drawing of the Russian Azov class of small frigates. Akula was one such ship of this class.
These fortuitous shipments of arms would prove to be vital to the survival of the colonies once the general X`een launched his assault. Allowing the horde of zealous Japanese and Tlingit forces to be held back until reinforcements could arrive from Russia and finally turn back the tide. The British artillery especially would prove useful. alliance forces lacked heavy weaponry as a general rule. And were unprepared to face it during the sieges to come.
Tlingit War. Part One
X`een had used the raids of 1772-73 to train his combined force. Likely numbering some seventy thousand (not the million men reported to Catherine after the war) with forces present from nearly every city, clan and Daimyo in Alyska. X`een was a gifted leader and skilled warrior and knew the generally poor quality of the troops under his command. And rather than risk sending them completely unprepared against the Europeans he had instead choose to delay the true attack until his men were sufficiently experienced. Using the small raids to give his men such experience and training.The result was a force that was choking at the bit to attack. Years of training had been useful. But the men under his command had come not to raid, but to conquer. The grand alliance finally launched its two pronged offensive into Russian and Dutch territory in June of 1774. Thirty thousand attacking to both the north and south. While ten thousand men stood ready in reserve to reinforce or replace spent units at the front lines as neccessary. X`een with the majority of the Tlingit would lead the northern arm of the offensive while a trio of Japanese generals would lead in the south with the bulk of the Japanese troops.
Against them would be arrayed only a few thousand Dutch and Russian troops. With no more than five hundred being concentrated into any one place. They fell quickly to the combined army in the initial battles of the war. With many towns falling without firing a shot. Their gates still open and unable to repel the flood of men that suddenly appeared. Few were left alive. X`een especially took few prisoners. Preferring instead to chain captives to their homes before setting them alight. Only women were exempt of this fate. Instead being taken back to Axaa and Umiyoshima where they became slaves to the returning soldiers.
Like a flood the combined army swept any forces sent against them down with ease. However X`een soon found that his forces had significantly more trouble against a well prepared force within a towns walls. His forces had not been prepared for such warfare, nor did they have much experience in the many techniques needed. The offensive ground to a halt as winter set in. The combined army stuck in almost a dozen sieges which seemed poised to stretch on forever to many of the men in the army.
So ahead of the update this week I would like to announce that I have been working on a few short stories set in this time line. They are all set some time in the future, but involve major events for Alyska and characters of importance for the history of the nation. Would anyone be interested in reading a completed short story once completed?
I have also toyed with the idea of starting a separate thread to write about Alyskan military equipment. Tanks, planes, warships and the like. Would this also interest anyone?
I have also toyed with the idea of starting a separate thread to write about Alyskan military equipment. Tanks, planes, warships and the like. Would this also interest anyone?
Chapter six, part four
Spring attacks
As the winter of 1774 the combined army was on the cusp of victory. Having wiped aside any organized field army the Dutch could deploy in the early stages of the battle. Many of the outlying settlements had been captured and burnt to the ground. Now all that stood in the way of X`een and his southern army were the cities of Fredericksburg, Williamstad and Zuidfort. Well fortified and holding prepared and determined citizens. As well as access to fresh supplies from the sea.
X`een was initially confident of success against these final prizes. Prior experience had shown his troops to be well prepared and easily a match for any field army yet brought against them, even if that was due to their sheer number. He directed that one of the three primary Japanese generals commanding the southern army each take a city for themselves and, with their forces,besiege the city. He expected victory in the south to be achieved quickly once spring began.
In April of 1775 a large Japanese army was sighted outside Fredericksburg. Numbering some eleven thousand this force (reinforced heavily with fresh volunteers after the prior summers victories) quickly reached the gates of the city and formed a perimeter around it. High casualties were sustained in the first week of the siege as the defenders pummeled the men who had camped some short distance from the walls with cannon, rifle and arrows. Losses began to ease off once the forces commander Niyoto Nabanunga pulled his men off the walls and back some distance beyond the range of the Dutch guns. An attack against Zuidfort led by Kiro Yomiyuni faced similar initial troubles. In both cases the Japanese decided to keep up a distant siege and rather than simply storming the walls and taking the city they determined to starve the defenders out.
Willaimstad Siege
However the force attacking Williamstad was not quite as lucky as its two cousin armies. Consisting of almost twenty thousand men this force was by far the largest. Under the command of Ayiashiro Mayaga it had seen the most combat the prior year and at its core held around seven thousand seasoned troops. However the remaining number of men were fresh volunteers. With little combat experience, a serious lack of equipment and poor discipline. There was also some concern that these men would begin to desert if there was not a quick, easy victory. A fear shared by all three of the Japanese generals conducting the southern assault.
Mayaga hoped to surprise the Dutch. However his force left a week after the other two armies. And so when it arrived in the vicinity of Williamstad the Dutch were prepared. Or rather more prepared. The inhabitants of the city had spent the entire winter of last year digging an elaborate string of defenses. Consisting of a triple layered trench network and several small forts outside of the main city armed with light cannon well prepared killing fields had been laid out and the population of the city had spent months training and preparing. This had not been unique to Williamstad. Both of the other cities now under siege had built similar trenches. However they had been incomplete by the time that the enemy showed up.
Mayaga failed to send sufficient scouts ahead of his army, and thus when the vanguard encountered a mounted Dutch force consisting of some two hundred troops there was panic. The green troops at the front believed they were encountering an entire army. They quickly attempted to fall back and retreat back the way they had come in a disorganized mob that quickly found its way blocked by the rest of the army. Confusion and disorder was thus sowed and it took some time for Mayaga to reorganize his army. In the meantime the Dutch cavalry rode circles around his forces. Firing volleys at the exposed flanks of the army and gaining important intelligence on its size, composition and supply situation.
On the 23rd of June Mayaga reached the first line of Williamstads defense. His forces were fired on by a small contingent of the two thousand troops of the city. Many of whom had just completed training during the winter. However no second volley was fired and when Japanese troops seized the first trench they found it deserted. They then rushed forward, believing victory to be easily within reach. However a vicious artillery barrage by the towns thirty field guns, which had been mounted in the third and final line, devastated them and caused another full retreat.
The next day Mayaga tried again. Again a Dutch force, which had occupied the first trench during the night, fired on the approaching Japanese, and then retreated. Once more his men surged forward. And were hit by the Dutch guns. However Mayaga had placed his most experienced troops at the front. And they successfully sustained the assault. They marched three hundred meters under a constant hail of fire to the next trench. And were quickly chewed to bits by a hail of rifle fire from the men in the trenches. The Dutch men each had five fully loaded muskets by their side and achieved a stunning volume of fire in the first minutes of the encounter. Causing Mayaga`s army to once more fall apart and retreat in disarray. This time he took the time to secure the first line for the night.
The third day Mayaga decided on a more blunt strategy. Sending almost twelve thousand of his men swarming the Dutch line. Which after firing its five volleys disintegrated back to the third line. Which, after hammering them in the face with pre-aimed artillery also withdrew within the walls of the city itself. Where the guns mounted on the walls began to pummel the struggling Japanese troops. Inflicting a believed three thousand casualties on Mayaga in just this one day. However he had done it. Bloodied and bruised Mayaga was now at the gates of Williamstad. Ready to starve the city to its knees after two days of attempts to storm its walls had been thwarted.
Chapter six, part five
Northern Front.
Russian colonist fared far better than their Dutch counterparts, while the alliance armies had yet to reach British controlled territory. Russian troops were more numerous and better equipped than the forces facing the Japanese in the south. With many of the troops of the colony being troops of the Russian Imperial Army, while many of the volunteers that joined upon the initial Tlingit attacks were veterans of the same army. Although X`een and his Tlingit army achieved earyl success against outlying Russian settlements. Burning them to the ground and enslaving their inhabitants in a manner similar to that done in the south. However like the Japanese X`een and his army quickly stalled and lost momentum when they faced larger more heavily fortified settlements.
Against Weston X`een would loose just over seven thousand men in a month long siege in which he failed to take the city. Though he did manage to defeat a relief force sent from Posadka in a field engagement on the 26th of June just outside the city. Fearing a second relief force being sent X`een left a few thousand men at Weston and moved on towards Posadka. Arriving at the gates of the city on the 11th of August 1775. A siege line was quickly established by the now more cautious Tlingit forces. Who had learned from the earlier bloodyings and did not attempt to storm the gates. Choosing instead to wait outside of the range of the cities artillery and attempt to starve the city out.
X`een was confident that given enough time the cities his forces were laying siege to would fall. The size of his army was ten times that of the Europeans. Able to withstand a long drawn out campaign with a well established line of supply extending back to the Tlingit heartland and a steady stream of fresh recruits arriving regularly to replace the men who left the army to return to their farms or businesses. Unbeknownst to him far away in Moscow and Amsterdam wheels were turning that would mean the end of the war and loss of Japanese and Tlingit control over the region.
Well awhile ago I mentioned that I was going to make a new thread for random stuff from the TL that did not quite fit into the general framework of the updates. Well I did it. I intend to fill this thread with backstories of characters, national histories, battle breakdowns, backstory on the vehicles, cities, people and other things mentioned in the main time line. If you have any questions about something mentioned in the main TL then feel free to ask it here and I will respond.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/random-stuff-from-my-tl.445218/
A post covering an Alyskan battleship class from 1940 which saw service in the second world war. And without spoilers that all I can say. If you want check it out. If you dont you wont miss anything important to the TL.
A post covering an Alyskan battleship class from 1940 which saw service in the second world war. And without spoilers that all I can say. If you want check it out. If you dont you wont miss anything important to the TL.
Chapter seven, part one
Colony shopping
1775
1775
The Russian government under Catherine the great responded quickly to the invasion of its colony. Sending over ten thousand troops overland across Siberia to reinforce the men fighting in and around Posadka. However these troops would take upwards of four months to arrive in Alyska. Fortunately reports from the city gave the impression to the empress that the city would be able to defend itself until then. Additional forces were also promised as soon as they could be assembled and supplied. In total by wars end almost fifty thousand men would be dispatched to fight in Alyska. Of which some forty three thousand would make it the entire distance and eventually be settled.
Catherine realized that they Dutch were having far more trouble defending their colony. Lacking the incentive to seriously support their Alyskan holdings the VOC had sent only a few thousand men and a handful of ships to aid the colonists. The companies leadership had come to view the colony as a money pit and some argued the wisdom of defending the colony rather than simply evacuating it and moving the population to the Indies and the cape colony. Both areas of tremendous value to the VOC and much easier to defend. Others pointed out that the forces available to send to Williamstad were very limited.
It was into this debate that Catherine appeared in May of 1775. She, through a representative, asked about the companies prior attempts to sell the colony and if they had changed their minds. She happily pointed out that her own colony was doing quite well and that she would not be at all opposed to buying the colony if the offer still stood. After some hasty deliberations the VOC leadership agreed to sell the colony for a price of one million guilders (roughly one and a half billion in todays currency) with all infrastructure, population and government intact. The sale would go into effect on the first of the year 1776. Giving the company enough time to pull out their shipping and equipment not covered by the bill of sale. Russia would also have time to divert troops to the area to replace the few thousand VOC troops that were being withdrawn from the colony.
Catherine immediately sent five thousand troops across Siberia with Williamstad given as their destination. A flotilla of ships was also sent away consisting of warships, whaling vessels and cargo ships laden with weapons, medicine and yet more troops. These ships and men would arrive just ahead of the official handing over of the colony, giving time for some meeting and final ceremonies to be held before the official handing over of the colony to Russia. All this would happen while the Japanese stood outside the gates of the city attempting to oust the Dutch settlers.
Catherine made a similar offer to the British East India company regarding the sale of their colony. An offer which was hastily accepted as the British colony had never been nearly as profitable as its Dutch counterpart. And its profits had been shrinking for just as long. The British also had to take into account the growing discord in the colonies on the opposite side of the continent. Though full revolt was considered unlikely there was enough unrest for the British to be worried and feeling as if they needed to turn their full attention to the east coast of north America. With these land acquisitions Catherine had gained a very large empire in the new world. one stretching almost two thousand miles from its northernmost territorial claim to its southernmost point. And without the war this colony would likely be extremely profitable. Something that did not escape the notice of Catherine. Who was looking to turn the region into a eastern bulwark for the empire.
Chapter seven, part two
New Leadership
Following the official ceremonies handing over control of the Dutch colonies to Russian officials steps were immediately taken to unite them, and the British colony, under a single military command with a united strategy and single purpose. To this end two armies were created. The southern army comprised of some seven thousand men of both Dutch and Russian descent. And the Northern army with slightly more troops of mostly Russian and Ukrainian blood. These forces were each under the command of a separate general, however they each owed their allegiance to the governor-general of the colony in Posadka.
The position of governor-general would be open the first of the year 1776. Victor Kulyshinov, the current holder of the title had been recalled by Catherine due to his age (84) he had held the position since 1741. Only the second man to hold the positon in the history of the colony. For his replacement Catherine chose, in an effort to bring needed unity to the colony, the Dutchman Peter Gordon. The serving mayor of Williamstad at the time. He would accept the title on the fifteenth of February and would leave for Posadka a week later. In his absence he appointed his cousin Henry Harrington as the commander of the southern army. The older man held considerable experience in warfare. Having served in the Prussian army in his youth and later fought well in the opening battles of the war.
Peter himself would accept the command of the northern army. Spending the remainder of the winter of 1775-76 preparing his men. Drilling them into a cohesive fighting force and ensuring that when the weather allowed his much smaller armies would be capable to smashing the larger Tlingit and Japanese forces. In the meantime the defenses of the remaining settlements were much improved with the arrival of new guns and ammunition from Russia.
Alliance reaction
On the whole the Japanese/Tlingit forces took little note of the change of ownership of half the cities they were besieging. They were not privy to the machinations of European politics afterall. They did however note that after early March the forces within Williamstad and other Dutch cities had become seemingly much more confident. Firing their cannon at more regular intervals and on more than one occasion a group of horsemen leaving the safety of the cities walls to raid and harass the rear of the formation. No reason as to why this sudden boost in determination and will to fight could be thought of at the time however.
Things on the alliance side were beginning to fall apart. Two years of long drawn out and bloody sieges had disheartened many of the troops. Discredited many generals and without any clear progress to show for their efforts support for the war was beginning to steadily erode. X`een knew that the war needed to be ended as quickly as possible. To this end he had spent the winter rallying his armies and asking for fresh troops to increase his numbers. He promised his allies that as soon as the weather permitted it he would launch an all out assault on Posadka. Swing south to do the same to Weston and the other remaining Russian settlements before swinging to the south to aid the Japanese armies. Which had done much the same to their own armies.
X`een would actually be in Umiyoshima from January to early March planning with other generals about the next months of fighting. What emerged from this was a cohesive and sophisticated strategy which was remarkable for native forces in the period. Funding and manpower was also secured for another season from this series of negotiations. The result was that alliance leadership was freshly confident and ready for victory. None expected the Europeans to leave the safety of their walled cities and planned accordingly. This would prove to be a major weakness come spring.
Chapter seven, part three
Lifting of the siege.
The end of the Posadka siege came swiftly and unexpectedly. Catching X`een, who had been aware for some time of the nearly constant arrival of new ships to the city but had been unsure of their purpose, completely offguard. He had believed the city to be on its last legs. Just a few short weeks away from total collapse and surrender. The stream of ships entering and leaving the city were thought to be a final desperate attempt to feed its inhabitants. Not a massive increase in the numbers and weaponry of the city.
It came as a total shock when on the morning of the seventeenth of March 1776 almost five thousand troops swarmed out of Posadka and advanced on the thin siege line around the city. Breaking into five smaller regiments the men of the Russian Imperial army made short work of the ill equipped and trained Tlingit troops. Quickly overwhelming their hastily prepared defense and causing a significant breakthrough. X`een attempted to rally his men. Charging from the opposite side of the city with almost three thousand reinforcements. However this brave attempt to stave off defeat merely resulted in his death and the disintegration of his army.
Leaderless and with no place to go the survivors of the formerly great Tlingit army. Some seven thousand men. Fell back to the small bluff which was adjacent to the city. There they erected a quick wall and prepared to await reinforcement from Axaa. On the twentieth they elected a new general. Aklav`i to command them in their fight. Formerly a lieutenant to X`een Aklav`i had served for some years in the court at Axaa before the war. Though likely only in minor positions. This is judged from his commanding of only a thousand troops under X`een during the initial stages of the fight. However it seems that following the route on the 17th he was the highest ranking officer the army had.
Out of his depth and out of options Aklav`i likely planned on a delaying action against the enemy. Stalling their forces long enough for a wave of fresh troops to swarm them in a manner similar to that used in the opening stages of the conflict. Where smaller, but better trained and equipped European units caught in the open were overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the Tlingit army bearing down upon them. From what we know that was his plan at any rate. Events would transpire somewhat differently in however. With no reinforcements being sent to link up with the Posadka siege force. Instead orders came through from X`eens successor back in Axaa that the army was to retreat instead to Weston and link up with the army there and then united stand against the European army which had broken out of Posadka.
Annihilation.
On the morning of the twenty seventh. Ten days after the route at the city gates and three days after receiving word of the new orders to retreat Aklav`i became aware of a large force advancing on his position. Composed of some eight thousand men. Four thousand professional troops from the Russian Imperial Army and four thousand Posadka militia. Plus a detachment of three hundred cavalry and six field guns in total. And all led by governor-general Gordon.
This force moved quicker than the Tlingit could react and slammed into half built only partially manned defensive works like a flood. Easily penetrating the outer line of defense and piercing into the heart of the army itself. Despite a valiant last stand in the center Aklav`i was killed by a musket ball and his center soon collapsed. Allowing the larger Russian army to encircle and then destroy what was left of the formerly great Tlingit horde which had caused so much trouble for the last years. And yet this great victory was merely the first in a line of battles planned by the governor-general for the coming months.
How do you feel about a middle ground? Integration and racial mixing, but not without its share of problems.
Finished a new article on the Nicaraguan canal on my random stuff thread. The canal plays a major role in the future of the Alyskan nation and plays a major role in the politics in the America for years afterwards.
Well I got a new computer awhile ago and have been playing around with its painting app. This is an idea for the modern day borders of north America. With Alyska possessing huge chunks of OTL Canada, while to make up for it Canada gets a few choice bits of American soil, as does Mexico.
Chapter seven, part four
Momentum gained.
Word of the defeat at Posadka and Tlingit heights (as the site of the final defeat of Aklav`i came to be known) reached the besiegers at Weston just hours ahead of Gordons force marched army. Which slammed into the unprepared three thousand man strong garrison like a hammer. Quickly dispatching any survivors and taking care of his own wounded Gordon stopped just long enough to rest his haggard men. Ensure that no enemy forces remained in the countryside, see to the survivors of the siege and allow his supply train to catch up. He immediately set out on the third of April to lift the siege of several smaller towns. Such as Ivangorod and Polputi and Seraya Voda. Accomplishing this by sending small detachments of his larger army, with reinforcements now numbering almost eight thousand, he had accomplished this by the end of April.
May found Gordon marching further south toward the towns burned to the ground by the Tlingit in 1774 and 1775. Fearing the worst Gordon found only piles of ruble and the bones of the victims. Strewn about the area by the local wildlife. At each location he made certain to set up a cemetery and bury the bodies, giving them a Christian burial. Church services were then held. Catholic, Protestant and then Orthodox. During these periods Gordon was busily sending out scouts to ascertain if there were any further Tlingit forces in the area. However there were none. The bulk of the army having been committed to Posadka and Weston. Though garrisons in outlying Tlingit settlements were almost a certainty.
Gordon knew that the Tlingit would likely raise an army to fight him. And he knew that all he had to do was wait. To this end he decided to choose the location of the coming battle. Picking a site on a small plain outside the ruins of Opolzen, which he rebuilt partially into a fort. He spent a lot of time preparing the ground and laying his trap. Knowing full well that no matter the size of his own army the one he would likely be facing would be many times larger. And infinitely angrier given the slaughter he had just wrought amongst the Tlingit. It was at this time that Gordon learned of the death of X`een and his relation to the king.
His preparations were largely done by the middle of June. And initial reports of an army marching from the south began to arrive from advanced scouts. They reported a force of some forty to fifty thousand. This force was slowly making its way to Opolzen at a rate of roughly a dozen miles a day. A rate which would bring it to Gordon in three weeks time. Despite the objections of his subordinates Gordon refused to march out to meet the Tlingit army. Insisting that they remain and defeat them there. With objections his Russian Lieutenants relented and carried out his orders for further fortification and logging the surrounding forest.
To the South.
While Gordon was winning his string of battles to the north the Dutch areas of the newly enlarged Russian north American colony were not neglected. Afterall this was Gordons native land. At the same time that troops were arriving at Posadka still thousands more were sent to Williamstad and other towns under siege by the Japanese. For the past several years the Japanese armies had achieved little. Not since arriving in 1775 had much been accomplished. Willaimstad, Fredericksburg and Zuidfort, the major Dutch settlements in the region, remained as strong as ever. Supplied by the sea these cities had managed to hold out for years. Though malnutrition, limited water and poor health plagued their inhabitants.
Williamstad especially had suffered significantly during the siege. Although inflicting very heavy losses on the Japanese army led by Ayiashiro Mayaga losses for the Dutch had been quite heavy as well. And the morale of the defenders had begun to wain in the months before Gordon had shipped Russian troops to the city. These men. And the food and medicine they brought. Drastically changed the mood of the city. Setting alight the flames of vengeance in the hearts of all its inhabitants. In total almost four thousand Russian Imperial troops. Mostly Cossacks from Ukraine, had been sent. And these men prepared a very nasty surprise for Mayaga.
On the night of the eleventh of March 1776 this entire force, alongside some four thousand Dutch militia, flooded out of the cities gates and smashed into the sleeping Japanese. Ripping a hole in the center of Mayaga`s forces and causing many to withdraw in a senseless wave to the safety of the two forts which had been built in the year since the first arrival of the Japanese. Mayaga. Thoroughly confused at the sudden appearance of the swarm of fresh troops, prepared a morning counter attack with the surviving half of his army. Some seven thousand. He believed he was facing a Dutch army of perhaps five thousand, as did many of his lieutenants.
His folly was proved in the morning when the combined Dutch-Russian army slammed its full might against the battered remains of Mayaga`s army. Routing it and causing nearly four thousand deaths in the process. General Jocem Harrington, appointed by Gordon as leader of the southern army, then planned to attack the armies besieging both Fredericksburg and Zuidfort. To this end he split his army, now numbering twelve thousand due to fresh arrivals of troops from Russia, into three parts. One, numbering some two thousand would guard Williamstad against further attacks. While the other forces, both some five thousand strong, would march north and south to fight the Japanese outside the settlements still under siege.
Chapter seven, part five
Battle of Opolzen. Part One.
News of the death of X`een, loss of the armies besieging Posadka and Weston was slow to reach the leadership in Axaa. Due to the lack of survivors to relay the loss. And speed at which Gordon passed through the area, outpacing the messengers and forcing them to skirt around the Russian army marching steadily to the southeast. But news of the defeat did indeed reach them. Though when the first messenger reached the capital on the 20th of April Gordon had already cleared most of the forces guarding the Tlingit supply line to Posadka and Weston.
The response was panic. Messengers reported the European army to be many times its true size. No less than twenty five to thirty thousand in size. And headed straight for Axaa. Preparations were hastily begun to face the invader, the tables now turned completely around. Troops were levied, defensive positions prepared, scouts sent out and women, children and the elderly evacuated from outlying towns. By the time it was realized that an attack was not coming king Kontkosh IV was already fleeing eastwards. Though he hastily returned with his retinue and veteran bodyguards to lead the battle personally against the Europeans wherever they may be.
Feeling it was best to fight the Europeans as far away from Tlingit population centers as possible Kontkosh moved his army, numbering between forty and fifty thousand men. Complete with heavy and light infantry. Scouts, skirmishers, cavalry, snipers and even some artillery in the form of a dozen captured Russian light field guns. Against this impressive force was the ten thousand men of Gordons army. Recently reinforced by additional Cossack and Russian troops from Moscow. Four thousand of these men were militia from Posadka and Weston. However after years of warfare and the recent training given to them by Gordon these men were every bit as effective as their professional Imperial army counterparts. This force had around a thousand cavalry and perhaps a dozen field guns of varying calibres.
Gordon sent his cavalry to scout the Tlingit army. Reporting back on its progress, size and composition while also harrying its progress with hit and run attacks, traps and the sniping of numerous enemy officers. They sowed fear, confusion and chaos in the enemy ranks while also bringing Gordon back excellent information. Allowing him to make the finishing touches on his army and its position. Gordon made sure that his army was rested, fed and well drilled. Allowing each man to understand the entire plan behind the battle and giving each of his men enough bullets and powder for one hundred shots. While many men had more than one musket. Allowing very rapid fire volleys.
The stage was set for what was to become a pivotal battle in the history of Alyska. Pitting European against native armies in proper battle order. Each side having large numbers of disciplined and well prepared troops. Something that would not happen again until the US Sioux wars of the 1860s and 70s.
Expect part two sometime later this week. Its mostly written. Just super long right now and somewhat unmanageable for this site. So I will cut it down and hopefully post the battle in a single update. Though if anyone wants a more detailed account of the battle I will split things into more updates.
Hmm looks like the same amount of territorial borders for Canada.
Still I wonder about the conflict with the US later on when they don't even share the same borders.