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During the Siege of Kaer Karten, Boen forces attempted to take a Cuprien fortress on the island of the same name.

Initial Assault

Orcish and ogre armies invaded southern Conelu and attempted to invade the central and northern parts of the island. Kaer Karten, a modern fortress built on top of an old navy base, lied just off southern Conelu's northeastern tip and was therefore strategically placed to attack orcish ships heading north along Conelu's coast, or raid the south. Grand Khan Turikk and 6'000 infantry were sent to remove this threat, successfully landing on Karten island's western coast and securing the fisherman village there. They then progressed eastwards, but the experienced Turikk knew his army was unable to invest the fortress, mostly due to its cannons.

Instead, the orcs built two wooden outposts and several peripheral palisades to completely contain the fortress on its two land flanks. Lacking artillery, Turikk opted for close-up surprise attacks, sneaking up to the walls at night and attempting to climb over. However, the extensiveness of the fortifications, including its several layers of defense, made light raids largely ineffective. Instead, attempts at sapping were made: soldiers would carry explosives up to the walls and detonate them. Still, the infantry glacis in front of the actual fortifications foiled most such attempts.

The defenders, which numbered 3'000 at that point, made several sorties to break the growing encirclement and possibly force the orcs to retreat. However, they were numerically inferior, and did not have hand-held firearms to support their effort outside the walls; these were not successful.

War of Attrition, 13 - 32 OW

In 13 OW, after a winter break, Turikk's force was reinforced by 1'000 Orcish Guard and large numbers of slaves and other ancillary units. With these forces, the rudimentary forts were considerably expanded and the fortress was properly surrounded by a palisade. Additionally, several heavy batteries were set up, which allowed the orcs to return the fortress's fire from three advance positions and subject Kaer Karten to quasi-continuous bombardment.

Over the years, there was a continuous flow of several thousand more reinforcements to stop the fortress's operation as a naval base. Even as the siege was ongoing, the Cuprien navy - which dominated the sea, smashing all attempts to approach the fortress by sea - used its port to perform extensive mining operations in orcish waters. Since the orcs were limited to the two land flanks, they had little chance of succeeding in their frontal assaults, especially as the fortress's manpower was sizeably increased. Instead, to make use of cheap and plentifully available mortars, Boen sappers - that is, slaves - started digging extensive trenches approaching the walls from both flanks. Fire on the fortress continuously increased in severity, and the many slave losses were easily brushed off. Several Cuprien sorties were defeated by blowing up or bombarding part of the orcs' own trenches.

By 19 OW, most of the trenches reached all the way to the glacis and the infantry positions, allowing Boen small calibers to fire directly at the fortress's outer bastions and greatly hindering Cuprien's ability to perform sorties. Instead, on three occasions, it attempted to perform marine landings against the Boen flank, but their vast numerical inferiority and orcish trench advantage repelled these with about equal losses on both sides. Likewise, orcish storm units attempted to cross the dry moat and take frontal bastions, but none could be taken and held.

Instead, a new fighting method developed: mine tunnels.

start having cost issues eventually? -> Cuprien needing to get more money or smth (see chap. 4), convince other civilized to fight with them, coalition fixes it

The Spacial Respect Treaty, 16 OW

quickly explain why not relevant

Post-Imperial Rebirth, 33 - 56 OW

Neutrality Concession

so destroyed that both sides abandon it