The First War

Admin Antall Innlegg : 209 Join date : 2012-07-18

First War

Previous: War of the Three Hammers
Next: Second War
Begin: First Siege of Stormwind Keep
End: Second Siege of Stormwind Keep

First War

Location: Continent of Azeroth
Outcome: Orcish victory, destruction of the Kingdom of Azeroth, retreat of all Humans to the northern continent of Lordaeron

Combatants
Kingdom of Azeroth†
Clerics of Northshire†
Brotherhood of the Horse†
Orcish Horde
Shadow Council†
Blackrock Clan
Bleeding Hollow Clan
Twilight's Hammer Clan
Stormreaver Clan
Burning Blade Clan
Commanders and leaders
King Adamant Wrynn III†
King Llane Wrynn†
Sir Anduin Lothar
Warchief Blackhand the Destroyer†
Orgrim Doomhammer
Gul'dan the Warlock
Medivh†

Strength
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Casualties and losses
Very Heavy
Heavy

The First War was the first time orcs and humans clashed together.
The First War was a conflict fought between the orcs and humans following the arrival on Azeroth of the orcish clans of Draenor. The human kingdom of Azeroth was completely destroyed and its survivors were forced to flee to Lordaeron.
The true timeline of the First and Second Wars are blurred somewhat. The initial invasion of the Horde on Stormwind was crushed completely by the Humans, but after a change in power the Orcish Horde launched a second successful invasion of the kingdom.
The Second War began with the Horde's invasion of Lordaeron and Khaz Modan.

Contents
1 Prelude to the War
2 Chronology
3 See also
4 References
Prelude to the War

The humans of Stormwind lived in peace and prosperity on the continent of Azeroth for many years. But that ended when the sorceror Medivh - possessed by the Dark Titan Sargeras - opened the dimensional gate that later became known as the Dark Portal. Through the Portal came the Orcish Horde (corrupted by Sargeras' lieutenant Kil'jaeden) seeking to exterminate the humans. The Orcs overconfidently unleashed their first assault directly on Stormwind Keep, but failed to defeat the Human defenders. This attack is considered the start of the First War.

Chronology

The Orcish Horde conquer the planet of Draenor.

Orc clans begin fighting amongst themselves.

The child sorcerer Medivh is born of a coupling between the court Conjurer and a mysterious traveler.

Llane is born to King Adamant Wrynn III and Lady Varia.

Medivh falls into a coma, and his father dies.

While unconscious, Medivh sends Gul'dan a vision of Azeroth and the vast resources it contains.

Medivh awakens from a six year coma on the same day that Llane becomes Prince of Azeroth, and sometime thereafter begins work on the Dark Portal. The warlocks on Draenor find a small tear in the dimensional fabric and begin studying it, using this information to unite the Orcish Horde once again.

The Dark Portal is opened and the Horde begins their invasion.

Initial battles do not go well for the Horde. Expecting an easy victory against a weak opponent, the orcs rush to assault the fortress of Stormwind Keep, only to suffer a defeat of catastrophic proportions. Few orcs survive the initial battle.

The Age of Chaos begins with the First War and the death of King Adamant.

The Horde is humiliated by the unexpected rout, and the clans swiftly descend into turmoil. Chaos ensues, with factions blaming each other for the orcs' defeat.

Gul'dan manipulates a ruthless dictator onto the throne of the Warchief. Known as Blackhand the Destroyer, the new Warchief rallies the clans back together again and prepares them for a new assault on Azeroth. The orcs begin raiding activities against outlying human settlements near the Black Morass.

Medivh sends Gul'dan another vision, teasing him with images of the Tomb of Sargeras and the power it contains.
The orcs bring reinforcements surging into Azeroth, decimating towns and villages and plundering everything in their path. The towns of Grand Hamlet and Sunnyglade are destroyed.

Lord Anduin Lothar realizes Medivh's betrayal. He leads a small band of warriors to Medivh’s tower and confronts the wizard. Lothar and Khadgar slay Medivh, but Sargeras' spirit escapes.

While searching the mind of Medivh for the true location of the Tomb of Sargeras, Gul'dan falls in a coma during the death of the Grand Magus, leaving Blackhand and the Shadow Council helpless.

Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, and his mate Draka seek an audience with Doomhammer and tell him that Gul'dan seeks to betray the Horde. On their return trip, they are ambushed and slain by orcs loyal to Gul'dan. The assassins leave Durotan's infant son for dead, but the young orc is quickly discovered and saved by a band of humans under the command of Aedelas Blackmoore. The infant is taken as a slave and given the name Thrall.

Blackhand the Destroyer is betrayed and slain by Orgrim Doomhammer, a trusted general and close friend. Doomhammer replaces Blackhand as Warchief of the Horde.

Spies loyal to Orgrim Doomhammer capture and torture Garona. In agony, she reveals the existence of the Shadow Council and directs them to the location of Gul'dan's warlocks near the ruins of Stormwind Keep.

Doomhammer dispatches his elite wolfriders to the ruins. They slay or execute most of Gul'dan’s warlocks and disperse the remaining members of the Shadow Council. Gul'dan awakens from his coma and pleads for mercy from Doomhammer, offering complete submission. Doomhammer accepts and grants him mercy.

Northshire, Goldshire, and Moonbrook are destroyed.

Stormwind Keep falls before the full might of the Horde and is sacked. During the battle, King Llane is slain by one of Gul'dan's assassins, the half-orc Garona.

Lord Anduin Lothar concedes that the Kingdom of Azeroth has been lost. He rallies his countrymen and leads them in a desperate retreat across the Great Sea, eventually landing upon the shores of Lordaeron. There, he unites the human nations, high elves, dwarves, and gnomes into the Alliance of Lordaeron against the orcs.
The Warlocks resume their experiments with the portal.