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== Participants ==
The Alethi army was composed of ten armies, each formed by soldiers from one princedom and led by the corresponding
The ten warcamps were situated in hollows on the leeward side of the [[Shattered Plains]].
=== The Vengeance Pact ===
{{for|Vengeance Pact|more information}}
When King [[Gavilar]] was assassinated by the [[Assassin in White]], the Parshendi took credit for the assassination. This led to the formation of the [[Vengeance Pact]]. In order to fulfill the
=== Beginning of the siege ===
The original plan of the Alethi
The Shattered Plains were a very big area and the armies had to cross chasms in order to get from one plateau to the next. The consequence was that armies would take a very long time to reach the centre of the Plains. This would include the risk of a
Also the chasms were flooded during every
Therefore the
=== The impact of gemhearts ===
Once settled on the border of the Shattered Plains, it was quickly discovered that [[chasmfiend]]s lived in the chasms between plateaus. Chasmfiends had gemhearts which were very valuable. Not only for the value of the gemstone but mostly because of its ability to store huge capacities of [[Stormlight]].<!--- The stored Stormlight could power [[Soulcasting]]
The continued Soulcasting allowed the Parshendi to supply themselves in everything they needed. This considerably lowered the chances of success for the siege.
=== Rivalry between
That was not the only impact of the gemhearts. In order to cut the supplies of the Parshendi, the
The safest way to win a gemheart of a chasmfiend was to wait for the chasmfiend to climb on a plateau, where it pupated. Once this was done, the "cocoon" could be opened with a [[Shardblade]] or with hammers and chisels (which would take much longer).
So whenever a chasmfiend was spotted on a plateau, a race started between the Parshendi on one side and Alethi
Since every
Over the years the result was that the Alethi army lost its original
=== The Battle of the Tower ===
{{for|Battle of the Tower|more information}}
The [[Tower]] was a very large plateau not far from the centre of the Shattered Plains. Because of this, the Parshendi always arrived first whenever a chasmfiend pupated on the Tower plateau. Also, they usually had enough time to arrange themselves into battle formation and prepare their defense. That's why no Alethi army had ever won a battle at the Tower during six years of the
When Dalinar worked together with Sadeas, a chasmfied was spotted on the Tower. According to their plan, Sadeas, whose armies were faster than Dalinar's, had to clear a space on the Tower for Dalinar's troops, who were better trained, to engage the Parshendi. This worked as planned until Sadeas abandoned Dalinar
Dalinar and the remnants of his army were saved by a [[
== Warfare ==
The location of the
=== The use of bridges between plateaus ===
While Parshendi were able to jump the distance between
During a race for a gemheart, mobile bridges were used by the Alethi armies. There were two main types of bridges.
;heavy bridge
:
;light portable bridges
:These were only light in comparison to the bridge-towers. At least 25 men were needed to carry a bridge{{cite}}. Their advantage was that they could be carried even running, so they were much faster than the bridge-towers. Instead of offering cover, the bridgemen were exposed to the Parshendi archers during the approach of the final plateau.
Sadeas was the first one to use the light bridges <!--- he was first? ---> and had much success with them because of their mobility. He also used the exposed bridgemen on purpose to attract enemy fire that would otherwise have centered on his own soldiers. That is also why bridgemen were never trained.
Dalinar did not use those because he was convinced that officers shouldn't demand anything from their soldiers that they would not do themselves.{{cite}} He reproached Sadeas for wasting lives. Later Sadeas and Dalinar worked together. Sadeas could reach a plateau faster than anyone else, because he used the light bridges and left his main army with Dalinar <!--- main army with Dalinar? --->. Dalinar followed with the slow bridges, using the light bridges to cross the chasms. At the final plateau, Dalinar put his own bridges forward, not to waste bridgemen's lives. <!--- not in the Tower Battle? --->
Kaladin was the first to train a bridgecrew of a light bridge and had considerable success with it. Not only he managed to make them faster than other crews, he also managed to figure out a way of carrying the bridge so it could offer protection for the crew. <!--- fits this in here? --->
=== The use of
When an army arrived at a plateau and the enemy army was already formed up for battle, the only way for the attackers often was to send in
Also, Shardblades were a very effective way to cut open the "cocoon" in order to get the gemheart.
Apart from that, Shardbearers had the same use as in every other battle during that time on Roshar.
=== Chasm
During battles, Alethi soldiers and Parshendi warriors often fell into the chasms. The dead who were left after a battle were blown into the chasms during
Soldiers or bridgemen were sent down into the chasms to gather weapons, armor, spheres or anything other of value from the dead. Chasm
== Notes ==
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