The Difficulties
Under the common goal, many commanders have already counted their existing forces. The alliance, led by Stormwind City, Kul Tiras, Theramore and Ironforge, has invested more than 120,000 troops in successive battles. Currently, there are still about 60,000 capable of fighting. 🐤💝 ❻9ŜυЖ.ℂㄖм ♤♟
The more than 60,000 Alliance soldiers from various places included 36,000 infantrymen or musketeers, more than 5,000 mages of various ranks, more than 6,000 Priest of various ranks, more than 4,000 knights and Paladin, and the rest were water sorcerers, mortars and other auxiliary combat units. In total, they had more than 20,000 muskets, 200,000 rounds of ammunition and 378 trumpet-shaped mortars.
Compared to the Alliance, the Horde currently has nearly 30,000 people deployed to the war, with 24,000 still capable of fighting, mostly composed of Warsong Orcs and Trolls.
The Horde army of over 20,000 included more than 13,000 Warrior, over 4,000 Witch Doctor, Shaman and Priest, over 4,000 Headhunter, and the remainder consisted of artillery, Bat Rider, and Shadow Hunter.
The Horde's current army does not have musketeers, but the entire army is fully armored, equipped with steel magic iron weapons and magic iron grenades, and also has fifty-eight Warhammer Type I and five hundred cannonballs, as well as six to seven thousand Raptor, Worg, and other riding beasts to assist them.
Besides the Alliance and Horde factions, the Argent Dawn, Goblins, and Kaldorei also participated in the war. The Kaldorei had only a little over two thousand men, mostly Druid and experienced hunters, while the Argent Dawn had only five thousand men, mostly Warrior, Paladin, and Priest who had just fought against the the Scourge.
The number of Goblins was around 30,000. Apart from the more than 3,000 combat troops who piloted Shredder and Demolitionists, and the more than 200 research troops, the rest of the Goblins were all transport troops. They deployed more than 500 airships and 800 Goblins motorcycles to help with transportation. The logistics of the allied forces were mostly handled by them and mages.
The total number of troops deployed by the coalition forces is now close to 200,000 (including those who have been killed in action or withdrawn from the battle), and the fighting has lasted for almost ten days. This scale of battle has never been seen since the end of Second War, and even the Second War of the Shifting Sands and the Battle of Mount Hyjal cannot compare to it.
With a force of over 120,000, the Allied forces' objective was to close six portals named Murketh, Shadraz, Kolur, Xirus, Grem, and Kelez.
Indeed, thanks to the reconnaissance efforts of the Allied Forces' scouts and the efforts of the demonic traitors under the six-member Council of the Black Harvest, the Legion gradually uncovered the Legion's intelligence.
The Legion's current command post has also been revealed, located in the high mountains of Throne of Kil'jaeden in the north, where it is headed by the Legion's supreme commander, Doom Lord Kazzak, who is also the Legion's current highest commander and wields an artifact sword.
The one in charge of commanding the Legion's front-line troops at the six portals is Lord Kazzak's assistant, the Highlord Kruul. Before him, Lord Kazzak's lieutenant, Razelikh the Defiler, was responsible for guarding the Dark Portal of the Blasted Lands.
This demon, who shared the same nickname as Archimonde, was already overwhelmed and killed by the Paladin of the allied forces led by Tirion Fordring and Darion at the beginning of the war, for which the allied forces paid the price with the lives of many Paladin.
Aside from the Legion's front line formed by the six portals and the Legion's headquarters at Throne of Kil'jaeden, the Legion also has two forging camps, Tyranny and Madness, located at the foot of Throne of Kil'jaeden. These camps are staffed by demonic engineers from Mo'arg and are responsible for building Fel Cannons and Fel Reavers.
With the existing intelligence on the Legion, the Allied Forces were more united than ever before. The commanders, led by Thrall, Tirion, and Leoric, revised their plans, changing the original objective of destroying and closing the six portals to a prerequisite for victory. The final objective was set as capturing Throne of Kil'jaeden and killing the Doom Lord Kazzak.
We cannot simply rely on closing the six portals to end the Legion's invasion. We must eliminate the Legion's command post on Throne of Kil'jaeden and take out the two Legion commanders, Lord Kazzak and Kurul. Only then will we have a chance of victory.
After determining the objectives of the operation, the next step was to decide the order of operations, which did not need further discussion. The first objective was to close the six portals at the Legion's front line, and then the Allied Forces would march on Throne of Kil'jaeden. However, in the meantime, Thrall and Leoric had some minor disagreements.
Thrall believed that after closing the six portals, some buffer time should be allowed for the Horde to summon the Mag'har and the Sin'dorei to join the battle and crush the Throne of Kil'jaeden. He even suggested luring the demons out to fight, as fighting inside the demon's fortress was too dangerous. Leoric, on the other hand, thought the opposite.
Leoric hoped to immediately march on Throne of Kil'jaeden after closing the portal, crushing the Legion's threat with overwhelming force. His reasoning was that finding new allies would take too long, and Stormwind's logistics, even with Goblins assistance, were already in dire straits; further fighting could lead to the collapse of their kingdom's finances.
Just how badly has Stormwind fallen? Faced with Leoric's predicament, even Ironforge and Theramore, both allies, couldn't help but look on with dismay. Stormwind was a renowned land of plenty, with spring-like weather all year round, and fertile fields stretching for miles along Elwynn Forest and Westfall, producing not only gold and timber but also fruit. How did it end up in such a sorry state?
If Stormwind were the only entity responsible for the coalition's logistics, that would be one thing. But now Stormwind is not the only one; since the Goblins joined the transport, the Horde has already supplied the coalition with thousands of tons of various foods, and the supply continues. How did Stormwind become financially in crisis? Did they overspend in the past?
Looking further back, in major events like the Second War of the Shifting Sands and the Alliance's massive arms purchase from the Horde for millions of gold coins, Stormwind only covered a small portion of the bills. The majority were paid by Kul Tiras and Ironforge, and given their population, territory, and wealth, that amount of money wasn't a significant blow.
Faced with everyone's surprise and disbelief, Leoric looked extremely ashamed, and then had no choice but to explain that Stormwind had been experiencing financial problems since its reconstruction.
Second War of the Shifting Sands not long ago, Stormwind didn't bear much financial burden, but Orgrimmar took a lot of copper coins from it. The kingdom's finances lacked basic currency, and now with the support of the Allied Forces, its finances are in danger.
Leoric's explanation drew everyone's attention to Thrall and Zul'ra. Zul'ra, facing everyone's gaze, raised her hand in defense, stating that the Horde was not to blame, as they had been providing equipment to the Horde Sands Alliance.