The Battle at Darrowmere (WC2 Human)

The Battle at Darrowmere is the ninth mission of the Alliance campaign in Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.

Mission briefing
''With his Paladins keeping vigilant watch over the northlands, the Archbishop's assistant Uther Lightbringer of Lordaeron has come to offer comfort to those who are suffering the misfortunes of war. Lord Lothar has entrusted you with the protection of the Paladins' Commander and his entourage as they travel to the island township of Caer Darrow.''

Objective

 * Escort the Lightbringer to the Circle of Power at Caer Darrow

Background

 * Note: this account comes from the Official Strategy Guide, which features a first-person description of each mission from the game.

Milan's commander had decided to attempt a bold maneuver. Spies had reported that their land forces may not have been able to deal with the heavily fortified orcish settlement that separated them from Uther, so they endeavored to clear the seas of ships and trust fate to deliver him safely to the Circle. Their first task was to assemble all of their warships into a tight cluster; then they sent a single fast destroyer south to draw out the enemy ships guarding the way to Caer Darrow. Once those had been eliminated, they decided not to risk doing the same with the traitorous elven destroyers beyond the gauntlet of cannon towers, for they were quite a bit smarter than orcs and would perceive their trap. Instead, two more Horde destroyers were drawn out of the other passage to Uther and were sunk, leaving the sea lanes mostly open.

Their four transport ships were then prepared for a dangerous mission. All unnecessary deck hands were invited to stay safely ashore with the troops. These four ships then set out unescorted toward Uther. They sent their prayers after them, knowing that not all of them would return. As they sailed quickly through the gauntlet, the cannon towers could not reload fast enough to hit them at all; all four arrived, damaged but still sea worthy. Uther boarded the strongest of the four and prepared to sail back. His transport was placed in the middle in the hope that the lead and trailing ships would draw most of the cannon fire. The plan worked, they praised the Gods, but two of the four sank below the waves.

With Uther safely among the warships, their entire flotilla set out directly for Caer Darrow. With so many targets, the second gauntlet could not possibly stop them at all. Even the enemy battleship near their goal was too busy with their warships to notice the transports sneaking past. As soon as Uther's craft landed, he raced for the Circle of Power and stood with upraised hands. Boiling thunderheads soon filled the sky and unleashed bolts of lightning on the traitorous elven crafts, utterly destroying them. With the forces of nature on their side, the remaining Horde forces quickly abandoned their cause and retreated. Milan believed, fate had smiled on them once again, and the seed of hope had firmly taken root.

Forces

 * Alliance of Lordaeron
 * Footmen
 * Archers
 * Knights
 * Ballistae
 * Flying machines
 * Warships


 * Orcish Horde
 * Grunts
 * Axethrowers
 * Ogres
 * Catapults
 * Warships

Trivia

 * An early version of the next level claims Gul'dan was captured during this battle.